Darkwire Crash Course: Lesson Two
Accepting that your cat is a little awful
Accepting that your cat is a little awful
KADORA'TRA
Former Corpo-cat Former Convict Advocate for Change Bad Diary Keeper |
Belazura.
Z-Runner Compound
Z-Runner Compound
A hologram comes online, displaying a young Farghul girl.
"Sorry, it's been so long since my last one. I guess I'm not very good at this sort of thing. I don't know who I'm even apologizing to. Probably just whoever picks through the rubble pile I've left behind on this world. I overheard that District Seven on Denon is under lockdown. Terrorist bombing. I get imprisoned at a peaceful rally, yet Darkwire's bomber is still at large. Figures. At least it's getting a real response, I think everyone's forgotten the protest by now."
"That's what I like about Darkwire; they've long memories and won't stand for being made the fool. If CAD is ever duped, they throw money at the problem and force everyone to forget by the start of the next quarter. Darkwire's reputation remembers every job, and they have no qualms about ruining the rest of people's lives for that rep being slighted. That's where I went wrong. I got duped by CAD and gave up. Darkwire killed them."
"I'd admire their tenacity if it hadn't made life worse for everyone. There has to be another way."
Her gaze seems to linger on you for a while before she reaches over to turn off the holographic recording.
"Sorry, it's been so long since my last one. I guess I'm not very good at this sort of thing. I don't know who I'm even apologizing to. Probably just whoever picks through the rubble pile I've left behind on this world. I overheard that District Seven on Denon is under lockdown. Terrorist bombing. I get imprisoned at a peaceful rally, yet Darkwire's bomber is still at large. Figures. At least it's getting a real response, I think everyone's forgotten the protest by now."
"That's what I like about Darkwire; they've long memories and won't stand for being made the fool. If CAD is ever duped, they throw money at the problem and force everyone to forget by the start of the next quarter. Darkwire's reputation remembers every job, and they have no qualms about ruining the rest of people's lives for that rep being slighted. That's where I went wrong. I got duped by CAD and gave up. Darkwire killed them."
"I'd admire their tenacity if it hadn't made life worse for everyone. There has to be another way."
Her gaze seems to linger on you for a while before she reaches over to turn off the holographic recording.
Since its earliest days, Darkwire has been an organization with a particular reputation. The Shadowrunners did the impossible and shaped the financial landscape of entire worlds in a single night. They were worth every credit as the best network of criminals on this side of the underworld. The Corporate Authorities of Denon recognized this feature and used it to secure their position in the galaxy, but they also realized it was a double-edged sword to keep around for too long. CorpSec hounded the criminals lurking in the dark at every corner Darkwire had won for them, but this seemed only to elevate the mythological status of Darkwire. That is until, without explanation, members of Darkwire had their runners tailed by shadows that didn't belong to them. Shadows that looked exactly like them and who were screwing up their jobs.
Not ones to sit idly, Darkwire was quick to start investigating. Some of them even managed to get hired by a CorpSec Captain who had noticed discrepancies in the personnel files of her own chain of command. A massive operation was going on in Denon's power structure, an attempt to destabilize the hierarchy both Darkwire and the corporations had come to know. The conspiracy was also defended from exposure by lethal measures. Some Shadowrunners were able to see their Doppelgängers, and others even managed to kill them. In one case, a captured double even appeared to terminate itself after divulging too much information, and a third party later destroyed its body before it could be properly dissected. Darkwire had found a kernel of truth but was no closer to uncovering the entire plot. Frustrated by their reduced employment, Darkwire mobilized to find their own payday disrupting illicit corporate operations on Altier. The Shadowrunners waged a shadow war with corporate assets trying to seize control of the drug trade through the scrapyard planet by infiltrating Corpo factories and winning neutral parties' hearts and minds. CorpSec responded with force, getting their hand-picked gang to destabilize Darkwire's, throwing the planet into an open gang war. The conflict between the Shadowrunners and CAD was only beginning, and the corporations were setting down a trap.
Disturbed by how quickly Darkwire had become aware of their conspiracy, Qanatain Xopsaloff and Larz Blackheart convinced Marlene Starlight to use one of her factories as collateral for a manufactured conflict between Darkwire and their Doppelgängers. Upset by the lack of finesse she was promised for the operation, Starlight hired Mandalorian Mercenaries to ensure that Starlight Industries wouldn't be implicated in the conspiracy. Darkwire went into the mission with the promise their records would be wiped clean if they acquired data that CorpSec wanted, but what they found instead was a mirror of Darkwire down the barrels of blasters. Blaster fire flew while Shadowrunners and Doppelgängers were killed in equal measure. The bloodbath was almost a perfect trap, but Darkwire was a tenacious beast and acquired the data to survive another day. With their suspicions of a corporate plot validated, the network gathered secretly to share their collected data with all Shadowrunners in a secure virtual moot.
Emotions ran high as Shadowrunners from all over the planet joined via their specialized Tattoos. It had been revealed to them that the highest authority on Denon, the Direx Board led by the five DireX (Qanatain Xopsaloff, Larz Blackheart, Marlene Starlight, Diviak Manfloon, and Luminous Sun), were behind the conspiracy. Specifically, they knew about Qanatain's funding of the program and that Larz Blackheart collected the data for the copies from the events of Parcellus Minor (covered in Crash Course 1). They learned that CAD had contracted out and stolen the intellectual designs of various scientists and engineers to mask the HRDs from detection perfectly. Still, one scientist managed to piece things together and invented the Darkwire Tattoo to detect any inorganic wearer and display it to their comrades. As calls for vengeance and retribution ran high, others cautioned against reacting only against the conspiracy. There were bigger problems to deal with, and Darkwire needed a targeted attack plan to survive.
The first step in their plan was economical. As ever, the members of the Direx Board were trying to expand their sphere of influence, even into less savory worlds like the Pirate Republic of Wann Tsir. Qanatain Xopsaloff was attempting to replace the economic currency of the Pirate Haven to Denon issue "Authority Cash Vouchers" with profitable exchange rates and appointed his own lapdog in charge of the pirate council. However, this was Darkwire's game to win as they gathered enough intel to tip off the pirates on which treasure ships to seize. At the same time, Darkwire took control of Xopsaloff's financial relay stations to artificially change the exchange rate for a short period of time. With ACV more valuable than ever, Darkwire stocked up on valuables at Xopsaloff's expense and mobilized their own retrofitted Dreadnaught to attack and capture the DireX's flagship.
Riding high off their financial and military success over Wann Tsir, Darkwire aimed to take it a step further to deal a physical blow against the highest leadership of CAD and shut down their conspiracy to boot. In a holonet relay station orbiting a Loronar Lagrange point, Qanatain Xopsaloff was trying desperately to recover the faltering production of doppelgangers by expanding his operation by retooling factories and connecting them to his private network for the necessary data transfer. Starlight had pulled out of the secret project code-named Project Brightband by Larz Blackheart, and now the Bursar himself was personally overseeing the change to his investment. This mistake would end up being his last, as Darkwire entered the overworked relay station's defensive space using the cover of Qanatain's personal flagship stolen over Wann Tsir and launching boarding pods into the relay station. After taking over control of the station in heated battles, they transmitted a virus throughout the Brightband network, erasing all of the doppelgangers' production information and purging active units of their control measures. In one coordinated maneuver, Darkwire's identity crisis was instantly resolved, but there was one last loose end. Cornering the Bursar in his panic room, Darkwire's virus did its work, completely opening all securities on the station rigged to self-destruct. Surrounded by all the victims of Project Brightband, the Shadowrunners all contributed to eviscerating the body of the Muun with blaster fire and other weapons.
Darkwire's revenge was complete, CAD's reputation of security and power tarnished, but the repercussions for their actions were only just beginning...
Stay tuned for Crash Course 3
Darkwire FAQ
Darkwire Crash Course 1: Crashing Markets
How NOT to Write a Corpo
Link to our Faction
Darkwire FAQ
Darkwire Crash Course 1: Crashing Markets
How NOT to Write a Corpo
Link to our Faction
