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> [IP] Uncaring Stars
Volker
post Jul 16 2020, 01:50 PM
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bnc hands over the chip to Nova. "Don't die. Don't lose it. It's the only copy as far as we know", bnc lies.

"I don't know ... do you really want the data to just go via matrix? I'd rather send it in a more secure way. For the moment, suffice to say that it's got to do with ley lines, and that some of the nearby ones might become important some way or another. Will that do?

"As for transportation. Anna can give me a ride and I think Nova has a bike on her own. You got Shark covered already so it's really only Taurus. I can drive him, too, if I have a vehicle. Which I can steal if we don't have better options at hand."


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Gilga
post Jul 16 2020, 02:45 PM
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Anna says "and Shark picks up Taurus... Let's not steal anything when the police may be looking for us."
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Thanee
post Jul 16 2020, 03:21 PM
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Nova nodded to bnc. "I don't die that easily."

She packed her stuff and got ready to drive off using her bike.
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SquirrelDude
post Jul 16 2020, 04:04 PM
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<@Team <Probably better to let someone else drive. I've grown up around public transport and basically used that my whole life.">>
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Jack_Spade
post Jul 16 2020, 05:37 PM
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Eliza replied to bnc: <<The opposition has more interest in keeping that file secret than us. Nevertheless, you can deliver it directly to Muhme as well. But we need to use the file to pinpoint the coordinates for the next mission.
Sharkboy should arrive momentarily.>>


True to her word, the taxi rolled up outside, providing Taurus a ride.
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Crossbow
post Jul 17 2020, 12:00 AM
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Taurus will get in the cab, fully expecting to be crushed and uncomfortable sharing a seat with the wrestler. "Be aware of the horns, they will draw blood completely without me noticing." The warning is delivered factually, any pity inferred is completely unintentional.
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SquirrelDude
post Jul 17 2020, 12:21 AM
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"Yeah, great, where's my gear?"
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Gilga
post Jul 17 2020, 06:32 AM
Post #333


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Anna, already in her leather biking clothes points to shark at a bag in the corner of the room. She wipes the astral from traces of Chaos magic that may indicate that she was there, and then when she is finished, she picks up her helmet, and holds it in one hand, eager to get going, and feel the thrill of driving a powerful bike. She says I am ready to leave, bnc you riding with me? Where are we riding to?"


[ Spoiler ]
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Volker
post Jul 19 2020, 06:27 AM
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bnc smiles to Nova, then shrugs. "All right. If Mrs. Johnson is satisfied by getting the files over the matrix, please, Eliza, create a secure line to Muhme and we send her the file right away. With that, our job is done.

If she wants to meet us in person, then Muhme is where we go now.

I suggest we go in a loose group, not less than a 100, not more than 250 meters apart, and start going in a different direction, lest we lead anyone towards her. Once we decide we're not being followed, we head directly towards her."


James repeats the words to Anna, who isn't part of the team channel anymore.

To her, she says.
"Yes and no. I will drive the car for Sharkboy and Taurus, as both of them don't seem to be used to driving and I don't want to send our destination to the car rental service or ALI. But can you please take James with you? He doesn't grope unless you want him to."
She winks, then adds. "I'll be connected to him, though we won't be able to talk while driving anyway. If need be, I can easily cut the direction.

One last thing, out of professionalism. bnc programs her deck to delete the Cloudlessly stored file in case her vital monitor shows bnc is dead. Her condition was to leave no bopy behind. As long as I'm alive, we haven't let it behind.

[ Spoiler ]
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Gilga
post Jul 19 2020, 07:00 AM
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"Alright, I'll drive toward the open road to Darmstadt until James tells me otherwise." She says, then adds "Common James, don't be shy we've seen each other naked already.", Putting on her Helmet, and zipping up her riding jacket, Anna is ready to drive. The bike is equipped with a high-quality autopilot program that informs her that "Manual driving is dangerous", Anna replies "Just for a little bit..." With the bike packed up, and with James, she Anna heads out. "Keep your eyes open James, its just 90% fun right now." she says.
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Jack_Spade
post Jul 19 2020, 09:31 AM
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The extraction went down without a hitch. Soon the team found themselves back in the woods and at the creepy structure below the strange canopy.

Muhme sat as before straightbacked behind her desk while Eliza's face appeared again on the trid.

"You have fullfilled your task to my satisfaction." She indicated at a line of credsticks in front of her.
"Take your reward then and while you do listen, if you would, to what this is all about."

She nodded at Eliza and the world map was displayed that bnc had decrypted earlier.

"This is the file you extracted. It contains a very precise extrapolation of how the earth's mana field shapes itself and is shaped by external influences. Let me show you a few of the more interesting points in history."

She entered a few numbers and the date displayed in the upper right corner jumped to Aug 17, 2017.
Across the north american continent, what had before been faint blue lines, started to become red and a vortex formed into tall spike, as well as slashing tendrils.

"This was the Great Ghost Dance, led by Daniel Howling Coyote, kicking off the sixth age for good."
The timer ran on with wildly accelerated speed. The spike receeded somewhat, but was still very visible.

"The power unleashed here, was sufficient to earn earth the attention of some very, very bad entities from across the metaplanes. In fact a tainted Blood Mage called Oscuro tried to use the spike to bring those Horrors here early and it took some very dedicated operatives as well as some of the most powerful people on earth to stop him.
The Horrors are - for lack of a better word - the Devil. They strike bargains with mortals to allow them to enter here. They can only exist in a very high mana environment - which unfortunately for us is being created step by step through the natural cycle of the world but also through the actions of humanity.

The Great Ghost Dance needed the willing sacrifice of hundreds of indigenous people at a very precise moment with a very skillfull shaman at its center to create such an effect at such a low tide of mana. Now, 60 years later, humanity has rapidly increased the background count in many places beyond what nature would have scheduled.
And there are people working on repeating the same mistakes again.
Make no mistake: The Horrors will come again into this world and they will eradicate whatever parts of humanity they can get ahold of. And we are simply not yet advanced enough to withstand them.
Some ruthless individuals think they can strike bargains to gain personal protection as well as power and survive this by turning into traitors to humanity.

I am part of a group that tries to stop them. Their rituals need time to develop and very precise calculations - giving us a chance to predict them and send agents to stop them.
Until some members of the Black Lodge got the brilliant idea to have a cluster of super computers do all the calculations for them - resulting in this program.

Now that we have this program too, we are on even footing again.

I want you to accompany me to the next site where such a ritual is likely to be held and sabotage it before it can come to fruition.

Any questions so far?"
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Thanee
post Jul 19 2020, 10:04 AM
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"Sounds important," Nova commented.

To Muhme's question, she said: "Only the usual, but we will get there, I believe."
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Gilga
post Jul 19 2020, 12:41 PM
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""How powerful are these individuals? Your description sounds like we go up against immortals and dragons, or at least their lackey's. I mean, the influence level of the people you describe is about as epic as it gets. The desires of most people I can imagine are orders of magnitude more mundane than the fate of the entire world, or even for surviving events that are decades into the future."
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Jack_Spade
post Jul 19 2020, 07:22 PM
Post #339


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"It varies. Most of them are two-bit sorcerers who have just enough juice to get themselves into trouble and believe other worldly forces are acting in their best interest.
But there are also those working for or are part of the Black Lodge. Those are... very dangerous. Not only do they have money and influence, they are also accomplished mages. These people are a force to be reconned with.
Dragons are in generally not stupid - or not stupid enough to try to bargain with the Horrors. Yet, some of them play dangerous games of their own, believeing arrogantly that they have small groups under control."

Muhme answered Anna.
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Crossbow
post Jul 19 2020, 07:29 PM
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Taurus for his part, is quite simply stunned. The circumstances being described are completely beyond him, and he knows it. Any questions he would start with would be the most basic, and would take far to long to explain to him, if he could be made to understand them. He knows that there are people involved that he will have to deal with, and goals he will need to accomplish, that is enough for now.

It is remarkable to him though, that for the first time in his adult life he feels a little small?
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Volker
post Jul 19 2020, 07:35 PM
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bnc whistles softly. "So you're paying us for a run against the Devil himself, huh? Oh my, Wraith is never going to forgive me for pulling this off without him."
Her joke doesn't cause her to smile. It's the driest of humor - the sort of humor you sport in the face of horror. That is, of Horrors.
bnc does what she always does if something is emotionally too difficult for her to grasp: rationalizing.

"So, Muhme, you're the good guy, huh? That is, the good lass. I like that, if it's the case. I'm also a good girl, see?
But I need to know who "you" are. That is, the plural form. I hate English ... what I mean: You're not going to stop the Horrors on your own. This is too big scale. A single ritual or two blotched will accomplish little to nothing on the grand scale. Which means, you're part of something bigger, of an organization or so. I wanna know whose friend I'm gonna be when I'm in. Who are you. Who are you with. And who the fuck are those Black Lodge fellas?"


bnc knows herself that her playing touch is easily recognized as the nervousness it really is. She still can't help it. It's the only way she ever learned to deal with stuff like this.
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Gilga
post Jul 19 2020, 08:16 PM
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Anna frowns at the mentions of Wraith, she genuinely wants him in, especially if they are going to get involved with a cabal of sorcerers. She is the only mage they have, a single point of failure against magical influences. While talented, she still has a lot to learn about magic. Anna has no illusions about her ability, she knows very well that there are better mages out there. It is crystal that opposition would have more mojo then the team. Anna feels that bnc may be off-balance, due to the epic story of saving the world against absolute evil. So she texts her friend in a peer-to-peer protocol. Using her trodenets, to naturally interface with the comlink.
>> bnc, focus on figuring out if we are likely to survive this job rather than on who hires us, and the moral aspects of this gig. All your good intentions are moot if we cannot do it. We need to have a solid plan to pull it off, and you are like the smartest person I know. We need you asking the right questions, and I need to know that YOU think that we can do it, Mhume got a team of shadowrunners killed already so I certainly do not trust her assessment of our skills. Magic wise, Wraith is not here, and the mages we encountered together were more advanced than me and even Wraith. The plan would need to compensate for that.

She'll wait for a bit, when Mhume responds to bnc's questions and then would add her own questions. Anna is still uncertain if they can pull of the job, and her questions are seeking the information she requires to make up her mind about that.

"How many sorcerers do you expect them to have? When is the ritual taking place, and how do you suggest that we sabotage it? Also, you asked if we would accompany you to this site. How active are you going to be ?"
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Jack_Spade
post Jul 19 2020, 08:25 PM
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"A little blunt, but well... I am a witch of a coven of witches. People call us the Brocken Hexen - but of course that is an oversimplification. I was nine when the Great Ghost Dance happened - I actually had my awakening then. There are many covens like ours, all over the world. We don't have the ressources like the mega corporations, but we aren't entirely without funds either. There are some dragons, some immortal elves and also some other, even more complicated actors within this alliance.
And no, we are not "the good guys". We can't afford to be. You can't fight an extinction event with ethics.
By any means necessary - this is not a shadow run but a shadow war for which I am recruiting you.

Our main adavantage is that our oppossition is less organized, consisting mostly of individual people with power and no regard for others.

Getting this map was the work of months - and all it took to screw things up was... Well we don't actually know what it was. Rabe might be able to tell us if he wakes up again."


She refocused and the map changed to a large scale view of Europe.
"For now I'm responsible for Central Europe. There are some very sensitive spots around here, that would be cultists can use. We will relocate there now. If there is anything on your rides, you better go and fetch it. We are leaving for our next destination. I'll give you details while we fly and I have time to analyse and refine the search. Our first stop will be the Black Forrest Troll Kingdom."
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Jack_Spade
post Jul 19 2020, 08:29 PM
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QUOTE (Gilga @ Jul 19 2020, 10:16 PM) *
"How many sorcerers do you expect them to have? When is the ritual taking place, and how do you suggest that we sabotage it? Also, you asked if we would accompany you to this site. How active are you going to be ?"


Muhme replied: "There is usually only one, maybe two or three full mages. As I said, the Horrors tend to influence selfish individuals. The when and where I'm going to find out and refine.
I am not as mobile as I was, but I'll take care of scouting in the astral and do what I can with spirits to support you."
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Gilga
post Jul 19 2020, 08:45 PM
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Anna takes some confidence at Muhme's reply, not the shadow-war. That part scares the shit out of her. The fact that they are looking into disorganized selfish mages. When mages get overconfident they get themselves killed. Anna witnessed that already. They prevailed against the blood mage in the bank, and they prevailed again saving Kerstin.

"I don't mind getting on a plane, and laying low to avoid the police. I feel like you are moving too fast for me. How do you sabotage such a ritual? is it enough to make sure that one of the key players does not show up, or that their reagents are messed up, or do we raid the place and murder everyone? What kind of job are you suggesting, and we also did not discuss compensation."
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Jack_Spade
post Jul 19 2020, 09:17 PM
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Muhme smiled - or rather showed her teeth:
"No need for a plane. We are taking the hut.
A ritual has one exact way to be done right and a million ways to go wrong. But yes, murdering the ritualist is a sure fire way to prevent him from trying again. A lobotomy also works - or making the ritual site unusable - through any means necessary.
As for compensation - we can discuss that once we know the parameters. I have a budget to worry about."


At this moment a jerk went through the ground, making the team stagger a bit.

"Better get your gear now or bail now - this place is ready for lift off."
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Thanee
post Jul 19 2020, 09:57 PM
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Nova was not surprised when Muhme clarified, that it is a "Shadow War" going on. That part was pretty clear at the point where she had explained the purpose of the map and what other, less scrupulous forces, might use it for.

"I know this is not exactly what you like to hear, Anna, but I have learned that a lot of problems go away, if you shoot the main guy in the head. Repeatedly, if necessary," Nova said, matter-of-factly.

"So... this thing can fly? Which means, we do not have to leave the bikes in this forest clearing, right? They easily fit in here with us."

If there is no objection, Nova will get her bike inside and put it somewhere at the side, where it isn't in the way.
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SquirrelDude
post Jul 20 2020, 01:38 AM
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Sharkboy raises his hand

“Three questions

“When are we getting paid for that retrieval?”
“What are you offering to pay us for this?”

“Where’s my gear?”
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Gilga
post Jul 20 2020, 02:07 AM
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Anna looks at Nova, grinning, she was confident of her moral code and non violent criminal philosophy. "If my guns were as big as yours. I'd probably solve more problems by shooting." She says with a grin. Confident of her moral code, and certain that it protected her from becoming just like the asshole mages they dispatched. While Anna is in top physical shape, and dedicates a lot of effort to maintain her physical abilities, she cannot compete with technology. She is likely the weakest link when it came to taking a bullet. No amount of physical exercise could change that.


Seeing that the house is ready to fly impresses Anna a lot. She never figured magic could do that - she can levitate heavy things but nothing nearly as heavy as an entire hut. Anna would hate to leave the bike behind, in the middle of the forest, it was an expensive bike, and the payment was not that good to just ditch it.
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Crossbow
post Jul 20 2020, 07:54 AM
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Eliza, I have a feeling I am going to need that AC at some point. Can you get it shipped to wherever we are going?
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