@E:PL/Chi Town/Copperhead
[July 8th, 2072, 23:37:16; Storm Drain, somewhere beyond Blackwater, CZ, Chicago]

Copperhead lets out an involuntary sigh of relief at the sound of Requiem's voice.

"I need two minutes ta check da kid and pump him full of whatever antibiotics / antivirals is in my medkit. Don't want him catching anything."

Especially not HMHVV!

"Den I think dis little tourist trip is over. If anything else wants a piece of me tonight, I am opening a troll-sized can of whupass on its ass. I is covered in...I don't even wanna think what I is covered in. I been damn near blowed up, attacked by bugs, chased by a goddamn VTOL and chewed on by ghouls. Dis girl has had enough."

Rant over, she herds the kids out of the sewer. She knuckles the scarred ork as she finally climbs out of the sewer. Then, she unhooks her respirator and takes a deep breath of the cool night air, regardles of whether it is radioactive or not.

Then pulling the two kids into the nearest cover, she checks over first Jon and then the still trembling Katie.

@Virtual Scream / Dante
[September 1, 2072, 18:15, Hai Fuk Noodle House, Redmond Barrens, Seattle]
PAN: hidden, Response 1, Signal 3, System 2, Firewall 1

"You're lucky today - I'm leaving."

With a nod to Silent Bo, Dante got back in his truck and headed to the meet.

[September 1, 2072, 18:45, Ling Hung Tea House, Redmond Barrens, Seattle]
PAN: hidden, Response 1, Signal 3, System 2, Firewall 1

Dante pulled up a block away from the tea house and found a spot on the street to wedge his truck into, between a trash dumpster and some trash that probably should've been in the dumpster, if the dumpster wasn't already overflowing and partially on fire. The tea house was definitely in one of the more dangerous sections of the Barrens. Setting the anti-theft on his truck was second nature to him as he got out, almost as second-nature as making sure his pistol was secure in the small of his back, as it always was. The walk to the tea house was short but intense, Dante having to make sure his walk was that of a predator, not prey. Cold, dead eyes watched his every move, weighing, calculating. Arriving at the door, he pushed his way in past customers who were just leaving, looking as tensed up to be going outside as he had just been coming in.

Inside the tea house, Dante took a seat in a corner where he could watch the door and ordered some noodles and beer for two. As they arrived he briefly considered waiting for Jing Cha, but then decided he didn't want the noodles to get cold or the beer to get warm, so he tucked in with gusto.

@E:PL UK
[May 21st, 2072, 18:28; Overlooking Clearwater, Exmoor, UK]
SIN: Spencer Lovett, PAN: Active

The adept reaches for the small, metal case hanging from his belt, but thinks better of it. <Someone's using this place to get utilities. I can get in, but I'll need someone to watch my back while I work. It wouldn't hurt for more of us to have a look at this, either.>

He moves to the wall, where he can keep an eye on both doors. Then, he begins setting out his tools, looking up every once in a while to confirm he was alone. Mordred was curious about the extent of the changes made to the station. But more importantly, control of someone's water and power supply could prove valuable, just in case their destination was not what they expected.

[September 1, 2072, 18:55, Ling Hung Tea House, Redmond Barrens, Seattle]
PAN: hidden, Response 1, Signal 3, System 2, Firewall 1

As he tucks into the noodles his commlink beeps.

<<@Dante[Bo]: Talk to the waitress.>>

It is another half an hour before Jing Cha finally swaggers into the Tea House. Despite the street outfit, there is something about the way he moves that almost screams cop. But he flaunts it in a way that the locals recognise: bent cop.

He flops into the stool across from Dante.

"Are the noodles any good?"

He waves the waitress over and places his order, pointing at Dante.

"It's on his tab."

He waits for his beer to arrive and takes a satisfyingly long swig from it, wiping his lips with the back of his hand.

"Free beer always tastes better. Now, you mentioned you knew something about >1rtu@l5cr3@m. Sure hope it's worth me hauling my hoop down to this part of town."

@E:Tribes
[September 1, 2072 19:55; Heading north to Bellevue]

As you each make your respective ways north it is clear that something unusual is happening in the plex tonight. Grid guide seems to be on the blink in places and the traffic snarl-ups are even worse than usual. Angry drives get out of their vehicles and yell at each other, the unfortunate Knight Errant officers who are trying to deal with the situation, and anyone else who catches their eye.

Sprogget’s monocycle and Spring and Glyph’s bikes bypass the crowds although it can be a little hair raising at times. For Scrapheap, Alpha, and Tweak stuck in the step van the waiting is frustrating and more than a little dangerous as vehicles around you act in an unpredictable manner.

This post has been edited by Aria: Dec 18 2012, 12:55 PM

@E:PL/Chi Town/Copperhead
[July 8th, 2072, 23:42; Storm Drain, somewhere beyond Blackwater, CZ, Chicago]

Getting close to midnight, you’ll be just as glad when this clusterfrag of a day is over!

The kids are both a little battered and are clearly on the brink emotionally but it could have been considerably worse all things considered. You patch up Jon and dose him to the eyeballs and they visibly relax as your healing magics finally begin to knit the wound together leaving an angry red slash in his arm that will fade with time. Interesting that it takes magic to reassure a couple of techno freaks!

You suspect the bird is still hunting you all from the occasional flashes of light you see off to the south but both Katie and Jon confirm that whatever was marking them out seems to have faded. There is now considerable distance between you and your pursuers, but there’s further to go to reach the edge of the CZ and sitting around isn’t bringing it any closer.

September 1, 2072 20:20:02;
Physical Location: Angelo's Apartment Renton
PAN - Passive; SIN - Nicole Deveraux


Glyph gives Angelo a once over as she speaks

"Yes I do, I believe you are expecting this."

Glyph hands Angelo the package.

"Are you going to have any trouble getting this to where it needs to go?"

@E:Tribes, Sprogget
[September 1, 2072 20:00 Heading north to Bellevue]
Bionode: Response 4(5), Signal 2, System 4, Firewall 3; Hidden; Analyze(3), Command(1), Edit(1), Scan(1), Sniffer(3), Spoof(1), Stealth(3), Shield(1), Tacsoft(2), Simrig(1)
CMT Clip: Response 1, Signal 3, System 1, Firewall 1; Hidden; SIN: Paul Brickhill (R3)

Heading north from the complex, Sprogget expects it will take a little time to catch the others.  However, he discovers that grid guide is glitching, causing worse traffic snarls than usual.  With the maneuverability of the cycle, he is able to slip through without too much difficulty, though it does keep the heart rate up a bit.
@self:If this keeps up, I might have to make good on the comment to just drive right over a few vehilces with this smart wheel!  Wouldn't want to attract any extra attention from KE though.  They look ready to chew on anyone that annoys them.
The mess slows the van more than the cycles, so he catchs up quickly.  An indicator shows up in the window opened earlier, showing that first Spring, then shortly after Tweak, Scrapheap, and Alpha are in direct connection range.

@local jailbreakers: <<What a mess.  Hey Fre∑domers, did you get any more info about what the matrix mess is about, and is grid guide and this traffic part of the result?  Glyph should be making fairly good time on that Rapier, but LeFey is going to need a bit of time with package before we pick her up.  Alpha, will you need to be managing the CHN before she starts, and do you think it is safe for you do that while on the road?

Spring, think we can help that van navigate through this?  We can act as eyes to help them out.  We can travel faster than they can, but do not see a real point in getting there much ahead of them.  Drivers please slave your 'links here {sprogget bio node address}, to setup local tacnet.  Passengers can join as well, if you have at least 4 sensor channels, but unless those sensors can get extra information, it won't help much.  Maybe whoever is riding shotgun can see enough to help out.

Springs scooter is too small to get any of this traffic to give way, but this armored wheel might.  I'm going to see if I can break trail a bit.  Use the cycle maneuverability, and the armored wheel for intimidation, to try to get you some extra driving room.  That's going to keep me busy here.  Alpha, can you see about plotting us a route to get around the worst of this?

Let's dance!>>
@self:This is going to be different than just getting speed through the traffic.  I need to see about opening holes to let the van through, not going for speed.  Won't always work, but sometimes I should be able to get others to move away from the armored wheel.  To bad I can't really do 'angry Ork' to add some flavor to that.  Need to stay jumped in to get the most out of the cycle.  So it's got to be angry Ork rigging the wheel of doom.

@Virtual Scream / Dante
[September 1, 2072, 19:22, Ling Hung Tea House, Redmond Barrens, Seattle]
PAN: hidden, Response 1, Signal 3, System 2, Firewall 1

Dante raises the can in a quick toast before taking a long swig of his own. He sighs, smacking his lips before letting out a loud belch.

"Noodles are good. Have to eat them fast, they're not good if they're cold."

He eats some more, drinks some more, then continues.

"This virus is hitting the shadow community hard. It seems wiz tech guys are hit the hardest. You said you've worked all day on this? Who did you see who was affected?"

@E:PL /UK
[May 21st, 2072, 18:28; Overlooking Clearwater, Exmoor, UK]
PAN - Active ; SIN - Maximilien Danton

"That is---how you say...ah, yes, that is good to know. Distressing, but good to know." Gemeaux grimaces at the thought of being near the royal ley line. When the toddler cries, he looks from him to the father.

"Monsieur, do you sense anything? It could mean nothing, but it could also mean life or death. I rely on my machines to do my bidding. I shudder to think that there could be some voyous that would turn my weapons against me..."

@E:PL/Chi Town/Copperhead
[July 8th, 2072, 23:43; Storm Drain, somewhere beyond Blackwater, CZ, Chicago]

As she is packing away the medkit, she glances over at the two mercs.

"You guys good to go?"

"We'll live."

She then checks the Enfield. It will need to be cleaned properly when they get out of here, but should be okay for now. She stands up wearily, drawing herself up to her full height and rolling the muscles in her back and neck.

"Okay, den let's move it. And keeps yer fingers crossed dat we don't run inta anymore of da local wildlife before we gets out. Say, I don't suppose you boys could make a girl's night by tellin me ya gots a truck stashed outside da CZ that will fit all five of us?"

@Virtual Scream / Dante
[September 1, 2072, 19:23, Ling Hung Tea House, Redmond Barrens, Seattle]
PAN: hidden, Response 1, Signal 3, System 2, Firewall 1

Tucking into his noodles, Jing Cha talks while eating.

"Not just the shadow community, omae. GridGuide's been messed up all afternoon. Downtown's been turned into a massive parking lot and tempers are running high. I've been called to two assaults and a shooting just because of that. We've also had people trapped in elevators, a bunch of electrical fires and a couple of geeks brainfried from running hotsim links when it paid them a visit. It even tried to get into our systems. Couple of cybercops got themselves chewed up by it. One is in pretyy bad shape."

He picks up a piece of orange soy, masquerading as a carrot, with his chopsticks and waves it gently back and forth.

"They're not sure if there's going to be much left of him even if he makes it. If you know what I mean."

@Virtual Scream/Cipher
[September 1, 2072, 13:42; Downtown, Seattle]

Cipher pauses, momentarily confused. Was this it? Was it finally happening? All of this pseudo reality was crumbling, folding in around him.
"Um, yes please driver. And when you stop for fuel I need to use the bathroom."
He tried dropping in and out of the Matrix, to see if it was still there, if it was still seperate or whether this reality was that one.
Nggh. Damned head hurts so much.
He looked out of the window of the cab, looking for any clues, anything that may give him a world to hold on to.

@E:CoP/Johnny Awesome
[August 20th, 2072, 21:53; NeoNet Tower, Oxford]

Johnny keeps pace effortlessly, though it's more of a chore than he'd have liked. What had happened to his night? He'd planned some drink, some dancing and probably some extracurricular activity with a barmaid in the toilets, but now he was embroiled in this game and he couldn't stop playing.
"So you know him through work, then? You know, I'm a little surprised at your opposition to De La Mar. I would've though that NeoNET would be in favour of having more control over their matrix."
He pauses for a few seconds and looks at her to see how his comment landed. Was he starting to win? It felt that way. He hoped so.

@Virtual Scream, Alex Bianchi
September 1, 2072, 14:58; Alex's Everett apartment
Hermes Ikon: Hidden | SIN: Alexander Bianchi ( Re 4(3) - Sig 3 - Fi 5 - Sys 4(3) )

When it rains, it pours. And my attorney would take this month for his Carib vacation... Alex found this Harvey Dennis' number in his LTG guide and opened a vid-call window.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Dennis. You were recommended to me by Detective Walks-With-Purpose from Knight Errant, as I have a rather obnoxious tech problem. It seems I was hit with the ">1rtu@l5cr3@m" that's hitting Seattle, and she thought you might be able to help me get my 'link back to working order."

@E:Tribes, Scrapheap
September 1, 2072 20:00; Heading north to Bellevue
PAN mode: Hidden | SIN displayed: Eric Jones

Scrapheap smirked at the hapless wageslaves as they tried to deal with GridGuide being spotty from his spot in the back of the stepvan. Never been without that safety net, and now they don't know what to do...poor babies. The smirk faded a little as he watched one angry driver interrupt the tirade of the person he'd rear-ended with a pistol shot to the head. He shook his head, then checked that the shotgun was still hanging securely across his shoulder from it's strap.

"Don't take much to act like da worst of us, yeah?" he called out to Alpha and Tweak. "Hope no-one decides to take any potshots at us."

@Virtual Scream/Cipher
[September 1, 2072, 13:42; Downtown, Seattle]

The cab takes off at a brisk pace, dodging around the other traffic with the sort of manuevering typically only associated with a human driver.

Cipher focuses his attention on the 'real' world and while the skeleton disappears from his vision, he knows it is still there in the matrix.

He cradles his pounding head in his hands, and for a moment, he can feel where the top of his skull has been sliced off. His fingers touch the soft, slimy tissue of his brain. With a gasp, he looks up into the rearview mirror and for a just a second, he sees his exposed brain. Then he blinks and it is gone, and all he can see and feel is sweat-matted hair.

Looking out of the window, the sheep-people seem to be unaware of anything strange going on. A voice in his ear says, "...third quarter results...". And out the corner of his eye, he sees a group of people sitting around a conference table in the middle of the sidewalk. But when he turns to look at them directly, all he sees is the autocab's empty driver's seat.

"No problem." Angelo slips the package into a small, plain looking backpack. "That's why they pay me the big bucks," he jokes. "Or rather, small to middling." The teenager hurries for the door, pulling on a coat that looks at least one size too large for him. "Sorry to run off on you, but the clock is ticking. You're probably in a hurry too, huh? Oh, and thanks for what you all are trying to do." Initially, Andrew had planned on taking the bus. Considering there appeared to be a virus laying waste to the Seattle grid, now, public transportation would be difficult.

He settled for mirroring their approach to Bellevue. Angelo could usually count on a ride from his father's former teammates, especially if he helped pay for fuel, and in this case, allowed himself to be dropped off Downtown (his mentors didn't feel like trying to blend in). Shouldering the backpack, he briefly stopped at a Microdeck to confirm the grid was still experiencing problems. And for the benefit of anyone watching, it had to look like Andrew was stopping to browse before going on to visit his friend.

He reaches Morgan's house just after eight.

"I'll get it! I'm expecting someone." To her credit, she managed not to rush out of her room as soon as she heard Angelo ring the bell, opting to wait for a second or two. Morgan notices one of the housekeepers flash a disapproving glance at the door.

"You left these on your desk." He hands Morgan the bag. "Oh, and..." Angelo's voice drops to a whisper. "...I think we're about to find out why Flo was sick this afternoon. Check the news, and watch your back online." He turns to leave. "I gotta get home. See you tomorrow." The girl walks back to her room, remembering to remain calm and meet people's eyes. "He's my friend. Not some kind of spy. And for the record, we aren't going out." She had caught them staring.

Just to play up the rebellious teen act, Morgan slams the door (wincing at the noise) and locks it loudly. She then lowers herself into a kneeling position. "Are you with me?"

"I've never left your side, my pet."

"And Tagget?" She senses the temporary bond, still. "Time is short. We need to prep, then squeeze in a quick practice before it comes time for the real thing." Morgan unzips the bag.

@Emerging: Tribe / Fre∑dom
[September 1, 2072 20:50:34; Senlis Residence, Bellevue]
SIN: Morgan Senlis, PAN: Active

With the contents of the bag laid out before her, Morgan sat in silence, focusing on the sounds of the matrix. On the steady, rhythmic pulse of the Resonance. Gradually, the sound of wireless traffic grew almost loud enough to block everything out. The Resonance pulsed in time with her heartbeat. She removed her glasses from their perch on her collar. "Okay." Morgan slipped them on.

After that, she noticed the slight, but significant change in Tagget's appearance. Many of the gears and levers had gone, leaving behind living flesh. Furthermore, the pages of the books were now yellowed with age.

You follow the Resonance along different paths. When these paths interact, the results can be quite unusual.

"I see." At a touch, the book on RFIDs flipped open, moving its pages rapidly. Too quickly to read in any conventional way. Yet, by the time she reached the back cover, Morgan found herself with a newfound wealth of knowledge on tags. She worked meticulously with the tag eraser, trying to get as many of them as she could. Morgan reminded herself to hurry, even if she wasn't looking forward to the next step. Putting aside the devices, she transferred the sim file to her commlink. Then, she put on the trodes.

All of her encounters with jamming devices had been mercifully short and long ago. Her memories of the feeling were vague enough that she wasn't ready to experience it again. First came the oppressive quiet. The familiar sounds of the matrix faded until they were barely more than a whisper. Then, the strange numbness. It felt as if the silence was spreading to her sense of touch. But the sim didn't become truly difficult to bear until the last part.

For a moment, the world was gone, replaced only by the jammer. Morgan had to remind herself she could move and breathe. There was only one other instance in which she had experienced such helplessness, and that was the Crash. As soon as it was over, she ripped the trodes off and staggered to her bed. "Tell him I've done all I can," Morgan says to Tagget. "The actual escape will reveal whether it is enough. And bring him the list of tags I found."

@Virtual Scream/Uller
[September 1, 2072, 12:19; Downtown, Seattle]
Sony Emperor: Active | SIN: Luke MacAuley ( Re 2 - Sig 3 - Fi 2 - Sys 2)

"Why Harvey, you know I came here just to annoy you," Uller said with a bright smile as he accepts the piece of paper, giving it a scan with a sharp pulse of interest. Career criminal, happy to victimise anyone who looked like they couldn't stand up for themselves. He hated scum like that. Shame he'd have to bring him in alive, which presented difficulties in and of itself. But not that easy either, particularly when he'd been relying on Eirik for wheels. He had no particular illusions about being to carry a Troll out of Renton. This was why working with a partner had been gone. He might just kill the Troll, doing everyone a favour, and bring in the girl. Besides, he didn't much care for the idea of trying to subdue a Troll.

"What the hell is this virtualscream anyway?" he asked curiously. "Is that why my trid player's stopped working?"

@Virtual Scream/Cipher
[September 1, 2072, 13:46; Downtown, Seattle]

As the cab pulls up at the charge station, Cipher jumps out and darts quickly into the toilets. He grips the edge of the sink hard, staring into the cracked mirror, assessing the damage to his meatflesh. He splashed water up at his face and rubbed the blood stains from his nose and ears. What was that thing? He had to find out.

Walking towards the services' vending machines he quickly spoofs some payments and they obligingly cough up an energy drink and a packet of asprin. He takes 3 and rinses them down with a sugar hit.

Turning back towards the cab he studies his sprite. At least it was still obeying him, that was something, and maybe it'd make it easier for him to figure out. After a few seconds doubting his judgement he climbs back into the cab and asks the driver to take him to a parking lot. He needs somewhere to work, and hopefull no-one will notice the cab is missing if he stays off the grid.

@Virtual Scream/Alex Bianchi
September 1, 2072, 14:58; Alex's Everett apartment
Hermes Ikon: Hidden | SIN: Alexander Bianchi ( Re 4(3) - Sig 3 - Fi 5 - Sys 4(3) )

An image of a dwarf appears in Alex's AR. He has lank hair under a reversed baseball cap and a smudge of oil on one cheek. He couldn't look more like a car mechanic, if he tried.

<<"Dennis' Drones. How can I...frag, did you say Selene. Man, is she ever gonna let me off the hook. She pulls me out of a burning squad car that one time and I owe her for the rest of my fragging life. Hey, wait a minute. Don't I know you? Aint you the cop that got fired for banging the captain's daughter. Brass Balls Bianchi, right?>>

<<Hehe, man that had us laughing down in the vehicle pool for months. Well, right up till they outsourced our asses. Say, did you say >1rtu@l5cr3@m. Well, join the queue chummer. Half my drones caught a bad case of it too. And a couple of my buddies already been on the blower wanting me to look as some piece of junk that's been hit by it. So sure, drop on by and I'll add yours to the pile. Here's my {address}. I got a couple of ideas and I'll do some digging online. It might take a day or two, but I'll get rid of it for you.>>

@Virtual Scream/Uller
[September 1, 2072, 12:19; Downtown, Seattle]
Sony Emperor: Active | SIN: Luke MacAuley ( Re 2 - Sig 3 - Fi 2 - Sys 2)

Harvey grins at Uller's comeback, but it quickly fades back to a frown when the bounty hunter mentions >1rtu@l5cr3@m again.

"Some sorta virus is my best guess. I prefer hardware to software, so I ain't SOTA when it comes to all that matrix crap. But I'll do some digging, see what I can find."

"Your trid player stopped working. Did you bring it with you? Then how the frag am I supposed to know if the virus hit it? Sheesh, enough with the puppy dog look, just bring it over once you've dealt with Slicer and I'll fix it for ya."

@Virtual Scream/Cipher
[September 1, 2072, 13:52; Downtown, Seattle]

The top floor of the car park is mostly empty, which is unusual for this time of day. But maybe it is because all the roads have been turned into one giant car park.

Did this thing, whatever it was, take out GridGuide? In any case, his skeletal driver seemed to know its way around it. So while no-one else was moving, his cab had flitted through the traffic with apparent ease.

He looks more like himself in the rearview mirror, the blood mostly washed away and some color back in his cheeks. The mix of sugar and aspirin have also cleared his head a little, although he is still getting flashes of images and sounds.

@Virtual Scream/Cipher
[September 1, 2072, 13:52; Downtown, Seattle]

Cipher sits for a moment in the quiet of the car park, letting the silence wash over him and clear his mind. He walks to the open shelf of the carpark roof and leans over the railing, staring down at the city below. It seems to have hit everywhere. Traffic stationary, the familiar hum of the city somewhat dulled.

He flicks online, in AR this time, and checks the news feeds, tech blogs and every source he knows for information of what's been going on. Once he finds out what everyone else knows, only then can he figure out what's actually happening...