Name: Sahara - Archtype: Detective
1700-ish Capitol Hill, Cafe Noir
PAN: Ignore Model: NT Airwave OS: NT Navi ACC: Oakley Yellow Shooting Glasses, Sub-Vocal Mic
His eyes were a little creepy, but he seemed nice enough. And damn if I wasn't hungry.
"You think we could just go across the street, there is this great Pizza joint about a block down, Pagliacci's, my treat.."
It was nice to speak aloud, I frickin hate those damn comlinks. Feels like someone is invading my thoguhts.
Full Version: Kingmaker
17:06:30 Capitol Hill
PAN: Passive Model/OS: Custom ACC: Imagelink, Soundlink
Damn, she really is hungry. Must have been kicked loose without a dime. Well, there's nothing I can do to help her now that she can't do for herself - we both just pulled the same paycheck. Just play it chill. This is your chance to win her trust. Make her comfortable, and it'll be easier to stick close, watch her back.
"Yeah, I could go for a pie," Asp answered. He tossed his head in the direction of Cafe Noir as they crossed the street - "Got some real Type-A personalities in there. They got big plans for the safehouse, I say we take our time and leave 'em to it. After we've run a few errands they should have all their tech crap sussed out - then we can settle in and I can start working the local gang - that's where the REAL security is." He opened the door to Pagliacci's for her and they went inside.
As they did so, he signed off the team network, sending a brief message letting everyone know they could get his commcode from the hacker and contact him directly if they needed anything.
PAN: Passive Model/OS: Custom ACC: Imagelink, Soundlink
Damn, she really is hungry. Must have been kicked loose without a dime. Well, there's nothing I can do to help her now that she can't do for herself - we both just pulled the same paycheck. Just play it chill. This is your chance to win her trust. Make her comfortable, and it'll be easier to stick close, watch her back.
"Yeah, I could go for a pie," Asp answered. He tossed his head in the direction of Cafe Noir as they crossed the street - "Got some real Type-A personalities in there. They got big plans for the safehouse, I say we take our time and leave 'em to it. After we've run a few errands they should have all their tech crap sussed out - then we can settle in and I can start working the local gang - that's where the REAL security is." He opened the door to Pagliacci's for her and they went inside.
As they did so, he signed off the team network, sending a brief message letting everyone know they could get his commcode from the hacker and contact him directly if they needed anything.
Name: Comedian - Archtype: Hacker
17.06.36 Capitol Hill, Cafe Noir, external
PAN: Passive
Model:***new model number 15
***error***alright, Fairlight Caliban, then 
A signal is sent over the ether to a Sprite in a bike.
<<Meet's over, get over here, I'll be outside in 1 minute>>
Over the Commnet
<Here are our various commcodes, handles, and specialties, click [here] to save them. I'm headed towards the house, but if anybody wants to build their newfound cash into a new commlink, I can put them together at significant discounts compared to shop costs, message me for details.>
Comedian stops for a shot of espresso to give the others time to leave, then steps out himself.
As Comedian steps out of the Cafe Noir a sleek racing bike pulls up in front of it. He mounts up and the bike pulls out.
17.06.36 Capitol Hill, Cafe Noir, external
PAN: Passive
Model:***new model number 15
***error***alright, Fairlight Caliban, then A signal is sent over the ether to a Sprite in a bike.
<<Meet's over, get over here, I'll be outside in 1 minute>>
Over the Commnet
<Here are our various commcodes, handles, and specialties, click [here] to save them. I'm headed towards the house, but if anybody wants to build their newfound cash into a new commlink, I can put them together at significant discounts compared to shop costs, message me for details.>
Comedian stops for a shot of espresso to give the others time to leave, then steps out himself.
As Comedian steps out of the Cafe Noir a sleek racing bike pulls up in front of it. He mounts up and the bike pulls out.
17:06:46 Capitol Hill - Cafe Noir
PAN: Passive mode: Sony Emperor/Renraku Ichi
ACC: Ares TrueSight Electric Shades, AR gloves
Chopper watched everyone else file out but didn't rise or move as they left. He looked over at the Johnson and his bodyguard.
"I'm not into that whole datatrail thing, I'm no tech-wiz. I don't suppose you got 7K in good old fashion certified credsticks do ya?"
PAN: Passive mode: Sony Emperor/Renraku Ichi
ACC: Ares TrueSight Electric Shades, AR gloves
Chopper watched everyone else file out but didn't rise or move as they left. He looked over at the Johnson and his bodyguard.
"I'm not into that whole datatrail thing, I'm no tech-wiz. I don't suppose you got 7K in good old fashion certified credsticks do ya?"
The dwarf offers a toothy grin with the cigar wedged into the side."Heh...like your Yen hardcopy do ya?" He flashes his hand at the Ork then returns his attention to you."You want it all on one or spaced out among a few certified credsticks?"
18:15:00 Pagliacci's Capitol Hill
PAN: Passive Model/OS: Custom ACC: Soundlink, Imagelink
Dinner was quiet. Sahara, though not impolite, seemed more interested in eating than chatting. For his part, Asp couldn't think of much to say that fit into the 'just-met-five-minutes-ago' category, not to mention that he figured shadowrunners were supposed to avoid probing questions anyway. So they ate, she paid, and they went to his car. Downtown no one thought twice of the dangerous-looking ork walking side by side with a beautiful human woman, but he knew it wouldn't go so smoothly in some other parts of town. Whatever.
They were still at the tail end of rush hour, so it took a little longer than usual, about an hour, to get to his doss near the north end of Tacoma. Fearing an awkward silence, Asp turned on the radio - not loud enough to be rude, but enough that it was clear he wanted to listen to it. All he had on chip was Billie Holiday's "Lady in Satin," which didn't seem very appropriate for his role, although he very much wanted to listen to it right now, so on went the talk channel.
19:32:00 Green Court Apartments Tacoma
When they pulled up at his place, he said, "Just be a tick." He ran up to his unit. And froze - it was his first moment out of her sight since the meet had started. In the last two hours he'd had more interaction with her than in the more than three years since he first saw her.
But instead of making him happy, he was suddenly filled with doubt. Was he being some star-struck kid, in love with an image without content? Or was the content some fantasy of his own creation, feeding some unhealthy fixation? He stopped himself before such craziness could go any further. This wasn't some romantic comedy. It wasn't some advice column for lonely women. People today scoffed at integrity, at purity of desire, at panache, at ennobling self-sacrifice rising like a phoenix from the ashes of disappointment. The great classics of literature, those were the universals, the feelings that had lit men's breasts throughout the millenia. Today's nonsensical thinking was no more than a crass attempt by a lazy society to cast dirt on the aspirations of the spirit, and he would have none of it. No afternoon talk show shrink was going to tell him who not to love, or how to live his life.
He stuffed basic toiletries and several changes of clothes into his rucksack. Went back down, and there she was, leaning against the car with the wind from Puget Sound blowing her hair, her features highlighted by the fading sun. Of course she was beautiful, but there, in the way she stood, in the tilt of her chin, free after six months of injustice, he could see the embodiment of all that he knew was true about her - her fire, her indomitable personality, her integrity.
He threw his bag in the back seat and got behind the wheel.
"Okay, I'm ready. Where can I take you?"
PAN: Passive Model/OS: Custom ACC: Soundlink, Imagelink
Dinner was quiet. Sahara, though not impolite, seemed more interested in eating than chatting. For his part, Asp couldn't think of much to say that fit into the 'just-met-five-minutes-ago' category, not to mention that he figured shadowrunners were supposed to avoid probing questions anyway. So they ate, she paid, and they went to his car. Downtown no one thought twice of the dangerous-looking ork walking side by side with a beautiful human woman, but he knew it wouldn't go so smoothly in some other parts of town. Whatever.
They were still at the tail end of rush hour, so it took a little longer than usual, about an hour, to get to his doss near the north end of Tacoma. Fearing an awkward silence, Asp turned on the radio - not loud enough to be rude, but enough that it was clear he wanted to listen to it. All he had on chip was Billie Holiday's "Lady in Satin," which didn't seem very appropriate for his role, although he very much wanted to listen to it right now, so on went the talk channel.
19:32:00 Green Court Apartments Tacoma
When they pulled up at his place, he said, "Just be a tick." He ran up to his unit. And froze - it was his first moment out of her sight since the meet had started. In the last two hours he'd had more interaction with her than in the more than three years since he first saw her.
But instead of making him happy, he was suddenly filled with doubt. Was he being some star-struck kid, in love with an image without content? Or was the content some fantasy of his own creation, feeding some unhealthy fixation? He stopped himself before such craziness could go any further. This wasn't some romantic comedy. It wasn't some advice column for lonely women. People today scoffed at integrity, at purity of desire, at panache, at ennobling self-sacrifice rising like a phoenix from the ashes of disappointment. The great classics of literature, those were the universals, the feelings that had lit men's breasts throughout the millenia. Today's nonsensical thinking was no more than a crass attempt by a lazy society to cast dirt on the aspirations of the spirit, and he would have none of it. No afternoon talk show shrink was going to tell him who not to love, or how to live his life.
He stuffed basic toiletries and several changes of clothes into his rucksack. Went back down, and there she was, leaning against the car with the wind from Puget Sound blowing her hair, her features highlighted by the fading sun. Of course she was beautiful, but there, in the way she stood, in the tilt of her chin, free after six months of injustice, he could see the embodiment of all that he knew was true about her - her fire, her indomitable personality, her integrity.
He threw his bag in the back seat and got behind the wheel.
"Okay, I'm ready. Where can I take you?"
17:06:55 Capitol Hill - Cafe Noir
PAN: Passive mode: Sony Emperor/Renraku Ichi
ACC: Ares TrueSight Electric Shades, AR gloves
"A couple would be fine." Chopper stands to receive his front money and drops the credsticks the dwarf holds out into his pocket without bothering to check them. To the fat dwarf's raised eyebrow he replied.
"There's no way you're going to short me on the front money and then send me to a doss you've arranged that's full of gear you purchased and then trust me not to trash the place and make off with everything that's not nailed down."
With a tip of his imaginary hat to his employer Chopper heads back out into the cafe along with Cadence the rigger who was waiting politely to tote the young Ork's gear.
PAN: Passive mode: Sony Emperor/Renraku Ichi
ACC: Ares TrueSight Electric Shades, AR gloves
"A couple would be fine." Chopper stands to receive his front money and drops the credsticks the dwarf holds out into his pocket without bothering to check them. To the fat dwarf's raised eyebrow he replied.
"There's no way you're going to short me on the front money and then send me to a doss you've arranged that's full of gear you purchased and then trust me not to trash the place and make off with everything that's not nailed down."
With a tip of his imaginary hat to his employer Chopper heads back out into the cafe along with Cadence the rigger who was waiting politely to tote the young Ork's gear.
17:07:25 Capitol Hill - Cafe Noir
PAN: Hidden mode: Sony Emperor/Renraku Ichi
ACC: Ares TrueSight Electric Shades, AR gloves
"Oh frag." Chopper just realized that with all the networking activity they'd been doing in the club the local nodes had to have taken all sorts of datatrails off of his commlink. He had it set to broadcast a fake ID but he didn't want to dump the ID already, the dam things were too expensive. He flipped it from passive to hidden and then he turned to the driver, Cadence to see if he could do something about that.
"Hey chummer," he asked politely, "is there a way you can spoof our datatrails? I don't know nada about Mr. Johnson and I'd be a dam shame to have Lone Star trail Mr. Johnson back here and pick up our datatrails. I understand that a charge of conspiracy to commit various and sundry felonious acts can carry with it a stiff sentence."
The big Ork shrugged broad shoulders and flexed his thick fingers in to massive fist, which left the scar tissue covering both sets of knuckles standing out against his darker skin. Hands obviously meant for rougher things than manipulating computer keys.
"I'd do it myself, but I ain't got the skills. If you can't do it think we should email Comedian and see what he could do? I don't want to waste a bunch of time but I also don't want the Star to be able to connect us to Mr. Johnson either."
PAN: Hidden mode: Sony Emperor/Renraku Ichi
ACC: Ares TrueSight Electric Shades, AR gloves
"Oh frag." Chopper just realized that with all the networking activity they'd been doing in the club the local nodes had to have taken all sorts of datatrails off of his commlink. He had it set to broadcast a fake ID but he didn't want to dump the ID already, the dam things were too expensive. He flipped it from passive to hidden and then he turned to the driver, Cadence to see if he could do something about that.
"Hey chummer," he asked politely, "is there a way you can spoof our datatrails? I don't know nada about Mr. Johnson and I'd be a dam shame to have Lone Star trail Mr. Johnson back here and pick up our datatrails. I understand that a charge of conspiracy to commit various and sundry felonious acts can carry with it a stiff sentence."
The big Ork shrugged broad shoulders and flexed his thick fingers in to massive fist, which left the scar tissue covering both sets of knuckles standing out against his darker skin. Hands obviously meant for rougher things than manipulating computer keys.
"I'd do it myself, but I ain't got the skills. If you can't do it think we should email Comedian and see what he could do? I don't want to waste a bunch of time but I also don't want the Star to be able to connect us to Mr. Johnson either."
Name: Comedian - Archtype: Hacker
unknown location, external
PAN: Passive
Model:***you mama***error***alright, Fairlight Ex-scally-butt, then***
As Comedian Mounted his bike he communed on the machine plane...
<<Your last service to me, o machine sprite, is to take me to within 1 minutes walk of this safehouse, follow the traffic laws but take a route that will shake any tails on us, and then park up safely.>>
As the bike pulls off Comedian enters a trance,
<<Ok, Dave, time to earn our keep, I guess>>
<<How so?>>
<<We need to know all we can about the J, and the Safehouse, and I want to put some money into a signal upgrade too, so comm Bill while your out.>>
<<Anything else, oh grand high poobah?>>
<<No need to be sarcastic, but you can also tell my sis that I won't be back for a while, please pack up my electronics shop, I may be asking for it later.>>
<<On it, you chillax, on this front, I'm da man>>
As the Bike moved carefully through Seattle's dirty streets, Dave began channel hopping, jumping from node to node as the bike moved through them, and sending out feelers sniffing for information on the Johnson. A few minutes later he had as much data as he could archive without trying his hand at cracking so he moved onto the house as the bike began it's approach. As the Matrix whispered its secrets to them he smiled and petted it for each titbit of information. Again he walked up to the wall, but did not penetrate it. He would ask James what to do with the basic info first.
Stopping at home was a fun diversion, reception was always patchy, but James was sure to keep a constant signal to his home, so he could contact his sister if needed. Checking her schedule he noticed that she was on shift today, so Dave made his way to Club Rock after leaving a rude message on the house's data term. He found James's Sister in her usual place, keeping an eye out on the club from a corner.
Jumping into her goggles, he had his avatar dance seamlessly through the bar and approach her.
<<Hey sweetcheeks, it's Dave, what's a daemon gotta do to get some hawt orky VR love?>>
<<Graah hez tam m'tafka tok sho-thungu dre'vanah.>>
<<Alright... Hey boo-boo-kitty-Frek it's Comedian. Fancy some hot sim action?>>
<<...kah. Teh'lok?>>
<<Got a job, long term, won't be back for a while as the J is putting us up. Pack up James's->>
<<-Ke?>>
<<Pack up the Electronics shop, it may be needed.>>
<<...kah. Tok zidane?>>
<<Yeah, well, you know how it is.>>
<<Zidane?>>
<<Yes, OK, got it, gort it's not like I hacked your AR googles to peek at you in the shower again.>>
<<HERADIOK??>>
<<Sorry, did I say again? I meant, err, sorry ***KZTTT*** losing signal ***FRAAK*** gotta go, byee!>>
Dave left as James's sister started pulling on her rating 6 AR attack glove. It's not that he would lose, it's just James got upset about that sort of thing.
Next he stopped at Bill's club.
Spoilered for posssible NWS content
With that Dave logged out and back into his AR cubby. Looked like they were nearly there.
<<Hey, James, got some interesting stuff on the J and the House.>>
<<Wha'? Oh, must have dropped off again, what was that?>>
<<The house, and the J, K'hrana that data search you were after?>>
<<Oh yeah, tell me later, need a new sprite, this one dumped us and De rezzed.>>
<<K, lets get us a new machine sprite, then.>>
James and Dave sent out the call, at first they felt that there was not much to resonate in the area, but after moulding more carefully they got a burst of power, and the sprite appeared without resisting.
The machine sprite hummed in front of them, virtual muscles throbbing on its chitinous metallic body.
<<...James, what rating did you call?
>>
<<...6, I needed the CF's>>
<<...and it came without resistence?
>>
<<...yup>>
<<...you see no problem with this?
>>
<<...nope>>
<< You tried a lethal fading compiling without checking to see if there was medicare on standby?>>
<<It worked didn't it?
>>
<<...
You are the luckiest drooling moron I know, and stupid don't run out. Watch it in future, yah?>>
James did not respond, but instead reached carefully into an inside pocket and opened a metal box about the size and shape of a large spectacles case. In it, carefully padded, lay a large moth, of a species not uncommon in this part of seattle. With a slow gentleness he rubbed his finger down it's thorax, and it stood up and crawled onto his finger.
MCT spy flys came in a variety of insect shapes, and while most people went for the cool looking wasps, and dragonflys, they also tended to spend far too much time dodging shoes and being swatted at.
James had opted for a bug people were less likely to take any notice of, and even if they did see it they would likley ignore and forget it.
<<OK, I'm subscribed to this MCT fly-spy, I need you to fly it for me and thouroughly examine the building and surrounding area 2 blocks that way at this address. Feed me live info on what you see there, and label anything in the area you deem suspicious. Here is the commcode to enter, do so cautiouslty, and search the inside of the place too.>>
unknown location, external
PAN: Passive
Model:***you mama***error***alright, Fairlight Ex-scally-butt, then***
As Comedian Mounted his bike he communed on the machine plane...
<<Your last service to me, o machine sprite, is to take me to within 1 minutes walk of this safehouse, follow the traffic laws but take a route that will shake any tails on us, and then park up safely.>>
As the bike pulls off Comedian enters a trance,
<<Ok, Dave, time to earn our keep, I guess>>
<<How so?>>
<<We need to know all we can about the J, and the Safehouse, and I want to put some money into a signal upgrade too, so comm Bill while your out.>>
<<Anything else, oh grand high poobah?>>
<<No need to be sarcastic, but you can also tell my sis that I won't be back for a while, please pack up my electronics shop, I may be asking for it later.>>
<<On it, you chillax, on this front, I'm da man>>
As the Bike moved carefully through Seattle's dirty streets, Dave began channel hopping, jumping from node to node as the bike moved through them, and sending out feelers sniffing for information on the Johnson. A few minutes later he had as much data as he could archive without trying his hand at cracking so he moved onto the house as the bike began it's approach. As the Matrix whispered its secrets to them he smiled and petted it for each titbit of information. Again he walked up to the wall, but did not penetrate it. He would ask James what to do with the basic info first.
Stopping at home was a fun diversion, reception was always patchy, but James was sure to keep a constant signal to his home, so he could contact his sister if needed. Checking her schedule he noticed that she was on shift today, so Dave made his way to Club Rock after leaving a rude message on the house's data term. He found James's Sister in her usual place, keeping an eye out on the club from a corner.
Jumping into her goggles, he had his avatar dance seamlessly through the bar and approach her.
<<Hey sweetcheeks, it's Dave, what's a daemon gotta do to get some hawt orky VR love?>>
<<Graah hez tam m'tafka tok sho-thungu dre'vanah.>>
<<Alright... Hey boo-boo-kitty-Frek it's Comedian. Fancy some hot sim action?>>
<<...kah. Teh'lok?>>
<<Got a job, long term, won't be back for a while as the J is putting us up. Pack up James's->>
<<-Ke?>>
<<Pack up the Electronics shop, it may be needed.>>
<<...kah. Tok zidane?>>
<<Yeah, well, you know how it is.>>
<<Zidane?>>
<<Yes, OK, got it, gort it's not like I hacked your AR googles to peek at you in the shower again.>>
<<HERADIOK??>>
<<Sorry, did I say again? I meant, err, sorry ***KZTTT*** losing signal ***FRAAK*** gotta go, byee!>>
Dave left as James's sister started pulling on her rating 6 AR attack glove. It's not that he would lose, it's just James got upset about that sort of thing.
Next he stopped at Bill's club.
Spoilered for posssible NWS content
[ Spoiler ]
With that Dave logged out and back into his AR cubby. Looked like they were nearly there.
<<Hey, James, got some interesting stuff on the J and the House.>>
<<Wha'? Oh, must have dropped off again, what was that?>>
<<The house, and the J, K'hrana that data search you were after?>>
<<Oh yeah, tell me later, need a new sprite, this one dumped us and De rezzed.>>
<<K, lets get us a new machine sprite, then.>>
James and Dave sent out the call, at first they felt that there was not much to resonate in the area, but after moulding more carefully they got a burst of power, and the sprite appeared without resisting.
The machine sprite hummed in front of them, virtual muscles throbbing on its chitinous metallic body.
<<...James, what rating did you call?
>><<...6, I needed the CF's>>
<<...and it came without resistence?
>><<...yup>>
<<...you see no problem with this?
>><<...nope>>
<<
You tried a lethal fading compiling without checking to see if there was medicare on standby?>><<It worked didn't it?
>><<...
You are the luckiest drooling moron I know, and stupid don't run out. Watch it in future, yah?>>James did not respond, but instead reached carefully into an inside pocket and opened a metal box about the size and shape of a large spectacles case. In it, carefully padded, lay a large moth, of a species not uncommon in this part of seattle. With a slow gentleness he rubbed his finger down it's thorax, and it stood up and crawled onto his finger.
MCT spy flys came in a variety of insect shapes, and while most people went for the cool looking wasps, and dragonflys, they also tended to spend far too much time dodging shoes and being swatted at.
James had opted for a bug people were less likely to take any notice of, and even if they did see it they would likley ignore and forget it.
<<OK, I'm subscribed to this MCT fly-spy, I need you to fly it for me and thouroughly examine the building and surrounding area 2 blocks that way at this address. Feed me live info on what you see there, and label anything in the area you deem suspicious. Here is the commcode to enter, do so cautiouslty, and search the inside of the place too.>>
Name: Comedian - Archtype: Hacker
unknown location, external
PAN: Passive
Model:***does a little turn on the catwalk, yeah on the catwalk yeah, and I shake my little tush on the catwalk***error***alright, how about vogue?***error***boring. I'm a custom built comm, that's why you don't recognise me.***Well why didn't you say so?***sorry, I... wait, what?***
As the moth fluttered off, James turned to Dave, and asked
<<So what have you got on the housing and the J?>>
<<Thus far? In total? You sure you can handle all the info at once?>>
<<Get on with it.>>
<<...eer, a name and address.>>
<<You know where the Johnson lives?>>
<<Nope, I know where the house is.>>
<<You spent that long in the matrix searching and that's all you came up with?>>
<<Yeah, looking up housing records is really extremely difficult, you know.>>
<<It is?>>
<<Apparently it's at least as hard as finding out what the true names of all the members of winternight were.>>
<<Well, I guess you better get back to looking, then.>>
<<Guess I had>>
Dave went out looking again. He kept windows open for what the bike sensors, James's goggles, and the moth were seeing, as he sent out further search requests.
unknown location, external
PAN: Passive
Model:***does a little turn on the catwalk, yeah on the catwalk yeah, and I shake my little tush on the catwalk***error***alright, how about vogue?***error***boring. I'm a custom built comm, that's why you don't recognise me.***Well why didn't you say so?***sorry, I... wait, what?***
As the moth fluttered off, James turned to Dave, and asked
<<So what have you got on the housing and the J?>>
<<Thus far? In total? You sure you can handle all the info at once?>>
<<Get on with it.>>
<<...eer, a name and address.>>
<<You know where the Johnson lives?>>
<<Nope, I know where the house is.>>
<<You spent that long in the matrix searching and that's all you came up with?>>
<<Yeah, looking up housing records is really extremely difficult, you know.>>
<<It is?>>
<<Apparently it's at least as hard as finding out what the true names of all the members of winternight were.>>
<<Well, I guess you better get back to looking, then.>>
<<Guess I had>>
Dave went out looking again. He kept windows open for what the bike sensors, James's goggles, and the moth were seeing, as he sent out further search requests.
Name: Sahara - Archtype: Detective
1930-ish Capitol Hill, Cafe Noir
PAN: Hidden Model: NT Airwave OS: NT Navi ACC: Oakley Yellow Shooting Glasses, Sub-Vocal Mic
Sahara was feeling good about her prospects as she and the Ork trundled south in his car. She got to eat, which was great. She had money in her pocket and more money coming her way. Life was good. She set the polarity of her glasses to darken a little and took cat naps as they drove south. Asp didn't seem to mind and even turned the music up to drown out the sound of traffic. Pretty nice guy for an Ork.
Like Danny.
That turned her mood dark. She had successfully not thought of her ex-partner/one time lover for a few weeks. Not once in the months in the pen had he come to see her, not once. Could she blame him though? When cops went 'bad' they had a stench about them that infected everyone around them.
The car door closed, Sahara had drifted off to sleep and hadn't even realized it. The sun was shining still. The last ditch effort to brighten the world before it sank into the Ocean. She got out and stretched her legs. This was the kind of neighborhood where you didn't go walking by your self, so she stayed close to the car. Asp got back,
"Okay, I'm ready. Where can I take you?"
"I'll let you in on a little secret Asp, and I hope it doesn't offend. I've got everything I need on me, and I don't have an apartment so.... I also don't have a car and I hadn't eaten in a while, so I figured I would kill two birds with one stone. I hope you don't mind?"
1930-ish Capitol Hill, Cafe Noir
PAN: Hidden Model: NT Airwave OS: NT Navi ACC: Oakley Yellow Shooting Glasses, Sub-Vocal Mic
Sahara was feeling good about her prospects as she and the Ork trundled south in his car. She got to eat, which was great. She had money in her pocket and more money coming her way. Life was good. She set the polarity of her glasses to darken a little and took cat naps as they drove south. Asp didn't seem to mind and even turned the music up to drown out the sound of traffic. Pretty nice guy for an Ork.
Like Danny.
That turned her mood dark. She had successfully not thought of her ex-partner/one time lover for a few weeks. Not once in the months in the pen had he come to see her, not once. Could she blame him though? When cops went 'bad' they had a stench about them that infected everyone around them.
The car door closed, Sahara had drifted off to sleep and hadn't even realized it. The sun was shining still. The last ditch effort to brighten the world before it sank into the Ocean. She got out and stretched her legs. This was the kind of neighborhood where you didn't go walking by your self, so she stayed close to the car. Asp got back,
"Okay, I'm ready. Where can I take you?"
"I'll let you in on a little secret Asp, and I hope it doesn't offend. I've got everything I need on me, and I don't have an apartment so.... I also don't have a car and I hadn't eaten in a while, so I figured I would kill two birds with one stone. I hope you don't mind?"
19:37:00 Tacoma
PAN: Passive Model/OS: Custom ACC: Imagelink, Soundlink
Asp chuckled. The chance to gather his thoughts had brought him back to his center, and he was loosening up. He knew he would never be with Sahara, but suddenly there seemed to be some chance of becoming friends, and the prospect pleased him greatly. "Can't imagine why I'd be offended by your being down on your luck. Reckon that's how most people start out in this business, and I sure as hell know what it's like to be homeless with just the clothes on your back," he said as he pulled out into traffic and headed toward the safehouse address. Back to his senses, he resumed his normal habit of checking for tails whenever he went anywhere. "It's been a couple of hours - why don't we go touch base with the team. Then if you want we can take the car and make a run for clothes or whatever else you need. And if it worries you, I won't say anything about your situation to anyone else."
Time with Sahara. It would be the best or the worst thing in the world.
PAN: Passive Model/OS: Custom ACC: Imagelink, Soundlink
Asp chuckled. The chance to gather his thoughts had brought him back to his center, and he was loosening up. He knew he would never be with Sahara, but suddenly there seemed to be some chance of becoming friends, and the prospect pleased him greatly. "Can't imagine why I'd be offended by your being down on your luck. Reckon that's how most people start out in this business, and I sure as hell know what it's like to be homeless with just the clothes on your back," he said as he pulled out into traffic and headed toward the safehouse address. Back to his senses, he resumed his normal habit of checking for tails whenever he went anywhere. "It's been a couple of hours - why don't we go touch base with the team. Then if you want we can take the car and make a run for clothes or whatever else you need. And if it worries you, I won't say anything about your situation to anyone else."
Time with Sahara. It would be the best or the worst thing in the world.
Name: Cadence Strange McShane; Archtype: Rigger
17:07:42 Capitol Hill, On the street outside the Cafe Noir
PAN: Passive MODEL: Fairlight Caliban OS: Novatech Navi
ACC: Cybereye image link; Cyberear soundlink; Shades imagelink
Nathan picks up Chopper's bags, "Of course," he says, slipping back into comfortable chaffeur intonations. He manages to not say 'Anything else, sir?' by an abrupt mental intervention and instead taps the drone icon nestled in the corner of his vision. It raises its head in readiness.
<< Activate Sweep, stages 1 and 2, for **encrypted-commcode** and-- >>
He hesitates, << For us. >> Nathan blinks at Chopper as a thought crosses his mind. He'd used the sweep code on himself before, to shake off papparazzi or stalkers or other surveillance from his more high-profile passengers. But never solely for himself. Not like this. When the drone icon slithers out of view he smiles blandly to cover his pause.
"So, I'll see you at the, uh... see you later."
He picks up the bags and turns to walk down the block toward his van.
17:07:42 Capitol Hill, On the street outside the Cafe Noir
PAN: Passive MODEL: Fairlight Caliban OS: Novatech Navi
ACC: Cybereye image link; Cyberear soundlink; Shades imagelink
Nathan picks up Chopper's bags, "Of course," he says, slipping back into comfortable chaffeur intonations. He manages to not say 'Anything else, sir?' by an abrupt mental intervention and instead taps the drone icon nestled in the corner of his vision. It raises its head in readiness.
<< Activate Sweep, stages 1 and 2, for **encrypted-commcode** and-- >>
He hesitates, << For us. >> Nathan blinks at Chopper as a thought crosses his mind. He'd used the sweep code on himself before, to shake off papparazzi or stalkers or other surveillance from his more high-profile passengers. But never solely for himself. Not like this. When the drone icon slithers out of view he smiles blandly to cover his pause.
"So, I'll see you at the, uh... see you later."
He picks up the bags and turns to walk down the block toward his van.
17:08:15 Capitol Hill - Cafe Noir
PAN: Hidden mode: Sony Emperor/Renraku Ichi
ACC: Ares TrueSight Electric Shades, AR gloves
Chopper stood on the walk and watched the little guy, Cadence walk away with his stuff and fought off an instinctive urge to follow and be certain.
C'mon man, it's time to start building this collection of individuals into a working team, if these guys can't work as a team this is going to be real unpleasant.
Pushing away the negative thoughts he hopped into his Comet and headed towards the Gold Mine, Digger's club. He wanted to drop off most of the nuyen with his friend and fixer and make sure that Alisha was going to be taken care of while he was gone.
17:57:02 Dexter Ave. N. and Harrison St - Gold Mine
PAN: Hidden mode: Sony Emperor/Renraku Ichi
ACC: Ares TrueSight Electric Shades, AR gloves
Chopper banged his forehead off the steering wheel again and screamed a less than polite description of his fellow driver's genetic background and prefered sexual partners out his open window at the Elf wearing Blood Monkey colors on the Suzuki cutting through the clogged traffic of downtown rush hour. The slotting dit rolled up on the sidewalk and around the corner without stopping. The light changed and traffic inched forward slowly, until he reached the entrance to the alley leading to the private parking area behind the Gold Mine, and he could dart down and into the safety of a semi-secured parking. Rush hour traffic in downtown Seattle rated right near unmedicated dental surgery on his list of things to avoid.
The nightclub hadn't opened for the evening yet but the staff was all a bustle getting the place ready for the evening crowd. He slipped up the back stairs to the office area and headed for Digger's office. The comm call earlier had confirmed that the Dwarf fixer would be in his office. Chopper knocked politely on the door and waited for acknowledgement before opening it.
"Come on in young pup!" As always Digger's voice sounded like he'd smoked one too many of the nasty smelling thin cigars and two too many tumblers of old scotch. Deep, rough, and gravelly it could carry menace or welcome equally well. This evening it held welcome enough.
"Hoi, Digger how's biz?" Chopper carefully folded himself into one of the larger chairs across from the meter and a half length of syth-wood desk that Digger used as his office. He'd actually helped his friend install some of the custom hardware in the desk, and knew the computer parts in there cost more than his car.
"Keep'n me from starving pup. How bout you? Sounds like the meet went okay, if yer here and relaxing instead of hiding."
"Ya, it went good enough, got a job at least. Which is why I'm here really. I'm going to be unavailable for some time and I wanted to make sure that Alisha is looked after while I'm gone." The Ork pulled out one of the credstick, the one with 5K in nuyen on it and pushed it across the desk to his friend.
"While I'm working I may have need of some stuff, I'd like to leave that here to draw off of to use as needed, until it's used up. I'd also like you to use what is needed to make sure that my sister is looked after while I'm gone."
The Dwarf fixer took the credstick and slotted it into a reader at the edge of the desk, his expression grave and getting more serious when he saw the amount on the credstick.
"This is your front money? That's a sizable chunk of nuyen to lay out on an unknown quality runner, your Johnson is either real trusting or real rich and I don't want to know which." Digger had done his time in the shadows and now used his connections and club to work as a fixer rather than a runner. He knew the score and kept current on the price of hired guns, he was the one who'd passed the word to Chopper of the meet.
"Ya, well you know the biz." That was that, Chopper wouldn't disclose more info even if he had any and Digger wouldn't ask. The Dwarf had taught him the code a professional had to follow and it included knowing when to keep one's mouth shut.
"Ya," the Dwarf nodded "I understand how it is. I'll hold this and make sure that your sister is good. She's still staying over in Tacoma?" Alisha was going to school in Tacoma under a fake SIN and was staying with a distant cousin, provided of course that he kept sending them enough to cover her costs.
"Yup. I doubt she'll need anything but just in case. I'll stay in touch as I can."
Chopper rose and shook Digger's hand and then left. He left the club and fought his way back into rush hour traffic, heading to his doss in Ravena for the rest of his gear. He'd taken care of his family, and made sure he had something on tap in case he needed some help from Digger so it was time to get to work.
PAN: Hidden mode: Sony Emperor/Renraku Ichi
ACC: Ares TrueSight Electric Shades, AR gloves
Chopper stood on the walk and watched the little guy, Cadence walk away with his stuff and fought off an instinctive urge to follow and be certain.
C'mon man, it's time to start building this collection of individuals into a working team, if these guys can't work as a team this is going to be real unpleasant.
Pushing away the negative thoughts he hopped into his Comet and headed towards the Gold Mine, Digger's club. He wanted to drop off most of the nuyen with his friend and fixer and make sure that Alisha was going to be taken care of while he was gone.
17:57:02 Dexter Ave. N. and Harrison St - Gold Mine
PAN: Hidden mode: Sony Emperor/Renraku Ichi
ACC: Ares TrueSight Electric Shades, AR gloves
Chopper banged his forehead off the steering wheel again and screamed a less than polite description of his fellow driver's genetic background and prefered sexual partners out his open window at the Elf wearing Blood Monkey colors on the Suzuki cutting through the clogged traffic of downtown rush hour. The slotting dit rolled up on the sidewalk and around the corner without stopping. The light changed and traffic inched forward slowly, until he reached the entrance to the alley leading to the private parking area behind the Gold Mine, and he could dart down and into the safety of a semi-secured parking. Rush hour traffic in downtown Seattle rated right near unmedicated dental surgery on his list of things to avoid.
The nightclub hadn't opened for the evening yet but the staff was all a bustle getting the place ready for the evening crowd. He slipped up the back stairs to the office area and headed for Digger's office. The comm call earlier had confirmed that the Dwarf fixer would be in his office. Chopper knocked politely on the door and waited for acknowledgement before opening it.
"Come on in young pup!" As always Digger's voice sounded like he'd smoked one too many of the nasty smelling thin cigars and two too many tumblers of old scotch. Deep, rough, and gravelly it could carry menace or welcome equally well. This evening it held welcome enough.
"Hoi, Digger how's biz?" Chopper carefully folded himself into one of the larger chairs across from the meter and a half length of syth-wood desk that Digger used as his office. He'd actually helped his friend install some of the custom hardware in the desk, and knew the computer parts in there cost more than his car.
"Keep'n me from starving pup. How bout you? Sounds like the meet went okay, if yer here and relaxing instead of hiding."
"Ya, it went good enough, got a job at least. Which is why I'm here really. I'm going to be unavailable for some time and I wanted to make sure that Alisha is looked after while I'm gone." The Ork pulled out one of the credstick, the one with 5K in nuyen on it and pushed it across the desk to his friend.
"While I'm working I may have need of some stuff, I'd like to leave that here to draw off of to use as needed, until it's used up. I'd also like you to use what is needed to make sure that my sister is looked after while I'm gone."
The Dwarf fixer took the credstick and slotted it into a reader at the edge of the desk, his expression grave and getting more serious when he saw the amount on the credstick.
"This is your front money? That's a sizable chunk of nuyen to lay out on an unknown quality runner, your Johnson is either real trusting or real rich and I don't want to know which." Digger had done his time in the shadows and now used his connections and club to work as a fixer rather than a runner. He knew the score and kept current on the price of hired guns, he was the one who'd passed the word to Chopper of the meet.
"Ya, well you know the biz." That was that, Chopper wouldn't disclose more info even if he had any and Digger wouldn't ask. The Dwarf had taught him the code a professional had to follow and it included knowing when to keep one's mouth shut.
"Ya," the Dwarf nodded "I understand how it is. I'll hold this and make sure that your sister is good. She's still staying over in Tacoma?" Alisha was going to school in Tacoma under a fake SIN and was staying with a distant cousin, provided of course that he kept sending them enough to cover her costs.
"Yup. I doubt she'll need anything but just in case. I'll stay in touch as I can."
Chopper rose and shook Digger's hand and then left. He left the club and fought his way back into rush hour traffic, heading to his doss in Ravena for the rest of his gear. He'd taken care of his family, and made sure he had something on tap in case he needed some help from Digger so it was time to get to work.
Interbay lies to the northwest of the high-rise and high class condos of Queen Anne Hill, and to the north of Magnolia Bluff and its elegant mansions. Both of which can be seen if the haze of pollution is light or the weather is clear.
Traveling through the low and middle class district you become increasingly aware of the demographic, it’s mainly Orks. Orks that don’t bother to keep their heads down to be pasted by unobtrusively, but walk upright and comfortable in the surroundings. The streets are as clean as most parts of the ‘plex and they haven’t escaped the tagging by gangs but what area other than the AA’s or better have? Along with the occasional gang tag but not over or hidden by them are posters mainly calling for open support of the Ork Rights Committee, as well as scenes of happy Ork families, most likely also put up by the O.R.C. The businesses here cater to Orks with many signs and ARO’s in Or’zet pointing the way.
Turning, you find yourselves running parallel to the old railroad tracks, now long out of use and beginning to show signs of advanced deterioration. The buildings here are old brick and two or three stories tall, probably built in the 50’s, the 1950’s that is. A few lay in ruins but some have been renovated into loft type apartments. After a long row of dilapidated buildings you arrive to the one marked on the E-paper.
Very much identical to all the other old brick buildings in the area this one is two stories high with the first floor being an open area (for storage) and the second originally for offices or labor.
This is before it was renovated to its current state.
Traveling through the low and middle class district you become increasingly aware of the demographic, it’s mainly Orks. Orks that don’t bother to keep their heads down to be pasted by unobtrusively, but walk upright and comfortable in the surroundings. The streets are as clean as most parts of the ‘plex and they haven’t escaped the tagging by gangs but what area other than the AA’s or better have? Along with the occasional gang tag but not over or hidden by them are posters mainly calling for open support of the Ork Rights Committee, as well as scenes of happy Ork families, most likely also put up by the O.R.C. The businesses here cater to Orks with many signs and ARO’s in Or’zet pointing the way.
Turning, you find yourselves running parallel to the old railroad tracks, now long out of use and beginning to show signs of advanced deterioration. The buildings here are old brick and two or three stories tall, probably built in the 50’s, the 1950’s that is. A few lay in ruins but some have been renovated into loft type apartments. After a long row of dilapidated buildings you arrive to the one marked on the E-paper.
Very much identical to all the other old brick buildings in the area this one is two stories high with the first floor being an open area (for storage) and the second originally for offices or labor.
This is before it was renovated to its current state.
17:00:00 Bellevue - Yarrow Point, Private Residence
PAN: Disengaged: Sony Emperor/Novatech Navi
ACC: Custom Goggles, AR gloves
:: It was damn good to be working again, and this was just the job to refresh her skills a bit. Simple B&E with no one to count on but herself. No backstabbing little rat to muck up her day. She really didn't like working during the daylight hours, but seeing as how it was just a residence, it should be a relative cake walk. Even paranoid deckers had less security than most offices. ::
:: It was almost disappointing. The decker who lived here had obviously left in such a hurry that the only obstacle in her way was a video feed on the front door and your basic Maglock. It took only 10 seconds to see that the video feed was no longer sending data to whatever receptor was once attached to it. Once inside, she was even further disappointed as the Maglock turned out to be the only deterrent to her violation. Even a rookie teen could manage this run, wouldn't even be considered a challenge to them. ::
:: Despite the let down, she quickly regained her professional demeanor and began her search. While the trids always showed such searches resulting in broken furniture, overturned tables and strewn contents of drawers, Janie always felt it was better to leave no sign she had ever been there. Her method was quieter and more organized and was less likely to miss some small key bit of info that such chaotic thrashing would provide. ::
:: The guy wasn't a complete incompentent. In fact, he turned out to be pretty slick as far as leaving little behind. She collected images of everything, contents of drawers, closets, even the mess of food boxes littering the coffee table, with particular interest to apparantly scribbled notes on a box of chinese take out. You never know when something that looks ordinary and inconsequential will turn out to be the true pay data, and really, a picture IS worth a thousand words...sometimes more. ::
:: While Janie had little information as to exactly why or how he had irked her new boss, her curiosity was piqued. She did know it had something to do with stolen data, but without the guys deck or storage disks, she wasn't going to find out anytime soon. ::
:: Just as she had arrived, she left like a ghost, slipping out, unseen from the building and along the alleyways and side streets to her vehicle. While the job had been disgustingly easy, she prided herself on the fact that, barring magical mojo, no one would ever know she had been there. ::
18:04:00 North Seattle - Northwest Hospital & Medical Center
PAN: Passive: Sony Emperor/Novatech Navi
ACC: Designer AR Shades, AR gloves
:: Coming to the hospital always filled Janie with a sad melancoly. She missed her friend dearly and somehow seeing her, sitting, staring and yet somehow.... blank, was worse than if she had passed away. This eternal limbo between grief and hope was worse than anything Janie had experienced, and for her that sort of statement didn't come lightly. ::
:: Entering the small room decorated in sage greens and gentle yellows, she paused briefly to see that Vincent was also visiting. Their eyes met, and they felt that comfortable ease that came from knowing the other was feeling exactly the same thing, and no words needed to be spoken. He was patiently spooning oatmeal into Violets mouth. She was awake, and was just recently able to eat semi solid foods, but her motor skills were still too damaged and holding the spoon was next to impossible. ::
:: Sitting opposite Vincent, she watched his gentle care for his sister. It was that gentleness that she was drawn to. It was unlike anything she had ever experienced from another person. They had found comfort in one another, both solitary by nature, but in need of company at the same time. She felt no guilt, Violet had pushed Janie at her brother countless times, though their ovbious differences made such an arrangement seem farfetched. Janie wondered what Vi would say if she...if she was still Vi. ::
:: The moment passed quietly, both visitors masking their saddness with unconvincing smiles. Janie had to tell him about the job, and he wasn't going to be pleased. ::
"I may not be around much in the next month."
:: He paused, spoon crowned with the mushy liquid stopping halfway to Vi's waiting mouth, as his eyes shifted to Janie's. ::
"Oh?" He replied, regaining his awareness enough to continue feeding his sister.
"I have a job."
:: Victor sighed, he knew he didn't have to ask, but he did anyway. ::
"Legit?"
:: Janie's silence was all the answer he needed. ::
"Jane, I can get you a real job. Something that wont get you killed or locked up again."
:: This was exactly what she was attempting to avoid. ::
"You mean filing flimsies and answering phone calls? You know that life was never meant for me. I didn't choose to be what I am, but I've come to terms with it. Sometimes I even enjoy it. Some animals cannot be tamed, they die inside."
"Oh please, you're not a megaladon. Hell, you don't even have to work. You could just..."
"What, be a housewife?" :: She regretted the words even as she was saying them. The hurt in his eyes was subtle, but there. "I'm sorry, I wish I could be what you want. I just....can't."
"I'm just worried."
:: Janie stood and moved around to the otherside of the bed as Vince put down the spoon and wrapped his arms around her short frame. ::
"Don't worry, it serves no purpose but to give you an ulcer and doesn't make me any safer. I'm not running with small timer gangs here. It's a legit group, professionals. Yeah it's dangerous, but really, it's dangerous just about anywhere in the plex and at least I know what monsters and hazards are hiding in the shadows."
:: With a gentle kiss, the arguement was over, there was nothing left to say. Turning to Vi, Janie smoothed the invalid's hair down with a soft caress and smiled at the blank expression that peered up at her. ::
"Take care Vi. I'll see you when I can...you're in good hands."
:: Leaving the hospital, Janie drops into the dark sedan, pays the parking attendant and then heads off to meet up with her new teammates. ::
PAN: Disengaged: Sony Emperor/Novatech Navi
ACC: Custom Goggles, AR gloves
:: It was damn good to be working again, and this was just the job to refresh her skills a bit. Simple B&E with no one to count on but herself. No backstabbing little rat to muck up her day. She really didn't like working during the daylight hours, but seeing as how it was just a residence, it should be a relative cake walk. Even paranoid deckers had less security than most offices. ::
:: It was almost disappointing. The decker who lived here had obviously left in such a hurry that the only obstacle in her way was a video feed on the front door and your basic Maglock. It took only 10 seconds to see that the video feed was no longer sending data to whatever receptor was once attached to it. Once inside, she was even further disappointed as the Maglock turned out to be the only deterrent to her violation. Even a rookie teen could manage this run, wouldn't even be considered a challenge to them. ::
:: Despite the let down, she quickly regained her professional demeanor and began her search. While the trids always showed such searches resulting in broken furniture, overturned tables and strewn contents of drawers, Janie always felt it was better to leave no sign she had ever been there. Her method was quieter and more organized and was less likely to miss some small key bit of info that such chaotic thrashing would provide. ::
:: The guy wasn't a complete incompentent. In fact, he turned out to be pretty slick as far as leaving little behind. She collected images of everything, contents of drawers, closets, even the mess of food boxes littering the coffee table, with particular interest to apparantly scribbled notes on a box of chinese take out. You never know when something that looks ordinary and inconsequential will turn out to be the true pay data, and really, a picture IS worth a thousand words...sometimes more. ::
:: While Janie had little information as to exactly why or how he had irked her new boss, her curiosity was piqued. She did know it had something to do with stolen data, but without the guys deck or storage disks, she wasn't going to find out anytime soon. ::
:: Just as she had arrived, she left like a ghost, slipping out, unseen from the building and along the alleyways and side streets to her vehicle. While the job had been disgustingly easy, she prided herself on the fact that, barring magical mojo, no one would ever know she had been there. ::
18:04:00 North Seattle - Northwest Hospital & Medical Center
PAN: Passive: Sony Emperor/Novatech Navi
ACC: Designer AR Shades, AR gloves
:: Coming to the hospital always filled Janie with a sad melancoly. She missed her friend dearly and somehow seeing her, sitting, staring and yet somehow.... blank, was worse than if she had passed away. This eternal limbo between grief and hope was worse than anything Janie had experienced, and for her that sort of statement didn't come lightly. ::
:: Entering the small room decorated in sage greens and gentle yellows, she paused briefly to see that Vincent was also visiting. Their eyes met, and they felt that comfortable ease that came from knowing the other was feeling exactly the same thing, and no words needed to be spoken. He was patiently spooning oatmeal into Violets mouth. She was awake, and was just recently able to eat semi solid foods, but her motor skills were still too damaged and holding the spoon was next to impossible. ::
:: Sitting opposite Vincent, she watched his gentle care for his sister. It was that gentleness that she was drawn to. It was unlike anything she had ever experienced from another person. They had found comfort in one another, both solitary by nature, but in need of company at the same time. She felt no guilt, Violet had pushed Janie at her brother countless times, though their ovbious differences made such an arrangement seem farfetched. Janie wondered what Vi would say if she...if she was still Vi. ::
:: The moment passed quietly, both visitors masking their saddness with unconvincing smiles. Janie had to tell him about the job, and he wasn't going to be pleased. ::
"I may not be around much in the next month."
:: He paused, spoon crowned with the mushy liquid stopping halfway to Vi's waiting mouth, as his eyes shifted to Janie's. ::
"Oh?" He replied, regaining his awareness enough to continue feeding his sister.
"I have a job."
:: Victor sighed, he knew he didn't have to ask, but he did anyway. ::
"Legit?"
:: Janie's silence was all the answer he needed. ::
"Jane, I can get you a real job. Something that wont get you killed or locked up again."
:: This was exactly what she was attempting to avoid. ::
"You mean filing flimsies and answering phone calls? You know that life was never meant for me. I didn't choose to be what I am, but I've come to terms with it. Sometimes I even enjoy it. Some animals cannot be tamed, they die inside."
"Oh please, you're not a megaladon. Hell, you don't even have to work. You could just..."
"What, be a housewife?" :: She regretted the words even as she was saying them. The hurt in his eyes was subtle, but there. "I'm sorry, I wish I could be what you want. I just....can't."
"I'm just worried."
:: Janie stood and moved around to the otherside of the bed as Vince put down the spoon and wrapped his arms around her short frame. ::
"Don't worry, it serves no purpose but to give you an ulcer and doesn't make me any safer. I'm not running with small timer gangs here. It's a legit group, professionals. Yeah it's dangerous, but really, it's dangerous just about anywhere in the plex and at least I know what monsters and hazards are hiding in the shadows."
:: With a gentle kiss, the arguement was over, there was nothing left to say. Turning to Vi, Janie smoothed the invalid's hair down with a soft caress and smiled at the blank expression that peered up at her. ::
"Take care Vi. I'll see you when I can...you're in good hands."
:: Leaving the hospital, Janie drops into the dark sedan, pays the parking attendant and then heads off to meet up with her new teammates. ::
20:40:30 Interbay
PAN: Passive Model/OS: Custom ACC: Imagelink, Soundlink
Fucking ork pride. Just my luck.
With rush hour over, the drive up to Interbay from Tacoma had taken no longer than the drive down from Capitol Hill, even though it was a lot farther, and despite his moves to make sure they weren't tailed. Once he was confident they were alone and had gotten onto the freeway, Sahara had become quiet again, like on the ride down. He thought maybe she was dozing, but couldn't tell with the Oakleys on her face. And he didn't dare turn for a better look - all he needed was for her to take him for some sleazy perv. But her profile, lit in his peripheral vision by the street lights, was like an iron cable anchored in his temple, pulling at his gaze. He concentrated on the traffic, replaying in his mind Maruyama Sensei's teachings on jikoyokusei.
As they entered the target neighborhood, however, she straightened up - head on a swivel - trained observer - born cop. The way her old training came back on line projected him back into his old CN-1, rolling the projects.
But the projects this place wasn't. Near as he could tell, someone had done some good community work here. Unfortunately, the citizens were all ork. Good on 'em for taking a stand against the rot, but it was terrible for him. All this ork culture and race pride were going to make it very hard for him to pass. And the last thing he and his new partners wanted was to stand out. Hell, he'd been planning on making contact with the local gang, getting some eyes on the street to let them know if anyone was moving on the house. Now he'd have to rethink that strategy, or send someone else to do the job. Actually, that Chopper guy would probably be perfect anyway.
But at least with the neighborhood cleaned up some his new ride wouldn't stick out.
He cruised the place once, checking things out, scanning to see who else was here, then turned back and pulled in. Reaching across the seatback for his bag in the back seat, he found himself inches from Sahara's face, and caught a faint scent of her. He paused, suppressing a shiver, and said, "Home sweet home."
PAN: Passive Model/OS: Custom ACC: Imagelink, Soundlink
Fucking ork pride. Just my luck.
With rush hour over, the drive up to Interbay from Tacoma had taken no longer than the drive down from Capitol Hill, even though it was a lot farther, and despite his moves to make sure they weren't tailed. Once he was confident they were alone and had gotten onto the freeway, Sahara had become quiet again, like on the ride down. He thought maybe she was dozing, but couldn't tell with the Oakleys on her face. And he didn't dare turn for a better look - all he needed was for her to take him for some sleazy perv. But her profile, lit in his peripheral vision by the street lights, was like an iron cable anchored in his temple, pulling at his gaze. He concentrated on the traffic, replaying in his mind Maruyama Sensei's teachings on jikoyokusei.
As they entered the target neighborhood, however, she straightened up - head on a swivel - trained observer - born cop. The way her old training came back on line projected him back into his old CN-1, rolling the projects.
But the projects this place wasn't. Near as he could tell, someone had done some good community work here. Unfortunately, the citizens were all ork. Good on 'em for taking a stand against the rot, but it was terrible for him. All this ork culture and race pride were going to make it very hard for him to pass. And the last thing he and his new partners wanted was to stand out. Hell, he'd been planning on making contact with the local gang, getting some eyes on the street to let them know if anyone was moving on the house. Now he'd have to rethink that strategy, or send someone else to do the job. Actually, that Chopper guy would probably be perfect anyway.
But at least with the neighborhood cleaned up some his new ride wouldn't stick out.
He cruised the place once, checking things out, scanning to see who else was here, then turned back and pulled in. Reaching across the seatback for his bag in the back seat, he found himself inches from Sahara's face, and caught a faint scent of her. He paused, suppressing a shiver, and said, "Home sweet home."
19:20:00 Interbay
PAN: Hidden: Sony Emperor/Novatech Navi
ACC: Designer AR Shades, AR gloves
:: Hitting the neighborhood, her mind still on the interchange between her and Vincent, she turns off the radio and concentrates on her surroundings. Ork heavy area, but pretty well cleaned up. Might make a really good base, as long as this team she was meeting was subtle. Most inhabitants around this area were likely to be fiercely protective of the haven they created and won't tolerate criminals like the more typical metahuman heavy territories would. ::
:: Taking a slow drive by of the building, she considers her options. She was fairly combat light and if there was any sort of trouble, she'd rather not be be caught unaware. The prospect of sitting around the empty place waiting for this new team to arrive was less than exciting, then a thought occurred to her. She had been so disappointed in the lack of security waiting for her at that deckers abandoned place, maybe she should just chill out for a bit, wait for them all to arrive and set up whatever security they had. Then she could test out her skills, and the security methods at the same time, later in the evening. ::
:: Driving past the location, she stops once to leave a small broadcasting cam on the front entrance, just so she can keep an eye on who's coming and when. Taking a left at the next intersection, she drives to the max range of her cam and pulls the burger out of the takeout bag sitting on the passenger seat beside her. ::
PAN: Hidden: Sony Emperor/Novatech Navi
ACC: Designer AR Shades, AR gloves
:: Hitting the neighborhood, her mind still on the interchange between her and Vincent, she turns off the radio and concentrates on her surroundings. Ork heavy area, but pretty well cleaned up. Might make a really good base, as long as this team she was meeting was subtle. Most inhabitants around this area were likely to be fiercely protective of the haven they created and won't tolerate criminals like the more typical metahuman heavy territories would. ::
:: Taking a slow drive by of the building, she considers her options. She was fairly combat light and if there was any sort of trouble, she'd rather not be be caught unaware. The prospect of sitting around the empty place waiting for this new team to arrive was less than exciting, then a thought occurred to her. She had been so disappointed in the lack of security waiting for her at that deckers abandoned place, maybe she should just chill out for a bit, wait for them all to arrive and set up whatever security they had. Then she could test out her skills, and the security methods at the same time, later in the evening. ::
:: Driving past the location, she stops once to leave a small broadcasting cam on the front entrance, just so she can keep an eye on who's coming and when. Taking a left at the next intersection, she drives to the max range of her cam and pulls the burger out of the takeout bag sitting on the passenger seat beside her. ::
Name: Cadence Strange McShane; Archtype: Rigger
17:31:54, Garage in Central
PAN: Passive MODEL: Fairlight Caliban OS: Novatech Navi
ACC: Cybereye image link; Cyberear soundlink; Shades imagelink
Home wasn't far. A dozen blocks south in a decent neighborhood almost completely surrounded by much, much nicer digs. But even so, as the stepvan rolled smoothly to a stop into its roost, Nathan couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. There was some serious hardware in those bags. Nothing super high-end, not that his electronics had detected anyway, but nothing he wanted to get caught with.
The drone had been operating under sidewinder protocol since he'd turned his back on the dapper ork back at Capitol Hill. And everything seemed to be in order. You need a name, he says to the drone. The little snake looks up at him from both its perch on the dashboard and it's agent presence in the corner of Nathan's vision. It's eyes glow and dim in readiness and a search window pops up discreetly above the snake icon's head.
<Activate name search?>
The garage door trundled down its tracks and settled home. <No, not just now. Uh... thanks.> He reaches his arm out, <All right. Mount up.>
<Mounts are not available on this model. Please refer to manual section 4.1.12 for full sche-->
Nathan stops the drone, <I meant, 'let's go.'> He reinforces the command with a movement request of the drone's pilot.
<Affirmative.>
The drone slithers off the dashboard and onto his arm, shifting sections moving in a remarkable likeness to a real snake and Nathan takes a moment to admire the smooth control.
<Please look over the diagnostics for our trip.> Before the drone can misinterpret what he's asked, Nathan publishes a link to the stepvan's most recent performance logs to the drone with a command to Analyze.
He steps down out of the van and shuts the door, arming the garage's security. He moves over to a workbench in the garage's corner and sits on the stool looking out over the vehicles in the garage. Two months were paid on the garage. And this job would make three, maybe even four. He cuts the lowlight feed from his eyes and admires the way the vehicles gleam in the darkness. He swivels back to the workbench and sets to work. Okay... time to make a list.
20:18:12, Approaching the safehouse, Interbay
PAN: Passive MODEL: Fairlight Caliban OS: Novatech Navi
ACC: Cybereye image link; Cyberear soundlink; Shades imagelink
The neighborhood was nice enough. A lot like his own. More orks though. Lots more. He'd grown up in a mixed neighborhood and had learned early how quickly trouble could start for no good reason at all when racial tensions ran high. He'd learned somewhat how to read people, or at the very least, how to keep his mouth shut and his head down. How deep would you have to dig to stir that up here, I wonder? Probably not too far.
Nathan turns into the alleyway looking, the beacon changes from green to a blinking green as he approaches the location. Looks like some of the others are here already. He backs into the driveway and steps out, drone tucked away along his shoulders, a briefcase and a suitcase in his hands. He walks up to the door and puts down the briefcase, knocking at the door before trying the handle.
17:31:54, Garage in Central
PAN: Passive MODEL: Fairlight Caliban OS: Novatech Navi
ACC: Cybereye image link; Cyberear soundlink; Shades imagelink
Home wasn't far. A dozen blocks south in a decent neighborhood almost completely surrounded by much, much nicer digs. But even so, as the stepvan rolled smoothly to a stop into its roost, Nathan couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. There was some serious hardware in those bags. Nothing super high-end, not that his electronics had detected anyway, but nothing he wanted to get caught with.
The drone had been operating under sidewinder protocol since he'd turned his back on the dapper ork back at Capitol Hill. And everything seemed to be in order. You need a name, he says to the drone. The little snake looks up at him from both its perch on the dashboard and it's agent presence in the corner of Nathan's vision. It's eyes glow and dim in readiness and a search window pops up discreetly above the snake icon's head.
<Activate name search?>
The garage door trundled down its tracks and settled home. <No, not just now. Uh... thanks.> He reaches his arm out, <All right. Mount up.>
<Mounts are not available on this model. Please refer to manual section 4.1.12 for full sche-->
Nathan stops the drone, <I meant, 'let's go.'> He reinforces the command with a movement request of the drone's pilot.
<Affirmative.>
The drone slithers off the dashboard and onto his arm, shifting sections moving in a remarkable likeness to a real snake and Nathan takes a moment to admire the smooth control.
<Please look over the diagnostics for our trip.> Before the drone can misinterpret what he's asked, Nathan publishes a link to the stepvan's most recent performance logs to the drone with a command to Analyze.
He steps down out of the van and shuts the door, arming the garage's security. He moves over to a workbench in the garage's corner and sits on the stool looking out over the vehicles in the garage. Two months were paid on the garage. And this job would make three, maybe even four. He cuts the lowlight feed from his eyes and admires the way the vehicles gleam in the darkness. He swivels back to the workbench and sets to work. Okay... time to make a list.
20:18:12, Approaching the safehouse, Interbay
PAN: Passive MODEL: Fairlight Caliban OS: Novatech Navi
ACC: Cybereye image link; Cyberear soundlink; Shades imagelink
The neighborhood was nice enough. A lot like his own. More orks though. Lots more. He'd grown up in a mixed neighborhood and had learned early how quickly trouble could start for no good reason at all when racial tensions ran high. He'd learned somewhat how to read people, or at the very least, how to keep his mouth shut and his head down. How deep would you have to dig to stir that up here, I wonder? Probably not too far.
Nathan turns into the alleyway looking, the beacon changes from green to a blinking green as he approaches the location. Looks like some of the others are here already. He backs into the driveway and steps out, drone tucked away along his shoulders, a briefcase and a suitcase in his hands. He walks up to the door and puts down the briefcase, knocking at the door before trying the handle.
The new(but painted to show age) heavy door rolls on its wheels to reveal the spacious first floor. Except for 8 support cloumns made of brick and masonry the large space is virtually empty. The windows on this floor have been sprayed with a white layer of paint that lets in limited light from outside but not much. Within a few seconds of the door opening the floresent lights begin hum then flicker to life, lighting the area.
A large freight elevator sits at the other end, the cage doors are in the middle closed position. The elevator shows its age except for the new control box. Along the same wall as the elevator, work benches and 2 rolling toolboxes stand there.
A large freight elevator sits at the other end, the cage doors are in the middle closed position. The elevator shows its age except for the new control box. Along the same wall as the elevator, work benches and 2 rolling toolboxes stand there.
On the ride to the apartment, Whizbang was eagerly watching the world go by. She didn't get out of the Barrens too often, so everything was new to her. As she got closer to the apartments, she noticed an increase of ork population. Those were folks you didn't want to mess with. Though around here they seemed respectable enough.
She also kept an eye on the gang tags. So for a month she was bound to this job. Wasn't going to leave time for a social life. Hopefully this place was respectable enough that she shouldn't run into trouble with the locals. But always good to know where you stand.
She also kept an eye on the gang tags. So for a month she was bound to this job. Wasn't going to leave time for a social life. Hopefully this place was respectable enough that she shouldn't run into trouble with the locals. But always good to know where you stand.
[ Spoiler ]
Name: Sahara - Archtype: Detective
2000-ish Interbay, Safehous
PAN: Hidden Model: NT Airwave OS: NT Navi ACC: Oakley Yellow Shooting Glasses, Sub-Vocal Mic
Now this is a whole in the wall.
"Geez Asp, looks like we got our selves the fragging Hilton here."
Sahara instinctively swept the first floor for security holes, obvious points of interest, cameras, and listening devices. Once done she checked out the elevator, and looked for the bathroom.
2000-ish Interbay, Safehous
PAN: Hidden Model: NT Airwave OS: NT Navi ACC: Oakley Yellow Shooting Glasses, Sub-Vocal Mic
Now this is a whole in the wall.
"Geez Asp, looks like we got our selves the fragging Hilton here."
Sahara instinctively swept the first floor for security holes, obvious points of interest, cameras, and listening devices. Once done she checked out the elevator, and looked for the bathroom.
19:38:15 Capitol Hill - Lost in the Interbay area
PAN: Hidden mode: Sony Emperor/Renraku Ichi
ACC: Ares TrueSight Electric Shades, AR gloves
"Freaking drek eating system!"
Chopper reached out and slammed the factory installed Map-Drive System on his Comet, with the flat of his hand, watching as the flat screen read out fuzzed in and out before settling again on the same screen showing that he'd arrived at the long term parking garage as per he request. He checked again out the window and verified that the neon sign in the window still read "Ozeki's Sushi Bar and Bait Shop" and sighed disgustedly.
It took him a couple of minutes to get a map up on his commlink and find the right address for the long term parking garage where he could stash his car. It was about twenty blocks from the safe house but it would at least be available in case he needed it. Digger always said that a smart runner left himself an out. He transferred the cred to cover a month of parking, and stashed his car in the fifth floor spot he'd been assigned, then laboriously pulled down the back seat to get his "plumber's tools" from the trunk.
The "tools" came in a large tool box, the kind with a tray across the top and slots along the lid, which held assorted bits and pieces that looked like what Chopper thought of as plumber's tools; all well used. He'd actually bought the tool box from a plumber but it had been too clean and smelled too nice so he'd taken it and tied it to the underside of a manhole cover near his doss and left it to hang there for about two weeks in order to pick up that unique "plumber's aroma". He'd then swiped the plunger from the men's room at Papa Chuck's Chili Kettle and the dark green plastic gloves from the back of one of the water and sewer trucks. The other stuff he'd bought and just left to rust on his own. With those in the tray he doubted anyone would bother to look underneath it to where he kept his Ingram X wrapped in a black plastic bag mark with a biohazard sign and the words "Test Samples Do Not Expose to Flesh" along with one of the labels from a bottle of toilet cleaner giving all the standard language about calling poision control etc. Chopper figured if any Lone Star street thug was curious enough to find it under all that then deserved the collar.
Toting the box in his right hand he decided to walk to the safe house to get a feel for the neighborhood. He'd keep his eyes open for any of the Black Watch members to try and get a line into who he'd need to talk to about protection fees while he walked.
PAN: Hidden mode: Sony Emperor/Renraku Ichi
ACC: Ares TrueSight Electric Shades, AR gloves
"Freaking drek eating system!"
Chopper reached out and slammed the factory installed Map-Drive System on his Comet, with the flat of his hand, watching as the flat screen read out fuzzed in and out before settling again on the same screen showing that he'd arrived at the long term parking garage as per he request. He checked again out the window and verified that the neon sign in the window still read "Ozeki's Sushi Bar and Bait Shop" and sighed disgustedly.
It took him a couple of minutes to get a map up on his commlink and find the right address for the long term parking garage where he could stash his car. It was about twenty blocks from the safe house but it would at least be available in case he needed it. Digger always said that a smart runner left himself an out. He transferred the cred to cover a month of parking, and stashed his car in the fifth floor spot he'd been assigned, then laboriously pulled down the back seat to get his "plumber's tools" from the trunk.
The "tools" came in a large tool box, the kind with a tray across the top and slots along the lid, which held assorted bits and pieces that looked like what Chopper thought of as plumber's tools; all well used. He'd actually bought the tool box from a plumber but it had been too clean and smelled too nice so he'd taken it and tied it to the underside of a manhole cover near his doss and left it to hang there for about two weeks in order to pick up that unique "plumber's aroma". He'd then swiped the plunger from the men's room at Papa Chuck's Chili Kettle and the dark green plastic gloves from the back of one of the water and sewer trucks. The other stuff he'd bought and just left to rust on his own. With those in the tray he doubted anyone would bother to look underneath it to where he kept his Ingram X wrapped in a black plastic bag mark with a biohazard sign and the words "Test Samples Do Not Expose to Flesh" along with one of the labels from a bottle of toilet cleaner giving all the standard language about calling poision control etc. Chopper figured if any Lone Star street thug was curious enough to find it under all that then deserved the collar.
Toting the box in his right hand he decided to walk to the safe house to get a feel for the neighborhood. He'd keep his eyes open for any of the Black Watch members to try and get a line into who he'd need to talk to about protection fees while he walked.
20:41:00 Interbay Safehouse
PAN: Passive Model/OS: Custom ACC: Imagelink, Soundlink
Asp heaves his bag over the seatback into the front and slips his sumo-thick bulk out of the car. Sahara gets out her side, saying, "Geez Asp, looks like we got ourselves the fragging Hilton here."
"Well, since you said you're not staying anywhere anyway, I guess it's a step up." He looks around for some sign of the others' arrival, but figures that even if some were already here, they wouldn't be advertising their presence. "Let's get in there before all the good crash spots are snagged."
As they enter, he admires the way she eyes the place, clearly giving it the once-over security-wise. Once they see the space on the first floor, he goes out and backs the car inside, parking it for a straight shot out the doors, without blocking them in case any of the others parks inside.
PAN: Passive Model/OS: Custom ACC: Imagelink, Soundlink
Asp heaves his bag over the seatback into the front and slips his sumo-thick bulk out of the car. Sahara gets out her side, saying, "Geez Asp, looks like we got ourselves the fragging Hilton here."
"Well, since you said you're not staying anywhere anyway, I guess it's a step up." He looks around for some sign of the others' arrival, but figures that even if some were already here, they wouldn't be advertising their presence. "Let's get in there before all the good crash spots are snagged."
As they enter, he admires the way she eyes the place, clearly giving it the once-over security-wise. Once they see the space on the first floor, he goes out and backs the car inside, parking it for a straight shot out the doors, without blocking them in case any of the others parks inside.
Name: Comedian - Archtype: Hacker
Safehouse Internal, 19.30
PAN: Passive
Model:***Fairlight blah blah blah***
The moth flitters onto Comedian's finger as he makes his way to the top floor of the building.
<New task for you, mothra, patrol this building and send me pictures of anybody entering.>
<And try not to let them see you. That body you are wearing cost a lot of money.>
<Interesting stuff we got here, James.>
<Yup, but we have things other than playing with these toys to do, haven't we?>
<Awwww, I suppose so, guess it's time to try my hands at some Cracking...>
From his pocket Comedian produces a few bits of wire, and what looks like a broken umbrella; The material it's made of is rather strange, it looks a little too thick for normal anti weather gear. The wire is tied to his wrist, and the rest of the apparatus pladed on a small swivel mount. The Umbrellas handle is carefully pointed, and then Comedian sits on a handy chair and leans back into it.
Time to go exploring
Safehouse Internal, 19.30
PAN: Passive
Model:***Fairlight blah blah blah***
The moth flitters onto Comedian's finger as he makes his way to the top floor of the building.
<New task for you, mothra, patrol this building and send me pictures of anybody entering.>
<And try not to let them see you. That body you are wearing cost a lot of money.>
<Interesting stuff we got here, James.>
<Yup, but we have things other than playing with these toys to do, haven't we?>
<Awwww, I suppose so, guess it's time to try my hands at some Cracking...>
From his pocket Comedian produces a few bits of wire, and what looks like a broken umbrella; The material it's made of is rather strange, it looks a little too thick for normal anti weather gear. The wire is tied to his wrist, and the rest of the apparatus pladed on a small swivel mount. The Umbrellas handle is carefully pointed, and then Comedian sits on a handy chair and leans back into it.
Time to go exploring
The upstairs,which is only accessible by the aging elevator opens up to a large living space. On the opposite side of the room which by your guess is only about 3/4 of the length of the first floor, is a kitchen area with a breakfast nook in which the 4 stools are on this side of you. Along the kitchen, running parralel to it is a hallway. In between the kitchen and the elevator is a collection of chairs, a pool table and a large rounded couch, in which a trideo set is placed in the middle.
Beep Beep Beep......Message awaits, Message awaits.... sounds the slightly cold mechanical voice of a woman, no doubt from a playback unit.
Beep Beep Beep......Message awaits, Message awaits.... sounds the slightly cold mechanical voice of a woman, no doubt from a playback unit.
20:42:00 Interbay safehouse
PAN: Passive Model/OS: Custom ACC: Imagelink, Soundlink
Asp strides through the elevator doors before they open completely, his bag over his shoulder. He nods at those that are already present and heads down the hallway to see how many bedrooms there are, and whether any are still unoccupied. He tosses his bag down in the best spot he can find and goes back into the main room to see if he can shut off that annoying mechanical voice.
PAN: Passive Model/OS: Custom ACC: Imagelink, Soundlink
Asp strides through the elevator doors before they open completely, his bag over his shoulder. He nods at those that are already present and heads down the hallway to see how many bedrooms there are, and whether any are still unoccupied. He tosses his bag down in the best spot he can find and goes back into the main room to see if he can shut off that annoying mechanical voice.
Whizbang was eagerly poking around the apartment when a beeping drew her attention. Oooh...flashy light. Well, answering machine. She hit the playback button as Asp came to see about quieting the device.
19:55:45 Capitol Hill - Interbay
PAN: Hidden mode: Sony Emperor/Renraku Ichi
ACC: Ares TrueSight Electric Shades, AR gloves
Chopper spotted one of the Ork's wearing the Black Watch's colors, in this case a simple black watchcap, and deliberately aimed himself at the other metahuman. He smiled and tried to affect a pleasant non-threatening demeanor, which is difficult to accomplish when a person is almost two meters tall and a shade over 130 kilos of scarred Ork flesh. The ganger turned to face Chopper squarely, planting his feet and holding his hands out from his side, like a freaking gun fighter in one of Digger's old Western trid shows.
Chopper spoke before the ganger could issue his challenge, speaking in Or'zet.
"Hello, friend. It feels good to be able to walk the streets without feeling like half the people sharing it hate me for being Ork, and at least a quarter of the others look at me like a freaking pet that's gotten loose. I like what you guys have done with the area." Chopper nods at the ORC pride posters and the relatively clean neighborhood streets.
"Thanks, chummer," replies the ganger in the same language but with obvious suspicion in his voice, "its nice ta hear. Did you have somethin ya need?"
"I understand this is Black Watch territory and I wanted to talk with one of the big dogs. Nothing serious, just a simple polite courtesy call and perhaps a business proposition from a person interested in the area. I was hoping you could tell me where I could go to meet one of the leaders, of course I'll meet whoever it is on their turf, you just name the place." Chopper didn't have to fake the respect and approval in his voice as he addressed his fellow metahuman.
This is how the freaking city should look, how it should work. Except it seems like all the fragging bigots and race-haters got all the nuyen, and there are about two honest politicians in the whole freaking metroplex. If more people quite worrying about rules and laws and getting over on the next guy the whole fetching plex could exist like this.
Chopper remembered all the slights and sneers he'd received after he'd Changed and could feel the nuclear kiln of anger he kept locked just behind his breastbone begin a slow burn. He also remembered the way some of the Orks had treated his sister Alisha when they'd lived in the Underground for awhile, distinctly remembering having to teach at least three of the local toughs to mind their manners around the "breeder".
It's not just humans that can hate. He reminded himself.
PAN: Hidden mode: Sony Emperor/Renraku Ichi
ACC: Ares TrueSight Electric Shades, AR gloves
Chopper spotted one of the Ork's wearing the Black Watch's colors, in this case a simple black watchcap, and deliberately aimed himself at the other metahuman. He smiled and tried to affect a pleasant non-threatening demeanor, which is difficult to accomplish when a person is almost two meters tall and a shade over 130 kilos of scarred Ork flesh. The ganger turned to face Chopper squarely, planting his feet and holding his hands out from his side, like a freaking gun fighter in one of Digger's old Western trid shows.
Chopper spoke before the ganger could issue his challenge, speaking in Or'zet.
"Hello, friend. It feels good to be able to walk the streets without feeling like half the people sharing it hate me for being Ork, and at least a quarter of the others look at me like a freaking pet that's gotten loose. I like what you guys have done with the area." Chopper nods at the ORC pride posters and the relatively clean neighborhood streets.
"Thanks, chummer," replies the ganger in the same language but with obvious suspicion in his voice, "its nice ta hear. Did you have somethin ya need?"
"I understand this is Black Watch territory and I wanted to talk with one of the big dogs. Nothing serious, just a simple polite courtesy call and perhaps a business proposition from a person interested in the area. I was hoping you could tell me where I could go to meet one of the leaders, of course I'll meet whoever it is on their turf, you just name the place." Chopper didn't have to fake the respect and approval in his voice as he addressed his fellow metahuman.
This is how the freaking city should look, how it should work. Except it seems like all the fragging bigots and race-haters got all the nuyen, and there are about two honest politicians in the whole freaking metroplex. If more people quite worrying about rules and laws and getting over on the next guy the whole fetching plex could exist like this.
Chopper remembered all the slights and sneers he'd received after he'd Changed and could feel the nuclear kiln of anger he kept locked just behind his breastbone begin a slow burn. He also remembered the way some of the Orks had treated his sister Alisha when they'd lived in the Underground for awhile, distinctly remembering having to teach at least three of the local toughs to mind their manners around the "breeder".
It's not just humans that can hate. He reminded himself.
20:42:10 Interbay safehouse
PAN: Passive Model/OS: Custom ACC: Imagelink, Soundlink
Asp strode back into the main room to find that the little rainbow-haired girl had arrived. Thankfully, she'd just shut off that annoying voice, pushing a button on the playback unit on the big trid.
He noticed the tech guy zoned out in the corner with some kind of umbrella-looking antenna poking out of his arm. Asp knew enough about that sort of thing to figure that these types usually didn't go full shut-down unless they were doing something at least moderately tough, and he hoped the guy wouldn't get traced, at least not until they had some security set up.
He dropped his bulky frame into the middle of the circular couch to hear what the message was.
PAN: Passive Model/OS: Custom ACC: Imagelink, Soundlink
Asp strode back into the main room to find that the little rainbow-haired girl had arrived. Thankfully, she'd just shut off that annoying voice, pushing a button on the playback unit on the big trid.
He noticed the tech guy zoned out in the corner with some kind of umbrella-looking antenna poking out of his arm. Asp knew enough about that sort of thing to figure that these types usually didn't go full shut-down unless they were doing something at least moderately tough, and he hoped the guy wouldn't get traced, at least not until they had some security set up.
He dropped his bulky frame into the middle of the circular couch to hear what the message was.
20:45:00 Interbay
PAN: Hidden: Sony Emperor/Novatech Navi
ACC: Custom Infiltration Goggles, AR gloves
:: After giving the team a bit of time in the new safehouse, Janie decides it's time for her little test of the evening. Slipping out of the dull black sedan, she packs her long coat in her rucksack before activation the Chameleon system to virtually disappear into the background. While her tools all fit in a small ergonomically shaped backpack equipped with a link to the chameleon system to provide total coverage for all but the now strangely hovering rucksack. ::
:: She loved this terrain, dark city streets in the perpetually damp metroplex cast strange reflections and shadows everywhere. Janie always found disappearing into this urban jungle as effortless as the guerrilla warriors of the asian jungles a century passed moved through their own territory. Finding a good hiding place for her gear as she made her infiltration attempt, she shifted her attention to the building's exterior. What was at once obvious were the multitude of rotating camera's casting a watchful eye on the grounds surrounding the large structure. ::
:: She studied the timing of the camera's carefully, counting the seconds each arc took to complete as well as the length of pause before the return arc. Once she was confident she had discovered the right path and timing necessary, she shifted her attention to a careful study of the exterior for less obvious security measures. Adjusting the focus of her vision enhancer package, she makes out a series of lazer tripwires hidden in the light debris decorating the ground around the building. ::
:: Incorporating these new limitations to her route, she adjusts her strategy and begins moving forward her steps confident and deliberate, trusting fully her planned timing to render her more invisible than her special suit. ::
:: Approaching a man sized door, she positions herself directly under the camera to remain hidden as she takes a look at what locking security await her. ::
PAN: Hidden: Sony Emperor/Novatech Navi
ACC: Custom Infiltration Goggles, AR gloves
:: After giving the team a bit of time in the new safehouse, Janie decides it's time for her little test of the evening. Slipping out of the dull black sedan, she packs her long coat in her rucksack before activation the Chameleon system to virtually disappear into the background. While her tools all fit in a small ergonomically shaped backpack equipped with a link to the chameleon system to provide total coverage for all but the now strangely hovering rucksack. ::
:: She loved this terrain, dark city streets in the perpetually damp metroplex cast strange reflections and shadows everywhere. Janie always found disappearing into this urban jungle as effortless as the guerrilla warriors of the asian jungles a century passed moved through their own territory. Finding a good hiding place for her gear as she made her infiltration attempt, she shifted her attention to the building's exterior. What was at once obvious were the multitude of rotating camera's casting a watchful eye on the grounds surrounding the large structure. ::
:: She studied the timing of the camera's carefully, counting the seconds each arc took to complete as well as the length of pause before the return arc. Once she was confident she had discovered the right path and timing necessary, she shifted her attention to a careful study of the exterior for less obvious security measures. Adjusting the focus of her vision enhancer package, she makes out a series of lazer tripwires hidden in the light debris decorating the ground around the building. ::
:: Incorporating these new limitations to her route, she adjusts her strategy and begins moving forward her steps confident and deliberate, trusting fully her planned timing to render her more invisible than her special suit. ::
:: Approaching a man sized door, she positions herself directly under the camera to remain hidden as she takes a look at what locking security await her. ::
The big ork youth scratches his head through the black knit watch cap as he eyes Chopper cautiously. Nodding he points down the street as he speaks."We Ghraz'ix [Or'zet word meaning community meal...literal translation Cheiftains scraps] at the Grumi-Tummy down theres, at 6 ish most days. You talks about being nice nice then.
The Soft yet mechanical voice is replaced by the gruff voice and a trideo projection of the "J".
"Well I see youse have made it here, look around and relax abit, but dont get to comfy. When the time comes I want you all ready to handle my 'errands' so ka?" "Downstairs you got everything to fix most anything electrical or mechanical, and if you push play on the trideo remote on the couch three times you'll find some special features."
"Oh and dont trash the place."
The Soft yet mechanical voice is replaced by the gruff voice and a trideo projection of the "J".
"Well I see youse have made it here, look around and relax abit, but dont get to comfy. When the time comes I want you all ready to handle my 'errands' so ka?" "Downstairs you got everything to fix most anything electrical or mechanical, and if you push play on the trideo remote on the couch three times you'll find some special features."
"Oh and dont trash the place."
Name: Sahara - Archtype: Detective
2045-ish Interbay, Safehous
PAN: Hidden Model: NT Airwave OS: NT Navi ACC: Oakley Yellow Shooting Glasses, Sub-Vocal Mic
Sahara sat herself on the edge of the couch next to Asp. So far she was comfortable with the big orks presence. She took her long coat off and folded it over her arm. Underneath she was wearing a light blue blouse with some Indian beaded decorations. With he coat off the big revolver holstered on her back became painfully obvious.
She listened to the message with a little smile. "Don't trash the place huh?" She gave Asp a little punch in the shoulder, "like that’s up to us. So I'm gonna go upstairs and crash, call me if you need me guys." She stood and turned, letting her hand hover on Asp's shoulder for a minute.
"Thanks again for the ride."
Once upstairs she located a suitable bunk and through her bag on it. She removed the heavy gun tossing it next to the bag. The leather in the holster caused her skin to sweat profusely. She dug out a long towel and some body wash and went looking for the shower.
2045-ish Interbay, Safehous
PAN: Hidden Model: NT Airwave OS: NT Navi ACC: Oakley Yellow Shooting Glasses, Sub-Vocal Mic
Sahara sat herself on the edge of the couch next to Asp. So far she was comfortable with the big orks presence. She took her long coat off and folded it over her arm. Underneath she was wearing a light blue blouse with some Indian beaded decorations. With he coat off the big revolver holstered on her back became painfully obvious.
She listened to the message with a little smile. "Don't trash the place huh?" She gave Asp a little punch in the shoulder, "like that’s up to us. So I'm gonna go upstairs and crash, call me if you need me guys." She stood and turned, letting her hand hover on Asp's shoulder for a minute.
"Thanks again for the ride."
Once upstairs she located a suitable bunk and through her bag on it. She removed the heavy gun tossing it next to the bag. The leather in the holster caused her skin to sweat profusely. She dug out a long towel and some body wash and went looking for the shower.
20:46:00 Interbay safehouse
PAN: Passive Model/OS: Custom ACC: Imagelink, Soundlink
"Not a problem," Asp replied. He thought he had done a pretty good job of sounding nonchalant, but her hand on his shoulder was having an altogether unwanted effect on him. She was the whole reason he was in the shadows, but he had fully resigned himself to never even seeing her within the foreseeable future, much less staying under the same roof.
His life had gone from zero to lightspeed over the last four hours, and he had to keep his cool. So he forced himself not to watch her walk out of the room and reached for the remote.
He hefted it in the air, his thumb poised over the play button.
"Everybody got their popcorn?" he asked, and pushed three times.
PAN: Passive Model/OS: Custom ACC: Imagelink, Soundlink
"Not a problem," Asp replied. He thought he had done a pretty good job of sounding nonchalant, but her hand on his shoulder was having an altogether unwanted effect on him. She was the whole reason he was in the shadows, but he had fully resigned himself to never even seeing her within the foreseeable future, much less staying under the same roof.
His life had gone from zero to lightspeed over the last four hours, and he had to keep his cool. So he forced himself not to watch her walk out of the room and reached for the remote.
He hefted it in the air, his thumb poised over the play button.
"Everybody got their popcorn?" he asked, and pushed three times.
19:57:08 Capitol Hill - Interbay
PAN: Hidden mode: Sony Emperor/Renraku Ichi
ACC: Ares TrueSight Electric Shades, AR gloves
"Kay, I'll probably make an appearance tonight or tomorrow then friend."
With that Chopper nodded and moved off the street. No need to put more strain on the ganger than necessary. Mission accomplished he headed off to the safe house.
20:26:03 Capitol Hill - Interbay
PAN: Hidden mode: Sony Emperor/Renraku Ichi
ACC: Ares TrueSight Electric Shades, AR gloves
Chopper moved openly up the street towards the safe house's front door and knocked twice before entering the commcode to get in the locked door. As he entered he called out to prevent anyone from getting trigger happy.
"Hoi all."
PAN: Hidden mode: Sony Emperor/Renraku Ichi
ACC: Ares TrueSight Electric Shades, AR gloves
"Kay, I'll probably make an appearance tonight or tomorrow then friend."
With that Chopper nodded and moved off the street. No need to put more strain on the ganger than necessary. Mission accomplished he headed off to the safe house.
20:26:03 Capitol Hill - Interbay
PAN: Hidden mode: Sony Emperor/Renraku Ichi
ACC: Ares TrueSight Electric Shades, AR gloves
Chopper moved openly up the street towards the safe house's front door and knocked twice before entering the commcode to get in the locked door. As he entered he called out to prevent anyone from getting trigger happy.
"Hoi all."
20:23:02, Safehouse, Interbay
PAN: Passive MODEL: Fairlight Caliban OS: Novatech Navi
ACC: Cybereye image link; Cyberear soundlink; Shades imagelink
Nathan waits a moment and then enters the passcode and lets himself into the garage. "Hello?" He calls. He can hear footsteps upstairs. He looks at the elevator doors and his brows furrow. No stairs? Putting down the briefcase, he uses his free hand to palm the garage door button and when the door is open, he calls the van in by remote.
He makes one, then another, and a third trip to the van before he's unloaded all of his gear into the elevator. The doors chime on the second floor and the elevator opens, Nathan is standing there amidst a drift of bags.
"Everybody got their popcorn?" Asp's voice floats out.
"Uh, I... What?" He drags his bags out of the elevator, keeping the doors open longer than the elevator likes. It starts buzzing and trying to close on him. He tugs his last bag through with a grunt and the doors shudder and close. He eyes the closing doors reproachfully and scrubs a hand through his dark, short hair, "I'm sorry, I'm a little out of my element. So, am I the last one to... uh... is he okay?"
Nathan is looking at James. No one seems the least concerned so he shoves his bags bodily to the side and sidles in, casting around for somewhere to sit. Or lean. Or... something.
PAN: Passive MODEL: Fairlight Caliban OS: Novatech Navi
ACC: Cybereye image link; Cyberear soundlink; Shades imagelink
Nathan waits a moment and then enters the passcode and lets himself into the garage. "Hello?" He calls. He can hear footsteps upstairs. He looks at the elevator doors and his brows furrow. No stairs? Putting down the briefcase, he uses his free hand to palm the garage door button and when the door is open, he calls the van in by remote.
He makes one, then another, and a third trip to the van before he's unloaded all of his gear into the elevator. The doors chime on the second floor and the elevator opens, Nathan is standing there amidst a drift of bags.
"Everybody got their popcorn?" Asp's voice floats out.
"Uh, I... What?" He drags his bags out of the elevator, keeping the doors open longer than the elevator likes. It starts buzzing and trying to close on him. He tugs his last bag through with a grunt and the doors shudder and close. He eyes the closing doors reproachfully and scrubs a hand through his dark, short hair, "I'm sorry, I'm a little out of my element. So, am I the last one to... uh... is he okay?"
Nathan is looking at James. No one seems the least concerned so he shoves his bags bodily to the side and sidles in, casting around for somewhere to sit. Or lean. Or... something.
At the third tap on the remote the trideo shows a display on the the Nature Channel. ((Please Select One))
Wild Life Habitats
Safari Adventures
Wild Life Habitats
Safari Adventures
Asp shrugs and selects Wild Life Habitats.
The trideo pops open to show 12 equal sized window screens, one of which looks like the area in front of the main door. The first screen is currently highlighted with the words backdoor superimposed on it.
20:47:00 Interbay safehouse
PAN: Passive Model/OS: Custom ACC: Imagelink, Soundlink
"Damn," Asp grunts in surprise. "That's a helluva coincidence if that means what I think it does." He stands with an ease that belies his bulk, pulling a big automatic free of its holster.
"Probably nothing, but we ain't gonna stay alive being careless." Heading for the elevator, he points to Nathan: "See if you can get that security system up to speed." And to the little rainbow-haired elf: "If you're what I'm guessing, how about doing a quick look-see while us knuckle draggers head down?"
He pushes the elevator call button and accesses the team PAN from earlier, adding his icon to the current subscriber window.
PAN: Passive Model/OS: Custom ACC: Imagelink, Soundlink
"Damn," Asp grunts in surprise. "That's a helluva coincidence if that means what I think it does." He stands with an ease that belies his bulk, pulling a big automatic free of its holster.
"Probably nothing, but we ain't gonna stay alive being careless." Heading for the elevator, he points to Nathan: "See if you can get that security system up to speed." And to the little rainbow-haired elf: "If you're what I'm guessing, how about doing a quick look-see while us knuckle draggers head down?"
He pushes the elevator call button and accesses the team PAN from earlier, adding his icon to the current subscriber window.
20:47:08 Capitol Hill - Interbay
PAN: Hidden mode: Sony Emperor/Renraku Ichi
ACC: Ares TrueSight Electric Shades, AR gloves
Chopper walked into the main living area just in time to see Asp stand and pull a pistol from his belt. Not having a clue what was going on but not wanting to be left out he pulled out his pistol too, keeping his aimed down and to the side, remembering what his father had taught him about firearms safety so long ago.
"What? What's going on?" he asked.
Dam it! I knew I should've set my cameras and motion sensors up before getting my gear situated. Security first, comfort second ditbrain.
He'd barely had time to get his gear from Cadence and get it situated in one of the bedrooms, taking the time to reassemble and check his weapons, and he'd come out fully intending to set up his security cameras to find things already happening. He dutifully falls in behind Asp sending a request over the team network.
<-Can one of the tech guys get me access to the security cameras so I can view them in my glasses? I'd like to be able to see what's happening outside the door before I actually have to go through it.->
PAN: Hidden mode: Sony Emperor/Renraku Ichi
ACC: Ares TrueSight Electric Shades, AR gloves
Chopper walked into the main living area just in time to see Asp stand and pull a pistol from his belt. Not having a clue what was going on but not wanting to be left out he pulled out his pistol too, keeping his aimed down and to the side, remembering what his father had taught him about firearms safety so long ago.
"What? What's going on?" he asked.
Dam it! I knew I should've set my cameras and motion sensors up before getting my gear situated. Security first, comfort second ditbrain.
He'd barely had time to get his gear from Cadence and get it situated in one of the bedrooms, taking the time to reassemble and check his weapons, and he'd come out fully intending to set up his security cameras to find things already happening. He dutifully falls in behind Asp sending a request over the team network.
<-Can one of the tech guys get me access to the security cameras so I can view them in my glasses? I'd like to be able to see what's happening outside the door before I actually have to go through it.->
20:47:12 Interbay safehouse
PAN: Passive Model/OS: Custom ACC: Imagelink, Soundlink
"Probably nothing," Asp answered, as the elevator doors took their sweet time opening. "But that security setup is highlighting the back door, and I figured better safe than sorry. I got enough people gunning for me that I tend to play things what I call 'aggessively safe.'"
PAN: Passive Model/OS: Custom ACC: Imagelink, Soundlink
"Probably nothing," Asp answered, as the elevator doors took their sweet time opening. "But that security setup is highlighting the back door, and I figured better safe than sorry. I got enough people gunning for me that I tend to play things what I call 'aggessively safe.'"
The doors finally opened enough for Asp to squeeze his bulk through, followed by Chopper. As they started to descend, Asp used hand gestures to indicate he'd be going left out of the elevator, and suggesting that Chopper go right.
20:47:22 Capitol Hill - Interbay
PAN: Hidden mode: Sony Emperor/Renraku Ichi
ACC: Ares TrueSight Electric Shades, AR gloves
Chopper gripped his Predator solidly in his left hand, instinctively wanting to head left, but nodding his compliance and slipping to the right of the elevator doors, moving towards the external wall where he could see the back door as well as the rest of the room.
PAN: Hidden mode: Sony Emperor/Renraku Ichi
ACC: Ares TrueSight Electric Shades, AR gloves
Chopper gripped his Predator solidly in his left hand, instinctively wanting to head left, but nodding his compliance and slipping to the right of the elevator doors, moving towards the external wall where he could see the back door as well as the rest of the room.
Asp mirrors Chopper's moves on the left.
Name: Sahara - Archtype: Detective
2045-ish Interbay, Safehous
PAN: None Model: NT Airwave OS: NT Navi ACC: Oakley Yellow Shooting Glasses, Sub-Vocal Mic
The warm shower felt good to Sahara. Yet another thing it had been to long since she had. At least alone. Inside she had to shower every day with thirty other convicts. Sometimes it was okay, mostly when they left her alone. She was an ex-cop though. Ex-cop's don't do well on the inside. Luckily she was extremely perceptive and managed not to get shived. Not for lack of trying though.
She traced a few scars on her arms; the thin lines ran horizontally from just above her elbow across both arms. Better than her face. She shook the dread thoughts out of her head and finished lathering up. The stubby dwarf provided a nice shower and lightly fragmented soaps.
For the first time in months, she felt clean.
2045-ish Interbay, Safehous
PAN: None Model: NT Airwave OS: NT Navi ACC: Oakley Yellow Shooting Glasses, Sub-Vocal Mic
The warm shower felt good to Sahara. Yet another thing it had been to long since she had. At least alone. Inside she had to shower every day with thirty other convicts. Sometimes it was okay, mostly when they left her alone. She was an ex-cop though. Ex-cop's don't do well on the inside. Luckily she was extremely perceptive and managed not to get shived. Not for lack of trying though.
She traced a few scars on her arms; the thin lines ran horizontally from just above her elbow across both arms. Better than her face. She shook the dread thoughts out of her head and finished lathering up. The stubby dwarf provided a nice shower and lightly fragmented soaps.
For the first time in months, she felt clean.
20:47:012 Safehouse, Interbay
PAN: Passive MODEL: Fairlight Caliban OS: Novatech Navi
ACC: Cybereye image link; Cyberear soundlink
Nathan catches the remote as Asp tosses it to him. He fumbles it for a second and his eyes go wide as the orc pulls out a gun. Holy mother of frag... his instincts are shrilling at him to take cover. He stands dumbfounded for a few moments and starts when the elevator chimes and the doors open. He blinks rapidly and focuses on the screen. "Don't you think these are telling us what camera--" the doors close with a whir on the two orcs, "...we're controlling."
He shrugs and looks at the remote. Chopper has a request...
To the drone Nathan asks, << Please locate and split the feed to Camera #1 and reroute it to my imagelink. Thanks. >>
<< Affirmative, search inititated. Searching... searching... >> The small icon in the corner of Nathan's vision pulses as the snake does its wireless mojo.
<< Feed located. Rerouting to imagelink. >>
After verifying the feed Nathan passes it along to Chopper's glasses, if he finds them behind a firewall, he passes Chop a link to the feed that the man can accept and establish the feed through the filter of his firewall, << You should be set. Let me know if you need tweaks. >>
All righty, what do we have here? He turns his attention back to the remote and presses arrow buttons, watching the first of the 12 screens to see if the highlight moves or the camera direction is overriden by the remote's commands.
PAN: Passive MODEL: Fairlight Caliban OS: Novatech Navi
ACC: Cybereye image link; Cyberear soundlink
Nathan catches the remote as Asp tosses it to him. He fumbles it for a second and his eyes go wide as the orc pulls out a gun. Holy mother of frag... his instincts are shrilling at him to take cover. He stands dumbfounded for a few moments and starts when the elevator chimes and the doors open. He blinks rapidly and focuses on the screen. "Don't you think these are telling us what camera--" the doors close with a whir on the two orcs, "...we're controlling."
He shrugs and looks at the remote. Chopper has a request...
To the drone Nathan asks, << Please locate and split the feed to Camera #1 and reroute it to my imagelink. Thanks. >>
<< Affirmative, search inititated. Searching... searching... >> The small icon in the corner of Nathan's vision pulses as the snake does its wireless mojo.
<< Feed located. Rerouting to imagelink. >>
After verifying the feed Nathan passes it along to Chopper's glasses, if he finds them behind a firewall, he passes Chop a link to the feed that the man can accept and establish the feed through the filter of his firewall, << You should be set. Let me know if you need tweaks. >>
All righty, what do we have here? He turns his attention back to the remote and presses arrow buttons, watching the first of the 12 screens to see if the highlight moves or the camera direction is overriden by the remote's commands.
As the camera feeds are scrolled through on the trideo set they highlight and have a set of words super imposed upon them. Once the last screen is scrolled through a submenu pops up.
Playback: Enter time segment
Security Breaches: 000000
Suspect movement: 000004
SECURITY ASSESMENT:CLEAR
Playback: Enter time segment
Security Breaches: 000000
Suspect movement: 000004
SECURITY ASSESMENT:CLEAR
20:47:25 Interbay safehouse, garage
PAN: Passive Model/OS: Custom ACC: Imagelink, Soundlink
Asp settled himself behind a pillar, Predator lined up on the back door but Chopper well within his peripheral vision. He kept his breathing shallow, his front and rear sights lined up on the door, but his finger outside the trigger housing and both eyes open.
<What have you got up there, Cadence?> he thought into his headware commlink.
PAN: Passive Model/OS: Custom ACC: Imagelink, Soundlink
Asp settled himself behind a pillar, Predator lined up on the back door but Chopper well within his peripheral vision. He kept his breathing shallow, his front and rear sights lined up on the door, but his finger outside the trigger housing and both eyes open.
<What have you got up there, Cadence?> he thought into his headware commlink.
20:47:32 Capitol Hill - Interbay
PAN: Hidden mode: Sony Emperor/Renraku Ichi
ACC: Ares TrueSight Electric Shades, AR gloves
Chopper started and dam near shot a whole in the wall as the external camera feed flickered to life in his field of vision. It took him only a couple of seconds to set the feed to show the back door area. It looked pretty clear.
<-Received Cadence, and appreciated.->
<-Asp, I'm going to move up to the doorway and open it, get ready to provide cover as necessary.->
He sent the message over and immediately began to slide up along the wall, keeping the heavy pistol tucked tight against his waist to prevent it from being grabbed, while using the smartlink's data to align the flashing red triangle the weapon's system imposed in his glasses with the door. The tension rolled down the back of his neck tightening pulling the muscles in his shoulders, a hair's breath from triggering his battle magic and boosting his capabilities to the max. The worst part was that he still had no idea what had set Asp off, the camera view looked clear to Chopper.
Just my luck that the Johnson sent over Chinese take out and I'm about two second from causing some poor delivery boy to drek himself. What the frag is going on?
He grabbed the door handle in his big right hand and took a deep breath before pulling the door wide and facing the music.
PAN: Hidden mode: Sony Emperor/Renraku Ichi
ACC: Ares TrueSight Electric Shades, AR gloves
Chopper started and dam near shot a whole in the wall as the external camera feed flickered to life in his field of vision. It took him only a couple of seconds to set the feed to show the back door area. It looked pretty clear.
<-Received Cadence, and appreciated.->
<-Asp, I'm going to move up to the doorway and open it, get ready to provide cover as necessary.->
He sent the message over and immediately began to slide up along the wall, keeping the heavy pistol tucked tight against his waist to prevent it from being grabbed, while using the smartlink's data to align the flashing red triangle the weapon's system imposed in his glasses with the door. The tension rolled down the back of his neck tightening pulling the muscles in his shoulders, a hair's breath from triggering his battle magic and boosting his capabilities to the max. The worst part was that he still had no idea what had set Asp off, the camera view looked clear to Chopper.
Just my luck that the Johnson sent over Chinese take out and I'm about two second from causing some poor delivery boy to drek himself. What the frag is going on?
He grabbed the door handle in his big right hand and took a deep breath before pulling the door wide and facing the music.
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