On a truly street level, I’d like to drop a few updates I picked up during my extensive free time after getting riffed, post Storm Front. I spitefully found a way to get my hands on a copy of the section of Storm Front I was blocked from, as well as that Stolen Souls download. Reading the little bits and pieces that were dropped on several of the CFD affected folks seemed like a great way to spend my time while I was trying to convince the first Riser that we could get along. It was an inter- esting time back then, as it was very early in the days of CFD. These groups have now been infected and active for longer than most shadowrunners’ careers. They’ve had quite the run.
I’ve kept an eye out for the remains of the Society of the Phoenix Arisen, and much as one would expect from a group of this name, they once again rose from the ash- es. They slipped over to CalFree and set up in a small ghost town in NorCal far enough away from everyone else that no one really noticed. It’s close enough to the border of both the Tír and PCC for the Society to inter- act and draw from all three populations. Their numbers grew throughout ’75 as more and more head cases, all former Awakened, joined their ranks to be taught how to harness the power of mana.
They had a wild celebration on New Year’s Day 2076 commemorating their latest rebirth and sacrificed all the members of the group who had not been able to regain their arcane potential. During the subsequent year, they did another round of rebuilding, though their numbers didn’t grow as much thanks to the rumors about the New Year’s Day celebration. Though their numbers didn’t grow exponentially, their income did. The group started to spread its wings and has made a name for themselves in transportation protection, smuggling, and most of all talislegging. Their rather unique combination of abilities makes them really good at covering all the bases.
What all this growth and money making has not done is keep them off the radar. Other, more longstanding, operations in the area were fine with them doing a little talislegging and running the border with some goods every once in awhile, but when they started branching out into the territory of the local go-gangs, which some old-timers call MCs (for motorcycle clubs), they found more serious opposition. The Society is tough and full of head cases, but so are the local gangs. It doesn’t help that their talislegging activities have recently come up on the radar of the PCC and they’re starting to catch heat from several sides. Though heat isn’t really an issue for a Phoenix. The ’77 New Year’s party was a big success and they didn’t lose anyone, though several members left on a smuggling run right before and haven’t returned.
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The members that left weren’t incapable of casting—the failures had left long before New Year’s. The group that didn’t come back settled on the other side of the border in the PCC. And then threw their own party. They’re expanding.>
AreteDespite the occasional efforts of Kane and the Aztlan Navy, the group now known as Torredo’s Rays is thriving in the waters surrounding Corpus Christie, Aztlan. Torre- do and his gang of smugglers have grown in the past year as they’ve enhanced their connections around the Gulf Run. Corpus Christie in Aztlan, Mérida in Yucatán, La Habana in the Caribbean League, and New Orleans and Tampa in the CAS are the four main ports of the Gulf Run and each now has its own personal Torredo. Same build, same voice, same face, and some say, same mind. We all know how that may have come about, but to oth-
ers it’s a sign of the true Torredo’s power. No one knows which Torredo is the original Torredo, and they all claim to be the one.
The group is chased by the Navies of both the CAS and Aztlan, yet they gain protection and information by smuggling for Aztechnology, the CAS government, the new government of Yucatán, and Cuba, along with any- one else who can pay. They tend to avoid open conflict, but most of their smuggling ships are armed or escorted by armed craft. Some even have small, armed jet skis to deploy as a defense with pilots who are willing to use the craft as torpedoes. They aren’t usually violent since they understand that draws undue attention, but they also know that portraying strength keeps lesser gangs from trying to overtake their position. This new strong stance is a good change for everyone else involved since on the way up the method was assimilation.
Torredo may have made several versions of himself, but he also attracted several other head case identities that have also spread their ranks. Along with the rumors of the Torredos being able to communicate telepathical- ly, the same rumors abound about the other head case identities, many of whom choose the same name. Odds are what the streets call telepathy is simply related to the fact that the head cases are walking commlinks. They can send and receive data to each other like any other commlink. I wonder if you all knew that. Maybe I should give an insider view of being a head case. Another time.
Currently Torredo is dealing with pressure in New Or- leans and Mérida. In New Orleans they are fending off both the local crime syndicates and law enforcement. Both groups are pushing back at the expanding criminal enterprise and trying to keep the smugglers in check as they move large amounts of contraband into the CAS while providing a route for metahuman trafficking of citi- zens from all over North America. In Mérida they’re feel- ing pressure from the Yucatán government as it tries to make itself appear strong against criminals. Problem is that same government funded and supported so many smugglers during their rebellion that they are having trouble turning their back on the people who helped them. Many of those smugglers have developed legit- imate shipping contracts and businesses, but Torredo is not among those. These legitimized smugglers are also targeting Torredo by providing information on the Ray’s comings and goings. The conflict has become violent re- cently and will probably get worse before it gets better. One last unsettled situation that I’ll cover before I wrap this up and send it all off in a compact little data-
package is the issues that arose between Cavalier Arms, the Mojave Rattlers, NeoNET, and Nightengale Clinics. Lanier’s cerebral co-passenger is a deviously intelligent sentience. After the weapons failure, most of the Rat- tlers went in for surgery, and over ninety percent of the team members had some kind of augmentation system installed after the catastrophe in ’73. Those systems and the procedures that followed, combined with the resid- ual nanites that were left from the damaged weapons opened the Rattlers up to CFD. Any team members who didn’t go head case after the surgeries were infected during the practice and rehabilitation events.
Since then the entire team has undergone several other implant surgeries and is now the most wired team in Desert Wars and the top contender, by a large margin, for the title this year. They’ve racked up several records over the last few seasons and have set a new standard for coordinated tactics. And we all know why. While their sponsors don’t know at an employee level, the higher-ups most certainly do by this point. That’s why contracts exist for almost every member of the team that led back to NeoNET virtually every time.
On the corporate side, the sponsors are making way too much off these guys to back out, and Cavalier field-tested almost a dozen new designs last season alone. The Rattlers are making a big name for them- selves, and it’s all because they’re a bunch of head cases.
That’s everything. I have a lot more data and a desire to share, but I’d like some assurances that only member- ship provides. I know I made enemies. We all do. What I have to offer is worth having my snarky attitude back around. I know you missed me.
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I’d offer him a shot. And I despise him.>
Balladeer>
I’d second both those statements.>
Lyran>
Damn. You guys read too fast. I didn’t get down here to make the first comment. It will be the last, though. We will not be voting on Riser’s return. This is not because I’m some horrible dictator who hates him and doesn’t want him around. It’s because this information was handed over in a face-to-face with Rigger X, who Riser thought he could trust, and really should have known better. He sold him out to the Smoker’s Club.“Good afternoon, thank you for contacting Neutral Ground. How can we be of service today?”
The voice on the other end of the call was far more chipper than he expected in a place like this, but then again it wasn’t everyday you made a phone call to a place like this, or talked to people like these. Or at least it wasn’t for him.
“I’d like to arrange for some work.” His voice cracked as he spoke, but the person on the other end of the line didn’t miss a beat.
“Excellent sir. We offer a wide array of services. My second question is which department would you like to speak with?”
His confusion at the question did not reduce his awkwardness. “What departments do you have?” he asked.
“I’m sorry. Neutral Ground is a primary host for two separately operating coordination systems with polar opposite operating parameters. What kind of service did you need today?”
He was less confused now. He could at least under- stand what the two “polar opposite operating param- eters” were based on what he was calling for, but he wasn’t sure about the best way to put what he wanted into words. Was this a secure line where he could simply be direct? Was there a code? Some lingo he was sup- posed to get from the contact that directed him here?
“I need to cancel a contract.” He tried to sound sly but in truth felt like a fish gasping for breath on the deck of a boat.
“Oh, I see. I apologize, your comm number didn’t open your registration. What was your handler identifi- cation?”
“Handler identification? I don’t have one. Was I sup- posed to get one from Sla …?” His increasing confusion was thankfully interrupted before he could fumble out critical information.
“No names, sir. I think I understand the issue here. You have not contacted us before and need to go through a few steps first. I presume by your use of ‘cancel’ you are seeking our termination services. We’re going to need to set you up with an account. First, what would you like your handler name to be?”
The pleasant tone never wavered as it reviewed ter- mination services, as if it was the same as ordering a soykaf at Soybucks. He hadn’t thought of a cool name to give himself, and he’d be damned if he was going to get some generic number/letter code slapped on him.
“Enigma,” he finally said with some confidence. “Excellent, though we’ll need numbers. We always do. You are our first Enigma if you would like the number one, though this means you have a vast array of options to choose from. No more that ten numbers please.”
Again he wracked his brain but ended with some- thing simple.
“Zero-zero-one.”
“Excellent, Enigma zero-zero-one. I have the comm you are calling from and a handler name. Next we will need to set up the payment account.”
Confusion rapidly faded, and the rest of the process was remarkably smooth. After only twenty-five minutes, he had set up everything he needed and lined up his first contract.
Who knew having someone killed could be so streamlined?