SRM-03: FORCEd RECON

The ancient ninjas were more than assassins; they were also experts in spying and intelligence gathering. A new research facility has just been built, and someone wants to get as much paydata on their operations in case future incursions are necessary. Become the modern ninja and name your pay! Part One: FORCEd RECON [224KB] Part Two: Player Handouts [1MB]

SRM-03: FORCEd RECON - "An Offer"
Introductory fiction by Rich Osterhout

"We have decided to make you an offer." And with those eight simple words, Griffin Biotechnology grew to become one of the largest biomedical research and technology firms in the Seattle Metroplex. Of course, it wasn't the words that caused this rapid expansion, but rather the backing of DocWagon. Griffin Biotech had been struggling along with some of the other small firms in the sprawl until their latest breakthrough promised to end all that. With the help of Dr. Indira Chontel, Griffin has managed to make some dramatic progress and developments in the treatment of epilepsy - primarily the ability to use the signals from healthy brain tissue to compensate for the irregular signals of damaged brain tissue. Dr. Sumihiro Asikawa, CEO of Griffin Biotech, began to court some of the major players in town in the hopes of receiving investment partners to receive the money necessary to complete the neural research. It was not long before he had a number of groups interested in the possible developments that Griffin's research could produce in the future. DocWagon led the pack of others including Ares Macrotechnology, Seattle University, and even the UCAS Department of Defense through various grants.

Now that they had the money necessary to move forward, they would need a facility - one where not only the research and development of Griffin's latest technologies could continue, but also medical facilities where test subjects could be monitored. In addition, support labs and manufacturing facilities for nanotechnology would be needed. To top it off, this facility had to have the security necessary to protect the valuable state-of-the-art developments that would be released to the investors.

With Ares as one of the prime investors, it seemed only natural to sign a contract with Knight Errant Security Services to handle the security matters for the new facility after it is built. In order to protect their interests, Ares even offered KE services at a highly discounted rate. The university loaned out their thaumaturgic staff to assist in the construction of the new compound, on land purchased in northern Everett. With the services of Mackie Construction retained, the building of the new facility could begin.

* * *
It was another profitable quarter for Paladin Medical Technologies. As one of the premier suppliers of medical supplies, organ cultures, and research and development in the Seattle area, Paladin had been able to make some shrewd business moves in the past few years to ensure their continued growth and stability. Those in the shadows, of course, know that much of Paladin's success was due to the fact that Dr. Fredericks, the head honcho, was not afraid to employ shadowrunners to retrieve prototypes, research data, or special shipments for use by Paladin. Rumor even has it that he hired a group of runners to hit a DocWagon manufacturing facility so that Paladin could secure a lucrative supply contract with Seattle General.

But it was becoming harder and harder to maintain a competitive edge. Just a couple of months ago, Griffin Biotechnologies received some major funding from some undisclosed investors. Fredericks had no idea what they had come up with, but now they were clearly Paladin's only serious competition in the sprawl. To make matters worse, in that short amount of time, Griffin has managed to purchase property and build a new state-of-the-art facility in northern Everett, all within a short few weeks.

The report from the man he knew only as "Christof" now lay on his desk. Its contents were quite disturbing. Large armored trucks escorted a group of men that set about creating a large magical circle which a lithe elven female had apparently doused out for them. Stranger yet, large earthen elementals appeared to move the earth itself around the compound, forming large, solid rock walls. A few days more saw the arrival of construction equipment and large crews of trolls and orks that began to build the foundation for a large facility - the earth elementals helping to move the earth and speed the construction process. The construction vehicles all had a large logo on the side - that of Mackie Construction.

Currently, Griffin Biotech still resided in the Huitzilopochtli Plaza, owned and operated by Aztechnology and across from their pyramid. It was difficult to hire even shadowrunners to attempt runs against such a target. The new facility, however, would take some time to become fully operational. If he could contract some runners to investigate the new compound in Everett, perhaps the data could be used in the future to make a more profitable run against Griffin. Consulting his extensive lists of "intermediaries," he settled upon one name that had provided results in the past for reasonable fees - and he was much more pleasant and civilized to deal with than many of those in his line of work.

A short telecom connection with Lyle Green, former child trid-star and now a connection to the shadow scene in Seattle, and Fredericks knew he would soon have the information he needed.