Living in the Shadows: IC, your run might be over... Options

[Sedna]

1449 Saturday January 6th, 2063 - Puyallup Street Clinic

As the Snake shaman rounds the corner, the Latina flashes Dragon a look that promises, smoulderingly, that this wasn't over. In all honesty, Dragon's almost looking forward to Part 2. A small smile catches at the corner of his mouth as he remembers his teammate striking his head against the wall (quietly, of course), and as he looks up to speak with an almost exhausted Galina he surprises an echo of the same in Sybersnake. Damn. But -- he sighs -- business before pleasure.

Quickly he explains what needs explaining, stumbling over a few of the more unfamiliar words as he reads them directly from the image link. Galina listens in stillness. After he finishes, she remains silent for a few moments, digesting what he's just revealed. "Are you sure this information is accurate?" she asks finally, pulling out a hand-held computer from a frayed pocket of her smock and starting to punch at the keyboard, surprisingly delicate for such large fingers.

Dragon nods and explains the rest, finishing with "but I don't really know what it means. Care to fill us in on what exactly we're looking at here?"

"I wish I could," says Galina, and now the exhaustion is stark in her voice. "I ken the virus family, but makes no sense." She frowns at the small computer, then pulls a loose cable out of another pocket and jacks in, evoking a small sound from Sybersnake, who visibly twitches as she pulls back what she was about to say. But whatever the troll's setting in motion is fast, already she's jacked out again: "Set up a cross-reference hunt, see what we got first. More'n that, have to go on-line. Ye'd somethin' t' ax, girl?"

Although she'd approached it forcefully enough, under Galina's direct gaze the Latina had begun to fidget with her hands. "I -- ah --" And then she hung her head: "Can I borrow your deck?" The last words, almost inaudible, trailing away.

The troll studied her. "What happened to yern?"

"Got shot," says Sybersnake simply, staring at the floor. "Got shot instead of me."

"Gonna use it from here?"

"Ah --" Fidgeting becoming stronger, Sybersnake finally settles for a simple nod.

"Mind taggin' someone along?"

"You mean, like a hitcher?" Startled, the Latina looks up to meet the large brown eyes: "But I'll already be dragging four ..."

"No, not a hitcher," and she's about to say more, but the small computer in her hand pings like it's found something, and the troll flips up the screen again to study it. In silence, Dragon watches the sudden knowledge etch itself into her face and settle across her broad shoulders. This is not going to be good.

"Sook," says Galina at last, "it's not ebola after all." If there had been a chair in the hallway, the mercenary was fairly certain she would have sunk into it. As it was, the substance of the wall seemed far too fragile a thing to support that massive weight. "It's smallpox."

Dragon looks from one to the other. Sybersnake has gone ashen, but doesn't seem particularly thinking to enlighten him. "What's smallpox?" he asks finally.

"Haemorrhagic, mebe 'cause her immune's already depressed," Galina was muttering to herself, "but gene-spliced, maybe Awakened. Not enough here to ken if it's been weaponised --" and then she looks up at him, and then at the wristcam he suddenly realises he's still holding: "Ye saw. Will words ken ye more?"

"What's the cure?" asks Dragon steadily, trying without success to keep those images from his mind.

" 'Tisn't. Not even the Fifth World cared beyond vaccine, once it cleared out o' the money places, and then it gone extinct and no one bothered with vaccine even. Huge stores of it," she's reading off the screen, "weapons stuff even then. Couple accidents, nothin' big, guess no one thunk anyone'd use it."

"Well, someone's using it now," says Dragon grimly.

"Mebe. Or mebe Sixth World rise up, bit a chunk out o' the seats o' our collective arses agin. Not the first time somethin' extinct or myth been brought back," and even as he's automatically shaking his head the mercenary finds reluctantly he has to agree with that one. "So that's why you need the deck, girl?"

"Got a meet," says Sybersnake shakily. "Carousel."

"Kiki?" and the Latina almost smiles reflexively, "Yeah."

"She frosty. Sook, tag him along, an' we kosher. Ye'll be using our deck, girl. Deal?"

"Okay ..." Sybersnake's trying to think through this, convulsively swallowing every now and then as the earlier images keep visibly protruding. Her face still hasn't regained its colour. "You mean, like another decker coming in with us?" The barest of nods from the troll confirms it. "Ah -- uhm -- Dragon, you okay with that?"

[Sedna]

1200 Tuesday, January 9, 2063 - Land's End Magic Shop

"Hmm," says Solomon slowly, that hint of mischief back in his voice as he nods acknowledgement to Andie's security shopping list, "do you have any idea how much what Sara has, costs?"

The young mage studies him astrally, trying to determine what lies behind the comments, especially the previous one; but most of Solomon's attention is fully on the plans, with a degree of concentration that Andie had never seen in anyone except himself and his teacher (and he sometimes had his doubts about Sara). Oh yeah, and the fixer's definitely Awakened, couple of levels of initiation there for sure.

Like that's really a surprise to someone like Andie. Maybe he's just jealous I thought of it first?

"You will need something at least two or three metres wide for the mechanical room," Solomon was saying. "Ventilation, cooling space behind the coils, human-space room to fix the machinery if you have to. If you move your chimney there ... hmm ... I thought you mentioned earlier that you were thinking of having a small public reading room with a fireplace? But since you have moved your chimney to the opposite side of the warehouse, maybe you have reconsidered."

Solomon's wristphone rings. He glances at the screen, then at Andie, who hasn't moved. "Just bear in mind that 10 metres square is a very large space," he says softly. "You will not feel at all cramped in your living space. You might also wish to sketch in the furniture for your store, get a feel for just how much space you have to work with there. Now, if you will excuse me for a moment ...?"

[banditf50]

1448 Saturday January 6th, 2063 - Puyallup Street Clinic

Pouring himself another class of the sterile water Virgil finally felt his rabid thirst start to subside. Cindy looked as if she was calming down as she was being held ever so gently within the massive arms of Father Bremen, Dragon and Sybersnake had gone to see about the readieness of the car and borrowing a cyberdeck, respectively.

Looks like I have a small window of time to call Inleat and explain why I will be absent today. With any luck he hasn't left his office yet.

"I'm going to step out for a moment to make a phone call Father, please excuse me for a moment."

Sliding past Tiffany on the way out of the tiny room, it looks to Virgil as if she is a bit less frazzeled than she had been a few minutes ago. "I was hoping that you might be able to use your expertiese to see what is the word on the current investigation of the fire that we pulled Cindy from, 824 52nd street in Auburn."

Recieving a small nod from her in recognition Virgil made a mental note to speak with her next time the group got a chance for a breather. Tiffany had shown herself to be a valuable team member, which meant he had a responsibility to become more comfortable with her abilities and limits.

"Thanks for all you are doing for us."

Stepping out into the now empty hallway Virgil activated the voice dialing on his phone, "Dial Inleat."

"Ring. . .Ring. . .." Come on, be in your office, or at least have remembered to forward your office calls to your cell phone.

"Ring . . Ring . .

[WinterRat1]

09:33:08 Sunday 07 January 2063 – A Redmond Sidewalk

Gail pauses for a moment, and then says, "I've heard of a club called Underground 93, or Underworld 93, something like that, I don't know if it's what you're referring to, but it's the closest I can think of to The Underworld. It's located in Puyallup, I believe. But like I said, I'm not really sure, so you'll probably want to investigate it further. But off the top of my head, that'd be my best guess. Oh I got another call, I gotta get going. Catch you later chummer."

And then she hangs up, leaving John with only a scant lead, but at least, it was more than he'd started with.

[Scrapheap]

09:33:08 Sunday 07 January 2063 – Stuffer Shak Parking Lot, Redmond

John flips his phone closed and sticks it is his jacket. Then, with a quick glance around, he walks across the lot towards the entrance.

Puyallup, huh? Maybe I should have just stayed out there last night. Well, I guess I should head out there after I check out Nora's usual haunts.

Stopping in front of the heavy door, he punches the buzzer with a steel finger and waits. After a couple of seconds he hears a buzz and a clunk, and reaching out he swings open the door and goes inside. Looking to his left as he enters, he sees the counter-area. Etta stands behind the couter with a portable workpad under her arm, the stylus tucked behind her ear. She's talking to another employee who's sitting on a stool. Both are protected by a wall of bullet-proof glass, making the counter and the area behind it into more of a booth. Etta once told him that the Shak-ers referred to it as "the bunker." There is a heavy steel drawer that could be used to pay via cash and a credstick reader near the seated employee.

They looked up as John came in, both responding to his quick wave. He then pointed to the rear of the store and raised an eyebrow, but his sister shook her head and waved him on before turning back to her conversation. Must be important. Might as well grab breakfast while I wait.

He browsed the frozen-foods section for a second before selected a few Senior Soy's "authentic" breakfast burritos. Quickly tossing them in the microwave, he then walked over and poured himself a large cup of soykaf. After popping a lid on the cup and retrieving his irradiated breakfast, John walked over to an area containing a few wobbly plastic tables and chairs, sat down, and began to eat.

Before too long he was joined by Etta. He watched her sit, nearly losing her balance in the cheap chair, before gesturing at the last burrito with the half-eaten remains of the one in his hand. She glanced doubtfully at the rapidly cooling food, shook her head, and said, "So what's your plan? Did you learn anything yet?"

"I learned that the place that she went might be called Underworld 93. Ring any bells yet?" She shook her head. "Yeah, well other than that, nothing I didn't already know. Mainly that not too many of my friends get up before noon."

Etta clasped her hands together in her lap. "That certainly doesn't sound like much."

"True, but I didn't expect to learn much with the calls. Just wanted people to know I was looking and need to talk to them. Speaking of," he paused to take a drink, "if any Brain Eaters come around today let them know I need to talk to Slim. Then call me. I'm going over there later, but it's always better to be announced."

"Why not go now? It's not too far, right?"

"No, but it IS too early. Someone would be up, but Slim Jim won't be. Wouldn't do any good. No, like I said earlier, I'm going to go to some places where I know she hangs-out. Ask around. It's better than sitting around waiting for a call, and maybe someone knows something." Seeing that his sister wasn't going to take the last burrito, he picked it up and took a bite. Mmmm, cold scrambled-soy.

"Ok, John. You know best. Do you have a picture?"

Thinking it was another one of his sister's weird non-sequiturs, he said "A picture? Of what?"

"Nora! You know, like on the trid. When they're looking for someone they always show around a picture: 'Have you seen this girl?' You know?"

He paused with the burrito halfway to his mouth and stared at his sister. Oh, frag! Why didn't I think of that? Maybe I am too old for this? He quickly stood, pulled out a couple of bills out of his pocket and tossed them on the table. "Yeah, I got one. Listen, I better go. Call me if you talk to any of the Eaters. I'll call you if I find anything." Bending down, he kissed her forehead, grabbing his 'kaf as he did.

Confused at her brother's sudden hurry, Etta stood as well. "Ok, just be careful. And John?" Reaching out, she grabbed his arm as he turned away. "Bring back my baby." Nodding without turning to look at her, he pulled away and went to the door, waiting to be buzzed-out before leaving.

Handing the rest of the burrito to one of the squatters by the dumpster, he hurried across the lot and back the way he came. Frag it! You fraggin' drek-head! Think! Get sloppy like this when it counts, and someone will hand you your hoop on a platter!

Walking through the swirling snow alone with his dark thoughts, it wasn't too long before he was standing in front of the Co-op's familiar security door. He pounded on the door and then waited to be buzzed inside.

[Slipshade]

05:45:33 Monday 08 January 2063 - 6 Bellevue Way, One Lincoln Tower - 41st Floor - Penthouse

Max awoke to the gentile shaking of Jeeves’s hand on his arm. “You requested that I awaken you just before dawn Master Steiner. Am I free to go?”

Waking up slowly, Max rolls over and looks into the wrinkled face of the hearth spirit standing at his bedside. “Yes of course Jeeves, and thank you,” he says groggily.

The ghostly form of the butler slowly fades from Max’s view as the disembodied voice of Jeeves replies. “Just doing my job sir.”

Max sits up in bed, letting the covers fall off his torso and pool around his waist and stretches. Just the right amount of predawn light spills through the self-polarizing glass of his bedroom wall. Last nights storm had abated leaving the morning not much more than a grey drizzle. Max extracts himself from his bed and moves to a long dresser on the south wall. The dresser is covered with picture frames, their pictures a montage of people and places. One inparticular catches Max’s attention. The frame is nothing special, silver with an engraving at the bottom. “Department of Magic - Class of 2062.” It was probably the best class Max had taught. Quite a number of the students showed real interest and talent. Sandy and Mark, Rita and James, Antoinette and Cassius among others were standing in the quad at the University and in the background of the picture was a young man with short blonde hair and blue eyes. He was dressed in slacks, a black sweater and a sports jacket. He was a good-looking young man that still bore a resemblance to the man now staring at the picture. Max looks into the gold-filigree framed mirror mounted above the dresser. The blue eyes were still the same, but not much else was. The man staring into the mirror had delicate features with the distinct upswept ears and high cheekbones of an elf. His skin was no longer the pale pink of a Caucasian, but a light grey tone, the color of white granite. The short blonde hair faded almost to the point of being white and now grew to the length of his shoulders overnight, no matter how many times he cut it. He was still an attractive man, but it was an exotic beauty, it was as if someone had carved and chiseled his body from the rock that he so resembles, a statue Pygmalion would have been proud of.

‘It still just seems so strange’ he thinks as he runs his clawed hand through his hair, yanking out a knot and tying it back with a rubber band. Taking his eyes off of the reflection in the mirror Max pulls a pair of boxers and black sweatpants from the drawer and puts them on.

Again moving downstairs Max makes his way to his workout room. The room had pretty much gone to waste when he was employed at the university as most of his time was spent in research or teaching his classes. Now that he is unemployed he figures it is a good time to test out all of the equipment he had purchased over a year ago. A rack of free weight and three different benches adorned the East wall. The western and southern walls contained a number of weight machines ment to target specific muscular regions. In the center of the room was a contraption Max dubbed “The Torture Rack.” He was sure it had a real name, like the Cardo-shuttle or the Abo-lizer, but Torture Rack was infinitely more appropriate. Locking himself into the machine Max set its program to level 3 or moderately debilitating as he referred to it.

After an hour of shear torture Max crawls out of the ‘rack and makes his way…slowly…very slowly to the bath, where he strips off his workout wear and steps down into the steaming pool in the center of the bathing room.

“Music…Classical, random”

The soothing sounds of Mozart’s Serenade in Bb Major drift through the room as Max’s lets the warm waters of the bath loosen his muscles.

[Cedric Rolfsson]

18:48:24 Saturday January 6, 2063 - Milton neighborhood of Tacoma

Erebus set his feet firmly on the grime covered sidewalk and paused, still seated in the cab, and scanned up and down the street. Nothing seemed out of place, most of the garbage was still piled where it had been yesterday, the same rusting hulks adorned the street. Twilight left the street in deep shadows and darkness along the edges and dim light in the street, it made him feel extremely vulnerable. Like being outlined going through a doorway into a darkened room, knowing there were bad guys in the room waiting for you.

He pulled himself smoothly out of the cab, one long pull from sitting to standing to moving swiftly across the sidewalk towards the doorway of the Sunset Apartments. He could see about half a dozen people still out and about on the sidewalks, mostly blue collared workers coming home from a hard day at the nearby Tacoma docks. They all moved quickly but not rushed, none of them wanted to be out on the streets in full darkness. Without turning his head Erebus kept his focus soft and used his peripheral vision to track as much of the street as he could. He would miss details but he'd probably catch movements.

He could feel his heart pumping in his chest and the adrenaline sang along his veins, his boosted reflexes a heartbeat away from kicking in. Every shadowed opening along the street could hold a gunman, snipers could cover almost the whole street from almost any window along the street, he could almost feel the dots from laser scopes crawling across his flesh. Anyone of the people on the street could be here for him, the door he was reaching for could conceal a black bag team waiting for him, there could be a dozen yabos waiting for him in his apartment. He had to fight the urge to drag iron just for the comforting feel of his Predator in his fist.

The entry foyer of the Sunset looked exactly like it always did, old and worn on its way to ancient and worthless, but at least there was no one in the lobby area. Erebus didn't even glance at the elevators, half the time they didn't work right and he was not about to let himself get trapped in one like a rat in a cage. Besides, five flights of stairs wasn't much, and he actually could draw his pistol and tuck it under his jacket at the small of his back and not have one of the neighbors light off their PANICBUTTON systems. To most it would look like he was just steadying the carrying case for his cyberdeck slung on its sling across his back.

The hallway on the fifth floor was empty, when Erebus peeked out of the stairwell.

Good he thought, and moved swiftly to his apartment. The door to apartment looked undisturbed, and he quickly keyed in his passcode on the Maglock he'd installed personally, and darted inside Predator at the ready.

He swept through the apartment, sliding through doorways like a cop on some trid show.

Living room, clear. Kitchen, clear. Bedroom, clear. Bathroom, clear.

Erebus walked out of the bathroom, feeling both relieved and let down. He did this routine everytime he changed apartments. It was a routine he hoped to make a habit, but he still felt funny doing it. He felt like a rabbit jumping at every shadow, and he'd never really pictured himself as being a rabbit.

Its not fear he told himself, its caution. You didn't bother with this routine in Vladivostok and you got jumped walking into your bedroom to change clothes.

Erebus still had no idea how the trio of cutter Amanda had hired had found him but they'd had him cold. The only thing that had saved his butt had been the fact that Ajax had been too impatient to wait in the car for him to come out.

He dropped his stuff on the bed, stripped off his jacket and flopped down on the arm chair and set his pistol on the end table, and just sat for a minute to let his heart rate slow.

Frag this. I'm going to get this monkey off my back, I'm not sure how or when, but frag living like this for the rest of my life. I'm not going to rush this but I'm going to get out from under this mark eventually.

The young elf shook himself like a dog coming out of the water and then got out of the chair, taking the pistol with him, and headed for the bedroom. He need to change into some more appropriate clothing then he wanted to hit the streets, he had people to see and money to make.

[Shadowrunner13]

19:21:12 Friday 05 January 2063 - Seattle, UCAS

Tenmou went home, cleaned himself up, shaved, dug up some cologne in preparation for his evening out. He found a dress shirt and tie that still fit him and made reservations at "The Other Place" for dinner. They would have music to dance to, but if Mioko wanted to go to a club instead, he was ready to drive down to "Dante's Inferno".

"The main obstacle, is that I'm not a great dancer..." he mumbled to himself, as he adjusted his tie in the mirror.

Grabbing his keys for his new ride, he headed for the door, in order to pick up Mioko from the Arcology.

[grendel]

19:52:41 Friday 05 January 2063 - Seattle, UCAS

Fighting the crush of traffic into downtown on a Friday night, Tenmou listens with half an ear as the radio babbles on about a snowstorm coming midweek. The BMW handled like a dream, with sharp computer-assisted steering and power to spare. All of the ergonomics were adjustable, and he used the dead time in traffic to customize the mirrors, seat position, and instrument cluster display.

His pleasure with the vehicle, though, could not replace the vague unease which still lingered in the back of his mind. How had Akiko Omura afforded such a car? More importantly, why had she given it to him?

Turning off the Intercity onto Renraku Way, traffic began to slow once more. Even though the official statements of the corporation and the UCAS government indicated the crisis inside the Arcology was over, the roadblocks around the massive building remained in place. "Just in case," was the monotonic response from any question directed at the marines manning the concrete barriers. The guard, faceless behind his helmet's protective shield, waved Tenmou past with a bored gesture. His Colt M-23 carbine was slung muzzle down across the chestplate of his hard armor, and Tenmou couldn't help but glance at the weapon as he drove through. 6.8 x 43mm caseless, twenty round clips, SIR with underbarrel grip, weapon light, laser designator, and EOTech reflex sight. Professional.

The massive walls of the Arcology towered over everything on the street, frost lining the armored glass walls. Tenmou, because of his training and his contacts, knew better than most that the security still remaining around the SCIRE was more than "just in case." Given the vastness of the Arcology, and the elusive nature of their opponent, it would be years before the Red Samurai could say that the building was sanitized. Floor levels almost a square kilometer in size were nearly impossible to seal off, and there was no garauntee that enemies were not slipping past security checkpoints into the lower levels as the Samurai pushed higher in the pyramid.

A taxi pulled away from the curb, opening up a spot for the BMW, and Tenmou shook off the morbid speculations about MOUT in anticipation of seeing Mioko again. At just a couple of minutes past eight, Mioko and her friend strode through the crowd at the Arcology's South Entrance, descending the stairs to street level. Tenmou left the car running, exiting the warm interior to stand silently by the front of the vehicle. He did not wave or gesture, trusting Mioko's superior vision to find him. It was almost a physical thing, when her gaze swept across him, bringing a smile to her face.

She wore an Armante long coat, buttoned up and belted about her waist, but the open lower panels revealed black high-heeled boots, and a daringly short skirt. Tenmou couldn't help but admire the play of muscles along her legs as she walked towards him. Her beauty wasn't delicate and ephemeral like Akiko Omura, but rather a fiery inner passion that suffused a body as graceful as a falcon in flight. Her jet black hair, with its non-regulation crimson high-lights, hung in sheets down her back, combed through by the harsh winter wind. Tenmou wondered, briefly, what it would be like to comb his fingers through her hair.

If Mioko was a regal bird of prey, then the woman walking next to her was surely a tigress on the prowl. She favored an Armante walking coat, the shorter length showing off skin-tight crimson pants. Waves of dark fire, driven by LCD fibers woven into the fabric, crawled up her legs. The blood red color perfectly offset her light mocha complexion, and complimented her mahogany eyes. She smiled, brilliantly, beneath Tenmou's gaze, aware of, and perfectly comfortable with, her effect on men.

"Hi, Shitoki!" Mioko pressed her body against Tenmou, rising up on tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "This is my friend, Tanisa."

Tanisa held out her hand, a secretive smile playing across her lips. Tenmou noted that she effected another of the more recent styles: geometric henna tattoos on her hands.

"Nice to meet you," he managed. Tanisa's smile broadened.

"A pleasure to meet you, Shitoki." She touched the corner of her lips with the tip of her tongue, her eyes sliding sideways to find Mioko.

"Mioko has told me so much about you." She laughed to cover Mioko's sudden hiccup of surprise and indignation, sweeping her arms wide.

"But let's get this night of debauchery started! There are a million single men out there all waiting for me!"

As the two women climb into the car, Tenmou wonders for the second time in as many days just what he's gotten himself into.

[Scrapheap]

09:58:13 Sunday 07 January 2063 – Redmond Free-People's Housing Co-op

Scrapheap took a sip of his rapidly cooling soykaf as Riot knocked on the interior door. Riot was average-sized for a troll, which meant that he could still probably wrap his hand entirely around Scrapheap's head. He hadn't seem surprised when he saw John had returned after leaving less that an hour earlier, but then he rarely showed any emotion other than the scowl he wore now.

The interior door opened to show Judi standing with her hip cocked and her hand on the pistol holstered at her waist. She barked a short laugh as soon as she spotted John. "Don't look so hopeful there, chummer! You ain't even been gone an hour."

Mumbling a "Thanks, chummer" to Riot as the interior door shut, John asked, "You haven't asked anyone?"

"I've asked a couple of guys, but I can't leave my post so I've only been able to talk to people who've stopped by. So far, nobody remembers anything. Most can't even remember the last time they saw Nora."

"Hmm. Well, if it helps it would have been New Year's Eve or right around there, but not any later." A sudden thought struck him and he pulled out Nora's note and handed it to the orc. "Here's the note she left. Look for yourself. I forgot something upstairs, but I'll be right back down." He left Judi reading the note and hurried up to his apartment.

Shutting the door behind him barely muffled the sounds of kids racing up and down the halls. He crossed the small kitchen while draining the last if his soykaf, then tossed the cup into the trash. John then lit a cigarette and quickly looked through the place for a recent picture of his niece. After a few minutes, he decided on one that he'd found in his sister's room. It looked like a school picture, and was a year or so old, but it was well lit and showed her face clearly.

Sticking the picture into his shirt pocket, he looked around again to make sure that he wasn't forgetting anything this time. Then he closed and locked the door before heading downstairs to get the letter back from Judi.

[Ecclesiastes]

14:16:07 Saturday 06 January 2063 - Apartment 875, Parkewood Village Apartments, Tacoma

[grendel]

14:16:09 Saturday 06 January 2063 - Seattle LTG

The silvery humanoid was small by any measure, but size in the matrix was a useless attribute. It sped with insane purpose along the data pathways of the Seattle LTG, dodging long trains of electronic constructs. Pausing before an innocuous host, it waited impatiently as its access codes were authenticated. The Gatekeeper would not be moved, though, holding the sprite until its permissions were authenticated. Grudgingly, the larger icon let the messenger past. Inside, the host was coded in an exotic hypercube reality, floors, ceilings, walls, and stairways colliding in a mind-bending four dimensional construct. The artfulness of the reality was lost on the messenger, so intent was it on carrying out its assigned task. It sped through the motley assortment of icons and personae, seeking its mistress.

Chiren glanced down at the messenger as it bounced impatiently at her feet, a wry smile crossing her lips. Taking a long drag from her virtual cigarette, she keyed in her access code, waiting for the decryption algorithms to run their course. The silvery humanoid melted into a string of characters, presenting Todd's message to her. With a smile, she turned back to the icon seated across from her. Virtual windows hung in the air around her, data scrolling across the displays. They appeared as shimmering discontinuities in the air, distorting but not blocking anyone's view to her. The information was coded specifically to her view, though, anyone attempting to view it over her shoulders would see only jibberish. Phase cocked her head to the side, the question unasked. Her avatar mirrored her physical gesture perfectly, although its mane of lustrous black hair was in sharp contrast to the short, utility cut the operator favored. Chiren shook her head once.

"Nothing concerning you. Now, is there anything else you need?"

"No, just get back to me as soon as you can." Phase dipped her head once, then dissolved into black mist that slowly faded from view. Chiren worked for a couple more minutes, ensuring that the info searches she had running currently were on track before crafting a reply.

[Ecclesiastes]

14:16:11 Saturday 06 January 2063 - Apartment 875, Parkewood Village Apartments, Tacoma

Todd grins as the New Message icon pops up in the corner of his vision. Without any thought, the message is decoded and scrolling through his vision. The next instant a reply is capsulated and sent back to Chiren.

[grendel]

14:17:20 Saturday 06 January 2063 - Seattle LTG

Chiren ignores the bouncing messenger for a full minute while she completes another digital transaction. Finally, she taps the figure on the head, scanning Todd's reply as it materializes, then evaporates. Referencing her request log, she consults the appropriate job number before drafting a response.

[Ecclesiastes]

The toilet flushed as Todd left the bathroom with a gleam in his eye. Its nice being back out in the real world, doing real things. The thoughts of the past send a shiver down his spine, but he does what he can to let it go.

Jumping back into the cushy LayZMan, he grabs his dataline and jumps back into his home away from home. The Matrix forms around him and Todd quickly glances around. Lately he can't shake the feeling someone is watching him... No there isn't. That stuff is all over now and behind me. He's dead...

Trying to relax, Todd plants a foot on his skateboard and kicks off through this digital reality. Leaving Seattle behind him, Todd rides the datawaves through RTGs towards his destination, Denver. The Nexus stretched out before him, an old underground cityscape. The system was as old as the Matrix itself and was home to the largest database in the world.

User: SK8TR
Pass: ********************

The unbelievably large bouncer who guarded the front door gave Todd a nod as he slowly skated into the underground mall of information. His eyes lingered as the most beautiful woman he'd seen strolled past him, but it was quickly shaken off. Probably some perv guy behind that body anyway. He finally find an empty terminal that he can make some use of.

[grendel]

23:00:04 Saturday 06 January 2063 - Apartment 875, Parkewood Village Apartments, Tacoma

The digital bells of the Cathedral of St. Jude are tolling the eleven o'clock hour when Todd finishes compiling his information. Surprisingly, it wasn't hard to get a line on Dr. Casimir. The man had lived a life in the public domain, making no effort to conceal anything. With a critical eye, Todd glanced over all of the information he'd collected.

[WinterRat1]

1455 Saturday January 6th, 2063 - Puyallup Street Clinic

Dragon shrugs and nods. "You're the decking expert, if it's ok with you, I don't see why it would be a problem. I just came out to talk to Galina about the medical developments, once the topic got onto decking, as far as I was concerned, I'm just along for the ride."

[Shadowrunner13]

19:53:27 Friday 05 January 2063 - Seattle, UCAS

Tenmou slowly pulled away from the curb and struggled to focus on traffic with Mioko sitting beside him. It was almost difficult to keep his eyes off of her, but he did his best to reign himself in.

"I've made dinner reservations at 'The Other Place' for a nice sit down dinner and then we're off to the Inferno afterwards. Any objections?" he asked his two companions.

Looking in the mirror of his new car and seeing Tanisa in the back, with her predatory smile and Mioko beside him, he wondered whether he might draw too much attention to himself, accompanying two bombshells into a place like the Inferno. He quickly pushed the thought from his mind, reminding himself that he was out to enjoy himself tonight.

[Sedna]

1456 Saturday January 6th, 2063 - Puyallup Street Clinic

After the barest of hesitations Sybersnake nods firmly. "How do I ping him?"

"Ye don't. 'ang on sec --" the troll's pulling out a phone, texting something over it "-- he's been monitoring. All right -- now he's a-waitin' ye, and he'll get hitcher trodes ready. All four o' ye?"

"I'm not hitching," says Sybersnake quickly.

"Never said ye were," returns Galina evenly. "Ye'll see when ye've uploaded. He's in back. Get Virgil, show ye where, once he's be-Grounded."

[Bastard]

----deleted, sorry wrong thread-----

[grendel]

19:54:02 Friday 05 January 2063 - Seattle, UCAS

Mioko slides her hand onto Tenmou's thigh, giving it a little squeeze.

"That sounds great, Shitoki."

Tanisa agrees as well, checking her makeup with a small compact from her purse. Snapping the case closed, she meets Tenmou's gaze in the rear view mirror.

"So, Shitoki, nice tattoos by the way, how long have you been in Seattle?"

[Ecclesiastes]

23:03:36 Saturday 06 January 2063 - The Nexus

Todd looks over all the data he has compiled so far, feeling some satisfaction at a job well done. Scanning over the list of publications, he is a little impressed. Gods of the Children? I'll have to follow up on that sometime. Todd takes the data and folds it nice and neat, encrypting it for Charen's eyes only. He walks over to a nearby delivery shoot and inserts the envelope into the vacuum tube, sending it on its way.

Closing his eyes, Todd feels the Matrix spin around him as he gracfully logs off.

[grendel]

23:03:36 Saturday 06 January 2063 - Apartment 875, Parkewood Village Apartments, Tacoma

Todd's pleasure at a job well done is shattered by the sound of gunfire, shockingly loud. Three stray rounds punch through his door and embed themselves in the far wall. Three rapid loud blasts are followed by a storm of automatic fire. In six seconds, it's all over. The silence following is unearthly, and broken only by a loud crash in the hall and a thump on Todd's door.

[Shadowrunner13]

19:54:02 Friday 05 January 2063 - Seattle, UCAS

Shitoki gives Mioko a smile before looking up at the mirror to meet Tanisa's eyes.

"Thank you," he says, self-consciously touching the kanji on his cheekbone.

"I've been living here for..." Shitoki paused to think before finishing, "just over three years now. Took a little getting used to, but I'm getting there."

Shitoki smiled. "So, what do you do for a living Tanisa? I have to assume your work within the Arc, or at least within Renraku, being friends with Mioko..."

[Ecclesiastes]

23:03:45 Saturday 06 January 2063 - Apartment 875, Parkewood Village Apartments, Tacoma

Nearly wetting himself in fear, Todd scrambles to hit his PANIC Button. He then turns and scrambles to crawl under his bed and watch the door. With a thought, his cyber-installed PSec puts out a call to barry Weisenberg.