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

[phlapjack77]

@Virtual Scream/Noodle House
September 2, 2072, 13:19, Hai Fuk Noodle House, Redmond Barrens, Seattle

The smell that rose from the slightly-sizzling meat was all wrong. This would never do for 京酱肉丝. With the twitching form of Chunky dropping to the floor, Dante raised his Ruger and, still sitting, squeezed the trigger as the Uzi-wielding ganger came between the crosshairs of the smartgun. The sound of the Thunderbolt firing overpowered all others in the restaurant, easily drowning out the whimpers of Jenny Ho with a crash of thunder. Dante allowed the recoil to help swing the gun's barrel over to the other target, the skinny ganger apparently known as 'Xbox'. Again the trigger was depressed and again the thunder roared. If all went well, that would be the end of this craziness.

[karhig]

@Virtual Scream / Cat, Dubstep, Dante
[September 2, 2072, 13:19, Hai Fuk Noodle House, Redmond Barrens, Seattle]
PAN: Active, SIN: Moll Flanders (Fake SIN Rtg 4), System: 2, Signal: 2, Response: 2, Firewall: 2

Movement blurred across the edge of Cat's vision as she looked defiantly past Chunky. Her self defence training took over and she recalled skills she barely knew she had. She ducked her head and raised her arms to protect herself. A screamed curse swept across her, presaging the flat, wide palm of Chunky's thickset arm. Although she blocked the blow it was vicious enough to ricochet her arm into her head and throw her bodily across the room. Disoriented and hurt she threw her arm out to the side and came down hard on the concrete floor. Fighting for breath Cat tried to calm herself and regain her composure, but she knew precious time was slipping by as her head rang. Blurred vision stabilised as she scrabbled around to face her attacker, only to see Chunky drop, spasming and moaning to the floor before her, smoke curling behind him as he fell. A sound like a cannon cried out twice, twin pulses of noise rattled around her head, adding to the already painful scream in her mind. Cat gasped for air. The smell of cordite and burned flesh filled her lungs. She gagged painfully. Panic threatened to overwhelm her. Precious time slipped by as she unravelled.

[Notsoevildm]

@Virtual Scream / Cat, Dubstep, Dante
[September 2, 2072, 13:19, Hai Fuk Noodle House, Redmond Barrens, Seattle]

Dante's first burst strikes Leader squarely in the chest, knocking him on his back. The heavy pistol kicks high and to the left and as the smartlink targ crosses Xbox's head he squeezes the trigger again.

Unfortunately for Xbox, he is not wearing a helmet. The ganger's head disintegrates, spraying the couple sitting at the table with blood, brains and gore. Either the gunfire or the exploding head finally spur Jenny Ho into action and she drops to all fours and scuttles under the nearest table away from Dante.

With a cough, Leader scrabbles to his feet. He spits blood and coughs out, "You fragging gook! Now all you sub-humans are gonna die."

He brings up the ancient Uzi, holding it out at arms length, its laser sight playing raggedly across the group.

---

Klaxons suddenly flare in the Leader's commlink and Cindy whispers calmly in Dubstep's ear.

<<You are about to be shot at! I suggest you get back to the real and get under the table. Right now! Transfer of second >1rtu@l5cr3@m code segment 47% complete.>>

---

BRAAPP! BRAAAP!

[Aria]

@E:Tribes
September 1, 2072 22:28 Approx 600m from the Fre∑dom Mall, Puyallup

Spring

Reeling from your summoning you are never the less impressed with the powerful being you have managed to bend to your will…now, who to sic it on? The junker looks the best bet...let's see if you can get them to evacuate their armour!?

Sprogget

As you assess the tactical situation that suddenly seems to be going your way the LeO lets out a viciously accurate burst of fire at the retreating Harley and the bastard jinks almost completely out of the way! Bloody mages and their preternatural senses! You are satisfied to see the spray of very real blood though as the rounds slip under his flapping armour jacket to strike flesh. Hunkering in close to his bike he accelerates away far faster than the Harley should be able to go. Not enough to escape LeO though you think to yourself…

Scrapheap

You dimly hear the wild screech of tyres as Tweak swings the van protestingly back round to the north trying to find a new target to lodge on the front of his bullbars! Charging like a bull elephant you depress the front suspension of the Americar all the way to the deck as you scramble on to the retreating vehicle. A kind of mad desperation lets you keep your balance as the vehicle slews round and you feel a sudden waft of heat from the open roof hatch and suddenly the doors of the vehicle fly open and the two remaining passengers make a frantic bid to exit their still moving vehicle...

Tweak

It's all over! Might as well pull up and save yourself some fuel...you might have rammed the junker just to see but given that Scrapheap is on top and looking mighty angry that probably isn't a good plan!


* To be completed when I have more information on desired actions!

[Machine Ghost]

@E:Tribes, Sprogget
September 1, 2072 22:28; Ambushed near the Fre?dom Mall, Puyallup
Bionode: Response 4(5), Signal 2, System 4, Firewall 3; Hidden; Analyze(3), Command(1), Edit(1), Scan(1), Sniffer(3), Spoof(1), {s]Stealth(3)[/s], Shield(1), Tacsoft(2), Simrig(1)
CMT Clip: Response 1, Signal 3, System 1, Firewall 1; Hidden; SIN: Paul Brickhill (R3)

Sprogget can see on tacnet that LeO has a solid target lock on the Mage, but just as the burst is triggered, the Harley dekes right, almost but not quite evading the incoming stream of lead.
@self:That sparker is leading a charmed life!  LeO had him locked!  How did he do that?  At least LeO is chipping pieces off of him.  How did he get moving that fast anyway?  Is he using magic to get more out of that chopper than specs should allow?  Even maximum engine mods should not let it accelerate like that!  At least this kept his attention off of Spring and Scrapheap

@LeO: <<Maintain mage target, continue fire until he goes down, breaks line of sight, or gets to long range.  Best rate of fire.  Best damage potential.>>

@self:Might be a waste of ammo, but NO WAY can either Mechanicals or Fre∑dom let anyone think they can get away with attacking us.  Practically on the doorstep too!  There have to be serious consequences, so they and others will show some respect!  Drek!  This means I'm going to have to do a full report for Spindle.  He is NOT going to like this!  Prospero will probably want some questions answered too.  Maybe I can get Osha to help, to spin this enough so Spindle does not go completely ballistic.

At least LeO's consumables report shows he had a full drum, and he as at full charge too.  Must have been sitting on that roof all day!

@jailbreakers: <<The way that Sparker is bugging out, there is now way we will catch him.  LeO .. the drone .. will be delivering a few more lead gifts before he can get out of range though.>>

@self:What's this on LeO's status report?  He was told to RTB .. this morning actually.  but .. the engines refused to spin up when commanded, and LeO just reset and sat there, defaulting to recharge?
Scanning quickly back through the logs,
@self:And here the second microphone was off line ..  Thermographic was whited out .. gyro .. camera ..

LeO has a gremlin!

Glad that reset this morning got every thing back to par for now!

Coming up to the initial springer trap location, Sprogget pulls up, turning so that the armoured wheel protects him and LeFey from the last know location for the first shooter, staying in the blocked lane so Tweak has plenty of room to go by if he wants. He uses sensors and tacnet, including LeO's input now, to search for more recent signs of that shooter, the ganger that was in the Americar when it got rammed, or any other enemies that are still active.

@self:Are we done yet?

[Dakka Fiend]

@E:Tribes
Spring
September 1, 2072 22:28 Approx 600m from the Fre∑dom Mall, Puyallup
[Crouching in a doorway]
Renraku Sensei: Hidden, SIN: Steven Brokvich (fake R3)

Seeing the ganger trying to leave, Spring points at the retreating car and tells the spirit Don't let those inside that vehicle get away! Remembering Scrapheap he quickly adds Don't hurt my friend!

Just as the spirit mentally acknowledges his command, its outline vanishes in a black/red flash connecting to the receeding car. Shortly thereafter, the car's doors open and two gangers jump out

Yes! Didn't expect that, did you?!

Ow! Drek!

High on adrenaline as he is, bumping into the wall still hurt his burnt skin.

Better do wihout my victory dance, heh? Still, feels great. Just the skinny kid you send into cramped places when you forgot a drone? Seeing the van pull up, he turns to smile at Tweak...

Tweak
[color="#FF8C00"][Inside the Van]
Novatech Airwave: Hidden, SIN: James Teems (fake R3)

Turning the Van around in a tight power turn that loudly burns off rubber, Tweak takes a moment to assess the situation.

What the? What's tha... not on scanners, steampunkish, Spring you devil, show 'em!

He stops the van near Spring.

Grats on the... Drek! What happened to your face!?

[Aria]

@E:PL/Chi Town
[July 9th, 2072, 00:26; Ghoul central, CZ, Chicago]

Copperhead

Ignoring the pervasive taint you peer into the astral and immediately see the skeins of the illusion spell that placed Snag away from his true location. Even more worrying than that is the sight of him batting abstractly at your spirit while he lines up for another shot…and his aura is clearly not that of a mage! Either he’s found the time to initiate and mask his aura or there is another player in this little game, one you’ve not seen yet!

Father Anselm

You clearly hear the rifle shot ring out from inside the building that the troll had run into in such fury. It looked like she was carrying a shotgun so presumably someone (or something) is shooting at her! Over by the bridge you can see that the ghouls are getting braver when all of a sudden you see a burst of fire from a barely visible foe as they lay into the ghouls…looks like reinforcements have arrived down there!

Your spirit also begins the process of whittling down the enemy, sending the beasts crashing to the ground with the might of God’s will.

Gemeaux

You lose sight of Mordred as he accelerates over the bridge, activating the chameleon coating on his armour but an AR overlay projects his approximate location in the corner of your vision…wouldn’t do to inadvertently dispatch him along with your intended targets. The targets are plentiful and clearly getting bolder and they don’t seem to notice as you neatly headshot one of their number, it comes to a sliding halt in the dust with its very grey matter splashed across the deck…

Mordred

Closing quickly with the foe you are glad that you can’t smell them…getting close gives you an all too good a look at their fetid forms. You’ve seen ghouls before but these are some sort of debased feral cousin of that breed and you mentally vow to yourself that you won’t end up like them! Your pistols spit fire and one of their number drop as another’s head explodes nearby…welcome to the party!

[ChromeZephyr]

@E:Tribes, Scrapheap;
September 1, 2072 22:28 Approx 600m from the Fre∑dom Mall, Puyallup
PAN mode: Hidden | SIN displayed: Eric Jones

Scrapheap whipped his attention away from his handiwork to the armored sedan as it's engine whined closer to him than he expected. Gotta do somethin' about that. He scanned the front of the vehicle, then mentally shrugged and pulled the 990 to his shoulder. The front bead lined up at the junction of two plates over the radiator, and he pulled the trigger. Sparks exploded from the front of the car, and for a half second he thought he'd stopped the overburdened car in it's tracks. His grin slipped as the car began reversing away, a small trail of steam rising from the huge dent in the armor where the shotgun's slug had impacted.

No fuckin' way you shits are gettin' away wif this. He lunged up and away from where he crouched behind the wrecked Americar, long strides carrying him towards the retreating gang transport and a howl of wrath trailing behind him. His boot stomped hard into the ruined bumper, and springs already badly stressed shrieked as his weight drove the bottom of the car's front end into the pavement.

Scrapheap's hand had just clamped onto the rooftop hatch's lip when the car skewed around gracelessly to face the opposite direction. He growled as the muscles is his arm strained to keep him from being flung against the wall of the building next to them, then he was climbing again. As he attained the roof of the sedan a wave of heat rose from the interior along with the choked screams of the occupants. A glance through the hatch as he tried to get the shotgun aimed into the car showed him why.

"Holy SHIT!" He had the strangest feeling that the materializing spirit's attention shifted to him even without all of it's corporeal form, then dismissed him in favor of the two gangers still alive inside. A small, detached part of his mind noted the backseat was awash in gore from the teenaged bo..no, girl he'd shot down from the assault rifle attached to the roof next to him. The scent of fear, death, and swiftly cooking meat rose from the car assaulted his nose, and Scrapheap fought back the urge to retch.

[Machine Ghost]

@E:Tribes, Sprogget
September 1, 2072 22:28; Ambushed near the Fre?dom Mall, Puyallup
Bionode: Response 4(5), Signal 2, System 4, Firewall 3; Hidden; Analyze(3), Command(1), Edit(1), Scan(1), Sniffer(3), Spoof(1), {s]Stealth(3)[/s], Shield(1), Tacsoft(2), Simrig(1)
CMT Clip: Response 1, Signal 3, System 1, Firewall 1; Hidden; SIN: Paul Brickhill (R3)

Watching LeO target the fleeing mage, Sprogget figures there's nothing more he can do there.  The remaining crotch rocket seems to be gone, and his attention shifts to Scrapheap trying to tackle and ride the still {sort of} moving Americar.  As the gangers inside suddenly burst out apparently fleeing from something inside, he has a sudden realization.
@self:That missing shooter 1 target!  LeFey was using taser darts!  There was no hit or miss confirmation on tacnet.  She may have hit him, and the charge got him twitching, but that will not last long!

@jailbreakers: <<Slot! Target 1!  Maybe only taser stunned!>>

Hurriedly exiting the DR node, Sprogget shifts from VR to AR mode, reaching for the harness quick release as soon as he regains control of his muscles.  Rolling out of the DR past LeFey, he leaps up heading at a run towards the door where the first shooter was last seen.  He nearly falls on his face in his haste.

[Notsoevildm]

@Virtual Scream, Alex Bianchi
September 2, 2072, 12:44; Not quite the Barrens
Renraku Sensei: Hidden | SIN: Jimmy Delfino (Fake ID, Rating 3) (Re 2 - Sig 4 - Fi 2 - Sys 2)

"So, you gonna let me in, or are we just going to stand here eyeballin' one another? 'Cause I can just come back after the SWAT team rolls through and cacks your stupid asses for icing a friend of theirs."

Alex shrugged. "Choice is yours, but you ain't got a lotta time to decide."

The kid glares at Alex with cheap cybereyes, then lets the pistol drop to his side. He opens the door wider and backs away.

Inside there are two other gangers. The first is a young ork girl, tusks barely showing. She can't be more than 14 years old. The other is a skinny human male about 17 years old or so. He has a couple of datajacks on his right temple, cyber eyes with external covers and a worrying twitch.

[Notsoevildm]

@E:PL/Chi Town
[July 9th, 2072, 00:26; Ghoul central, CZ, Chicago]

Thiss one iss not a mage!

Yeah, yeah, I noticed.

Copperhead twists around the pillar. Her mind struggles with the conflicting images. Her eyes tell her the ghoul is in one place and the smartlink targ turns green when she aims at him. But her awareness puts him about a metre to the left. The targ blinks red as she pulls it off the illusion and onto the ghoul's aura.

One problem at a time.

She squeezes off a single round then ducks back into cover, keeping her senses open in the hope she might spot the mage.

[Notsoevildm]

@Virtual Scream / Cat, Dubstep, Dante
[September 2, 2072, 13:19, Hai Fuk Noodle House, Redmond Barrens, Seattle]

BRAAPP! BRAAAP!

From the ground Cat can only stare in amazement as the scruffy ork dodges the incoming bullets with apparent ease. Holes appear in the wall behind Dante and Dubstep, the decker still apparently asleep in his chair.

---

The firewall on Xbox's commlink finally gives way to Dubstep's on-the-fly assault. He finds himself in a control room. There is single chair, still warm to the touch as if someone was recently here. There are two screens, one filled with static, the other with a close up of a pair of large, warty breasts. A small window in the latter screen contains an unsent <<Terminate user account>> command.

[onlyghostdancesw...]

@E:PL/Chi Town
[July 9th, 2072, 00:26; Ghoul central, CZ, Chicago]

Caught between his anger at the ghouls and his uncertainty about the troll, Anselm invoked a prayer for speed like the wings of the avenging angels, moving the invoked response of the Lord onto his focus so that he would be unfettered by holding the protection himself. An instant later he had woven a cloak of protection from evil eyes around him so perfect that he felt the presence of the Most High in this forsaken land. Appearing as a tiny cloud of steam to any onlooker.

Secure in his defenses he reached out to the Lord in his anger, meaning to cast himself into the wind and leap to the aid of the unnamed troll and found that his zeal had perhaps overreached. The minor wind that had been called forth would have sufficed to hold him in place but was nothing like the gust of wrath he had anticipated. Dropping his first prayer he mentally ran through his invocation, alert to any mispronunciation or imperfection that could have caused the Lord to rebuke him in such a manner and found nothing. As if to play with him the gusts departed and he was left clinging to the railing, hoping that his hubris had not gone too far; that he had not asked for too much in his anger.

What have I done, my Lord, that you should see fit to conceal me from my enemies and yet not aid me in aiding another?! Anselm cursed wildly and in that moment realized what had been the cause of his narcissistic pursuit of power. Lord, forgive me, your humble servant! I did not mean to divide my intentions so much. I realize that you alone can decide my fate but please know my intentions were honest! If I have fallen from your sight, please do not hide from me in my hour of need, nor from your presence! I am in need of helping these young souls and know now the full extent of my crimes! Please Lord, give me the patience and the will to do what you would have done. In your greater presence let me aid that party that I may in some part become absolved of my duplicity!

As if in answer a mighty wind came up and, seizing on him, cast him off the billboard and flung him toward the apartment complex roof at great speed. The presence of his Lord filled him and he heard a voice, deep within calling, "And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."

[onlyghostdancesw...]

@Flat-Line Express
[July 8th, 2072, 21:45; Fleeing towards home, 126th Pl. NE, Seattle, Redmond Barrens, UCAS]


What on EARTH were you thinking?! Storming out of there, trying to attack her in the middle of her husbands crash pad! SHE DESERVED TO DIE! EVIL! Evil like... you you mean?! Jasper fled blindly through the night, his mist form totally obscured by the heavy acid rain that was pouring down and obliterating the orangey glow emanating from the rest of the city. Fighting himself as much as the wind and fleeing from his nature and the mistake he had just made. The job had been simple and in fact he had completed it without a problem; drop off the commlink and ask for consideration from Zak. He'd done all that without an issue, even distracting the strung out and edgy ganger from his tirade and getting him marginally calmed down. It had all gone south when Zak's wife had attempted to "give him compensation" and he had balked at the offer. In retrospect it was a good thing he had refused her because a split second later she had attacked him and he had just barely been able to dodge out of the way. The revelation that followed him noticing her enlarged canines had saved him and damned him at the same time; it had saved him from being attacked by one of his own and yet damned him as he sought, in a moment of rage to kill her for mistaking him as a helpless human. His own dark crusade against others like him was always an uneasy truce between a search for morality and his own personal needs, both nutritionally and spiritually.

As he flowed down into the shadows around his apartment, checking astral space before he descended and reformed into his physical self to be sure there were no watchers or traces of his approach or flight, he flicked his commlink on and sent a quick blurb to Travis, <<7/8/72: 21:45: @Travinator: Hey Trav sorry for this but you might want to keep your head down. I delivered the list as ordered but a job Edwin offered me went south. Shouldn't be any backlash to you buy figured you'd want the heads up. Ran into some of my own. Will hit you up later this week - Jas>>

[RdMarquis]

@E:PL/Chi Town/Gemeaux, Mordred & Tsubaki
[July 9th, 2072, 00:26; East of the river, Clybourn Ave, CZ, Chicago]
SIN: Spencer Lovett, PAN: Hidden

How do you improve on a ghoul? For a given definition of improve, that is. His mouth curls into a snarl. What, had some cruel fate decided they didn't look enough like the undead they had been named for? The adept dodged sideways. No matter. The important thing now was that they were a threat. And, collectively, a target.

<<Watch for the glinting gun. I'm going to hit this mob from the left.>> Mordred puts on a burst of speed and surges forward, slamming his knee below the ribcage of the nearest ghoul. If he kept harrying them, they would be too busy trying to catch him to deal with Gemeaux's bullets. The adept ducks into a roll and darts away.

[JxJxA]

@E:PL/Chi Town
[July 9th, 2072, 00:26; Ghoul central, CZ, Chicago]
PAN - Active ; SIN - Maximilien Danton

Gemeaux chuckles over the com channel.

<<[Gemeaux]: Do not worry, my friend. I shall cover you from afar. Just mind the mess.>>

He pulls the trigger on his sniper rifle twice. Two bullets spring from the barrel, whistling as they speed towards their marks.

<<[Gemeaux]: The mess, it will be to your right.>>

[Aria]

@Virtual Scream / Gossamer
[b][September 1, 2072, 16:45, Argent's ‘link node]
PAN: N/A, SIN: None, Response *, Signal *, System (5), Firewall (4), (Analyze, Scan, Decrypt, Exploit [5, inherent], Stealth [6, inherent], Armour, Browse, Encrypt, Medic [6, ergo, optzd])

Gossamer regarded her new body as Cutter brought it down to them. The party dress seemed incongruous next to the street clad runners and the high tech blinking pod that housed her original form (she could already feel herself distancing herself mentally from her old body and preparing to live again as another). Gisele would have a pair of jeans and t-shirt that would be more appropriate and Gossamer was sure that Argent’s daughter wouldn’t have a problem parting with them for the chance at a new playmate! Otherwise the living doll was a pretty little girl that would go unnoticed anywhere downtown or in one of the better neighbourhoods in Seattle, and Gossamer had no intention of straying outside those areas just at the moment.

Detaching herself from Argent’s node she slipped inside the body and merged her consciousness with that of the drone. It would take time to assimilate the node as her true home and she could already feel that it was a pale comparison of her original but that could be worked on, indeed, would have to be worked on for her to feel truly at ease. Perhaps one more thing that Slater could assist her with.

<<@Slater [Gossamer]: So, we have some useful information of sorts. Do you want to investigate CSS and MMO further? I can remunerate you for your time unless curiosity is a powerful enough motivation? My power in the matrix is directly related to the hard/firmware resources I can draw on and unfortunately this new body is not yet equipped for intensive operations but Argent may well be able to acquire us a clean ‘link that I can operate from. I would suggest we don’t try any hacking from here though. Assuming CSS has a physical location in Seattle we may wish to find a crowded locale nearby… >>

[Notsoevildm]

@Virtual Scream, Alex Bianchi
September 2, 2072, 12:44; Not quite the Barrens
Renraku Sensei: Hidden | SIN: Jimmy Delfino (Fake ID, Rating 3) (Re 2 - Sig 4 - Fi 2 - Sys 2)

Alex sneaks a peek past the veil as he moves into the room, holding the door open. He hears a faint whirr as Charlie creeps in behind him.

Deadeyes appears mostly healthy, about as good as can be expected for a barren rat. There is an angry line around his empty eye sockets, likely from irritated or healing tissue. Apart from the eyes, he does not appear to have any other cyberware. His mood is alert and nervous, with just a hint of concern for Ork Girl.

"We don wan no trubbel" mutters Deadeyes. "Wass da deal?"

Ork Girl seems to have no cyberware and initially seems to be perfectly mundane. But then Alex spots a hint of talent. It is undeveloped and he cannot tell it's exact nature. She too is nervous, glancing towards Deadeyes and taking her lead from him.

Twitchy is another story. His aura is sickly and shows multiple blank spots around his head as well as faint lines throughout his body from cyberware enhancements. Alex guesses that both he and Deadeyes are actually under the legal age for implants. As he ponders that thought, anger suddenly flushes through Twitchy's aura and Alex can see something, a spur, sprout from the back of the kid's right hand.

"Da frag is dat?" curses Twitchy, pointing at Charlie as the drone creeps around the door and the PI.

[ChromeZephyr]

@Virtual Scream, Alex Bianchi
September 2, 2072, 12:45; Not quite the Barrens
Renraku Sensei: Hidden | SIN: Jimmy Delfino (Fake ID, Rating 3) (Re 2 - Sig 4 - Fi 2 - Sys 2)

For a second there was a disorienting blur as Alex opened himself more to the underlying patterns of Creation, then he saw with better understanding. Okay, okay...huh, hope there's a shaman around here to guide her or something. And...damn. Wires. Better than drugs, I guess, but that's gonna kill him sooner rather than..fuck. Keep him calm, get out quickest.

For a heartbeat there was a sense of....something more, something just at the edges of reality that he couldn't quite bring focus to, then it was gone and the world greyed out slightly as he closed his perception back to the familiar, everyday patterns. Keeping his face calm and his hands easily visible, Alex looked down at what Twitchy was pointing at with his blade.

"That? That's a tool, just like what you got amping you and pokin' out your arm, just like what your friend here's got in his hand." The detective indicated the pistol in Deadeyes' hand with a slight nod of his head. "I don't have the luxury of a crew like you three've got, so I keep him around to discourage people fucking with me when I'm out and about, doing my business. You've all been around long enough to know what happens to people around here without the right...tools, yeah?"

Alex cocked his head slightly. "So how about we get this done, before the heat shows up and we're all up shit creek?"

[Aria]

@E:PL/Chi Town
[July 9th, 2072, 00:26; Ghoul central, CZ, Chicago]

Copperhead

Bloody hell! the combination of bad conditions is going to draw this particular fight out long after you run out of ammo! Something needs to be done to shift the balance. From your position in cover you can barely make out Snag’s astral form at the edge of the atrium as he lines up for another shot down at you…perhaps he will run out of ammo first? Firing back your shot whistles off somewhere to his left and he barely flinches, he clearly knows he has the advantage here.

Gemeaux

With calm efficiency you move from ghoul to ghoul, lining their abhorrent forms up in your sights, firing and changing target almost before you see your handiwork. One shot, one kill, that is what you’ve honed your skills for. Of course you should probably keep changing location too but it doesn’t look like these poor deformed beasts are going to be firing back at you! It’s getting tighter now though as they close on the runners and their techno charges…time for a bit more care!

Mordred

You glide like a phantom through the ghouls but it is a little bit disturbing to have their blind eyes follow you with unerring accuracy. You strike and dodge back, working your way around to draw them away from the vulnerable technos cowering behind their protective runners. From the taller of the two runners, mentally dubbing him beetle for his black clad plated armour you hear a resigned “I’m out” before he too launches himself from behind the rubble barrier to engage the ghouls at point blank. The other one, dressed in more prosaic street armour dispatches another ghoul before his assault rifle also runs dry. Snatching at a side arm he continues the fight…

Anselm

As you hover over the apartment complex you can see that it is a hollow block around a central atrium. The glazing in the atrium is patchy and provided you are careful not to snag any ragged edges should give you an easy enough route inside. As you prepare yourself you feel the last gasp from your spirit as it overexerts itself in the Lord’s name…at least it has incapacitated several of the heathen ghouls before it departs…

[phlapjack77]

@Virtual Scream / Dante, Dubstep, Cat
[September 2, 2072, 13:19, Hai Fuk Noodle House, Redmond Barrens, Seattle]

Noticing the uzi held in the two outstretched hands of the ganger gave Dante all the clues he needed to deftly slide his body out of harms way. Sure enough, as the trigger was pulled and the bullets flew, the ancient gun kicked up and to the left. A true shooter would've known his stance was all wrong, would've known that arms outstretched like that gave no strength, no support. This guy would do well to read what the I Ching said on the matter of balance in body and mind.

Not that he would live that long. Dante's movement flowed seamlessly into an upright stance that was proper for what was about to happen, which was two short, controlled bursts of EX-EX aimed for center of mass on Leader. Arms held tucked in to his sides to provide the strong frame, the triangle that all good shooters know, Dante squeezed the trigger twice.

[Aria]

@E:Tribes
September 1, 2072 22:28; Ambushed near the Fre∑dom Mall, Puyallup

You watch as the Harley races off with Sprogget’s rotadrone in hot pursuit. Flashes of fire light up the night as it spits lead at the fleeing mage. Despite taking numerous small hits the bastard keeps on going and then finally seems to decide that being on the open road and trying to outrun a bullet is a really stupid idea and he finally drives full tilt at a decayed hab block about fifty meters or so away and crashes through the glazed door already hanging off its hinges…now, do you go after him?

The first attacker seems to have made himself scarce too (at least Sprogget isn’t met by a hail of fire) which just leaves you with the two gangers scrambling to get away from the irate fire spirit inside the junker…that and several messy corpses, well, one of them is twitching and may still have a slim hold on life…

[RdMarquis]

@E:PL/Chi Town
[July 9th, 2072, 00:26; Ghoul central, CZ, Chicago]
SIN: Spencer Lovett, PAN: Hidden

They still had some fight in them, yet, he noted. The thoughts were soon lost in the chaos around him (to say nothing of the fact that he was actively contributing to it). Something in the back of Mordred's head told the adept he should be feeling the signs of overexertion, but the rest of him was focused on the position and number of remaining enemies. He fought on, grimly, trying to work his way to their potential allies. The adept lunges at the ribcage of the nearest ghoul, striking as if his fingers ended in sharp points. Barely waiting to confirm the kill, he fires wildly at the milling horde.

[Machine Ghost]

@E:Tribes, Sprogget
September 1, 2072 22:28; Ambushed near the Fre∑dom Mall, Puyallup
Bionode: Response 4(5), Signal 2, System 4, Firewall 3; Hidden; Analyze(3), Command(1), Edit(1), Scan(1), Sniffer(3), Spoof(1), {s]Stealth(3)[/s], Shield(1), Tacsoft(2), Simrig(1)
CMT Clip: Response 1, Signal 3, System 1, Firewall 1; Hidden; SIN: Paul Brickhill (R3)

Knife in hand as he reaches the doorway, expecting either an armed or twitching ganger, Sprogget finds ... nothing.
@self:Looks like LeFey missed, but scared him off, or he recovered and decided to bugout.

After a careful look around, he steps back outside to see what else needs to be done, prudently moving along the wall away from the doorway.  Seeing on tacnet that the mage has managed to get out of LeO’s line of fire, inside another building, Sprogget calls him off.
@LeO: <<Go to overwatch, high threat mode.>>

Seeing from Tweak's feed the condition that Spring is in, and the entity harassing the 2 gangers that so suddenly left the armoured junker, he puts 2 and 2 together.
@self:So that is what Spring was doing in the doorway!  If we are going to do this again, we should get some biomonitors.  That would show personal damage where the existing sensors only tend to notice incoming fire.

@jailbreakers: <<I think we should finish up here quickly, and>>
with another look at the fire spirit,
<<hotfoot out of here.  That mage is still active, and off the scope.  If the local scavengers don’t pick it clean, a better prepared Mechanicals team can collect the salvage later.>>
@self:Not that anything except that AK and pintle mount look to be worth more than scrap.  It would only take a couple of minutes to remove that AK and take it with us.  Should we take the time, while in hostile surroundings? {regretfully} Probably not.

@self:It’s been awhile since Prospero declared that matrix emergency about the virus.  I wonder if he has that settled yet?  Time to take a chance and find out.
Heading briskly back toward the monocycle, Sprogget mentally adjusts his personal connections options, and routing through Tweak’s customized Airwave for the extra signal range, he places a standard commcall to the Mechanicals 'complex security' office.
@self:This will find out quick if we are still offline.  This commcode is always routed to someone on call, even if no one is 'in the office'.  I don't have a matching number for Fre∑dom, but I can try calling Jazz next, assuming she is accepting calls from 'Paul'.  In case Prospero lifted the blackout, but the tribe has not gotten the word yet.  Or maybe Tweak has a security commcode?

[Notsoevildm]

@Virtual Scream / Dante, Dubstep, Cat
[September 2, 2072, 13:19, Hai Fuk Noodle House, Redmond Barrens, Seattle]

While adding another paricularly explicit troll porn stream to Leader's AR display, Dubstep notices another device subscribed to Xbox's link. A quick analysis reveals it to be a wireless signal sniffer, set to detect the pings being sent out by devices infected with >1rtu@l5cr3@m.

---

Injured and distracted by a closeup of a giant troll penis, Leader makes only the feeblest of attempts to avoid Dante's concentrated fire. The first burst punches through already weakened armor plates, exploding into his chest. The second hits the same spot, pulping Leader's heart with hot shrapnel.

With little more than a gurgle, Leader falls back to the floor. There is a second of silence, broken only by the twitching of Chunky at Dante's feet, then the blood-spattered Chinese woman begins to scream.