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Runners would find themselves quickly up
a creek without the support of various types
of people that make their career possible. |
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UNGER |
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FREELANCE FIXER |
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FIXERS |
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There are basically two kinds of Fixers;
freelancers that work for themselves (also
known as Street Fixers), and corporate Fixers
that either work directly for a corporation
under some cover title, or work for a "consulting
firm" that handles contracting Runs
for other companies.
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Of the two, Runners are far more likely
to deal with freelance Fixers unless they
are already well known and established. |
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Freelance Fixers are the grease that makes
the wheels of Runner commerce roll. To those
who want a Run undertaken they represent
an easy and efficient way to keep ones hands
clean and avoid any unpleasant repercussions.
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Even still, its the rare contractor that
deals directly with a Fixer; there's almost
always some degree of misdirection or intermediaries
employed for even greater anonymity.
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From the perspective of Runners, Fixers
are the arbiters of who works and who doesn't.
They are the font of jobs and therefore
livelihood.
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Being a freelance Fixer is a dangerous line
of work that requires crack management skills,
the ability to correctly assess the capabilities
of Runners and match them with the right
jobs, and the ability to network with both
Runners and representatives of those who
want jobs done.
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They also have to be on guard against reprisals,
and avoid being captured and forced to divulge
information about who contracted a particular
Run.
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Unsurprisingly, they tend to be a no nonsense,
slightly paranoid bunch. But taking a cut
of every contract can really add up for
a Fixer, and they are often wealthy enough
to have the best protection money can buy,
whether that means cybernetic upgrades,
body armor, secure facilities, guards, or
some combination thereof. |
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Corporate Fixers are usually of a similar
bent, but make less money. However they
are in much less danger than their freelance
counterpart, depending on exactly what company
they work for.
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Corporate Fixers tend to only deal with
large jobs that are sensitive enough the
company wants to keep it as in-house as
possible, and tend to contract with the
cream of the Runner crop or else go thru
freelance Fixers to get at talent, never
meeting with the hired Runners. Many jobs
are conducted in this fashion; with chunks
being farmed out to several freelance Fixers
with the left hand kept in the dark about
the right hands existence. |
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Usually a new Runner will get picked up
by a Fixer and do several missions for them,
pretty much having to take what they are
offered; once they've proven themselves
word gets around, and the Runner finds themselves
vetted by numerous Fixers, based on the
word on the street. At this point in their
careers Runners usually have more freedom
to take or turn down contracts as they like
but they don't have much clout to alter
the terms of a Fixers offer for a contract.
Those Runners that ascend into fame can
pretty much pick their jobs and dictate
their terms; its up to the Fixers to decide
if they want to pay what the Runner is asking. |
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SUPPLIERS |
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There is a host of support industries that
either directly or indirectly provide a
framework for Runners to exist in.
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The most obvious suppliers of use to Runners
are Arms Dealers and vendors of other useful
gear; without hardware most Runners would
be hard-pressed to do their jobs. Black
Market sales are alive and well, and in
some areas aren't even covert, existing
right out in the open.
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Another key support industry is cybernetics
and other forms of bio-enhancement, both
the companies that manufacture them and
the Hospital companies that will install
and maintain them. A lot of Runners have
at least some kind of bio-enhancement, whether
it be a simple data jack or synthetic muscles. |
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General Medical services are also important
to Runners; Ambulances don't just come pick
up anyone, particularly if you happen to
be in a danger zone.
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There is a pay in advance policy in the
best of circumstances, and if the pickup
is in a hot zone, then there is danger pay
to contend with as well.
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DUTCH CHUCK |
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ARMS DEALER |
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Most successful Runners maintain a membership
with an EMT service guaranteeing pickup
when called for. |
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Information brokers are another important
supplier for Runners; most Runs require
a lot of research and planning and information
is a very valuable commodity in the MetaCyber
setting. Blueprints, schematics, access
codes, patrol schedules are all very valuable
to a Runner; and those are just the obvious
ones.
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In addition to the more prevalent forms
of suppliers, there are also more specialized
providers, like Erasers who can be paid
to obfuscate a persons involvement in anything,
producing alibis, removing paper trails,
and erasing evidence. There are also specialized
Cleaners, who can be contracted to remove
physical evidence from a scene. There are
all manner of specialized Hackers that can
be paid to crack specific systems, contracted
to assist a Run remotely, or to oppose corporate
attempts to find out more about a Runner,
and so forth.
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Most transactions are based on creds of
course, but some are done in trade. The
most established and successful Runner Teams
will often have some assortment of Suppliers
on staff or at least on retainer, where
as less successful and lone Runners contract
as they need services. |