Scrapbook

While the runners are visiting a Streetdoc, a spirit drops by and leaves them a message. Written in the wall with a fiery hand. Cool. Well, the opposite. The message is quite simple, a commcode and a plea to call as soon as possible. When called, the number picks up immediately and a magical lodge is visible behind what looks like a typical Talismonger with a hermetic twist.
The talismonger identifies himself as Wiggler, a hermetic magician who needs the team's help with a rather mundane job. See, Wiggler had data on an old matrix node, predating Crash 2.0. For the past two decades, the node has been kept online in a museum of sorts. But now the node has gone offline and Wiggler needs it back, bad. He's limited in budget but the job should be easy.

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Name of the Johnson

Metatype

Elf

Gender

Male

Birth Year

2044

Awakened/Ware

Magician

Type

Talismonger

Personality

Scientific

Wiggler is a hermetic mage who brought science into his skillset, analysing his abilities and formulating rules his skills abide by. He provides magical reagents and foci to the magic departments of several Dutch universities, a niche market he mostly cornered on account of most talismongers being of shamanic traditions.
Wiggler also writes a lot of stories in private, which he has been doing for over two decades. His oldest pieces, which he both is embarrassed by and wants to keep at hand to maybe edit and rewrite later, are located on an old node. And that node has now disappeared. Wiggler wants it back to save his old work, and also make sure none can read it.

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The Run

The node, along with dozens of others, were all that remained of a small network provider. They were in an electronics museum in Riverplex, which went bankrupt and sold its possessions the other day. As Wiggler checks his old work almost daily, he quickly realised something was wrong. So the first thing the runners must do, is find the auctioneer.
The nodes got bought by a pair of people. Once the team manages to get their hands on names and pictures, they can track them. They're not on the Matrix, so it takes some good ol' physical legwork. Eventually, they can figure out their targets are anti-government preppers, who bought the nodes to build a private grid.

Johnson

Wiggler

Job Type

Theft

Opposition

Paranoid preppers

Base Rewards

¥4,000
6 Karma

Word on the street

"I, uh, had some old data on that node. Sentimental stuff. I need it back. But no looking!"

"Couldn't pay the bills anymore, had to sell it fast. I like having working knees, y'know."

"The government cannot be trusted! The Matrix is everywhere, but we are at its mercy! No more, I tell you, no more! We will stand alone!"

"Look, how about we reach an agreement. Surely we can agree to move the data about and properly split the nodes between us."

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The Complications

The preppers intend to build their own system, a feat which usually involves wiping existing data. This means the runners must hurry., or else the data will be lost forever. The preppers are located on the Veluwe, so the team must get past wildlife to reach their base. Fortunately they're relatively known, so locating the base is easy.
And then comes the hardest part. The preppers have lots of boobytraps and whatnot, and allies nearby in case they come under attack. So the team has to go in quietly and fast. If an alarm hits, they have to get to their goal within minutes, or deal with a lot of paranoid preppers with heavy arsenals.

The Aftermath

The preppers become even more paranoid, convinced that the government sent runners after them to sabotage their attempts at their own private off-grid grid. Some get loud over it, others are smart and lay low while plotting heists to steal the required gear instead.
As for Wiggler, he thanks the runners, pays what he can, then promptly hides the nodes so that nobody else will ever be able to see. A few weeks later, the nodes are stolen again as someone else also came hunting for their private work from before. It takes a while for the two authors to somehow come to an agreement.