GURPS Cyberpunk 2078 Session 13: An Appropriate Amount of Preparation

Characters:

Alexander "Specter" Marshal - Solo
Pat "Peacock" Watson - "Former" Nomad
Ruby "Paxos" Lang - Netrunner

Braxton "Jar" Jiggs - Cybertech/Ripperdoc     NPC

Legwork

Paxos started off the research into the Konpeki Plaza job by looking into 'Saka public records to see if there were any third-party cleaning or maintenance crews they could infiltrate, but no, they did everything in-house in typical zaibatsu style.  However, they did have contracts with two security companies: the obvious internal one, but also a contract with Danger Gal, Michiko Arasaka's business.  Meanwhile, Specter and Peacock took a harbor tour to inspect the hotel from the water.

Specter successfully convinced the captain to get closer to "the building that got hit by a cruise missile" because that was "badass", which made it easier for Peacock to spot the submerged sewage pipes, which seemed to be relatively unsecured; they'd just have to cut through some bars.  The ground level was a no-go, with a veritable swarm of turrets, cameras, and guards.  Equally foreboding, they saw nobody leave or enter via the main entrance the whole time they were on the boat, which suggested they were highly insular, and sneaking in pretending to be a janitor was probably a tall order.

Jar, doing the bare minimum to pose as an electrician, went to get records from the city and sweet-talked a clerk into giving him the sewage and electrical layouts for the docks around Konpeki.  They were outdated, but with Specter and Peacock's expertise, Paxos was able to determine (roughly) how everything should line up on the inside of the hotel.  There'd be a pipe they should be able to squeeze through going through part of subbasement level 3, though they'd have to cut their way out.

The next day, Peacock went out to the Breakwater with their binoculars and read the lips of some of the 'Saka guards outside.  They complained about how the Danger Gal people weren't able to use the Arasaka comms net because all their equipment was "american garbage".  Paxos continued to go over the blueprints: there were 5 basement levels, with a missile-proof bunker in the fifth.  Fourth and third stored the maintenance for ventilation, backup generators and whatnot.  B2 was the headquarters of security, and they'd have to get past it if they came up that way because their target was on B1.

The walk-in freezer in the kitchens on subbasement one had recently been upgraded to be capable of cooling below -100 and some high voltage line which was likely for some sort of security device.  The kitchens only took up a small portion of B1, with most of the rest devoted to the parking garage.  Above-ground, the hotel split into three towers, connected intermittently with walkways, and the tallest of the three was the one which had been hit by the missile.  There was, in addition to the giant hole in the side of the building, an AV landing pad on top of the penthouse, if they wanted to go in that way (though it was flanked by anti-air drone launch bays).

Further investigation revealed permits had been given for the elevators to be retrofitted with "crazy purple knockout gas" activated by a combination facial recognition/RFID tag system that was hardwired in.  Meanwhile, Peacock and Specter watched interviews and news stories in and around Konpeki to learn some more things: it seemed like Michiko was operating mostly out of the bunker on B5 these days, which was good, since it meant they wouldn't have to go near her or her (presumably badass) bodyguard, Hiroko Mitsa.

Hiroko had one obvious pearl-finish cyberarm with some kind of implanted weapon, heavy subdermal armor, and a sandevistan, in addition to a minor suite of relatively standard chrome including anti-dazzle cybereyes, radio, and agent.   Paxos noticed an ex, Cosma, of hers in the background of a shot and gave her a call to ask how things were going; she'd seen her on TV and was worried about her after the missile strike!  They set up a meeting at a bubble tea place in the 'Saka waterfront and caught up, all while Paxos manipulated her for information.

The missile incident had shaken Cosma quite a bit, as she was living in one of the other towers, but she said she'd memorized the escape routes and could make it to the bunker in the event of another attack (which Paxos knew was blatantly untrue, as missiles go pretty fast, though she didn't correct her).  After letting Cosma tell her all kinds of minor intel under the guise of letting her vent ("You won't BELIEVE what they did to the elevators!"), Paxos asked if Cosma had seen any good BDs lately; they'd initially met and bonded over their shared love of the medium.  Cosma gave a sad smile and said she didn't have much free time these days, and they'd started mandatory BD meditation sessions which had kind of ruined them for her.

Once she'd returned to the crew, Paxos laid out the information she'd acquired: Hiroko and Michiko didn't get along, the former Arasaka to the bone while the latter had substantially different ideas having not been inducted into the family until late in life.  All the employees basically couldn't leave the facility (the waterfront, at a stretch) for fear of being assassinated or kidnapped by the rival factions.  The kitchens had been converted into some sort of makeshift research facility, and the freezer had been retrofitted with an electrified floor which had almost killed a lab tech.

Jar and Peacock went out to a bank that Danger Gal had a contract for and, while Jar flirted with the guards, Peacock more closely examined the cameras and sensors, noting the models so they could look up exploits later.  At this point, they decided they were going in through the sewage outflow and went around town picking up diving gear, a cutter to cut their way out, flashlights, waterproof bags, and a variety of other things they figured they'd need.

After that, they splurged on some new weapons and armor.  Peacock picked up a smart pistol and some heavy armorjack, while Specter grabbed a suit of Metalgear.  Paxos also picked up a stolen set of kevlar with Danger Gal styling (aka cat ears).

Notes:

All Danger Gal operatives have cat ears.  It's about an 80-20 split between decorative and cybernetically implanted (executives closer to 100%).

Paxos is (probably) being appointed combat leader (Jar voted against this) so the crew can benefit from Tactics (nobody remembered it gave rerolls until now).  Obviously this is just because she has the best IQ, but the in-world justification is that she's played so many video games that she is capable of tracking multiple things better.

Paxos had to use Luck on the Research roll during legwork, which was at an effective skill of 12, then failed twice more anyway.  Luckily she had an extra +2 she'd forgotten about making one of the rolls a success, which ended up getting retconned about 5 minutes later.