Living in the Shadows: IC, Jan 8th-14th Options

[bclements]

13:07:30 Tuesday 09 January 2063 - Sacred Heart Cemetery, Redmond, Seattle, UCAS

Stopping the car, putting it in Park, and hiding the Browning in his coat pocket, Tony steps out of the car, remaining behind the door. "We'd like to go in. What's the problem?" he says, in a friendly manner.

[grendel]

13:07:52 Tuesday 09 January 2063 - Sacred Heart Cemetery, Redmond, Seattle, UCAS

The figure pushes back its hood, revealing a seamed and weatherbeaten face, androgynous in its old age. Its voice is cracked and tired, but carries in the thin, chill air.

"I keep the watch here at the gateway between worlds. There is a toll to be paid for passage. Give me something you value."

[grendel]

20:02:09 Monday 08 January 2063 - Bluefish, Tacoma, Seattle, UCAS

Reign laughs.

"Being alone has little to do with being confident. The reverse, however, is not always true. And as for myself, well, my story is just a sad little tale. Hardly worth the effort. Besides, you should beware women who tell stories. They're out to seduce you."

She finishes the last of her drink, setting the glass back on the bar.

"But if you find yourself in need of a good story, you know where to find me."

Leaning in close, she kisses Eyes on the cheek, sliding a slip of paper into his hand. With a smile and a swirl of hair, she's gone.

[The_Eyes]

20:03:12 Monday 08 January 2063 - Bluefish, Tacoma, Seattle, UCAS

Eyes blinked in surprise at Reign's abrupt departure. He hadn't figured it was that easy to tell he was distracted, but apparently it was rather obvious. More confused than ever, he took a look at the scrap of paper in his hand. Everett, huh? he thought, and she drove all the way down here to buy a random stranger a drink and leave him a note? Strange woman. Eyes slipped the address into his pocket, thinking with a chuckle, Bet she's got a heck of a story to tell. He blinked again, surprised by that thought, and wondered where it came from.

Picking up his half-finished drink, Eyes wandered over to the railing, trying to find a slightly more isolated section so he could see better. As he watched the crowd below, he couldn't help but feel that some of the energy had gone out of the room, that something was missing. Eyes shook his head. Could a woman he had just met, a stranger, be affecting him that much? Is this really love at first sight, or am I just fooling myself? Eyes pondered, as he finished the rest of his drink and made to head back to the ground floor.

[WinterRat1]

09:16:35 Monday 08 January 2063 – Redmond - Touristville - The Respite Soup Kitchen - Roof - Astral Plane

As his consciousness soars through the roof, Max quickly glances around the colors and swirl of emotions present. He senses anger, confusion, pain, malicious intent, and more more that he'd expect. Luckily though, it appears that the roof of the place is clear of any presences, mundane or astral. At least, for the moment.

Then Trancer's head pokes up through the from the covered ladder, and he begins to climb up onto the roof.

[bclements]

13:08:00 Tuesday 09 January 2063 - Sacred Heart Cemetery, Redmond, Seattle, UCAS

Tony shakes his head. "This is no gateway between worlds, old one," Tony said. "However, if you requre payment, I will requre protection in addition to passage."

[The_Eyes]

00:45:25 Tuesday 09 January 2063 - Unit 303, Winlock Apartment Complex, Tacoma, Seattle, UCAS

Eyes yawned as he opened the door to his apartment. His evening had been busy yet fairly uneventful after that conversation with Reign. He had finished his drink and gone back downstairs, and generally just stood there like a wall-flower for awhile before getting dragged onto the dance floor for a nerve-wracking hour with Ran and the rest of her group. Only she had paid much attention to him most of the time there; the rest of the tribe only seemed amused that he looked like a deer caught in headlights most of the time he was on the dance floor. After the concert Ran wrangled him into buying her a soy milkshake at a diner that happenned to be open late, then dropped her off at home after midnight, with her pretending to be drunk and both of them laughing at dumb jokes that always seem less stupid at midnight.

As he closed the door, the screen of his telcom flared to life. "You're back late Eyes," Jane purred, "I was about to go to bed for the night."

Eyes yawned again. "You don't sleep, Jane," he muttered sleepily. "Did you finish those searches I asked for?"

Jane nodded. "Results are waiting for you. And after what happenned to me this evening, I almost feel like I could use some sleep." She related to Eyes a short account of running into Revenant and nearly running into a Matrix brawl.

Eyes blinked in surprise, some of the tiredness forgotten. "Oh? Are you okay? I'll run some diagnostics. You weren't followed were you?"

Jane chuckled. "Always so eager to stick your little probes in me, aren't you? I wonder if I should be offended. No I wasn't followed, but I do have this 'cigarette' here that may or may not have something in it that's useful."

Eyes nodded. "All right, I'll take a quick look. I shouldn't be going to bed so soon after eating anyway." Booting up his deck, he hooked up a few wires and slipped into the Matrix. Feeling the surging, dangerously stimulating rush of hot ASIST flush the fatigue from his mind (albeit temporarily), James takes a quick dive into his home computer and begins delving into the files.

After a few minutes of reading, Eyes determines that nothing in the files--including the one slipped to Jane by Revenant--is particularly time-sensetive. Reason for adrenaline gone, Eyes yawns once more, a telling sign of fatigue given the hyper-real overstimulation of hot ASIST. He then jacks out, unplugs the deck to keep it offline, and stumbles off to bed, checking the locks one more time before turning in.

[Ecclesiastes]

13:08:05 Tuesday 09 January 2063 - Sacred Heart Cemetery, Redmond, Seattle, UCAS

Todd watches from the passenger seat. When hearing about a possible toll, he mentally runs through the list of gear he has with him. Man... I need everything I have with me. What the heck is this about anyways? Gateway between worlds? Matrix and Meat maybe?

[grendel]

13:10:14 Tuesday 09 January 2063 - Sacred Heart Cemetery, Redmond, Seattle, UCAS

Cackling laughter from the figure dissolves into a hacking cough that shakes its shoulders for a minute before subsiding. Again, the raspy voice calls out from its perch.

"Just because you cannot see it does not make it any less of a doorway. I cannot offer you protection inside, I am forbidden from leaving my post here. But the toll you pay to pass will keep you safe from the casual predators. Just something of value for the Riverman."

[Ecclesiastes]

13:08:15 Tuesday 09 January 2063 - Sacred Heart Cemetery, Redmond, Seattle, UCAS

Something of value to me? Besides my gear all I have is.. Todd reaches down to the floor and pulls his skateboard up and extends it to Tony.

"Give him this," his voice sounds like parting with the item is excruiating, but he is determanded to find The Key.

[Slipshade]

09:16:38 Monday 08 January 2063 – Redmond - Touristville - The Respite Soup Kitchen – Kitchen.

The roof was clear, though the emotions slammed into Max with the force of a sledgehammer, stunning him momentarily. They were safe for now. In the blink of an eye Max’s soul snapped back into his body and the crumpled form in the corner of the kitchen stirred back to life.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Someone was trying to break down the kitchen doors as Max’s eyes fluttered back open.

‘Move!’ He willed his body to stand even though he was still disoriented. Max clutched the serving cart to stabilize himself.

BOOM!

'Drek!'

Max bolted for the ladder, trying to make it to the roof before the assailants came crashing into the kitchen.

[WinterRat1]

09:16:41 Monday 08 January 2063 – Redmond - Touristville - The Respite Soup Kitchen – Kitchen.

In a perfect world, Max would’ve made it up to the roof just as the first goon burst through the door and unleashed a storm of bullets at where he was just scant milliseconds ago.

The positive way to look at things actually turned out was that it was an almost perfect world. The negative way to look at the situation was that what ‘almost perfect’ translated into was the first goon bursting into the room and unleashing a storm of bullets at where he currently was. Moreover, his current location happened to be still climbing the ladder in the kitchen and not on the roof just yet.

Oh drek! was the only thing Max had time to think as he heard the doors burst open and the rapid staccato of the first flight of bullets being fired at him…

[Slipshade]

09:16:44 Monday 08 January 2063 – Redmond - Touristville - The Respite Soup Kitchen – Kitchen.

Max was thrown bodily against the rungs of the ladder, as the bullets slammed into his body. The pain was excruciating, but he had to climb. The roof was his only escape. Before he could reach for the next rung something slammed into the back of his head, sending it crashing into the metal frame of the ladder. The world begain to spin and grow dark.


MAX!!!!!!

He heard a voice cry from the growing darkness...

[bclements]

13:08:15 Tuesday 09 January 2063 - Sacred Heart Cemetery, Redmond, Seattle, UCAS

Tony looks surprised at Todd's gesture. Taking the skateboard and rolling it on the cracked pavement toward the old figure in front of him, Tony says "Take that quickly padre and don't bother us again, before I decide it's worth more than your life"

[grendel]

13:08:53 Tuesday 09 January 2063 - Sacred Heart Cemetery, Redmond, Seattle, UCAS

"Pass through, my son, and may the Gods favor your quest. Remember, though, not all value is measured in material goods." The old figure lifts the skateboard into its hands, turning it over once before tucking it beneath its robe. Rising, it bows to Tony and Todd before shuffling off down the street. A hammer of wind and snow blasts the vehicle.

[The_Eyes]

09:01:23 Tuesday 09 January 2063 - Unit 303, Winlock Apartment Complex, Tacoma, Seattle, UCAS

Reign sat across the table, sipping her soy milkshake. "So, you do want to hear my story?" she asked airily, a coy smile on her face. "Well then, once upon a time a beautiful woman chanced upon a very confused and indecisive man. She tried to steal his heart, but wound up with only a piece. She took that piece, though, not knowing how the others that shared that heart would mind."

Ran leaned toward him from her seat next to him at the bar. Her smile was far more predatory, but just as suggestive. "The man worried about one most of all. She seemed to like having him all to herself most times, a girl who shared her whole life, and never had anything in this world truly to herself before. But if share she must, share she would."

Another pair of arms coiled over his shoulders, and snaked down his chest. Words to match the smooth flow of the arms hissed softly in his ear. "And share she must," Jane's voice whispered, "because another had already claimed what she tried to take, one who had known him longer than either of them had had bodies, before either had been more than thoughts bubbling to the surface of human thought. But that one is wise, and knows the value of sharing."

Eyes cast about in confusion. "Wh... what's going on here? Why..."

Reign put a finger on his lips. "Shh," she purred, "You're thinking too much again. Just... let... go...." She removed the finger from his lips, and replaced it with her own. Her kiss was soft and inviting, and tasted like... carpet?

Eyes blinked. Sometime during the night he must have rolled out of bed; now he was lying face-down on the floor. Muttering to himself, trying to distance his mind from the vivid dream still floating just under the surface of consciousness, he pushed himself off the floor, glanced at the clock, went through all the normal morning rituals. Coffee, make bed, get dressed, breakfast he checked off in his head, then you should get started on the job.

He looked down. But first a shower. A nice, long, cold, cold shower.


09:33:17 Tuesday 09 January 2063

Eyes, still trying to shake the stupid, nonsensical dream out of his head, finishes plugging in his deck and slips once more into the better-than-real world of the Matrix. As he flexed his digital arms, Eyes could feel the code flowing, rushing through him, making his very nerves tingle with life and awareness. He took a breath of virtual air, letting the cleansing feeling of dozens of subprocesses all demanding his input and attention. The constant deluge of information was calming in a way that nothing else could be; the multiple draws for his complete attention overrode his instinct to immediately rush down a single avenue at the exclusion of all else, a problem which plagued him in meatspace.

"Are you all ready yet? Can we get going now?"

It was Jane. Somehow Eyes wasn't as nervous as he thought he would be. "Yup, let's get going." And together they plunged into the virtual reality of the Seattle.

[Ecclesiastes]

13:09:11 Tuesday 09 January 2063 - Sacred Heart Cemetery, Redmond, Seattle, UCAS

"Ok. That was creepy."

[WinterRat1]

??:??:?? ? ?? January 2063 – ? - ? - ? – A Cold Floor Somewhere

Slowly, consciousness returned to the shaman. He was somewhere…he was alive . That’s gotta count for something in the grand scheme of things Max thought ruefully to himself. He shook his head to clear it and the sudden rush of nausea that came sweeping over him convinced him that maybe that was a bad idea. He settled for glancing around at his surroundings instead, trying to figure out which cold floor he was lying on in the world.

Gradually, to his surprise, he came to realize that not only was he alive and relatively unharmed, (if you could discount the absolutely pounding headache that was reaming his skull) but he was right where he left off. Namely, the floor of the Redmond Soup Kitchen, lying at the base of the ladder he must’ve fallen off of when he got shot. A bump at the back of his head was a testament to his head being introduced to the floor, and as he rolled over slightly to look at his watch, he saw that barely an hour had gone by. What the hell? Who were those guys? And if they weren’t after me, then what were they doing here…? He didn’t know just yet, but Max had a sudden, sinking feeling that he wasn’t going to like the answer.

[bclements]

13:09:17 Tuesday 09 January 2063 - Sacred Heart Cemetery, Redmond, Seattle, UCAS

"Yep, that about tops the list of strange that I've seen" Tony says, shaking his head slightly to clear his mind. Stepping into the car and turning up the heat, Tony puts the car into gear and pulls into the cemetary. "Lets get this done before too much else strange happens."

[Slipshade]

10:20:03 Monday 08 January 2063 – Redmond - Touristville - The Respite Soup Kitchen – Roof

Max picks his crumpled form off the floor and slowly...very slowly climbs the ladder to the roof. He has to see if Keira, Trancer and Melina were ok. Maybe they were still on the roof hiding…too afraid to come back down. Max knew it was unlikely, but he had to know for sure. The climb seems to last an eternity, but he finally lifts the latch to the roof and pulls himself up. His eyes scanned both the mundane world and the astral for any sign of his friends.

[grendel]

13:11:27 Tuesday 09 January 2063 - Sacred Heart Cemetery, Redmond, Seattle, UCAS

Inside, the cemetery has clearly seen better days. The vast lawns are unkempt and uncut, with many of the granite headstones completely overgrown by weeds and briars. Others are toppled over, victims of weather, geologic forces, or simple vandalism. Dark figures shy away into the shadows as the Americar navigates its way down the narrow broken pavement, finally halting before the location specified on Todd's map.

Centered in the raised circle is a crypt of white marble, a meter square on the ends and stretching three meters long. A statue of a woman in a flowing dress kneels at the middle of the crypt, one hand pressed against the side, the other held against her face as she weeps. Over her, stone faces carved with majestic sorrow, are two angels. One stands at the far end of the crypt, a longsword held point down in its hands. The other stands next to the woman, wings slowly spreading, as if to comfort her. A small, faded UCAS flag mounted on a plastic stick flutters in the icy wind. Todd can just make out an inscription carved on the nearest end of the crypt.

Of fallen soldiers let us sing,
Where no rockets fly, nor bullets wing,
Our broken brothers let us bring,
To the Mansions of the Lord.

No more bleeding, no more fight,
No prayers pleading through the night,
Just divine embrace, eternal light,
In the Mansions of the Lord.

Where no mothers cry and no children weep,
We will stand and guard though the angels sleep,
While through the ages safely keep,
The Mansions of the Lord.

[Ecclesiastes]

13:11:27 Tuesday 09 January 2063 - Sacred Heart Cemetery, Redmond, Seattle, UCAS

Todd's mouth moves slightly as he reads the poem over a few times. Being a code breaker at heart, he runs the poem through his Math SPU and cross checks it with the same algorithm that got him here, wondering if there is a code inside the poem.

[bclements]

13:11:27 Tuesday 09 January 2063 - Sacred Heart Cemetery, Redmond, Seattle, UCAS

Fallen warriors, let us sing indeed. They didn't necessarly fight for what I believe in, but they did fall for what they believed in, and that's all that really matters. Tony thought to himself as he kept watch around the young decker, his carbine slung over his sholders and sword in his belt. God knows what was moving around when we came in, but I don't want it to get too close

[Ecclesiastes]

13:11:27 Tuesday 09 January 2063 - Sacred Heart Cemetery, Redmond, Seattle, UCAS

Todd shrugs, "I can't make anything out of the poem. The map zeros in on the crypt. I have a feeling we're gunna have to check it out..."

[WinterRat1]

10:21:03 Monday 08 January 2063 – Redmond - Touristville - The Respite Soup Kitchen – Roof

Arriving at the roof, to his relief he saw Trancer and his mother lying unconscious. Apparently the thugs had shot them with the same sort of stun bullets they'd taken him out with. But why go through all this and leave everyone alive? he wondered. Then he glanced around and his heart sank. Keira was nowhere to be found, and the implications of that were disturbing indeed...