Over a Round of Beers

[Elliott]

Tyros nods to Val, the big troll's head split by a grin. "This should be lots of fun. Glad you can join us. Watch our backs on the net, and we'll watch yours on the ground. I'll let Max negotiate the terms of your employment, but know we prefer to have a tight knit group of comrades, and we need a decker, so if you don't fuck up, there is a partnership in this venture for you down the road."

Pulling the bar napkin out of his pocket, Tyros reads off the list, "I made a few additions to the suggestions: Security System (High), Tac-Net System, Hardened Surfaces and Electronic Countermeasures for defense. Fortunately this building should be easier to upgrade in that regard than most, so hopefully we'll save some on cost. As far as improvements, I have a Loading Dock, Dead Drop, Armory, Cargo Elevator, Recruiting Office, Small Garage and Dormatory (Luxury). No sense in not living it up a bit if we are the owners of a new company! Total should come out to $470,000 Nuyen, which leaves us $30k for hiring and incidentals. Agreed?"

[Conway]

From the deep shadow cast by the rusted freight container he hides behind, Sinjin watches a fourth man approach the small mixed band of veteran criminals. From the way the newcomer carries himself, peering intently about the dark and unfamiliar setting, and the noise he makes as he walks toward the other strangers Sinjin wonders if he gets outside much. Must be a decker. he smiles to himself.

Taking careful note of the introductions being made, he mentally ascribes a name to each face he sees as the conversation ensues. Slowly stretching his battle-stiff neck from side to side so as not to draw any attention to his movement, Sinjin contemplates his situation. Well, you got this far without them spotting you, chum. Might as well sit tight a minute and see what else they have to say. I guess I can always walk away and them none the wiser if the pieces dont fit.

[John]

Max responds to Tyros,

"We're going to need more gear than that affords us. First on the list of big ticket items, we'll need a rover to get us around. I'd suggest we save some nuyen on the security system and the living quarters, with priority on upgrading the security system at first opportunity (( Security System (Medium), Dormitory (Low) )). While I appreciate your enthusiasm, we simply can't afford to spend nuyen that's needed elsewhere on living quarters yet. Alone that's us saving probably 160,000 nuyen. Also, since we likely won't be hiring many (if any) additional bodies until we have a contract or two behind us, I say we hold off on the recruiting office for a few weeks. That'll free us up in the neighborhood of probably 170,000 nuyen, giving us maybe 200,000 nuyen to work with on gear and employees. Once we get the ordinance we need and hire a couple guys to keep the fires lit while we're out burning down Seattle, maybe then we can look at spend more money on upgrades that presently are more luxuries than necessities. I agree with all of your suggestions for the facility defenses, though."

Max clears his throat and looks around the area. Turning to Doc, Max asks,

"Where is the second man, amigo? He's looking like a no-show. Maybe we ought to get back on the horn to Rawhide."

Max draws another cigarette from his pack, sticks it between his lips, and lights it. The smoke washes up from his mouth as he exhales the first pull, curling over the beanie that conceals his hair.

[Drew Buddy]

Doc turns to Tyros

"I'm with Max on this one. The High Security System and Luxury Dormitory are extravagances that we just can't afford right now. We'll need more money for vehicles, drones, and other upgrades. While it's important to keep this place secure, we also need to make sure that we're growing the business as fast as possible. Also, it wouldn't do well for our reputation if we have to hail a cab to get to our destination. We can't rely on Lo to fly us anywhere anymore."

[Elliott]

Tyros chuckles, "Yeah Doc, wasn't there supposed to be some ninja you invited?"

Turning back to Max, "I agree we won't need to be hiring or equipping anyone for at least a few contracts, and therefore I don't think the corp needs to make any big equipment purchases right away. We already have our vehicles ((or did Doc's rover get blown up?)), and they should be sufficient to get us around in the near term. I just think its a waste of money to invest in inferior quality security and living quarters when we know we want to upgrade them in the near future. All the money we spent on those lesser systems would be wasted. I can find you the chapter in that business manual I barrowed from city college that says you should get top of the line systems to start with so that you don't have to double invest in for upgrades."

[John]

(( Doc's rover was rolled off in the character rebuild. Also, buying medium security and then high security doesn't seem like we'd have to make up the full 200,000 again. Thinking about it, we wouldn't have to replace all the shit we already got in the first round. Seems like we'd be spending something closer to the 120,000 difference (more than that, for sure, but maybe something more along the lines of 140,000 or 150,000. I'll defer to Drew Buddy to fill in the blanks on what equipment we need, but I'm sure that good transport isn't gonna be cheap. ))

Max dissents again,

"I don't think you're quite looking at the whole picture of what we need. We'll need transport-- probably at least two rovers so we can take and cover multiple approach vectors, but we'll also need drones, guns, non-combat equipment, and other things that we don't foresee yet. Spending to the full extent of our means right off the bat means the corp will explode onto the scene and then lurch into existence after that. We'll have a better idea of all of what we need after a few contracts, at which point it will be nice to have the reserve nuyen kicking around."

(( Also, it'll just be more fun if we're at least SORT OF vulnerable to attack. Safety in SR is no fun. ))

[Elliott]

((You're making an assumption there that we only have to pay the difference between the two system costs. Not sure that is valid. Actually, real life experience tells me that it is actually more expensive to perform an upgrade like that because the systems are not usually compatable and you have to take the first one out before putting the second one in.))

Tyros shakes his massive head, "With the money we would have left, we could afford two Rovers, although I think we only need one to start. And we already have guns, lots of them. Well, I don't, but that doesn't matter. As well as gear. Drones we could afford as well, provided you don't want to spend all the money on cars. It is just more efficient investment to get the top of the line stuff upfront. Trust me, I took a class!"

((And Nick can make us vulnerable to attack any way he wants to, having the top of the line security system won't make us invincible.))

[John]

Max shakes his head states simply,

"30,000 doesn't afford us transportation, drones, employees, and unknowns. There's just no two ways about it. If you want to dig in your heels, we could always just install the security system after our first contract and go without for now."

[Elliott]

Tyros sighs, a slight grimmace flashing across his face. "Whatever, I vote to not waste money. I don't see what all this equipment is we need, but if you both want to wait on the security system, so be it, majority rules. Just don't come crying to me when some squatter takes a shit in your pillowcase while we are out working."

[John]

Max concedes a compromise,

"Alright, how's this. Hold off on recruiter and unnecessary dormitory amenities, pick up the gear we properly need, then see where we stand on what we can afford with the security system. If we can go all-in at that time, we go all-in. If not, we make a game-time decision on whether to go middle-rung and upgrade later or just hold of for a little while. Sound fair?"

[Drew Buddy]

(( Acutally for things like vehicles and drones, the cost is often 100-400% upgrades above the base price. If you want to do it right, the base vehicle is usually woefully inadequate. ))

"Don't forget that all of the features in whatever security package we chose are really only there to slow down intruders. There's a great deal more involved with actually stopping them, and these things cost quite a bit of money. You can spend all your cash on the best firewall you can buy, but it's kind of silly if there's not enough left over to buy the commlink that it's supposed to be protecting."

Doc shoots an apologetic look to Val.

"But anyway, why don't we step inside and take a look around first?"

[John]

Max agrees with Doc,

"Good call, Doc. Give me a second and I'll find the passcode to the front door."

[Stephen]

For the most part, Val can only glance from one man to another in subdued shock as he hears them debating about armory upgrades, employees, equipment, and amounts of nuyen that he can only consider insane. As he listens to their alarmingly large wish list, his eyes sweep over Max and Doc, the facade of the armory, and finally over Tyros and the hilt of his massive claymore. Guess subtlety isn't exactly their strong suit, he thinks to himself, idly remembering Doc's trid footage, but they seem to have the cojones enough to compensate.

Val is wrested from his thoughts at the mention of a firewall. "Well, I think I can help with that, 'mano. But, I still need more info before I commit to anything. How about you show me around this lovely siege magnet of yours and fill me in?"

Val's eyes briefly flick in the general direction of a dilapidated freight container. His Scan program had detected a hidden node somewhere near there only moments ago; but he can see nothing. He decides not to play his cards at this point, however. He'll just keep an eye out. "Shall we go inside?"

[John]

Keying around the information Max has on the armory, The elf finally finds what he's after,

"Ah! Here we are. Let's check out what we're working with first hand. Guess your ninja is a ghost, Doc. We'll make due with four."

Max walks casually to the front door of the armory. The weeds sprouting through the cracks in the asphalt snag at his pants and coat as his feet shuffle debris from his path. The scene would be eerie for anybody not so physically prepared to meet any comers. Arriving at the front door, Max keys the code into the panel holding closed the facility. After the sequence of dull beeps, the the locking mechanism inside the doorjamb opens with a harsh, metallic groan. Opening the door, Max steps through and takes a look around.

[Drew Buddy]

Doc squints and scans the open lot. Not seeing anyone on low-light, he shrugs and turns to the now open door.

"Lead the way."

Following Max in, he brushes his fingers against the submachine gun under his coat, suddenly wishing he'd bothered to bring his battle rifle. Max had claimed the seller was on the up-and-up, but Doc's most recent memories of walking into a run-down abandoned building had ended with a swarm of spirit bugs making a cavalry charge at the team.

The cold steel calms his nerves.

[John]

Max is surprised at how barren and nondescript the facility really is. Having been stripped of all its valuable items, tools, and furniture, it's really just a collection of gray halls leading to gray rooms-- some larger and some smaller. Touring through the facility, Max and the team come to a room that looks as though it is meant to function like a barracks given its proximity to the latrine, while others seem sized and intended to be mess halls, meeting rooms, store rooms, and the like. All told, however, there's nothing determining for certain that any given room must be one thing or another; the place is a blank slate.

The team tours the basement and its set of gray corridors leading to gray rooms. The team tours the second floor and its set of more gray corridors leading to more gray rooms. The place is huge. There's what looks to be an elevator shaft that's had the elevator taken out. Who the frag leaves and takes the elevator?

The team comes to a room that overlooks what might be intended to be a loading zone. The blastproof windows that see out onto the world beyond hadn't been readily visible from outside. In this room, the team comes upon a small set of folding chairs left toppled out of a loose stack in the corner. Grabbing a chair, Max takes it to the center of the room, opens it, and sits in it backwards. Drek. How long had it been since Max had sit in a chair like this? He felt like he needed to be wearing a backwards cap and a Johnny Nuclear and the Meltdowns t-shirt. Taking his third cigarette of the night from the now perilously empty pack, the elf sparks up his old-fashioned knockoff Zippo lighter and lets the smoke smolder just on the edge of lit, dangling precariously from his lips. As he goes to put the pack away, he makes the universal gesture of offering one to any takers. He was smoking a lot tonight.

"Let's call this the conference room for now," Max says, taking a drag on his cigarette. The elf continues, "Alright, Merrin, here's the deal. The three of us have been through some pretty rough drek together, and through it all we've come to accept that, for better or for worse, we work fraggin' well as a team." Max shoots a quick look to Tyros and nods. The gesture is ambiguous. "At the conclusion of our last job, we decided to go into business with one another. Over the course of that job, we had help from a fair few axillary chummers, but the core of the group has remained us three. The reason we wound up being helped by the others is because we needed it. With those guys out of the picture, we're now left needing to fill their boots. You'll start at taking an even cut of the contracts as us. Ten percent of each contract we get goes to each man-- the remainder going into the company. Me, Doc, and Tryos will more than likely reinvest our cuts into the outfit anyway. If we feel you're working out, you're welcome to do the same and buy your way in as a partner. We can't tell you what the jobs will be yet because we still have to make our calls, but that's the shake of it now. So let's just cut through the dragondrek. Are you in?"

[Stephen]

Val accepts a cigarette from Max's proffered pack and nods to the elf gratefully as he accepts a light and finds himself a seat. The paisley smoke swirls slowly around his head in the still, stale air of the "conference room."

"Well, from what you've represented about your, ah... exploits, I'd say the fact that you all still draw breath is a testament to your working well together. And, I've gotta say, an even cut is a fair bit more than I expected walkin' in here. Far as reinvesting in the company goes, I think what's good for the company will be good for me if we keep this going strong. I'll invest, though I do find myself in fairly dire need of some specific equipment and programs. Likewise, though, what's good for me in that area will be good for the company. Short, I'm in."

Val smiles and looks to each of his new chums in turn, feeling for the first time in months that he might have caught a break, and at the same time trying to quell the voice telling him he's in over his cyberwared head.

"Oh, and Doc, sorry about the cool reception over the commcall. I can be a bit paranoid sometimes; comes with the territory. Better a little paranoid than a lot dead I always say. I'm sure you can understand that, eh 'mano?"

[John]

Max nods his head decisively and stands quickly while scooting the chair from in front of him in one smooth motion-- the cigarette bobbing lightly in his lips with the heft of unassuming frame. Extending his right hand to Val, Max speaks in the muffled way that only a man with a cigarette in his lips does,

"Welcome aboard."

[Conway]

*hssst* :>THWOCK<:

The conversation is interrupted by the characteristic sound of an aluminum can of beer being opened, somewhat amplified as the sound waves bounce between the stark concrete walls and flooring. Startled, the team turns to see a black dressed orc of heavy build standing only a few steps behind the group.

"Ill take that offer." he says, in a rough timbered voice.

Sauntering forward, the confident lurkers footsteps make no sound as he walks, despite the heavy boots he wears laced to the top. A double brace of throwing knives criss-cross his chest, and myriad assortment of grenades clutter his waist belt and line the leather bands around his upper arms.

"Evening, fellas. I took the liberty of letting myself in, if ya dont mind. Wouldnt be the first time I didn't ask first." he says rather cheekily as he glances back toward a ventilation duct in a far corner of the room.

"No need to play catch up, Ive been listening to whats been said. The troll's right, in the long run you know. I dont know what all that techy stuff is you guys were talking about buying, but it'll take a long more than a fresh coat of paint to make this place secure. 'Bout the only thing that slowed me down coming in was the cobwebs. But frak, its your money, I wont tell you how to spend it."

"Doc. Max. Tyros." the ork says as he nods his head at each in turn. "Im Sinjin."

Sinjin pulls another beer from the plastic ring of a six-pack before tossing the remaining four in Val's direction.

"Here ya go, brother. Take one yourself and pass the others round. I thought it might be nice to celebrate this house warming party with a round of beers."

[Conway]

(( comments about security and upgrades in that post were strictly role play...like Sin said...I wont tell you how to spend you money )

[Drew Buddy]

Doc is about to respond to Val, and welcome him on the team, when the orc makes his grand entrance. He initially reaches for his SMG, before he recognizes the man from the dossier.

For a moment, words escape him while he absentmindedly takes his hand away from his coat, and accepts a beer. A small grain of his mind wonders if he should run a chemical analysis of the can.
Regaining his mental footing,

"Ah! There you are. We were wondering if you'd bailed on us... Of course, you probably heard that part too. How long were you out there?" He asks, raising an eyebrow.

[John]

Max is surprised, but more incredulous than anything else. He takes a moment to look at Doc, and the amusement is plain on his face. Smiling and shaking his head slightly from side to side, Max takes a beer from the ring and pops it. Waiting until all five of them have a beer in hand, Max raises his to the center of the assembled party. Still speaking with the cigarette between his lips, Max toasts,

"Boys. Welcome to Firestarter."

(( Unless you guys want to add more, I suggest we just flash forward to a week later so we can start talking about contracts once we solidify our upgrades list [which we could do faster out of character]. ))

[John]

(( Shopping list so far:

Tac-Net System
Hardened Surfaces and
Electronic Countermeasures
Loading Dock
Dead Drop
Armory
Cargo Elevator
Small Garage and
Dormatory (Low)

Pending gear totals:

Security System (High)

If nobody has any complaints or alterations, I think Drew ought to throw in his list of gear, since the drones will chiefly be his at first and he knows the most about vehicles and such. If we push for it, I think we can get to our first run by Monday, which Nick has off and CLAIMS will be spent GMing [unless, I dunno, something shiny catches his attention or something]. ))

[Drew Buddy]

(( Here are a couple of sample vehicles. Further changes can be made.

The rover is built for relative stealth, and is good for not leaving a trace that can lead back to us. It has a basic ability to drive itself using its computer's pilot.
Rover 2068 (SUV)
+Amenities High (included)
+Off-Road Suspension (included)
+Passenger Protection II (included)
+Anti-Theft (included)
+Drone Rack, Large
+Morphing License Plate
+Ram Plate
+Signature Masking III
+Vehicle Tag Eraser
+Rigger Adaptation
+Firewall 5
+Signal 5
+Maneuver III (self) autosoft
Total Cost: 50,000¥


The Roadmaster is a considerably less subtle vehicle. It's more of a "come in guns blazing" kind of truck.
It has a gatling turret, and its computer is capable of both driving and controlling the turret, if need be.

Ares Roadmaster (Transport)
+Life Support I (included)
+Personal Armor (included)
+2 Gun Ports (included)
+Rigger Adaptation
+Electromagnetic Shielding IV
+Run Flat Tires
+Special Armor Mod: Fire Restistance III
+Signal 5
+Firewall 5
+Drone Rack, Large
+Maneuver III (self) autosoft
+Targeting III (Heavy Weapons) autosoft
+Weapon Mount (Normal, Internal, Turret, Manual & Remote)
+GE Vindicator Minigun
Total Cost: 84,250¥

Both vehicles are capable of holding one large ground-based drone, and releasing it at will (and at speed!). I'll post up some stats on those beauties in a bit.
Both vehicles also have a rigger adaptation, which means that either Doc or Val can "jump in" to them, and control them with full VR.

Possible future vehicles include tanks, attack helicopters, and supersonic jets

))

[John]

(( Rover gets my vote. The other seems more assault oriented than we need right off the bat, I think. ))

[Drew Buddy]

(( You mean Rover? I'd be fine with that. We can get heavier, nastier vehicles as the jobs get increasingly violent, and our enemies become more interested in snuffing us out.

Drones!

Here are a few basic builds. There are a LOT more possibilities than this. Also, the majority of the cost of these drones lies in their upgrades, and more specifically, their pilot and autosoft programs. Getting a drone workshop should be on our list in the near future, as it will save us boatloads of money (for example, the base cost of the LEBD is only 5,000¥).


The Steel Lynx is a basic large, wheeled drone. This is what we'd be carrying in our vehicle's drone rack. We'd probably eventually want at least a few of them patrolling the compound, as well.

Steel Lynx (Large)
+Weapon Mount (Normal, External, Turret, Remote) (included)
++Ares MP-LMG
+Defense 3 (included)
+Targeting 3 (included)
+Pilot Program Rating 6
Total Cost: 21,500¥

The Ford LEBD-1 is a helicopter-like medium drone. Good inexpensive aerial support. It can hold a light machine gun, or a semi-auto grenade launcher.

Ford LEBD-1 (medium VTOL drone)
+Mechanical Arm (included)
+Improved Takeoff and Landing II (included)
+Weapon Mount (Normal, External, Fixed, Remote) (included)
++Ingram White Knight (light machine gun)
+Defense 3 autosoft
+Targeting 4 autosoft
+Pilot Program 6
+Armor, Normal 9
Total Cost: 28,800¥

The Nimrod is a twin-prop drone that can take off and land vertically. Its weapon mounts can hold one light machine gun, and one rocket launcher.

McDonnel-Douglas Nimrod (Large VTOL Drone)
+Improved Takeoff and Landing II (included)
+Weapon Mount (Normal, Internal, Fixed, Remote) (included)
++Ares MP-LMG
+Weapon Mount (Normal, Internal, Fixed, Remote) (included)
++Mitsubishi Yakusoku MRL (missile launcher)
+Armor, Normal 9
+Ammo Bins
+Lock-on Countermeasures
+Response 5
+Signal 5
+Firewall 5
+System 5
+Pilot Program 6
+Defense 4
+Maneuver 4 (self)
+Targeting 4 (self)
Total Cost: 133,100¥

))

[John]

(( Street Lynx gets my vote. Let's just get one or two solid drones to get started. No need to overthink it right now. Also, no need to invest in massive patrol drones for the armory yet. ))

[Drew Buddy]

(( Okay, here's the list as it stands. I took Max and Tyros' wish lists, and combined them. Then I added my own votes in. The stuff in bold is everything we agree unanimously on. Let me know if I left anything out, or if you want to change your vote. I'm willing to wait on the drone workshop, but we should really get that before we start investing in automated defenses.

Tac-Net System: 50,000¥ (37,500¥) (Tyros, Max, Doc)
Loading Dock: 30,000¥ (Max, Doc, Tyros)
Dead Drop: 30,000¥ (Doc, Max, Tyros)
Armory: 100,000¥ (Doc, Tyros, Max)
Cargo Elevator: 15,000¥ (Tyros, Doc, Max)
Small Garage: 10,000¥ (Doc, Max, Tyros)
Electronic Countermeasures: 20,000¥ (15,000¥) (Max, Tyros, Doc)
Hardened Surfaces: 30,000¥ (22,500¥) (Tyros, Max, Doc)
Equipment:
Steel Lynx Drone, 21,500¥ (Doc, Max, Tyros)
Rover 2068 50,000¥ (Doc, Max, Tyros)

Recruiting Office: 10,000¥ (Doc, Tyros)
Mess Hall: 20,000¥ (Doc)
Drone Workshop: 40,000¥ (Doc)



Undecided:
Dormitory, Security System

Current cost of agreed upon upgrades: 331,500¥

))

[John]

(( What's our total pot for the upgrades + facility at the moment? Max can chip in 298,000, Doc has 281,000 in his coffer, and Tyros is sitting on 410,000 in his character thread, but there's no way that includes the 350,000 for the character rebuild. What part of that do you want to kick in for expenses, Dougal? 760,000 is a helluva lotta nuyen! The facility cost 250,000 and our upgrades right now are at 285,000, for the obvious total of 535,000. If Elliott kicks in all of his nuyen (not expecting that, but for instance), we're working with 1,339,000, at which point we'd still have a whopping 804,000 left over. Wanna just buy the hydroelectric plant while we're at it? And how about the mansion, too? Depending upon what you're willing to contribute, Dougal, we can certainly get the recruiting office, the super-mega-awesome security system, the rover and drone, and a dormitory and still have plenty to spare. ))

[Drew Buddy]

(( Tyros doesn't get a 350K bonus, because he didn't rebuild his character. With our 250K a piece buy-in, The corporation has 500K to buy upgrades with. After the gear we've unanimously agreed upon, there is 215K left.

Doc really has 31K left after his buy-in, and Max has 48K. Tyros probably has 160K right now, as I don't think his character sheet has been changed to reflect the 250K buy-in yet. ))

[Elliott]

((Right, I'm not rebuilding Tyros so I don't get the bonus Nuyen. The costs above don't take into account the 25% reduction in all the defense upgrades, so we really have more money left. I think we can afford security and dorms. I vote for high security and no dorm(we can sleep on the floor) if it's either or. I'm good with the vehicle/drone.))

[Drew Buddy]

(( Fair point. I updated the post so that it now factors in the discount to defensive structures. I also moved the Rover and Steel Lynx to "unanimous" ))

[John]

(( Tyros is perfect just as he is!! Thought I recalled Nick saying you were. Alright, let's just take the agreed upon upgrades and go with whatever we have money left over to get. I'm fine with Elliott's suggestions if we can afford it [though I think luxury dorms don't suit the characters at all, honestly]. ))

[Drew Buddy]

(( Yeah, the luxury dorms seem too out of character, really. We could compromise, and go for Middle lifestyle dorms (20,000¥). We could then get the High Security System for 150,000¥ (factoring in the discount), and have, I think 57,000¥ left over in the company pot.

Maybe get the Recruiting office as well, then? ))

[John]

(( Do it. I think we'll all agree on that now. We ready to move forward? ))