APEX Rising

 is a mission in Shadowrun: Dragonfall.

Synopsis
APEX. An artificial intelligence designed for Matrix warfare. The thought of it sends a chill down your spine.

For years, the shadows have been ripe with rumors of true AI. Names like "Mirage" and "Psychotrope" have fuelled conspiracy boards on the Shadowland BBS since 2029. Most savvy shadowrunners dismiss these stories as bunk.

But from what Alice has told you, at least one of the stories is real. APEX is waiting for you, somewhere down in the basement of an abandoned Saeder-Krupp lab.

Unfortunately, you're going to have to wade through a lot of gang territory to get there...

Walkthrough

 * Welcome to gang territory. Head ahead to find Ullrich. You can offer to help him resolve the little Arbeiter/Magnifiker feud and go mage hunting for ¥200 per amulet. Or bump it up with Charisma 5 to ¥250 per. You'll also be able to use Etiquette:Gang to get him to offer hardware from their stash once you kill Trithemius to gain access to the elevator.
 * KIlling Ulrich gains you a ganger mask, a premium medkit, the elevator control chip and the ganger's key (which allows you to get the Remington Roomsweeper in the basement).
 * Enter the building to start your hunt. You'll be greeted by Parson, the head of the Hub cult. He will ask you to retrieve a terminal component some hobos ran off with in return for information on where to find Trithemius. To the left of his desk you'll find a room full of communing adherents of the religion. To the right is the corridor that leads deeper into the building.
 * Directly opposite is the local general store, ran by Karl. He offers medkits, some Cram, and a repair kit as well as some information on the local gangs. The Magnifikers look less and less nice as the time goes by.
 * The elevator next to the general store is locked. You can try to open it with Decking 3, but you'll need the component from the Arbeiter to actually be able to use. Make a mental note of the place.
 * The stairwell allows you to go up to the second or third floor.

Second floor

 * The first room on the left contains four hostile Magnifikers. Don't forget to collect their talismans. In the back, you'll find spellbooks with Powerbolt III and Glue III.
 * The next room down the hall leads to a filthy apartment. Rifle the drawers for some nuyen and Bliss. The broken wall leads to the next apartment and some more graffiti. You also find a note with the phrase "Shark Tank" on it, which is the password to Janet's place.
 * The door with the intercom can be bypassed with Decking 6 or by decker in team. Otherwise, you need to speak through the intercom and either give the password or bullshit your way in with Charisma 6. This room contains Janet, the person responsible for stealing Parson's gear.
 * You always have the option of just shooting everybody and taking the converter.
 * With Intelligence 3, you can help the squatters find a compromise: Figure out which parts they need to become independent and then give the stolen ones back. Janet lets you examine her terminal.
 * With Decking 8, you can immediately fix the terminal and take the converter.
 * Otherwise, with Intelligence 5, you can figure out that you need a datajack signal transmitter. Janet tells you the part is sold by Karl downstairs.
 * Karl will charge you ¥1,000 (¥500 with Charisma 4, or free with Etiquette:Street).
 * You can also get it for free by noticing Janet's portrait on the wall and stressing that she is in danger.
 * Bring the transmitter back up to Janet, then install it in the terminal and take the converter.
 * Once you have the converter, go back to Parson and claim your reward: information on how to get into Trithemius's place on the third floor.
 * The other side of the floor contains a hovel with Franz and other metahumans. Franz will offer you another optional objective: get rid of the spirits from the third floor in order to allow them to return up there.

Third floor

 * The first room you see contains five free spirits that you need to wipe out in order for Franz and his people to move in. There's also a premium medkit to pick up. Don't forget to tell Franz you helped him out: you receive 3 karma.
 * The next room contains five Magnifikers - and five more amulets. In the back, you'll find a force 5 earth elemental fetish and a Shadow spell for your shaman.
 * The next door is locked. Interact with the intercom and meet the slightly paranoid (though not unjustifiably so) tenant. If you convince him that you're not a spirit and here to help, you can then talk to him and say that he can return downstairs (if you killed off the spirits earlier). In the apartment is some Bliss.
 * If you have Etiquette: Street, you can claim to be a spirit and scare the tenant. Talk to him, and use the etiquette; he'll give some Jazz and then run off. If you don't have the etiquette, you'll be forced to shoot him.
 * The next room is an empty slum - or is it? If you returned Parson's terminal part, you will know you have to push the bookcase to open the way into Trithemius' inner sanctum. Do so.
 * As expected, Trithemius offers you a counter-offer: Kill Ullrich, in return for the power coupling and a 'spirit focus' (a force 6 toxic elemental fetish). He will warn you that Ullrich cannot be trusted. Someone in your crew will chime in, saying that they trust neither of them. The choice is up to you. You can kill either or both.
 * Trithemius is a challenge, as he's supported by no less than three separate magic users. Ullrich is supported by goons with conventional guns. Pick your poison - you'll be getting rewarded either way.
 * If you decide to kill Ullrich, you will get a key to a safe (not needed if you have Decking 7).
 * Remember to collect the Magnifiker bounty first, otherwise you will lose out on Nyugen.
 * If you decide to kill Trithemius, make sure to loot the three amulets on top of his one. The 12 amulets will give you a nice payday. Then check the rooms, which contain (counter-clockwise):
 * A spellboook of Acid Stream II and ¥65.
 * A Type II Medkit, a dose of cram, and ¥209.
 * The power coupling, a Flamethrower III spell book, and a Force 4 Earth elemental fetish.
 * Return to whomever lives to get your reward for killing the other (or kill them both to destabilize the area until the next gang comes along), then fix the elevator and head to the Saeder-Krupp lab below.

Accessing APEX

 * Welcome to the facility. The room in front contains a clipboard with a keycard and, more importantly, instructions for shutting down APEX.
 * The room to the north is the storeroom of the Arbeiter. You'll find an Ares high explosive grenade, M79 grenade launcher, a premium medkit, a BuMoNa Golden trauma kit, and, if you have Decking 7 or Ullrich's key or a decker in team, the Remington Roomsweeper.
 * Explore the area. Your target is the room in the center, with the master computer terminal. Enter it and get ready for a surprise.
 * Monika will introduce herself and offer you a deal. In exchange for deleting the APEX control subroutines, rather than killing APEX wholesale, she will aid you in infiltrating Harfeld. All you have to do is set APEX and her free. Your team will object at first, but the steps to releasing APEX and destroying it are one and the same, more or less.
 * The moment you finish the conversation, you go into combat mode.
 * Matrix route: You can start jacking into the facility. The MCT is the nearest point. Whomever you send in will be assisted by APEX's avatar. (Obviously, if you opt to destroy APEX, you will not receive this assistance.)
 * In the Matrix, as a welcome gift, you are faced by four IC programs and a sentry. Get to cover and start attacking them. APEX is a powerful decker and should take point, with your deckers providing remote assistance. Note that whenever you enter the starting area, the welcoming party will respawn, so plan accordingly.
 * When you hack the first control node, the Communionists will start flooding into the facility, with Parson confronting you in the Matrix. When killed, he will periodically reappear to hound you.
 * Meatspace route: Alternatively, you can head straight for the control nodes in meatspace and activate them. Drones can be used for the activation as well.)
 * Once you activate the first control node, the Communionists will start flooding into the facility.
 * In order to control the turrets, you need to hack the data nodes that control them. You can only power one turret bank at a time, so plan accordingly. The goal is to last long enough for APEX to rewrite its control sequences and shut down the attackers OR for the purge program to be fully charged. You will be attacking by increasingly large waves of enemies from both sides. The absolute priority is protecting the Master Control Terminal.
 * Once the formatting/rescue is done, combat will immediately end and a... plot twist will be introduced. Head to the exit.
 * If APEX is purged, the Communionists will die; if APEX is freed, they will become free as well.