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

[AppliedCheese]

@ Suicide Kings
[April 16th 2072; 00:20:00 Parking Lot]

Dealer looks around the group and nods to Demon.

"We kit up, I'll let Demon pick which drop he wants to do it at. Aside from a lack of any normal clothes I'm doing ok here, though I would look a little bit conspicuous by daylight. Could use another long rifle though, and some nano-paste. Actually, before we complete our shopping list, lets review the hit at hand. At very least, we need to get the initial recon in this morning in preparation for his charity run tonight. I'm not thrilled about waiting while we're hot on the KE list, but knowing he'll be out at night as well as the morning opens up our timeline somewhat significantly:

1. Lets start with the target: The data. Only accessible from Teague's bedroom. Hard copy, can be blown by anyone in the bed room. We need some form of physical tap, or at the very least a strong back. Think we got those. Which brings us to the real decisive point:

2. The bedroom. Third floor, big string of full length windows, looks like they're ballistic glass and wired tight if the schema is correct. It also has a panic room attached. To add to that, if Hard Core is running the usual exec protect, the moment we set up an alarm, that place is going to be swarming. We need a way in. I've got a mini-blowtorch and a glass cutter but we might want to invest in some breaching charges and a mono-chainsaw. Looks like we can get in through the windows, or somewhere else in the house. Maybe a cut and drop through the roof, but I don't think we've got the time to set that up....now, if we go when Teague's not here, the good news is no one will swarm the room on instinct - until they figure out whats going on anyhow. Of course, we'll also be Teague-less, so if he has a remote det, the data will go up as soon as he hears about it. We probably need something to seal the doors against anyone coming in, and a way to blow in to the panic room if need be.

3. The rest of the house: fragging big. Real big. I'm looking for any entrances that might be less likely to send up an alarm, but I'm not finding them. Correct me if I'm wrong. I think even if we enter somewhere else, we still need to get to the bedroom.

4. The killing ground - aside from the tasetfully expensive shrubbery, the lawns around this place are a slaughterhouse waiting to happen. 50 meters of unobstructed field of fire. artfully landscaped to peak towards the house - what money buys you, mmm? If we go in quiet, we need a way to saty over that sensor net. If we go in hard, we can probably cross it on the way in no problems, but the way out is going to need something to make sure we don't get butchered on the exfil.

5. The perimeter. 12' wall, and some tastefully invisible mono-wire on top. Plus, a very sexy series of lasers and motion sensors tied in to the yard. The gates a weak point, but it looks like Hard core keeps it well staffed. Anyone see any alternate points of entry? I'm thinking kevlar blankets to throw on the wire and up and over unless someone here can make us fly...actually....mages?

6. Astral. Fr-ragging the bane of my life. This one is all you mages, but unless you got a clever plan to clear it out or blind it, going in quiet is a complete no-go.

7. Matrix. Emm386 running their defenses. No way we're going to dominate the system, so we might get a few seconds of surprise where we have matrix interference. After that, out new hacker and emm are going to lock horns. We got to make sure we spend this when it counts.

So..that's my read on the situation..."

"

[Seth]

@ I'm on a boat
[April 15th 2072; 23:55 SS Henry VIII 4000 meters off shore, Puget Sound]

Siran carried on moving up the stairs behind the others a dark song of destruction building in her heart. Her huge two handed sword light in her hands.

Pausing while the others moved ahead, she summoned forth the heart of the storm, writhing crackling lightning sparked from her hair, and as she walked there was a constant Zing. The sword looked particularly nasty as sparks nearly a foot long arced from its tip. Normally this would be distracting, but Siran focused on the call of the upcoming battle preparing to deal harshly with any that opposed her.

Bluring with the unnatural speed of the spirits, Siran moved and caught up with the others, careful to avoid touching them.

[AppliedCheese]

@ I'm on a boat
[April 15th 2072; 23:55 SS Henry VIII 4000 meters off shore, Puget Sound]

The runners sprinted up the stair case, clearing the second floor and coming into view of a topside camera


[Bridge]

"Skipper! Deck-ops just crashed! Last message is hacker was near by, port side"

"Sir! Report from Ganymede. Portside door had a severe ward breach!"

"Drek!, 3 dudes in the stairwell coming up fast, portside! Is that a fragging sword?!"

The bridge was chaos. Despite mandatory anti-piracy training, and even one or two sailors who had been in similiar situations before, no one really expects to be pirated. They certainly don't expect it 2 miles off shore from a friendly port. Against a lesser man, the runners may have found the bridge in this state. However the skipper was a cut above the rest. He had ridden out pacific storms, high speed runs, bad markets, and worse. In the moment of crisis, he emerged as the one thinking head.

"Mr. Carter. Please seal the bridge door. Gentlemen, stand to your stations. Here's what I need"

[Stairwell]

The runners had crested the third story and were on their way to the 4th when the intercom blared to life:

"THIS IS THE CAPTAIN. NOW HEAR THIS, NOW HEAR THIS: WE ARE BEING BOARDED. THIS IS NOT A DRILL, I SAY AGAIN, THIS IS NOT A DRILL. THE ENEMY HAS MATRIX SUPERIORITY. MANUAL SEAL ALL DOORS, SHUT DOWN ALL DRONES. ENGINES TO FLANK SPEED AND DE-NETWORK. SECURITY PERSONNEL TO THE SMALL ARMS LOCKER. NON-SECURITY PERSONNEL, DO NOT RESIST UNLESS THE LIFE OF YOU OR A CREWMATE IS THREATENED. NO HEROES. THE INSURANCE WILL COVER ANY LOSS IN CARGO."

Deep in the hull of the ship, the engines roared to life and the Henry began to gain momentum. As the runners crested the 4th floor, a single midshipman rushed to seal off the access doorway to the hall. The bridge door was already sealed Someone had knocked over the "silver bullet" soykaf maker, probably the young gentleman in question: he was soaking in brown liquid, and probably had several second degree burns. That didn't stop him from trying to close the hall door. He got to the opening at the same time as the runners.

[Astral]

Raul arrived the breached ward just as the runners hit the 4th floor. He took one look at the magical energies humming around the group up the stairwell...and he hesitated. His moment to be a hero all of a sudden seemed a very much less sure thing. His mind warred with the desire to live out his adventure, and the suddenly equally prominent desire not to suffer vast amounts of pain. To his infinite shame, the latter won. He backed out and waited for reinforcements. The collective said only to surveill against superior forces anyhow, right? it wasn't really cowardice...

[KE Port Authority Tactical Operations Center]

LT Stevens re-read the message one more time. Tonight had already been a disaster for KE with the Jucy Lucy incident and that fight out at the bar. Plus the Gamma Liberation Front nonsense. He had just been happy that none of it involved him. He was going on vacation in a day, and just standing a watch shift because Fredericks had come down with the 24 hour flu. He had been severely hoping that it would be an exceedingly quiet night, perhaps some drunks being pulled out of the sound after they fell of their yacht. A nice short report to the morning relief, a nap, and then off to that new park up by the Tir that Hayley liked so much. That dream died with the text on his screen.

Still, he was at his core, KE. He was professional. And he was damned sure not going to let KE get embarrassed again tonite.

"Sgt, send this to legal, check what the insurance parameters are if they try to pull us out of territorial.
Jacobs, go get the Captain.

Deuce, give me ISR. Yeah, I know it was watching that little smuggling cove - frag it, that place hasn't seen anything in a week, swing it, see what the techies can give us for SIGINT too. Its already burning holes in the sky, might as well get something out of it.

Mage-ops: We're internal on this one, all the higher drek is till supporting the firewatch glory boys. Whatever. get me spirits here, and some clue whats going on astrally."

Then he shunted to the known files on the Henry to the Port Response Team. He didn't have the authority to release them, but at least they could start spinning up...

[Friendbot2000]

@Dysfunctional Family
[April 15th, 2072 11:56am; Car heading to Touristville]

Ajax was about to lose his temper with Miguel who simply would not budge on his absurd price. Time to bring out the leverage <<You know what Miguel, you will be giving me that room for free now or I will tell your wife about that little fling with the blond floozy that was staying at your hotel. That's right, I know about it. Nothing escapes me. If I remember correctly your wife holds all the titles to the house and assets in her name. It would be a shame if she divorced you because she would keep the house due to the fact that she will most likely get the children and she will most likely get an absurd amount of alimony from you. UCAS courts are not lenient on adulterers and I know the perfect judge to try your case. He is a very straight-laced man that does not take kindly to adulterers. You most likely will be on the street by the time he is done with you. Oh and if you even think about double crossing me, I will get you arrested for the drug trafficking you are doing from the motel>>

<<I do not traffick drugs!!>> Miguel said, panic rising in his voice.

<<Miguel, with my skills you will be put away for a long time, whether the charges are true or not. Don't get on my bad side Miguel. I will destroy you.>>

<<Okay, okay I will give you the room. Just don't tell my wife. I am very sorry to have angered you, just please don't tell her. The room number is 54A and the access code to the room is 473684A>>

<<Thank you Miguel. This is the last thing I will ask of you. Goodbye>>

Ajax sighed, half of what he said was complete bullshit, but Miguel didn't know that. Wage slaves are so simple minded. They are afraid of their own shadow. He dialed the number for Jotamon. <<Jotamon, I got us a room at the Vista Motel in Touristville. Room number 54A, the access code is 473684A. I convinced my contact there to keep the cameras off while we are there. I am about 10 minutes out. If you are questioning the boy would it be possible to give me a live video feed through your image link?>>

[Seth]

@ I'm on a boat
[April 15th 2072; 23:55 SS Henry VIII 4000 meters off shore, Puget Sound]

Siran saw the door, and pursed her lips. That barrier looked hard work. Fortunately she had a toy that she had brought along for situations like this, although that really looked like a big door... Sheathing her blade in a scarily smooth operation, she pulled a tube from her belt, and shook it. The tube telescoped into a staff, and Siran swirled it around her head, trailing huge sparks, a veritable lightning storm forming around it. Focusing her will on the task, she smashed the magically enhanced staff into the door, pounding it once...twice...and with a huge all out effort...thrice.

[JxJxA]

@ Suicide Kings
[April 16th 2072; 00:20:00 Parking Lot]
[The Pixel Special, ID "Aubert Benoit"]

Demon bites his bottom lip anxiously as he listens to Dealer's assessment of the situation. A quiet approach would be impossible. Perhaps it would behoove us to provide a distraction.

"That sounds about right. Maybe we could buy a bit of time by creating a distraction that agite les frelons. If missiles are available and we can find where the gunships are, I could try shooting at them to keep the gunships occupied right before the rest of the group braves the mansion. Or, if we want to concentrate on the mansion itself, I could try launching missiles at the house itself. When the HardCore chiens de porc come out, I can start picking them off with sniper fire from afar. I can be about 385 meters away and still hit them in their shrunken, coeurs noirs.

"It might also be a good idea to try and disable the antidémarreur in Teague's bedroom. It would be quite unfortunate if someone pressed the button while we were still extracting the data..."

[AppliedCheese]

@ Suicide Kings
[April 16th 2072; 00:20:00 Parking Lot]

Dealer blinks at Demon's suggestions. "I'd rather not take my chances against a gunship that can kill us all from farther than we can see. That said, you might be on to something with the missiles. Way I see it, we might just need to kill the hell out of something if everything goes wrong, or dynamically breach ahead of us. Plus, launch contrails are an excellent way to make sure hardcore is firing everything they got at wherever it came from rather than the poor bastard running across the lawn. Which I'm beginning to think is likely to be me. Where the frag is the hacker? He's kind of key to this planning.

So, new timeline:

Now - 0130: Meet this hacker, go buy our stuff. One account is probably best, so feel free to drop your requests into this ARO, and your cred onto this stick.

0130-0300: Crash out in the van.
0330-0730: Recon on the house. Need at least one of you mages doing the astral; hopefully the hacker can give us some high altitude drone stuff and all the matrix drek. Everyone else gets real familiar with routes in and out, and we make sure Demon has a good position where he can wathc and shoot everything from. Nothing physical: vashton is too hot and too well guarded for us to waste 4 hours of potential id time just for recon. The its just a matter of watching Hound's status while teague is there, when he's gone, and while he's leaving and returning. Bonus if we can dope how he runs his convoys.
0730-1600: Sleep, sweet, sweet, sleep. We still need a spot. Alos, we'll need to dithc the van by the then. Owners will have reported it to KE.
1630-1830: Final plan and rehearsal.
1900-2000: Move into start up positions.
2000-2015: Go baby go.

"

He pauses for a moment, remembering something. "Oh, Copper, the only 'robot' in me is the wires. Glass houses and cyberarms, yeah?"

[Notsoevildm]

@ Suicide Kings
[April 16th 2072; 00:20:00 Parking Lot]

From her less than comfortable spot in the back of the van, Copperhead opens one eye and smiles up at Dealer. She raises one cybernetic finger in the univeral gesture of 'frag you'.

"I may not be some hotshot mage like Ember here, but I can still see how much 'ware you got in you robot-boy. An' anyways I figger if da mage wid da cyberware can't make fun of you about it, who can?"

"Your plan sounds solid. Gives me time to get over da cram crash so dat's good. Maybe if da breeders got some magical gear, I can maybe get some extra help from Snake. Otherwise I gots me enough gear for now. Hmm, might wanna think of some disposable jammers to frag wid der systems. Especially for on da way out, neh?"

[JxJxA]

@ Suicide Kings
[April 16th 2072; 00:20:00 Parking Lot]
[The Pixel Special, ID "Aubert Benoit"]

If the lady is right, perhaps that explains why our new companion lacks a certain human spirit... I suppose I should lay off on all of the "lack of soul" comments...

"I have linked and set up ballista backpack missile launchers before so that they can group fire on a target from different locations. Usually, you need a hacker to set up the programming so that the backpacks are subscribed to the same node and linked on a PAN. That way, the missiles fire from different locations, drawing the fire away from the person who is actually pulling the trigger. If our new companion is capable and we can purchase the necessary hardware, we might be able to do something similar...

"Or, I guess I could just grab a LAW and run..."

[Aria]

@ Suicide Kings
[April 16th 2072; 00:20:00 Parking Lot]

“Whilst I appreciate your enthusiasm for heavy ordinance surely these measures are as a last resort, non? To answer an earlier question Dealer, it is possible that I could fly us in but the effort would tire me…” Ember looked cautiously at the reclining Copperhead… “perhaps if we were able to acquire some gliders I could provide the boost to get us into the air and request a spirit to aid us into land on target? In the right conditions we could be on the roof before anyone has an opportunity to react…the technical solutions of how we get to the data I leave to your expertise but I am confident that I can keep the astral threat at bay for long enough to complete our task.

Copperhead, once you have had an opportunity to rest I am willing to introduce you to The Circle. They are sufficiently removed from all this that recent events won’t concern them and as they are difficult to lie to they will take our word of innocence. I am hoping they will be able to give us some magical assistance to aid us in this matter.”

[Aria]

@ I'm on a boat
[April 15th 2072; 23:55 SS Henry VIII 4000 meters off shore, Puget Sound]

With a last bound Silk reached the top of the stairs as the coffee machine tumbled to the deck and the junior officer scrambled to close the door on them. Knowing that that would seal them off completely she regretfully brought the Ingram smartgun to her shoulder and fired a tight controlled burst into his centre of mass. She winced inwardly at the vicious crunch that followed the phuut of the silenced weapon…although her pacifist ideals had died with her mother she would never be truly reconciled to hurting those who did not pose a direct threat to her or her friends. At least the gel rounds wouldn’t kill him, regular rounds would have cored him like an apple at this range.

<<We need to get that door open now. I will try and get Nine access to the security node…>>

She glanced over as Siran moved past her and drew a staff of all things…she looked at the welded steel door to the bridge with a raised eyebrow but before she could say anything there was a reverberant ring as the staff struck the door and dented it! Holy mother of…

She released the flashbang from the loop on her utility pouch and prepared to pop it through the door…who needed deckers when there was a mage in the house?!?

[AppliedCheese]

@ Suicide Kings
[April 16th 2072; 00:20:00 Parking Lot]

Dealer considers that for a moment and shrugs. "True, I don't usually see mages with cyber, come to think of it. Messes with their we're to good for the universe outlook I suppose, plus all that 'ware eats your soul stuff the tree-huggers sell you on. So, by extension you have a point and are proudly elevated to the rank of "not quite as bad as other mages. Its a high honor, trust me."

Other than that, we're beginning to see a plan here for the actual hit:

1. We get Demon into an overwatch position with his rifle, and hopefully he has some alternate firing points for the heavy stuff if needed. Rest of the team is off in the truck or whatever we've boosted for this joy ride, waiting to move. Ember gives us a final fly by on astral, hacker give sus the last minute skinny on 'trix and drones. Once Demon calls the situation good, then we pull up the far wall there. Since we're already either pissing off MCT or making friends with the Novatech CEO, lets limit our firing positions to MCT territory if possible. We'll want to hold off tossing missiles form municipal territory. Plus, as half cut pointed out, the KE can't touch you there.

2. Our conspicuously absent hacker goes for matrix dominance at the same time we toss jammers over the side. Then we go over in the middle of it all. Up and over, cross the lawn fast as hell. In demon we trust to drop anyone who notices us, and to hit the gate hard if they start focusing too much on us. This is maybe 9 seconds.

3. Scale the house. I'll go first and pinion the rope for the rest of the team. I'll work on cutting in through the window while you're all climbing. The other option is demon blows the windows with a missile before we get there and we go in through the blasted remains.

4. Kill or subdue everyone in the bedroom and seal the doors in. Copper, Ember, hold back any security while I disable the manual detonator. hacker makes sure there's no matrix trigger.

5. Get into the data storage. We're going to need to hack, break, burn or cut our way in...last thing we need is to breach it with explosives and have shrapnel destroy the drives. Depending on size, we either set a physical tap for the hacker or grab and run.

6. Smoke the living hell out of the lawn, then out we go. Demon, we need you to drop anyone pinning us down. Mages, I know you love your spirits and all, but this is definitely one of those times when their being mildly inconvenienced by being shot is a lot better than us dying horribly trying to run through machinegun fire. So i'm thinking the spirits go out and tussle and die long enough to help us get out to.

7. Option here: we can go over the wall, or have Demon's missiles blow the wall down.

8. Getting out: here's the real doozy. We can break and rally, try and go out on foot as a team, or have a vic ready...whatever we do, we need to cross out of both MCT and muncipal territory, and Ares for that matter - its a long drive out to the barrens. And we need somewhere to go. ideas?"

7.

[JxJxA]

@ Suicide Kings
[April 16th 2072; 00:20:00 Parking Lot]
[The Pixel Special, ID "Aubert Benoit"]

Demon grins, "I would have thought of all people, mon frère, you would appreciate the esprit de justice poétique such a distraction would provide. I've always favored this form of distraction because it is easy to plant and abandon the backpacks. However, if the group prefers a more...subtle approach then I will follow suit.

"That sounds like a decent plan. I prefer dealing death from afar...it helps to keep my vêtements blood-free."

[Seth]

@ Suicide Kings
[April 16th 2072; 00:20:00 Parking Lot]

Mr Green approaches the RV, and introduces himself. His eyes widen as he sees the pile of prehistoric junk that lies in front of him. Some bits of it were old before he was born. "OK well lets see what we can do: Looks like the person that attached this" he points at the wireless repeater "didn't really know what they were doing". With the quick use of a microtonic toolkit, a few lengths of fibre and a 5 minutes of swearing, the equipment was interfaced correctly.

With the equipment in place Mr Green dives into the system. The IC is as effective as you would expect given the age of the system. The extra "present" left by EMM386, was the real challenge, but that too was constrained by the hardware it was running on. In a matter of 30 seconds, the system was cleaned and the following available:

[April 15th 2072; 21:37]
The cigar goes back in the mouth, and the eyes narrow. "I record everything. Everything I tell you" this is clearly an important topic to Mr Allenby. "Pah! Knight Errant cannot be called off. Its part of the protection." Allenby drains 2 inches of Brandy, and slams the glass on the table.[indent] "4 minutes 30 seconds". He leans back. "Your wife had an accident. I saw the reports: no foul play. Accidents happen: she should be more careful".

"Look in the last six months I've only had a kid plant some weak HE in the car, and some floozy working for me had an accident. That's hardly enough to warrant getting all panicky" Seeing the look in Ember's eye he leans forward smirks and says "4 minutes. And maybe they will be early. You lot look like you might be on someone's wanted list, and they move quicker if there is a reward on offer".

"Now don't get panicky..." he reaches for a drawer very slowly and extracts a folder some 6 inches thick. "Here. A present for you. The death threats I have got in the last 2 years. I particularly like the ones on yellow paper. Best of luck." The folder is thrown on the table, bits of paper dropping out of it as it goes.

Suddenly, wind whistles through the office. Loose pages swirl back into the folder and the whole folder lifts off the desk and floats over to Ember while Copperhead glares at the dwarf. As the folder lands in Allanby's hands she growls, "Time to go." Then she turns on her heel and stomps out of the office, making the floor vibrate with her steps.

Demon is seen rolling his eyes then walks out.

As the door closes, the door to the washroom opens. A blurry figure emerges, only visible by the distortion against the background. Allanby looks up seeing the figure. His eyes widen, and his hand flys to the drawer of the desk. But too late, twin bullet holes appear in his forehead, and he collapsed.

[Seth]

@ I'm on a boat
[April 15th 2072; 23:57 SS Henry VIII 4000 meters off shore, Puget Sound]

The door was just a door. A solid door, but not a class one military structure, and it was not capable of withstanding the magically enhanced attack. The final blow smashed in the top half of the door. Siran grinned as she heard the consternation inside. Tossing a flashpak inside to entertain those on the other side, she cartwheeled through the door electrical death sparking around her as she moved.

[Aria]

@ I'm on a boat
[April 15th 2072; 23:57 SS Henry VIII 4000 meters off shore, Puget Sound]

Silk[b]’s raised eyebrow threatened to climb higher as she watched [b]Siran leap through the hole she had just made…granted she had had the sense to toss a flashpak inside but there were at least three people in there, all likely armed by now…she was a mage for frag sake…but then it took all sorts and it wasn’t as if this profession didn’t attract the odder types. It looked like she wouldn’t be needing the concussion grenade after all…

With practised ease she removed her toolkit and with the simple expedient of burning off the outer casing soon had access to the guts of the security camera...sparky over there meant that subtlety was no longer really required… The interface would be clunky but she should be able to wire in the commlink, there…

<<Nine, you should have access now via ‘link {@:77-903#}, unless they’ve got a hardwired kill switch anyway. Let’s see if we can confuse or at least slow down any reinforcements>>

Having done that she drew her scorpion and moved to the door to support Siran…

[Aria]

@ Suicide Kings
[April 16th 2072; 00:xx:xx Parking Lot]

Ember composed himself and let loose his body as he slipped into the astral once more. Rested and relieved of the nagging pain of his burns he felt almost himself here…only the simmering anger belied his state, his aura rippling with spikey reds and greens. Sending one of his Korrigan ahead to warn of his coming he swept high into the air and hurled himself at speed towards Stillwater lake.

As he slowed himself at his destination he noted with interest the activity around the ruined tower. Even now the events of two years ago clung to it like a dim feeling of seeping dread but there seemed to be a ritual underway to cleanse any taint. The problem as he knew was that all those deaths had ingrained themselves into the fabric of this place. It would never be the same, no matter how many spells and rituals were woven about it…the dream was not gone but the slumber was restless now.

Steeling himself to the draining of his power he flew past the reluctant sprite that he had sent ahead. It seemed to have done its job though as rising to meet him he saw the glorious aura of Desire

~It is good to see you again. I’m sure your intelligence sources have told you all about my supposed links with Gamma and the fallout from that, ah yes, a pun…so, I have a boon to ask of the Circle~

[Seth]

@ Suicide Kings
[April 16th 2072; Stillwater]

Desire looks into Ember's eyes. ~Gamma is not your problem yet. He is our problem. Even now his agents probes our defenses. Even now they prepare."

~It seems to me that your run in with Gamma was fortuitous: he fled deep into the Astral and has to find a way back. That will take even him a time. We have found much about his plans from the people he was meeting, and we are preparing to move.~

"We have anticipated your request. It will arrive at your location in about 5 minutes. You should warn your friends that a drone is coming~

[onlyghostdancesw...]

@Suicide Kings
[April 16th 2072; 00:xx:xx Parking Lot]

The piece of junk posing as electronic storage had pushed Jacob's frustration to the max but he felt quite relieved when it finally gave up its secrets. As he refocused on reality and mentally forwarded the image captured from the storage computer to each of the runners links as well as to Hansai and his own datastorage chips at home, Jacob looked around to finish sizing up his new teammates.

"Well it would seem, as you can see if you look at the imagelink, that someone was there before you boys and heard everything you had to say..." Jacob motioned towards the slumped Ember and then to Copperhead, "You wizards notice anything funny in the room when you came in? I've heard, dunno if it's true to be honest, but I've heard, that you guys can sense intent or some drek like that?" Seeing no reply immediately forthcoming, Jacob turned to the wiry, almost arrogant runner who went by the tag of Demon, "So, you seem to kind of be in charge here... what's the plan? I assume you want me to check out the last known of that intruder? I was informed that you gentlemen already have the floorplans for Teague's place? I need to know what you know, and asap, nothing like being blind-sided by lack of information." With that rather extraordinary speech out of the way, Jacob whirled up an instance of Miracle Shooter to request surveillance of an enemy fortification, specifically looking for information on "5th column specialists who refuse to keep their Miracle Shooter alias dark until just before they strike".

[AppliedCheese]

@ I'm on a boat
[April 15th 2072; 23:56:03 SS Henry VIII 3930 meters off shore, Puget Sound]

The bridge crew waited nervously behind the closed door, executing their Captains commands to the best of their ability, racing against time. Hopefully the door would hold the pirates long enough for them to enact their plan. The one security guard on the bridge leveled his Spas-22 at the door, while the watch officer aimed a comparatively meager defiance Ex-shocker in the same direction.

The comms officer was sending frantic messages between the insurance company, the legal department, and the KE all the while. As the techs worked the controls, the Captain calmly waited.

Then the first dents began. Moments later the top half of the door peeled open and a cartwheeling banshee stormed into the room on the trail of a flashpak...the security guard's shotgun roared twice and the watch officer fired his taser blindly in the direction he had been looking before the flash, moments before he was smashed into oblivion by a burst of gel rounds.

The techs desperately entered a final command and then did their best to disable the controls in the midst of the confusion. All the while the Captain's voice echoed over the scene:

"Cease fire! Cease fire! we can't win this one! We surrender!"

[AppliedCheese]

@Suicide Kings
[April 16th 2072; 00:xx:xx Parking Lot]

Dealer raised an eyebrow, jkeeping his thoughts to himself as he watched the interaction play out.

I'm not sure which is more annoying...to find out I'm probably a pawn in Ember's "Circle" games that undoubtedly started all of this, or listening to the hacker harangue Demon. I mean, in the long term, anything with a name as typically grandiose and arcane as The Circle must be a right bunch of magic assholes who don't give a drek about anyone else, and probably deserve to die, but they aren't exactly here being irritating at the moment either. I suppose we need him for the files though. Not enough money to buy a full body remake...

[Notsoevildm]

@Suicide Kings
[April 16th 2072; 00:xx:xx Parking Lot]

Copperhead gives Dealer a wry smile at his compliment. It was not often she got a positive response for giving someone the finger and certainly not from a 'real' shadowrunner at that. Then Ember is offering to introduce her to his magical group. She sits up straight, thoughts of sleep gone with the cram-assisted thudding of her heart, then nearly jumps out of her skin when Mr Green pings her comm.

"Well frag me, it's been quite a night. Ember I don't know if yer buddies can get me materials fer a lodge. Mine just got firebombed. Mind you, I aint exactly gots a place ta set up right now. I has also been looking fer a magical focus but my talismonger's been holdin out on me an is as likely to turn me over to KE than sell me stuff right now. Somefin to sustain taste the air {detect enemies} or serpent speed {enhanced initiative} would be cool. Hell, I'd settle for just a plain old power focus."

She moves out of Mr Green's way as he fiddles with the ancient hardware.

"I don't like to sacrifice spirits, but dat beast spirit I summoned earlier wouldn't take it too personal as long as it gots ta chew on a few corpers. Hmm, an ifs we got no other option ta get rid of da van, head for Crush territory. I might be able to trade dis for something else if dey don't shoot me right off fer da bounty."

When Mr Green shows them the footage of Allanby getting shot, she hisses. "Frag I did pick up on something but thought it was da KE fraggers on dere way up. Problem wid da magic is its all feelings an shit, it dont work like an AR interface."

[onlyghostdancesw...]

@Suicide Kings
[April 16th 2072; 00:xx:xx Parking Lot]

Shaking his head at the vagaries of magic, Cant really count on magical mumbo jumbo anyways, too bad they are so useful...if only I could write a macro to express it..., Jacob leaned against the side of the RV. While he waited for one of the other runners to lay out their plans he decided he needed to poke at allanby's and focused his attention on swimming through the datastream towards the gigantic record system that was the home node referenced in the piece of crap hardware. On approaching the node he realized that the vinyl was covered in a translucent flowing caution ARO in the form of revolving crime scene tape and guarded by a few ominous looking "Big Brother" Icons.

Hmmm, looks pretty heavy better take some time to think about entering there, may be a bit more than I can handle at this point. Jacob quickly extended his senses to feel for images and any electronic monitoring devices in the geographical location of the office.

[JxJxA]

@ Suicide Kings
[April 16th 2072; 00:20:00 Parking Lot]
[The Pixel Special, ID "Aubert Benoit"]

Demon affords himself a self-satisfied smile when Mr. Green addresses him as the leader. It's nice to see that someone finally recognizes my talent and value. Alas, I must now correct him.

"Bienvenue, Mr. Green, to our group. My name is Demon. While I have led runners on many a perilous and successful quest before, I cannot claim leadership of this group. I am but a mere entrepreneur indépendant on this particular venture. You are looking for Ember, my friend and employer. If details are what you desire, though, you might consider speaking with Dealer as they are his specialty. The lovely Copperhead should be able to provide you with more details with magic as well."

When he sees the death of Allanby, his face falls into a contemplative pout. An almost perfect assassination...two shots to the forehead to make sure he is dead... I could have done it better... A pity he did not suffer...

[onlyghostdancesw...]

@Suicide Kings
[April 16th 2072; 00:20:00 Parking Lot]

Mildly impressed with the smooth talking runner, despite his arrogant manner, Jacob turns and directs his attention to Dealer as indicated and says in a slightly awkward voice, all smoothness gone, "So sorry about that... ahem... what can you tell me about your plans? Are you the team leader or just rather more experienced?"

Paying only half of his attention to the reply, Jacob called up two of his sprites, sourcian and ipso. <<Aid me my pets, we have work to do...>> Mentally aligning himself with the ebb and flow of the matrix he called up an ornate key with wings and a halo. <<Fly and find me the information I seek my pet>>. With a scurrying, flying sound the Browse complex form flies off into the emerald landscape leaving a set of keys for Jacob to follow. What seems like an eternity passes before Jacob hears the tinkle of key rings returning to his mental fortress.

So many data points! Jacob sighed and began using a vacant portion of his mental capacity to sift through the images and feeds which any mere computer would take millenia to sort. As results poured into his virtual sieve he amed himself with a magnifying glass and an even larger set of keys with odd implements on the ends of them. Choosing one with a sticky sweet honeycomb at the first node to come to his attention, he offered it to the bear standing guard over the entryway. The bear glommed onto the exploit program and didnt even flinch as Jacob breezed into the inner workings of the node.

Hmm how interesting....Jacob paused minutes later to stretch out his mind and replay the recordings of Dealer's comments over the last 5 minutes. Mentally sending the interesting, and, Jacob was willing to bet, previously unnoticed image of the assassination of Wallace to his data storage device for later use, he uploaded the rest of the pics of the assassin and the van to the other's links.