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

[Aria]

Kayden
[16:57 January 12th, 2072; Alabaster Maiden, Downtown]

As you pass through the eavesdropping ward you feel a prickle on your magical senses and then almost immediately an ugly little watcher manifests infront of your face and pulls a surprising grimace. Ember tsks in annoyance and the small spirit slinks off under the table. Another sylph like watcher appears behind his head and sticks its tongue out at you until Ember dismisses them both with a wave.

He speaks with a fairly strong French accent “Monsieur Kaneis, may I get you anoser drink? Non? Then down to business. As you say, I have need of a courier, but perhaps it would be more accurate to say bodyguard as the package in question is a young lady. She needs to get to the oser side of Redmond and it is hardly a trip to be taken lightly! Is sis something that you might be interested in doing?”

[DaedalusK71]

[1705 January 12th, 2072; Alabaster Maiden, Downtown]

Kaneis takes the seat opposite Ember.

[[In French]]

I'm interested... I'm also guessing that because I am here you cannot simply put her in a cab and send her on her way. And because you called me, you need to keep this... under the table. I have to ask; how much ... resitance ... do you expect? No details are required, but I need to know so we can agree on a fair price.

Kaneis laces his fingers and lays them on the table.

[Aria]

[17:07 January 12th, 2072; Alabaster Maiden, Downtown]

Ember responded in French, "I do not think there are many cabs that I would trust to send anyone across Redmond, this is why I'm seeking more professional assistance. Unusually I can say there is nothing really clandestine about this trip, it is just that it represents a considerable risk to the young ladies safety and I want to ensure she gets there in one piece. I should also mention that she is a perfectly willing participant. I don't expect any targetted resistance, but as I said, travelling across this territory is hardly safe!"

[DaedalusK71]

[17:10 January 12th, 2072; Alabaster Maiden, Downtown]

Kaneis nods... Fair enough. Standard bodyguard rate is 250 per day. You want this 'off-book' and through Redmond. Point A to point B... everything outside that is your business. I think 900 is a fair price. High end magical bodyguard service through Redmond... Deal?

[Aria]

[17:11 January 12th, 2072; Alabaster Maiden, Downtown]


Ember nodded in turn. “That sounds most fair. Now I can arrange for a transport option for you, with or without a driver, as you see fit. They would operate under your direction but I would understand if you are confident that you can see her safely there by yourself. Either way it would not affect your agreed fee.”

He fiddled with something on an antiquated commlink and then pulled up a crude AR image. “This is Beth. I will arrange for her to meet you at the Common Grounds in the university district on Friday evening if you agree to the job. I want her delivered safely to the Stillwater Community on the eastern border of Redmond that evening. Hopefully if you leave around seven you should be across Redmond before the worst of the night time predators stir from their pits. I estimate that it is some thirty miles from Downtown but I will leave you to plan which ever route you deem best.”

[Aria]

[11:47 January 2nd, 2072; Honda Spirit, Driving towards Renton]

Silk flinched as a lorry thundered down the outside lane. Although she knew that the grid guide system and pilot would get her where she was going she regretted not stating that she would prefer to avoid the motorways. The little electric engine purring along was regularly drowned out by the other passing traffic that loomed high above the little subcompact. Gods help her if she met any go gangers, although they were unlikely to challenge something that was so little threat, she never the less checked the Predator once again.

Picking up the stash had been relatively easy and everything seemed to be untouched. Silk hoped that the jammer was masking any tags until she could get to Cannon and run an eraser over the car.

<<Hi Uncle Cannon, I’m on my way. Were you able to get hold of the scanner and eraser combination? The respirator and gecko gloves aren’t so important as I can pick those up legally with no problem…I’ve already scoped some shops that are unlikely to ask awkward questions, but if you have some then I’d appreciate it.>>

[TheDoctor]

[January 5th, 2072; Loftus's Talismongery]

After the planning session had finished, The Doctor took his leave and went for a little stroll to visit Loftus. He strolled in casually. The little dwarf sat behind his counter polishing an interesting looking object, probably a focus of some sort.

"Hello Loftus. I need some info. That little job you sent me on. I'd like to know if there's been anyone looking for a large amount of foci or other goodies lately?"

[Grimm]

[Whoever the Hell Was at the Meeting at the Apartment]
[January 5th, 2072; Summeroaks Apartments, Renton]
A far share of problems had visited Renton in the past, though most seemed to be behind the sleepy residential district. Not far away, roaming gun battles and gang wars were waged in the territories of Redmond. Though chaos seemed to be at the doorstep of Renton, it never seemed to spill over. The reasons could have been numerous. Largely it was believed that Knight Errant actually gave a shit about the SINner’s in Renton. The residential district made it home to a variety of corp lackeys and wage slaves. While they could certainly be replaced, the megas were not exactly keen on dropping that kind of nuyen on the hired help.

The meeting to discuss the Snatch job passed by fairly smoothly. Most of those in the meeting had gotten along well enough. Even the two gangers that kept eyeing each other refrained from assaulting one another and trashing Dahlia’s apartment. As the two left the apartment they appeared to exchange some modicum of pleasantries before heading to their respective vehicles. The troll watched the ork mount up and take off into the night before busying himself in a saddlebag. He glanced down into the bag and raised his eyes back up, greeted by oncoming headlights.

A series of unmarked white vans slid into position around the street. Two pairs appeared to block off each end of the street. Two vans slid part way down the block and pulled to a stop. The side doors slid open and out poured tactical teams in security armor with Uzi IV’s. The team to the left advanced on Scar as he fired off a quick notification to the rest of those at the meeting. <<We have some visitors.>>

The troll raised his hands as three of the men encircled him, Uzis trained on him.

High above, a pair of navy blue VTOL’s slid into the area, depositing more tactical teams; two in the rear and one on the roof the building. The tell-tale sound of muffled charges indicated a breaching of the building was currently underway.

OOC: See OOC thread.

Silk
[January 5th, 2072; Honda Spirit, Driving through Renton]
The Honda Spirit made its way along the grid towards where Silk’s contact awaited. The various systems she had tweaked and had installed in the Spirit helped ensure it would be one of the most secure vehicles on the road. Though the larger vehicles passing caused it to rock some in place; it puttered along as stalwartly as it ever had.

The woman hefted out a sigh as she shifted in her seat, first noticing the glint of headlights behind her and then ahead of her. She blinked and looked intently ahead at a pair of nondescript white panel vans that blocked the intersection ahead. As she was about to react to this new circumstance, the power in the Honda flickered and died; causing her to coast to a stop next to a trio of gunmen holding Uzi’s on a troll ganger. One of the men turned and pointed the Uzi at her, tapping at the window and beckoning her to get out of the car. “I’m not here to shoot you, but I will,” he said behind a synthesized voice. “Get out of the vehicle.”

The two other gunmen led the troll to the front of the apartment building and had him lay down face first on the ground.

OOC: See OOC thread.

Copperhead
[6:33 PM, January 5th, 2072; Muddy River Bar; Redmond]

Mr. Okayama smiled pleasantly at Copperhead, “I have not been in contact with the Beast since the conclusion of our last business. I also have not looked for him either. So it is hard telling. I certainly agree with your assessment that he can take care of himself though. One can tell these kinds of things by the way a person carries themselves.”

He folded his hands and rested them on the table, studying the pair intently as Copperhead spoke. "So you say you've seen what I can do. Well, apart from da mojo, I learned most of my skills from Cutter here. So you can trust dat he can do it as well or even better than me. He's also got some enhancements, so he's fast too. So what exactly does a business man like yourself want done down here in the barrens dat needs a couple of trogs like us?"

“It really is quite simple. I have vested business interests in Redmond that are important for my future plans. Unfortunately, someone has been interfering with my affairs in a way that I simply can not tolerate. Those men that you assisted the Beast in rescuing; in addition to the elf and Cutter here, were employees of my detail. I do realize that many people see the way those in business carry themselves and treat their employees as expendable assets. I do not agree with this mentality. I do what I can for my employees, and they do what they can for me.”

The Japanese businessman half-smiled, “This is evident in the rough treatment they shared with Cutter and.. Slater was it? They performed their jobs with the utmost earnestness and prevented my opponent from stealing an important piece of technology from me by not breaking under torture and revealing the location. Could I have expected that loyalty out of people that I viewed as commodities? No.”

Mr. Okayama produced a golden cigarette case from a side pocket of his vest and popped it open. With it flat in his hand, he offered it to Copperhead and Cutter. Cutter shrugged and retrieved one. Mr. Okayama leaned over and lit it for him, pausing to light Copperhead’s as well if she accepted before sitting back down and making himself comfortable.

He stared intently into Copperhead’s eyes, his own eyes narrowing a bit further as he thought. “I would like to extend the offer of putting you on my Chicago account for services rendered locally. My opponent is an individual that I simply can not crush out of hand. If my own CorpSec men and operatives were found to be tangled up in this unpleasantness then I would have to answer to the Corporate Court. And I really have neither the time nor patience for that headache.” Mr. Okayama took a drag from the thin cigarette and shifted his gaze between the two trogs.

[Suicidal Street ...]

[January 5th, 2072; Summeroaks Apartments, Renton]

Seti rubbed the bridge of his nose as he talked softly with Dahlia. "Well, that could have gone much worse. I don't think Asim suspects anything, and nobody trashed your apartment, or drank any bee venom. But still--"

The commlinks attached to their belts started chirping, interupting Seti's thought. He brought it up to read.

<<We have some visitors.>> It was from Scar, one of the gangers that had just left. Shit. He locked eyes with Dahlia, before making a break for her gun locker.

[AStarshipforAnts]

[January 5th, 2072; Summeroaks Apartments, Renton]

Dahlia rolled her eyes in Seti's direction, almost saying something about how bee venom wasn't ingested--it was injected, thank you very much. But, the comlink's buzzing and tweeting distracted her. Perhaps a moment after the woman brought the comlink and text from Scar up to read, she was already on the move. Dahlia's eyes met Seti's once, and she nodded. He'd find the gun locker where it always was, neatly labeled in her laboratory. Hopefully the sniper knew well enough to leave the vials in there alone. He probably didn't know what half of it was.

The fact that the sniper probably wouldn't find much to his taste in Dahlia's arsenal wasn't exactly in the forefront of the woman's mind, though.

Asim nearly jumped two feet in the air as his older sister all but kicked in his door, a gas mask in hand. "Asim, put this on. Someone is breaking into the building. Hide, and stay hidden until I come to get you. Or, wait until an hour after the noise dies down, and go to one of your friend's house." The boy's indignant protests and questions were almost completely muffled and distorted as Dahlia practically shoved the gas mask over his face. Over her shoulder, Dahlia shouted "Do as your sister tells you!" before taking off towards the gun locker herself.

[Notsoevildm]

[6:34 PM, January 5th, 2072; Muddy River Bar; Redmond]

Copperhead accepts one of Mr. Okayama's cigarettes and lets him light it for her. She leans back a little in the creaky chair as she inhales its rich flavour.

Frag me, real tobacco.

She lets her breath out slowly, two thin spirals of smoke twirling up from her tusks.

"I like what I'm hearing and you seem like an honourable man. But you wouldn't be da first Johnson to say one thing den do another."

The fingers of her left hand tap restlessly on the table, her razors partly extending then retracting. She takes a short, angry puff on the cigarette, holds it for a long second then blows out the smoke with a sigh.

"Bah, if Cutter and Slater say your on the level, den dat's good enough for me. For now. You look after us and we'll look after you."

She glances to Cutter to see if he's cool with the deal, before continuing.

"Den I guess you can unofficially add us to yer 'Chicago account for services rendered locally'. An' I also guess dat you might have need of some of those rendered services or we wouldn't be sitting here talking with ya."

[Aria]

[January 5th, 2072; Outside Summeroaks Apartments, Renton]

Shit! What the hell was this? It certainly didn’t look random but why were they involving her, surely it would have been easier to let her drive on? That meant they either didn’t intend to leave any witnesses or this was something to do with her? Silk just didn’t know and she suspected that the man with the gun would get impatient very soon. Thank the gods for mirrored glass she thought, wriggling out of her trenchcoat and boots and pulling the hooded mask over her head.

Her first inclination was to cut and run, but dammit, she’d only just retrieved this stash and she’d need the capital to get her run off the ground. But a stand up fight was also the last thing she was considering…

<<Aria, I’m in trouble and it looks like it could get messy fast…I might need you to spoof me a DocWagon contract on my other SIN, I don’t think I want to be tied to this…will keep posted as much as I can!>>

She palmed a flash bomb and smoke grenade from their hidden compartments under the dash and, one in each hand, stepped out of the car. She was aware that she made a slightly sinister, faceless figure standing in the uncertain sodium light of the street lamps, her figure hugging suit absorbing the light without the chameleon circuitry engaged.

Poised on the point of flight she spoke to the gunman…

“I don’t want any trouble, wrong place, wrong time, just let me walk away…”

[Grimm]

Silk
[January 5th, 2072; On a Street in Renton]
“I have neither the time nor patience for bullshit,” the synthesized voice came back to Silk. “We are not here to leave collateral damage. Do yourself a favor, walk over to the troll, and lay face down beside him. Once our business is complete, you can be on your way. Not until then.”

<<You’re good to go, I have something on-hand I can arrange for you.>> The message from Aria flashed up into her display.

The gunman did not appear to make any other overly hostile gestures other than the Uzi IV currently in Silk’s face. He spoke plainly, evenly, and matter-of-factly while he waited momentarily for her to make up her mind.

Copperhead
[6:35 PM, January 5th, 2072; Muddy River Bar; Redmond]
Mr. Okayama smiled at Copperhead as he flicks some ash on the table. “Believe me, I understand. I have known many to not do as they say they will do. I appreciate your paranoia. I find it pointless to sit here and try and cast assurance of what may or may not come to pass. Instead, I prefer to let my actions speak for themselves.”

Cutter leaned over and gave Copperhead a light squeeze on the shoulder followed by a gentle pat. “Like the lady says, I think we’re good to start working for you, Mr. Okayama.” The ork took another drag on the cigarette and stopped to look at it for a moment before exhaling. “Been awhile since I’ve had real tobacco.”

The Johnson smiled and snapped his fingers. The attendant that was with him walked forward and sat down a data chip on the table. “That data chip contains a list of five trucks with specific license plates and vehicle identification numbers.”

He opens his briefcase and pulls out a small box that slides open. Pushing it open, he withdraws a small cylindrical device from the interior. It is no longer than a half inch long and a quarter inch wide. “You may or may not recognize this as a tracking beacon. This is a unique style of beacon though. It is a self-weld. You simply press this end to metal and hold it for five seconds; then it fuses itself.”

Mr. Okayama turns it over and points out the patterned edge on the bottom of it. “I need these five tracking beacons put on the five specific trucks mentioned in the document file. The trucks are part of a small fleet of a sub-section Mitsuhama Computer Technologies. They are normally parked in a MCT garage where they are kept under surveillance and light guard.”

He withdrew another cigarette from the case and tapped it lightly on the case to pack the tobacco some before smoking it. Mr. Okayama rested it between his lips and took a draw from the cigarette as he lit it to life.

“There is one major caveat. You can not kill any of the personnel at the garage. You may incapacitate them, but you may not kill them. If any of them die, I will consider this run a failure whether or not you get the implants in place.”

The Japanese business man set his cigarette case open on the table in front of them, should they be interested in another. His eyes shifted back and forth between the two, studying them intently.

[TheDoctor]

[January 5th, 2072; Summeroaks Apartments, Renton]

The Doctor heard the mention of company. Time to see if could actually kill. Drek. He wasn't sure if he was ready for this.

"We need info. I"m going Astral," he said to no one in particular.

He picked a comfortable looking spot and began the meditation. Time to see if any mages were running oversight. And who was coming and from where. He'd know soon enough.

[ooc: do a quick look-see outside in Astral while checking for wizardly overwatch]

[Notsoevildm]

[6:35 PM, January 5th, 2072; Muddy River Bar; Redmond]

Copperhead takes a long drag from her cigarette, burning it down fast. She stubs it out on the table then fishes another from the gold case. She waits for Mr. O to light the new one before she continues.

“Snake approves of the no-killing caveat. It is not her style. I also prefer not to kill unless absolutely necessary. However, to ensure da success of dis op I may need some time and some cred* up front to appropriate a couple of new spells. You got a pressing deadline or we got some time in which to do dis?”

*OOC: Factored into weekly payments. I just find it weird not to talk about money with the Johnson.

[Suicidal Street ...]

[January 5th, 2072; Summeroaks Apartments, Renton]

Seti punched Asim's birthday into the keypad on the safe. Gotta remember to tell Dahlia to change this combination, he thought as he pulled open the door and surveyed the options. His eyes rested on an Ares Predator nestled amidst the riot of colorful, unlabeled vials. He yanked it out, leaving the safe open for Dahlia as he raced back to the common rooms. Checking the magazine, he saw the gun was loaded with Stick'n'Shock rounds.

Once in the common room again, he pushed the sofa up against the door as a barricade, and almost tripped over the mage as he began looking for something to block the windows with.

"Do as your sister tells you!" Dahlia was yelling into Asim's room as she raced down to the lab. As she disappeared, Seti yelled down, "Dahlia! I'm borrowing your 'fridge!"

[Aria]

[January 5th, 2072; On a Street in Renton]

Oh fuck this… She set a three second delay on activating her suit

“Ok, ok…” Silk began to move forward and as she did so let the grenades drop to the ground between her and the gunman, simultaneously launching herself down towards the edge of the street, and hopefully out of his firing line. Her suit engaged, disappearing from view as the complex net of sensors merged her with her surroundings as the flashbang and smoke grenade momentarily provided a distraction

let’s hope this works…

[AStarshipforAnts]

[January 5th, 2072; Summeroaks Apartments, Renton]


Dahlia scrambled down to the laboratory. Even as she went through the gun safe--shoving the injection daggers loaded with KE IV and Naga Venom into her pockets and taking hold of the dart pistol loaded with Narcoject--a nagging part of the woman's brain cataloged every breach of safety protocol and sanitation being committed. Another part of Dahlia noted that this was exactly why she should have bought a grenade launcher of her own. Normally she just borrowed someone else's. But, where did that leave her now?

The incubator caught Dahlia's eye for a moment as it quietly hummed, so innocuous in the corner. She licked her lips once or twice as she considered her options. At this stage, the virus wouldn't do any good for a few days. Asim hadn't been inoculated against it, yet either. So that was out. It wasn't even really an option for right now. However--

It didn't take more than a few seconds for her to select a particular culture sample and secure the taped-up petri dish in the inside-pocket of her lab coat. With that, Dahlia closed the incubator and joined Seti in the common area--keeping low to the ground as she moved.

If by some stroke of luck they survived this and needed to get out of a tight spot, there was always room for insurance.

[Grimm]

Silk
[January 5th, 2072; On a Street in Renton]
Clearly having enough of the events unfolding around her, Silk was not about to get caught up in whatever was going on. The two grenades she palmed dropped between her and the CorpSec operative, one flashing the other beginning to billow smoke out. As she bolted to the corner she heard a single gunshot. The round was not from an Uzi IV but had the tell-tale report of a large caliber rifle from somewhere above her.

“Zulu, hostile contact; likely bystander. Continue.” She heard the guard in the smoke radio out as she moved towards cover.

[ Spoiler ]

For defense, I’ll give you Reaction + Dodge as a Full Defense action since you were attempting to bolt and get away/to cover. The rifle has an AP of -3.

Copperhead
[6:38 PM, January 5th, 2072; Muddy River Bar; Redmond]

Mr. Okayama nodded slightly to Copperhead as he stood and lit her second cigarette, “But of course. I will provide a partial payment up front and this needs to be completed by January 10th.”

The businessman glanced to his side at an AR display. “Five days, it appears. That should be plenty of time to develop a course of action and accomplish the job. Do you agree?”

The Doctor
[January 5th, 2072; Summeroaks Apartments, Renton]

The Doctor situated himself into a comfortable spot and sighed as he slipped his spirit from his mortal shell. The Astral welcomed him as it always had, providing the freedom and ease of movement that one simply could not acquire in the meat-world. He took a quick look near the entrances and exits until he was able to discern where the teams were coming from. It did not appear as though they had any magical support backing them up. With but a thought, he shifted to the exterior and quickly scanned around the building. Life forces of a couple bunched up groups, one laying prone with a figure over it, and two standing near the road caught his eye.

The entire area around him seemed to be tinged on the Astral. It seemed as though something malevolent or horrific had happened in front of this building at some time in the past.

OOC: I'm going to advance the main plot for the people in the building tomorrow as I had planned to still. So if you didn't get an update today, you'll get one tomorrow.

[TheDoctor]

[January 5th, 2072; Summeroaks Apartments, Renton]

The Doctor slipped back into his meatbod.

"Good news, bad news time," he announced.

"Whoever is trying to breach the building has no magical support. You have me."

"Bad news," he continued, "They've coming from above and below. There are some people crowded up down at the entrance; one's on the ground with another standing over him or her. This suggests that they may not be here for us. Obviously, I suggest skepticism on this point."

"And does anyone know about anything bad, big, and horrific going down here relatively recently?" he had to shake the willies from aura around the building.

"I'll go back to overwatch."

The Doctor slipped back into the Astral and started looking for how the various breacher teams were progressing.

[Notsoevildm]

[6:38 PM, January 5th, 2072; Muddy River Bar; Redmond]

Copperhead gives a slightly cheeky grin, blowing smoke out the side of her mouth in Cutter's direction.

“Well, dat's more dan I had fer da last run and dat worked out okay. So yeah, five days should be plenty of time to accomplish da job.”

She scoops up the data chip and places her credstick on the table to let Mr. Okayama transfer the upfront money, while she finishes the second cigarette.

"One question. If we do got any questions about da data on dis chip, who do we contact?"

She waits for his answer, then looks over at Cutter. "Anything else we need to know or we good to go?"

She retrieves her credstick, then stands up slowly. She gives a bow to Mr Okayama and a simple nod to his assistant, then heads back out into the bar.

She is grinning like a fool and gives Cutter a hug that would squeeze the life out of a normal man. "We're moving up in the world, baby! A few beers to celebrate, then I need to get a holda Lenny. See if he can come up with some spells for me. You think Slater might be able ta help us on da matrix side? What about gear? Maybe we can pick up a couple of dem stun guns? What do you think?"

Realising she is babbling, she attempts to put on a more street face but her grin throws it off. She strolls over to the bar and gives Wiley the barman a big wink as she orders a couple more beers.

[Grimm]

Copperhead
[6:45 PM, January 5th, 2072; Muddy River Bar; Redmond]
Mr. Okayama beamed the pair of trogs over commlink information denoting him as a Mr. Tsaki. “That is my contact information, under an alias of course. If you have questions, do not hesitate to contact me. The information on the chip is fairly self-explanatory though.”

With Cutter having no questions, once Mr. Okayama had transferred the funds to her credstick, he stood and saw the two of them out of the meeting room.

Business in the bar had picked up a little bit in the time they had been in the meeting. Cutter chuckles quietly to himself as he listens to Copperhead, joining her to grab his beer. “I would say that if we need to, we should probably get some tools to incapacitate targets. And I’m sure Slater will provide us with Matrix support provided he didn’t bleed to death in a gutter on his way to the clinic.”

Cutter took a drink of the synthahol and squinted his eyes as he thought, “Or get fed to the maid for not being able to pay Dr. Ted.”

The Doctor
[January 5th, 2072; Summeroaks Apartments, Renton]

No one seemed to be able to offer any information to The Doctor about what would have affected the background count of the area. He could definitely feel the difference on the Astral. He closed his eyes and left his meat body behind again, checking on where the breaching teams were currently advancing through the apartment complex. Teams had converged on several entry points of the building and were advancing in rapid fashion up the stairs and elevators in groups of three. The teams converged on the runners’ floor and moved swiftly down the hall. The Doctor could see from their life forces that they were lining up on either side of the hall, preparing for a breach..

Dahlia, Seti
[January 5th, 2072; Summeroaks Apartments, Renton]

Dahlia and Seti made quick work of fetching some insurance and weapons from the locker where they were commonly locked down. Seti had made good use of the time they had by attempting to barricade some of the doors and windows. They could hear the tromping of boots on the other side of the door and then all was silent and still.

A matter of a few seconds passed before an ear-splitting explosion ripped through the hallway outside. It was followed by the charred remains of two of the team members being catapulted through the top half of the door of Dahlia’s apartment. The couch held firm in place and prevented the entire door from coming open. A quick glance outside could see the door across the hall blown completely out as though a shaped explosion had gone off.

“You cocksuckers are so fraggin’ predictable!” A gravelly voice boomed from the room across the hall. With that, a torrent of gunfire was unleashed in the hallway. The barking of automatics coupled with the loud reports of a higher caliber weapon created a cacophony of sound that reverberated through the apartment complex.

OOC: Your next post should include initiative and actions for the first round. You are able to return to your meat body before the exchange if you choose The Doctor.

[AStarshipforAnts]

[January 5th, 2072; Summeroaks Apartments, Renton]

In response to The Doctor's question, Dahlia could only offer a vague shrug. She wasn't aware of any major bad news; that sort of thing didn't even register on the woman's radar. But, that certainly explained why rent was so cheap, one part of Dahlia noted as the blood began to hum in her ears. As she and the sniper waited, Dahlia had to wonder what had gone wrong. She hadn't had 'work' in a while, certainly not the kind that would attract this degree of attention. Perhaps it was one of the people gathered for the snatch job?

Dahlia's train of thought was immediately forgotten as two figures--or what was left of them--flew through the top of her apartment door. One of them crashed into a bookshelf, sending it and its contents toppling to the floor with a rapid series of dull thuds. For a moment, Dahlia only peered at the figures that had been thrown into her apartment as she crouched for cover behind an overturned side-table. Automatic fire outside Dahlia's apartment roared, and the teams' presumed target spoke. Dahlia turned to Seti and shrugged.

May as well get a look at who was tearing up the building.

Still trying to keep behind some semblance of cover, Dahlia took in whatever she could see out of what used to be her front door. When she got a good look, the woman steadied her dart pistol and took aim.

[TheDoctor]

[EDIT NOTE: I completely misread the post on who did what...note to self...never have 1.5 year old son on lap while trying to read and reply.]

[ooc: well darn it...I'd erased my initiative too. It was a 9 if that helps]

The Doctor decided to have a little jaunt across the way to the apartment those goons were trying to breach. Whoever the target was clearly was overmatched and trying to compensate for it with heavy gun play. Perhaps it'd be worthwhile to make sure he was not going to do something truly stupid...

The Doctor jaunted across the astral space between Dalhia's apartment and the fragger firing an automatic weapon at the breaching team to take a look around.

[Notsoevildm]

Copperhead
[6:45 PM, January 5th, 2072; Muddy River Bar; Redmond]
Cutter took a drink of the synthahol and squinted his eyes as he thought, “Or get fed to the maid for not being able to pay Dr. Ted.”

Copperhead pauses a moment in thought. "Dat reminds me. I need to drop past his place tomorrow. I think I'm close to working out how dat rabbit works."

She clinks glasses with Cutter. "But tonight we celebrate.""

[10:22 AM, January 6th, 2072; Copperhead's squat; Redmond]
Copperhead groans as light filtering between the cracks in the boards pierces her brain. She feels like a troll is jumping up and down on her head. Opening one eye, she squints around their squat. At first it looks like it had been trashed, then she realises it's just her and Cutter's clothes and gear strewn around the room. She smiles as she remembers how the previous evening's celebrations continued well into the night after they got back from the bar. She looks over at Cutter, who is still snoring next to her.

Climbing carefully over him, she shambles into the bathroom. A pee, a wash and two painkillers and she is feeling more like a troll herself. She rustles up some food and that wakes Cutter. He seems to be in at least as bad shape as she is, but he gives her a weak smile and a kiss as he drags his naked ass into the bathroom to freshen up.

Together, they scarf down the bland instasoy meals and bottled water. Somewhat recovered Cutter dresses and heads out to see if he can find some non-lethal weapons while Copperhead puts out a call to Lenny, the rat shaman.

<<@Lenny. Hoi chummer. I'm looking for some gear. Some non-lethal or sneaky style mojo, maybe some stuff fer binding spirits. Whatever ya can put yer hands on at short notice. Gimme a call back an' let me know what ya got. I'll drop by later to pick it up.>>

She then dresses and, after putting on her shades, hustles over to Dr. Ted's. She leans on the buzzer until Sister lets her in. Then she helps out the doctor with an unruly patient, first subduing him and then helping patch him up, before retiring to her regular spot in the corner of his office and settling down with the tatty rabbit in her lap.

The astral glows brightly as she frees herself from her meat body. Her aches and pains fade as she studies the now familiar aura of the rabbit held in her serpentine arms. She relaxes and opens her mind. Pain and joy flow through her in equal parts as she lets herself become one with the rabbit's aura. Snake hisses in anticipation of secrets about to be revealed.