Casting Shadows

This week’s seed is for Shadowrun. I have been meaning to post more material for both it and Aces & Eights, but other things have had to come first. Not so this week! This seed finds the runners trying to turn someone else’s misfortune into profit, while trying to prevent a similar misfortune from befalling them… you know – the same old thing as every other day.

The Seed
An Ares TR-55 ends its operational days as a mangled wreck in the street outside one of the runners’ favored hangouts. The clearly deceased occupants, and those clearly becoming deceased, are just as clearly on a run that has just gone as far south as it is possible to go. As if the destruction of the street and an evening’s peace and quiet were not bad enough, the bakebrains go out of their way to pass on their data before the VTOL finally expresses itself explosively all over the neighborhood.

The characters find themselves instantly guilty by association, totally in the dark, holding a deck of unknown content and value that two unknown parties want. one wants it back, the other wants what they paid for. Just another day in paradise…

Planting the seed
With the TR-55 just falling out of the sky, broadcasting its digital cargo and chucking their equipment out into the street, involving the runners by either implication or action is not hard. The primary factor here is to simultaneously make the runners aware that they can monetize the situation that has suddenly ensnared them, and that as usual their lives are in danger from all sides.

The details
The dying crew, for reasons known only to them, not only ditched the physical deck used in the run, but transmitted the stolen data in encrypted form. Depending on their loadout and actions, the runners might only have the deck, or they have the data, neither, or both. Others in the immediate vicinity may also have the data. Reclamation squads will soon be on site, kicking in doors and busting heads, so figuring out what they have will likely be harder in the short-term than figuring out who wants, and how badly. Evasion, escape, and a covered trail are the first order of business.

The data is actually the complete HR Dept records of a major multinational. The data is valuable all by itself but it is also layered with a strange coded file embedded throughout the database. Unravelling it is both complicated and time consuming. With time, resources, and effort, it will yield data all about ongoing political bribery and influence peddling run through the corp. That of course, multiplies the potential value, but reveals their enemies are current sitting officials, public and private police forces, lawyers, the corp itself, and everyone in the neighborhood who also has the data and wants to sell it or use it – exclusively.

The Johnson behind the initial heist is either looking to buy it, or looking to silence everyone involved to protect themselves. Figuring out who that is will be the hardest piece of the puzzle, but might be left unknown unless you wish to take your campaign in a political direction.

What’s going on
The VTOL was knocked out of the sky magically by Mr. Johnson in order to covertly diseminate the data. Devices in the aircraft itself ensured the data was sent out to anyone within range, in the very, very bad part of town. The crew aboard tossed out the deck in the mistaken belief it was rigged to blow.

The corp obviously wants to retrieve and cover up the loss of their lovely blackmail file.
The implicated politicos want revenge on the corp and want to protect themselves.
Mercs, runners, cops, and lawyers will be out in force, ‘just doing their jobs.’

What will your runners do…?