Trial Run

**Trial Run** is an optional run in *Dragonfall*, given by the lodge representative after the second major run.

## Synopsis

As the U-Bahn hums toward the Frankfurter Tor, you tug idly at the fabric of your maintenance uniform. You found it in a duffel bag on your seat when you boarded, along with a note from Duerr to put it on before your arrival.

"The moment you step off this train," the note said, "your trial run begins. You are to rendezvous with the rest of your team, reconnoiter the building, and plant the specified devices in Aleshire's suite. Beyond that, your approach will be left to you.

"Do not disappoint us. You are being watched."

## Walkthrough

* You will run into a Knight Errant Grenadier the moment you step into the mission, informing you that the team is already inside - the janitorial team, that is. It doesn't really matter what you say, as he'll egg you on to meet Jana.
* Jana is a short way down the sidewalk, in front of the gates. Talk to her. Turns out, half your team went in ten minutes ago and you're forced to mop up after them, if they screw up. Head on to the objective and enter the building.
* Outside the building is a Waitress who sells soykaf for ¥5. For characters with Etiquette Street or Charisma 3, she will also sell a drug called Jolt.

### Lower floor

* You meet James and the foreign elf (elves can partially understand foreign elf's dialect, foreshadowing mission's turnabout). After the wonderful introductions, follow Jana's lead.
* You can talk to the corporate ork in the lobby and with Etiquette Corporate or Charisma 3, you can sympathize. If you have any Jolt on you (in an inventory slot, not in your stash), you can offer it to him. In exchange, he'll give you the door code for his room (#301, code 53786), offering you a convenient exit from the building later.
* More interesting in the tech vendor straight ahead from the entrance - you can find an Encephalon NEXT sold for ¥250. This is head-slot cyberwar which raises intelligence +2.Note that this will only make it available at the Triage Clinic in the Kreuzbasar; they will not install it in the shop. Installation costs an additional ¥5,000, and has an Essence cost of 1.5..
* There is a Knight Errant Enforcer in the security room down the left corridor. You can talk to him and attack to gain access to the terminal, or just exchange some banter about the woes of corporate wage slaves.
	+ In *Director's Cut*, attacking the Enforcer will lock the terminal, forcing you to use a lot more violence.
* The clothes' shop down the right hallway is more interesting, as it contains a clothes vendor that can sell you a full suit for ¥1500 that adds +5 to Armor and +2 to Charisma. For low-Charisma characters, this will allow you to pass the Charisma checks against the Stressed Suit, the Waitress, and the Knight Errants.
* Access to the maintenance room is restricted and you're Delta, not Theta.
	+ The power box inside the clothes' shop can be used to kill the guard in the hallway and gain access to the maintenance area. It's messy and brutal and doesn't achieve anything if you eliminate just one of the Knights Errant.
	+ With Charisma 3 and Etiquette Security, you can receive the Indigo maintenance code. Tell it to the ork at the monitoring center (down left from the center) to have him rush to the pal. Then, you can fry them both with the power box and pick up the Theta key card from their bodies.
	+ Don't forget to activate the threat response codes on the console in the surveillance room to divert KE forces away from your target.
* Have Jana rewire the panel and head to the elevator.

### Upper floor

* Welcome to the penthouses. Remember the access code to room 303 (14291) - when Jana rewires it, the doors to the penthouse suite will switch to the code 11111.
* You can jack into the Matrix from the access point straight ahead, near the keypad, with Decking 4 and a cyberdeck. This will allow you to hack into the system and open the doors all over the level.
	+ Inside, head forward. The next section connects the different access areas. The one immediately on the right contains the utility hatch data node and three IC programs. If you go further in the section, you'll also find controls for Apartments 301 and 302. Watch out, as activating all will trigger a Matrix alarm and bring the black IC out.
* Room 301 (53786) has ¥200 and a fire escape exfiltration route.
* Inside room 302 (38297) you can find a terminal you can hack with Decking 4. You can obtain a Paydata piece: A "romantic" recording of Gertrude Brune, COO of Müller-Schlüter Infotech. Or you can delete it, if your conscience permits (or you sympathize with the corps).
* Enter room 303 when you're ready. Pull down the painting and wire it with the canister the foreign elf is packing. At this point, the owner of the apartment comes in and you are faced with a choice:
	+ Side with James and kill the foreign elf, as the Lodge wants.
	+ Side with the foreign elf and kill James, scrubbing the mission and your standing with the Lodge.
	+ If you started a shootout downstairs or failed to divert security, the man will activate a panic button and KE forces will flood the room, while the man flees in panic. There's nothing you can actually do to stop him.

### Penthouse

* Enter the penthouse with the 11111 code and place the three cameras. James will antagonize you, but you can ignore him. When you plant the third camera, the alarms blare. Time to evacuate.
	+ If you avoided a gunfight on the level below and eliminated both KE with the power node, diverted their forces away from the penthouse, and only shot the elf, you won't be confronted by KE security here.
	+ There are three evacuation routes:
		- Out the way you came. This will take you through heavy KE response teams and likely kill both James and Jana.
		- Out the window through apartment 301 (requires unlocking the apartment in the Matrix, or obtaining the door code from the "Stressed Suit" businessman in the lobby) : This takes you out into the streets, where you have to fight KE forces.
		- Out the utility hatch (requires unlocking through the Matrix): If you decked the cyberspace and survived the three IC programs to access the hatch node, you will be able to escape through here, avoiding any confrontation with KE personnel.
* Whatever way you choose, you'll call Luca Duerr on the phone. He will comment on your performance:
	+ If the elf was killed, he will comment that it was inevitable, but will be surprised if either Jana or James survive. Particularly the latter, as he expected you to shoot him in the face.
	+ Then, he'll ask you to enter a code into the PDA - and you'll get to see first hand what you accomplished, much to Jana's chagrin.

## Aftermath

* To get the full story of the run, stick with Luca to the end. In the epilogue, he'll tell you how you fit into the picture regarding this run.