IC: Dancing within the Void, In-character thread for the game Options

[Fenris]

Hitting the ground hard, both of the gangers scramble to their feet. With a look towards their fallen companions, the two turn with obvious reluctance and dash off into the darkness, ducking around the edge of the building.

Silence reigns for a brief moment. It's broken by the grinding slide of metal on metal as a rolling grate slams closed over the office front of MJM Services. Behind the pseudo-glass windows, Tank gives everyone a smile and a thumbs up before turning and disappearing back into the office space.

The next obvious sound is a the slam of a car door as the Westwind smoothly pulls out of the parking lot and begins to accelerate away.

An ARO depicting a small mail icon with WSC in flowing script in the corner causes commlinks to chime softly.

<<Kukyo.>>

Congratulations. Assuming none of the gangers die of lingering wounds, everything seems to have gone smoothly. Your first assignment is as follows:

Location: 4776 Coral Creek Parkway SE - Ikeda Research Facility

Goal: To obtain the following research files and material. <<attached is a list of files and several prototypes for a carbon nanotube cybernetic implant, similar to dermal sheathing.>> Destroy the originals.

Situation: Ikeda suspects a leak and/or incompetence in the security of a high level research lab located in Newcastle. In order to test the response of the security team and secure important information, we are to run a mock "shadowrun" against the facility, and obtain the information and materials related to their research, and return these to the parent corporation. We are to destroy any other copies to prevent the leak from releasing that information to competitors.

Restrictions: Minimal collateral damage. Zero fatalities. Moderate casualties allowed. Extraction must occur with 7 days.

Special Notes: Since the security system at the location is heavily Matrix oriented, a second Computer Security Expert will be assigned to your team to assist with infiltration / retrieval. Expect contact with the next 24 hours.

[DireRadiant]

"Run! Run! Job's done!" pitched and projected with his will, Gregor waited with external calm as events unfolded.

As the assailants receded, he strode over to the fallen giant bleeding on the asphalt, and after a swift poke of his cane, sniffed and looked around at everyone.

From an inner pocket of his jacket the ork pulled out a slim silky white patch with bright red cross. Holding it up he asked, "Anyone else want to get their hands dirty?"

[Redjack]

As the pair fall, Atreus springs silently to his feet and roots for a moment looking to the ground between the pair. His hands are open and his arms relaxed, but in defensible positions. He stands frozen, watching them with his peripheral vision looking for further danger.

As the duo scamper away, he backs away. You are not safe until you are truly out of harms way. The words of one of his childhood Senseis echo in his mind to remind him that it is not over until you are home safe and sound.

As the rest of the team begin to gather and insure none of the gangers perish, Atreus begins to feel the mild drain from his short term enhanced strength and agility. A small price to pay... A very small price.

With Sweetness being the only member of the team he knows from previous runs, he walks over to the ork. "I take it he'll live?" he says gesturing to the troll.

[Method]

A shudder passes through Vertigo's body as she drops the invisibility spell on Kukyo. She wanders out from behind a car, holstering her pistol as she goes, and assessing the downed gangers.

"I think I'll invest in a medkit or two before we start this next assignment. Keeping people alive might be the hardest part of this job..."

She smiles at Gregor and Atreus.

[DireRadiant]

With a raised eyebrow Gregor replies to the question, "I doubt it."

Sighing he lowers himself to one knee and holds the package up to read the instructions.

"Ah, it needs to be applied directly to the skin. Would you be so kind as to unzip that bit there? Near his chest."

[Method]

"Well, 'people' would include us as well..."

Vertigo gives Gregor a wink and bends to help him with the ganger's clothing.

[Redjack]

Atreus is pretty sure the young, hispanic woman is the woman he saw with his brother, Ammon, at the expo. As he squats down to assist Sweetness, he replies to her. "I think simply buying our gun bunny gel rounds would go a long ways towards negating the problem."

He unzips the clothing and looks towards the rest of the team and the downed gangers thinking. We need to spend some time coordinating. This was sloppy, but at least it was only a few street gangers.
"Anybody know the scan on the Johnsons? Destroy the originals? Smells like a real run to me...."

[DireRadiant]

Gregor fastidiously flattened the packet and pressed it down on a bare piece of troll flesh. He pulled a tab string, and the packet began bulging and reshaping itself to conform to the thick armored epidermis.

Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and caldron bubble...

Standing up and brushing off his knees, the ork smiled, "Thank you."

Tapping his waistcoat pocket, "There is a message then?" A quick glance down into the pocket confirmed his guess. The message light blinked discretely.

Ignoring the message light for the moment, the ork waved his left hand in the air over the troll. Without a sound a dark 33 cm tall bat winged imp appeared hovering two meters in the air over the grounded troll.

"Inform me immediately if this one crosses over within the next hour!" gleefully the imp dropped down and perched on the trolls shoulder, then faded away.

"A drink?" he asked everyone.

[Method]

Vertigo watches curiously as the little imp disappears. Hmmm... this Gregor seems to have a way with spirits. That will come in very handy...

She nods. "Wonderful idea! But lets make it someplace far from here. Any suggestions?"

She turns back to the familiar looking elf. And Atreus seems to have close combat covered...

"I agree it sounds a little... off. If the files and tech are mock ups that would be one thing, but it would be odd for a company to part with real swag for a 'security simulation'." She pauses... Probably best not to discuss these details in the current surroundings...

"You down for a drink or two, Atreus? Finn? McCoy?"

[Redjack]

He continues to look around as they talk. Several years in the shadows and his uncle's betrayal has made him paranoid. Perhaps Ammon has done something foolish like returning to the Tir to set a few things right...... Another foolish decision on his part if he did... and one that will create a second reason for me to someday return... He pushed those thoughts of a not so far away place out of his mind. Dwelling on them would only spoil his mood and despite the slop, they had done well today.

Atreus stands with the duo. "A drink. Yes, I think we are due for one of two of those. This has been a long day..."

[DireRadiant]

"I'm afraid my limo driver refused to endanger his vehicle, quite rightly it appears, and we must move quickly from here."

With a curt nod the ork starts walking towards the street.

[Redjack]

"My bike's over there-" gesturing across the parking lot, "If you don't mind riding bitch."

[DireRadiant]

With a smile of amusement, Gregor changes his course, 'Lead on.'

[Method]

With a few quick key strokes on her commlink, Vertigo calls up her bike from the back of the parking lot.

"Lead the way boys, I'll follow."

[Redjack]

Not having all the fancy mods on his bike, Atreus walks across the lot to his bike and starts it with a press on the starter switch. Looking at the rest of the team, he takes a moment to think about the a place where they can all get a drink and maybe a bite nearby where they would blend in. He remembers the perfect spot he was at just six weeks ago.....

[Toras]

McCoy jacks out from the matrix, having acquired a rather fortunate account.

"Sure, and if someone can give me a ride I'm buying. "

On a certain ganger's tab. It was unlikely he'd have money once the hospital got through with it, so best to loot while the sun shines.
This second matrix guy was a worry though. Was he being set as expendable. He'd have to keep an eye out.

[BishopMcQ]

"McCoy, you're with me."

Moving with purpose, Finn crosses the parking lot to his car. He opens it manually, unlocks the doors and heads to the trunk. Changing his shirt and jacket, the armored vest beneath everything becomes obvious. The sniper slides a gauze pad beneath the vest to staunch the bleeding and puts on a new set of press flats. These ones would be incinerated when he got home.

With the hacker in the car, Finn gets behind the wheel and follows the go-gang of runners on their way to the bar. As they are driving, McCoy quickly notices that the other man drives manually. No grid-guide, no computers.

[Fenris]

The bar is, as advertised, fairly clean and obviously set up to provide privacy. The interior is filled with booths, each sporting a 3/4 wall between it and the one next to it. Most of the booths and tables are well worn wood, and a lingering odor of cigar smoke is present, but not overwhelming. Interestingly enough, there's no advertisement outside, either physical or AR, that indicates the locations presence. Just a solid wooden door. Those who can perceive or recognize the feeling will notice the quick shiver of cold that you get passing through some astral construct.

A central bar in a long rectangle divides the room into roughly two parts. Manning the bar, currently actually cleaning a glass by hand, is a female troll. As the group of you enter the bar, she glances up briefly, and then turns back to a conversation she's having with a slim, tres chic suited elven woman sitting at the bar. As the conversation ends, the elven woman turns, nodding towards you as she heads across the bar to a door marked "Office". The trolless behind the bar gives the group of you another look, lingering longer on Finn then the rest of you. She points over her shoulder with one thumb, at an engraved wooden sign that says:

Mac's
Neutral, Extraterritorial Ground

Several booths are open, the bar can't be more then half full. One near the door, one near the back of the bar, and one of several free standing booths scattered around the bar.

[Redjack]

Atreus chuckles inside to himself. I knew that guy was gonna draw trouble out like a magnet...

He spies an empty table enough for the team and lays claim to it by siting down. He opens up a team-net using the software Porter had installed on his com so they can interact about the run over coms while they hold more trivial conversations in the mundane about combat biking and the like.

<<@Team [Atreus] So as to just throw a strawman out, here goes. How about we start with getting alternate wheels?
McCoy - Can you hack a rental company or something and get us a van for a few days?
We can then perform a drive by on the facility. That will give Sweetness and myself a chance for at least a cursory glance at the astral, McCoy a chance to lock in on any localized wireless signals and the rest of us a look at obvious physical security measures.
We can make a second run by at 7:50am. That will allow us the ability to see what type of activity occurs at the start of a wage-slave day.
Anybody have contacts to get floor plans? Find out about more details about exactly what business they do there?
As to angles to get physically onsite.. I know that the cleaning crew angle is way over played and cliche, but it is tried and true. If not that, we could cause a disruption in electrical power then intercept the service call and go in as the repair crew. A third option is of course to use wifi dampeners and a tactical assault...>>

He provides the last option half as a little jab at Finn, half seriously.

[Fenris]

The suit from earlier exits the "Office" door and begins walking towards the bar. At a nod from the barkeep in your direction, she changes course to arrive at your table.

"Hello, gentleman, I'm Mac." she says, flashing you a gorgeous smile. The tall, slender, perfectly proportioned elf is wearing a business suit that accentuated every one of her body's positive qualities without coming off as cheap or easy.

"While we appreciate your company, you will need to actually buy something if you're going to take up a table. As long as your drinking, take as long as you like. You have complete privacy. If you want an external link, just connect here." A flashing ARO of an old fashioned jackpoint appears beside her.

Her piece apparently said, she turns to continue strolling across the bar, heading out the door with a nod to the bartroll.

[Redjack]

Atreus looks Mac over, quickly so as to avoid the leering ganger stereotype, before looking back around the table and then back to her. He starts to reply, but is cut off as she curtly heads for the door. So much for first impressions....

Gesturing to the bartroll, "A round all round." he says, gesturing in a circle over the table. As an after thought to appease his stomach as well, "You got a special?"

[Toras]

<<@Team [Atreus] So as to just throw a strawman out, here goes. How about we start with getting alternate wheels?
McCoy - Can you hack a rental company or something and get us a van for a few days?
We can then perform a drive by on the facility. That will give Sweetness and myself a chance for at least a cursory glance at the astral, McCoy a chance to lock in on any localized wireless signals and the rest of us a look at obvious physical security measures.
We can make a second run by at 7:50am. That will allow us the ability to see what type of activity occurs at the start of a wage-slave day.
Anybody have contacts to get floor plans? Find out about more details about exactly what business they do there?
As to angles to get physically onsite.. I know that the cleaning crew angle is way over played and cliche, but it is tried and true. If not that, we could cause a disruption in electrical power then intercept the service call and go in as the repair crew. A third option is of course to use wifi dampeners and a tactical assault...>>

<<@Team[McCoy] I can get us a van for a couple days without any records of it. The question being do you want to have to pay for it or not. The Rental Company doesn't care if we are driving it around, and I'd like to avoid GTA to an otherwise quasi-legal operation. That being said, if no one cares, I know a couple places that will misplace a van for a bit.

If we are going to do this sort of thing long term, I'd suggest picking up a used one so we can make alterations if we need to. But that maybe as discussio for another time. I can also snag any records the city has on file, and though they are likely wrong in half a dozen places it will give us a place to work from. That and it should give use a good idea about where the electrical, water, and sewer lines are run.

[Method]

Vertigo grabs and empty chair next to Atreus, taking a look around the bar. My kinda place... out of the way and not too open... would have preferred a booth though...

She looks over the gorgeous elf with almost as much enthusiasm as Atreus... ooo that suit is hot... I should get one like that... but for entirely different reasons. As Mac walks away, Vertigo turns to Atreus.

"I'd love a beer... how's your brother been lately?"
"I'll text a friend of mine and see what he knows about the Ikeda Corp. I like the idea of a van."

Producing a commlink she begins to punch keys in rapid succession. As relaxed as she looks, any casual observe would be surprised to learn that she is simultaneously carrying on a two conversations and sending a text.

"What kind of food do they have in this place?"
"If we can figure out what they do I'd like to infiltrate early and look around. Maybe pose as a lost delivery girl..."
[Finch]: Got an interesting story to tell you about our friend Ikeda. Hit me back when you have a minute or two.

She pauses long enough to look around again and wonder what was ol' Mac doing in that back room?

[Fenris]

Vertigo - As you access your commlink to send out mail, you realize that Mac wasn't kidding. This whole place is saturated in enough white noise to give an otaku a headache. You're unable to pick up anything except for the access node that she mentioned. Logging onto that, you're able to access the Matrix readily enough, but it'd be almost impossible to connect directly to anything inside the bar.

Finch's reply comes fairly quickly, unsurprisingly.
"Well, I can tell you just off the bat that there's a rumor going around about Ikeda and the Takara. Run by sisters that absolutely hate each other, they're doing they're best to wipe each other off the map. Ikeda's winning, at the moment, with Takara on the ropes. Anything more you're looking for, it'll take some time. Let me know if you want more detailed info, and gimme a few questions to run with."

[Redjack]

Atreus sits back, cupping his hand in front of his mouth as though thinking to hide his use of the subvocal mike. <<@Team [Atreus] For the initial two drive-bys, I was thinking you could just monkey the rental car records for a complementary rental... or prepaid... or corporate account usage. I think getting a team vehicle would be a reasonable idea for the actual run... Not sure how our finances support that though. And a place to work from would be nice as well.>>

He then looks to Vertigo. "We've had a bit of a falling out. Haven't seen him in about a month. He'll surface when he's ready."

His mind drifts back to the safe house conversation. This would be a good idea. Something near the freeway. Several avenues of escape.