[Tecumseh]

Chino drives. Doc drops off into cyberspace while Ohanzee and Katsina astrally project.

Some quick research indicates that Valley View Hospital has 78 beds, plus a Level III trauma center. That means that the hospital must have surgeons, emergency physicians, anesthesiologists, and nurses on-duty 24 hours a day. It does not have the full suite of specialists that you would find in a large hospital, but it does have resources for emergency resuscitation, surgery, and intensive care for most trauma patients. In theory, that includes a well-stocked blood bank.

Zooming around on the astral, Ohanzee and Katsina spot two air spirits patrolling the premises. They don't appear to be materialized. Timing the patrols, the two shadowrunners take a peek inside. Most of the staff and patients are not Awakened, but there is one shaman and one adept. They appear to be employees rather than patients. There are a couple rent-a-cop security guards inside, plus one SecForce trooper stationed in a squad car near the emergency entrance.

On the Matrix, Doc finds that the hospital's host is on the local grid. The grid is called DefianceNet and is provided by the PCC itself. The grid is superb, and there is no Noise for targets within 1 km. The host rating of the hospital is 5 and its Firewall rating is 8. Doc remembers a tidbit about the PCC having an above-average number of technomancers. He wonders if that fact is reflected in the Firewall, or if the hospital is just taking its patients (and their privacy) seriously. He's guessing that there's a spider on duty, but it's a coinflip whether he (or she) would be local or remote.

The security obviously couldn't withstand a direct assault, but rather seems to be designed to quell minor episodes while calling for back-up for major incursions.

[rednblack]

Flashing his pearly whites as the last of the camping equipment is loaded into the van, Ace is nevertheless dismissive of the workers as they finish.  What corper wouldn't be?  He acts as though he's unaware of the fact that they've stayed late, and gives them a brief but cordial wave, as he loads up in the Eurovan and they drive off.  Spreading joy and cheer.  Hopefully, they're able to treat themselves to something nice off that commission.  Good for them.

Ace can't really explain why, but he feels in good spirits.  This running thing, maybe he could get used to it.  It's a strange position to be in less than 24 hours after he nearly became paste on the side of a strange road in a strange country, but as far back -- which isn't far at all -- as he can remember, he's had few chances to feel optimistic; he doesn't want to pass on this one.  And then the talk turns toward robbing a hospital.  That goes a way toward dampening his spirits.  Yes, security looks manageable, and yes Katsina needs to eat, but planning and executing a raid in the time that it takes to drive there before setting up camp for the night?  That seems risky.  And desperate.  Of course, bleeding themselves dry, setting up camp, and then having to break cover to come back later doesn't look like the right way to go either.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, and rubbing his eyes a bit while the security at the hospital is discussed, Ace says, "This looks workable.  It also looks dangerous if we can't get in and out, and by out I mean a ways from the hospital in a number of minutes.  The mist form looks promising, but personally I'd feel better with some backup in case.  It might be good to have someone posted on the SecForce officer.  Doc, what are your chances of being able to shut down the security cameras?  Do we want to use a plant on-site before we start the raid proper?"

[Malevolence]

"The spirits will likely make any illusions ineffective, unless they are small and short-lived. I think the best bet might be to have Katsina do her trick to get in, avoiding the spirits. It's unlikely that the shaman or adept will be astrally perceiving at any given moment, so while it's best to play it safe and avoid them anyway, it isn't critical. Once in, grab what you can carry and we can have Doc block cameras and open doors while you sneak out. Once in a common area, you can probably just walk out the front door. Again, just don't get seen by the spirits - even if they don't peg you as a vampire, they are very likely to find any Awakened suspicious, especially one that walks out without having walked in. Indeed, a hand-off might work better, keeping Katsina away from the entrance entirely. Maybe in a restroom?"

"As Ace mentioned, it might be useful to have the rest of the team tactically located. If we can get the IDs of a couple current patients, perhaps we can pretend to be waiting for them in the waiting room - gives us an innocuous excuse to be there and wander the public areas more or less at will, especially keeping a tab on the officer, and it gives an excuse for one of us to hit the head for the exchange. I propose most of us hang back in the parking lot, but two on the inside to provide surveillance, distraction, or rapid response would be useful. Ace and I might draw the least attention from the people there, but because of the spirit patrol, I might be more of a liability inside the hospital. Doc needs to be here, and Chino is our driver, so it looks like it might have to be Sam and Ace. They aren't a matched pair unless you think Sam could pass as Ace's bodyguard, so they might have to arrive separately."

"That's the vague outline of a plan, anyway." Ohanzee sits back, hoping one of the more tactically inclined might flesh out the details, or point out why it is fatally flawed from the get go.

[Zweiblumen]

"Yeah, I can't go in.  Between my lack of SIN and the likelyhood of going VR, I'm best off in the van.  It'll be tough, but I can probably manage the cameras.  Getting patient data could work, but it'll start my clock earlier.  Remember, I've only got so long before I've GOD comes down on me again.  That was not fun last time."

"If you want patient data, I can try and get that now.  Do a reset, and then prep for the cameras once we are on site.  I'll be able to do a little more recon while I'm grabbing the data.  It does add a significant amount of risk, so if you don't think it'll be useful, lets skip it.  However, if we are able to get in and out more easily, then lets do it."

"Another option, if I'm going in and 'doctoring' Doc, gawfaws at the tripple-entendre he happened upon there. "the files to start with.  We could make Sam a patient with an order for a large amount of blood.  Get that delivered, and then have him discharged with the supplies.  This would be easier if I had a SIN and could make my self is assigned doctor as well, but we work with what we've got.  Just need to get Sam into a hospital room, but with a visitor ID to start, and then a fake patient ID once inside it shouldn't be too difficult."

Doc starts thinking outloud now, going through possibilities:
"I could get a patient for Ohanzee and Sam to visit, and have a patient ID and room ready for Sam.  The two of you go in, and then Sam becomes a patient.  Have an orderly deliver a dozen pints of blood to your room as 'prep' and I'll switch who Ohanzee is seeing to Sam.  Then get the discharge paperwork done, and the two of you waltz out with the goods in hand.  Ohanzee can smooth talk anyone that asks too many questions, and it's a free ride.  Maybe have Ace and Kat there as visitors also just in case things go sideways?  Though I don't think Kat could hang out for too long, someone/thing is bound to notice her hiding in plain sight after a little while.  Spoofing the MAD sensors at the door would even let Sam and Ace go in armed if they can hide their weapons well enough.  Well, Ace *is* a weapon, but you know what I mean."

"Man, wish I could get in there to do a few scans on us before we left, but I think that's pushing our luck a bit further than it'll stretch.  Anyway, that seems like it's got a lower risk than a smash-n-grab.  But, we are *good* at smash-n-grabs, so there's that too.  I'm down with either plan.  I can kill the cameras and get some ID's or we can go full con artist on them."

Doc rummages through the cooler looking to see if there's any more beer left.  He looks like he's hopped up on caffeine or maybe cram.  Finally finding a beer, he pops the top with the muzzle of his cyber shotgun and chugs it in one go.  "Looks like we might need to make one more stop for some more beer.  With the little scrubbers going, I drink this shit faster than water.  Though we should get the cheep drek, we are starting to get low on funds."

[Poindexter]

Sam likes what he hears coming from the heavily armed decker in the backseat of the van.

"I could get a patient for Ohanzee and Sam to visit, and have a patient ID and room ready for Sam.  The two of you go in, and then Sam becomes a patient.  Have an orderly deliver a dozen pints of blood to your room as 'prep' and I'll switch who Ohanzee is seeing to Sam.  Then get the discharge paperwork done, and the two of you waltz out with the goods in hand.  Ohanzee can smooth talk anyone that asks too many questions, and it's a free ride.  Maybe have Ace and Kat there as visitors also just in case things go sideways?  Though I don't think Kat could hang out for too long, someone/thing is bound to notice her hiding in plain sight after a little while.  Spoofing the MAD sensors at the door would even let Sam and Ace go in armed if they can hide their weapons well enough.  Well, Ace *is* a weapon, but you know what I mean."

"I like this idea. No need to worry about hiding weapons though. I'm willing to go in unarmed. I'm quite the weapon myself. I don't know if I've mentioned it yet, but I am also quite heavily augmented. None of it is terribly obvious, but I'd bet I've got as much, if not more chrome than Ace here. If things go sideways, I can get out of there just fine without any weapons."

[Tecumseh]

Ivana looks embarrassed by the conversation and the amount of effort going into this that only benefits one person directly. It's clear that her tradition puts her in the position of being the one who helps others; being the one helped is unfamiliar and uncomfortable.

She holds up her hands after a bit. "The issue is mine so the risk should be mine as well," she says. "I can't really ask you to put yourselves in harm's way on my behalf.

"I think Ohanzee has the outline of a good, low-impact plan. The spirits are on the astral but they are unlikely to be patrolling the vents. Doors aren't going to be locked from the inside." She glances a bit uncertainly at Ace and Doc to confirm this. "If I can get in, I can pretty much help myself and then walk out the front door.

"The problem is that my quickened spells light me up on the astral like an Imbloc festival." She pauses midthought. "Speaking of which, that's today."

Ivana shakes her head, almost disbelievingly. "How could I just now be remembering that? The changing of Hecate from the Crone to the Maiden. The first signs of spring, the return of the sun. It's traditional to celebrate it with huge blazes, torches, candles. Fire in every form."

She sighs to herself, as if she had almost forgotten her own birthday. She spins a finger around in a circle, and suddenly her head is wreathed in a crown of lit candles. It's just an illusion, powered by the same spell that keeps her looking like a teenage trollop, but it's still mildly alarming to see it in an enclosed space such as the van, especially one so tightly packed. "I'll make a campfire tonight," she says finally, the thought seeming to settle her.

"Back to the matter at hand. I think getting in is the easy part. Getting out unseen is the trick. If I'm carrying a cooler with me then I'll be exposed to the spirits. I'll be able to see them on the astral but by then it will be too late. What I really need is someone on astral overwatch helping me with the timing. The problem there is that I can't take a commlink inside with me in mist form, nor can the person on astral overwatch communicate via commlink anyway. Maybe a spirit could help conceal me, but it's still a big risk. Let's not pretend like this van is the world's greatest getaway vehicle. If someone calls us in, we're going to get caught before we make it five klicks. I don't want to scrap with SecForce like we scrapped with Black Lodge. We've made it 24 hours without a major incident and I'd like to keep the streak, and us, alive."

[Malevolence]

"I like Doc's plan. It neatly avoids the problem of dodging the spirits, though it means that it all relies on Doc avoiding Matrix threats. But that hardly seems like a risk." He casts a respectful nod over at Doc. "How confident are you that you can do this from the van? Would you prefer us to try to get you physical access, at least initially, so that you can gain access to the system?"


"I think that Sam, Ace, and myself should be capable of holding our own for a minute or so for the rest to show up if things don't go as planned. Bringing Kat might be more risk than it's worth if she's pegged as Infected. If it gets FUBAR, we shift to smash and grab before the big boys arrive."


He nods toward Katsina "If we decide on Katsina doing the infiltration, the others might just be able to follow in a random patient - I have to imagine that even in a town this size there's a fair amount of activity in the emergency room. It saves Doc having to break in to the host twice or start the clock early."


"I'm also open to ideas on how we can tweak either plan to get Doc access to some equipment he needs in order to help diagnose the nanites, but I have to imagine that might be too much to bite off. But we might be able to swipe some gear if the opportunity arises. Or get a scan or two on our 'patient' while we're in there, maybe by a trained orderly if it's too complicated for us to do with Doc's guidance."

[Poindexter]

She holds up her hands after a bit. "The issue is mine so the risk should be mine as well," she says. "I can't really ask you to put yourselves in harm's way on my behalf.

"Bullshit." states the troll, matter-of-factly. "From a purely self-serving point of view, you are half the astral capability this team possesses, as well as a lethal combatant. Your issues are our issues so long as we remain a team." He looks her right in the eyes of her mask.

"I like Doc's plan. It neatly avoids the problem of dodging the spirits, though it means that it all relies on Doc avoiding Matrix threats. But that hardly seems like a risk."

"Indeed. The spirits spotting a spellcasting mistform vampire seems like a far greater likelihood than some spider noticing Doc here."

[rednblack]

She holds up her hands after a bit. "The issue is mine so the risk should be mine as well," she says. "I can't really ask you to put yourselves in harm's way on my behalf.

"Bullshit." states the troll, matter-of-factly. "From a purely self-serving point of view, you are half the astral capability this team possesses, as well as a lethal combatant. Your issues are our issues so long as we remain a team." He looks her right in the eyes of her mask.

Ace had opened his mouth to speak, but the troll took the words right out of it.  He nods his head appreciatively. 

"I like how this plan is shaping up.  I'm willing to go in without any guns as well.  The mist form may still be useful with the SecForce guard, assuming that Katsina would be outside the patrol spirit's field of vision in the parking lot, or in the car itself.  If not, we'll just need someone posted up nearby, should he get alerted.  Other than that, are we ready to go?"

[Tecumseh]

Chino steers toward the hospital while the plan takes form.

"I'm worried about the quickened spells," Ivana says. "Ohanzee and Ace are lit up just like I am. I'm concerned that those will be a red flag for the spirits on patrol. That basically leaves Sam as the only one of us who has a SIN and no spells."

She looks to Doc.

"I don't know much about hacking, or hospitals. At some level, do we even need to go in? If we're hacking, why not simply have an autodoc deliver us a dozen units? It will be like those drive-in burger places, neh? We don't even have to get out of the car. Sam can just roll down the window.

"If we think that's too suspicious, maybe have Sam go inside to retrieve it from the autodoc. Ohanzee can coach him if he needs some fast lies, and Doc can provide the medical speak. I could cast a spell to make him look like a medical technician. That way he would look different for the cameras too. I bet a sustained spell would generate less attention than a quickened one. Or we could skip the spell altogether and just send him in. Different risks to each."

Chino makes the turn toward the hospital. It's not very busy at 7pm on a Saturday evening. The parking lot is dark and filled with more snow than cars.

"I don't think it's visiting hours," Ivana says. "We might generate suspicion if we try impersonating guests. Let's try the low-impact approach. If we're getting too much attention from SecForce then I can drop a little hint in his head that he'd rather be catching up on the news. Isn't there a big Urban Brawl match tomorrow? The run-up to that could be sufficiently distracting."

[Zweiblumen]

"I don't think that we can have the auto-doc bring it out to the car, but we could have Sam walk up to the pharmacy and retrieve his 'prescription'.  Let me get to work."

With that Doc slips out of the meat and welcomes the Matrix into his consciousness.  His avatar already looking like a professional doctor, he approaches the host and subtly goes to inscribe his mark on the edifice.  He skillfully begins to apply his caduceus when the host suddenly notices him and slaps the hospital logo right on his forehead!  Jolted with surprise, he quickly logs out and reboots.

Somewhat startled Doc jolts up almost immediately after diving in.  "Fuck me!  Got knicked on my first swing by.  Can you guys spot the SecForce patrol?  See if kicked the hornets nest?  Hopefully, they'll think its just some rich kid trying to play a prank and got caught, but I don't want to risk it.  Might need to wait a little bit before trying again."

Somewhat dejected, Doc grumbles about how the code he was spinning should have been more than good enough for that host.  "I'm gonna need to see if anything actually spotted me other than automated responses hitting me."

Sinking back in the Matrix, he changes his avatar to his detective persona.  Looking like an olde-timey Sherlock Holmes, he sends his agent to look around the host and see how crazy it is.  Meanwhile, he looks to see if there are any new security type personea wandering around the hospital.

[spoiler]Doc's Search: Matrix Perception (Comp 5 + Int 4 + Quali 1 + Spec 2 = 12): 12d6t5 2 (sigh)
Agent's Search: Agent Matrix Perception 12+2 + 2 for VR = 16: 16d6t5 5 (better)
[/spoiler]

[Malevolence]

"Well, bugger all. Ace, any ideas on what their response to a failed hack might be? Will we be facing increased physical security in addition to heightened Matrix patrols? How long will we have to wait for things to quiet down to normal? Or is the non-Matrix plan still an option?" Ohanzee looked around, half expecting to see armed guards pouring out of the hospital and taking up a defensive perimeter, helicopters dropping swarms of heavily armed and armored troops down rapelling lines and the sort. He knew that was not the way things work outside of trids, but he was still a little surprised to see that, at least for now, things looked completely unchanged in the meat world. He couldn't see the lone sec officer, but he expected that he was receiving a message on his comm about now to give him a heads up that there was a "security event" and to look out for potential followup.


"Chino, we might not want to be in the parking lot for the next half hour or so. If the van full of people doesn't stand out, the two mages and the quickened spells on board certainly will." Ohanzee wasn't sure how much it might help mask his presence, but he resisted the urge to peek into the astral. Katsina, not having any choice in the matter, would have to keep an eye out for threats on that front. He was beginning to notice a pattern of Murphy striking at pretty much every turn. It seemed the best laid plans always met with improbable failure. Maybe smash and grab was the only real option available to them - subtlety seemed to elude this team no matter how hard they tried.


Ohanzee sighed and watched the world outside as Chino exited the parking lot of the hospital as unremarkably as possible.

[Zweiblumen]

<<<@Team [Doc] Likely that nothing horrible is going to happen, I didn't press my luck.  Keeping an eye out ot be sure.  One thing that might (or might not) make this easier is physical access.  That'll get me in the host more easilly, but still going to have to deal with the host itself to make the edits, so in the long run I don't think it'll matter that much.  So, given that, lets move out of the parking lot and let me get things set up and not draw attention to us.  Once I've got Sam in as a properly paid for patient that is supposed to recieve 15 pints of good ol' type-O, we can can drive in and pick it up.>>>

[Tecumseh]

Chino pulls out of the hospital parking lot and drives south on Highway 82. After a kilometer, there's an Apex - colloquially known as "The Ape" - the local competitor to Stuffer Shack. Stuffer Shack is owned by Aztechnology, which has been officially booted out of the PCC. They're dragging their heels, naturally, but in the meantime the locals are trying to grab market share. It's as good as place as any to wait. It's probably as good as place as any to hack too. The local grid is so good here that there's no noise from a klick out, and no one will think twice about a van sitting in a supermarket parking lot.

There's a steady stream of people heading into and out of the Ape. Shoppers carry their roach condos, Zap-O-Nuke microwaves, "Beauty and Her Beasts" simsense chips, Slurpee-doos, Zap-corn, Sweeteez and Krak-L-Snaps, AlmostEgg, BacoSoy, Maxiblast Sugar Bombs in three flavors (Red, Green, Purple), Koko chocolate substitute beverages, choco-slurps, berry-bombers, Boostergum, SucroZoom, Womp-Snappers, Shmoozies, Snorkels, Shakeups, Fizzygoo, and Ludivenko's Lovely Soya-Sloppies. It's a magical wonderland of NERPS. Your mouth waters thinking about it, because that's what the advertisers have been conditioning you to do for your whole life - amnesia or no amnesia. The only one unmoved is Ivana, who secretly doubts that you can buy blood plasma at a retail outlet.

"Are you actually going to hack the system and enter Sam as a patient?" Ivana asks Doc. "Could you just jump into the drone and hijack its routine? Or spoof the necessary commands?"

[Malevolence]

"Hmm. Not a bad idea. How frequent do you think it is, this close to Aspen, that a private physician might send a courier service to pick up supplies to treat a VIP? I expect there would be a cost in that case, but if you can insert an order I suspect you can mark it as paid or charge it to an existing account. Then we just have to pick it up at the front desk. As couriers, we'd be subject to less scrutiny I would imagine. Indeed, one could reasonably expect that Shadowrunners might even be 'legitimately' hired to perform such a discreet and important service."


"In any case, type O might raise more suspicion than other blood types. As a rarer and more resell-able resource, it would likely fall under more scrutiny than a type that was in less demand. And I doubt Katsina is particular about the blood type." He looks to Katsina for confirmation. "A good con hinges on the details. If you are next to a soy-dog cart and ask someone for 2¥ for a 'bus ticket', and the soy dogs are 2¥, they'll probably see your intent. But if you ask them for a different amount - say 1.5¥, which they'd likely round up to 2¥ - then they are more likely to believe your story about being stranded and needing a bus ticket, and less likely to realize you just want a free soy dog. We're in the relatively unique position of not caring what blood type we get, and so it is easier for us to obfuscate our true goal. Blood thieves would most likely be after type O neg, so by not asking for that, we reduce how suspicious we appear considerably."