IC: Post or Die, Lifelines, and deadlines Options

[Acme]

Friday, Sept. 11, 2071, 7:25 PM, Twisters

Acme relaxed, standing a bit straighter and removed his hands off of his fetishes. He wanted to help bolster Professor's suggestion that they were here just to gather info, not continue shooting a shithole bar up. As such he let them talk, not because he was afraid he'd screw up, but the snark level would probably be a bit problematic right now.

[Sephiroth]

Friday, Sept. 11, 2071, 7:25 PM, Oswald's Rover, near the body mall, Redmond

As the minutes ticked by without response from the others, Jovan's paranoia began to kick in. <<@Professor: Situation update, Professor. Did you lot make a scene like I told you not to? Do you require tactical assistance? We do have the prisoner with us if that is necessary as a bargaining tool. Speak. >>
He reached out and called to his waiting air elemental. Spirit. Take position in the airspace above my location please. I may require your rapid assistance before you depart.

[pbangarth]

Friday, Sept. 11, 2071, 7:25 PM, Twisters

<<@Jovan, Oswald: Sorry. Got distracted here on the ground. Talking to Rusty and buddies now. Working our way through reticence to give us info. Situation tense but not in imminent danger. I'll hook up audio to the two of you.>>

Professor opened a commlink connection to the two in the air, so the conversation would be heard by them as well.

[Notsoevildm]

Friday, Sept. 11, 2071, 7:25 PM, Twisters

Ferret snags Rusty's commcode in case he needs to contact him in the future. As it doesn't look like shooting is imminent, he relaxes his stance a little. The prof seems to be handling the negotiations well enough, so he lets him do the talking for now. He is tempted to take another look at the sensor tag in the hallway, but keeps his attention on Rusty and the green-faced kid for now.

[Red-ROM]

Friday, Sept. 11, 2071, 7:26 PM, Twisters

Strawberry stands up, even redder with anger,"What have you done with Jay?!"
Rusty stands too, holding an arm out to stop the girl from charging at the dwarf. His other arm is still in the poncho, and he's holding something cumbersome,"Calm down child," He moves his gaze over the team like a cornered dog,"You fellas want me to believe you're the good guys, Lets see Swagger J, or Jack as you said, walk through that door in one piece. THen I'll see about gettin you to Big Daddy's place"

[pbangarth]

Friday, Sept. 11, 2071, 7:27 PM, Twisters

Professor nods, giving the proposal thought, then texts the others. <<@team: Well, it isn't as if our 'Jack' knows much more than these folks do. A trade to get info and connected may be the least troublesome route. We could bring him in under our custody to show he is alive, then ask for info. What do others think?>>

[Acme]

Friday, Sept. 11, 2071, 7:27 PM, Twisters

Acme held his hands out to the woman. "Relax, lady," he replied, trying to show they meant no harm.

Acme shrugged, nodding to Professor's idea. <@team Not like we weren't planning on letting the guy go anyway after this was over. This way he gets us a few more results than just laying in the cooler. Wish I'd have been able to heal him better though..>

[Sephiroth]

Friday, Sept. 11, 2071, 7:27 PM, Oswald's Rover, near the body mall, Redmond

"'The lady doth protest too much, methinks,'" Jovan said to himself with a smirk.

<<@team: While a trade does seem like an acceptable option to pursue, the man's request that it happen at your location is rather... problematic. It would be more prudent to set up the exchange on our terms, not theirs. We're already at a great tactical disadvantage out there in Glow City, as I'm sure most of you four are painfully aware of by now. We don't need to reduce our capabilities further by dragging Oswald and I into that hellhole. We could always wake our Swagger J and put him on the line if talking to him would be enough to force their hand.>>

[Saint Sithney]

Friday, Sept. 11, 2071, 7:27 PM, Oswald's Rover, near the body mall, Redmond

Skimming the recent messages led Oswald to only one conclusion. "Looks like our presence is requested on set. Personally, I'm not feeling it. How about we shoot them some trid and let our friend talk to them via remote. If they want to lay down their chips like this, it's their call, but I'm not looking to get you or I into that viper's nest. Concurrence, or rebuttal?"

<<@team That other group is still around somewhere, and If I show up in that part of town, I'm definitely going to draw a lot of attention... if you haven't already. It's not going to be a good scene. All those poor urchins running up to the side of my car only to be electrocuted by the automated defenses. Breaks my heart every time. So, instead, how about an interview on camera? We'll ask him some questions over a live trid feed. You jokers need to stay in control of this situation... whether you like it or not. And for all of our sakes, check your freaking tails. There are some real killers after this same info, and they could come stepping through that door in a heartbeat.>>

The message sent, Oswald turned the discussion back to what he and Jovan had previously been discussing, namely, getting the airship on the scene. "Speaking of watching that door, are we all set up for getting the blimp cloaked and overhead? The eyes in the sky could make a whole lot of difference."

[Notsoevildm]

Friday, Sept. 11, 2071, 7:27 PM, Twisters, Redmond

<<@team: Trid sounds like a good start. If that works then you can drop him off at the mall and they can pick him up there. If they don't want to deal without having him here in the flesh, I can come over to the body mall and pick him up if you want to stay out of Glow City. Should only take me about an hour there and back. As to the other team, I spotted a sensor tag {tag ID} here on in the way in. I'll check it out once our friends here are a bit more cooperative.

Ferret addresses Rusty, "Our rigger is gonna set up a feed so you can speak to Jack. If you tell us where to find Big Daddy, he'll drop him off somewhere in the Barrens, somewhere safe, so you can pick him up."

[HugeC]

Friday, Sept. 11, 2071, 7:27 PM, Twisters, Redmond

Thirty looks from Strawberry to Rusty, glad that his cooler head is prevailing for the moment. This guy is smart not to trust us, he thinks. If a firefight breaks out, it's going to go badly for us. Guess it's time to step up and hope it doesn't bite me in the ass.

Clearing his throat, he makes sure that his mic is open so the team can hear him over the comms, looks Rusty in the eye and says, "My name is Thirty. The trid feed is the best we can do for now, but if you come through for us, I give you my word as samurai that Jay will make it back to you in once piece." He draws himself up to his full height and continues to look Rusty in the eye, his expression perfectly serious as he composes a quick mental message. <@team: Please don't make me a liar, fellas.>

[pbangarth]

Friday, Sept. 11, 2071, 7:27 PM, Twisters, Redmond

Professor relaxes a touch as the interaction turns to negotiation. <<@Team: Trid idea sounds fine.>>

Putting your name out can be dicey, kid, seeing as there is a murdering slitch after your hoop, but some street cred might also pay off in the long run.

Professor gives a nod to Thirty to indicate he is speaking to him, too. "Call me Professor. I'm on board for the trideo connection and you have my word, too, that your friend will be returned if you play fairly with us." No matter how much he practices it, that old street lingo doesn't roll out comfortably. When he actually speaks, he still sounds like an academic.

[Sephiroth]

Friday, Sept. 11, 2071, 7:28 PM, Oswald's Rover, near the body mall, Redmond

<<@team: Let's be careful what we say, then. Our communications might be under watch. And even if the other group doesn't come in to crash your little party right away, they could always show up later and beat information on us out of Strawberry and Rusty. Do we have the resources to take them prisoner with Jay, at least until we get a better understanding of the other group's activities? It would probably be safer for them as well as for us.>>

"I concur. Best not to leave all of our magical assets gravely weakened anyway. And I do have my elemental in the sky and ready to act, but it might be better to wait for a few minutes until sunset. You'd only have about two minutes of concealment otherwise, and the cloaking from this one isn't something to brag about."

[pbangarth]

Friday, Sept. 11, 2071, 7:27 PM, Twisters, Redmond

<<Professor@Team: From past conversations overheard, I believe Jay and Strawberry anyway are looking at getting out of Dodge for a while. Rusty can be urged to do the same. In any case, go ahead and rouse Jay so he can prove his status as living.>>

[Saint Sithney]

Friday, Sept. 11, 2071, 7:29 PM, Oswald's Rover, near the body mall, Redmond

"Alright Jovan. Go ahead and just hold your commlink over his head like that, and then choose message options, trideo, and then stream. Alright good. Don't worry too much about him seeing you. He's not really going to sit up in that med bay. Too many little robot arms with little robot saws and such. Besides it'll take a minute before the sedation wears off to the point where he'll be coherent anyway."
<<Okay, Ferret. You've got the feed? Good. So now anybody in your vicinity with image link capabilities should be able to see and hear what the man has to say.>>

Satisfied that the AV portion of the proceedings was running smoothly, Oswald moved on to matters medical.
<<Right. Now, I'm going to remove his sedative feed, and he should start coming around almost immediately. But, it is sort of like nitrous in how he'll need to float down to reality again. Jovan's com should be able to pick up anything said in the Rover and broadcast it as part of the feed.>>

"Hey-hey Mr. J. You still feelin' good, buddy? No aches? No pains? No cravings for large-insertion BTL streams? Gotta let you know, we didn't have time to make it to the Puyallups before biz came up, so we got sidetracked. Do you still want to go down there? Just gonna cut all ties and start a new life, yeah? No one back a Twisters that you might want to take with you, hmm? _Hehehehe.."

[Acme]

Friday, Sept. 11, 2071, 7:27 PM, Twisters, Redmond

Acme tended to tune out the messages, as he had to pick up his comm and read them each time, but the general consensus was heartening. "And I'm Acme," he replies, straightening up. "We don't have him in a meat locker or anything, he's just cooling his heels. We're not murderers, just trying to get a job done, is all."

[Red-ROM]

Friday, Sept. 11, 2071, 7:28 PM, Twisters, Redmond

As Ferret worked to get the Trid feed set up on his end, his A.R. flashed red,<<unothorized access in user logs, Firewall on full alert>>

"Well, it's nice to meet you guys." Rusty replied, with a hint of sarcasm,"You seem like the nicest bunch of kidnappers I've ever met. I Guess you know me and Strawberry here, the man on the end is Crew." The kid shoots Rusty an evil look as he hears his name out loud. Rusty catches it and almost laughs,"Look kid, don't flatter yourself. Nobody here really cares about your name. What are you worried about?" He looks back to Professor,"Trid will do for now, we'll figure out the details after I talk to Jay."
Jovan holds the camera over the grogy human. Jay is pretty out of it still, he heard the old man again. SOmething about not getting to Puyallup yet, The man holding the camera looks real pale. Maybe his eyes haven't focused yet. His whole body feels a quart low.

[Notsoevildm]

Friday, September 11, 2071, 7:28 PM, Twisters, Redmond

Ferret's hand jerks up, the machine pistol waving at the three seated people. He glares angrily at them, keeping his attention mainly on the older man.

"Someone just tried to hack my commlink. I do hope it was one of you three and would ask that you don't try it again. Also, I suggest whoever did it 'fess up right quick, otherwise we might have a bigger problem incoming."

Still covering the three he moves further into the room and away from the doorway, looking for a safe place to hunker down if needs to go hot-sim. He sets his analyze program looking for the intruder and starts powering up more programs in case he needs to fight.

[pbangarth]

Friday, September 11, 2071, 7:28 PM, Twisters, Redmond

Professor draws a couple of tables together to make a Vee wall and takes cover behind it. He draws his pistol,"Not for you guys, for potential incoming!" and covers the back door. "Eyes in the sky, you getting this about Ferret receiving a hack attempt?"

[Sephiroth]

Friday, Sept. 2071, 7:29 PM, Oswald's Rover, near the body mall, Redmond

"You jest!" Jovan said frustratingly. <<@team: You all have one minute until sunset, when I can summon a more powerful spirit reinforcement. Oswald and I will see what we can do in the meantime, but you all need to take those three and get out of that domain immediately.>>

"Oswald, do you wish to send in the blimp now? As I said, its concealment will be poor and brief, but we may not have time to wait another minute."

Spirit, what do you see two miles [cardinal direction of Twisters] of here? He sent as a guideline to his elemental a mental image from the last time he had seen a two mile distance. Do you see any astral forms or other unusual activity?

[Acme]

Friday, September 11, 2071, 7:28 PM, Twisters, Redmond


Acme frowned at the idea of them getting hacked and started looking around, his eyes going slack as he risked looking around the tainted area for astral threats. He didn't expect there would be with the background count, but it paid to be safe in this case.

[HugeC]

Friday, September 11, 2071, 7:28 PM, Twisters, Redmond

Thirty splays his arms to the side, palms open, and speaks in an even, unexcited tone, as much to his own team as to the others in the room, "Let's all keep our cool, I'm sure none of us want bullets to start flying." He looks at Crew, trying to gauge whether he's somehow hacking Ferret's com in AR, but he realizes it's no use; he could be doing it all mentally. He focuses on his hearing, trying to discern if an attack from another party is impending, while maintaining his neutral demeanor and posture in hopes of defusing the current situation.

[Red-ROM]

Friday, September 11, 2071, 7:29 PM, Twisters, Redmond

The scene in the ransacked club is getting very tense. Crew draws his gun as Ferret does. Strawberry screams,"Oh shit!" and scurries over the back of the tattered sofa. Rusty stands calm in the rising tempest, watching Thirty try to cool some heels,"Ain't nobody here doin shit to yer man's comm."
As Ferret moves to a more comfortable spot in the room, his A.R. display flares up again<<Unathorized edit of Firewall>> His Analyze program catches a glimpse of his invader. A clockwork cobra slithering in and out of the scenery behind some stealth program. It's clocking in at high speed and is putting a serious hurt on the firewall.
A spirit hovers in the distance, staring at the scene in the street,"I see dead buildings and people who are barely more alive. Everything looks sick."
Swagger J tried to focus. What he thought was a face was just medical gear. The camera was held by an arm that disappeared back over his head. He mumbled a little groggily,"I feel good, what did I take at Twisters? "

[Sephiroth]

Friday, Sept. 11, 2071, Oswald's Rover, near the body mall, Redmond

The sick quality is unfortunately normal for that area. Do you see anything else unusual? Anyone on rooftops, and/or people moving purposefully quickly or still as if they are hiding from or watching something? Any people whose auras are noticeably healthier than they should be compared to other auras in the area? Any shadows that move as if they might be looking for or spying on someone? A small number of people that look like they are heading quickly toward the same building?

[Notsoevildm]

Friday, Sept. 2071, 7:29:10 PM, Twisters, Redmond

Ferret curses, "Fragger trying to hack my comm!", then slumps to floor in a tangle of limbs as he goes full hot-sim.

<<@team: Going hot. Will try to scare him off or...>>

Attacked in his home node, the silver ferret bares its teeth. Mirrored armor plates click into place over his torso as his reactions wind up to machine speed. His teeth become elongated and razor sharp as his attack program blinks into life and he leaps at the elusive snake. I never did get the fragging hang of cybercombat.