Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • Cyberpunk 2020 Firestorm Vol II Shockwave The Fourth Corporate War Book Two PDF PDF Free

    Uploaded by

    Will Hanns
    774 views146 pages
    cyberpunk

    Original Title

    Cyberpunk 2020 Firestorm Vol II Shockwave the Fourth Corporate War Book Two PDF PDF Free

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PDF or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    Report this Document
    cyberpunk

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    774 views146 pages

    Cyberpunk 2020 Firestorm Vol II Shockwave The Fourth Corporate War Book Two PDF PDF Free

    Uploaded by

    Will Hanns
    cyberpunk

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    of 146
    R ee er ee ; Is gener CORP RATE aca O: CREDITS FIRESTORM: SHOCKWAVE ‘Tue. Fourt Corrorare War Book Two. e WRITERS CRAIG SHEELEY Scorr Taytor DAMID_ACKERMAN-GRAY. Bruce Haruck 6 ART. DIRECTION & LAYOUT DAVID ACKERMAN-GRAY ALEX OKITA ° COVER ILLUSTRATION PAOLO. DARENTE BACK COVER ILLUSTRATION Atex RAGINE Colored by ALEX OKITA e INTERIOR ILLUSTRATIONS ALEX RACINE BRENT C. FERGUSON Matcoim Hee MIKE JACKSON. ALEX OKITA Cary POLKOVITZ @ EDITORS Davin AckERMAN-GRay DEREK Quintanar JANICE SELLERS BENJAMIN WRIGHT. BRUCE BancicK CONTRIBUTIONS By MIKE PONDSMITH Curis Wiliams R.TALSORIAN GAMES, INC. potas beerenrenee tt ts Peron a Cee eee en eee ee Precieceedera faceted ier emeeai sey seein) epeeteent stan oar pra ee Peer iriepiny mec enpie eiveermne ete rived upigrer aorta me Pisin JiISATASCREEN == /CVseRPU ©: TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION a 5 CHAPTER 1: THE Hot WaR Opening Salvo 4 Background Briefing 6 World Response to the War. 2 Why Is There A War? 7 ‘Gobal Targets For The Hot War 18 Personalty Profies 20 Recruitment 23 The Use of Edgerunners + 24 CHAPTER 2: TECHNICAL BRIEFING Hot War Occupations 26 Stendard Roles in the Hot War 30 ‘Weepons and Armor 32 Hot War Cyberware 40 Combat Netware A2 Combat Gear 45, Hot War Vehicles 49 PVs at War 58 Assisted Combat Personal Armor 59 Vehicles from Maximum Metal™ 63 Panzerboy Vehicle Combat Rules n The Corporate Warriors 7 Squad Combat Rules 87 AtBatletiod 90 CHAPTER 3: Hort War ADVENTURES Hot War Timeline 93, The Fourth Corporete War 9% Not Money, But Blood: Refereeing The War 99 Subplots in the Hot Wer 105 Hot War Locales 108 End Game 06 The Guns... Silenced 8 Epilogue m4 Dedication from Scott Taylor: Todule 5. For walking beside me through the dark mes, anc oces- ‘Sonaly givng me a push when | needed ‘And Special Thanks tothe command staff ofthe USS Exeter without whon's generous ofl, kel stil be writing this. NK 2.0.2.0 Ssh eee a mcrae carwmta Rete a bee ee eee eee eat eet reigned is Clem es porate pride and profit. ©: What's Gone Before In fate 2021, two ral aquatech companies, OTEC and CINO, ‘came to fiscal-and then physical—blows over the disposition of ‘2 defunct third corporation, IHAG. As the situation escalated, ‘each sice brought in heavy muscle to back their play: Mlltech in the case of OTEC and Arasaka for CINO's comer. The Ocean War was on. But, as youd expect when two giants step into a small ring, the war quickly stopped being about OTEC vs. CINO and soon became about Miftech vs. Arasaka. By the time the two aquate- ‘ch comps finally cashed it in and came to terms over IHAG, their security fms were just getting warmed up. By early 2022, a violent and pervasive Shadow War wes in full swing between the two armament companies. Edgerunners around the world were hired on for a breakneck series of Vicious—but covert-black operations and strkes, Unfortunately, this giant chest bumping contest proved inconciusive, and twas conly a matter of time before they decided to stop dancing ‘around and take each other head on. ‘The balloon went up in June 2022-the Hot War had begun ©: How Do [Use Thts Book? Like Strmtore Stockrove™'s desoned piety 2s 2 peuacloi lined ok « sour bi pace heimen ot te tachgrune papi qhaoag, vl igs ef Wl pheae ‘teat te Hol Yi New erat occavoiors oof Tar oc ard thr lc rake a Sook wrt oly ear rieten RELEREE Salt ROBY CHION. BACKGROUND BRIEFING We start with an overview of the first month of the war as out lined by the Lazarus Group Staff—the largest private army on the planet. As they decide whether or not to intervene in the host ities, we show you how the workd reacts to this fracas. We also profile the major personalties of the war All this so you can get a grip on how badly things have gotten out of hand, TECHNICAL BRIEFING Chapter Two & an outline of the new technology and equipment beeing yanked out of the hands of RED and thrown into the fel. We also give you three new occupations—all of them revolving around piloting the new tech, The corporate troops are profiled, a well as the government soldiers they may end up facing, ‘Next we provide simpified vehicle and squad combat rules to help you handle the scale of battles the Hot War generates. ‘That way you can keep the action adrenal rather than getting bogged down in numbers. 'BIG NOTE: We reprint several pages of Maximurm /etol™ ‘end Might Cty™ stats is this book since our miltary herdware ‘end corporate city books have been out of print for over a year now Some of this info is necessary for running Shockwave ™ effectively, so we placed it in this book for those who dont havo and can't get them, ADVENTURE CHAPTER ‘This chapter starts with 2 monthly timeline of the war, then cglves guidelines for dealing with the war from a ref’s point of view—especially if your pleyers don't want to join in the car- nage Several “Mission Locales” are profiled: typical baitlezones for this urban war with adventure outlines and tips. The lest section is a epic adventure describing one of the last actions of the war—with Morgan, Johnny Silverhand, and the old team along for the ride. ©: Firestorm: Aftershock Shockwaveis the middle book of the Arestomm™ logy trlogies seem to be in these days) “A third book" you scream, “What thitd book? | thought Shockwave is the lat of the Firesto7m books!” ‘Well, that was the plan, But, despite our best efforts, we Just couldn't fit everything into just two books. ‘izestorm: Aftershock™ explores the aftermath of the war as a new glob- ‘al dynamic forms out of the chaos (and answers a lot of the questions {rom first two Aresiov books). It will also allow you ‘to game through the intervening years between C-bepunk® 2020 and Cyberpunk /3®, the upcoming Third Edition So, buckle-up and enjoy the ride. Shockwave is about to hit. ar CYBERPUNK = 0-20 YBATAscrEen Ss usrewing, Pal EVBERPUNK 2.0.2.0 | = DATASCREEN — \yesioh cRKWwAYVE Bees. s Ane is is C. J. OReilly, coming to you from the front. | cant tell you where itis. | can't tell you where | ‘any or from where I'm routing this report, ‘or whom tm working for or with; frak, 1 ‘can barely even mention what 've seen! So. what's going on? As. you no oubt know, this whole mess started as @ heavy corporate war between OTEC and CINO, wrestiing over the remains of ‘another agua-tech firm. Their security Consultants, Arasaka and Miltech, got into the action-a little more heavily than their clients thought desirable This was called the “Shadow Wer, pretty near the first modem war fought completely with covert and special operations, Itstarted off smal, with minor sabo- tage and info-gathering missions. Then it started escalating to major sabotage ‘and assassinations. By the beginning of 2022, OTEC/Militech and CINO/ ‘Arasaka were fighting occasional submarine duels, bombing each others’ assets, and even staging small stale amphibious and” airsome assaults. At least the execs didn't have to worry too much about assassina- tions; all they had to worry about was their office bulld- ings being blown up. Finally, 2s | understand it, EuroBank stepped in and stopped the proxy fight between OTEC and CINO, putting paid to that war Unfortunately, Arasaka and ‘Militech didn't stop as well—t guess once they got up their momentum, they just kept going, running increas- Ing amounts of covert ops on each other, losing per- sonnel and property. guess that June 2, 2022 willbe the historians’ date of the official beginning of the “Hot War” That was the day that the milcorp giants took off the gloves and deployed regular troops in Norfolk, Virginia and Tokyo. ‘That seemed to be the signal for their equivalent of all- out war, Welcome to the new style of war. 've never seen @ ‘whole war of what equates to constant covert ops and ‘commando strikes! That's what its like, though. Targets ‘are so spread out that there's no chance of a front line; instead, ifs a matter of booking from one strike target to the next, hoping you move so swiftly that the enemy ‘can't keep up with you. And hoping even more that you strike before the enemy knows you're there, and-get out before he can retaliate. Which is strangely tougher than it sounds; a shortage of AvGas and.air- craft-grade CHOOH! has relegated most transport to surface stuff— troops being hauled around in trucks, buses, and boats! Only a special-ops var could manage It; a shortage like this would've stalled a large-scale war. This is serious a nu-tek war; the big boys are emptying their RED labs for fieldtests. 've seen stuff that gives me nightmares, new junk that | thought was just rumors. And im’ just a reporter! The folks wlio have to use this stuff are sometimes frankly terr- fied of it. To date, Arasaka and Milltech have hit at least 159% of each other's assets; the actual numbers may vary, because Its almost impossible to confit or deny any combat repart. Various fac- tors get in the way of a reporters search for truth, but then add in that ‘there must be hundred of other comps, large and small, using this war as a cover to engage in, ‘their own skullduggery—you can't tell the players with- Out a Score card, and there aren't any score cards! It doesn't look like it's going to end any time soon. Decades of bad blood between Arasaka and Miitech, have finally come to a head. I cant find enyone who'll even give me odds on when the war will end; the best guess is when it bleeds ‘the Aras and the Mils dry. ‘Alot of people are going to die in the meantinie. The majority of them won't be the normal corporate workers or average citizens, either. They'll be free- Jancers and solo operatives, people like you, who have ‘been dragged kicking and screaming into some sort of corporate service by hook or by crook. That's the other main weirdness of this war: It's largely being fought by covert ops professionals. Militech and Arasaka can barely muster 150,000 fight- ing troops, and only about 20,000 covert operatives. By best estimate, there are over 50,000 people doing spe- ‘lal operations on a dally basis. So where do all the oth- ‘ers come from? They're people like you, the Solos and, Edgerunners. You're on the front lines in unprecedent- ‘ed numbers, taking bullets in a feud you didn’t make. ‘So when will it end? Who will win; who will lose? | don't know. All | know for certain is that when its all, ‘over, my readership base is gonna be a lot smaller. C.J. O'Reilly, reporting for Solo of Fortune 7RCEVRERPURK 210-20 _JDATASCREEN == meg Pa icers' Club, Katzedoulos Miltary and Strategic Studies indation, The Lazarus Group Merecenary ‘Corporation. June #4, 2022, 1038 hours. A pair of officers walked up to the entrance, intent on a late Dreakiast after dawn classes. Two guards in the vestibure barred thei way, pointing mutely to the sign on the inner door: “Meeting In Progress” Inside, the enisted man tending the bar mixed drinks and tried to concentrate on not Istening to the conversation going on in the main room, a conversation that would decide the fate of the Private army of which he was part. Dr. Robichaud, head of the foun- dation, renowned military tistoren ‘and scholar, presided over the assemblage. A harst-featuerd man in his midfities, he raked his gaze across the people seated before him. There was Major Eddington, the Intel Liaison head, Captain Farrtegh, Ted Manning, and some of the sharpest minds the Lazarus Group hod at &s disposal. It would need them now. “Lady and gentlemen, we all know why we're here. Colone! Lazarus and Mr. Katzadoulos are wait- ing for ou report and recommenda- tions on the current criss so let's get down to it. Major?” ‘The wal-sized videoboard lt up a Major Eddington activated it. A half dozen tabletop holotanks around the oom echoed its contents. “The frst physical signs of the war showed up fon November 23rd, 2021, when NO rented practically an Arasaka army. Within 48 hours, ‘Araseke and Miltech had deployed forces virtually facing each other. A confrontation was inevitable. “Two weeks later, CINO and OTEC were pulling microstrikes ‘on each other, with professional advisors anc! support. On the 2st Miltech and Arasaka came into crect combat in a naval engage- ment. Both sides backed off briefly, unt January 5th, when a itech sub was sunk by unknown hostles. & Miltech operation netted several Arasaka covert operatives, whose testimony indi cated Arasaka's invoement in the second sub sinking. When ‘itech moved in an the saboteurs’ base of operations in LA. ‘Arasaka responded, and both sides ended up openly fighting, “OTEC and CINO wanted to call t quis at this point. Their ‘hited security fms kept going over the next two menths. A series Dean aad Eerie ened De Cute y Of assassinations, spy-purges, and car bombings throughout Asia damaged Miitech’s Asian intel net beyond repair, Miltech evacu- ated the rest of t, and retaliated wit 2 bio-bomb that depopulat- ed Arasaka’s Chibe office “Atthe end of February, Miitech played the insurgency card 'n Chile, incting 1ocal revolutionaries to attack government secur- 'y provided by Arasaka. The inteligence war escalated curing March, with each side staging commando strikes to grab each others secrets” “Dont forget the domestic violence,” said Captain Faieigh, Special Forces Faison. “The Kings of OC war didn't help Arasaka's image at home” “Tue, Mark, but that was small pota- toes compared to the Chile situation” Eddington sai, caling up another set ‘of figures on the dsplays, “To contin- ue, what really had Miltech in @ bind was the Soukiller problem-which is fone reason why we're meeting here in person instead of Netconferencing ‘They even went so far 2s to retain ache Bartmoss to help find and new waize it” He glanced sideways a John Moody, who was ruefully shak: ing his head. “You have something to share with us, John?” ‘The Lazarus Group's chief Net nerd fingered his unoccupied temple sock: fet. “Using Bertmoss to nullity the Soulkiler problem was like using @ ‘nuke to knock out another nuke, Of ‘course, Soulkiter activty did drop off but then, so did Rache" He almost ‘chuckled, Aknost. “Agreed” Eddington smiled wryly “Miltech intensified its efforts against Arasaka's programmersin an attempt to destroy the program. These raids sparked off others, and the war tock on the aspect of a pair of gangs in a mob war Complete with drive-by shootings and assassinations. ital fell apart when an Arasaka team tried to hack a new ‘Miltech spy plane on May 4th They only succeeded in destroying the protctype, but & opened the way for Miltech to stet fielding ‘openiy-uniformed forces against Arasaka’ “Which they sure did” Captain File added. ‘We tiedto keep track o ll the actions, and counted over forty that we knew of? “Ave you counting the nineteen ECM incigents? Including the ‘one in Tokyo Moody asked, dropping ina chip and overlaying is ‘own data on the room's displays “We hadnt been, but | guess hey quality” Farieigh admitted Bf Piast, Ziuearanenern = Weveenrunk 2.020 Gazz “They do,’ Eddington said in 2 cipped tone. “The commando ‘stikes have finaly escalated into the synchronous attacks on Miltech’s Nosflk ard Arasaka's Osaka arms works two days ago. And just yesterday Militech made a successful raid on Arasaka's desert training base, destroying its power and water supplies. tis worth noting that during the Norfok reid, Arasaka made signiticent Use of rocket arilery. Similarly, Miltech’s raid featured significant ‘ar power: Satelite images of the AV-9 strkes of the day before flashed across the big board and its Clones on the table. “Both sides have gone past mere commando tactics, people. Theyre ‘bringing in the neavy artilery now: “So much for the recap” Dr Robichaud announced. “Let's hear the inteligence predictions, Patick’ Edcington nodded once. ‘The bg board rezzed to a display of a worid-wide map of known Miltech and arasaka assets and troap concentrations “Yes, sir. Our current projections are based on the pest actions cof both contestants, and may be completely ruined i one side or the other does something radical, Eddington cautioned. “However, i both sides continue to act 2s they heve, here's what we think will happen, “Both mittech and Arasaka are spread pretty thin, and both have their headquarters in government territory, leaving the only two real vtal spots in the war protected by their environments. So there's not likely to be a lightning stab at ending the wor swift” “A real pity’ Captain Fairleigh interjected. “One good com ‘mando raid... hell if were possible, we might consider a dual strike, to end this idiocy! Sory, Pat” He subsided under Eddington’s olare. “Given ths, i's probable that both sides will continue to attack each other's assets, attempting to grind each other into submis: sion” He observed the long faces and shaking heads around the table, “Projections of a long, nasty war arerit good for ether cor- poration They dont have the resources for it” The displays rei forced his words with facts end informational arephics. “Hear, heat!” the finance department man said quietly Edaington continued without acknowledging the interruption. “Miltech has the edge in material t has immense back stocks of arms, ammunition, war gear, and vehicles of all types. The Mikech soldier is fkely to be more heavily equipped than ours, or the Army’s-and with newer gear. And these stocks are well dspersed—every Miltech showroom has enough equipment to out a well stocked platoon; some of the bigger ones could cout a company with weapons, armor, geer, ammunition, and vehicles! ELECTRONIC WARFARE Modern warfare isso deadly, with ranged, smart, one-it kil ‘weapons, that the only way to survive is to “not be seen” (which actually meens not being detected. Combat becomes a lethal game of hide-and-seek, with each side attempting to detect the other side wile remaining unde- tected, in order to achieve a fring soliton. Electronic sensors make this goal ever more aificut. With vsuel sensors straning from the ultraviolet to the infrared. spectrum, backed by computer enhancement, ‘even subtie diferences between background heat levels ‘and a Soldier can be fetal, Any movement becomes sus- pect as well with computers watching for the tiniest ‘motions and matching them egeinst perceived erviron- mental background. Actve raciatons, such as radio, racer, ‘end microweve, ere scanned and can be locked onto once detected. Communications gear features ever more elzbo- rate computer-controled frequency hopping ‘skipping from one frequency to another in 2 preprogrammed fashion; ‘when properly done between identicaly programmed Unis it makes for communications that cant be jammed or ‘overheard... in theory, at least), while commo jammers ‘counter with espionage and superior computer-contralled jamming Inorder to affect the current range of sophisticatad sen- ‘sors and communicators, jamming technology has had to ‘expand crasicalyThe range, power, and depth of commu- ‘ications jamming have risen to such a point that an ECM pod can binket enough major flequences that eflectve ‘commuricatons become dificut, and racars fil up with interference "fuzz" This eflectveness makes enemy ECM ‘generators choice targets. Ialso causes communications havoc among the owl ‘an populace. The jamming isn’t sttong enouch to affect landsines (cable and fiberoptic), but it does 3 number on Cellulr and radio-ink calls! Within double the normal ECM Jamming radius all Netcelula, normal cellular anc clan ‘edio suffers a 50-100%% drop-out rate ‘The effecs have often been catastrophic. An effective- |y complete cessation of cellular communications cripples {fully 658% ofall phone calls end eround 32% of Net trons- ‘actions in most urban areas. Jammed radio waves interrupt broadcasting ofall types, including commercial, emergency, ‘and law enforcement. Furthermore, the landsine systems ‘are no longer adequate to handle el the adctional commu- nications normaly done vie cellule, so dhey iam up, too! In game terms, when there's an electronics battle going ‘on, count on PC military communicators to garble words routinely (make your PCs write important communications, and then do some scrambling before you hand them on) Civiian radios, celular phones, and modems are useless. Think about the effects. No cellular cybermademing, Radios ‘90 bed, and celtiar phones shut down. No Trauma Team; they can't hear you through the mess. No tex calls. Cties with computer controled traffic experience mass plle-ups. ‘Admittedly, these jamming periods dor't often last more than 15-30 minutes imass batles notwihstancing) but at's allt takes for businesses to lose mifions and to wreek havoc (on contr! in an urban environment. pre Ere 53-58 YlBATASeR EEN >a “Niltechs big problem lies in personnel. White the two ‘stand ing’ comporate armies are fairly matched, Mitech doesnt have 6 large population of trained solders to draw fom, while Arasaka ‘can drew from sponsored gangs of al tyes. and Asian popular tions. na pinch, it could even cal in its merkers withthe Japenese Sef Detense Force, “Mltech just cart do this. is equipment and fighting stvie demand 3 wel trained solder, not a nine-day wonder. Miltect’s ‘management knows this, nd is already in the middle of a massive ‘edgerunner and mercenary recruiting campaign’ There were ‘knowing grins around the table. “Their netmaling ecitor needs a bt more discretion,” Or. Robichaud mentioned“! believe we all received recruiting invta- tions, even the Professor and myself’ Professor McKittrick, the ‘Academy’ historian, looked up from his recording monitor and rolled his eyes skyward, smirking “Araseke has countered by attempting to co-opt as many mer- ‘cenaries ast can” Eddnton said “Athough with the Aras, ts xing your cum gear, because thelr weakness alack of equipment They have plenty for their own soicers, but they don't have Mltechis ‘massive back stocks. Sure, they've been able to beat Miltech out on the Asian arms contracts, but theyre stuck now because of them— they /cve to filtose contracts. oF they wor't have enough capital, to pursue this war. Arasaka's menufacturing facities are going at ‘one huncred plus percent capacity with tte down time. “These facts mark the best targets for both sides. n Arasaka's ‘case, their strikes would be best concontrated on Miltech's train: Ing facities. Wtn that eventuaity in mind, Colonel Llewelyn has withdrawn all of our troops trzining at said facilities” The Lazarus Group's executive officer made no response; he just sat brooding “wiltech, on the other hand, would be smart to sabotage or clestioy Arasaka's supplies, ether through hitting their factories in Japan, or interrupting their transports somehow “Lets Nope they try the former” Dr. Robichaud said. “There {are too many innocents an the water to go for a World War Two- ple intercicon” Eacington noted his agreement with a sharp nod. “There are ‘thes fronts that will raw the attention of both sides. The Southam front has already hested up, with the Chilean revolution and reprisal revolutions in the Caribbean. Its possible that one side or the other may try to fan some nationalisic fervor, say, Mech try- ing to rouse a neighbor against Araseke-dominated Brazil. this happens, ibe a pure mass; once started, these countries will hhave a devil of atime extracting themselves from international war. “As for the end of the war, we car't say. But unless someone does something spectacular, our prediction is that both sides will ‘grind themselves to bloody nothings” “Which is @ grim prospect” Dr. Robichaud concluded. “Me ‘Manning, believe there's considerable economic pressure behind 1s litle wa: f you'd be so kind?” ‘Ted Manning stood belore the big board, cunning finance data ‘nit. “As you can see, Miitech and Arasaka started the war on an ‘economic basis, Arasaka hadi long been tying to break Mlltech's hold on arms sales in China and Indonesia, and they finaly man- 29ed it through 2 combinstion of salesmanship and price cutting, Although & doesnt look ike much at the moment, these figures, signal a massive loss for Miltech over the next five years, a loss 50 severe that itt cut their gross profit margin by 12%. “That's just part of the picture, now. The war effort having a ‘serious effect on the public stock of bath corporations. In order to pursue their war, Miftech and Araseka have been puling troops off Of other duties, such as secunty and training detais. This means broken contracts, and that means 2 loss of revenues, as well as penalty payments. Theyre stil keeping most of their big con tracts—they have to, because if they lose them, they're sunk But their profits ae cropping rapidy, and investors hate low dividends” Manning shook is head dolefuly. “End resut? Arasaka and Miltech supposedly started this war over economics, but their Inability to war on each other and make money at the same time wil Kil them. They're commiting fnancial sucide COMMITTING FINANCIAL SUICIDE The stock market has never been a place with anything in common wat the concept of stability. The only sure- ty inthe markets that change is constant. Bearing this in mind, many investors were wiling to hang on.as bath Arasaka and Miltech stocks began to side at the beginning of the year. Nothing but a temporary set back: given the Shadow Wa, it was to be expected \Wmen it was over, both companies would consolidate thelr expected gain, cover thelr losses, and theie stocks would soar uroBanks bon on IHAG stock on February 1 was the frst sign of mpencing doom; the entre goal ofthe CINOYOTEC war was now beyond! ther lega grasp. Five days lator, CINO's desperate essauit to capture IMAG facies shocked even the most conservative brokers, ‘anc! stock in al four companies (CINO, OTEC, Araseke, and Miltech) began to sie at an alarming rate, They rok lied toward the end of the month when the peace accords were signed, and even began to cin. ‘So much for the pest fnencial history. Further host ites dunng March and Apri destoy all stock gains, and investors begin to divest. Wah the Hot Wer sting, ‘Arasaka and Mitech stocks plummet as they're unloaded Arasaka is purchasing most ofthe sold stock through intermediaries, and the Japanese governments buying the rest Similary, the US government is acquir- ing Mitech stock Both government actions, however legally questionable, are atlerpts to shore up these two comps, whose futures ore direc fed to their respective governments and national economies. ne BATASCREEN == (CYBERPUNK 2.02.0 Seay wnat can we expect in the way of troop capabilities?” Robichaud looked to Col. Llewellyn, The executive officer stired after a moment, signaling his aide forward “Leftenant Coonrod wil give thet report” Lieutenant Coonrod was dark-haired pug of a Scot, his facial rugby tattoos faded with age. He didn't quite bow as he stood up Lady and gentlemen, As of last November, Areseka boasted neatly 100,000 troops in its employ. These break down to 20,000 frant-ine combat troops, 20.000 security specialists, 3,000 special forces, and 57,000 supgort and maintenance per sonnel Miltech posted a similar number of troops: 25,000 com: bat troops, 10,000 security troops, 5,000 special forces, and {60,000 support and! maintenance personnel “Current figures rate Arasake ot around 24,000 combat ‘troops, 14,000 security troops, 2,500 special forces, and around 49,000 support and maintenance personnel. Miltech has 27,000 combat troops, 5,000 security troops, 5,000 special forces personnel—this amount is largely due to the efforts and reputation of Militech’s spec ops leader, Morgan Blackhand~end ‘about 50,000 support and maintenance personnel. There have been heavy losses in the special forces category, but both com- panies are replacing them with formerly nonaligned specialists, thatis, Edgerunners, The Aras and the Mis pulled in every tag they had on the streets; by thi time, their armies are over one ‘quarter street operatives. Which does have its advantages; un- ers ere usuelly better trained, more capable of independent ‘action, provide their own gear and maintenance, and are ut imately deniable “And this wat is one of the few that could be fought by Edgerunners alone! Since both sides are so spread out, moving ‘and supplying large concentrations of troops would be nearly impossible. As it stands, there are few locations where Militech and arasaka are likely 10 clash in large battles, and the gerrisons ‘are already in place. They are Chicago, Hong Kong, Rio de Janiero, New York, and Night City. Both also have offices in London, Rome, Montreal, Washington D.C, and Los Angeles— although large-scele conflict wil rigger government intervention in these locations; t's alroady happened in LA. The lion's share Cf the battes in this war are fkely to be smal-unit actions; essen tilly scalec-up versions of the special forces reids we've already been secing “This fact makes this war a favorable environment for any- ‘one with highly trained, professional troops that can haul ther | ‘own fire support and supplies-the shiting nature of the battes and the inevitable lack of jet fuel means that most artillery and air support gets left behind. We've calculated that the most pop- ular support weepons will be the most easly moved, weapons like multiple rocket launchers, mortars, recoils rifles, and so on. The heavy artiery will get lft behind. “There's a further reason to ditch heavy equipment and avoid troop concentrations: This inabilty to move artillery wil probably provide incentive for both sides to use their orbital artillery setelites” “That should be interesting,” Professor MeKitrick spoke up. “Indeed, considering that they/re supposed to be banned by at least three major treaties,” Dr. Robichaud commented, BR EERO EE _YGATASCREEN Tren FUELING War takes a lot of fuel, Modern war depends on rapid deployment and equally rapid response—nobody walks! It ‘nes once seid that armies marched on their stomachs; now they rollly on fuel. While most ground vehicles use CHOOH*, air vehicies depend on a special grade of the stuf, or on petrol prod- ucts. Petrochem and SovOil, the work's two remaining oil lants, are the source of most of the world's avgas and JP |jet-propuision! fuels. nciuding the CHOOH' jet fuel. They produce great amounts of these fuels, but they don't keep much of 8 reserve stock, preferring to slonty and carefully milk their oil fields for every drop. Before the Hot War ‘came, Miitech and Arasaka had bought most of these reserves and put them in esr eserves, This cidnit hurt the cil giants’ feelings (or credit accounts), and the pair set ‘about rebuilding the fuel stocks. When the war heats up, suddenly everyoody wants more fuel and wants it now Petrochem and SovOtt's pro- duction isnt able to compensate for the demand for weeks, ‘and pices skyrocket. Everyone starts hoarding fuel ‘esting’ isnt the word | would choose. This could bring more play- ers into the war’ His eyes met Eddingtor’s, “Yes, sir. The ESA, the NSRK, and the LISAF, to be specific. ‘AS well as various unaligned Hightider groups” Dr. Shales, the psychology analyst. cleared her thioat for ‘attention. ‘Let's sincerely hope the orbital situation remains sta ble, gentiemen. The group psychology at the LISAF has, any- thing, become more mercurial and reactionary since their defeat in the last ocbital wor. Al they!l need is an excuse to go kil-crazy? *Not to mention tension in the habitats,” Eddington added “Our sources say that there's major trouble brewing between the ESA and the Highriders? "it seems that Miltech and Arasaka have chosen a poor time for their war” Or. Robichaud mused. “Continue with your report Lieutenant” : “Yes, i. Weve cone an analysis of what will be needed in this war" The big board fickered as images fashed past “Primary necessities ere, of course, ammunition, food, and spares. Additonal necessities incluce transport for these supplies; sur- {ace transport Is preferred, because of the fuel shortage. The Group is also arming up on the aforementioned light support arms, purchasing them from European supplies rather than Iuuitech or asian arms suppers” ‘Wait @ minute." Eddington interjected. “This has the sound ‘of war preparation to i. Is this 2 contingency plan, or has (Operations something more in ming?” He frowned suspiciousty at Colonel Llewelyn The executive officer scowled back. ‘That's what we're here to decide, Major THE WAR By July, increased fuel production finally catches up with the demand, and the situation begins to sip away from its “crisis” label. Inflated prices remein the same, though (which comes as 6 surprise to no one). This crisis affects the war rather heavily. Commanders used to ready access to AV's and jets squandered the reserves swilly. To preserve enough fuel to field reaction forces, both corporations switch from largely AV transport to ground trensport—causing @ market shortage of light ‘and heavy trucks and vans, Indeed, war transport takes @ step backward as long- haul trucks, buses, vans, and even cars are used to get strike teams from location to location. Commercial trains and aircraft become the long-range transports of choice— often a single commercial jet has several strike teams ftom differing sides on board es regular passengers!‘ sony, ‘ir; your rocket launcher wont ft nthe overhead com- partment, you'll have to place it in the cargo area”) So, even thouch it starts as the highesttech war ever, it may end being fought on bicycles, "And how do we rate in respect to the combatants, Lieutenant?” Robichaud asked quietly “The Group is primed and ready to go" Colonel Lewellyn ‘answered instead. “We have 60,000 first-rate combat troopers, with firepower support and full TORE, ready for deployment. Of ‘course, we've another 8,000 personnel on security garrison utes, 7,000 special forces troopers, and 178,000 logistics per sonnel” “That's a little low on support, isn't it?” Robichaud's query was soflly voiced. Llewelyn answered the unspoken challenge boldly, "Ive taken the liberty to bolster our combat forces in the ‘event that we need them” “Let us hope that we do nor have need of them” Rabichaua said. “We can always hope that Saburo Arasake and Donald Lundee come to their senses and cal this of. And what would the chances of that be, Dr Shales?” The Group's leacing psycholocist didn’t bother to get up. “We have to consider what we know of the psychologies of the main motivators, Saburo Avasaka and Donald Lunde. Both are extremely strong-niled men who have clawed their way up to power, and are used to getting what they want. Theyve made a habit of consicering each other the enemy, and have used this demonization to vindicate their actions in the past and | think, at the present time’ She shrugged. “The trades classify this type of behavior 2s 3 ‘guy thing’ Pure, raging normone behavior. Two gorilas engaged in chest-beating contest" She glanced around the room and smiled slightly. To be honest, the sort of thing that Keeps our solciers fighting: male ego” A Biaes.2 UiISATASCREEN wes CVSERPUNK 2.0.2.0 Szghl “Thank you for your opinion, Doctor” Robichaud said cry. “your pointis made. Despite sarcastic asides” he sad 1 the rest of the assemblage, “Dr Shales’ anaiysis remains as the loical conclusion. As Sherlock Holmes scid, When you heve eliminet 2 the possible, then the impossible, no matter how improbeble, must be the truth: “Militech and Arasaka are locked in 2 war over pride and 90" “Bxcuse me, Doctor’ Lt Coonrod spoke up." was under the understanding thet corporate structures made this sort of thing impossibie= “Innormal circumstances, yes" Dr Robicheud sat back set- ting naturally into lecture mode. “Most corporate structures are mace up of committoes, roups of people who are attempting to spread out responsbilty among the entre sroup so that no one of them has to accept responsibilty for enyting. In addtion, these commtees usualy appoint a person from out- side their group a5 @ whipping boy, usuelly called 2 CEO-someone who can accept responsibilty for success or failure. n the case ‘of success, this prevents an internal ht inthe committee for cisiming the glory; in cases of failure, t gives the committee someone to pun ish diverting any blame fiom the committee members who ere the real poner behind the throne. “Hitech and Arasaka, and to some extent the Lezerus Group, have @ diferent structure ach company fas a sngle man at the top, making decisions without having to obey a committee, thereby avoiding the typical com mittee conservatisms. Committees exist to quash vsion and dynamic action, remember, true democracy means giving everyone ¢ fal and equal chance to mess things up. The Lazarus Group has managed to avoid dictator- ial leadership thanks to its parership owner: shp structure. Miltech and Arasaka, on the ther hand, ee ike litle despotic nations, where the word ofthe leaders iw: “Then we've got to deciée which leader we wart to win, and ensure it! Colonel Llewelyn stood and placed his hands on the table. “And we've got to decide it now!” He locked around the room. “In case none of you have noticed, there's a war on! The world sitation’s unstabla anc! its going to get worse. If we let it .200n,the world's going to smash Miftech, and we're likey to get ‘aught the over | for one, dort reish the thought of being forcibly integrated into the Lnted States Army, which is wht! happen if we're nationalized? He spread his hands pleadingly We've got a chance to stop it all We'Vve got more troops than Arasaka and Miltech put together, and we've got the logistics to support a blitzkrieg ‘around the world, We can shut any one side down, completely ‘Whoever wins this war is going to be our future business partner, and | say we should exercise a bit of choice before theyre both too smashed to be of any use to us: The room fell silent as Ted Manning scowled a lowered at him. Dr. Robi ‘Manning, Speak up; we're “The figures speak forth the big board. “These are the contracts we've made in the past ‘sk weeks, Each and every one of them has been a defense con- tract to protect assets from attack~ai tack. With Miltech and ‘Arasake busy chewing on each other, they cant be relied on to honor security contracts, Clients have been diypping Arasake security contracts for fear thatit makes them ‘2 valid Miizech target! We're the last trusted ‘mercenary corporation in the world, so long as the other two are fighting, And we've ‘been picking up the pieces: ‘if the war gets worse, well pick up even more,” Captain Fairleigh putin. “Classic divide and conquer, is that it?” Lewellyn sneered. “| expected thet sort of talk from the likes of him,* he engled his head at Manning, ‘but not from you, Mark. | thought you were more of a fighter* Captain Fairieigh flushed red, “Really, Colonel?” Dr. Shales inspected Lewellyn closely. dict know you had this ‘sort of opinion” Her expression spoke of the kind of calculation that got officers cashiered for psychological reasons, “Furthesmore, governments get very ner ‘yous about the sort of ‘help’ you propose,” Edaington added. “Your intervention would draw a Jot of aitention to the fact that the Group is almost as strong as most world armies, the US. and NeoSov militaries 2 notwithstanding. What's to keep them from shutting us down for fear welll do to them what we did to ‘Arasaka and militech?” “We're Iving in the 21st century, not in the Middle Ages, ‘Colonel,’ Dr. Robicheud sighed. "Professional pride is admirable, but the bottom line for a mercenary has always been maintain- ing the unt and filing the cashbox, not getting mixed up in per ‘sonal querre's. “And that's what 'm going to advise Colonel Lazarus and Mr. Katzadoulos: to stay out of the war. Opinions?” He looked around the room; most of them nodded their egreement without hesita- tion. Captain Fairleigh thought about it before nodding. nly Colone! Liewellyn opposed the mation, “That's i then. Meeting adjourned” pr TREATED IAT ARCHER NG, WU @: HOT WAR: RESPONSE AS. OF JUNE, 2822 ou tice ie ig wk a Ase the war ton Arca ond Mech and tht fas oul opsenien wa ns wicumes Tane rails scores stm int tov lo po canny at cn afford to stand by and let them slug it out. Arms supply, ‘security contracts and subcontracts, showrooms, ammuni- coun os Geer one cf BaeevHewh I boeere Toke cus te cp reoseren ens eeae eens mia Rue wad feo ieaes ay ol tacs tae ooo Malian a banictamatos oman! Ziel uh 6h pas pled rs rns Ska Reh gioco mein asa Aeon vs Van lobbyists working full-time to mollify the growing tide of anger eden sores Hoon oatner havior cn Yar Di Ren ZiaeaTASCREEN wae YicveeRbon aoe essen SHADOW WAR” SIDESHOW The Shadow War was too good an opportunty for some. ‘nations to pass up, OTEC/Miltech and CINO/Arasaka were 0 busy hitting each other that it would be easy to sip some other operations in unnoticed among ab the chacs. ‘That was the reasoning that prompted the EEC to startup an operation in Colombia. The country was one of the few countries that didnt belong a the CAF, and itwas- It dominated by eny international corporation=the strongest presence was Miltech, and al it had was a sec- ‘ondeine office, there to watch Aresaka-dominated Brazil {end to provide support for the Rio office) ‘As soon as American intligence agencies caught wind of this, they sent their ovm agents in to attempt to neutralize the effor's ofthe EEC’ agents and maintain an ‘espionage status quo, hoping to prevent Euro-meddling of the sort that prompted the Southam War. In the middle of Arasaka actions against Miltech holdings, the Colombian situation soon tumed into an. ‘espionage trec-or-al, a sort of “spy-vs-

    You might also like