Salted Wounds [IC], a Deep Black Sea game Options

[Thanee]

"It is nice to meet you all," the blonde woman said and nodded towards the runners, the eastern-european accent clearly noticable in her voice.

Her appearance matches the voice. About mid-twenty, she has those attractive features of slavic women. While she is not tall, she carries herself with confidence. Her build suggests, that she keeps herself fit. The blonde hair is worn long and open. Her eyes are hidden behind a pair of orange sunglasses. She wears a chic business suit, all black, with boots and gloves, and carries an aluminium attaché case. Like this, she definitely looks more businesswoman than runner.

[ Spoiler ]

Assensing Information

Nova is mundane. Her aura still has some life in it (Essence 2.61), but it is all in the center. Around the torso there is only shadowy darkness, a clear sign for cybernetic limbs, and she has all four of them. There's some minor headware and that is all. Apart from the fact, that she has no real arms and legs, she is fit and healthy. Her emotional self is calm and relaxed with a hint of curiosity and content.

[SquirrelDude]

Sharkboy put his suit back on and buttoned himself up when they got out to see their current employer. He decided to not take credit for killing the mage and thus Nova's hiring.

He stood tall in a well tailored and loose fitting suit that contrasted against a flashy ballistic mask. If Nova had been given information on the team, he looked slightly shorter and lighter than the information he provided, but was still large for a human. He didn't exactly look human, though. Obvious gills sprouted out from his neck, a strange texture on his visible skin, and remarkably purple hair. He kept his hands in his pockets and only gave a quick nod to Nova, greeting here with "Sharkboy. The other muscle here."

[ Spoiler ]

Electroception: 10d6t5 2 More an attempt to check for augmentations if she isn't showing them than to see if anyone else is here.

[ Spoiler ]

Editing in the Assensing Test

Sharkboy appears to be a generally healthy adept, besides a mild chemical dependency, likely dopadrine. He has a much lower magic and essence than Wraith. However it's more than Yael would expect considering the surprising amount of augmentations. There are just two pieces of cyberwear, both in his head, but his body is filled with bioware. His muscles are patchworks of essence and holes from everything he's put into them. and his entire body seems to be covered in something that's removed essence. The gills are definitely real, though.

Sharkboy is calm and confident, if perhaps a bit anxious. There is a notable lack of remorse for having just committed murder.

[Luckace]

[ Spoiler ]

@Gilga: Assensing Wraith revealed a generally healthy young man, except for some fatigue and a moderate craving for a psychodelic drug. His magical power seemed to equal hers and his body showed no signs of any implants.
His mood seemed to be brimming with anticipation, his mind seemed to be conflicted and his mind drifted somewhere between guilt and determination, along with a deep, self-centered insecurity, hidden well behind his calm and polite mask of souverenity.

@Jack_Spade: Did browsing for any news or information on the "attack" at the Museum yield any results?

[Jack_Spade]

[ Spoiler ]

@Luckace: It's only happened about an hour ago. There are many conflicting stories. The police hasn't given a statement yet, but the news speak of three dead people - two of them shot by the police, resisting arrest. Right now this is attributed to gang violence.

@gilga

Assensing Nacl you find he has very subtle and essence friendly augmentation, almost imperceptible in his aura and only very little cyberware in his head. He is very healthy for his age - which you put around late fourties, early fifties. His aura shows confidence and determination.

[Volker]

For the last couple of minutes, bnc retreats into herself. Every now and then she leaves her bag of meat to coordinate the drone which packs all stuff it can carry and hops into a driverlass cab to follow bnc's body. She, too, checks the news and tries to find and dig into the forums mentioned by Eliza.

[ Spoiler ]

Matrix Search: 13d6t5 5
I have acquired the Quick Reader quality. If I find something interesting, let me know. Otherwise, bnc will just confirm herself what Eliza said and try to get a feel for the culture of the Crusaders.

She's quite wary when she gets off the car. After all, the drive here resembled an abduction more than an invitation. Still, dropping out of the case was not an option anyway and if this Johnson would have planned to hurt her, he'd have had plenty of opportunities. And then there was Raph.

When bnc meets him, however, she's thrown off. Few people really reach behind the ice wall that was bnc's usual mask. On a rational basis, she knew that tailored pheromones can create such a feeling and that feelings are to be mistrusted at best times ... but still it felt warm.
Despite the fact it was freaking cold. She pulls over the hoody and wraps her arms tightly around her body when she steps out of the car. She doesn't intend to show the man that his mere presence throws her off balance. Instead, she puts on a poker face, playing the hardened runner. She only nods towards him and asks, without further greeting. "So, who are you, and what do you want from Bean Si and bnc?"

[Jack_Spade]

[ Spoiler ]

Finding the forums and reading through them will take a bit more time.
For the moment you are able to confirm Eliza's story
There are also some really disturbing posts going around, definitely people with few inhibitions left...

"For the moment, you can call me Herr Nacl. And what I want is a private word with you so I can confirm a suspicion I have.

Come with me - just a few steps. I imagine you are fond of your private sphere - as am I." He nodded towards the runners and said: "Get to know each other, I'll be right back with you."

Without waiting, Nacl stepped away from the pulk walking to the edge of the greenery, but still visible from the group. Faint noises that sounded like shots and explosions could be heard now.

He nodded, in the general direction of the noises: "Bavaria Film Studios. I imagine they are currently producing season six of Karl Combat Mage Europe."
He pulled a small box out of his pocket and pressed a button. Immediately bnc's ears feeled like they were full of cotton and her headware showed quite a lot of noise around them.

[Thanee]

"Well, why not start with what we actually know about this job here," Nova said.

"The information I have been given is, that a girl is missing and we are to find her, protect her and bring her in unharmed. That girl is Kerstin Burgstaller, or Bean Si. There are two factions, the 'Harvesters' and the 'Crusaders', which both want her either to get some tech inside her body or to destroy it. Unlike our employer, both care little about her life. The Harvesters have small, professional teams with a high degree of awakened among them, while the Crusaders make use of a network of BTL-addicts to find what they are looking for. However, noone seems to know where she is, yet."

"Anything else?"

[Volker]

"Sure, I guess there is a lot we have to talk about."
Before she enters the conversation, she checks him for hidden or openly running sensors, especially microphones or other gear to record audio - like commlinks. If something is running, she'll ask him to turn it off, painfully aware that there is little she could do about offline gear.
She then walks a few steps away with him, shivering despite the warmth of her pullover.

[Luckace]

"Yes. About Kerstin. I knew her, at least a little bit. I once worked together with both of them.", he points towards where bnc left.
"Don't know much about Bean Si, but she is very capable of defending herself. She was basically... our bodyguard. So anyone trying to murder or kidnap her is willing to take one frag of a beating.
I don't know anything about her recent whereabouts, but she used to live in Linz, Upper Austria."
He shakes his head in disbelief. "And I thought we'd pick up Bean Si at the museum."

[ Spoiler ]

How far are bnc and Nacl away? Are they still somewhat visible or audible from where we are?

[Gilga]

"Kerstin?"

Anna's thoughts run wild, and before bnc joined her private conversation, Anna held her hand to get her attention and whispered "Mousetrap". Perhaps, if bnc was as smart as she thought she'd understand why that word. Heck, Anna did not completely understand why she chose that particular word herself. It seemed important though.


She'll give them their privacy but would not let bnc out of her sight.

[Jack_Spade]

[ Spoiler ]

bnc and Nacl are visible, but there is a buzzing, white noise as well as matrix noise around them, making eavesdropping very difficult. Nacl has his coat collar up, so it's not really possible to read his lips.


Also he doesn't have any matrix enabled devices with him - or at least no obvious ones.

Eliza's voice came from the car: "The crusaders are not just BTL addicts, although those are relatively easy to mobilize. This particular group has strong connections in the biker szene, especially those gangs that create and distribute BTLs. The boss will fill you in in a minute."

In fact it took less than a minute before he and bnc returned to the group.

Nacl opened up without preamble:

"As it turns out, our hottest lead was in fact a dead end - or rather an unexpected detour. Kerstin is likely not in Munich, even though our opposition has activated quite a lot of resources there.
But back to the beginning: Kerstin, alias Bean Si or Banshee, undertook with Eliza and me a run last November. Our target was a small research facility in Transdanubien, Vienna. Bio- and magitech. We were after a new formula that could potentially be used to heal HMHVV 3, Krieger Strain.
The run was compromised by an unscheduled visit of the facility's boss, Prof. Dr. Rosenberg. Kerstin was shot, badly. She nearly didn't make it, but I managed to use one of the prototypes in the lab to keep her alive. We made it out and layed low for a while. Unfortunately, that prototype caused some compliactions:
Kerstin was able to regenerate completely and even developed a minor magical talent but lost all her implants when her body began to reject them violently. Worse, her mental state began to suffer. The healing consumed lots of energy, making her very hungry and irritable. She also began to grow new implants - so called blood crystals. Both her eyes replaced themselves and she grew them also along her spine.
We tried to find an expert - discreetly - who could help us understand and if necessary stop this process. Unfortunately, the pool of experts around this topic is pretty small and Rosenberg became aware of her condition. The hunt started after Kerstin had a break down and ran off. She had become more and more paranoid and didn't trust anyone anymore. During her flight she killed three people with her bare hands.
I don't really know how the Crusaders got involved or who is behind this fraction, but Rosenberg's people soon had some competition. This is likely the main reason why both of them haven't succeeded yet, since the two groups tend to get in each other's way. Eliza tells me, that Rosenberg's people likely also infiltrated the forums of the crusader chipheads - virtually guaranteeing that you'd meet both groups at a given location.

I've been looking for an antidote to Kerstin's condition and I've made some significant progress. I need you to take over my search for her, so I can clinch the deal on the antidote.

Any questions so far?"

[Gilga]

[ Spoiler ]

Anna does not try to eavesdrop - she just doesn't want bnc harmed. She watched her to quickly interfere if asked to.

She looked at the two with disbelief, then at bnc trying to figure out if they were staying or not. They did not pick the wrong girl, there was no way that people that actually knew her first hand would make such a mistake. Not wanting to make a riot, she texted bnc using her throdes.
>> Do explain sweetie, how these people could possibly mistake you for her? She has crystals for eyes, no cyberware and is awakened. You would not look remotely similar to me. What is going on? Are we staying? Leaving? She is your sister I am not that dim, but I am pretty much in the dark here.

[Volker]

[ Spoiler ]

Composure: 7d6t5 2

Before the conversation of the two ended, the group can see bnc grabbing Mr. Nacl with both hands at his upper arms in an emotional outburst. Not anger though, apparently. She mostly stands with her back to the group, but the frail decker so close to the tall man she's looking up to to meet his eyes has the air of a little frightened girl. After the response, she takes a step back and follows him.

In the meanwhile, bnc's mask had cracked. There is no effort, no hope left to compose herself. Whatever she heard terrified her to the core. bnc's on the brink of crying - though still fighting down tears in front of the others successfully - wrapping her arms around her belly as if in pain.

When she hears the news about Kerstin, however, bnc snaps. She raises a hand to her mouth in shock, hears through the story, then turns away and stumbles into the forst without any other word or purpose. After a few weak steps, she tumbles, still leaning to a tree with one hand, then sinks to the ground, feebly rummaging about in her pockets, most likely to find something to numb the pain. She is pale and doesn't react to any calls or messages.

[Gilga]

Anna follows bnc, and would embrace her if she let her. She says "please, bnc... you are not alone."

[Volker]

bnc neither feights back nor accepts the embrace. "She is...", then her voice slips to a faint whisper.

[Luckace]

The moment he sees bnc grab the stranger, Wraith gets tense as a bowstring. He opens his third eye to quickly check both bnc's an Nacl's aura for any indicators of an aggression against the girl - finding none, he relaxed with visible relief.
His eyes - filled with concern - follow bnc as she stumbles away from the group, but he doesn't try to follow or stop her. "Let's give her a moment...", he murmurs to the other runners.
Stay focused, Raph! She gotta deal with her demons herself.

"From where did she run away, Herr Nacl? To trace her starting point. And this Dr Rosenberg – how ressourceful is he, and what do you know of his contacts tot he underworld?"

[Jack_Spade]

"We had a hideout at the Zentralfriedhof Wien (central cemetary Vienna). The high background count was supposed to keep us safe from magical tracking. I'll give you the coordinates.

Rosenberg, is a regional CEO for MCT Mitsuhama. As far as I know, he is a fifth level initate, specializing on counter magic. During his science career he published some pretty well regarded papers on FAB. From what I saw in the lab, they have started experimenting with the HMHVV, trying to reverse its effects.
High level stuff.
As for underworld contacts: Classic Japano Corp stuff: The few Yakuzas there are, as well as access to runners. His main resource is likely his staff and the private security firm that works exclusively for him. He does recruit heavily from the Bundesheer - ex-soldiers that he augments with cyber and biotech."

Nacl replied while looking worried toward bnc.

[Thanee]

"Sounds like a guy with a lot of resources..." Nova concluded. "And we should find this girl rather sooner than later."

"The bigger question at the moment, however, is: Do we have any leads on where Bean Si might be now? Is it possible to track her location magically? You know, ritual stuff? Like they do in the movies. Hey! Don't look at me like that... I know, that it is not realistic. But maybe something like that actually works?"

[Luckace]

"Aye, but that depends on how close we get to her.", Wraith replied while scratching his chin. "If we can narrow her hiding spot down to a couple kilometres, we should be able to find her astrally.."
He raised his voice a little and tilted his head towards the van: "Elizia, still there? Shouldn't be too hard to hack an addict's account in that forum or spoof a fake one, right? We gotta get more information on these Crusaders."

C'mon, gimme something where bnc can put her brain to use. Anything to distract her!

He observed cautiously whether or how Herr Nacl reacted sceptically about his confidence to find/recognize Bean Si's aura.

[ Spoiler ]

Judge Intentions (Herr Nacl): 10d6t5 4

[Jack_Spade]

Nacl shrugged: "Kerstin always was resourceful and prepared. And since we operated all over Austria and Southern Germany, I'd expect her to hide there somewhere. As a city child I don't expect her to hide in the country. Linz and Vienna are both likely candidates. I'd suggest starting at our former hideout. I had to leave it in great haste after Kerstin blew her cover and it's likely getting watched by the Harvesters now. But maybe bnc or Wraith can find a clue as to where she was heading."

He nodded at Wraith: "I hope you are right. But remember: Kerstin knows how to handle mages - don't expect her to make this easy for you."

Eliza answered: "I already have such an account. The problem isn't getting information but sifting out what is genuine and what is the result of simsense induced halucinations. I have to admit, I'm not very good at understanding how people think, despite having read all to me available psychology textbooks. Technology is more my forte.
What do you want me to look out for?"

[SquirrelDude]

Sharkboy glanced over at the shaking girl. "Did she just get told someone died. Did she just get told that she was going to die?"

"We shouldn't just be thinking of places. Are you aware of any family, past relationships or professional contacts that she could trust, at least temporarily, to help her hide?"

"Also, what exactly are we doing with Anna Black and her abusive ward?"

[Thanee]

"As far as I understand, Herr Nacl wants to hire them as well."

Nova nodded into the direction, where bnc had withdrawn herself.

"What's her deal, anyways? She seems to take the whole thing rather... personally."

[SquirrelDude]

Sharkboy shrugged. "I'm just here to knock some heads, so folks don't really open up to me. She seems to have a past with Wraith, I guess.

"Hey Wraith, what's the skinny bitch's deal?"

[Volker]

[ Spoiler ]

Addiction check: 12d6t5 5

bnc takes up a handkerchief Anna hands her and blows her nose. Then she shifts a bit to bring herself in a sitting position, leaning to the tree rather than kneeling in a somewhat awkward position. Not acknowledging the cold creeping into her meagre body through the ground, she pulls out a silvery patch. She looks at it numbly for a moment, then meets Anna's gaze. The two of them have a soft conversation, inaudible over the distance.

[Luckace]

"Good girl. Petra is quite good at seeing through a sicko's mind, would you give her access to the account?"

.
Couldn't she have been straight and honest up from the beginning?
"It is peronal for her, she knows Bean Si as well. But she'd better tell you that herself, I'm not really up to date." He sighed. "I'll talk to her."
He walks up to the two ladies,crunching snow and twigs audibly under his shoes to alert his presence. He didn't want to disturb any intimate conversation, but he couldn't help but to overhear some of their talk as he came closer.

[ Spoiler ]

Perception (audio): 11d6t5 8 damn, dude's got the ears of a lynx! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/eek.gif)
How do the girls seem? Is Anna shaken as well, or is she just trying to stabilize bnc? And does bnc seem shaken with guilt, sadness, fury... or everything at once?