[IP] Uncaring Stars Options

[Crossbow]

"I think I would still prefer having system control, erasing our presence and confirming credentials."

[Volker]

"And I think we should get moving. This is a meet-up with Frau Schmitt, not a planning and coordination sit-in. We don't even have soykaf. So why don't we get on our way and discuss plans in a more structured and coordinated way? I have a driverless cab with two or three empty seats. Not troll size, though. I can arrange a virtual meeting place while everyone's in or on their respective vehicles, auto-piloting to Worms."

[Thanee]

"When I asked Eliza about it, yesterday, I was informed that we have secure accomodations in place, and this here is meant to serve as such. There is no need to relocate."

[Jack_Spade]

<<Correct, but if you prefer, we also have a second place set up for you closer to the city.>> An address flashed on screen and a map reference appeared.
<<It is barebones I'm afraid. Just an old garage but with enough room for your vehicles, a few cots and some other essentials.>>

[SquirrelDude]

"Give me the place closer to the city. Walking here and back will be enough nature for me."

[Crossbow]

Hey Eliza, this is probably a bad time to ask this, but you don't happen to know someone looking to offload a late model Blitzen or something do you? I didn't keep my cab.

[Gilga]

Anna comments "This place looks nicer than the city, but I think it is safer to only go here too cool down. We'll need more cooldown time than prep time anyhow, so let's take the garage for now. "

[Volker]

"So-ka. See you in a couple minutes, then."

James leaves the science lab/fairy tale cot first, but waits outside. He waits a moment till people start to spread out, then walks over/catches up to Sharkboy. James doesn't intentionally block out others, but it is clear that what he says is directed to Sharkboy.
"Tough negotiation in there. First I thought you overdid it, bringing Ms. Johnson up against us for a mere 5k bonus. But then I realized that she's cold and ice and tough as old leather, and that the only way to deal with such people is to be the same. I shouldn't have intervened. What I'm saying is: good job." He nods in appreciation.

[Jack_Spade]

Eliza answered Taurus: <<Sorry, not at the moment, but I can ask around. Maybe one of the others can take you with them - at least till you reach the main streets and can hail a cab. But I should be able organize something for you before you start your operation.>>

The garage turns out to be exactly as advertised: enough space, some cheap tables and chairs as well as folding cots. Lots of instant food and snacks as well as a pallet of water.
The only sink and toilet are separated from the main part through a thin but surprisingly well insulated piece of plastplate.

The only really surprising thing is the anthro drone standing in the corner, greeting the team with Eliza's voice: <<Get comfortable. I have enough bleach in compressed tanks to wipe this whole place ceiling to bottom to get rid of all and any traces.>>

[SquirrelDude]

Sharkboy raised an eyebrow at bnc/James's unexpected, but appreciated comments. He didn’t want to do this at the garage, so He grabbed James's shoulder and gave a shake of his head to make it clear she should follow him to throw far side of the clearing away from the trail leading there. Sharkboy took a breath to settle himself down, trying to return her sudden civility.

"Look. I don't like you. You don't like me. I don't know if you trust me. I don't trust you to look out for us. Stuff like what happened in there is why.

"We probably should have discussed a negotiation strategy ahead of the meeting. I jumped in there really hard, really fast, but I don't think any of use expected her to give us that much leverage. What I couldn't have expected was that you'd immediately come in swinging to cut everyone's legs out. Not only did you say you would take the offer, but that you were desperate for the money. That doesn't just frag my leverage, it frag's Nova, and Annas, and Taurus's too. I am happy that we came out of this getting paid twenty five thousand instead of ten, but I'm going to wonder for while if we could have gotten more. Every time she said she wouldn't be paying us more, and every time she kept increasing the number. What could have helped with that is if we had bargained, collectively, properly.

"I don't think you do it to be an asshole. Maybe you do. I don't know. I think you do it cause you're selfish. Maybe just take 1 second to think about us before you do something, I guess. I ain't a counselor, I'm just sushi or gills or whatever.

"See you in town."

[Volker]

"Yeah sure. I'm aware that you didn't do it out of selfish greed, but because you're a fragging Samaritan who cares for Nova's, and Anna's, and Taurus's well-being. I'm trying to act professional because if I acted like I'd felt, we couldn't hope to accomplish one run, let alone a series of it. So fuck your bullshit and try to do the same.
See you in town."
James nods curtly, and walks out of the clearing.

But it's not bnc walking. Mere seconds after the short encounter with Sharkboy, bnc jumps out of James and lets him walk back to the cab on his own, while she searches the Matrix to find whatever drek she can find on Muhme.

[ Spoiler ]

Matrix Search: 18d6t5 4

[Jack_Spade]

There is exactly one mention of a "Muhme" and a wheelchair and that comes from an old report on the Brocken Hexen, a circle of witches that are best known for their festitivities at the Blocksberg. A "Muhme" was reportedly attending there in her wheelchair, despite the place being pretty inaccessable except by foot. The article is from 20 years ago.

[Volker]

@Anna "Anna. Are you already too far away to check if Muhme is a spellcaster?"

[Gilga]

Anna says ">> No problem at all bnc, but please keep an eye for me. At her age she may be like super experienced though. I'll project to check her, but please keep an eye for me when I do. "

When I do, she stops in a clearing and takes some space for the road to be out of the way. She waits for someone to watch over her and then leans on a tree and projects to check what the old lady looks like in the astral.

[ Spoiler ]

Assensing: 13d6t5 4

[Jack_Spade]

An astral visit at the structure showed Anna two things: A really powerful ward - that she was allowed to cross - and the seemingly, perfectly mundane Muhme in her chair.

Even a very intensive look at her aura did not reveal anything beyond her being in poor health, but without any lost essence. And yet, the ward practically tasted like her personality. Even more worrying was the fact that she looked directly at Anna's astral body and made a shooing motion.

[Gilga]

Waving her hand bye-bye, Anna leaves as she came. >> I think she is a sorcerer. Probably more advanced than myself, her aura looks mundane but the ward on her house, and the fact that I was allowed to get in means that either she is a sorceress or she has one that could make changes to the ward on short notice. I mean, the only reason I am allowed in the ward is likely that she did not want me to notice the ward when the charisma spell suddenly fails. Does that seat well with your suspicion? Why does it matter actually? I was spell defending you the entire time I'd known if she tried anything.

[Volker]

To Anna she replies "It matters because I want to know whose pawn I am and which game they're playing. This is not Gerhardt Schmitt, who's got a moral code, and it's not Nacl, who cares for me personally. This is a powerful and mighty bitch who I don't trust an inch farther then she can jump. She doesn't give the slightest fuck about whether we live or not, so we need to know what game we're playing."

She then reboots her deck and establishes a group channel for the team. By then, they'll have pretty much arrived at the garage. For now, bnc stays in the cab, but James tosses her backpack on one of the cots marking it as hers. He sits and waits for the others to enter.

Once they're in, James speaks up.
"All right, chummers. Here we are, and there's not a whole lot of time to lose.
There's three things I'd like to get rid of before we start the actual planning.

First is Mrs. Johnson, Muhme. She's not a Johnson like the ones we had before. We can tell that our lives aren't worth half a nuyen to her. The only thing that would change for us is that we can't finish a job. Until we have finished it, then the only thing that would change is whether or not she has to pay a lot. This bitch is ice-cold and hard. I don't like how easily she could be haggled from 10k to 25k. This can mean three things. Either she's bastante grande desperate, or she mucho malo rich, or she never intended us to live till it's cash time.
I did some research on the old hag, and it turns out: She indeed is a hag. Whole Hänsel and Gretel thing - bad sense of humor. She's a Brockenhexe, a local witch, and a damn powerful one, too. What's more, I can be sure that she's safe comme enfer has got a shitload and more of money.
And ... she has a habit of leaving no traces behind. When I find the time, I'll do more research, but I'm afraid that's all we can find. So do be extra careful. This chink is evil.

Second are marks. I want to ask all of you to invite me for a mark on your commlink. This is not a matter of security - I have hacked all of your commlinks already, and neither one did notice. If I wanted your data, I'd have it already. It can be a matter of speed, however. I once saved a life because Krestov gave me the marks I needed. This is an offer, not a demand. There's just nothing to lose and something to gain for you. Your choice.

Third is me."
James turns towards Taurus. "You might have already guessed or maybe not, but this isn't my own body. It's just a drone I use because my own piece of meat sucks like a 50 nuyen whore."
From behind, you hear a thin, female voice. "This is my real body. I'm gonna leave the mess here in the garage and join you using James."
You see a frail girl of average height. Blueish-black hair flows down the shoulders of a black hoodie she's wearing despite the high temperature. Her expression is blank, her cybereyes dart quickly between the shadowrunners and whatever she's seeing in AR simultaneously. Other than that, the half-skeleton is hardly remarkable.

[ Spoiler ]

portrait

[Gilga]

Anna pulls over near the bike, and takes off her helmet, revealing her healthy hair which is neatly collected in a ponytail. She spends a few moments to fix it with a small mirror, while bnc makes her speech. Anna knows that bnc is a bit difficult, and she does not want to undermine her vigilance or the understanding that miss Schmidt does not give a fuck about her. Perhaps it would prevent the need to babysit the decker. She simply reboots her link in response to bnc's bold claims. Her friend has no boundaries for hacking people like that - but what can Anna do other than upgrading her firewall, and reboot the decice. She does not grant bnc a mark but does not make it obvious that she didn't.

Anna is slightly taller, and wider than bnc. She has an athletic build that projects health, and constant physical training. Anna is agile and flexible, but not muscled. She is wearing tight pants, boots, and an armored leather-like biker jacket containing a concealed holster for some barely visible pistol. Her brown hair is neatly and modestly pulled back in a ponytail, and her green eyes (contacts) shine within a natural color. On top of the hard to spot contacts, Anna is wearing glasses (sort of like Google glasses) with enhanced vision, and earbuds that enhanced her hearing.


Finishing with her mirror, and satisfied with her hair, (she uncharacteristically not wearing makeup), she pockets the small mirror and looks at the rest, not wanting to be the first one that speaks or to undermine her friend. She wonders if it is mistrust in mages as a whole as they did encounter evil to monstrous mages together, and bnc met one even before meeting Anna which is why she nicks her Sprinklers.

[Crossbow]

Unless someone specifically waved him off, Taurus was the one who watched Anna's meat when she went astral. He moved off and got his ride to the base.

Once James/bnc finish their spiel he speaks up, always taking both of them in to the conversation when addressing the group. He speaks English, again with a strong Mediterranean accent. "Since we really didn't have a a lot of time to get to know each other, I will take the opportunity now. The moniker I have given myself is Taurus, I am fully aware that some of you might consider that a slur against my kind, but I am not concerned about that kind of thing. I would rather lean in to it rather than be put off by it. That said, I am not attached to it in any way, so if you are uncomfortable you can call me Alex or some new handle you would find makes you happier."

"What would make me happier is seeing a certain level of professionalism on display here. I realize that being from the corporate world, I may have some unrealistic expectations regarding established command and control, but I definitely think it is best if we have some kind of structure here. We will need comms among us, but if we can't trust the person responsible for protecting them then what is the point?"

"Beyond that we need a plan and to make that we need to start looking over our intel. If we are not doing a frontal assault, what are the ideas for getting a Minotaur and a Sharkman onto the property?"

[Gilga]

Anna's English flows faster than her German, and she replies quickly "Since these guys really dislike metahumans, let's not send the Shark and the Minotaur to speak to them. You may get arrested for raising your voice, or for looking the wrong way at one of them. Me and Nova are capable if things go south, but we can also talk. They'll behave better to us, perhaps we can ask to see their Jhon Doe by filling a missing person report, or perhaps we can bribe them. No point in breaking into a police building when we're not even sure if the data is there. "

[Crossbow]

"We have to go in regardless, we have to know if it is not there, and if it is there we have to get it. I did like the medical team idea, that gives us grunts a reason to be on site as paramedics if we can get what we need to pull it off."

If anyone is not getting the English and he will translate to German if need be.

[Volker]

"I agree with the- with Taurus. Before we jump into any unstructured planning we should define who's in charge if things have to happen quickly. I do understand that most of us here are individualists but if my life depends on it I wouldn't want to be in a chaos where everyone does as he pleases. Yes, including myself.

Personally, I would trust Nova with the role of a leader. She is the most rational, the least biased, and the most composed of us, maybe not including the newbie. But a leader has to know their team, and Nova knows all except for Taurus for a while."

[ Spoiler ]

We will need comms among us, but if we can't trust the person responsible for protecting them then what is the point?"[/color]

Does Taurus invite her for one or more marks?

[SquirrelDude]

"I'm not metahuman, Mrs. Black." Sharkboy quickly interject, continuing "But I agree. It's probably best I don't try to go in under the cover of anything different than what I am. I'm either security working with your medical team, or a professional fighter looking for some medical support after a training accident.

The mask always makes disguises a tricky thing for me. I'm always gonna end up being who I am, but why I'm there is much more flexible."

To Taurus's point about command structure, he explained "You'll just have to be flexible. In the heat of the moment, someone's gonna make a call of what they're going to do in their area of expertise and you just have to roll with it. We'll have an end goal for our time out there, but it's really more of a group improvisation than something dictated down to us."

[Gilga]

Anna says "Well, I can pass as a healing mage as long as they don't ask for mundane first-aid questions. Perhaps bnc can answer these, my knowledge of anatomy summarize to where are the fun parts of people's bodies."

Anna replies to bnc "There is nothing wrong with a little chaos, combat is chaotic by their nature. I trust Nova and would follow her lead without hesitation. Same thing for Shark, or even for Alex if he steps up. In general, I do not assume that we'll all be together all the time, so I am willing to follow anyone that knows what he is doing. My job would be mainly to keep us safe from hostile magic. "

[Thanee]

Nova was okay with english and german, but either way, there was a pretty clear eastern european accent.

She asked Anna, specifically: "Where did you get that part with the meta-bias from? If it is so, I have probably missed it. But I'm not very familiar with Sternschutz myself."

About their Ms. Johnson: "I get, that people don't trust the J's. Is she not telling the whole story? Of course, not. But I see no real reason why she would want to betray us. If she has the money, it is way easier to just pay. I mean, witch or not, let's face it, we are some pretty dangerous people to have as enemies. And few people are truly untouchable. Why take that risk? Also, we have worked with Eliza before and I have no reason to mistrust her, and she was the one who made the connection."

To the chain-of-command topic, she said: "Well, thanks for the trust. The main issue of a true chain-of-command is, that it paralyzes those that are not at the top. What do we do now, is not a question we can afford to ask, if things are getting hectic. We have to trust, that everyone will make the right decisions. Of course, there are situations, where a little leadership might help. But there will also be situations, where waiting on a decision will cost time, that we do not have."

Then about the general plan: "Posing as paramedics might get us inside, although if they look close enough, they might consider our level of augmentations or magic a little strange for a paramedic, but most importantly, it does not get us to our target. That's why I thought making up a cover story and backing it with some forgeries, that the patient belongs to 'our' company and we are going to retrieve him and transfer him to a private medical facility, might work. However, there is not much time for preparations, and that is not my area to say, if this is feasible at all."