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

[The Big Peat]

@Virtual Scream/Uller
[September 1, 2072, 12:18; Downtown, Seattle]
Sony Emperor: Active | SIN: Luke MacAuley ( Re 2 - Sig 3 - Fi 2 - Sys 2)


The elf glares back at his apartment for a moment, then shrugs. Weird technological shit is above his paylevel. Always has been. If he goes to see Harvey then not only might he get an answer about what the hell just happened - but he might find something towards his rent money. Plus, right now, Uller would love the chance to hurt someone. Not badly, just get things out of his system a little. Some deserving perp was going to get his.

Whistling ancient Southern folk tunes, his work bag slung over one shoulder, he sets out to see whether Harvey's in - shouldn't take him too long to walk it.

[RdMarquis]

@E:PL /UK
[May 21st, 2072, 18:26; Overlooking Clearwater, Exmoor, UK]
SIN: Spencer Lovett, PAN: Active

Gently, the adept eases himself from under Tsubaki.

"It'd be even worse proceeding further not knowing what we might run into." Mordred pulls off his dark blue suit to reveal the camouflaged armor beneath. He nudges the commlink toward them. "Which is why we need to check things out before hand. Here. Link that up with yours. This place looks to be off the grid, but we can still keep in touch." He adds a taser and shock glove to his arsenal. "I'll take the lead, then." The adept had been taught to remain unseen in many different environments.

"We're not far from Clearwater. Maybe we can get a glimpse of what this commune is all about." Mordred exits the RV, starting toward the pump station. Strange. If these people were some kind of environmental group, this wouldn't be so surprising. But they wanted to shelter a couple of technomancers. He definitely had to find out what this group was up to before anything else.

[Notsoevildm]

@Virtual Scream/Uller
[September 1, 2072, 12:18; Downtown, Seattle]
Sony Emperor: Active | SIN: Luke MacAuley ( Re 2 - Sig 3 - Fi 2 - Sys 2)

The walk to Harvey's workshop is uneventful and even the acid rain holds off. Uller is actually happy he has to walk, as the traffic is backed up something terrible. Looks like his trid player isn't the only tech playing up today.

He finds Harvey staring at the screen of an ancient terminal and cursing under his breath. He greets Uller with an angry rant.

"I'm busy. Keep it short and no fraggin dwarf jokes. Half my rigs got hit by the >1rtu@l5cr3am. I got a fraggin foot eating up half the system the resources in my truck and a nose in my rotodrone. A fraggin' nose, I tell ya. I knew I never shoulda installed that chem sniffer in it. And frag knows what's in my link, man. It's like veins or something. Grossing me out so much I had ta switch on this pile of drek. It don't even have AR."

All Uller can make out is several windows of code scrolling up the screen at an alarming rate. Harvey prods the screen with a couple of stubby fingers and a sheet of paper is ejected from the ancient terminal. He tosses it at Uller.

"Here, this just came in. Right up your alley. A pair of dumbass trogs tried ta use the chaos to rob a Stuffer Shack on the edge of Renton about an hour ago. The store manager blew one of them away. The other one grabbed the checkout girl and took off, on foot. There's not much in the way of cameras down there, so KE's put up a reward for information leading to an arrest. There's extra for bringing in big ugly and getting the chica back in one piece. So unless you came here for something other than work, why are you still here?"

The paper has a couple of pictures of a troll, one with a case number held up in front of him. His name is Solomon Dean, aka Slicer Dicer. There is a long list of priors including B&E, assault, possession of drugs and unregistered weapons. Seems like Slicer has been a busy boy considering his listed date of birth would make him about 17. No listed gang affiliation. Last known address is in Renton. Not a smart one, then.

[Machine Ghost]

@E:Tribes, Sprogget
[September 1, 2072 19:47:13; Mechanical Complex, Sprogget's Shop]
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; Passive; SIN: Paul Brickhill (R3)

After collecting the direct connection details from LeFey, and providing her with an overview of the process for using Tagget and the scanners to find and kill the tags, Sprogget realizes from some of her responses that she knows more about electronics than initially believed.
@self:Sounds like she has decent hardware skills.  She does not really need Tagget to walk through anything from that side.  Maybe just a little prompting from him, until she gets a bit of confidence.  I think she knows more than she thinks she does.  Just not a lot of practical experience.

Finishing up the call, he agrees to stay available to handle questions, once Angelo delivers the package, to assist with the cleanup.
@self:By the time Angelo delivers the gear, I'll be at least out of Puyallup, and have a solid connection through Tagget.  Ok, pass LeFey connect info along, and go dark.  Glyph first.

Attempting to connect to Glyph, Sprogget finds she is already out of range.
@self:She didn't waste any time hanging around here.
Checking the filtered firewall connections on the CMT Clip, he finds no one left that he can connect to directly.
@self:Looks like all of the Mechanicals people are already on the way.  Need to get moving, and catchup.

@jailbreakers: <<Here is LeFey's direct connect details {Meta Link address / Iwakura Lain ID}.  I have a connection to LeFey, as long as I have a matrix connection.  Glyph has already gone to direct connect only, and is out of my range.  Someone at the mall, please pass to her.  She should not have gotten past you yet.  Also for Glyph, LeFey's commlink has only 100 meter direct connect range, at least until she gets that package.

Going dark myself now.  Heading out, soon as I pack a bit, and should be able to connect again enroute.>>

Sprogget shuts down all existing subscriptions and connections to the CMT Clip, except for the skinlink connection, configures it for hidden mode, and to automatically check for and connect to the people and addresses in the jailbreakers rule set whenever they are in direct signal range.

CMT Clip: Response 1, Signal 3, System 1, Firewall 1; Hidden; SIN: Paul Brickhill (R3)

@self:Just fill in this profile tag set, then change and get going.  Lets see what the profile looks like ...  student ... Japaneses name ... address ... UCAS ... general travel range ... shopping ... OK.
Sprogget feeds the profile details into a small matching program stored on the CHN, and gets back a set of tag data.  He sends a command to the tag set to allow editing, bulk loads the tag information, changes the profile set back to read only mode, then turns it completely off.
@self:There.  Basic set.  Should be tuned later, but good as I can do for now, without more information about how 'Iwakura' wants to be seen, and more time to customize than I have now.  I wonder if 'Iwakura' has any interest in stories about King Arthur, that LeFey goes on about?  Don't remember a lot about that from school.  My only real history interest, was things that overlapped with steampunk and technology.  Ancient swords, even with magic legends, not so much.  Speaking about school though, I need to get in some more class time soon too.  All that for later.

Exiting from VR, Sprogget grabs the recently delivered shipment of armor, and a nanopaste container, then steps behind a convenient steampunk display, using it as a screen.
@self:I really need to do something about all that window space.  Good for showing off the gallery, but really.
He quickly removes the armor jacket and outer clothes.  Taking the container, he quickly smooths the paste on his hands and face, using a handy camera and holo projector to verify that he has it far enough up the arms and down the neck to be well under the gear about to donned.
@self:'Paul' is a techie working stiff.
He adds a bit of 'authentic' Maintenance Personnel scent, then puts on the form fitting body armor and coverall.
@self:Riding the cycle, the bike helmet is reasonable instead of the hardhat  Covers the face too.  Still want to use the paste though.  Keeping the helmet on all the time might not be practical depending.
Loading a previously prepared profile from a data chip, he feeds it to the paste.  The result on the holo display is reassuring.  The visible skin shifts to a bit lighter tone, the features get a bit of an oriental cast, and the hair lightens towards brown, and gets some reddish streaks.  Mixed ethnic background of some sort, but no longer looking typical AmerIndian.
@self:Osha and I did a good job on that.  I can still see 'me', but that is still quite different.  Glad she still likes playing with makeup and faces, even if she moved away from wanting to become an actress.  To bad I can't do what she does with her voice.  Her impression of 'uncle doing the lecture was so fun, and Sleeper was hilarious.  {evil grin} Wonder what she could do with Jazz?
More soberly, @self:I hope Mom stays upstairs.  Seeing this level of precautions would worry her even more.

Ok, back to preparations, this coverall is designed to hold a whole toolkit worth of 'stuff'.  Today the 'tronix gear seems right, plus a few extras.
The coverall pockets get filled with the gear from the backpack, and off of the work bench.
@self:Should be mostly on the cycle tonight, but if on foot, speed probably important, so wear the inline skates.  Shouldn't be anywhere those would be clumsy.
The commlink and knife are strapped on, the contents of the butt pack are dumped into a box at the work bench, sorted and reloaded.  The just prepared profile tag set goes into a Faraday cage liner, then that goes into the butt pack.  The backpack gets similar treatment.

One last look around the shop, while doing a mental inventory of the worn and carried gear.
@self:That seems to be everything I should need tonight.  Going to have to seriously look at getting wheels with more hauling capacity, although the cycle is nice and maneuverable.  Oh!  Supper!  Can't really eat while rigging the cycle, but should have time after we get to Bellevue, while LeFey is working on the tags.
Sprogget takes the meal package from the end of the workbench, and adds it to the backpack contents, then carries it over to the charging monocycle, and fastens it securely to the mount.
@self:May not be pushing as hard this time as last, but still need to make up some time.  This better stay locked down!

He checks the fuel status on the cycle.
@self:A bit more than 3 quarters.  That will be enough.
Disconnecting from the charger, he uses the safety harness to belt himself in, and connects the cycle to the commlink with one of the cables.
@self:A bit of redundancy.  I'll use the direct skinlink, but this gives another wireless free connection to use, and most people still expect a visible connection if they can not detect a wireless connection.  It's the details that people mostly do not consciously notice that make the image believable.

Going VR, then jumping into the cycle, Sprogget drives out of the shop, instructing the CHN to close and lock the shop door behind him.  He heads out, bringing up an window to monitor the connections from the CMT Clip, so that he will be notified immediately when any of the jailbreakers show up in direct connect range.
@self:If anyone is still at the mall, I'll find out on the way past, otherwise I'll need to catch them on the road.

Now what music should I listen too while traveling?  Let's start with the Wild Cards album from last year, Death of a Samurai.  Not too loud though.  Do not want to hide info from the cycle ears.

[September 1, 2072 19:58:32; Mechanical Complex, Leaving Sprogget's Shop]

Sprogget Gear

[ Spoiler ]

Armor

• Form Fitting Body Armor - Full-Body Suit 6/2
  • Insulation(3)
  • Nonconductivity(6)
• Victory: Industrious Coverall 5/4
  • Chemical Protection(2)
  • Fire Resistance(2)
• Bike Racing Helmet 1/2
  • Skinlink
  • Virtual surround-sound music system
  • Image Link
  • Flare Compensation

Weapons

• Survival Knife

Worn

• CMT Clip 1,3,1,1
  • Vector Xim OS
  • Skinlink
  • Mapsoft(Greater Seattle)
• Trodes
  • Skinlink
• Googles
  • Skinlink
  • Image Link
  • Thermographic
  • Vision Enhancement(3)
  • Vision Magnification
• Earbuds
  • Skinlink
  • Audio Enhancement(3)
  • Spatial Recognizer
• Subvocal Microphone
  • Skinlink
• AR Gloves
  • Skinlink
• Inline Skates

Coverall Pockets

• Hardware(electronics) Toolkit
• Emotitoy
• Wire Cutters
• Miniwelder
• Chisel

Butt Pack

• Faraday cage backpack liner
  • 'Iwakura Lain' RFID tag set.
• Medkit(6)
• Trauma Patch
• 2 x Stimulant Patch(4)
• 10 x Indian Tobacco
• Respirator(4)
• 10 x datachip
• Holo Projector
• 4 x Electronic Paper
• 3 x Stealth RFID tag
• 2 x Fiberoptic cable(1m)
• 5 x RFID Sensor Package
  • Skinlink
  • Camera (trideo)
    • Low Light
    • Thermographic
    • Vision Magnification
• 4 x RFID Sensor Package
  • Skinlink
  • Microphone
    • Spatial Recognizer

Backpack

• (empty) Faraday cage backpack liner
• (empty) Hardware toolkit
• Industrial Mechanic toolkit
• Automotive Mechanic toolkit
• Wireless Adapter(3)
• Satellite Link
  • Skinlink
• Victory: Industrious Hard Hat 0/2
  • Chemical Protection(2)
  • Fire Resistance(2)
• 1 x C-Squared

Horizon-Doble Revolution (Enclosed Monocycle)

• Metahuman Adjustment
• Rigger Adaptation
• Skinlink
• Pimped Ride(1)(Steampunk)
• Armor, Normal(12)
• Vehicle Sensor package(6)
  • Radar(6)
  • Motion Sensor (front)
  • Motion Sensor (rear)

[Notsoevildm]

@Virtual Scream / Dante
[September 1, 2072, 16:33, Dante's flat, Redmond Barrens, Seattle]
PAN: hidden, Response 1, Signal 3, System 2, Firewall 1

Setting up the Faraday cage in his workshop is the easy part of the job. Dealing with the >1rtu@l5cr3@m proves somewhat more challenging.

He examines the hand icon floating in the middle of his node. It is a human hand, caucasion and cleanly severed at the wrist. He looks down at his own cyber hands. Was this some sort of sick joke?

He tries to delete it: <<Access denied : User does not have sufficient rights to perform this action>>

He tries to copy it to a datachip: <<Operation failed : Target device does not have sufficient capacity>>

He boots up the browser to search for a solution online: <<No signal>>

Putting his link aside for a moment, he turns his attention to the iBall drone. He carefully opens it up and runs a few checks. He quickly identifies the issue. The iBall is designed primarily to transmit data, not receive it. The >1rtu@l5cr3@m was pumping so much data into the drone that's its wireless receiver overheated and has shorted out. It's a simple fix to repair and the drone boots up, if somewhat slowly. Examining it, he sees that it too has been infected by the >1rtu@l5cr3@m. However, instead of a hand, the iBall icon is an eyeball, somewhat bloodshot and trailing an optic nerve. At least it is working again. Now, he just needs to work out how to get rid of the virus.

Maybe Jui Jui will come through for him. Even as he thinks it, his other commlink beeps.

<<@Dante[Jiu Jiu]: Dante-san, this is most unfortunate news. I had hoped you were spared. I am already looking for someone to help some of my other friends. I will add your name to the list, but I must warn you that it may take some time. Many have been affected by this virus attack and my friends with the talents needed to deal with it are amongst those most severely affected.>>

[Aria]

@E:PL /UK
[May 21st, 2072, 18:28; Overlooking Clearwater, Exmoor, UK]

Mordred

You slip out of the RV and huddle down into the gorse and rough heathers, briefly wondering whether you should wait for dark. Choosing to rely on the technological benefits of your chameleon suit instead you make your way down into the valley with barely a whisper to betray your presence. Taking care not to disturb the vegetation in ways contrary to the blustery wind you make your approach to the pump station. The wind coupled with the sunlight will hopefully mask your thermal signature from any sensors pointed your way.

Approaching the base of the valley you can see that the pump house door stands ajar and that water no longer seems to be flowing. Presumably this place was abandoned long ago when the populations were decimated by Vitas and there was no longer the requirement for fresh water…here at least, London and the other mega cities will always be crying out for more resources.

A quick burst of speed to the door and you are able to peer cautiously in…steps lead down into the darkness and there is an ever present drip of water…other than that the place shows every sign of being deserted…

Gemeaux

You are just as glad that Mordred has elected to make the approach…all that greenery is unnerving! It allows you to take position in the RV with your rifle and survey the scene for any kind of activity. Apart from a couple of small birds there seems to be nothing alive out here. Mordred’s stealth is impressive and only the icon on your link lets you follow his progress down to the pumping station.

Tsubaki

Well the boys are active, that leaves you to reassure the Collots that you have everything in hand and that there’s nothing to worry about, for now…

[Aria]

@Virtual Scream / Gossamer
[September 1, 2072, 12:15:06, Argent's home]
PAN: N/A, SIN: None, Response *, Signal *, System (5), Firewall (4), (Analyze, Scan, Decrypt, Exploit, Stealth [5, inherent], Armour, Browse, Encrypt [6, ergo, optzd] Attack [5, targeting], Expert Defence [2])

With a cry of distress Gossamer retreated from the thing, at least as far as the confines of the node would allow pulling the tatters of her defensive programs around her. Her icon was sluggish from a combination of the damage to her code and the degradation of her node but she wasn’t about to give up just yet.

In increasing desperation she cast about her for a node that might be unaffected by this vicious attack. Turning on her spare ‘link she hurled herself out of her homenode and into the cramped memory space of her backup…hopefully it would be unaffected but as she waited the glacial time for the clunky tech to boot up she spread her awareness to other matrix nodes around trying to find one that might be clean.

[phlapjack77]

@Virtual Scream / Dante
[September 1, 2072, 18:00, Dante's flat, Redmond Barrens, Seattle]
PAN: hidden, Response 1, Signal 3, System 2, Firewall 1

After trying for some time to delete or copy the virus, Dante finally throws his tools down in disgust. Every thing he knew how to do, the virus had a counter for it. Granted, Dante didn't have that many tricks in his bag. Still, the...thing...on his commlink seemed dangerous like Dante had never seen before. He definitely didn't want it to contaminate any of his other gear, or even worse, transmit any of his data. Who knew what would be done with his datatrail. Leaving the commlink and drone in the Faraday cage, Dante stepped out and read the message from his fixer.

Hmm. Jiu Jiu replied to my message, which means I'm not totally out of his favor yet. But he's not willing to help me either, which means I'm not yet back in favor either. He says "I am already looking for someone to help some of my other friends". I think he's asking me to help, but doesn't want to ask directly. He also says that those with technical skills haven't been useful so far, and so he's asking someone not so technical, like me, to get involved. Interesting. I can parlay this into guanxi with the Red Lotus and Jiu Jiu in the same stroke!

Dante smiled a little at this, imagining having both groups in his debt.

Getting in his truck, he quickly sent a message to Jing Cha, his contact on the KE police force. Maybe there were some official reports he could learn from.

<<@JingCha[Dante]: I have some information on a virus called ">1rtu@l5cr3@m". Want to compare information? Meet me at the Ling Hung Tea House in the Barrens at 19:00.>>

As he drove his truck out of the workshop bay and onto the road, Dante figured he would stop by Xiao Hong's place again to check on the two goons. If they had the virus also, maybe he could see if their commlinks had any clues on them. Then to the tea house for dinner and a meetup with his contact.

[mister__joshua]

@Virtual Scream/Cipher
[September 1, 2072, 12:42; Downtown, Seattle]

Gritting his teeth, Cipher flies forwards, bursting into the entity's mouth and out the other side, into it's.... ...head? Whatever it was, it was like no place he'd seen before. Not in any world.

He spun around frantically trying to see everything, gathering as much information as he could. He strained his mind, summoning all the will he had to focus on analyzing this thing before he felt his conciousness fading.

He just hoped, if he woke up on the other side, he'd remember what he saw.

[mister__joshua]

@E:CoP/Johnny Awesome
[August 20th, 2072, 21:45; NeoNet Tower, Oxford]

After another half an hour of dancing Johnny finds himself thanking his Improved Vigour genetherapy. Wasn't that a few hundred thou' well spent! Lesser men would have crumbled, but his Clean Metabolism and Silky Skin left him looking as trim and pristine as when he entered.

The conversation had been flowing too, though he couldn't recall a single thing they'd talked about. This was all a facade he was starting to tell. The easiness of the conversation only highlighting the professionalism of them both as they easily chatted without ever really talking about anything. Ryl was not going to give anything away. He liked that though, he found. It provided a challenge so rarely encountered these days. He could work on this girl for hours and he was in no doubt that it would prove just as fruitless as right now. This one was a long game.

He grabbed them both drink after drink, but never quite drinking as much as it seemed, leaving half empty flutes on tables and grabbing full replacements.

"So how do you know our host?" he said, finally trying to cut through the chit-chat with something that might be meaningful. He disguised it as conversation. But she probably knew that...

[ChromeZephyr]

@Virtual Scream, Alex Bianchi
September 1, 2072, 14:48:24; Alex's Everett apartment
Renraku Sensei: Hidden | SIN: Jimmy Delfino (Fake ID, Rating 3) (Re 2 - Sig 4 - Fi 2 - Sys 2)

5 minutes of "reaching" for his Browse utility's normal cues and assists in Matrix searches was Alex's limit, and he disconnected. I am not taking my livelyhood to LinkShack. Time to see if anyone else knows a good "cleaner". He switched the Sensei off and stowed it back in the footlocker, making sure to relock it and rebury it under it's normal pile of "dirty laundry". He grabbed the Ikon from where it rested and sat back in his chair in the living room, took a deep breath, and powered it back on.

Hermes Ikon: Hidden | SIN: Alexander Bianchi ( Re 4(3) - Sig 3 - Fi 5 - Sys 4(3) )

He let the breath out as the Ikon didn't begin screeching again, though it was still molasses-in-January slow. He remembered something that one of the guys in Matrix Crimes had told him a while ago and began shutting down his normal programs until the OS and the disgusting stomach icon were the only things active. The commlink's response sped up, though it was still slower than it should be, and the visuals jittered and reset oddly from time to time. Better than nothing, I suppose. Sad part is this is still faster than "Jimmy"....Let's see if anyone's on-line and maybe has some answers, or at least knows someone who might.

<< @Selene: Did your 'link get fragged by that godawful noise earlier? Mine's being system-hogged by something called ">1rtu@l5cr3@m", with an icon that looks like a (disturbingly real) stomach. I'd bet Carluccio's system has the same thing. If so, do the guys down in MC have any clue what the deal is? >>

<< @Steven Dark: Afternoon, Mr.Dark. Was wondering if you were free this evening, as I believe I still owe you a nice dinner for pointing me towards the bagman at the Hilton a couple months back. A veritable goldmine of information, that man is..or was, can't believe someone with less morals hasn't shut him up yet. Also (because there's always business to talk, neh?), maybe we can compare notes on something that happened earlier today, I'm sure you're already on the >1rtu@l5cr3@m story. Let me know, yeah? >>

[Notsoevildm]

@Virtual Scream / Gossamer
[September 1, 2072, 12:15:06, Argent's home]
PAN: N/A, SIN: None, Response *, Signal *, System (5), Firewall (4), (Analyze, Scan, Decrypt, Exploit, Stealth [5, inherent], Armour, Browse, Encrypt [6, ergo, optzd] Attack [5, targeting], Expert Defence [2])

Can an icon shake? A trembling Gossamer certainly believes it is possible. Her code is glitching, but she is safe for the moment. Her commlink might not be described as spacious but there is no sign of the >1rtu@l5cr3@m agent/virus here. At least not for the moment.

[Notsoevildm]

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

Just as Dante arrives at the Hai Fuk Noodle House, his link pings a response from Jing Cha.

<<@Dante[Jing Cha]: Just finished my shift and got your message. >1rtual5cr3@m, you say. That one has been keeping me busy all afternoon. I can be at the Tea House in an hour. But it's on your tab, chummer.>>

Inside the noodle house, there are no signs of the earlier chaos. There are a few more customers and a different geisha girl is waiting the tables. She approaches Dante to seat him. When he points at the two bodyguards sitting in the corner drinking tea, she escorts him over to them, then bows and leaves.

"I surprised you come back, gaijin. You come to pay the money you owe me, neh?" sneers 'Lucky' Lee. His partner, 'Silent' Bo just rolls his eyes and gives an exasperated shrug.

[Notsoevildm]

@Virtual Scream, Alex Bianchi
September 1, 2072, 14:55; Alex's Everett apartment
Hermes Ikon: Hidden | SIN: Alexander Bianchi ( Re 4(3) - Sig 3 - Fi 5 - Sys 4(3) )

Alex's commlink rings almost as soon as he has sent his message to Steven Dark.

<<You been hitting da booze chummer>> laughs Selene.

<<Just kidding. My link is fine. I had it switched off in case da chief called while I was dere. Nottin else at da scene except one fried music system. As for da patrons, half of dem skipped without paying and da other half is connected so we aint gettin nuttin from dem without a court order and then dey will have conveniently lost dere links. I suggest you do the same or some skinny junior detective will have your ass down here quicker dan I can say 'court order'. Den da boys in MC will strip yer fancy link and its fancy agent down to its component parts and you can kiss it goodbye as evidence.>>

<<A gut you say? Ha fragging ha. I always thought you were more 'by da book' dan gut feeling. Anyways I'd a guessed it woulda been a liver for you. Look, dere's been a bunch of incidents and the boys in MC is takin it personal dat something tried to hack da mainframe. It didn't get in but it did put two of dem in da hospital. And dey is saying one of dem might not make it.

<<Hmm, I know dis one guy you could talk to who might be able to help. He was a rigger at the Star but had a big mouth and didn't make it across. His name is Harvey Dennis. Does some freelance stuff now and he's in da book. Don't make any short jokes and you'll be fine.>>

When he hangs up there is another message waiting for his attention.

<<Unable to deliver message to : Steven Dark : That number is not available at this time : System will continue to attempt delivery for next 24 hours>>

[karhig]

@Virtual Scream / Cat
[September 1, 2072, 23:52:00, The Looking Glass]

The better part of the evening passes with Cat drifting from bar to dance floor and from dance floor to tables. She easily mixes with the locals, exchanging compliments on extra arms here and small talk with fur covered creatures of various sizes there. Years of training and her own gifts make her comfortable in most environments, but surrounded by her fellow freaks she feels particularly liberated. The targeting reticule in her AR vision occasionally stalls for so long that her looks risk getting awkward, but she always manages to smooth the conversation over.

Perhaps I can make it to Anathma this evening still, if this thing doesn't have me look at every meta, commlink, barstool, and light rig in the building!

[Notsoevildm]

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

The ghoul squeals in pain as Copperhead's razors bite into its flesh and she hauls it off her back. It hisses and tries to sink its teeth into her arm. Her steel and ceramic, armored arm. She shrugs it off and drives her other hand into its gut with a satisfying squelch. The ghoul tumbles back into the water but she is not certain if it is dead.

The first one she shot at hangs back, cautious, while other three in the water close in. The kids fire wildly, but other than slowing the ghouls approach a little, their shots have little effect.

Then they are on them. Two of them try to grab Copperhead and pull her in. But it will take more than a pair of skinny ghouls to move 200 kilos of angry troll. Jon is not so lucky and is pulled into the fetid water by the third ghoul. Katie screams and shoots at the one that grabbed him. With more luck than skill, her shot strikes true, missing Jon by mere centimetres but clipping the ghoul.

With a roar, Copperhead leaps over the ghouls attacking her and lands with a massive splash near the one that grabbed Jon. Her razors leave red lines across its face as its buddies turn to attack her from behind. From the corner her eye, she spots a faint thermal pattern as the one that had first attacked her slinks off down one of the tunnels.

Not dead then. Pity!

Behind her, she hears Katie screaming as the cautious ghoul makes a move towards her. Katie backs away still firing wildly and Copperhead feels one of the rounds impacting her armor.

Then there is an explosion from somewhere above. Distracted, Copperhead fails to connect with the ghoul that has at least now let go of a spluttering Jon. Under a hail of fire from Katie, the second ghoul chooses discretion over lunch and turns tail.

The three ghouls in the water all try to pile onto Copperhead but she easily fends them off with her long, cybered arms.

Light suddenly fills the chamber, making her glad of the flare compensation in her lenses. The ghouls freak and run, but not before she gets a last strike at the one with the cut face. Her long arm reaches out and around its throat. Its momentum does the rest and she rips its throat and neck open as it tries to flee.

As it sinks gurgling into the water, she grabs Jon with one hand and her gun with the other.

Katie is still pulling the trigger on the empty pistol.

"Easy kid, you did good. Dey is gone and we is still alive. Frag, I didn't even need to use plan B. Dat's B fer Boom, heh."

"DOWN HERE!" she shouts towards the light. "Yer fraggin late."

She hauls Jon out of the water and quickly checks him over.

"Did it bite ya or scratch ya. I'll give you a broad spectrum shot once we is outta here just in case. Frag knows what crap is in da water."

[Notsoevildm]

@Virtual Scream/Cipher
[September 1, 2072, 12:42; Downtown, Seattle]

For a brief moment, knowledge fills Cipher's head. He can see everything and everyone. He understands it all. He know the truth.

And then it all goes dark.

[September 1, 2072, 13:42; Downtown, Seattle]

Someone or something is kicking him in the head. He feels nauseous and his eyes hurt as he forces them open. He is slumped over in the back of the cab, presumably still somewhere downtown. A small pool of blood stains the seat where he was drooling and his nose is blocked with dried blood. As he pulls himself upright, he sees his reflection in the rear-view mirror. It is not a pretty sight. His eyes are blood shot, his mouth and nose are bloody and there is even dried blood in his ears.

Drops of blood have also stained the front of the nice shirt he is wearing. His throat is dry and his voice cracks when he tries to speak. He wishes he knew how to turn off the pain and fix his appearance without having to act it all out.

Then he notices the driver. The skeleton's bones are bleached white and despite the fact that its has no hands, it seems to be driving the taxi without any problem. As he stares at it, its eyeless skull, the top neatly sliced off turns to him and asks politely,

<<Do you wish me to continue circling the block, sir? If so, I will need to stop briefly to recharge. The vehicle's fuel cells are running low.>

It sounds like the 'sprite' he created to take over the cab but it sure as hell doesn't look anything like it.

[Fairy]

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

Tsubaki picks up her feet and moves them aside. She watches the two gear up and tend to the overall matters of the situation. Well, it's probably the woman's turn to look busy, too, then. She glances over to the Collots in the back of the vehicle. Before she goes, Tsubaki allows her commlink to connect to the others for open communication, then from her seat, she gets up, approaches the father and son, and sits down across from them. Straightening her back and placing her hands neatly in her lap, the woman smiles at them. "Comment allez-vous~?" Tsubaki isn't a native speaker of the French language, but sometimes a little bit can go a long way...

In the meanwhile, Tsubaki doesn't forget to share an interesting fact to her fellow runners' commlinks.

<I believe we're on or near a Royal Ley Line.>

[phlapjack77]

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

Dante wasn't sure if these two had the virus or not. Lee's attitude seemed like he wouldn't be that cooperative, at least willingly. Dante ignored the insult. Lee wasn't the sharpest wrench in the toolbox, so...

"I came back to help you get rid of that virus on your commlink, asshole. Or didn't you notice it?"

[RdMarquis]

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

Mordred pulls out a flashlight and switches it on. That's not too promising. "Looks abandoned," he whispers into the subvocal microphone. "There's a dark, spooky basement, but no signs of life." The adept scans the area. Abandoned though it was, there were still traces of water. Could someone have started using the pump station again? "I'm heading down." He descends slowly and as quietly as he can. Admittedly, the flashlight would give him away almost immediately. It didn't mean he had to make sure he was heard, too.

Tsubaki's message gives him pause. The mana is strong here. The dragon sounds almost pleased. But little else.

Yeah. I wonder... Was it reminding him of something?

He stops to send a reply. <Could you ask Monsieur Collot how he and Luc are doing? The kid seemed pretty upset by the jammer. If they can still use their powers, I'd like them to try and get a message to Argent. Ask her how to proceed.> Short of cupping their hands over their mouths and shouting, any mundane methods of long distance communication were disabled. Bad time to start making things up as they went. He couldn't imagine handing the Collots over to anyone now. Not when there was no way to assure their safety.

[Aria]

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

As this tireless young thing whirls you back onto the dance floor to join the more sedate couples around you, you briefly wonder if she is doing something as crass as running empathy software. It’s not often that someone can evade your golden tongue with such ease. Perhaps she’s some sort of social adept? If only you had the ability to read peoples’ auras as well as you can normally read peoples’ faces.

"Our host? Celedyr introduced us! Dear Gregory has some interesting ideas…" and the flippant use of that name tells you far more than all the rest of the conversation so far but before you can respond she nods to the band and the pace changes from graceful waltz to energetic tango and you are forced once more to up your pace.

[Aria]

@Virtual Scream / Gossamer
[September 1, 2072, 12:15, Argent's home]
PAN: N/A, SIN: None, Response *, Signal *, System (5), Firewall (4), (Analyze, Scan, Decrypt, Exploit, Stealth [5, inherent], Armour, Browse, Encrypt [6, ergo, optzd] Attack [5, targeting], Expert Defence [2]) +Command [6, ergo, optzd] (-1 response)

Trembling in the comparative safety but restricted confines of her link, Gossamer gathered her anger about her as a form of armour against the horrors that were being inflicted on her body. Realising how woefully unprepared she was for an, admittedly unprecedented, event such as this, she reached into her memory and called forth a command program. It felt strange to be remotely operating her body rather than feeling it…

As the protocols engaged and the verification codes flew back and forth she watched detached as she opened the service panel in her stomach, the skin splitting open along invisible seams to reveal her beating heart – the hydrogen fuel cell that powered her being. Bypassing the safety systems she reached inside and with a vicious twist wrenched the cell out…

…she quaked as she lost contact with her home node, feeling lost in the vastness of the matrix. She knew that she now had a limited time to either restore the node or find a new one before she began to fragment in the info stream.

<<@Argent: Bee has been compromised by a virulent virus. I have had to remove my core in order to preserve the drone and prevent it being totally compromised or turned against you or the children. I am afraid they might be distressed if they return home and find me there without any warning. I will try and find out what is happening but for now messages to this link will reach me.>>

For now she had two goals, find out what the hell this >1rtu@l5cr3@m virus is and locate a more comfortable node from which to mount her search.

[Aria]

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

With the ghouls rabbiting into the depths of their underground world you are left with soaked in gods knows what and guarding two quivering teenagers, one of whom looks like he might rapidly go into shock. There is a nasty claw scrape on one leg and quite apart from whatever crap is floating in the water there is the ghoul’s fingernails to consider – they aren’t exactly renowned for their table manners and are infamous for their dietary requirements.

There’s some muffled swearing and a splash as Requiem descends down to you, constantly sweeping the bright xenon spot around the chamber to hopefully keep any more of the denizens of the area at bay.

"Frag you! But yeah, sorry we’re late. Looks like you managed without us though. You’re a tough slitch for a spell slinger! Now let’s get the hell out before the smells draw anything else down on you! Stitch is up top keeping an eye out for that bird but we seem to have lost it for now. Clear run to the wall now right?" and he fails to keep the sarcasm out of his voice.

[Aria]

@E:PL UK
[May 21st, 2072, 18:28; Overlooking Clearwater, Exmoor, UK]

Mordred

The beam from your torch flashes through the underground room. You can see now that the water is literally coming through the walls from the reservoir beyond and running down to pool at the bottom. It adds to the general sense of decay but is clearly not about to cause imminent collapse or anything drastic to occur…the salt deposits suggest it has been like this for a very long time.

Descending the rickety metal staircase you step into a couple of centimetres of water at its foot and proceed into the gloom. Your torch beam picks up something considerably newer down here and playing it around you can see that it is a high gain satellite dish pointing in the general direction of the ceiling. There are no blinking telltales though and they appear to be as inactive as everything else down here. The power cables lead off into the distance towards the far shore of the reservoir and reluctantly following them you head on.

The door that finally blocks your path is clearly a relatively new addition to the otherwise dated structure. The maglock shows a dim red indicator so there is clearly power of some kind down here…

Gemeaux & Tsubaki

There seems to be nothing to do but wait and watch whilst your forward scout does his thing. It certainly does nothing for your nerves when baby Collot begins to whine and then cry, perhaps sensing the tension in the air this close to your goal. His dad rocks him gently and eventually the grating noise quiets leaving just the tension.

[Notsoevildm]

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

Lucky Lee pauses for a moment, clearly checking his AR. Then he pulls down his glasses and peers at Dante over the top of them with one eyebrow raised. It is clearly a practised pose.

"Nice one, gaijin. But, no viruses here. What about you Bo?"

Silent Bo just shakes his head 'no'.

"Now you planning on paying up or you planning on leaving?" continues Lucky.