2072: Game World, IC thread for 2072: Recruitment always open! Options

[mister__joshua]

@E:CoP/Johnny Awesome
[August 20th, 2072, 21:06; NeoNet Tower, Oxford]

Lady deBathayre's whole world spun, people flashing past her as Johnny whipped her arm and sent her cycling into the middle of the floor. When she came to a stop he had already put a hand on her waist an another on her shoulder, and was dancing to the music.

People moved away subconsciously, making them some space on the floor. No-one else in the room was so much as swaying to the beat, but here was Johnny Snake-Hips giving it everything he'd got.

"Well, if you'll allow me, I'll show you exactly what I am" A sideways smile hinted at excitement.

"What should I call you anyhow? I'm sure you don't want to be addressed as Lady deBathayre"

[mister__joshua]

@Virtual Scream/Cipher
[September 1, 2072, 11:35; Downtown, Seattle]

Cipher awoke in a comfy hotel bed. He still hated it. He hated sleeping in this virtual world but he couldn't find a way to overcome it, and knew that even here his brain needed a break sometimes. He sent an aspect of the matrix, a part of it he could control, to remove his booking information and find him somewhere else for tomorrow. People called them Sprites. Some believed they were living entites, but then some people would believe anything. Nothing here was real. All he knew was that he had more control than most. He had a shower, put on one of the plush hotel dressing gowns and ordered breakfast. Dammit! He hated eating more than sleeping. He'd tried without but something within him required the sustenance. Like his brain needed to think he was eating for his mind, wherever it was, to feel nourished. A mental link, like a phantom pain.

He ordered bacon and eggs. Part of him liked the taste, and if he was going to be forced to live within the contraints of this world then he was surely going to make the most of it. He knew it wasn't real, but deep down, even now, he wanted to believe it was. Ghost he was tired, tired of the struggle.

[RdMarquis]

@Emerging: Tribe / Fre∑dom
[September 1, 2072 19:24:23; Senlis Residence, Bellevue]
SIN: Morgan Senlis, PAN: Active

"Were you waiting for me? I'm sorry." A glowing red circle appears on Alpha's display, framing LeFey's face. It grows large enough for the witch to step through. LeFey looks slightly different today. The shade produced by the brim of her hat has been lifted, allowing Alpha to see her face. "Oh, the meeting. Right." She still remembered the commcode he had given her.

[Notsoevildm]

@Virtual Scream, Alex Bianchi
September 1, 2072, 09:43:00; Alex's Everett apartment

Alex is about halfway through his first soykaf when his commlink trills again. The caller ID is simply 'Knight Errant'.

The prim voice of a young woman identifies herself as junior investigator O'Brien and asks him several questions about his relationship with a Mrs Janice Murphy. In particular, she want to know why Mrs Murphy transferred the sum of five thousand nuyen to his bank account the evening before she died. The detective then proceeds to grill Alex on various details of the case and his whereabouts at the time of Janice Murphy's death and rebuffs any of his complaints with the threat that she 'can always have a couple of officers drop by his apartment to bring him downtown for questioning if he is unwilling to cooperate'.

September 1, 2072, 10:52:00; Alex's Everett apartment

By the time junior investigator O'Brien is satisfied with his answers, half the morning is gone and Alex still hasn't even had his shower yet. He has just enough time for a second cup of soykaf and a shower if he is going to make his lunch date with Selene on time.

September 1, 2072, 12:15:00; Outside the restaurant

Well, he would have been on time if GridGuide hadn't flaked out halfway there and the moron in the car in front had actually known how to drive and hadn't rear-ended some corp exec's sedan. By the time he had negotiated his way past that and then found a place to park and then walked the three blocks back to the restaurant, he had the distinct feeling that he should have stayed in bed. Still, lunch with Selene will cheer him up. Right?

[Aria]

@Virtual Scream / Gossamer
[September 1, 2072, 06:30:00, Oakfarm Estate, NE 37th St, Bellevue, Seattle]
PAN: Active, SIN: Charlotte Penthièvre (Owner), Response 8*, Signal 8*, System 8 (5), Firewall 8(4), (Analyze, Scan, Decrypt, Exploit, Stealth [5, inherent], Browse, Encrypt [6, ergo, optzd] / Drone: T [Heavy Pistol], Covert Ops, Defence, First Aid [4], Empathy, Lie Detection [3])

Disengaging her mind from the infinities of the matrix she plunged down into her waiting shell. She opened her eyes sharply, blinking against the clear nutrient rich liquid that surrounded her. The pumps of her tank whirred and the liquid retreated swiftly away to be enriched ready for her in her next down cycle. The tank opened with a soft hiss and the power cable slithered away from the back of her neck. She shook her wet hair back over the sockets and emerged dripping onto the grill that collected the last of the precious resource as a warm air current dried her. Dressing in her borrowed clothes she walked slowly up the stairs from the basement to begin preparing the children for the day.

Accessing the house node she familiarised herself with today’s schedule, noting with interest the change in itinerary for this evening. It seemed that Argent was planning on taking the children to the theatre, a not uncommon departure but one that Gossamer had so far been unable to witness in the flesh. Despite numerous virtual experiences she was aware that Argent would once again extol the virtues of the real thing and she was keen to be a part of that. Her analysis of the human condition would never be complete but seeing this through the eyes of the children would hopefully bring her a tiny step forwards in understanding their ways.

While the CHN went through the more mundane actions for readying the household Gossamer strode up the stairs to roust the children from their beds. Kei as ever was already up and bouncing around his room interacting with an AR simulation. Smiling, she charged him with waking Gael as she knew his older brother would tolerate that much better than her entering his domain. The empathy software made it clear that this teenage defiance was perfectly normal and gave her the tools to handle it but she preferred to avoid a confrontation where possible. The girls were better, she suspected that to them she represented some giant amusing doll, but never the less they respected the authority that Argent had granted her, even if grudgingly.

Surrounded by laughing chattering children she simultaneously checked over their homework, checked their transport arrangements and did the many other little tasks for which she had originally been designed. That irony of having broken her programming only to now chose to do them rather than being impelled to was not lost on her. The sense of fulfilment was no less real.

This post has been edited by Aria: Nov 21 2012, 01:33 PM

[ChromeZephyr]

@Virtual Scream, Alex Bianchi
September 1, 2072, 12:15:32; Carluccio's Restaurant
Hermes Ikon: Active | SIN: Alexander Bianchi ( Re 4 - Sig 3 - Fi 5 - Sys 4 - Agent 4 [running Analyze 4 on commlink] )

The door into the restaurant stuck when he tried to open it, and for a brief second Alex considered dismantling it. A deep breath, some directed thoughts of violence at the door, and a firmer grip on the handle allowed him access to the restaurant. An AR hostess greeted him, and after a microsecond to read his ID directed him to the corner table and stated that his martini would be ready momentarily. Selene waved lazily at him, an evil twinkle in her eye as he sat down across from her.

"I'd give ya shit for sleeping in, but I know that Monica spent the morning grilling you over the Murphy case. Think she's bucking for your old job, and maybe a spot in my bed from the way the boys down in Vice talk about her." She sipped at her water with lime and shrugged, the light coming through the window glittering on the 3 silver hoops piercing her left eyebrow. "Think the old man had something to do with that, as well."

Alex's complexion darkened even further at that last comment, then he sighed. "Is that old fuck ever going to let off? Cynthia was just as willing as I was." He sipped at his own water to give himself another second or two to calm down. "I seem to remember rousting a P.I. like that back in the day on my second case, so I suppose I can't be too angry. Might tell her that she's supposed to be the good cop to your bad, if she takes my place." He flicked through the AR menu for a second, then ordered what he normally did; a chicken Caesar salad, which was worth the exorbitant price for the real greens. His martini arrived (dry and dirty, as usual), and he plucked an olive from the glass to chew on. "And I want to see her reaction to Sheila if she wants in on that action, that'd be worth the attitude this morning and then some...anyways. How's the 41st Street case going?"

Selene's grin from the comment about her dwarf wife faded as he changed the subject. "Still don't know much. The forensics guys have picked that place clean, when the spirit lets them even get in there. Thaumaturgy says they can't get anyone out until the middle of the month, so we're kinda spinnin' our wheels. And if the captain hears you know anything about this you can expect another phone call from O'Brien, so maybe keep it under your fedora, yeah?"

Their lunches arrived, and the two old partners left the heavier talk behind to chat about less stickier matters, and simply enjoy each other's company as they had each week since Alex had left the force. By the end of the meal they were both laughing, old jokes flying back and forth alongside jibes about who's turn it was to pick up the tab.

[ Spoiler ]

Forgot to mention it prior, but Alex is wearing/carrying/brought in car the following:

Business clothing (sport jacket, tie, slacks, etc)
Hermes Ikon commlink (inside sport jacket pocket)
- Standard earpiece/microphone (in right ear, synced to commlink)
Armor vest (underneath shirt)
Colt L36 (in concealed shoulder rig under jacket)
Lockblade knife (closed, clipped onto belt on right side)
Contact lenses (in eyes [duh], synced to commlink)
Transition sunglasses (on face, synced to commlink)
Survival kit (in trunk of Lexus)

[Notsoevildm]

@Virtual Scream, Dante
[September 1, 2072, 12:15:00, Redmond Barrens, Seattle]

The morning hadn't been a complete bust. Dante had made just enough yen to cover his costs, fed Ayi and several other homeless on his way home and still had enough food left over for lunch, and dinner if it came to that. While it wasn't exactly 'food of the gods' the potatoes he had used had been the real thing.

He had called Taro, but the Japanese mechanic didn't have anything for him. In fact, he had spent pretty much the entire call complaining about the gremlins in the vehicle he was currently working on. At least that's what Dante thought he had been talking about. Taro had a tendency to slip into Japanese when he got excited or angry, leaving Dante struggling to keep up.

So instead Dante had loaded up WE Ultimate and was making good progress with the tips and tricks from the strategy guide he had found online. Well, he had been making good progress right up until the game had crashed in the middle of an epic fight (a fight which he had been winning by the way), dumping him unceremoniously back into his commlink node.

His stomach was rumbling and his head was aching. He figured he could use a break and some food. Maybe the game servers would be back online by the time he finished eating.

[Notsoevildm]

@Virtual Scream/Cipher
[September 1, 2072, 12:15; Downtown, Seattle]

Despite knowing it was not real, Cipher's stomach still rumbles at the smell of the bacon and eggs when the waiter rolls the trolley into his room. The menu claimed that the hotel food was real, 100% genuine bacon and eggs from real chickens. Yeah, like anything here was real. He suspected that some multi-eyed robot was pumping some protein gloop directly into his real stomach while tickling his neurons to make it taste like bacon. He tries to pretend it is real and simply enjoy the taste.

As he eats, he mentally flicks through the channels on the trideo built into the wall. Fake news and fake realities for fake people. He almost regrets sending the 'sprite' to delete any trace of his booking from the hotel's systems. It meant the cleaners would be around soon to clean it for the next fake person. He could change it back and stay here but what would that achieve? However, the alternative was equally distasteful. It meant leaving the hotel to go mingle with the morons, the sheep who went about their daily lives like they actually meant something.

[The Big Peat]

@Virtual Scream/Uller
[September 1, 2072, 11:35; Downtown, Seattle]
Sony Emperor: Active | SIN: Luke MacAuley ( Re 2 - Sig 3 - Fi 2 - Sys 2)

Uller woke up late, at about 10am, staggering around his ramshackle flat looking for water and rehydration tablets. Just because he didn't need much sleep, it didn't mean clubbing all night and going on three hours was comfortable. But it was fun. And, right now, Uller felt entitled to a little fun. Sure, he was running a little low on funds. He'd relied a fair bit on that lush for information, for the technical side of things, and without the old Mage collecting bounties had got that little bit more difficult. But he'd done a good job last week and he had this month's rent. Which meant, that as far as he was concerned, he was a-ok to party all night and then watch recorded Gridiron games. But then everyone should be a-ok to do that.

Around midday, the elf started thumbing around the Bounty Hunter bulletin boards in between the actual action. There was something about his dreary little apartment that always had him reaching for the moneymakers after too long. He kept looking, hoping to see the motherload - fairly simple, dead or alive. It always bugged Uller a little letting major criminals get away with soft jail sentences and large bribes. Far easier to sweep a room with shot and hand it over for DNA testing. No less than they deserved. Real justice. Nothing seemed to be cooking halfway down the list though, so he threw out a few 'looking for work' posts, hoping to rustle up something (or at least a partner).

Then, satisfied he'd done enough real work for now, he threw in a few more messages to some hunting buddies, then settled back into the cracked vinyl chair to watch some Urban Brawl. Man, and to think he could have been some poor sucker stuck behind a desk right now. Thank God for Lone Star redundancies!

[phlapjack77]

@Virtual Scream, Dante
[September 1, 2072, 3:15:00, Redmond Barrens, Seattle]
PAN: hidden, SIN: Liu Zi Ang (4), Response 3, Signal 5, System 4, Firewall 5, Weapon Watcher 3, Encrypt 3, Agent 3 (Analyze 3)
iBall: Clearsight 3, Adaptability 3, Covert Ops 3

Dante switched the game off with a mental flick of disgust. The AI hadn't even been subtle about it. Playing against other competitors online, Dante had been doing well, winning more games than he was losing. Then, after a few games, things changed. His new-found tactics simply...stopped working. His "competition" no longer trash-talked and just methodically (one could almost say, inhumanely) dismantled his defense, sending impossible through-passes to charging VR players who perfectly slotted the ball into the upper 90. Every. Single. Time. Apparently it hadn't taken the AI long to take notice of the games going on, and not much longer to take over the game signal feed in the CHN and subvert it so that Dante had no choice but to play against it and no others. His throbbing head reminded him he had had nothing but beer for lunch. Some fresh air would do him good.

Securing his pistol in its familiar spot, he stepped out onto the street and was greeted by pale, lukewarm sunlight filtered through a soup of smog and haze. No fresh air, this. His contacts filtered most of the worst of it, but he still hadn't experienced anything like a blue sky day in...how long was it now? 5 months? 6? It had been on the cargo ship, smuggled out of Beijing on the slowest-of-slow boats with Dante secured in a scan-proof shipping container. It wasn't very difficult to jimmy the lock and have free roam of the ship, most of the functions being controlled from somewhere else by a rigger. Sensors pointed outwards, wary of pirates and other external threats, no sensors were pointed inwards on the boat to detect his presence. The little community of indigents on that boat had gotten along pretty well, all sharing what little food and water they had. Those days had been nice, relaxing, with plenty of fresh air and actual visible sunlight.

Dante shook his head to focus back on the present. He sent a quick message to Jiu Jiu, asking if he had any work. It had been awhile since his fixer had had anything for him, and Dante was starting to get a little nervous. Had he done something to insult the Seattle native? Chinese here were so different than Chinese in Beijing, he was never sure if he was following the local customs or not. Not much to do about it at this point. Dante stopped at a local street stall of a vendor he knew, knew the guy used edible, if not exactly clean, ingredients. Juggling a soydog with the works and a cup of beer, he walked in the direction of the turf of the Red Lotus. Maybe Xiao Hong had something going on that he could get in on. The Triads were always in need of some muscle.

[Notsoevildm]

@Virtual Scream / Gossamer
[September 1, 2072, 09:30:00, Oakfarm Estate, NE 37th St, Bellevue, Seattle]

With the kids all packed off to school after breakfast Gossamer finds herself all alone in the house. Even the house node seems quiet and sullen. While there are plenty of chores she can do to keep herself busy, she feels a strange sense of loss. Is she feeling lonely?

[mister__joshua]

@Virtual Scream/Cipher
[September 1, 2072, 12:32; Downtown, Seattle]

After his delicious meal, Cipher left the room. He called the elevator before he got there, and it opened as he approached. To an onlooker the whole way he moved through this world seemed alien. It was unnaturally smooth, like he was just drifting through. While he waited for the lift to descend through its 25 floors he created a machine sprite and sent it to override one of the cities numerous drone taxis. It would be waiting for him when he stepped out of the hotel.

As he climbed into the cab he ordered it to circle the district indefinitely while he lay back, closed his eyes and immersed himself in the matrix. It was better here. He felt more comfortable. Here's where he would eventually find his answers. It was still modelled to look topologically real, and there were still plenty of people pretending, but at least here everyone knew. Knew that this wasn't reality.

He started his routine. A far reaching search using specific keywords to find anything he could that might garner him new knowledge. He quickly browsed the conspiracy theories and dismissed most of them as misguided idiots. Some things he flagged for further attention. Then he started on the NeoNET news items. He always took an interest in those...

[Aria]

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

Stumbling through the stagnant water that glows dimly with a putrid light of its own is better than being shot at, marginally! The AR overlays seem to have disappeared as any matrix signal is washed away by the oppressive weight of earth and concrete above you…now you just need to find a way out and hope that the bastard hasn’t got some way or reacquiring Jon and Katie’s signal.

It’s difficult to tell over the general miasma but your sense gradually begin to tell you that a new smell has entered the mix…one that makes the skin on the back of your neck crawl. Ahead a pair of feral red eyes appear from a side tunnel and a rasping voice echoes down towards you

"My, my, a midnight snack? Hello pretty one, have you brought me something tasty? If you give me the girl you can keep the boy…or I can take him if she’s more your thing poppet!"

Great! Fragging ghouls, this just gets better and better! And your comm probably won’t reach Reuiem and Stitch even though the rendezvous can only be about a block or two away now…

[karhig]

@VirtualScream Cat
[September 1, 2072, 01:32; Anathma Club, Downtown, Seattle]

A lithe body moved though the crowd of revelers in the direction of the bar, heels clicking against the hard illuminated floor, strobe lights picking out each swish and flick of her long blue hair. She paused briefly every few steps to shout in the ear of someone, kiss the cheek of another, dancing expertly with some, skipping away from others. Eventually her winding path reached it's destination and she threw herself against the bar top, leaning over to catch the new bar woman's eye, one leg levering up at the knee behind her to keep balance.

"One for the road and then I'm out of here! Put it on the tab!"

The bar woman, a tall ork with pink hair, a couple of piercings, tats on her arms, and a look that could only be described as Attitude, picked up a bottle of golden liquid and a shot glass and sauntered over to Cat. She poured out the liquid and placed the glass on the bar, her hand still firmly holding it. "Frank warned me about you and your 'tab'. He asked me to remind you that you still owe him for August, it's 540 yen"

Cat blanched internally, but her face remained a mask of composure. That was more than half of her remaining money. She really needed to find a job, but how many people are looking to employ artistic socialites for the kind of money she needed to support her lifestyle? That was a problem for tomorrow. New month, new problems, new solutions. She'd find a way.

Keeping her deep blue eyes staring straight into the defiant eyes of the ork, she slipped her credstick out of her clutch bag and held it up suggestively. "That's no problem, got somewhere I can put this?" She asked, nodding towards the credstick with a wink. Catching the brief flutter of the bar lady's eyes she figured this was an approach that would work and pushed the credstick slowly into the slot in the bar, transferred over the money. Palming the credstick back into her bag Cat tilted her head and smilesd "What's your name, newbie?". The bar lady gave Cat an exaggerated eye roll, but answered anyhow. "Anouk, since you ask." Cat warmly placed a hand on top of Anouk's, "Anouk, you can tell Frank he only has to ask." She then leant over the bar until her mouth was next to Anouk's ear and whispered "And so do you." With one fluid movement she picked the shot glass out of the bar lady's limp hand and drained it's contents with a flashing grin and an eye brow wiggle. Cat placed the glass back on the bar and turned towards the door.

Regaining her composure, Anouk calls "Hey, you haven't paid for that either!" after the dryads departing form. Cat replies, looking back over her shoulder, "Put it on my tab." and heads for home, bed and sleep. Tomorrow she would need her wits about her if she was going to find a job.

[Notsoevildm]

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

Copperhead sighs, her head drooping until her respirator, which had blocked the stink of the ghoul(s) until too late, is almost resting on her chest.

So fragging close!

Head still down she whispers brief instructions to the kids, both now huddled close against her back.

"Watch da rear. Ya see any glowing eyes creepin up behind us, you aims between 'em and you keeps shootin' until I tells ya ta stop."

How good can these things hear? They can't see for shit if I remember right but they can sniff you out good. And this one talks, normally they just attack. So, not feral then? And is he alone?

She realises wearily that knowledge is power. And that her current lack of knowledge could end up getting her and the kids killed in this stinking sewer. This time, she knows the soft hissing in her head is Snake.

Her head comes back up slowly until she is standing as tall as she can in the cramped sewer. She cricks her neck and draws a trickle of mana into herself, just enough to manifest her shamanic mask.

"Lisssen up chummer. Sso far, I've had ta fight my way passt gangerss, bugss and a fraggin' attack helicopter ta getss to dese kidss. Pluss, I iss only gettin paid if I bringss both of dem back. Sso I ain't too keen on handin one of dem over ta a deader like yersself. But itss been a long night, sso I'll cutss ya ssome sslack. If ya really wantss ta munch on ssome fressh meat, you let uss passs and I'll tell you where you can findss a big old pile of bodiess that, unlike me, won't put up a fightss."

She jerks a thumb back in the direction they came, while bringing the Enfield slowly up until the smartlnk targ sits squarely between the ghoul's glowing eyes.

[Nightfalke]

@Emerging: Tribe / Fre∑dom, Alpha Apex
September 1, 2072 19:24:23;
Physical Location: Fre∑dom Home, South Hill Mall, Pullyallup
BioNode: Hidden | Meta Link: Active, SIN: Alan Shepard

Smiling as he sees people start to trickle into the area, Alpha pulls up LeFey's icon and starts to transmit the feed to her, and brings up her avatar on the AR projectors.

"A jailbreak it is," Alpha says to Scrapheap with a relaxed smirk, "And it's going to be a doozy."

Looking back over the assembling group, Alpha takes a deep breath, centers himself, and launches into his prepared remarks.

"Thanks for your assistance everyone, especially you gents from across the street," motioning to the group of Mechanicals hanging together. "My apologies for the unsubtle summons, but it's getting late and we're on a time crunch. I am Alpha Apex, and I will let this lovely lady," motioning over to LeFey's avatar "introduce herself. Glyph should be on her way shortly, as she had some errands to run before we got started." Or she overslept...Whatever, doesn't matter. She'll be here... I hope.

"We need to bust someone out of an Ares controlled mansion," Alpha pulls up the 3D model of the house in AR, and projects it. "In an Ares controlled neighborhood," Alpha zooms out the map a little to show the surrounding neighborhood, "in Bellevue. We need to do it tonight, and we need to do it quiet with no trace... especially no trace back to us.

"I already have a backdoor into the house matrix node laid out, so I should be able to take care of any matrix based security concerns. However, this still leaves the physical breaking and entering and leaving to be accounted for. I am still looking into the types of on the ground security for the neighborhood and the house itself, and should get some info on that soon. It should go without saying that Knight Errant response times will be very fast to this particular area."

"Meat space security is not my strong suit, so I am looking to you guys to come up with some ideas."

[Dakka Fiend]

@E:Tribes, Spring
[September 1, 2072, 19:24:23; Fre∑dom Home, Puyallup]
Renraku Sensei: Hidden, SIN: nope

Tweak: Don't just stand there, the grub's not gonna...

"If you have been assigned a task to work with Alpha and Glyph, please report to the highlighted area. Thank you."

Tweak: As I was saying, don't just stand there, the meet's not gonna come to us. This way, I know a shortcut.

Tweak leads Spring into a narrow corridor, up a ladder, through what looks like an abandoned service tunnel and the two emerge from behind a fallen-over shelf leaning against a wall.

Spring coughs, nods at his fellow tribesmen and shoots Tweak a glare. <<That was a shortcut? Nice collection of rat skulls though.>>

Guess they'll expect me to get a label too.

In AR a coil spring pops up over Spring's head, changes color a few times, settles on a dark red, starts pulsing and the wire it's made of turns from solid into "spring" repeating over and over.

Listening to Alpha's introduction of tonight's target, Spring can't help but be a little baffled. Bellevue? Damn, how're we gonna not stick out like a pack of lit flares?

A though interrupted by Tweak: <<Butt ugly my ass!>>

[Aria]

@E:CoP/Johnny Awesome
[August 20th, 2072, 21:06; NeoNet Tower, Oxford]

The Lady deBathayre dances deftly and you are pleasantly surprised that she is able to keep up with you – the blessings of youth no doubt. She smiles at your question, a mischievous twinkle in her eye ”My Lady will suffice!” Seeing your momentary disappointment she amends that ”Call me Ryl. My friends do, and we are going to be friends aren’t we?” her tone is almost predatory and you spare a moment to wish for the lost innocence of youth…just a moment, debauchery is far more fun!

[Aria]

@E:PL /UK
[May 21st, 2072, 16:24; Outskirts of Exeter]

While you try to deflect the Lady’s attention away from your target, futilely you suspect, she pulls up the limo into a light industrial park on the edge of Exeter. Consulting an AR overlay she directs you to a unit off the beaten track.

”I’ve arranged for a Prairie Cat to take you onto the moor. I trust one of you can manage it? If not the autopilot should be good enough. As promised there’s a tag scrubber inside. Enjoy your trip.”

As you pile out of the limo to change to the almost equally luxurious interior of the Cat ”I’m glad I could help you. Don’t die any time soon, I intend to call in the favour!” hardly the most reassuring way of saying goodbye…!

[Slacker]

@Virtual Scream
[September 1, 2072, 09:00:00, Dubstep's Apartment, Downtown Seattle]
PAN: Hidden, SIN: Jo Datsik (Fake SIN Rtg4), Response 6, Signal 5, System 6, Firewall 6, (Armor 3-Ergonomic, Attack 4-Ergo, Biofeedback Filter 6, Browse 6-Ergo, Command 6-Ergo, Disarm 3, ECCM 3-Ergo, Edit 6-Ergo, Exploit 6, Scan 6, Spoof 3-Ergo, Stealth 6)

Secondary PAN: Active, SIN: Jo Datsik(Fake SIN Rtg4), Response 3, Signal 4, System 4, Firewall 4, (Agent 3, Analyze 4, Browse 4, Edit 4, Tacsoft 2)

The transition of some mellow Trance music playing through Henry's head to a more up tempo beat brings him out of sleep.

"Good morning sir," his Agent's ARO icon cheerfully greets him from his peripheral vision.

He silently waves a hand in response as he pulls himself out of bed.

"The current temperature is 62 with an expected high of 74...." she prattles on with the highlights of the newsnets he frequents while Henry moves through his morning routine, though he's really paying more attention to the selection of music she's pick for today's soundtrack. The music is definitely putting a nice spin on his day. He sways to the beat a little as he showers and gets dressed for the day.

"Any appointments today?"

"No sir. Mr. Caspa will be playing at the club tonight, but there is nothing else on your calendar."

Henry does a quick check of his account balance in AR. Ugh, I need to hurry up and get some work or I'm not going to be able to afford this place next month. Maybe Reed will have something for me tonight.

"Cindy, start loading up the programming suite then. Looks like I'll get back to working on that Spoof program, after breakfast. I just know I can do better than the drek I've got now."

After making a tasty breakfast of soy-eggs and cheese on only moderately stale toast, Henry dives into his custom commlink's node to renew the redesign of his Spoofing program. Pulling on his headphones to fully emerse himself in the music and code, the hours fly by.

[ChromeZephyr]

@E: Tribes, Scrapheap
September 1, 2072, 19:25:01
PAN mode: Active | SIN displayed: Eric Jones

Scrapheap's eyes widen in disbelief as Alpha lays out the night's work. Where's the hidden cameras, this gotta be a prank.

"You're kiddin', right? A buncha Barrens trash are supposed ta just waltz into corptown an' swipe one 'a dere kiddies right out from under dere noses without gettin' very dead. I've slotted some bad chips before, chummer, but dis one takes tha taco." He shakes his head. "Let's see tha map 'o the neighborhood again. Mebbe dere's somethin' dere that we can wreck ta get the heat lookin' ta other way...wait, you said quiet. Well, dat fucks dat, then." Scrapheap's already ugly face gets worse as he frowns in concentration.

[faultline]

@E: Tribes
September 1, 2072 18:30:00;
Physical Location: White Residence
PAN - Active; SIN - Calliope White


The sound of Lohikäärme wakes Glyph from a deep sleep. She lays in bed for a few minutes listening to the scandinavian goth-rock band before she groggily sits up and looks at the time.

6:30 frag! I'm running behind I should have been awake half an hour ago I must have really been tired.

Glyph quickly dresses and checks her com for messages and sees a reply from Natasha.

<<@Glyph: I was so looking forward to this lesson too, but this will be good experience for you child. Whatever I can obtain will be here for you to pick up this afternoon.>>

I hope she was able to get everything, if not I'll just have to make do.

Glpyh grabs her helmet from the door and heads down to one of the old access corridors where she keeps her bike.


September 1, 2072 18:42:43;
Physical Location: Blue Moon Over Bombay cafe
PAN - Passive; SIN - Calliope White

Glyph parks her bike, locks it to the post provided for such, and removes her helmet, inhaling the scent of coffee and baked goods. Carrying her helmet with her she walks through the open doors and into the cafe in front of her.

Stopping by the coffee counter she places her order for her favorite an "Eye of Sauron" and waits for it to be ready before heading down the nearby stairs and into an large eclectically decorated sitting area. She looks around and waves at a few of the regulars she knows as she makes her way toward an already occupied table.

"Hello Anastasia" she says as she approaches the table not wanting to startle the woman.

Anastasia looks towards Glyph with blind milky white eyes that seem to bore through her.

"Hello Calliope. Come sit child, while we wait for Natasha."

"She's not here?" Glyph says as she sits across from Anastasia

"Not yet, she's been delayed, some problem with one of our suppliers. She decided that it would be best to deal with them in person."

As she takes in this news she lets out a small sigh composes a quick message and sends it off.

<<@Alpha: I'm going to be running late, waiting on delivery of some gear.>>

[Notsoevildm]

@Virtual Scream, Dante
[September 1, 2072, 3:42:00, Redmond Barrens, Seattle]

Dante gets a worrying <<no signal>> message from his commlink as he heads towards Red Lotus turf. Fortunately, it is just the crappy reception due to the crappy part of town where he lives. His 'link reconnects to the matrix just as he arrives at the Hai Fuk noodle house come massage parlor where Xiao Hong sometimes hangs out.

The place is pretty empty but a couple of Xiao's men are sitting at one of the few occupied tables on the ground floor restaurant, drinking sake.

"Mister Xiao upstairs getting massage" sniggers one while the other mimics someone performing oral sex. The sniggering man, Wang, gestures for Dante to join them. The motion opens his jacket just enough for Dante to see the pistol holstered under his arm.

"You want sake, beer, something to eat?"

Turning to the geisha attired waitress, he signals her over.

[karhig]

@Virtual Scream / Cat
[September 1, 2072, 06:29, 524 7th Street Northeast]

Cat rises with the sun, 5 hours of sleep enough for her to feel refreshed and ready to begin her day. Knowing her parents won't be up for another hour, she works through her morning routine of meditation and yoga. Between breathing exercises Cat settles her mind on her decision. Today is the day she'll start her path towards becoming truly independent for the first time. She completes her cobra pose while thinking through the steps she's going to take.

Her parents wake at 7.30 and Cat prepares a light breakfast of synth-muesli, fruit, and soy-milk for them all. She enjoys the small talk with her dad and even the chidings of her mum for her to return to the corporation don't get a rise out of her.

As Cat's morning progresses, she spends a couple of hours prepping her 'gear', finding the perfect match of clothes that screams 'easy-going-shadowrunner'. She starts putting on the layers of her outfit, beginning with her colour coordinated underwear, followed by her form fitting body armour, finishing with her boot-cut, bottom hugging, hipster jeans and a slightly steam-punk blouse and corset combo in white and brown, all covered by her leather jacket with the buckles. Natural brunette hair today, but she sets her contacts to a piercing gray. Rounding out her outfit with accessories she pulls on her lace and buckle knee high boots with the sensible 4 inch heels and loads her satchel bag with her taser, the fake SIN her old school friend Jim got for her, her commlink and her credstick. Feeling as dangerous as she's ever going to feel, she heads out the door at 10 sharp for her 10.30 appointment with the fixer Jim had also put her in contact with.

Arriving in the local park at 10.25 sharp, Cat sits down on the bench, and watches the AR display on her contact lenses tick up to 10.29, at which point she begins her breathing exercises. As the clock ticks over to 10.30 Cat brings up the fixer's number and begins a voice-only call.

"Martha, how can I help you?"

"Hello Martha, my name is Cat. I believe you have my resumé. I do hope you have the time for me to explain why I'm the perfect candidate for your enterprises."

[Machine Ghost]

@E:Tribes, Sprogget
[September 1, 2072 19:24:23; SH Mall, A Whole New You]
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; Active; SIN: Hugo Wright

Listening to Alpha Apex's decription of the job, Sprogget thinks,
@self:All the stuff I was thinking about for tags and signal blocking apply.  Loitering in the middle of the night for the time needed could be a problem though.

"You're kiddin', right?  A bunch of Barrens trash are supposed ta just waltz into corptown an' swipe one 'a their kiddies right out from under their noses without gettin' very dead.  I've slotted some bad chips before, chummer, but this one takes tha taco." He shakes his head.  "Let's see the map 'o the neighborhood again.  Mebbe there's somethin' there that we can wreck to get the heat lookin' the other way...wait, you said quiet.  Well, that fucks that, then."  Scrapheap's already ugly face gets worse as he frowns in concentration.

@Jailbreak Team: "With the kiddies' active assistance it should be possible.  Maybe not easy, but possible.  One of the considerations, is to have as much time as possible between when the exit actually occurs, and when someone at Ares or Bellevue notices something is wrong.  If {Reading the public ID} Morgan can leave shortly after any physical bed check, while any monitoring thinks she is still there, that should give us lots of time to get clear.  A problem though, might be that our presence in the area at that time might bring more attention than is good.  Is this in a gated community?  If so, getting past physical inspection at that gate, especially out, might be the biggest problem.

I am assuming that Ares and parents are not considering her to be an active escape risk?  I do not know how to quietly disable an active magical watch.  Common tech stuff I think we can handle".

@LeFey: "Morgan, have you ever experienced personally the effects of a jammer?  We will need to deal with any tech that could trace your movements, set off alarms when if you are not where you are supposed to be.  That means taking the time before leaving, or blocking the signals, then cleaning up after.  Blocking can be extremely uncomfortable for a TM, but lingering any longer than absolutely needed increases risks".

@Alpha Apex: "Alpha, if needed, could you provide electronic documentation that would provide a plausible reason for a maintenance crew to be in the area at the right time?  Not sure how much could be prepared ahead of time, but I would like to duplicate the signals for any of the usual tags that could be used for tracking, and leave them behind for the tech to watch when Morgan leaves.  More time before that nest of devil rats gets stirred up.  With the access you have, could you read the tag info remotely?  All the important stuff, except for stealth tags"?

Remembering Scrapheap's 'gabby' comment
@self:Easy now.  Do not really need to put everything out at once.

@Jailbreak Team: "I hear that Glyph has some experience staying unnoticed.  She can probably add some to getting in and out again without bringing down the heat, assuming the tech is taken care of".

@self:hmmm.  I wonder if there might be any steampunk fans close to the right spot that I could visit or deliver something to?  Of course having me on the official books is not the best idea either.  I need another SIN that is not related to Sprogget in any way, and transporation that has not been punked.