Dragoon Central-Intelligence Host
"(...) but we don't just leave it at our top-notch training and equipment: The Dragoon have invested countless hours and dollars into their state-of-the-art Matrix equipment and omni-interfacing software, to syncronise all of your building's security-assets with that of our skilled personnel, enabling us to respond to intrusions with a level of speed and efficiency that far out-strips our competitors!"
Written by: Null Kit
State-of-the-art, they call it. I mean, they can't exactly advertise it as 'years-obsolete but still enthusiastic' without scaring off customers, but the sheer audacity of them. But I digress: Dragoon Tactical Investments, despite their well-earned reputation for frugal spending, have at least put their modest budget where it counts when it comes to their matrix services. The CIH is an amalgamation of programs coded in-house on a system derived from Knight Errant's older 'Aegis' OS, all operated by a Host and tech-experts that between them can only just handle the masses of data thrown at them twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. The result, while by no means elegant, manages to accomplish its goal of securely coordinating Dragoon's matrix-assets accross its entire jurisdiction, in no small part due to the spiteful determination displayed by its system-administrators. My time in the host was short - justifiably so, considering the company's go-to response to matrix intruders - but surprisingly informative, with the spoofed access-levels my appropriated credentials allowed me. Though the holes I crept through are no doubt patched as of this write-up, I'm certain that you'll find at least something worthy of your time in this article.Purpose / Function
The CIH provides two important functions for the securicorp: To store and process all pertinent information (employees, contracts, routes, etc...), and to coordinate communication and orders between personnel. The former is accomplished through secure storage and interfacing systems common to any host (albeit with stronger security than most), while the latter operates through a byzantine chain of command through issued Commlinks that serve as nexus to on-site equipment.
Architecture
While some effort has been put into making the host fit the old-timey cavalry motiif the corp is fond of, the host has understandably sectioned very little of its budget into such decor: Textures of stone and wood are liberally tiled on most floors and walls, along with turrets and towers sculpted along the walls of this building overlooking the void it sits in, but such 1700s-inspired touches do little to conceal the boxy and utilitarian structure of the host, and the apparent effort dwindles further as you leave the entrance of the host and move through to the wings of the building where the actual operations of the host commence, wood facades deteriorating and making way to the cold concrete fortifications the host really is.
A word of caution: Though the nature of matrix-defence differs broadly from meatspace combat, the sculpting of this host has been made for ease of security and defence by its human operators, most notably in their decision to only texture one side of certain walls to create improvised 'one-way' windows to catch intruders unaware, among other things. If the corridor you're in appears too long to match the exterior geometry of the building, be mindful of this and other tidbits if you want to avoid the colonially-dressed personas of the host's security-force.
History
The foundations of the CIH system have been present in one way or another since the days of Imperator Security Enterprises, and were among one of the first major purchases Gabriel Hampton made in starting his business. The company's scope was initially modest enough that the site and its lone administrator, Elimena Caraccio, could handle the day-to-day business with only a pair of primitive agent-programs and some junior cybersecurity specialists aiding her. Unfortunately, Gabriel's savviness didn't extent to many of the things he didn't personally understand, and he was never one to appreciate the matrix in any real capacity. As a result, for the first few years Caraccio was working on a shoestring budget under business decisions that were of little help, when they weren't actively impeding her.
This predictably concluded in 2064 when the company suffered a surprise attack by cybercriminals late at night, four hours after Caraccio's shift ended and leaving the host in the less-than-capable hands of a junior security-spider and woefully underpowered IC systems. By the time Caraccio was able to log on and take control of the situation, the damage was already catastrophic, with gigapulses of information compromise and erased and the integrity of core-infrastructural systems hanging on by a thread, leaving both the company and its personnel completely devoid of matrix-support for the time being. This situation would have spelled the end for Imperator right there, had Crash 2.0 not occured but a single week afterwards and left the whole thing a wash.
For those curious about who tried to frag up Imperator, it was Lone-Star: They were having some shakey business at the time and wanted to get some of Imperator's clients to jump ship back to Lone-Star, so they sent in runners with loaned gear for some good old-fashioned corporate sabotage.Having learned his lesson from this incident and Caraccio's subsequent extraction to Knight Errant, Hampton made improving Imperator's matrix-assets one of the priority goals as it renovated itself into the Dragoon Tactical Investments we all know of today. The new budget was still very modest compared to other security providers, but that's par for the proverbial course with the generally frugal Dragoon, and it was certainly an improvement over the old spending limits, allowing the corp to have a far more comprehensive security set-up than before.
Alternative Names
The Bunkhouse
Type
Datacenter
Owning Organization
Patrol IC running at all times, one Standard Security-Spider logged on at all times, plus one or two trainee-spiders at various shifts. Once alarmed, the Host will launch IC in this order: Probe, Killer, Track, Black IC, Crash and Sparky. If one of its IC gets bricked, it will use the next combat turn to reboot that IC rather than moving onto the next one. A Security Troubleshooter will arrive (2d5 / 2, rounded up) turns after an alarm is triggered.
When an intruder is succesfully traced, the host will alert local authorities or dispatch a local armed-response team (arriving within 2d6 minutes) depending on the location and whether or not Dragoon has jurisdiction.
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