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Altarraum Threats: Summary of Heart of Gold events, and set up for third sequel

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RowanTheFox

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« on: <08-22-16/0123:13> »
Altarraum Threats:

Queen Margaret “Maisie” MacLellan
By: Anonymous

Queen Margaret has served as Altarraum’s queen since its founding. I’m sure you’ve all heard about her in the news by now. Daughter of Lofwyr and some unknown elf whore, came out of nowhere in early 2090 and helped save the Rhine-Ruhr metroplex from a corrupted great dragon. Being the child of a great dragon, everyone and their dead grandmother was scrabbling for a piece of her. Everyone from world governments to the other great dragons, to the megacorps, even the Draco Foundation wanted a slice of her pie. She is naïve, but certainly no fool. The girl has a full deck of cards to play with and a hell of a poker face. She played them all beautifully to get to where she is now. She is tenacious and unrelenting, but also intuitive and reasonable to a point. I would be careful not to cross that point if I were you. She has few enemies, but those she does have are incredibly powerful. She is well aware of this, and has forged strong political and personal alliances with several nations, dragons, and other big players in the world. She also has a number of little birdies running in the shadows for her, sending any pertinent information back to her. Her old contacts from her days as a street kid have served her well in that respect, and she rewards them handsomely. Her gaze spreads just as far and wide as her father’s, if not farther. Only a truly suicidal runner would take a job that works against her, but working for her usually pays well enough for most anyone to be able to retire comfortably. Do not be fooled, however. Those who prove useful to her will never be truly free of her. If you are useful, she will ensure you stay useful. This can bring about some major advantages, and also some serious disadvantages.
She’s been described as powerful, kind, merciful, blah, blah, blah, so on and so forth. Now you get to see all her dirty laundry aired out in the open. Most people see her as a compassionate, but also incredibly strong willed woman. Her loyalty to her people is unwavering and unquestionable, but make no mistake. When forced to choose, those she views as part of her personal “pack” will always come first. She may be a queen, but she is also an elf. Make of that what you will.

So, she’s Lofwyr’s mini-me? Great.
•   NetCat

Hardly. Sure, I may have inherited some of his traits, but I’m certainly not his mini-me. Hell, I don't even really like the guy. I make sure my runners stay useful to me by protecting them, and making sure they have whatever they need. Housing, food, medical care, even new and replacement gear. I have not forgotten where I came from. I remember the struggles of being a SINless kid in Berlin. I know the life of a runner is hard, and I have no intention of contributing to that hardship. However, I periodically face problems that only a runner can solve, and my duties as a queen forbid me from returning to the shadows myself. So, I make sure my runners are well-informed, well-supplied, and not put into a situation they are not prepared to handle. Yes, I’ve still lost runners, but that is simply the way of things. I make sure they are properly honored, and any loved ones they leave behind want for nothing. Who posted this?
•   Wolf Queen

No idea. It was posted anonymously on the public forum. Wolf Queen is telling the truth about how runners killed while working for her are honored. I’ve been to Schwangau, and there is a memorial in the city square dedicated “To Those Who Died in Service to the Crown. May We Never Forget Their Sacrifice”. I recognized some of the names on it as runners.
•   FastJack

That’s so sweet! Sorry for what I said earlier, Wolf Queen.
•   NetCat

What you may not know is that the dear queen isn’t all she appears to be. Just a few weeks ago she gave birth to a little boy. Cute little bastard, for an elf. No one claims to know who the father is, but I can tell you for a fact that it’s a certain mad elf we all know and hate, who’s been shacking up with her since before the Dragonkin Expansion. Why he’s in Altarraum at all, and why he’d cozied up so closely with the child of a great dragon has been a cause for concern for many. Myself especially.


This person can’t possibly be implying what I think he is…
•   SLAMM-O!

*sigh* Yes, my son’s father is Harlequin. Before you ask: No, I don’t regret that.
•   Wolf Queen

Wait a minute, you actually SLEPT with that fragger?
•   Bull

Sleep. Present tense. Got a problem with that?
•   Laughing Man

Love, be nice.
•   Wolf Queen

That means you too, Bull. Glad to see you back, Laughing Man.
•   FastJack

Glad to see you back in one piece too. Bra-fraggin-vo, by the way. That was impressive!
•   Laughing Man

I’m gonna vomit…What could you possibly like about that guy?
•   Bull

What can I say? I have a weakness for a man who can speak many languages. Il est ruse linguiste.
•   Wolf Queen

Oh, comment j'aime faire la danse du loup sous la lune.
•   Laughing Man

I just translated that. You’re both disgusting.
•   Bull

That mad elf is also the commander of her military forces. He led a full force of shadowrunners and his own military personnel into Tenochtitlan, and attacked the Aztechnology arcology there nearly a year ago, killing the CEO and many others. No one knows why, but it was beautifully brutal. Things have been quiet in Altarraum since them. Too quiet. Time to shake things up a little, methinks. Ehehehehehe!


This one is simple. The Aztech CEO was dying of old age, and lionization techniques had stopped working. He hired runners to kidnap me and use my DNA to create an immortality serum. Harlequin saved my life, and stopped a monster. As for why it’s been so quiet? I make a point of keeping the bulldrek within my kingdom to a minimum. Its name is the old German word for “sanctuary” for a reason. I founded it with the ideals of peace and prosperity, but also unbreakable strength and resilience. I intend to keep it that way.
•   Wolf Queen

So, you slept with him to say thank you…and then kept sleeping with him? What’s he giving you?
•   Bull

A good lay, obviously. You make me sound like I’m some kind of Joygirl. For the record, I was sleeping with him before I was kidnapped.
•   Wolf Queen

Bull, if you ever insult my sister again, I will fry your brain with enough black IC to make GOD flinch. Do you understand?
•   Mod

WHO THE FRAG IS THIS DREKHEAD? YOU GOT SOME GU-&#$#-----
   -Bull has logged off-

   Uhh, Bull?
•   SLAMM-O

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA! Someone let me know when he gets back online, I’ll make popcorn.
•   Laughing Man

Tatsuo “Mod” Mashinnisunde
Posted By: Wolf Queen
   
   My brother was born in 2012, during the first wave of UGE, in Kyoto, JIS.

   Wait, how does Wolf Queen have a brother?
•   NetCat

Street Adopted.
•   Wolf Queen

He had a comfortable and fairly uneventful childhood, attending college and getting his PhD in Computer Science before gaining employment with Renraku. He helped with recovery efforts following the first Matrix crash, and earned himself a position much higher up the corporate chain. He helped develop a program, and was paid rather handsomely for it. Unfortunately, his program was misused, which contributed to the second Matrix crash. After that, he left the company and started shadowrunning for reasons he never fully explained to anyone. He met my dad shortly afterwards, and began running with him as a hacker. During my childhood, he tutored me in math and science, teaching me as much as he could. It wasn’t long before he started calling me imouto, and taught me the Japanese word for big brother, ani.

You’ve never told me this story. That’s actually really cute.
•   Frosty

-Bull has logged on-
Wait, I remember this guy now. He ran with Gregor MacLellan back in the day. Holy drek, is MacLellan your dad, Wolf Queen?
•   Bull

Yes. He found me abandoned in an alley when I was a baby. Took me in and raised me as his own.
•   Wolf Queen

That sounds like something he’d do. He was a good man, and a good runner. Damn shame what happened to him. Well, if Mod was running with him, he can’t be too awful.
•   Bull

 I know what happened to him. I was there.
•   Wolf Queen

Oh, drek…I’m sorry.
•   Bull

Mod was trapped in the Matrix during the battle of Essen in 2090 after the node he was in crashed, and he was unable to jack out. His body was fried by the resulting dumpshock. After nearly 60 years, Lofwyr’s scientists were able to develop the Cybermancy techniques and rituals needed to bind Mod’s essence to an artificial body, creating the Mod that walks about today. Unfortunately, there were complications. He struggles with showing emotion and empathy, and I seem to be his singular focus. Most of his original personality remained intact, but some of it was lost forever. It was painful for me at first, but I’ve come to understand what he’s been through. I’m now thankful that so much of my brother survived, and that I have him back in my life again. He currently oversees the public Matrix in Altarraum, supporting, policing, and maintaining it as needed. He’s Altarraum’s GOD, basically.

Harlequin
Author: Anonymous

   Ehehehe! Do I even need to add anything here? You all know who he is. Commander of the Altarraum military, the bitch queen’s consort, and father of the crown prince. Sickening, really. If I could, I’d probably vomit.


Is this the same fragger from earlier?
•   Wolf Queen

I’d bet my last Nuyen on it. Whoever it is seems to know an awful lot about you and your kingdom. I’d be very careful until you find out who it is, and what their motivations are.
•   FastJack

Duly noted. Mod is currently trying to track the poster, but they’ve done a great job covering their tracks.
•   Wolf Queen

Had some better luck on my end. Couldn’t figure out who the poster was, but I did find out the posts originated in Schwangau. Don’t say I never did anything for you.
•   Bull

Thank you, Bull. I owe you one.
•   Wolf Queen

I’ll hold you to that, but I’m old, and age extending treatments only help so much. So don’t hold your breath.
•   Bull

Hey Mod, did you save any vials of that immortality serum Aztech made?
•   Wolf Queen

We saved several of them. Didn’t know when they might come in handy.
•   Mod

You give one to my son too, and I’ll consider the debt paid.
•   Bull

Deal. I like you, prefer you stayed around a while. Consider us even.
•   Wolf Queen




HOLY SHIT GUYS! THE POSTER WAS GWYNPLAINE!
•   SLAMM-O

Drek, that’s bad. That’s really, REALLY bad.
•   Bull

Wolf Queen, Laughing Man, you guys alright? You've both been awfully quiet the past few days.
•   FastJack

I have some bad news. Harlequin went to try and regain control of Gwynplaine. He’s….shit.
•   Frosty

Frosty, what happened?
•   Wordsmyth

Fragging idiot tried to confront the spirit alone! He wouldn’t let any of us help him! Claimed it was his demon to face, and he couldn’t let anyone else get hurt! Oh hell….
•   Frosty

What Frosty is trying to say is that Harlequin lost his fight with Gwynplaine. He’s in a coma and fighting for his life. We’ve poured all the magic we can into him, but nothing is helping. He’s being medically maintained in the hospital, but the doctors don’t think he’ll ever wake up.
•   Wolf Queen

I appreciate your candor, Wolf Queen. I’m very sorry.
•   FastJack

What’s your plan now? A girl like you obviously has one.
•   Bull

I’m going to destroy Gwynplaine. I’m going to hunt him down, and tear him apart!
•   Wolf Queen

I’m going with you.
•   Frosty

As am I. We’ve had our differences in the past, but Gwynplaine must be stopped. It may not save Harlequin’s life, but it will put an end to that spirit’s unspeakable carnage once and for all.
•   Wordsmyth

There’s one thing I have to do first, Wordsmyth. Meet Frosty and I at Neuschwanstein tomorrow at dawn. If anyone else here wants to help, I suggest you do the same. We're going to bring the pain right to that bastard's front door, and I'm bringing a nasty surprise along with me.
•   Wolf Queen
It is better to be crazy and know it, than to be sane and have one's doubts.

"Nothing is wrong if no one can stop you."

Remember, you're only a genius when they need you. The rest of the time you're just an asshole.

Well, drek. Looks like Timmy fell into the Dissonance Well again.