Barrens Focus: Redmond

Barrens Focus: Redmond

March 11, 2057

Ah, Redmond, you'll never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.

-Sorry, couldn't resist-

The Redmond district of Seattle, UCAS is more commonly known as The Redmond Barrens. Well known for its run-down metahuman ghettos/projects.
At the end of the 20th century Redmond was a center of computer industries in the North American northwest. The Shiawase nuclear powerplant Trojan-Satop had a particular meltdown, creating the notorious "Glow City". Most humans and metahumans left Redmond after that disaster. Then the Crash of 2029 struck and destroyed the Computer industry. Since then the district hasn't recovered in any way.
The only part of Redmond, which isn't completely a slum is known as Touristville. In this area lots of bars, clubs and discos, controlled by Mafia, Yakuza and the Seoulpa Rings try to extract money from people, which come there, looking for cheap amusement like gambling, prostitution, drugs, chips and alcohol.
Redmond is also known for its notorious gang fights and violence, scaring many away from the area.

The view from Touristville

Renowned Gangs of Redmond are the "Red Hot Nukes" (dwarfs), the "Rusted Stilettos" (mostly orks and trolls),  the "Brain Eaters", a gang of deckers and support muscle,  and the "Crimson Crush"-gang that calls the area east of Touristville around 228th Avenue their home turf. However, the lack of law enforcement in the Barrens means that every street corner is battleground between gangs in an everchanging roster. 

Even our map was vandalized

Lone Star Security Ratings

C
 Redmond (aka Touristville) the rest of the area is collectively known as the Barrens
E
Avondale, Brain Heaven, Hollywood, Kingsgate, Plastic Jungles, Sophocles, Woodinville

Z
 Rat's Nest, Glow City

District Focus: Downtown

March 10, 2057

Hoi, chummers.  Continuing our refresher course for berks coming in from outside the 'plex, I present to you a breakdown of the various districts in Seattle, with a special focus on biz, the Star security ratings, and places to get the gear that keeps on giving.

First and foremost, we'll talk about the place everyone thinks of when Seattle pops switches up in their headware memory: Downtown.  Back before the Ghost Dance war, this was the original city of Seattle.  Now it's the corporate and government heart of the Metroplex.  This is where the landmarks are: the Space Needle, the Renraku Arcology, the Monorail system that links the whole district, the Aztechnology Pyramid.  This is where the regional (and in some cases, national) headquarters are for all of the big Eight.  Downtown Seattle is where the biz happens, from Sherman Huang in the Renraku Arcology to Samantha Villiers in Fuchi Tower, Downtown is where the corporators make the calls that set the Johnsons in motion.

Lone Star Security Ratings by Neighborhood

North Downtown

• AAA: Matthews Beach
• AA: Inverness, North Beach, Richmond Highlands
• A: Aurora Village, Greenwood (some sections), Loyal Heights, Northgate (some sections)
• B: Greenwood (some sections), Northgate (some sections), Riverton (some sections)
• C: Bitter Lake, Riverton (some sections)

Central Downtown

• AAA: Alki, Fauntleroy, Madison Park, Madrona Park, Magnolia Bluff, Upper Queen Anne Hill
• AA: Ballard, First Hill, Montlake, Mount Baker, Lower Queen Anne Hill, West Seattle, Windermere
• A: Beacon Hill, Central (some sections), Elven District, Georgetown, Interbay (some sections), International District, Rainier Valley, University District, Westwood
• B: Central (some sections), Capitol Hill, Columbia (some sections), Interbay (some sections), Laurel Hurst, Van Asselt (some sections)
• C: Columbia (some sections), Ravenna, Van Asselt (some sections)

South Downtown

• AAA: Bryn Mawr, Sea-Tac (Sea-Tac rating for Metroplex Guard and UCAS military)
• AA: Arbor Heights, Normandy Park
• A: Des Moines, Kent, White Center
• B: Sea-Tac (for the area outside the airport proper, patrolled by Lone Star only)
• C: Tukwila 

Know Where You Are and Watch Your Hoop

March 9, 2057

 

 Alright chummers, we all like to posture and bust a frill about getting away clean or geeking every last hondo that throws down on you, but let's face facts: the real world isn't like Karl Kombatmage.  You can't just sling mojo and lead at the cops all day, no matter even if you've got a daddy on the roof.  The fact is, there will be a time when the 'Star comes after you, your keys are on the tea, and you've got to get out of London, as the kids say.  In order to understand your chances of escape, the opposition you'll face, and the chance of you simply being shaken down by the Star for doing nothing but being TIP (Trog In Public), you'd best wrap your mind around the Lone Star security ratings for the Seattle Metroplex.

-Captain Chaos

Security Ratings

  Security ratings are defined by the amount of coverage that Lone Star or any other security agency is paid to give an area. The ratings are universal, and have even come into common parlance: Renraku touts their Seattle arcology as “Triple-A security for 90,000 people."  Lone Star’s coverage ends where a corporation’s property begins. A business in the Z-Zone may have Renraku Red Samurai or Knight Errant elite forces guarding it, even though Lone Star wouldn’t go near the area for all the nuyen in Zurich Orbital.

AAA rating

The AAA rating is the highest available level of security, usually reserved for upper-class enclaves (usually Luxury and High lifestyle) and businesses willing to pay to have the area outside their property patrolled. AAA security also includes “proactive and deterrent measures.” This means both visible and hidden security measures (PanicButton™ booths open and working), patrols on foot and in vehicles, astral security patrols using spirits and magicians, security drones and security riggers monitoring cameras. The police guarding AAA areas are always the finest, with the most duty hours logged. An assignment to an area of AAA security is considered to be the ultimate promotion, and no one wants to be demoted for lack of effort.
Response to even the most minor crime is practically immediate. Security providers are reluctant to leave any investigation open, regardless of the cost to pursue it. Even if closing the investigation means bringing in chumps to take the fall and then releasing them later, that’s what they’ll do, because crime is not allowed to “succeed” in these areas.

AA rating

The AA rating is usually reserved for High-lifestyle areas and businesses that want constant coverage but don’t want to pay for around-the-clock deterrent measures. Patrols cover the area 24 hours a day, but are less frequent. Astral patrols take place on an irregular schedule, and there may not be a security rigger system set up. Drones and sprits may guard certain areas in place of humans.
Response is prompt, but will take a back seat if something is going down in a AAA area. The standard officers respond first and only call in a specialist if needed. Assignment to this area is also viewed as a promotion, so officers investigate complaints thoroughly, if not as quickly as in a AAA area.

A rating

Most of the metroplex falls into rating A security. This level of security generally covers any area with a Middle lifestyle, which accounts for the largest percentage of residential sections of Seattle. These areas receive excellent security, but the level of coverage decreases dramatically from the AA level, primarily because Lone Star lacks sufficient personnel. These areas usually have regular street patrols but only rare astral, drone or security- rigger presence.
Law enforcement in these areas is basically a call-and-response system. This means there are actually a lot of PanicButton booths and neighborhood watch groups and other organizations willing to call in at the slightest hint of criminal activity. This “community policing” tends to result in a higher number of false alarms, which in turn means response time is a bit slower.

B rating 

Rating B is usual for areas comprised primarily of commercial properties rather than residential, such as industrial parks, office complexes and suburban manufacturing— things that have existed side-by-side with middle class residential areas since the 1960s. Since these areas are usually “high criminal target areas” (in other words,prime targets for shadowrunners), Lone Star’s standard response is to send a minimum of four patrol officers with an elite officer and security/combat mage on standby.
The constant cycle of urban renewal is currently washing over such areas in Seattle and rehabbers are turning older buildings into art galleries, loft apartments and other low middle-class businesses and dwellings. This trend is spreading Lone Star even thinner and giving these areas a precarious hold on their B rating.

C and D rating

Ratings C and D are the Low lifestyle versions of ratings A and B security; the coverage is similar for both ratings, but C is for residential and D is for business zones. Infrequent patrols and poorly maintained PanicButton booths mean that crime here is reported less often and therefore enforced less often. The security services in these areas make no real effort to prevent crimes before they happen. Lone Star and other security forces receive a hostile reception from the general populace, which accuses law enforcement of being less than thorough in investigations involving crimes at businesses in these areas. Most officers begin their training in these areas and try to get promoted out as quickly as possible, though the savvy officers, especially detectives, maintain their contacts from their beat days in these areas because this is where the information flows. Except for undercover officers and detectives, the usual response to any call here consists of six to eight fully armored officers in an armored Citymaster with two patrol vehicles and one combat mage. Drones are sometimes used to reduce the risk of injury to officers.

E rating

Rating E areas are considered slums (Squatter and Street lifestyles). Yeah, people live there, but they aren’t “real” people (they don’t have SINs, after all), so why make the effort? Lone Star does not assign patrols to such areas or make any effort to prevent crimes from happening.
They will respond if the victim has a SIN and calls in a complaint himself, or if the violence makes the headlines or threatens to spill over into more “important” areas. When the Star does respond, it’s at a very high level, usually including two Citymasters filled with twelve to fifteen officers in heavy armor, plus one rigger per vehicle to handle drones and the Citymaster’s weapons, and at least two combat mages. Such a force is always lead by an elite officer. The slums are an excellent place for detectives and undercover operatives to maintain contacts.

Z rating

In rating Z areas (also known as Z-Zones), humanity has devolved to a state of tribes, anarchy and a complete lack of any type of “normal society.” It’s survival of the fittest, and the law doesn’t care who wins and who loses as long as everyone stays within the boundaries. The law considers it more important to keep the area contained than to prevent or solve crimes, so there is no attempt to enforce the laws in these areas. In many cases, walls or other natural boundaries actually separate these areas from the rest of the sprawl.
Only if pursuing an investigation will the Star enter the Z-Zone, and when they do they are prepared for war. The standard force is a minimum of three Citymasters (twenty-five officers in full armor) with air support from armored helicopters; one rigger per vehicle handling the weapon mounts and one extra rigger maintaining drone coverage; at least five combat mages and one combat decker maintaining communication with headquarters at all times; and three elite officers running the show — one coordinating the mages, one in the air and one dealing with the troops on the ground. Lone Star considers Z-Zone duty to be hazard duty, and officers assigned to these details receive three times their normal wages and a week off after any operation in these areas.

Best Places For Biz (and eats) in Seattle
March 7, 2057

Alright chummers and morsels, I've been getting requests for good places in SEA-town to close deals and eat meals. I'll give you some info on the obvious ones (for the NS3s and out-of-owners), then I'll open up the forums so you can throw your own recommendations out. Ghost knows, we all could all use some good safe places to relax (or encourage a Johnson to pay without a doublecross).

* Club Penumbra is a long-established, famous nightclub in Seattle. It is located in Central Downtown, right next to the Renraku Arcology, on the northwestern border of the International District. The retro interior style of the club with its moon surface floor and trideo laser effects may not meet everyone's tastes, but it attracts a large mixed crowd of regulars, including shadowrunners, who seem to like it just the way it is, so it still remains to be one of the major hotspots in the city. The music is pretty loud and includes popular dance music and hard rock. The club is still famous for a live gigs of the Concrete Dreams years ago; they held their first concert there.
* Matchsticks is a nightclub and bar in the older sense; more of a club, less of a dancehall. Near the Space Needle, the interior resembles a jazz-joint from the early 1930s. Music is all authentic live jazz, and drinks are good but expensive. Private rooms with jammers are available (for a price). Your classier runners and more upscale Johnsons frequent the place. As do the occasional wannabes named "renegade" trying to look flash in an ill-fitting Ares-Wal Mart suit.
* Underworld 93 is where the action is for live entertainment. Deceptively located on the outskirts of the Puyallup Barrens, this converted warehouse is now a first rate concert hall that plays the hotest acts in NorAm. Great place to meet, drink, conduct a little biz. The sheer energy of the place can be amazing.
* Bellevue Pour House is another pseudo-dive bar that tends to be a major shadowrunner hangout. Good place for decent beer and rubbing elbows with colleagues and contacts.
* Tacoma Purple Haze is a real first class restaurant serving Texan, Aztlan and Puelblo cuisine. Runners with money tend to frequent the Haze, and you can make some good connections there.
* Dante's Inferno is in a class by itself. Nine huge glass dance floors pulsate with energy while four ramps spiral downward toward the bottom level, an area of private rooms called "hell." This place is the place to see and be seen in Seattle. Private rooms in Hell are highly secured with jammers and white noise generators; perfect for that super-secret meeting. The rooms run about 1000Y for a few hours, though, so bring your big credstick.

Corp. Spotlight: Fuchi

March 6, 2057

All this craziness with the elections (vote early! vote often!) seems to have caused a media circus distracting enough for tensions at Fuchi to ramp back into the high strats. Seems that Nakatomis are buying up small companies in the Seattle area, backing them with support from San Fransisco, and using them to frak with Villiers' NorAm division. All this means much work for us shadowfolks, running for Fuchi, against Fuchi. For those of you not familiar with the pain and profit involved with internal corporateruns, I decided to put some background on the whole twisted Fuchi family (or families), so you can at least know who's fraking who, and whom you need to watch your back around. Scan the file, watch your hoop, and keep a daddy on the roof; Fuchi runs are business AND personal.

Rating	AAA
World Headquarters	Tokyo, Japan
President/CEO	Richard Villiers
Chairman of the Board	NA
Corporate Status	Private
Major Shareholders	before the megacorp was officially dissolved: Richard Villiers: 35% Shikei Nakatomi: 32% Korin Yamana: 30% Samantha Villiers: 2%

The beginnings of Fuchi Industrial Electronics were in the merger between Dekita Industries (owned by Nakatomi) and Yamana Electronics (founded by Korin Yamana). Yamana Electronics acted as a white knight on the behalf of Dekita Industries to prevent a hostile takeover by the Pacific Rim Bank in 2011, shortly after the Awakening. When Nakatomi tried to buy back the Dekita stock from Yamana, Yamana refused and suggested an alliance for mutual protection and benefit. Despite the conflict and friction between the two companies and their owners, the alliance proved to be fruitful as both companies played to each others' strengths and weaknesses. In 2017, the company formally merged into Fuchi Industrial Electronics, while spreading out into North America, Hawai'i, Australia, and Hong Kong.

In the late 2020s, Fuchi's focus turned toward cyberterminals. Before the Crash Virus hit, Fuchi developed, with aid from Chobetsu Japanese Intelligence, one of the first privately designed cyberterminals. After the Crash Virus and the demonstration of the power of cyberterminals by Echo Mirage, Fuchi executives were determined to perfect and exploit this cutting edge technology.

Along comes Richard Villiers, a corporate raider who had recently acquired desk-sized cyberterminal technology from Ken Roper and Michael Eld, two of the deckers from Echo Mirage. When Roper and Eld both died under mysterious circumstances in 2034 shortly after the development of the Portal, Villiers became the sole owner of Matrix Systems. All of the associated assets and research behind the Portal disappeared, apparently in the hands of Richard Villiers.

A month after the closure of Matrix Systems, Villiers approached Fuchi Industrial Electronics, then the world's foremost computer research corporation. He offered the Portal technology for one third ownership of Fuchi, and control of all North and South American Fuchi operations. He also offered his considerable corporate assets along with the deal. Korin Yamana was all for the deal, but Kiyoshi Nakatomi vetoed the arrangement, remembering the Dekita buyout and betrayal. Three days after the proposition, Nakatomi was murdered by his limo driver, and Shikei Nakatomi inherited the Nakatomi portion of Fuchi. Villiers repeated his offer, and it was accepted, giving each family, Yamana, Nakatomi, and Villiers, roughly one-third control of Fuchi.

In 2036, Fuchi releases its first cyberterminal, the CDT-1000. It was widely successful, and vaulted Fuchi to dominance of the computer market and toward Megacorporation status. In 2038, Richard Villiers purchased a majority of JRJ International stock and thus purchased a seat in the Corporate Court, making Fuchi a Triple-A Megacorporation.

For twenty years, Fuchi maintained dominance as one of the largest and most powerful megacorporations of the world, through a careful and uneasy balance of power between the rival families.

Stay safe out there. This seems to have been building for a bit.

Corp. Spotlight: Ares
April 27, 2057

So, it seems the big boys are choosing sides. Damien Knight, head mucky-muck at Ares has publicly thrown his support (and copious wealth) behind the great dragon Dunkelzahn's presidential run.
Now, before you start yammering about skeletons being buried and never dealing with dragons, I thought it might be time to review the "happy family" that is the great UCAS mega. Remember that, for all of his "man in charge" drek, Knight only controls so much of the corp. A fact of which that Aurelius and the other board members have recently started reminding him. Remember, when folks like Aurelius and Knight fight it out, it's scammers and jammers like us that take home cred. Add a powerful, ancient wizwyrm, and a UCAS presidential race into the mix, and someone's going to make a killing. Thus, without further ado, here's the lowdown on the infighting at the corp where they make all the guns.

Rating	AAA
World Headquarters	Detroit, Michigan (UCAS)
President/CEO	Damien Knight
Chairman of the Board	Leonard Aurelius
Corporate Status	Public

Ares Macrotechnology, run by Damien Knight and headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, UCAS, is the seventh largest corporation in the world, the largest in the UCAS, and is the current leader in the defense and aerospace industries. Its five main divisions are AresSpace, Ares Global Entertainment, Ares Arms, Knight Errant Security Services and General Motors.

Ares was founded shortly after the turn of the century by Nicholas Aurelius under the name Ares Industries. Being a major American megacorp, the old United States granted special benefits to Ares. Taking advantage of this and the near-collapse of the country, Aurelius managed to purchase NASA (including all its facilities, vehicles and equipment) from the US in 2016, with the agreement that portions of it would be returned to the country in 2055. Of course, the United States had collapsed by that point.

Around 2030, Leonard Aurelius had control of Ares passed to him by his father.

In 2033, Damien Knight pulled off the Nanosecond Buyout. In about a minute, he managed to acquire 22% of Ares stock. The Board, stunned by the performance, gave him the CEO position.

Ares has a long-standing history of battling Insect Spirits. In 2055, the Ares subsidiary Knight Errant launched multiple attacks on Insect Spirit hives, culminating in the disaster that turned Chicago into Bug City. They were responsible for launching a tactical nuclear weapon at the Cermak Power Plant which wiped out the majority of the bug spirits.

Dramatis Personae

Damien Knight is the President/CEO and Chairman of the Board of Ares Macrotechnology. He is currently the second largest shareholder with about 23.7% of all shares. He has a long-standing rivalry with Leonard Aurelius.

His first public appearance was on the 24 January 2033, as the Nanosecond Buyout made him the biggest shareholder of Ares Macrotechnology. It is rumoured that "Damien Knight" isn't his true name and he has maintained a veil of secrecy about his origins.

He is believed to be (or to have been) a certain Major David Gavilan of the US Air Force.

It is more or less known for sure that he is about sixty-five years old, having undergone through several treatments of Leonization.

A close friend of Dunkelzahn, he recently began supporting the Dragon's candidacy in the UCAS Presidential election.

Leonard Aurelius is the son of Ares Macrotechnology's founder Nicholas Aurelius. He inherited from him a major stake in Ares' capital, and took the position of CEO and Chairman of the Board of the corporation after his father's final retirement in 2030. The board replaced Leonard Aurelius by Damien Knight in 2033, the same year Nicholas Aurelius died. The relations between Leonard Aurelius and Knight were stormy ever since the Knight's takeover. Leonard Aurelius returned to the position of chairman of the board between 2049.

Dragon Related Tir Rumblings?
March 26, 2057

All you elven runners out there probably already know this, and any of you who have more info, we'd all like to hear it (I'm looking at you, Ancients). Seems that something is twisting the nipples of the high and mighty Council of Princes pretty badly, as they have inexplicably decided to postpone this years Rite of Progression.

For those of you not in the know, the people in the Tir aren't citizens, they're subject's. It's an autocracy, remember. They don't have "rights," they have "privileges" which can be modified or revoked at any time. Every Tir subject has an official social rank that affects what privileges you have. It affects access to housing, education, jobs, travel permits, taxes and a whole lot more.
Social ranks start at Gentry for the masses and move up through Chivalry, Nobles, drekcetera, to the Royal rank. Technically, the High Princes are the top rank. Oh, and don't forget the Irenis, or "classless."
Tir subjects inherit their social rank from thier parents, but if you want to advance up the ladder, you have to prove yourself in a Rite of Progression. These rites are a battery of physical and academic tests, plus political lobbying, and only occur every seven years.
So, if you're a Tir elf who wanted to advance up the totem pole, this year was your big chance. Except, oh wait, no Rite. Needless to say, a frakload of elves are NOT happy. The Council of Princes has given no explanation for the postponing of the big shindig, but I'm hearing rumors that Dunkelzahn throwing his dragon-sized hat into the presidential ring is responsible. If you have info, or even conjecture, now's the time to spit it out.