The Found Arcana - Chapter 12 [IC] Options

[Thanee]

<<Monday Morning - 08:00 - May 15, 2079 - Daily News>>

Politics

It's all about the upcoming Special Election Runoff between Nikola Taul and Corinne Potter. Both candidates are neck and neck according to recent polls.

The FRFZ

News from the Front Range Free Zone have been tickling in ever since Ghostwalker made it his domain, evicting every government entity and the Native American Nations from Denver, and taking full control. The spectacular display of power from about two months ago, when the dragon himself abruptly ended an attack from UCAS military forces on his own Zone Defense Force, is still vividly remembered. The former sectors, that Denver was divided into starting all the way back in 2018 with the First Treaty of Denver, are gone. Many of the control points inside the city have been dismantled. Denver is now one big city with a total of nineteen, semi-autonomous districts.

Sports

After several defeats the Seattle Screamers, Seattle's premier league Urban Brawl team, are looking for new talent to bolster their ranks in the hopes of getting the team back to what it once was.

* * * * *

<<Monday Afternoon - 12:37 - May 15, 2079 - SIS, Bellevue>>

Priority Call incoming... it's the man himself, Captain Razak.

<< SIS. I have a job for you. Got a call from an old acquaintance of mine, Jarone Falcone, who is in a bit of a situation. He is running a corporate retreat at his ranch in Brighton. Yes, Denver. Things have calmed down quite a bit over there by now, otherwise I wouldn't even ask. This place is his retirement plan. He was in the shadow business as a fixer, but is out of the game for a while now. He left that world behind after he got shot and paralized from the waist down years ago. His background isn't public knowledge, so keep that in mind. And he does not know anything about our arrangements, you are simply a referral. Now he's running the Horse Trot Ranch, providing some quality downtime to those suit-types. And one of his guests was taken tonight. In the morning, he found a ransom note, and now he needs someone to help bring his customer back. Discreetly. He would prefer that help coming from outside his own circle, he obviously still has connections, but also some enemies from back in the day, which is why he called me. He would like to meet at his ranch at 18:00 today to discuss terms in person. I can have a plane ready that gets you to Cheyenne in about two hours. From there, you should be able to make it in time. And remember, spirits are considered citizens in the FRFZ with the same rights as metahumans. Those can get you into some serious trouble over there. Any questions? >>

"I might have to sit this one out," Rachel says. "I am still occupied with my initiation rite. But I could offer you my stash of preparations, which I have been preparing during the past few weeks and kept in the vault."

[Tecumseh]

Mato checks the time. They have 5 hours to make it to Denver.

"This is tight," he says. "We basically need to drop everything, pack, and get to the plane. That's an hour. Then two hours to Cheyenne, then another 160km into Denver. Gonna be snug."

<<How are we getting across the FRFZ border?>> Mato asks Razak. <<Legally or less legally? Are you arranging that leg of the transportation or are we running it ourselves?>>

His gaze drifts over to Tamarind. He assumes that she knows how to slalom a t-bird through the Rockies to drop into Denver under the radar.

"I have never been to Denver," he admits to the others. "Here, let's see if the Horse Trot Ranch has a Matrix presence..." He tries to pull it up on his commlink to see what the setting is like.

An open-ended scenario like this was a challenge.

"Do we need suits to blend in with the corpers? No, probably not. They're likely in Ares Victory. Probably the Globetrotter and Wild Hunt lines. I'm guessing Big Game Hunter would be a bit much.

"Would the Chasseur Field Uniform be appropriate?" he asks, half-rhetorically. "I feel like a footman when I wear it, but it is exceedingly functional."

He waits for Razak's response to decide how much (and what kind of) luggage he can bring with him.

[Thanee]

<< I know the schedule is tight, >> Razak replies. << But time is also of the essence. Nothing new there. Given the situation, if you are running a little late, I'm sure he will understand. >>

<< You can get anything you want into Cheyenne, that route is well-established, but Denver is a bit trickier, of course. You could very much just travel legally. I can provide a decent ride. There are some automated scans along the way, but that's pretty much it. The ZDF is spread thin, and the area is huge, to say the least. If you need anything beyond what you can take legally, I can see what I can do, but it will take some extra time, so it would likely be delivered later. Falcone might also be able to provide you with equipment on site. >>

<< As for other guests at the ranch, I am pretty certain, that he does not want you to interact with them at all, if possible. Keep the whole operation under the radar. It's his reputation, that is on the line there. >>

The Horse Trot Ranch does have a Matrix presence, of course. It is mostly advertisement and a booking system. There are a bunch of beautiful pictures of the ranch itself, the horses, and the amazing landscape. Mato gets the impression, that the ranch is very large.

[Beta]

Tamarind goes paler and paler as she listens to the message, and afterwards she goes to her room hugs Stitch and pats Beauty for a while. Something she hasn't been doing as much of lately.

Five minutes later she asks the rest of the team to pull together to discuss the mission. As soon as they are together she blurts out "Something you should all know, that I should have told you at first. How I got entangled with Razzak originally was back when he was working internal security in the Sioux, and they were looking to weaken the power of some of the smuggling syndicates. Mine was pretty good, but we had lots of places we worked out of, moved around, didn't leave much signature. But I'd been planting wildflower seeds. Nobody would notice a few wildflowers, I thought, but someone recognized the pattern and managed to backtrack to me eventually. They picked me up when I was on a break, back in Butte, immersed in a hot sim game. They bypassed my security, and I came out of hot sim to find myself in prison."

A few gulps of air, then she continues. "They cracked me in two days. I gave them everything -- who, where, how, the works. In return Razzak got me out of the Sioux -- first in Seattle for some years, then into the Front Range Free Zone in '75 until the expulsion, working for a smuggling network that was more PCC based. Even then I kept a low profile, didn't talk to anyone too much, leaned into my AMC fake ID that he provided, worried that networks would cross and word would get out. That's why, after the expulsion, I came here instead back to the Sioux. I don't know if anyone figured out that I sold them out, but I can't talk to anyone from back then, just trying to look them in the eye would be ...." She visibly crumbles at the thought, whispering "They were my friends. One had been my lover. I sold them all out in just two days."

She messages the last of what she wants to say <<So you see why I don't want to deal with any smugglers working out of Cheyenne, at least not directly. If we need to work with any for getting material in, or us out, I need to keep a very low profile.>>

Truly, this may not seem like that big of deal to some people, depending on their views on the primacy of loyalty -- but the Sioux generally prizes loyalty highly. And obviously Tamarind feels crushing shame and guilt around this topic.

[Tecumseh]

Mato listens politely. Perhaps he is privately impressed with Tamarind's vulnerability, or maybe it's a data point against her.

"Two days?" he asks with a tone somewhere between contemplative and curiosity.

"With the Sioux mindbreakers, I would have expected two minutes," he continues. "Two days is good."

He gives a small nod of recognition.

"In that situation, the reality is that it's not 'if' it's 'when'. So you stall them. You ration out the intel little by little, drawing things out, giving your people time to find out and go to ground.

"But you have to give them something, or they just put you two meters under. I wouldn't call that selling them out; I'd call that buying your life."

[Jack_Spade]

Bobby looked - if anything - exited at the news.
"Quite a lot of wildlife around. I wanted back to the Rockies for a while."
Listening to Tamarind he said: "Don't worry about that. We'll kit you out and AM gives you a makeover. And if all else fails, we'll vanish - either ourselves or them.
Ha. If I never went back to the places where I fucked up, I could go nowhere anymore."

[Gilga]

“Captain Razak in the digital flesh.” Let's see what he wants, but first, I need to try not to get myself killed. I narrowly dodge a spinning pillar of fire and run toward the exit; hordes of evil mushrooms and flying turtles are after me. Evil Mario helps me out in one of the jumps, and then we have an epic last fight... We lose... AGAIN. I blame Captain Razak for calling just at the crucial moment.

>>Princess Peach: Got work. Sorry, the boss is calling. “Evil Mario” protests, but I can only offer my gaming partner a sympathetic smile, which sits strangely on my cartoonish face. Then I vanished, and when I opened my eyes, I was at home again, where only Mato could jump as high as I did a moment ago. It must feel amazing to move so fast for real.

I have never met Evil Mario. He could be twelve, but he is about my skill level, which makes things fun. I could find him up with computer skills, but it feels intrusive. I give Mato a grinning look, imagining him doing the real-life obstacle trail. It takes me a moment to adjust to the real world after playing the Mushroom Kingdom Epic Experience ™. The call catches me with a complete surprise. A ransom case? Somewhere in Denver with that dragon Tamarind escaped from? This is intense.

I am not very worried about air travel because I upgraded my SIN within the last few weeks and bought one for my mother. I plan to bring her from Cheyanne to Seattle to be with me. I promised her that I’d go back for her if I made it up on my own, and as impossible as she is, I would try to make good on that promise when Raven says that the initiation keeps her from joining us. I feel skeptical after all; I am also working on initiation. Well, I am playing simsenses instead of working on my initiation, but boy, am I stuck with the flexible signature technique. I could use a breather... Perhaps she studies more like Bobby, that does some mental journey alone in nature, than like myself, who studies my ass off until I figure things out.

“You can’t bind spirits there anyhow...” I add neutrally to Raven, not wanting to get into the shamanic/hermetic divide on the subject. I am trying to get past my magical education not to become it. She is very generous in offering the alchemical preparation, but I leave using these to Mato and Tamarind because I have my mojo to sling around, even if it is admittedly modest in power.








As Tamarind voices her worries about it, I comment, “Poor thing...” As she voices being interrogated and lasting two days, the woman has seen the worst of people. “They knew the risks when getting into this line of work...” I add to the conversation to ease the woman’s guilt about it. You gave them 48 hours to figure it out. You took a lot of shit for them, don't blame them for being interrogated. It is hard to keep secrets...

And to Bobby, “I am kind of excited to travel, and my SIN has been fortified a lot after the incident at the animal clinic so that part should be okay... Even if international borderlines are a bit risky. ”

I then text Tam. A lover? How was it? anything serious? perhaps she'll indulge me.

[Tecumseh]

"What do we think, team?" Mato asks the others.

"Going in legally" - a sideways glance at AM - "I mean, going in publicly gets us a ride from Razak. Bobby, do you want to get scanned or just fly over the border?

"I'd like to bring the Mannlicher but I don't want any fuss from the scanners. I can get by with what's on hand, or what Falcone has readily available.

"I have the smuggling compartment in my leg. I don't think I can fit the Erika in there, but maybe some preparations."

Mato is uncertain about the utility of the preparations, as he knows his cybernetic nature makes him resistant to some of the enhancements that the others use.

"What do they do?" he asks Rachel.

[Gilga]

Mannlicher so badass. Appreciate the retro vibes.

"I may pass legally, but the Erika is highly illegal, and there is no way even to fake a license to use it. So she can't travel with me, either we find a creative way and in that case, the guns can go as well, or I'll leave it here but in that case, we'll have very limited hacking capabilities."

She looks at Bobby "Any chance you can bring my deck as a coyote or something?"

[Tecumseh]

"My understanding is that the FRFZ has a fence around it, the logic being that it was 'friendlier' to its neighbors than a wall. Now the fence might be electrified and be laced with monofilament, but it's 'nicer', neh?

"Although I don't know if Ghostwalker has changed or upgraded anything in the last two months. Probably not, as the snow doesn't stop falling until April and then sticks around at least until May. Makes large-scale construction difficult."

<<How sophisticated are those automated scans?>> Mato asks Razak. <<Any guidelines about what can and cannot get through without friction?>>

[Thanee]

"What do they do?" he asks Rachel.

"I have prepared four different types. One that makes it easier to avoid harm, one that greatly enhances your reactions when things get hectic. That one won't work for Bobby, not sure about you. And it requires a special item to use, a little like a perfume dispenser, but I can give you the two I have, just bring those back, please. Then invisibility, and a climbing enhancer. I pretty much went all-out on those, so they are high-powered and should have a strong effect. Got a few headaches, too. They should last for at least 5 minutes when they are activated. The strongest ones a little more," Rachel explains. "And they will be good for at least 30~36 hours once I remove them from the vault, many even more than that, before they start losing their power."

[ Spoiler ]

Combat Sense F10 P8 (Contact Trigger, +3 dice when activated, 48h until degradation)
Combat Sense F10 P8 (Contact Trigger, +3 dice when activated, 48h until degradation)
Combat Sense F10 P6 (Contact Trigger, +3 dice when activated, 36h until degradation)
Combat Sense F10 P5 (Contact Trigger, +3 dice when activated, 30h until degradation)
Increase Reflexes F10 P7 (Contact Trigger, Atomizer, +3 dice when activated, 42h until degradation)
Increase Reflexes F10 P7 (Contact Trigger, Atomizer, +3 dice when activated, 42h until degradation)
Improved Invisibility F10 P8 (Contact Trigger, +3 dice when activated, 48h until degradation)
Improved Invisibility F10 P6 (Contact Trigger, +3 dice when activated, 36h until degradation)
Improved Invisibility F10 P6 (Contact Trigger, +3 dice when activated, 36h until degradation)
Improved Invisibility F10 P6 (Contact Trigger, +3 dice when activated, 36h until degradation)
Gecko Crawl F10 P7 (Contact Trigger, +3 dice when activated, 42h until degradation)
Gecko Crawl F10 P7 (Contact Trigger, +3 dice when activated, 42h until degradation)

Razak also replies. << As far as we know, they have moderate ID scanners. They scan the vehicle and all passengers. Nothing unusual there, really. And they also have scanners to look for contraband, mostly weapons and drugs, I assume. Powered-down electronics should not be much of a problem. I can also look into getting a car with a shielded compartment. >>

[Beta]

Tamarind is amazed that her teamates don't seem worried about the potential for her to sell them out, given her history. But she holds back from saying anything further.

For entering the zone she offers "The FRFZ has had weird priorities ever since Ghostwalker took over. We might get looked at more carefully for having awakened with us, for example. I can't say that I understand it, I was working to support people flying in illegally, not so much those sneaking things in by land. Still, we should be clear on our story and make sure that we have the supporting material and are consistent with it."

"As for my stuff, my standard drone kit is all tasers for now. We have the high powered weapons we got in Texas but I've not installed them anywhere yet. My only real concern is if we have room for my larger drones. The small stuff is easy, but the Pelippers, Lazybones and Mimic, Stitch, and especially Toothless do take up space." By now the team knows that she is talking about her Pelican delivery drones, mini-zeps, Proletarian mechanic's helper, and the long, tracked, paramedic drone that can manage low-end highway speeds. "I'd like to take Toothless if possible, for the abiltiy to rip things open, or charge in and start apply first aid, but it counts at least as a person for space. Well, we'll check about room on the plane and what size of vehicle Razak can provide."

[Tecumseh]

"I can rip things open!" Mato protests. "First aid... Toothless probably has me there.

"Let's just keep the story close to the truth: we're tourists on our way to Horse Trot Ranch. I'd ask for a reservation but I'm guessing that Falcone won't want us on the books. Maybe AM can mock up a convincing facsimile. Bobby, Tamarind, and I are all Sioux nationals so it makes sense we're coming from Cheyenne."

He looks to AM. "You upgraded your SIN, so you're still Emma Miller, neh? If so, great. If not, we'll need to know your new name and cover story.

"As for the scanners, I'll skip the guns and explosives and will stick with sharp, pointy things that I can throw."

[Jack_Spade]

Bobby shrugged:
"I could try to smuggle things over for you, but honestly, that would take too much time. And it's not like it's hard to come by weapons over there. The Mannlicher should be easy to get there - it's prime hunting area out there and the Mannlicher is a classic hunting rifle.

The Erika is more of a problem. But that deck should fit into Mato's smuggling container if we separate the cooling units from the mainboard. Alternatively, I've still got that stealth tag abomination hacking device.

I myself carry only a taser anyway and that is legal anywhere. Might be a good addition in bear country for all of you in any case.

We'll have to pack light, so I'll leave it at my dufflebag with my beast armor."

[ Spoiler ]

Hardware test to make the Erika small enough to fit in a leg smuggling compartment?

[Gilga]

"I am Emma Miller, born and raised in New York City as a law-abiding UCAS citizen." I say, grinning at the irony of the situation. I was actually raised very close to Cheyenne, but no documents. Lying to get to your hometown...


I could... take Erika to parts, but don't expect her to like it. As for the weapons department, "I'll go unarmed unless I can carry a proper firearm. Tasers are a bit embarrassing and would not deter an attacker like a proper gun.

[Jack_Spade]

"The taser isn't for deterring - it's for tazing. Someone gets in your face, you zap them before they can do anything more stupid.
And having a holstered weapon on your person is the norm there. If you taze a sleazeball you can afterwards take his gun. And if you use the gun, you can discard it and it's the sleazeball's problem. It's all upside."

Bobby grinned and winked at AM.

[Gilga]

"You have a criminal mind, mister Walker." I say as a compliment. Well, not sure the average person would see it as a compliment but Bobby could have survived as a sinless. Which I am not sure many sinners would have. Perhaps they would, but not the way they are. I don't need guns; I just like them. I mean, we were in an actual gunfight when rescuing Bernt. I was armed, and I still chose spells. As for a Taser... It would be funnier to put these boxing sessions to good use if it ever comes to that.

[Jack_Spade]

"Understandable. But honestly: Never play with your prey unless it's unavoidably part of a plan. Never give them the chance to get one over you. There are a lot of dead people who brought fists to a gun fight. Shoot first and you shoot last."

Bobby's playfulness had turned somber once more:

"We are heading into an abduction. That means we are facing the same situation that we had with Brent. This time we shoot first."

[Tecumseh]

"AM has a formidable physique now. And she has something the rest of us don't: words. I might suggest that she start with those."

He turns to AM.

"Your boxing is quite good. However, not every fight stays on the feet. I might suggest some ground fighting. Wrestling, either sport or MMA, or jiu-jitsu, either Japanese or Brazilian. Cutty knows them all. If you have that as a foundation, you'll be even more confident on your feet."

He tries to put the Erika in his leg and it works!

"Look at that," he says, modeling his leg which does not appear to have a cyberdeck inside of it. "That won't solve the drone issue, but maybe Razak can get that shielded compartment for us.

"The bigger question is, 'What about Trouble?' I'm pretty sure that Ghostwalker's ban on conjuring will flag Trouble. Maybe it's less of an issue out in the rural areas, but there's still a risk involved."

He stands.

"Time is short so let's pack. We'll iron out details on the flight."

[Gilga]

I protest when Mato says that only I have words in a nonverbal Sioux sign language queue meaning 'nonsense'. Not sure if they follow me but I don't want to open to discussion about how the guys can achieve wonders with social skills and how they evolved over the last months. I guess I play the Jawsie of this mission.

When Mato manages to put Erika inside, I chuckle. "Little Erika is growing... she was never inside a guy before... Bring her home by midnight or something."

I answer to Mato Thanks for the curriculum advice. I never thought to use boxing. I started doing it for gigs and kept going because it helped me keep my center with everything that happened to you and the new housing arrangements. and to Bobby , I'll buy a taser if you insist, but I will make it a pink one with unicorns if you ever need to borrow it.

I look at Trouble, which is annoyingly invisible. "Looks like you'll be seating this one out, love. I'll let you decide what to do on this issue. You can go to the Fun House, stick with Raven, pull off a few pranks, or even visit Cheyenne and get to know mom or something, she knows about you but have never met you." I tell the cat spirit that manifests Cheshire cat style for gigs. It was funny when they first learned how to do it. The two of us watched Alice in Wonderland together for the first time, and Trouble empathized with the magical cat, which turned the entire story around. I swear that if Trouble's form could smile, they would have. Perhaps I should figure out how to code that into their spirit formula. Instead, the spirit materializes and places itself next to my leg, marking me as theirs.

[Jack_Spade]

Bobby shrugged: "Do that. Such a design will ensure no-one steels it. An opponent might even be misled that it's a toy.
Actually, order one for me too - and don't skimp on adding laser sights and a molded grip. Essential to hit precisely."

[Thanee]

<< Alright then, if there is nothing else. When anything comes to mind, you can still reach me, while you are in the air. Your flight will be ready when you arrive at Sea-Tac. There is a small, private airport called "Number Sixteen" at these coordinates -[- GPS coordinates attached -]-, where you can board your plane, no questions asked. You will be expected. I'll see you in Cheyenne. Razak out. >>

It's time to make some preparations...

[ Spoiler ]

You still need to decide on that smuggling compartment, whether you want to have it or not.
It is illegal, but well-hidden, obviously. Could help move some things across district borders inside Denver as well, if there is a need for that.

You should also list the relevant gear you want to take with you (no need to list every small, legal item; you can assume that you have those on you, as long as they are easily carried or worn) and which SIN you are using, of course.

Do you want to take Raven's alchemy with you? Who will take what? She has two Atomizers for the Increase Reflexes spell. The rest are wrapped-up bonbons, as usual, color/taste-coded for the spells and with some marks to know which are the ones with the higher potency.

[Jack_Spade]

True to his declaration, Bobby only packed legal stuff: His tazer, the body armor bag filled with the animal armor and the vision gear, as well as a few small bags containing about 20 drams of reagents, as well as a survival pack and a miniwelder.

"I'm ready, let's go."

[Tecumseh]

Mato mostly needs the clothes on his back, but packs a bit more to be ready for a variety of situations.

He figures they'll be driving straight to the meet and there won't be much time to change. He dons his Chasseur Field Uniform (as tailored by AM). He packs his armor jacket and ballistic mask in case he needs to change into something less formal.

He leaves behind the AK-97, Ingram Smartgun X, and Walther P118. The grenades get left too. He waffles about the Mannlicher Marpingen and decides to postpone the decision for a few minutes. That leaves him with some shuriken and throwing knives for moment.

Of course, there's the commlinks: a Transys Avalon and a burner Meta Link. He makes sure the Transys is broadcasting his real Sioux national SIN.

The gear is a bit less certain. He slips his chemsniffer ring onto his finger while he debates some of the B&E gear. "Autopicker, bug scanner, area jammer, lockpick set, micro-transceiver, sequencer, tag eraser, and tool kit. Survival kit? Bobby will have one. Slap patches, of course."

He's got a full bag by the time he's done so he figures he might as well bring along the Mannlicher and its not-so-legal ammunition.

<<Actually, a vehicle with a shielded compartment would be great>> he tells Razak. <<And can we get something large enough to accommodate a Medcart? Thanks.>>

[Beta]

"I'll use one of my fake IDs, because it is where I have my weapons licenses -- so I'm Antonia Babtista for the duration, licensed for driving, weapon carry, security consultant, and as press. Hopefully it will hold up to scrutiny?

My weapons are acceptable under my license, my drones are legal, and are only carrying tasers. The weapon mounts themselves are restricted, but so far I've been OK under 'security consultant' license where as a security rigger people don't look too hard at my RCC or flying tasers. I don't know that I meet the letter of the law on licensing those, but I'm also not even sure what the letter of the law is in Denver currently. It is really only the commlink dongles that are outright illegal -- perhaps Mato could carry those, and only pull them as needed?"

Then Tamarind packs up her long coat, respirator, a spare pair of her professional travel clothes, and her weapons (Ingram, Executive Action, taser, and all their their ammunition). Meanwhile she gives her drones their standard orders for getting ready for travel, and by the time she has packed Stitch already had them all lined up, and is wearing a knit winter cap that Tamarind had made for it (the cap is a bit lop-sided and bumpy, as it was one of her earlier knitting efforts, but that doesn't bother Stitch).