A New Player in Town

Sep 25th 2059

Several weeks after the death of Fuchi Corporate Court Justice David Hague, Richard Villiers has announced his resignation from Fuchi and the creation of his new corproation, Novatech. Novatech will incorporate all of Villiers' holdings and Miles Lanier will go on board as head of security.

Who will take Hague's seat on the Corporate Court remains to be seen. But without a seat on the board, a corp can only rate a AA. The AAA status is still reserved for those with the clout to have a justice in the court.

With Villiers jumping ship, the two remaining factions, Nakatomi and Yamana are fighting tooth and claw to get controling interest in Fuchi. So much so that they seem to be tearing each other apart while neither is gaining the upper hand.

When two tigers fight it is always the third tiger who gets the kill. Watch for Fuchi to lose AAA status and some other mega to snap it up.

Actually, there was more than one seat open. Just a few months ago, Dosan Aburakoji, a Corporate Court Justice for Mitsuhama committed suicide at his home in Kyoto. He was replaced by Navroz Chandaria, a Renraku representative.

So, maybe despite the so-called Babel Virus and the smackdown laid on them by Villiers and Lanier, Renraku's still got some fight in 'em.

The big question now becomes: Who'll replace Hague?

Perhaps more importantly, (to Fuchi anyway) is that Fuchi's remaining seat is in question. Lynn Osborn, Fuchi's single Justice is in with the Villiers faction. She throws in with him, doesn't she take their triple A status with her?

As usual, missing the point, my dear Twixed. The Corporate Court charter states that all founding members of the court are guaranteed a seat, no matter what. Fuchi OWNS one of the founding members, JRJ International, and thus cannot lose their seat.

Sorry, Doctor, your information is out of date. In the mad flurry of hostile takeovers, Richard Villiers managed to "obtain" JRJ International from Fuchi. The Court has ruled, in favor of VIlliers, giving Novatech a spot on the court, AND triple A status.

Fuchi meanwhile is in a proverbial nosedive. Hemoraging credits and losing investors by the droves, even the big boys are looking to bail out.

Shikei Nakatomi has made a deal with Renraku, purchasing four million shares of that company from the Zurich-Orbital Gemeinschaft Bank. Renraku is now aquiring large portions of Fuchi, as fast as it can.

That means I lost a bet. I figured Villiars would wait till the two remaining halfs of Fuchi wore themselves down then buy what was left outright. Guess Renraku beat him to it in an attempt to legitamately recover their lost stolen tech. I'm surprised Renraku still has the means given their recent losses. What are they selling off? Maybe Villiars is looking to buy Renraku. That way he gets three megas at once. Time to make a new bet.

0V3RB34R wrote:The big question now becomes: Who'll replace Hague?

The big question has been answered: Li Feng of Wuxing Inc. has been named to the Corporate Court. Ladies and Gentlemen, there is ANOTHER new AAA player in town.

We don't have any details yet on how this came about, but there must have been some high-level shenanigans for the court to allow another mega into the club. Wuxing is not a new name. In fact they have been on the rise; especially with Dunkelzahn's bequests to the company in general and President/CEO Wu Lung Wai in particular. The dragon's will left Wuxing 200 million nuyen. Along with several bits of advice as to where to build their HQ in Hong Kong, and several supposedly magical artifacts, the largest and most powerful of Hong Kong's "native" corps has hit first tier status, when they were only third tier not long ago.

Drifter wrote:That means I lost a bet. I figured Villiars would wait till the two remaining halfs of Fuchi wore themselves down then buy what was left outright. Guess Renraku beat him to it in an attempt to legitamately recover their lost stolen tech. I'm surprised Renraku still has the means given their recent losses. What are they selling off? Maybe Villiars is looking to buy Renraku. That way he gets three megas at once. Time to make a new bet.

Wanna try a new bet? You KNOW Korin Yamana isn't just gonna give up and hand over Fuchi to Renraku. He may have taken a number of shots in the round and sensitives, but a wolverine is most dangerous when backed into a corner. And then his regeneration kicks in, he pops the claws (snikt), and then he rips chummers a new one!

I'm betting Yamana is gonna come back swinging. You good for this Drifter?

Fuchi and Renraku seem like natural partners to me. Both are on the way to losing AAA status. If they work together then the kick in the teeth they both got goes away and the joint venture would be top kid on the block able to make it really rough for the new megas looking for foot holds.

It's not a question of handing over Fuchi to Renraku. It's about either company surviving.

Chromed Accountant wrote:Li Feng of Wuxing Inc. has been named to the Corporate Court.

What's Wuxing's stock and trade? And what's so special about the new HQ location in Hong Kong?

They wouldn't be into industrial magic would they?

Just a few tidbits of legwork on Wuxing here...

First off, Wuxing means "The Five Elements" and I found out that thier top four moneymakers are: the division that sells those little packets of salted dried plums you find in Chinese markets; the little pin-head sized doohickeys that go into datajacks; some kind of biochemical compound used in skillwires; and... personal flotation tanks. (They're all the rage in the Free Enterprise zone, go figure.)

It seems that there are a ton of smaller divisions, and a brief mention of a magical research department... but was very vague on the subject.

Apparently, Wuxing played a big role in establishing Hong Kong as the Free Enterprise Zone that it is today. It's the big fish in the Hong Kong pond and has become the mouthpiece for several smaller Pacific Rim companies. In fact there's been a big push for an alliance in creating a "Pacific Prosperity Group" : a band of companies to break the Japanese monopoly on trade in the Pacific.

With Wuxing achieveing AAA status, their goals seem a bit more obtainable.

I've been asking around in magical circles... Wuxing's HQ seems to be at a major crossing point of "Dragon Lines" or mana lines for non-Chinese. As you can guess these are powerful ribbons of mana... or Chi... or "life energy." Where mana lines cross the mana collects and can be tapped by a trained mage.

Wuxing's HQ is designed and built to take maximum advantage of the chi flow. Even the size, shape and materials used, the landscaping and decor were all chosen to enhance chi flow. This turns the HQ itself into a major power site. Rumor persists that Wu Lung Wai and his dad believed in and may have practiced the art of Feng shui. Thing is the HQ has been there for 40 years.

Now, Wu Lung Wai has been left an artifact called the "Jade Dragon of Wind and Fire." It is a large carving all of jade that weighs at least 25 kilos. The statue isn't of a dragon though, it is of three carp playing in water. Rumor says that this thing is ancient, and very likely magical. We do know however that the Jade Dragon has been placed in the prime spot at the center of the HQ where the chi collection is at its strongest.

The statue has a whole fable associated with it... which I could get into if anyone's interested. But for now, we know that Wuxing has magical power to burn... but to what end?

hey, speaking of ancient magical things, Dunkelzahn left me this torch thingy in his will... anyone know if it's magical?

sparky wrote:hey, speaking of ancient magical things, Dunkelzahn left me this torch thingy in his will... anyone know if it's magical?

... Probably not the best way to get your question answered. Just saying.

jackrabbit keeps telling me this matrix thing is where you find answers to problems. If it doesn't know what I want to know, what good is it for?

Can you describe the torch? Or upload an image of it?

But this line of questioning has nothing to do with the topic at hand, lets move this to another thread.

https://shadowrun.forumotion.com/t87-a-torch-of-magic#704

The latest news on the remnants of Fuchi: Korin Yamana, having finally achieved the goal of being lord and master of Fuchi Industrial Electronics, is now faced with the fact that it is too far gone to sustain. The ninety year old Yamana has cut a deal with Shiawase; Yamana would sell Fuchi in its entirety to Shiawase, and in exchange he would marry the thirty year old Mitsuko Shiawase, and obtain a substantial chunk of Shiawase stock as well as a seat on the board of directors. When the transaction is finished, Fuchi will be officially, no more.

Wait. I thought Dunkelzahn gave them advice on where to build the headquarters? I thought that was a recent thing but if the HQ has been there for 40 years how long has this plot been hatching?

Twixed wrote:The statue has a whole fable associated with it... which I could get into if anyone's interested. But for now, we know that Wuxing has magical power to burn... but to what end?

I'd love to hear the fable.

The legend goes something like this:

Back during the reign of China's First Emperor, lived a sculptor named Chan Lo. The Emperor had acquired a sizable piece of fine green jade, and wanted a statue carved from it to decorate the Imperial Place. So he summoned Chan Lo and ordered him to carve the jade into a Dragon of Wind and Fire.

Chan Lo considered how to sculpt the dragon. He considered everything about dragons: their shape, texture, appearance and sound. Then he considered the texture and nature of the piece of jade. He tapped and stroked the stone, and listened carefully to the sounds it made. The sounds he heard were pah-tah, pah-tah and shoosh, which didn't seem like the sounds a dragon would make.

Though he tried to see a dragon the jade suggested a different shape to him. He sat for days before the jade before he finally called his apprentice and set to work. He worked tirelessly for weeks, resting and eating little. When the statue was finished he brought it to the Emperor's court before all those whom were gathered to see the masterpiece unveiled.

Chan Lo removed the cloth to reveal not a dragon of wind and fire, but three carp dancing in the waves.

The Emperor was outraged. "Where is my dragon of Wind and Fire?" He demanded.

Chan Lo prostrated himself before the mighty Emperor and said "Forgive me, O Emperor, but I did not see or hear a dragon within the jade. I saw and heard only these three fish from the gardens of the Celestial Palace."

The angry Emperor ordered Chan Lo imprisoned for disobedience while he considered his ultimate punishment. The Emperor decided to sleep on the matter and let his dreams show him the sculptor's fate. That night the Emperor dreamed of carp dancing in the clear waters of the garden in the Celestial Palace, and heard them Playing: pah-tah, pah-tah shoosh.

The Emperor awoke the next morning unsure of the meaning of his dream and went to the palace gardens to meditate on his dream. The Emperor heard a sound: pah-tah, pah-tah shoosh and he saw Chan Lo's apprentice, gently polishing the sculpture of the tree fish that had been set near the entrance of the garden. Seeing this, the Emperor made his decision and summoned Chan Lo before him.

The Emperor offered Chan Lo his humble apologies. "You were wise," he said, "to see ad hear the true form of the jade. In my arrogance, I tried to impose my will upon the stone. But you saw the stone's destiny. I will keep this fine statue as a reminder that we must sculpt the stone where it must go, and not where we might wish it to."

And so the Emperor gave Chan Lo a generous payment and sent him back to his work. And the statue known as the Dragon of Wind and Fire reminded the Emperor of China that things are not always as they seem, or as we might with them to be.

I love it! Of course that just makes me more scared. Any idea where DZ picked it up from? From first emperor of China to a dragon in the UCAS to a Feng Shui corp in Hong Kong. There's some missing steps in there.

Has anyone ever heard of DZ being referred to as the Dragon of Wind and Fire? Or taking the form of a carp?

Drifter wrote:I thought Dunkelzahn gave them advice on where to build the headquarters? I thought that was a recent thing but if the HQ has been there for 40 years how long has this plot been hatching?

From what I can figure, the building has been there all that time, but now it's been renovated and repurposed. It wasn't the HQ before... maybe the First Wyrm gave advice on how to maximize its mana flow. Wu Lung Wei DID do some massive re-feng-shui-ing before the Jade Dragon was moved to the new HQ. Sources say that Wu escorted the Jade Dragon personally in its move.

Drifter wrote:Any idea where DZ picked it up from? From first emperor of China to a dragon in the UCAS to a Feng Shui corp in Hong Kong. There's some missing steps in there.

Sorry, no clue on that. I'm betting the dragon wouldn't want us to know.

Drifter wrote:Has anyone ever heard of DZ being referred to as the Dragon of Wind and Fire? Or taking the form of a carp?

No references I've seen to Dunkelzahn going by that title... or taking the form of a carp. Though, what's to stop him? He could take human form... why not a carp?