Etain
Sunday 8/10/70 23:29:13
She shook her head in front of the dataterm at his words, both out of surprise and defiance. If he didn't know where she was, she wasn't about to tell him.
"Paddy, ye should know by now after all our years just how alike my brother and I truly are. I can't come home yet, not until I know he's alright. If ye can't give me anything to help me do that faster, it means it will be a long while till I come home, or it's going to mean yer gonna have to come find me. Take yer pick, but right now all that matters is getting a message to my brother m'self."
Full Version: Hitting Bottom - Second Wave
Conall
Sunday 8/3/70 04:48:00
Well well well… This sounds like there might be some good in it.
Conall was clearly reading Mr.Chu through the commlink visual link, but his scare of alienating the Asian man had diminished… for all his thoughts were geared toward one thing.
He had been offered four things: to kill, to help enslave his people, to help rape minds… and to rescue a nun. Somehow, the just choice didn’t seem that hard to pinpoint. Instinctively, the young shaman leaned forward, as if trying to get closer to Mr.Chu. His own interest was clear.
“I’d be bloody interested in meeting this… doctor.”
Sunday 8/3/70 04:48:00
Well well well… This sounds like there might be some good in it.
Conall was clearly reading Mr.Chu through the commlink visual link, but his scare of alienating the Asian man had diminished… for all his thoughts were geared toward one thing.
He had been offered four things: to kill, to help enslave his people, to help rape minds… and to rescue a nun. Somehow, the just choice didn’t seem that hard to pinpoint. Instinctively, the young shaman leaned forward, as if trying to get closer to Mr.Chu. His own interest was clear.
“I’d be bloody interested in meeting this… doctor.”
Conall
Sunday 8/3/70 04:48:15
Mr. Chu did not even try to mask his annoyance. "Very well. Send my payment for the SIN. At your meet tonight my minion will have contact information for this young doctor...IF she proves willing to meet with you." And the connection was cut.
Sunday 8/3/70 04:48:15
Mr. Chu did not even try to mask his annoyance. "Very well. Send my payment for the SIN. At your meet tonight my minion will have contact information for this young doctor...IF she proves willing to meet with you." And the connection was cut.
Etain
Sunday 8/10/70 23:29:30
Paddy's voice took on a reasonable tone. "Lass, yer sure to be knowin' I sympathize with ye. Saints know I hold you and yer dear brother in the highest esteem, and me heart aches at the wrongs which have befallen ya. But use yer head for just a wee minute. You are a member o' Clan O'Neill. Your father is already plottin' to one day have yer brother's exile rescinded. But as he told Conall not moments before sendin' him off - any contact with his clan will severely endanger the chances of that ever happenin'. So don't you see that just by communicatin' with him, you are only delaying the day of his return? Or will ye be exiled along with him? If you are...oh, lass, ye are a brave soul, but in no way prepared for the streets of Seattle, especially as what the Yanks call a "probationary citizen." Mark my words, while he'd be happy ta see ya, he'd also be havin' to protect ya night and day - you'd be a dozen times more a hindrance and a danger to yer dear brother than a help and comfort. Now, without me even mentioning the heartache ye are causing those that love you back home, can't you see just how thoughtless and selfish you are bein'?"
Sunday 8/10/70 23:29:30
Paddy's voice took on a reasonable tone. "Lass, yer sure to be knowin' I sympathize with ye. Saints know I hold you and yer dear brother in the highest esteem, and me heart aches at the wrongs which have befallen ya. But use yer head for just a wee minute. You are a member o' Clan O'Neill. Your father is already plottin' to one day have yer brother's exile rescinded. But as he told Conall not moments before sendin' him off - any contact with his clan will severely endanger the chances of that ever happenin'. So don't you see that just by communicatin' with him, you are only delaying the day of his return? Or will ye be exiled along with him? If you are...oh, lass, ye are a brave soul, but in no way prepared for the streets of Seattle, especially as what the Yanks call a "probationary citizen." Mark my words, while he'd be happy ta see ya, he'd also be havin' to protect ya night and day - you'd be a dozen times more a hindrance and a danger to yer dear brother than a help and comfort. Now, without me even mentioning the heartache ye are causing those that love you back home, can't you see just how thoughtless and selfish you are bein'?"
Pacific First Starbucks, 1420 Fifth Avenue, Seattle, Downtown
Monday 08/04/70 07:59:33
John - applying for a job
PAN Icon offline, Custom hidden, Moai passive
He could use some more sleep, but for now the coffee would have to do. Still he fealt jolted at the same time - for the lack of his all morning training programm, that his body had come accustomed to, or because he was to meet a person with some link to his former life, he didn´t know.
Usually, he would do some weight-lifting, a round of Mirical-Sports raquet-ball or some running at this time of the day. After havng to haul around all his posessions in a backpack for a month, he had decided to buff his body a bit -he also didn´t want to get hit by a car that soon again, if he could avoid it- and it was allready stating to show, though not that much through his business suit. He would have done his training, but unlike his planning, he had worked at the shop half of the night again and the other night, too.
He would have been done with the hard stuff by saturday morning, but the guys from the shop wanted to watch the Rocky/Kameda fight friday night - and what a fight! So he had to finish his stuff saturday night. last night he had done some menial tasks for the shop´s crew, because he couldn´t afford to give them a tip. The 50
he had passed on to his hotels consierge and the 20 for the beer at the fight had left him almost out of cash. Well he had cash, but it was allready planed in for his cost of living and he wouldn´t touch that. Gladly he had done little else on the weekend, so he was relatively fit after 2 hours of sleep and a cold shower.
The coffee was ok -real coffee, though not the premium blands John was used to- but the service was somehow lacking. He put down the empty cup -the tap allready deducted through his 'official' comlink- picked up his brife-case, and mixed into the stream of business-slaves.
Monday 08/04/70 07:59:33
John - applying for a job
PAN Icon offline, Custom hidden, Moai passive
He could use some more sleep, but for now the coffee would have to do. Still he fealt jolted at the same time - for the lack of his all morning training programm, that his body had come accustomed to, or because he was to meet a person with some link to his former life, he didn´t know.
Usually, he would do some weight-lifting, a round of Mirical-Sports raquet-ball or some running at this time of the day. After havng to haul around all his posessions in a backpack for a month, he had decided to buff his body a bit -he also didn´t want to get hit by a car that soon again, if he could avoid it- and it was allready stating to show, though not that much through his business suit. He would have done his training, but unlike his planning, he had worked at the shop half of the night again and the other night, too.
He would have been done with the hard stuff by saturday morning, but the guys from the shop wanted to watch the Rocky/Kameda fight friday night - and what a fight! So he had to finish his stuff saturday night. last night he had done some menial tasks for the shop´s crew, because he couldn´t afford to give them a tip. The 50
he had passed on to his hotels consierge and the 20 for the beer at the fight had left him almost out of cash. Well he had cash, but it was allready planed in for his cost of living and he wouldn´t touch that. Gladly he had done little else on the weekend, so he was relatively fit after 2 hours of sleep and a cold shower.The coffee was ok -real coffee, though not the premium blands John was used to- but the service was somehow lacking. He put down the empty cup -the tap allready deducted through his 'official' comlink- picked up his brife-case, and mixed into the stream of business-slaves.
Pacific First Starbucks, 1420 Fifth Avenue, Seattle, Downtown
Monday 8/4/70 08:00:00
Precisely on time, the azure-blue step van with custom running lights pulled up to the curb in front of the coffee bar. As arranged, it was blaring the latest Orxploitation hit by Broken Tusk, Die Smoothie!.
John stepped out onto the sidewalk and, again as prearranged, opened the cab door with its tinted window and climbed inside. An Asian human handed him a mage-mask - Oh well, at least it would block out the music.
*****
Monday 8/4/70 08:34:00
He hadn't been able to see or hear anything. Of course he'd considered simply using the GPS on his comm to track their location - no one had stopped him, but then decided it was pointless to risk such a breach of professional courtesy - he was too vulnerable, and if he didn't trust these people, he wouldn't be here. Well, he didn't really trust them, but he trusted Alice.
Someone used the external swithc to shut off the static on the mask, and told him to take it off. They were already indoors - windowless garage. He was led into an elevator and left alone. It rose upward, but he couldn't tell how far. and opened onto an office. It was a plain room, no furniture but an unremarkable desk, at which sat an Asian man who looked to be in his sixties, enshrouded in a cloud of cigarette smoke. The man merely watched his elven supplicant, not saying a word. After some time, John realized that he would have to speak first.
Monday 8/4/70 08:00:00
Precisely on time, the azure-blue step van with custom running lights pulled up to the curb in front of the coffee bar. As arranged, it was blaring the latest Orxploitation hit by Broken Tusk, Die Smoothie!.
John stepped out onto the sidewalk and, again as prearranged, opened the cab door with its tinted window and climbed inside. An Asian human handed him a mage-mask - Oh well, at least it would block out the music.
*****
Monday 8/4/70 08:34:00
He hadn't been able to see or hear anything. Of course he'd considered simply using the GPS on his comm to track their location - no one had stopped him, but then decided it was pointless to risk such a breach of professional courtesy - he was too vulnerable, and if he didn't trust these people, he wouldn't be here. Well, he didn't really trust them, but he trusted Alice.
Someone used the external swithc to shut off the static on the mask, and told him to take it off. They were already indoors - windowless garage. He was led into an elevator and left alone. It rose upward, but he couldn't tell how far. and opened onto an office. It was a plain room, no furniture but an unremarkable desk, at which sat an Asian man who looked to be in his sixties, enshrouded in a cloud of cigarette smoke. The man merely watched his elven supplicant, not saying a word. After some time, John realized that he would have to speak first.
Etain
Sunday 8/10/70 23:30:27
She listened to each of Paddy’s words carefully, some of them weighing heavier on her heart than others. When he began to talk about her like she was incapable of taking care of herself Etain dug her nails into the palms of her hands to control her frustration and anger that was welling up inside her.
“All I’m asking for is a way to reach him, not even directly at first. Paddy all I want to do is give him the option to see me, to make that choice instead of having it made for him by any of us. I’d never in a million years want to put him in harms way but…” She paused to choose her words carefully. “I’m tired of everyone treating me like I’m some delicate flower or a fragile piece of glass that will shatter if someone touches me. I’m not five years old anymore Paddy, when are my parents and even you going to let me grow up? I’m still here, breathing, after all that has happened over the last two weeks. I haven’t shattered yet. I can do this with your help or not, it would be much easier on everyone if I had something to go off of. The sooner I can get his answer, the sooner I’d consider coming home. I’ve got two more minutes for this call, otherwise you’re going to have to wait till I call ye again. ”
She didn’t even give the “heartache” she was supposedly causing back home more than five seconds of her thoughts, since she was being so “thoughtless” and “selfish” she figured a few more moments of indulging in that behavior wouldn’t hurt her. She closed her eyes and held her breath to wait for his answer.
Please, I shan’t ask for more than just a way to reach him…if he doesn’t want to see me, so shall it be. But I will prove them all wrong, I’ll make it on my own without them…
Sunday 8/10/70 23:30:27
She listened to each of Paddy’s words carefully, some of them weighing heavier on her heart than others. When he began to talk about her like she was incapable of taking care of herself Etain dug her nails into the palms of her hands to control her frustration and anger that was welling up inside her.
“All I’m asking for is a way to reach him, not even directly at first. Paddy all I want to do is give him the option to see me, to make that choice instead of having it made for him by any of us. I’d never in a million years want to put him in harms way but…” She paused to choose her words carefully. “I’m tired of everyone treating me like I’m some delicate flower or a fragile piece of glass that will shatter if someone touches me. I’m not five years old anymore Paddy, when are my parents and even you going to let me grow up? I’m still here, breathing, after all that has happened over the last two weeks. I haven’t shattered yet. I can do this with your help or not, it would be much easier on everyone if I had something to go off of. The sooner I can get his answer, the sooner I’d consider coming home. I’ve got two more minutes for this call, otherwise you’re going to have to wait till I call ye again. ”
She didn’t even give the “heartache” she was supposedly causing back home more than five seconds of her thoughts, since she was being so “thoughtless” and “selfish” she figured a few more moments of indulging in that behavior wouldn’t hurt her. She closed her eyes and held her breath to wait for his answer.
Please, I shan’t ask for more than just a way to reach him…if he doesn’t want to see me, so shall it be. But I will prove them all wrong, I’ll make it on my own without them…
33 car minutes from 1420 Fifth Avenue, Seattle, Downtown
Monday 08/04/70 08:34:36
John - sheding his skin
PAN Icon offline, Custom offline, Moai hidden
When he had seen the blue van the first time, John had shut down his custom comlink´s wifi activety as well as the skinlink pluged into his datajack and turned his Moai on hidden mode. It had been a decade since he had last subjected himself to this kind of meeting - and than he had been the Jhonson. Cortico-steroids surged his system as the step van´s door slid open. On the other hand, meeting Lanier in his office or leaving his own office under penalty of force hadn´t realy been that different situations.
Of course he trusted Alice´s asessment, but nobody could garantee, that these people where really working for Mr. Chu! Since he had decided to find the fixer on his own, there was no way to be sure he was meeting the right people. Tony Markovski had spent some time to research Chu´s reputation, but all he had found was, that the asian fixer was no Santa Claus but played it straight and that he had worked much with the Triades and Yakuza before. When John Milton came to live, the elf had decided that it was time to make contact, but then the oportunity at the electronics shop had arisen and he didn´t want to waste it. After two weeks of working to put together gear and tooles however, his cash had started to dwindel and he needed to get some more before he could go on accumulating equipment. Of course he could have simply call him with the number Alice had provided, but he loathed to even make that tentative conection to his former life. Besides, he really prefered to stand on his own two feet, rather then relying on the legacy of a previous incarnation.
This weekend he had put out his feelers again. It had been really hard without a library of lingua-softs, to find the right person in the International District to arrange a meeting, but poking around in a number of online-hangouts, to find out the correct pass-phrases and hand-signs had gone a long way.
As assumed the ride had been uneventfull. His implanted audio-protection had spared him some effects of the magemask, but still sight and sound had been blocked out and the infrasound impulses had shook around his inner ears quiet badly. If not for the built-in gag in the restraint, the man might have lost his coffee. Though he refrained from using any inapropriate technical means -he had no doubt they whould be blocked anyway and the attempt would only make him look dishonorable- he did his best, to pick up and memorize every twist and turn, accelleration and decelleration, every ramp up and down and every bump in the street. As best as he could with his technologically distorted concentration, he tryed to catalogue every hint to the rout they where taking, storing them in his headware along with the simsense recording of the ride, to be feed it into the mapsoft later, if necessary and find a possible location.
Standing infront of the fixer, the elven man strained to keep his cool, while he was sizing up his possible futur business partner - or partner in crime. When the asian stayed silent, Samantha Villiers´ voice hushed through the ex-lawyer´s mind. Pitch me, John. The memory involunterrily sprung sexual associations in his head, but he easily pushedthem aside and concentrated on the matter at hand. He had premeditated the following words extensively. He made a slight, respectfull bow and spoke up in a calm and confident voice.
John: "You may call me 4810 or simply Fort. Ask for the handle Krait for references, though you may find nothing yet, as I have just started in the line of work you are regularly working with."
When he said the numbers his last private words to Alice streamed through his mind. "Your star will rise ..." He stoped himself from thinking about it, before anyone could pry the information from his thoughts. 'Your star will rise to the top, Alice, no qestion! Should you ever be afraid to loos your purpose, keep your eyes on the summit and you will find it again.'
When they met the very first time, he was still working for FUCHI, she was standing in his office just as he returned from a night of work and when he gruffly asked, what was her purpose to be there, she simply answered: 'You.'
Among the stock-portfolio, loads of data and few personal things he had left her in his last will was a Montblanc pen feshoned with the round-edged, white star resembling the summit. She had given it to him on his last birthday. The last will stated 'Manolo has told me what it is, a horrible piece of junk, I have never opened it.' But that wasn´t true. The box contained a note saying: 'Think of me, when you look at the stars.'
A slight feeling of sadnes sattled in the back of his head, as he brifely remembered the day, she walked off the shuttle from Argentina. He had been waiting for her, his hand in his pocket. In his hand a small velvet covered case. He had never mustered the selfconfidence to give her the case and ask her. Instead he just shook her hand and offered her a job at RFS.
The chosen lable might turn out usefull, when he wanted to make contact with her again, but that day might not come for a long time.
The thoughts raced through his mind, but where gone in an eyeblink, when he spoke further.
Krait: "You have been recommanded to me as a trustworthy businessman by a common acquaintance of ours. That person also gave me a contact-code and said they would put in a good word for me, but I´d prefer to built a reputation on my own merit rather then the word of my associates."
The handle Krait had been carefully chosen as well. Almost every other runner had snake or a related term as part of their streetname, so it was common enough to not stand out, yet it was still unique and memorable and it was short. Most important, the last Krait in the history of Seattle´s shadows he had heard of had retired two decades ago and the name hadn´t been associated to any unpleasent incident.
Krait: "Circumstances beyond my influence have forced me to pick up the life in the shadows and after all I have heard about you, I´m convinced you could help me built a base for myself. More to the point, I´m looking for work and for contacts."
Monday 08/04/70 08:34:36
John - sheding his skin
PAN Icon offline, Custom offline, Moai hidden
When he had seen the blue van the first time, John had shut down his custom comlink´s wifi activety as well as the skinlink pluged into his datajack and turned his Moai on hidden mode. It had been a decade since he had last subjected himself to this kind of meeting - and than he had been the Jhonson. Cortico-steroids surged his system as the step van´s door slid open. On the other hand, meeting Lanier in his office or leaving his own office under penalty of force hadn´t realy been that different situations.
Of course he trusted Alice´s asessment, but nobody could garantee, that these people where really working for Mr. Chu! Since he had decided to find the fixer on his own, there was no way to be sure he was meeting the right people. Tony Markovski had spent some time to research Chu´s reputation, but all he had found was, that the asian fixer was no Santa Claus but played it straight and that he had worked much with the Triades and Yakuza before. When John Milton came to live, the elf had decided that it was time to make contact, but then the oportunity at the electronics shop had arisen and he didn´t want to waste it. After two weeks of working to put together gear and tooles however, his cash had started to dwindel and he needed to get some more before he could go on accumulating equipment. Of course he could have simply call him with the number Alice had provided, but he loathed to even make that tentative conection to his former life. Besides, he really prefered to stand on his own two feet, rather then relying on the legacy of a previous incarnation.
This weekend he had put out his feelers again. It had been really hard without a library of lingua-softs, to find the right person in the International District to arrange a meeting, but poking around in a number of online-hangouts, to find out the correct pass-phrases and hand-signs had gone a long way.
As assumed the ride had been uneventfull. His implanted audio-protection had spared him some effects of the magemask, but still sight and sound had been blocked out and the infrasound impulses had shook around his inner ears quiet badly. If not for the built-in gag in the restraint, the man might have lost his coffee. Though he refrained from using any inapropriate technical means -he had no doubt they whould be blocked anyway and the attempt would only make him look dishonorable- he did his best, to pick up and memorize every twist and turn, accelleration and decelleration, every ramp up and down and every bump in the street. As best as he could with his technologically distorted concentration, he tryed to catalogue every hint to the rout they where taking, storing them in his headware along with the simsense recording of the ride, to be feed it into the mapsoft later, if necessary and find a possible location.
Standing infront of the fixer, the elven man strained to keep his cool, while he was sizing up his possible futur business partner - or partner in crime. When the asian stayed silent, Samantha Villiers´ voice hushed through the ex-lawyer´s mind. Pitch me, John. The memory involunterrily sprung sexual associations in his head, but he easily pushedthem aside and concentrated on the matter at hand. He had premeditated the following words extensively. He made a slight, respectfull bow and spoke up in a calm and confident voice.
John: "You may call me 4810 or simply Fort. Ask for the handle Krait for references, though you may find nothing yet, as I have just started in the line of work you are regularly working with."
When he said the numbers his last private words to Alice streamed through his mind. "Your star will rise ..." He stoped himself from thinking about it, before anyone could pry the information from his thoughts. 'Your star will rise to the top, Alice, no qestion! Should you ever be afraid to loos your purpose, keep your eyes on the summit and you will find it again.'
When they met the very first time, he was still working for FUCHI, she was standing in his office just as he returned from a night of work and when he gruffly asked, what was her purpose to be there, she simply answered: 'You.'
Among the stock-portfolio, loads of data and few personal things he had left her in his last will was a Montblanc pen feshoned with the round-edged, white star resembling the summit. She had given it to him on his last birthday. The last will stated 'Manolo has told me what it is, a horrible piece of junk, I have never opened it.' But that wasn´t true. The box contained a note saying: 'Think of me, when you look at the stars.'
A slight feeling of sadnes sattled in the back of his head, as he brifely remembered the day, she walked off the shuttle from Argentina. He had been waiting for her, his hand in his pocket. In his hand a small velvet covered case. He had never mustered the selfconfidence to give her the case and ask her. Instead he just shook her hand and offered her a job at RFS.
The chosen lable might turn out usefull, when he wanted to make contact with her again, but that day might not come for a long time.
The thoughts raced through his mind, but where gone in an eyeblink, when he spoke further.
Krait: "You have been recommanded to me as a trustworthy businessman by a common acquaintance of ours. That person also gave me a contact-code and said they would put in a good word for me, but I´d prefer to built a reputation on my own merit rather then the word of my associates."
The handle Krait had been carefully chosen as well. Almost every other runner had snake or a related term as part of their streetname, so it was common enough to not stand out, yet it was still unique and memorable and it was short. Most important, the last Krait in the history of Seattle´s shadows he had heard of had retired two decades ago and the name hadn´t been associated to any unpleasent incident.
Krait: "Circumstances beyond my influence have forced me to pick up the life in the shadows and after all I have heard about you, I´m convinced you could help me built a base for myself. More to the point, I´m looking for work and for contacts."
33 car minutes from 1420 Fifth Avenue, Seattle, Downtown
Monday 8/4/70 08:35:00
The smoking Chinaman remained silent for long enough that Krait was afraid he hadn't heard him. But finally he spoke. "To get contacts always takes two things - money, and deeds that demonstrate reliability. These generally require work. So we shall discuss that first. Assuming I have any information about illegal work, which it seems you are hinting at, I would be interested to know your qualifications and brag sheet."
Monday 8/4/70 08:35:00
The smoking Chinaman remained silent for long enough that Krait was afraid he hadn't heard him. But finally he spoke. "To get contacts always takes two things - money, and deeds that demonstrate reliability. These generally require work. So we shall discuss that first. Assuming I have any information about illegal work, which it seems you are hinting at, I would be interested to know your qualifications and brag sheet."
Etain
Sunday 8/10/70 23:31:00
Paddy sighed and appeared deep in thought. Then he looked back at Etain...or, it seemed as though he was looking beyond her. When he spoke, there was regret in his voice - "Etain, Costello and Costigan are going to bring you on the next flight home. Please don't think of making a fuss - they are there with the blessings of airport security, and have extradition orders signed by the Tir consul general in Seattle. I'm...well I'm not sorry fer doin' me duty, but I am sorry to string out our conversation so - but we needed a few minutes to make sure this goes smoothly. Please now, comport yourself with the dignity of yer station."
And indeed, Etain could feel someone behind her, and turning saw the familiar faces of two of Paddy's men. In the background some airport security people waited quietly.
Sunday 8/10/70 23:31:00
Paddy sighed and appeared deep in thought. Then he looked back at Etain...or, it seemed as though he was looking beyond her. When he spoke, there was regret in his voice - "Etain, Costello and Costigan are going to bring you on the next flight home. Please don't think of making a fuss - they are there with the blessings of airport security, and have extradition orders signed by the Tir consul general in Seattle. I'm...well I'm not sorry fer doin' me duty, but I am sorry to string out our conversation so - but we needed a few minutes to make sure this goes smoothly. Please now, comport yourself with the dignity of yer station."
And indeed, Etain could feel someone behind her, and turning saw the familiar faces of two of Paddy's men. In the background some airport security people waited quietly.
33 car minutes from 1420 Fifth Avenue, Seattle, Downtown
Monday 08/04/70 08:36:00
Krait - applying for a job
PAN Icon offline, Custom offline, Moai hidden
Krait: "I am aware that nothing worth having comes for free. I only mentioned that I´m looking for contacts, so you know I would be willing to work for people that can´t afford decent pay but might prove to become usefull conections."
He said with a polite smile.
Krait: "I worked in the computer industry for several years and am hiering out my technical expertese. I am no Hacker, though, since I lacked the need to be untill now and am still lacking the appropriate tools at the moment. Back at ... back then I have gathered some experiance in crisis-management and supervised many collegues as well, so I know my way around people - one way or the other. I´d propably be usefull in any sort of investigation or observation task as well."
These words where picked especially carefull, so he didn´t tell any lye that would pop up on any analyze truth spells, while still not giving away more then necessary and maybe even making a fals impression about his background. He went right on, to adress the next question the smoker might ask or at least think about.
Krait: "I don´t like to get my hands dirty, but I am not afrait of bloody work - I allways ware gloves. So the regular casulties of this trade are no problem for me, when and if the job demands them, BUT I prefer to avoid the additional attention and reputational impact that unecessary violence brings."
Watching to judge the older man´s reaction, Krait supresses the urge to fumble around with the piece of paper in his pocket - the only thing that might save his nack if Mr. Chu chose not to trust him. Few people ever mistrusted him on first sight, however and that made him more positive about this then his usual pessimistic self.
Monday 08/04/70 08:36:00
Krait - applying for a job
PAN Icon offline, Custom offline, Moai hidden
Krait: "I am aware that nothing worth having comes for free. I only mentioned that I´m looking for contacts, so you know I would be willing to work for people that can´t afford decent pay but might prove to become usefull conections."
He said with a polite smile.
Krait: "I worked in the computer industry for several years and am hiering out my technical expertese. I am no Hacker, though, since I lacked the need to be untill now and am still lacking the appropriate tools at the moment. Back at ... back then I have gathered some experiance in crisis-management and supervised many collegues as well, so I know my way around people - one way or the other. I´d propably be usefull in any sort of investigation or observation task as well."
These words where picked especially carefull, so he didn´t tell any lye that would pop up on any analyze truth spells, while still not giving away more then necessary and maybe even making a fals impression about his background. He went right on, to adress the next question the smoker might ask or at least think about.
Krait: "I don´t like to get my hands dirty, but I am not afrait of bloody work - I allways ware gloves. So the regular casulties of this trade are no problem for me, when and if the job demands them, BUT I prefer to avoid the additional attention and reputational impact that unecessary violence brings."
Watching to judge the older man´s reaction, Krait supresses the urge to fumble around with the piece of paper in his pocket - the only thing that might save his nack if Mr. Chu chose not to trust him. Few people ever mistrusted him on first sight, however and that made him more positive about this then his usual pessimistic self.
33 car minutes from 1420 Fifth Avenue, Seattle, Downtown
Monday 8/.4/70 08:36:30
The would-be runner sensed that he had Mr. Chu's attention from the moment he mentioned being willing to work less for money than for connections. And as he described his qualifications, he knew he had the older man hooked, although no outward display marred the impassive expression on the fixer's face.
"So, I will assume by omission that you have negligible combat skills and zero magical talent. You say that your strongest area is computers, yet dare not call yourself a hacker. On the surface of things, I would say your market value in the shadows is quite low - at least, I would say so if I knew anything about such matters. But I am pleased to hear that you are willing to work for favors. For reasons of my own, I am seeking people that would be willing to assist a determined if tentative young woman with an entirely legal yet perhaps not entirely safe task. I am afraid she can pay very little, but if you were to accommodate her, I would consider that a strong reference, and be willing to introduce you to people I know."
The man paused to exhale a cloud of aromatic tobacco smoke.
"And I know a lot of people."
Monday 8/.4/70 08:36:30
The would-be runner sensed that he had Mr. Chu's attention from the moment he mentioned being willing to work less for money than for connections. And as he described his qualifications, he knew he had the older man hooked, although no outward display marred the impassive expression on the fixer's face.
"So, I will assume by omission that you have negligible combat skills and zero magical talent. You say that your strongest area is computers, yet dare not call yourself a hacker. On the surface of things, I would say your market value in the shadows is quite low - at least, I would say so if I knew anything about such matters. But I am pleased to hear that you are willing to work for favors. For reasons of my own, I am seeking people that would be willing to assist a determined if tentative young woman with an entirely legal yet perhaps not entirely safe task. I am afraid she can pay very little, but if you were to accommodate her, I would consider that a strong reference, and be willing to introduce you to people I know."
The man paused to exhale a cloud of aromatic tobacco smoke.
"And I know a lot of people."
33 car minutes from 1420 Fifth Avenue, Seattle, Downtown
Monday 08/04/70 08:36:33
Krait - applying for a job
PAN Icon offline, Custom offline, Moai hidden
Krait: "I am interested."
The elven man said bluntly.
Monday 08/04/70 08:36:33
Krait - applying for a job
PAN Icon offline, Custom offline, Moai hidden
Krait: "I am interested."
The elven man said bluntly.
33 car minutes from 1420 Fifth Avenue, Seattle, Downtown
Monday 8/4/70 08:36:40
"Good. You will contacted soon, one way or the other. I am a good judge of character and you seem trustworthy to me. But I warn you of two things. This woman I speak of may come across as somewhat unassuming. But I know she has powerful friends. And I assume she has still more powerful enemies. The elevator will deliver you back to the garage."
And behind Krait, the elevator doors slid open.
Monday 8/4/70 08:36:40
"Good. You will contacted soon, one way or the other. I am a good judge of character and you seem trustworthy to me. But I warn you of two things. This woman I speak of may come across as somewhat unassuming. But I know she has powerful friends. And I assume she has still more powerful enemies. The elevator will deliver you back to the garage."
And behind Krait, the elevator doors slid open.
33 car minutes from 1420 Fifth Avenue, Seattle, Downtown
Monday 08/04/70 08:37:10
Krait - applying for a job
PAN Icon offline, Custom offline, Moai hidden
Krait: "It was a pleasure to meet you, Sir. I´m looking forward to work with you!"
He said with a slight bow. This had been easy. Either it was a trap, or Mr. Chu had somehow found out about his conection to Alice. Or he was as trust-evoking as he was paranoid. In any case, this couldn´t be anything else then a test run, but he was content to be tasted if that broght him closer to regain a reputation in his new -not quiet all by himself- chosen profession, steady income and network of contacts.
He turned half way to the elevator, then stoped and drew the piece of paper out of his pocket. Looking back he asked.
Krait: "How can I contact you on short notice?"
Monday 08/04/70 08:37:10
Krait - applying for a job
PAN Icon offline, Custom offline, Moai hidden
Krait: "It was a pleasure to meet you, Sir. I´m looking forward to work with you!"
He said with a slight bow. This had been easy. Either it was a trap, or Mr. Chu had somehow found out about his conection to Alice. Or he was as trust-evoking as he was paranoid. In any case, this couldn´t be anything else then a test run, but he was content to be tasted if that broght him closer to regain a reputation in his new -not quiet all by himself- chosen profession, steady income and network of contacts.
He turned half way to the elevator, then stoped and drew the piece of paper out of his pocket. Looking back he asked.
Krait: "How can I contact you on short notice?"
Conall
Sunday 8/3/70 04:48:25
As the connection abruptly went dead, Conall felt confident he had done the first step into doing some good in the world. Taking his high price custom made wifi shades off, he tossed them on what looked like the bedside table. Made in a single bloc of light green plastic, it smelled of strong disinfectant… like the rest of the room.
Cracking his neck from side to side, the young shaman rubbed his tired eyes. Even though he had caught some shut eye during his flight, the fatigue of the past 24 hours was rapidly catching up to him. His arms felt sore from his fight with Patrick. His body still pained from the dozen burns his bare skin had endured.
Dragging himself to the closet sized bathroom, massaging the back of his neck, he flipped the light on. The neons flickered a few times before kicking on, bathing the room in a blue-green glow as the light bounced of the tiles. Yawning big enough to unhook his jaw, Conall gave his reflection in the mirror a good look. Turning from side to side, he checked his own features… not really sure what he was looking for. Turning the faucet on, he discovered that hot water was rationed to certain hours… and that almost 5 in the morning wasn’t such an hour. Splashing cold water on his face, Conall thought of all the things he had to do. Now that he had a name, he needed a place to stay… and this crummy place sure as hell wasn’t going to cut it for very long. He also needed some sort of vehicle. Back at home, he could have just borrowed one of the many cars his father had in the garage. But here, it was a whole other story. Cursing himself, he realized he hadn’t asked Chu to get him a falsified driving liscence to go with his new persona. Hopefully, his gobetween would be able to provide it.
Flicking the light off, Conall started to undress, carefully folding and setting his clothes in what seemed to him like the cleanest corner of the room.
Later today, he’d make his next step into Seattle’s underworld. Some rest would only improve his chances of survival.
Sunday 8/3/70 04:48:25
As the connection abruptly went dead, Conall felt confident he had done the first step into doing some good in the world. Taking his high price custom made wifi shades off, he tossed them on what looked like the bedside table. Made in a single bloc of light green plastic, it smelled of strong disinfectant… like the rest of the room.
Cracking his neck from side to side, the young shaman rubbed his tired eyes. Even though he had caught some shut eye during his flight, the fatigue of the past 24 hours was rapidly catching up to him. His arms felt sore from his fight with Patrick. His body still pained from the dozen burns his bare skin had endured.
Dragging himself to the closet sized bathroom, massaging the back of his neck, he flipped the light on. The neons flickered a few times before kicking on, bathing the room in a blue-green glow as the light bounced of the tiles. Yawning big enough to unhook his jaw, Conall gave his reflection in the mirror a good look. Turning from side to side, he checked his own features… not really sure what he was looking for. Turning the faucet on, he discovered that hot water was rationed to certain hours… and that almost 5 in the morning wasn’t such an hour. Splashing cold water on his face, Conall thought of all the things he had to do. Now that he had a name, he needed a place to stay… and this crummy place sure as hell wasn’t going to cut it for very long. He also needed some sort of vehicle. Back at home, he could have just borrowed one of the many cars his father had in the garage. But here, it was a whole other story. Cursing himself, he realized he hadn’t asked Chu to get him a falsified driving liscence to go with his new persona. Hopefully, his gobetween would be able to provide it.
Flicking the light off, Conall started to undress, carefully folding and setting his clothes in what seemed to him like the cleanest corner of the room.
Later today, he’d make his next step into Seattle’s underworld. Some rest would only improve his chances of survival.
Outside Talestone Chrystal Ware, 1422 Fifth Avenue, Seattle, Downtown
Monday 08/04/70 09:10:00
Krait - applying for a job
PAN Icon offline, Custom hidden, Moai passive
When Chu had given him the same number he had gotten from Alice, John´s first thought was, that the asian knew who he was - or at least he was suspicious where he was coming from. Even though he considered that the fixer was handing out different comcodes to specific contacts and was testing him, by providing him the code he used for Alice, he still flung the patch of paper onto the desk, on which the elf had printed the contact-number prior tothe meet.
If Chu knew something, providing another piece of the picture wouldn´t hurt too much -John trusted his former assistent´s judgement- but providing some semblance of evidence, that his introducing story was true, could goa long way for his future dealings with the man. Whatever the fixer thought about this gesture, his poker-face didn´t give away anything, and he wouldn´t tell either. The goons droped the elf again after another 32 minute ride.
Save-House Martin, Luther King Jr. Way S & S Ryan Way/Boeing Rd, Seattle, Van Asselt
Monday 08/04/70 11:00:00
John - backtracking his steps
PAN Icon offline, Custom hidden, Moai passive
The elf opened his dirty-gray eyes, as he left the digital memories of his blindfolded ride back to Downtown behind. Lieing back on his simsense easy chair, the elf stretched his limbs on the ergonomically built, form-fitting piece of furniture. He was now resonably sure -down to a couple of blocks- where in the international district he had met the fixer.
After the gorillas had droped him, he had spent some time shaking off any followers, before finally going to his home. There he had taken a shower, removing as meny lose particles holding his DNA-sample from his body, after shaving the remaining hair on his skalp and reducing his beard to a small patch on his chin. Then he had bleached his eyebrows, lashes and beard and finally dyed the beard with some neon-green party-color, that could be 'switched on and off' by aplying a special solvant.
He would take a one-hour nap, before showing up at the shop with some lunch-snacks for the guys and offer to do some free work. He programmed his ears to wake him at 1200 and closed his dirty-gray eyes.
Monday 08/04/70 09:10:00
Krait - applying for a job
PAN Icon offline, Custom hidden, Moai passive
When Chu had given him the same number he had gotten from Alice, John´s first thought was, that the asian knew who he was - or at least he was suspicious where he was coming from. Even though he considered that the fixer was handing out different comcodes to specific contacts and was testing him, by providing him the code he used for Alice, he still flung the patch of paper onto the desk, on which the elf had printed the contact-number prior tothe meet.
If Chu knew something, providing another piece of the picture wouldn´t hurt too much -John trusted his former assistent´s judgement- but providing some semblance of evidence, that his introducing story was true, could goa long way for his future dealings with the man. Whatever the fixer thought about this gesture, his poker-face didn´t give away anything, and he wouldn´t tell either. The goons droped the elf again after another 32 minute ride.
Save-House Martin, Luther King Jr. Way S & S Ryan Way/Boeing Rd, Seattle, Van Asselt
Monday 08/04/70 11:00:00
John - backtracking his steps
PAN Icon offline, Custom hidden, Moai passive
The elf opened his dirty-gray eyes, as he left the digital memories of his blindfolded ride back to Downtown behind. Lieing back on his simsense easy chair, the elf stretched his limbs on the ergonomically built, form-fitting piece of furniture. He was now resonably sure -down to a couple of blocks- where in the international district he had met the fixer.
After the gorillas had droped him, he had spent some time shaking off any followers, before finally going to his home. There he had taken a shower, removing as meny lose particles holding his DNA-sample from his body, after shaving the remaining hair on his skalp and reducing his beard to a small patch on his chin. Then he had bleached his eyebrows, lashes and beard and finally dyed the beard with some neon-green party-color, that could be 'switched on and off' by aplying a special solvant.
He would take a one-hour nap, before showing up at the shop with some lunch-snacks for the guys and offer to do some free work. He programmed his ears to wake him at 1200 and closed his dirty-gray eyes.
Conall
Sunday 8/3/70 14:17:12
Throughout the day, Conall had hovered between sleep and awakened. Everything around him felt alien. The rough sheets. The bumpy mattress. The roaring traffic out of his window. The not so distant sounds of plane taking off and landing. He had also quickly come to the realization that every now and then, his whole room would shake to its foundation, as a plane roared probably a few meters above.
Finally, somewhere in the beginning of the afternoon, the young elf had simply given up on sleeping thoroughly. Trying to hold some sort of connection with his now past life, Conall did his best to workout once he was up and had showered. Unfortunately, unlike at home, he didn't have access to a top of line and fully equipped personal gym. The best he could do were sit ups, push ups, and chin ups by holding himself against one of the exposed pipe that ran the ceiling.
Then had come the discovery of high protein nutrisoy bars... which was the only eatable thing Conall had been able to find in the place. It wasn't only like eating slices of cardboard... but dirty old cardboard... if such a thing ever existed. Conall now felt not only sore and still tired, but still hungry and slightly sick to his stomach. All that and the smell of all those trogs was making him nauseated.
When he had tried to connect to the local wireless hub, he had found the access denied to his commlink. After three tries, Conall had thrown the thing across the room. The ID he had entered the country with had apparently already degraded... and he couldn't access the net anymore. With a shiver of disgust, all that was left to him was to use the local public terminal.
His credstick slotted in, a quick search gave him a location and detailed description of Club Penumbra. From the name, and time of meeting, Conall had already guessed the place was a nightspot... but he still didn't like it. Clubs had never really been his things. They were too decadent. Nevertheless, it wasn't like he had any choices left... not anymore. Swallowing his own pride once more, Conall dragged himself back to his closet sized room. Hopefully, he could bury himself long enough in the datachips he had brought with him to forget where he was.
Outside Club Penumbra
Sunday 8/3/70 23:47:11
From his place in the line, Conall gave a quick glance over his shoulder... sizing up the other would be patrons who were waiting outside with him... trying to understand what Mr.Chu had been referring to when he had said that he would “fit right in”. He was ready to bet that his real leather hiking boots alone, which he was wearing at the moment, had cost more than everyone's attire put together.
Spitting on the side walk, he propped himself up to see if the.... the thing manning the door was letting anyone in.
Sunday 8/3/70 14:17:12
Throughout the day, Conall had hovered between sleep and awakened. Everything around him felt alien. The rough sheets. The bumpy mattress. The roaring traffic out of his window. The not so distant sounds of plane taking off and landing. He had also quickly come to the realization that every now and then, his whole room would shake to its foundation, as a plane roared probably a few meters above.
Finally, somewhere in the beginning of the afternoon, the young elf had simply given up on sleeping thoroughly. Trying to hold some sort of connection with his now past life, Conall did his best to workout once he was up and had showered. Unfortunately, unlike at home, he didn't have access to a top of line and fully equipped personal gym. The best he could do were sit ups, push ups, and chin ups by holding himself against one of the exposed pipe that ran the ceiling.
Then had come the discovery of high protein nutrisoy bars... which was the only eatable thing Conall had been able to find in the place. It wasn't only like eating slices of cardboard... but dirty old cardboard... if such a thing ever existed. Conall now felt not only sore and still tired, but still hungry and slightly sick to his stomach. All that and the smell of all those trogs was making him nauseated.
When he had tried to connect to the local wireless hub, he had found the access denied to his commlink. After three tries, Conall had thrown the thing across the room. The ID he had entered the country with had apparently already degraded... and he couldn't access the net anymore. With a shiver of disgust, all that was left to him was to use the local public terminal.
His credstick slotted in, a quick search gave him a location and detailed description of Club Penumbra. From the name, and time of meeting, Conall had already guessed the place was a nightspot... but he still didn't like it. Clubs had never really been his things. They were too decadent. Nevertheless, it wasn't like he had any choices left... not anymore. Swallowing his own pride once more, Conall dragged himself back to his closet sized room. Hopefully, he could bury himself long enough in the datachips he had brought with him to forget where he was.
Outside Club Penumbra
Sunday 8/3/70 23:47:11
From his place in the line, Conall gave a quick glance over his shoulder... sizing up the other would be patrons who were waiting outside with him... trying to understand what Mr.Chu had been referring to when he had said that he would “fit right in”. He was ready to bet that his real leather hiking boots alone, which he was wearing at the moment, had cost more than everyone's attire put together.
Spitting on the side walk, he propped himself up to see if the.... the thing manning the door was letting anyone in.
Etain
Sunday 8/10/70 23:31:07
Turning to look over her shoulder to confirm the presence she already felt she drew a long, deep breath. Turning back to the dataterm Paddy could see the disappointment in her face.
“Bloody hell… I won’t forgive ye for this Padraig…everything from here on out is on yer shoulders. “
It was serious, she had never called the head of security anything but his affectionate nickname since the time she was young. Calmly she pulled her credstick from the dataterm, instantly terminating the call to the far off Emerald Isle. She closed her eyes before the now black screen and drew another long, slow breath.
Lady Brigid, please forgive me…
Slowly she turned to face her soon to be captors, not making any sudden moves. She carefully opened her bag and withdrew a bottle of water, opening it and taking a sip as words of Sperethiel rang through her head. As she began to rise to her feet to face the security team, the fireworks began.
An explosion ripped through the space between Etain and the advancing security team drowning out their faces in a wall of flame. She let out a well-planned panicked scream and readied herself to move as quickly as possible away from Costello, Costigan and the airport security team.
Sunday 8/10/70 23:31:07
Turning to look over her shoulder to confirm the presence she already felt she drew a long, deep breath. Turning back to the dataterm Paddy could see the disappointment in her face.
“Bloody hell… I won’t forgive ye for this Padraig…everything from here on out is on yer shoulders. “
It was serious, she had never called the head of security anything but his affectionate nickname since the time she was young. Calmly she pulled her credstick from the dataterm, instantly terminating the call to the far off Emerald Isle. She closed her eyes before the now black screen and drew another long, slow breath.
Lady Brigid, please forgive me…
Slowly she turned to face her soon to be captors, not making any sudden moves. She carefully opened her bag and withdrew a bottle of water, opening it and taking a sip as words of Sperethiel rang through her head. As she began to rise to her feet to face the security team, the fireworks began.
An explosion ripped through the space between Etain and the advancing security team drowning out their faces in a wall of flame. She let out a well-planned panicked scream and readied herself to move as quickly as possible away from Costello, Costigan and the airport security team.
Save-House Martin, Luther King Jr. Way S & S Ryan Way/Boeing Rd, Seattle, Van Asselt
Monday 08/04/70 11:45:00
At first he thought the ringing was his alarm, but then he saw it was only 11:45 and then realized it was an incoming call - from Chu. The man worked fast.
No sooner had he answered than the fixer's voice announced - "The woman of whom we spoke will be at a diner near the airport called Meg's Place at 10 pm this evening. She will be there to meet another potential employee, an elf. Shall I inform her another interested party will be attending?"
Monday 08/04/70 11:45:00
At first he thought the ringing was his alarm, but then he saw it was only 11:45 and then realized it was an incoming call - from Chu. The man worked fast.
No sooner had he answered than the fixer's voice announced - "The woman of whom we spoke will be at a diner near the airport called Meg's Place at 10 pm this evening. She will be there to meet another potential employee, an elf. Shall I inform her another interested party will be attending?"
Save-House Martin, Luther King Jr. Way S & S Ryan Way/Boeing Rd, Seattle, Van Asselt
Monday 08/04/70 11:45:09
Krait - On the verge of becoming a runner
PAN Icon offline, Custom hidden, Moai passive
The elf blinked a few times, still not entirely aroused from his nap, though the older man couldn´t see him. The regulator in his brain did a good job in reducing his over all need for sleep, but beeing rung out of a little siesta was as disorienting as it was to anyone else - perhaps even more so, since the bioware made his slumber much more deep and intense.
Krait: "Yes, sir. Please tell her to look for an elf with a black eye and a pink tie! Is there anything else I should know before I meet her?"
He stretched his nack to both sides alternately and rolled around his closed eyes, to get rid of the still lingering sleepyness, while he thought about his next steps. Powerfull enemies, hm? the thought seemed somehow comical given his own history.
Monday 08/04/70 11:45:09
Krait - On the verge of becoming a runner
PAN Icon offline, Custom hidden, Moai passive
The elf blinked a few times, still not entirely aroused from his nap, though the older man couldn´t see him. The regulator in his brain did a good job in reducing his over all need for sleep, but beeing rung out of a little siesta was as disorienting as it was to anyone else - perhaps even more so, since the bioware made his slumber much more deep and intense.
Krait: "Yes, sir. Please tell her to look for an elf with a black eye and a pink tie! Is there anything else I should know before I meet her?"
He stretched his nack to both sides alternately and rolled around his closed eyes, to get rid of the still lingering sleepyness, while he thought about his next steps. Powerfull enemies, hm? the thought seemed somehow comical given his own history.
Save-House Martin, Luther King Jr. Way S & S Ryan Way/Boeing Rd, Seattle, Van Asselt
Monday 08/04/70 11:45:09
"Only what I have already told you. Good day." And the Chinese fixer disconnected.
Monday 08/04/70 11:45:09
"Only what I have already told you. Good day." And the Chinese fixer disconnected.
Outside Club Penumbra
Sunday 8/3/70 23:48:00
Indeed, the "thing" was beckoning a few lucky wannabes up through the press of flesh thronging the entrance. He was a huge troll with only one horn, and he wore what Conall judged to be a very expensive tuxedo. He was obviously trusted to select the most fashionable and beautiful - or best connected - from amongst the crowd - quite a task, as few that did not fit that description bothered showing up. Conall was wondering what possible qualifications this sort of brute could have for such a job, when he realized that the troll wasn't working alone - he spotted at least two women slinking about the fringes of the line - the scantiness of their attire distracting most onlookers from what was clear to the Tir elf - where they went, the troll's gaze soon followed, and someone was selected.
It wasn't long before one of the women - apparently albino and endowed with fluffy/floppy white ears (accessories? implants? natural?) and a costume (???) to match - strutted by him. He knew she'd apprised the quality of his apparel, and indeed, once he looked up at the troll the beast was waving him forward to pay his Y50 cover.
Inside, things were exactly as he'd expected - although he did not care for them, he was familiar enough with the psychedelic displays of sound, light, and aroma that would assault his meat and, if he let it, his Augmented Reality as well. And this place was no different from dozens of others his friends had dragged him to around Europe. Neither was the moonscape decor a surprise after his research this afternoon.
Finding a place at the bar, he ordered a drink, and found himself fending off a variety of women and men within minutes - apparently Seattlites had considerably less decorum about courtship than he was accustomed to. Thankfully, precisely at midnight, a young Asian man approached him, caught his eye, and sidled up to the bar. "My Uncle Chu would like to buy you a drink. We have a private room arranged."
Sunday 8/3/70 23:48:00
Indeed, the "thing" was beckoning a few lucky wannabes up through the press of flesh thronging the entrance. He was a huge troll with only one horn, and he wore what Conall judged to be a very expensive tuxedo. He was obviously trusted to select the most fashionable and beautiful - or best connected - from amongst the crowd - quite a task, as few that did not fit that description bothered showing up. Conall was wondering what possible qualifications this sort of brute could have for such a job, when he realized that the troll wasn't working alone - he spotted at least two women slinking about the fringes of the line - the scantiness of their attire distracting most onlookers from what was clear to the Tir elf - where they went, the troll's gaze soon followed, and someone was selected.
It wasn't long before one of the women - apparently albino and endowed with fluffy/floppy white ears (accessories? implants? natural?) and a costume (???) to match - strutted by him. He knew she'd apprised the quality of his apparel, and indeed, once he looked up at the troll the beast was waving him forward to pay his Y50 cover.
Inside, things were exactly as he'd expected - although he did not care for them, he was familiar enough with the psychedelic displays of sound, light, and aroma that would assault his meat and, if he let it, his Augmented Reality as well. And this place was no different from dozens of others his friends had dragged him to around Europe. Neither was the moonscape decor a surprise after his research this afternoon.
Finding a place at the bar, he ordered a drink, and found himself fending off a variety of women and men within minutes - apparently Seattlites had considerably less decorum about courtship than he was accustomed to. Thankfully, precisely at midnight, a young Asian man approached him, caught his eye, and sidled up to the bar. "My Uncle Chu would like to buy you a drink. We have a private room arranged."
Etain
Sunday 8/10/70 23:31:08
Even near midnight, Sea-Tac Airport was a bustling hive a metahumanity - and in an instant that hive was transformed into a mass panic. It was impossible to say how the airport security team ranging around Etain in a wide circle would have responded to the sudden ball of searing flame - all that mattered was that hundreds of people all around them swept them away from the scene in an instantaneous human tsunami. At the epicenter remained the elf noblewoman, a wall of public data terminals behind her, and two elves she had once taken for granted as her ever-present protectors. Both recoiled from the flames, arms raised. One yelled "Illusion!" - but knowing it was a phantasm and not feeling the heat charring your arm were two different things - and both took a few steps back.
At the same time, thick jets of white gas shot from the ceiling all around the terminal.
Sunday 8/10/70 23:31:08
Even near midnight, Sea-Tac Airport was a bustling hive a metahumanity - and in an instant that hive was transformed into a mass panic. It was impossible to say how the airport security team ranging around Etain in a wide circle would have responded to the sudden ball of searing flame - all that mattered was that hundreds of people all around them swept them away from the scene in an instantaneous human tsunami. At the epicenter remained the elf noblewoman, a wall of public data terminals behind her, and two elves she had once taken for granted as her ever-present protectors. Both recoiled from the flames, arms raised. One yelled "Illusion!" - but knowing it was a phantasm and not feeling the heat charring your arm were two different things - and both took a few steps back.
At the same time, thick jets of white gas shot from the ceiling all around the terminal.
Conall
Club Penumbra
Sunday 8/4/70 00:00:11
This place simply disgusted him. The sights were awful, the sounds annoying, and the smells made him nauseous. He hated it. That and the fact that the beer he has just ordered tasted like dirty tap water. Glancing over his shoulder once every now and then, Conall simply tried to ignore what was going on around him.
When the young Asian man took a seat next to him, giving him a certain look, Conall was ready to tell him to “frag off” and to explain in detail “where he could forcibly shove it”. Decorum was apparently not something the yanks were fond of. How unfortunate it was that North Americans had hit rock bottom so hard. When the man finally spoke, the young shaman didn't quite hear him. Partly because of the music, partly because he wasn't truly paying attention. A few seconds of silence passed between the both of them before Conall realized what had been said. He felt a strange rush a adrenaline jolt up his spine... and suddenly felt much more aware of his surroundings.
“That's a fairly offer from yer man.” said the young irish elf, pushing his beer away from him. “See me, I could definitely use another jar... feels like some bloody baldrick pissed in this one.” he continued in his thick irish accent.
Club Penumbra
Sunday 8/4/70 00:00:11
This place simply disgusted him. The sights were awful, the sounds annoying, and the smells made him nauseous. He hated it. That and the fact that the beer he has just ordered tasted like dirty tap water. Glancing over his shoulder once every now and then, Conall simply tried to ignore what was going on around him.
When the young Asian man took a seat next to him, giving him a certain look, Conall was ready to tell him to “frag off” and to explain in detail “where he could forcibly shove it”. Decorum was apparently not something the yanks were fond of. How unfortunate it was that North Americans had hit rock bottom so hard. When the man finally spoke, the young shaman didn't quite hear him. Partly because of the music, partly because he wasn't truly paying attention. A few seconds of silence passed between the both of them before Conall realized what had been said. He felt a strange rush a adrenaline jolt up his spine... and suddenly felt much more aware of his surroundings.
“That's a fairly offer from yer man.” said the young irish elf, pushing his beer away from him. “See me, I could definitely use another jar... feels like some bloody baldrick pissed in this one.” he continued in his thick irish accent.
Mag´s Place, near Sea-Tac International Airport, Perimeter Road, Seattle, Sea-Tac
Monday 08/04/70 20:58:50
Krait - Prepairing to meet Ms. Johnson
PAN Icon offline, Custom hidden, Moai offline
He yawned and stretched away his arms, his torso trembling in a sudden bout of tension, before his body turned limp again and slumped back into the comfortable armchair. For a moment he had to fight the impulse to get going right away - the change of lifestyle hadn´t cured his work-o-holism. Finally he forced himself, to just set up his com to search for any information on this 'Meg´s Place' aided by his Seattle Professional City Guide database, but view the results later instead of as soon as they where coming in. Then he activated the the sonic massaging function in his chair and reset his comlink to wake him at 1300.
Though he tried real hard, he couldn´t get himself to relax and rest. After a few minutes, that seemed like hours, he compromized, by downloading some pornographic simsense. Skiping right to the action, he got himself mildly distracted for almost ten minutes, but his mind still wandered ahead in time, to all the things he had to do. When he could no longer bear it, he cut the program and stood up, pacing up and down the luxurious main room, as his thoughts raced to find the trap.
The results of his search lie there at his digital fingertips, aluring like the siren´s call. He resisted, sattling onto the floor, to practice the breath-controll techniques Manolo DelGato had tought him, to controll the nervous energies raging inside him. Eventually he conquered his restless heart and got another 40 minutes of sleep.
He went through his comlink´s accumulated data on the diner, on his taxi-ride to it. He spent over an hour scouting the surrounding area, looking for escape routs and hiding places and updating his digital map with minute details. He put some flags on the AR overlay, just in case somebody was going to hack his comlink, but stored the AROWs he realy was intending to use in case of an emergancy on his internal memory only. He also parked a '2-wheels-4-rent' street-bicycle in an oportune place, paying it for a whole 24 hours, so it wouldn´t be colected by the service drone - one day of cycling was only a minor post in his entertainment budget.
Finally he activated his Moai - the headset comlink, that was giving the right half of his face the destinct apearance of it´s namesake, as the earbud & mikrophone looked like a lumpy ear, while the retracable display´s holding arm simulated a protruding brow-bulge. He asked the guys at the shop, if they cared for him bringing them something from the restaurant - on their tab of course, they knew he was low on cash at the moment. He offered them to help finish the day´s work and then have some foor and trid together. When he went into the diner, he visited the gentlemen´s toilet and checked the emergancy escape plans first and then picked up his 'colegue´s' order and something for himself, all the while scanning the interior carefully for everything obvious and hidden.
On the ride to the electronics shop, he changed his beard back to hyperoxid-blond and his eyes to their usual dirty gray, neutralizing the red eyedrops, that gave the imprssion of his right eye being infected. The guys snickered when he turned up in his high-priced -though unobstrusive- business-suite, but he explained that he´d have a blind date with some chat-friend tonight.
At half past seven, he called it a night and went off for his date. In the cab, he sprayed his beard and eyebrows neon-green again, changed his eye-color and applyed the eye-drops. Finally he doned his faux-nano-trode skin-art and readjusted the silken, black tie.
He spent another good hour checking the terrain. He displaced some objects, that would make good improvised traps and weapons or where usable to turn the path behind him into dangerous ground. Before he entered the diner, he memorized the places, he´d instruct -or already had instructed- a cab to wait for him. He also placed a second bike -payed for a mare 3 hours- at another convenient position. Then he walked into the location, begining his act of a hopefull sarariman let down on his blind date.
Monday 08/04/70 20:58:50
Krait - Prepairing to meet Ms. Johnson
PAN Icon offline, Custom hidden, Moai offline
He yawned and stretched away his arms, his torso trembling in a sudden bout of tension, before his body turned limp again and slumped back into the comfortable armchair. For a moment he had to fight the impulse to get going right away - the change of lifestyle hadn´t cured his work-o-holism. Finally he forced himself, to just set up his com to search for any information on this 'Meg´s Place' aided by his Seattle Professional City Guide database, but view the results later instead of as soon as they where coming in. Then he activated the the sonic massaging function in his chair and reset his comlink to wake him at 1300.
Though he tried real hard, he couldn´t get himself to relax and rest. After a few minutes, that seemed like hours, he compromized, by downloading some pornographic simsense. Skiping right to the action, he got himself mildly distracted for almost ten minutes, but his mind still wandered ahead in time, to all the things he had to do. When he could no longer bear it, he cut the program and stood up, pacing up and down the luxurious main room, as his thoughts raced to find the trap.
The results of his search lie there at his digital fingertips, aluring like the siren´s call. He resisted, sattling onto the floor, to practice the breath-controll techniques Manolo DelGato had tought him, to controll the nervous energies raging inside him. Eventually he conquered his restless heart and got another 40 minutes of sleep.
He went through his comlink´s accumulated data on the diner, on his taxi-ride to it. He spent over an hour scouting the surrounding area, looking for escape routs and hiding places and updating his digital map with minute details. He put some flags on the AR overlay, just in case somebody was going to hack his comlink, but stored the AROWs he realy was intending to use in case of an emergancy on his internal memory only. He also parked a '2-wheels-4-rent' street-bicycle in an oportune place, paying it for a whole 24 hours, so it wouldn´t be colected by the service drone - one day of cycling was only a minor post in his entertainment budget.
Finally he activated his Moai - the headset comlink, that was giving the right half of his face the destinct apearance of it´s namesake, as the earbud & mikrophone looked like a lumpy ear, while the retracable display´s holding arm simulated a protruding brow-bulge. He asked the guys at the shop, if they cared for him bringing them something from the restaurant - on their tab of course, they knew he was low on cash at the moment. He offered them to help finish the day´s work and then have some foor and trid together. When he went into the diner, he visited the gentlemen´s toilet and checked the emergancy escape plans first and then picked up his 'colegue´s' order and something for himself, all the while scanning the interior carefully for everything obvious and hidden.
On the ride to the electronics shop, he changed his beard back to hyperoxid-blond and his eyes to their usual dirty gray, neutralizing the red eyedrops, that gave the imprssion of his right eye being infected. The guys snickered when he turned up in his high-priced -though unobstrusive- business-suite, but he explained that he´d have a blind date with some chat-friend tonight.
At half past seven, he called it a night and went off for his date. In the cab, he sprayed his beard and eyebrows neon-green again, changed his eye-color and applyed the eye-drops. Finally he doned his faux-nano-trode skin-art and readjusted the silken, black tie.
He spent another good hour checking the terrain. He displaced some objects, that would make good improvised traps and weapons or where usable to turn the path behind him into dangerous ground. Before he entered the diner, he memorized the places, he´d instruct -or already had instructed- a cab to wait for him. He also placed a second bike -payed for a mare 3 hours- at another convenient position. Then he walked into the location, begining his act of a hopefull sarariman let down on his blind date.
Mag´s Place, near Sea-Tac International Airport, Perimeter Road, Seattle, Sea-Tac
Monday 08/04/70 20:58:50
While he waited, Krait got a real good feel for the place. The air was filled with grease and the aroma of soykaf. The waitresses shouted order corrections across the pick-up counter into the kitchen to supplement their AR orders. The hairy man in the yellowed chef's hat sweated into the food. All around the place, burly human, ork, and dwarf drivers hunched over steaming piles of soy in the shape of flapjacks, sausages, and a dozen versions of Eggbeaters.
The mandatory "NO SMOKING IN PUBLIC PLACES" sign was almost completely obscured by billowing clouds of tobacco. And it didn't take Krait long to spot the man parked in the corner dealing Longhaul - and who knew what else.
The plastic upholstery on the booth he was sitting in was torn in a dozen places, and no matter how he sat, it poked him in the ass.
Outside the sky was dark and cloudy. There had been a brief shower earlier, and now the wet asphalt was a shimmering rainbow kaleidoscope of neon splashes from the flashy signs of the diner and the cluster of other establishments all sharing the same island of concrete - a filling station was hosting a seemingly constant parade of various cargo vehicles, and the SuperStuffer had a blazing sign out front (in addition to a headache-inducing AR array) advertising showers and changing rooms. Meanwhile, the collection of disease-ridden woman hanging around the Stuffer's magazine rack left little doubt about what the changing rooms were actually for.
Monday 08/04/70 20:58:50
While he waited, Krait got a real good feel for the place. The air was filled with grease and the aroma of soykaf. The waitresses shouted order corrections across the pick-up counter into the kitchen to supplement their AR orders. The hairy man in the yellowed chef's hat sweated into the food. All around the place, burly human, ork, and dwarf drivers hunched over steaming piles of soy in the shape of flapjacks, sausages, and a dozen versions of Eggbeaters.
The mandatory "NO SMOKING IN PUBLIC PLACES" sign was almost completely obscured by billowing clouds of tobacco. And it didn't take Krait long to spot the man parked in the corner dealing Longhaul - and who knew what else.
The plastic upholstery on the booth he was sitting in was torn in a dozen places, and no matter how he sat, it poked him in the ass.
Outside the sky was dark and cloudy. There had been a brief shower earlier, and now the wet asphalt was a shimmering rainbow kaleidoscope of neon splashes from the flashy signs of the diner and the cluster of other establishments all sharing the same island of concrete - a filling station was hosting a seemingly constant parade of various cargo vehicles, and the SuperStuffer had a blazing sign out front (in addition to a headache-inducing AR array) advertising showers and changing rooms. Meanwhile, the collection of disease-ridden woman hanging around the Stuffer's magazine rack left little doubt about what the changing rooms were actually for.
Conall
Club Penumbra
Monday 8/4/70 00:02:30
"Then just follow me chummer, we're all set up," shouted the Asian over the music in what was clearly a born-and-bred American accent. The man led Conall away from the bar and around the fringes of the moonscaped dance floor. He moved quickly through the crowd, but the young shaman had no trouble keeping pace.
At a point far from the bar, on the other side of the main room, there was a line of booths against the wall. And near the booths was an unmarked door - nothing even in AR. But two well dressed orks standing guard effectively discouraged unauthorized personnel.
The Asian man went right up to the door, getting barely a nod from the guards, and went through, Conall close behind. Once the door was shut, the wall of sound from the dance floor came tumbling silently down - the place obviously had some very expensive sound baffling in the walls. Now speaking at a normal volume, the human explained, "Penumbra is a big runner spot, and they rent secure meet rooms. This hallway leads to some but not all of them." Choosing a door on the left, he opened it and went in.
Inside was yet another Asian human, along with some electronics gear. The seated man nodded for the elf also to sit. The first man said, "This will take all of about thirty seconds - these devices pretty much speak for themselves."
Indeed, Conall could easily see the input screens where he was expected to place his fingertips, his chin for the retinal scan, the mic for his voice print. And of course there were DNA swabs. It occurred to him that aside from the money, there was a tremendous amount of trust involved with getting a faked SIN - the forgers would have access to a wealth of personal information about him. Still, these men had come recommended by Paddy, and that was about as trustworthy an introduction as he could think of.
Club Penumbra
Monday 8/4/70 00:02:30
"Then just follow me chummer, we're all set up," shouted the Asian over the music in what was clearly a born-and-bred American accent. The man led Conall away from the bar and around the fringes of the moonscaped dance floor. He moved quickly through the crowd, but the young shaman had no trouble keeping pace.
At a point far from the bar, on the other side of the main room, there was a line of booths against the wall. And near the booths was an unmarked door - nothing even in AR. But two well dressed orks standing guard effectively discouraged unauthorized personnel.
The Asian man went right up to the door, getting barely a nod from the guards, and went through, Conall close behind. Once the door was shut, the wall of sound from the dance floor came tumbling silently down - the place obviously had some very expensive sound baffling in the walls. Now speaking at a normal volume, the human explained, "Penumbra is a big runner spot, and they rent secure meet rooms. This hallway leads to some but not all of them." Choosing a door on the left, he opened it and went in.
Inside was yet another Asian human, along with some electronics gear. The seated man nodded for the elf also to sit. The first man said, "This will take all of about thirty seconds - these devices pretty much speak for themselves."
Indeed, Conall could easily see the input screens where he was expected to place his fingertips, his chin for the retinal scan, the mic for his voice print. And of course there were DNA swabs. It occurred to him that aside from the money, there was a tremendous amount of trust involved with getting a faked SIN - the forgers would have access to a wealth of personal information about him. Still, these men had come recommended by Paddy, and that was about as trustworthy an introduction as he could think of.
Etain
Sunday 8/10/70 23:31:11
She could feel the heat of the “fire” that now separated her and the men who had come to take her back to the Tir and for an instant she almost got caught up in the scene. As one called out “Illusion!” it snapped her out of her momentary headspace and back to the task at hand. If they were already on to her she had to act fast. A bit more concentration and the flames continued to flicker and lick at the edges of the dataterms and encroached on the security team once more, seeming to only be slightly quelled by the fire suppression systems. While she manipulated the scene before her she could not control the chaos surrounding her and in time she would lose that edge and she had to act quickly. Biting hard on her tongue she concentrated harder, the idea of suddenly blinking out of existence foremost in her mind with the fire occupying the remaining portion.
Where she once stood, she now stood no more. At least to the casual observer. She simply vanished into thin air behind the wall of flames. Confident that she had been successful she started towards the fleeing human tsunami in the hopes of having her invisible form become lost well inside it and to have it carry her well out of the grasp of her security team and that of the airport’s as well.
Sunday 8/10/70 23:31:11
She could feel the heat of the “fire” that now separated her and the men who had come to take her back to the Tir and for an instant she almost got caught up in the scene. As one called out “Illusion!” it snapped her out of her momentary headspace and back to the task at hand. If they were already on to her she had to act fast. A bit more concentration and the flames continued to flicker and lick at the edges of the dataterms and encroached on the security team once more, seeming to only be slightly quelled by the fire suppression systems. While she manipulated the scene before her she could not control the chaos surrounding her and in time she would lose that edge and she had to act quickly. Biting hard on her tongue she concentrated harder, the idea of suddenly blinking out of existence foremost in her mind with the fire occupying the remaining portion.
Where she once stood, she now stood no more. At least to the casual observer. She simply vanished into thin air behind the wall of flames. Confident that she had been successful she started towards the fleeing human tsunami in the hopes of having her invisible form become lost well inside it and to have it carry her well out of the grasp of her security team and that of the airport’s as well.
Etain
Sunday 8/10/70 23:31:13
The frantic pushing and jostling of the crowd was made doubly dangerous to Etain by the fact that none of the panicked travellers could see her - but somehow she kept her feet. Once she was well immersed in the sea of flesh, she risked a glance back and saw one of her would-be captors jump through the wall of flames and rush after her, although he didn't seem to have a clear bead on where she had gotten to.
Of course she was headed for the nearest door, which wasn't that far away - but now as she approached she could see a large humanoid figure materializing directly beside it, just out of the rush of the river of humanity. It wore a stylized version of the airport security uniform, but she knew at once it was a Spirit of Man - and it was looking right at her.
Sunday 8/10/70 23:31:13
The frantic pushing and jostling of the crowd was made doubly dangerous to Etain by the fact that none of the panicked travellers could see her - but somehow she kept her feet. Once she was well immersed in the sea of flesh, she risked a glance back and saw one of her would-be captors jump through the wall of flames and rush after her, although he didn't seem to have a clear bead on where she had gotten to.
Of course she was headed for the nearest door, which wasn't that far away - but now as she approached she could see a large humanoid figure materializing directly beside it, just out of the rush of the river of humanity. It wore a stylized version of the airport security uniform, but she knew at once it was a Spirit of Man - and it was looking right at her.
Conall
Club Penumbra
Monday 8/4/70 00:03:11
Taking what seemed to him like his designated seat, Conall twisted uncomfortably. To the casual observer, it might have seemed like the elf was only trying to find a comfortable position. Truth be told, the young shaman was nervous. But not entirely in a bad way. Part of him felt the adrenaline rush of the new and dangerous. The young elf was finally realizing that his life was changing: he was now, tonight, truly crossing over in a whole other world... a world so far removed from his own it was almost like being born again.
Pressing his hand against the fingertip scanner, Conall started to wonder how he was to play it out. Both Asian men seemed like “nice” people... as much as he could gage them in thirty seconds. Conall knew that it was deadly obvious he was from “out of town”, and he had appreciated the fact that Mr.Chu's man had given him a bit of info about Penumbra. At least, he was trying to do some sort of small talk...
Not really addressing himself to anyone in particular, Conall spoke in calm and casual tone.
“Yer man said to ask ye mates if there was anything else I needed. Fact o' the matter is, I'm going to hafta get a set o' rinding wheels and the paperwork to go with it.”
Taking his hand out of the scanner, Conall flexed his hand opened and closed a few time, as if trying to shake away some numbness out of it.
“And I'm also going to be needin' some zapper handware.” he added.
Something he said must have sounded “odd” because the asian man who was sitting across from him lifted his head from whatever he was looking at to give Conall a quick look.... before throwing a glance to his partner.
Conall lifted his right hand, palm open and facing him.
“shocking gloves, mate.” he said matter-of-factly.
Club Penumbra
Monday 8/4/70 00:03:11
Taking what seemed to him like his designated seat, Conall twisted uncomfortably. To the casual observer, it might have seemed like the elf was only trying to find a comfortable position. Truth be told, the young shaman was nervous. But not entirely in a bad way. Part of him felt the adrenaline rush of the new and dangerous. The young elf was finally realizing that his life was changing: he was now, tonight, truly crossing over in a whole other world... a world so far removed from his own it was almost like being born again.
Pressing his hand against the fingertip scanner, Conall started to wonder how he was to play it out. Both Asian men seemed like “nice” people... as much as he could gage them in thirty seconds. Conall knew that it was deadly obvious he was from “out of town”, and he had appreciated the fact that Mr.Chu's man had given him a bit of info about Penumbra. At least, he was trying to do some sort of small talk...
Not really addressing himself to anyone in particular, Conall spoke in calm and casual tone.
“Yer man said to ask ye mates if there was anything else I needed. Fact o' the matter is, I'm going to hafta get a set o' rinding wheels and the paperwork to go with it.”
Taking his hand out of the scanner, Conall flexed his hand opened and closed a few time, as if trying to shake away some numbness out of it.
“And I'm also going to be needin' some zapper handware.” he added.
Something he said must have sounded “odd” because the asian man who was sitting across from him lifted his head from whatever he was looking at to give Conall a quick look.... before throwing a glance to his partner.
Conall lifted his right hand, palm open and facing him.
“shocking gloves, mate.” he said matter-of-factly.
Conall
Club Penumbra
Monday 8/4/70 00:03:55
The two men gave a nod once they understood Conall's request. While the "technician" continued to work at a terminal, the first man shrugged and said, "Null persp, chummer. That's all super-easy. We can add the license to the ID we're working up right now. Have a bike and the gloves waiting outside by the time you're done here, and if you want the bike registered to the dummy SIN, we can do that easily enough, too. Say, Y12,000?"
And the tech pointed to the chin rest for the retinal scan.
Club Penumbra
Monday 8/4/70 00:03:55
The two men gave a nod once they understood Conall's request. While the "technician" continued to work at a terminal, the first man shrugged and said, "Null persp, chummer. That's all super-easy. We can add the license to the ID we're working up right now. Have a bike and the gloves waiting outside by the time you're done here, and if you want the bike registered to the dummy SIN, we can do that easily enough, too. Say, Y12,000?"
And the tech pointed to the chin rest for the retinal scan.
Etain
Sunday 8/10/70 23:31:16
As the spirit started to look directly at her, her world stopped cold. A breath caught in her throat and her heart was pounding loud enough in her ears that she was certain that she could be found by that noise alone. She had come too far to stop now even locked in this staring match with a Spirit of Man. Her panicked thoughts were interrupted by an elbow square in her back from a fleeing passenger. She had moved to the periphery of the fleeing masses, but she wasn’t out of danger yet.
Holding the gaze of the Spirit of Man before her as she tried to maintain her invisibility spell her lips moved in a silent call to the mana that ebbed and flowed around her. Fighting her own flight response, trying desperately to quell the urge to just run for it she sent a powerful message towards the Spirit of Man with all the intensity and emotion she could manage.
”You do not want to stop me, you want to let me go.”
Sunday 8/10/70 23:31:16
As the spirit started to look directly at her, her world stopped cold. A breath caught in her throat and her heart was pounding loud enough in her ears that she was certain that she could be found by that noise alone. She had come too far to stop now even locked in this staring match with a Spirit of Man. Her panicked thoughts were interrupted by an elbow square in her back from a fleeing passenger. She had moved to the periphery of the fleeing masses, but she wasn’t out of danger yet.
Holding the gaze of the Spirit of Man before her as she tried to maintain her invisibility spell her lips moved in a silent call to the mana that ebbed and flowed around her. Fighting her own flight response, trying desperately to quell the urge to just run for it she sent a powerful message towards the Spirit of Man with all the intensity and emotion she could manage.
”You do not want to stop me, you want to let me go.”
Etain
Sunday 8/10/70 23:31:19
Even as she felt another stab of pain in her skull from the strain of casting such a powerful spell, Etain also got a hit of endorphin as she achieved what her teacher would have called a positive-mana-feedback-loop, although Moon Maiden would never use such a technical term - in a word, she knew her spell had taken hold. Letting herself be propelled by the terrified crowd, she passed the spirit and the exterior door it guarded without incident. Looking back, however, she saw Costigan tearing his way through the crowd, about five rows of people back, with Costello not far behind him.
Ahead of her the bottlenecked refugees were exploding away from the terminal doors like a shotgun blast - children screaming, luggage flying open, feet kicking, humans-cum-beasts clawing their way across the bus and taxi lanes, beleagured parking cops trying futilely to stem the tide.
Sunday 8/10/70 23:31:19
Even as she felt another stab of pain in her skull from the strain of casting such a powerful spell, Etain also got a hit of endorphin as she achieved what her teacher would have called a positive-mana-feedback-loop, although Moon Maiden would never use such a technical term - in a word, she knew her spell had taken hold. Letting herself be propelled by the terrified crowd, she passed the spirit and the exterior door it guarded without incident. Looking back, however, she saw Costigan tearing his way through the crowd, about five rows of people back, with Costello not far behind him.
Ahead of her the bottlenecked refugees were exploding away from the terminal doors like a shotgun blast - children screaming, luggage flying open, feet kicking, humans-cum-beasts clawing their way across the bus and taxi lanes, beleagured parking cops trying futilely to stem the tide.
Conall
Club Penumbra
Monday 8/4/70 00:04:29
Twisting his head around to get a look at the man as he spoke, it was clear on Conall's face that he had been taken aback by the price quote.
“Ye mates are throwin' me that a two wheel, license and gloves puches a 12 deep hole in me pockets? What's the bike rolling on, gold?” he said rapidly, leaning a little back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest.
The young shaman was indeed new to the shadows, but somehow, he was starting to feel like these man were taking him for a simple minded fool. 12 grand? Sure, he had no idea what the economics of the shadows were, but he knew that for about 10, back in the Tir, he could get a brand new top of the line bike. Of course, there were the gloves... and license the count in... but then again, a full fledge new ID had only cost him 5000.
He leaned forward again, putting his chin down on the rest.
“Thats all fierce expensive, to be sure, but I ain't the kind to be foostering about with you mates. What's the bike coming for specs?”
Club Penumbra
Monday 8/4/70 00:04:29
Twisting his head around to get a look at the man as he spoke, it was clear on Conall's face that he had been taken aback by the price quote.
“Ye mates are throwin' me that a two wheel, license and gloves puches a 12 deep hole in me pockets? What's the bike rolling on, gold?” he said rapidly, leaning a little back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest.
The young shaman was indeed new to the shadows, but somehow, he was starting to feel like these man were taking him for a simple minded fool. 12 grand? Sure, he had no idea what the economics of the shadows were, but he knew that for about 10, back in the Tir, he could get a brand new top of the line bike. Of course, there were the gloves... and license the count in... but then again, a full fledge new ID had only cost him 5000.
He leaned forward again, putting his chin down on the rest.
“Thats all fierce expensive, to be sure, but I ain't the kind to be foostering about with you mates. What's the bike coming for specs?”
Etain
Sunday 8/10/70 23:31:22
The pain in her head was returning as quickly as the endorphin high had taken over, but she wasted no time pushing herself back into the fray of people desperate to exit the terminal. For an instant her hopes faded as the crowd seemed to stop cold and then in the next moment she was thrust out into the musty and damp summer air that hung over Seattle like a wet rag. She drew in a deep breath and almost choked on it as the smells outside were an overwhelming change from the heavily filtered air inside the terminal. As soon as she was out of the building, the fire in the terminal was reduced to a memory with no trace of damage save for a light powdery substance left on the tops of some surfaces from the fire supression system.
The ground around her was damp, lights reflecting off the precipitation that pooled on the roadways outside the terminal. She let herself be carried away from the terminal, giving herself only a moment to look behind her and try to judge just where Costello and Costigan were. Realizing they were just a bit behind her she had to take more drastic measures. While trying to maneuver her way towards public transportation as well as to put as many people between her and the two man security team she took a look at the various faces around her and what they were wearing.
Seeing a group of elder teenagers she remembered their makeup styles as she did their clothing and their hair. Standing closer towards them she paused, drawing the mana around her like a cloak, making drastic changes to her appearance and her clothing. Once satisfied that she didn’t look the same as she did inside she dropped her invisibility spell and was soon standing behind the group of teens and scanning the area for transportation. She couldn’t do anything to mask her aura, so she’d have to work fast. It wouldn’t do her well to stand behind a wall of people looking quite different on the outside if on the astral there was a large neon sign pointing out her location.
Sunday 8/10/70 23:31:22
The pain in her head was returning as quickly as the endorphin high had taken over, but she wasted no time pushing herself back into the fray of people desperate to exit the terminal. For an instant her hopes faded as the crowd seemed to stop cold and then in the next moment she was thrust out into the musty and damp summer air that hung over Seattle like a wet rag. She drew in a deep breath and almost choked on it as the smells outside were an overwhelming change from the heavily filtered air inside the terminal. As soon as she was out of the building, the fire in the terminal was reduced to a memory with no trace of damage save for a light powdery substance left on the tops of some surfaces from the fire supression system.
The ground around her was damp, lights reflecting off the precipitation that pooled on the roadways outside the terminal. She let herself be carried away from the terminal, giving herself only a moment to look behind her and try to judge just where Costello and Costigan were. Realizing they were just a bit behind her she had to take more drastic measures. While trying to maneuver her way towards public transportation as well as to put as many people between her and the two man security team she took a look at the various faces around her and what they were wearing.
Seeing a group of elder teenagers she remembered their makeup styles as she did their clothing and their hair. Standing closer towards them she paused, drawing the mana around her like a cloak, making drastic changes to her appearance and her clothing. Once satisfied that she didn’t look the same as she did inside she dropped her invisibility spell and was soon standing behind the group of teens and scanning the area for transportation. She couldn’t do anything to mask her aura, so she’d have to work fast. It wouldn’t do her well to stand behind a wall of people looking quite different on the outside if on the astral there was a large neon sign pointing out her location.
Conall
Club Penumbra
Monday 8/4/70 00:05:00
The young Asian man did not seem a bit bothered by Conall's challenging the price - it was almost as if he was pleased by it.
He sat down next to where the elf was busily running through the various biometric scans.
"Well, you don't really seem like the Harley type to me, and the 2071 Suzuki is cheaper anyway, so I was gonna have one of those brought around - it's right off the lot, but you gotta know that palms have to be greased to get us access to the registration files and put the Padraig Cailleach name on it. And then there's your quick delivery, the gloves add a bit more to the package...and...there's MY cut, which I've gotta split with Mr. C. So every nuyen I knock off the total comes out of my pocket. But since you're new in town, and in the interest of keeping your business, I'll say eleven K. Whaddaya think?"
Club Penumbra
Monday 8/4/70 00:05:00
The young Asian man did not seem a bit bothered by Conall's challenging the price - it was almost as if he was pleased by it.
He sat down next to where the elf was busily running through the various biometric scans.
"Well, you don't really seem like the Harley type to me, and the 2071 Suzuki is cheaper anyway, so I was gonna have one of those brought around - it's right off the lot, but you gotta know that palms have to be greased to get us access to the registration files and put the Padraig Cailleach name on it. And then there's your quick delivery, the gloves add a bit more to the package...and...there's MY cut, which I've gotta split with Mr. C. So every nuyen I knock off the total comes out of my pocket. But since you're new in town, and in the interest of keeping your business, I'll say eleven K. Whaddaya think?"
Conall
Club Penumbra
Monday 8/4/70 00:05:47
As the scanner finished passing over Conall's eye, he pushed himself out of the chin rest and looked straight at the man now sitting next to him. He had landed in Seattle with 24 000 nuyens... more than enough to live even a few years if he watched his spendings. Now, not even 48 full hours after setting foot in North America, he had almost burned through more than half. This... this was not going well. At least, not for his finances.
"I ain't expressing any urges to get anything. Just dropping me interest in light. I'm far off from being the wealthiest of lads at this instant, and 11 ones will have me eating toothpaste for the next month." he threw at him, with a small and confident smile creeping on his lips.
Club Penumbra
Monday 8/4/70 00:05:47
As the scanner finished passing over Conall's eye, he pushed himself out of the chin rest and looked straight at the man now sitting next to him. He had landed in Seattle with 24 000 nuyens... more than enough to live even a few years if he watched his spendings. Now, not even 48 full hours after setting foot in North America, he had almost burned through more than half. This... this was not going well. At least, not for his finances.
"I ain't expressing any urges to get anything. Just dropping me interest in light. I'm far off from being the wealthiest of lads at this instant, and 11 ones will have me eating toothpaste for the next month." he threw at him, with a small and confident smile creeping on his lips.
Conall
Club Penumbra
Monday 8/4/70 00:06:00
The Asian shrugged. "Pal, your financial woes don't change my bottom line. But I won't pretend I don't want your cred. The package is ten, and that's a gift. If it's out of your price range, and you want to talk individual prices, your call."
Club Penumbra
Monday 8/4/70 00:06:00
The Asian shrugged. "Pal, your financial woes don't change my bottom line. But I won't pretend I don't want your cred. The package is ten, and that's a gift. If it's out of your price range, and you want to talk individual prices, your call."
Conall
Club Penumbra
Monday 8/4/70 00:06:12
Conall flexed his right hand closed and opened a few times, making every single joint crack and pop.
"Fernuff. Got yourself a deal mate." he finally said, digging around one of his jacket's pocket.
Out came a certified credstick, which he handed to the Asian man.
"Here's a bar of 6. Rest on delivery?"
Club Penumbra
Monday 8/4/70 00:06:12
Conall flexed his right hand closed and opened a few times, making every single joint crack and pop.
"Fernuff. Got yourself a deal mate." he finally said, digging around one of his jacket's pocket.
Out came a certified credstick, which he handed to the Asian man.
"Here's a bar of 6. Rest on delivery?"
Etain
Sunday 8/10/70 23:31:28
The waves and swells of people engulfed a lot of the taxis that were immediately available. Add to that people pressing into buses to hotels around the sprawl and public transport buses were packed to the gills like cans of metahuman sardines. Her opportunities for a vehicular escape were dwindling with every scan of her eyes. She could toss money and bat her lashes at various cabbies and people to give her space, but neither would do her any good if the transportation couldn’t get away from the airport.
She managed to get her hand on the handle of a taxi that looked like it might have the best chance of plowing through the masses only to rudely be shoved aside by a stocky, dirty troll woman with her sniveling kid wailing in the crux of her arm. Etain lost her temper and spit some rather foul words in Sperethiel towards the woman who just slid her large ass across the seat and slammed the door in her face as the cab tried to pull away and slowly was engulfed by the crowd.
Amidst little pockets within the crowd, the more observant where starting to come down from their adrenaline highs as they looked back towards the terminal expecting to see smoke and ever encroaching flames only to see a pristine terminal, devoid of travelers and well lit beneath a dissipating haze of fire retardant chemicals. Panic started to give way to confusion while the more hysteric still ran for what they believed were their lives.
Etain tried repeatedly to catch a ride out, flashing looks of desperation to anyone who would catch her eyes. Bus drivers looked helpless as they inched past her. She pushed on further with the flow of the crowds as they moved further away from the airport and the sea of flesh started to thin. The further down the roadway she got the fewer opportunities she had for getting away except on her own two feet. She finally spotted a cab that wasn’t packed to the gills with people and just might be available for her to hire and she took her chance. With a quick dart around a few business travelers she pushed into the roadway, one foot on the curb as she raised one arm and with her other two fingers managed to rip a heart-stopping, piercing whistle like they used to do in old movies. Seconds ticked away and felt like hours as she waited for the driver to notice her. The hairs on the back of her neck started to bristle and she knew Costello or Costigan had to be close.
Please let me make it, please please please. I have to make it away from here.
Sunday 8/10/70 23:31:28
The waves and swells of people engulfed a lot of the taxis that were immediately available. Add to that people pressing into buses to hotels around the sprawl and public transport buses were packed to the gills like cans of metahuman sardines. Her opportunities for a vehicular escape were dwindling with every scan of her eyes. She could toss money and bat her lashes at various cabbies and people to give her space, but neither would do her any good if the transportation couldn’t get away from the airport.
She managed to get her hand on the handle of a taxi that looked like it might have the best chance of plowing through the masses only to rudely be shoved aside by a stocky, dirty troll woman with her sniveling kid wailing in the crux of her arm. Etain lost her temper and spit some rather foul words in Sperethiel towards the woman who just slid her large ass across the seat and slammed the door in her face as the cab tried to pull away and slowly was engulfed by the crowd.
Amidst little pockets within the crowd, the more observant where starting to come down from their adrenaline highs as they looked back towards the terminal expecting to see smoke and ever encroaching flames only to see a pristine terminal, devoid of travelers and well lit beneath a dissipating haze of fire retardant chemicals. Panic started to give way to confusion while the more hysteric still ran for what they believed were their lives.
Etain tried repeatedly to catch a ride out, flashing looks of desperation to anyone who would catch her eyes. Bus drivers looked helpless as they inched past her. She pushed on further with the flow of the crowds as they moved further away from the airport and the sea of flesh started to thin. The further down the roadway she got the fewer opportunities she had for getting away except on her own two feet. She finally spotted a cab that wasn’t packed to the gills with people and just might be available for her to hire and she took her chance. With a quick dart around a few business travelers she pushed into the roadway, one foot on the curb as she raised one arm and with her other two fingers managed to rip a heart-stopping, piercing whistle like they used to do in old movies. Seconds ticked away and felt like hours as she waited for the driver to notice her. The hairs on the back of her neck started to bristle and she knew Costello or Costigan had to be close.
Please let me make it, please please please. I have to make it away from here.
Etain
Sunday 8/10/70 23:31:30
The cabbie leaned on his horn and approached Etain, who now sported short spiky black hair, a light layer of white foundation, and red lipstick with black lining. As the cab approached, the vehicle flashed a hastily thrown together ARO across the front and side windows - First kilometer Y100.
Just as Etain was processing the offer, some of the very teens she had been imitating crowded up to her - "Hoi, sis, let's share it!"
Sunday 8/10/70 23:31:30
The cabbie leaned on his horn and approached Etain, who now sported short spiky black hair, a light layer of white foundation, and red lipstick with black lining. As the cab approached, the vehicle flashed a hastily thrown together ARO across the front and side windows - First kilometer Y100.
Just as Etain was processing the offer, some of the very teens she had been imitating crowded up to her - "Hoi, sis, let's share it!"
Conall
Club Penumbra
Monday 8/4/70 01:04:00
The certified credstick had disappeared into the human's leather jacket with a smile. "Nice doin' biz. Everything should be in your hands within an hour. You can wait here, or hang in the club." Even as he spoke, the other man was packing up the biometric gear. With no taste for the decadence of the club, Conall had indicated he'd stay in the room.
As he'd waited, he couldn't shake the feeling that he'd just been ripped off to the tune of six thousand nuyen - that the two men were never coming back. All he had to go on was Paddy's trust for whoever had recommended this Chu bloke to him.
But just after one, the men had returned, and ushered him further down the hall to a door that led into an alley. There waiting for him was what appeared to be a brand new Suzuki Aurora, red with black highlights. "Check your comm," the tech had said, and accessing his PAN Conall had found a full set of ID materials, including a Seattle Metroplex driver's license, all in the name of Padraig Cailleach.
The first man spoke up - "Gloves are in the box," he said, pointing to the small compartment to the rear of the rice-rocket's seat. "The boss says you're supposed to meet your J at Meg's Place near Sea-tac at ten tonight. She'll know you."
Looking both ways down the foul-smelling alley, Conall saw bustling downtown traffic streaming by at either end, the pulse of a demon-city that never slept, but preyed on those that did.
Club Penumbra
Monday 8/4/70 01:04:00
The certified credstick had disappeared into the human's leather jacket with a smile. "Nice doin' biz. Everything should be in your hands within an hour. You can wait here, or hang in the club." Even as he spoke, the other man was packing up the biometric gear. With no taste for the decadence of the club, Conall had indicated he'd stay in the room.
As he'd waited, he couldn't shake the feeling that he'd just been ripped off to the tune of six thousand nuyen - that the two men were never coming back. All he had to go on was Paddy's trust for whoever had recommended this Chu bloke to him.
But just after one, the men had returned, and ushered him further down the hall to a door that led into an alley. There waiting for him was what appeared to be a brand new Suzuki Aurora, red with black highlights. "Check your comm," the tech had said, and accessing his PAN Conall had found a full set of ID materials, including a Seattle Metroplex driver's license, all in the name of Padraig Cailleach.
The first man spoke up - "Gloves are in the box," he said, pointing to the small compartment to the rear of the rice-rocket's seat. "The boss says you're supposed to meet your J at Meg's Place near Sea-tac at ten tonight. She'll know you."
Looking both ways down the foul-smelling alley, Conall saw bustling downtown traffic streaming by at either end, the pulse of a demon-city that never slept, but preyed on those that did.
Etain
Sunday 8/10/70 23:31:32
Oh bloody bollocks, a hundred for the first kilometer?!
Her eyes darted over to the group of approaching teens and for one reason or another their sudden appearance was reassuring, almost as if it was a sign. Giving one quick glance to the crowd and spotting the top of what she was sure was Costigan’s head she nodded quickly and made a grab for the door to claim the cab before someone else could shove her out of the way.
“Sound like a right crack idea! I’d rather be anywhere but right here.”
Making no attempt to hide her accent as she held the door for a moment to let the girl of their group in before sliding into the taxi beside her and the two boys following suit she spared one last glance through the hazy back window of the cab. She turned around and looked at her now “angels” who saved her from certain return to the Tir.
“Where t’now?”
Sunday 8/10/70 23:31:32
Oh bloody bollocks, a hundred for the first kilometer?!
Her eyes darted over to the group of approaching teens and for one reason or another their sudden appearance was reassuring, almost as if it was a sign. Giving one quick glance to the crowd and spotting the top of what she was sure was Costigan’s head she nodded quickly and made a grab for the door to claim the cab before someone else could shove her out of the way.
“Sound like a right crack idea! I’d rather be anywhere but right here.”
Making no attempt to hide her accent as she held the door for a moment to let the girl of their group in before sliding into the taxi beside her and the two boys following suit she spared one last glance through the hazy back window of the cab. She turned around and looked at her now “angels” who saved her from certain return to the Tir.
“Where t’now?”
Conall
Some dark alley behind Club Penumbra
Monday 8/4/70 01:05:22
Shivering slightly as he stepped in a small puddle of a worrying colored water, or at least.... something that looked similar to water, Conall threw the collar of his jacket upward. He gave a quick look at the bike, his hand slowly tracing its curves.
“Ye mates are men of yer words. Not a dingle on it.” he said, giving a slight bow of the head to the Asian man.
Taking his second certified credstick out of his pocket, Conall didn't feel too bad paying them this time around. It was the first time he really had something that was “his”. Something that hadn't been exactly given to him by his rank and name. Something that wasn't his simply because he had been born an O'Neill.
“There ya go.” he said while handing the rest of the cred.
Throwing one leg over the racing bike, Conall clumsily kicked the leg stand off. He had ridden a few bikes, here and there, when he was a little younger. The crouched and slightly prone position felt strangely awkward, and the young shaman cursed himself for not having shopped around for an actual car. But this would have to do... For the time being.
“Well...” he gave a quick look to both men “Thanks.” he turned the engine on “Amferaff fellas.” and roared down the alley.
Some dark alley behind Club Penumbra
Monday 8/4/70 01:05:22
Shivering slightly as he stepped in a small puddle of a worrying colored water, or at least.... something that looked similar to water, Conall threw the collar of his jacket upward. He gave a quick look at the bike, his hand slowly tracing its curves.
“Ye mates are men of yer words. Not a dingle on it.” he said, giving a slight bow of the head to the Asian man.
Taking his second certified credstick out of his pocket, Conall didn't feel too bad paying them this time around. It was the first time he really had something that was “his”. Something that hadn't been exactly given to him by his rank and name. Something that wasn't his simply because he had been born an O'Neill.
“There ya go.” he said while handing the rest of the cred.
Throwing one leg over the racing bike, Conall clumsily kicked the leg stand off. He had ridden a few bikes, here and there, when he was a little younger. The crouched and slightly prone position felt strangely awkward, and the young shaman cursed himself for not having shopped around for an actual car. But this would have to do... For the time being.
“Well...” he gave a quick look to both men “Thanks.” he turned the engine on “Amferaff fellas.” and roared down the alley.
Etain
Sunday 8/10/70 23:31:34
One of the boys apparently sent an address to the cabbie and he was off like a rocket. Soon the boys were screaming at him and pointing out breaks in the traffic he could exploit, while the grizzled, middle-aged man cursed back at them that he didn't need their help, all the while weaving through narrow gaps in the pell-mell vehicle and ped traffic.
Oblivious to the racket, the girl - resplendent in a neon purple Afro of amazing proportions atop an otherwise somber lace outfit she could have worn to a 17th century Puritan funeral - introduced herself as "I'm Tuesday! We're going to a 247 - point - 4% screeeeecher of a lockvox and YOU'RE coming with!!!"
Turning and looking out the back, Etain spied her pursuers pounding their fists on taxi hoods, now in the same predicament she had been in moments before. Clearing the worst of the tangle, her own cab pulled away, leaving the Tir adepts lonely in the distance.
Sunday 8/10/70 23:31:34
One of the boys apparently sent an address to the cabbie and he was off like a rocket. Soon the boys were screaming at him and pointing out breaks in the traffic he could exploit, while the grizzled, middle-aged man cursed back at them that he didn't need their help, all the while weaving through narrow gaps in the pell-mell vehicle and ped traffic.
Oblivious to the racket, the girl - resplendent in a neon purple Afro of amazing proportions atop an otherwise somber lace outfit she could have worn to a 17th century Puritan funeral - introduced herself as "I'm Tuesday! We're going to a 247 - point - 4% screeeeecher of a lockvox and YOU'RE coming with!!!"
Turning and looking out the back, Etain spied her pursuers pounding their fists on taxi hoods, now in the same predicament she had been in moments before. Clearing the worst of the tangle, her own cab pulled away, leaving the Tir adepts lonely in the distance.
Etain
Sunday 8/10/70 23:31:36
The dichotomy of emotions and experiences flooding her mind all at once was surreal at best. On one side of her she was making new “friends” and was apparently being “kidnapped” to a party or some other crazy experience and on the other she had just escaped extradition to the Tir, temporarily at least.
She flashed a smile in Tuesday’s direction to hide her temporary confusion on exactly what the purple-haired girl and her friends had in store for her, but if this lockvox was anything like a wild party, it would likely be the last place they’d come looking for her, especially if it was deep within the Seattle subculture.
Shite, a name. I’ve got to come up with a name that fits this scene….damnit.
Suddenly with a little whisper from the darkness and a guiding hand a name popped into her head clear as the north star.
“Pleasure t’meet ye Tuesday, I’m Nyx.” She glanced down at the clothes she had created for herself and her mouth formed the slightest frown. She was hardly dressed for a party, especially one of Seattle’s caliber.
“Don’t suppose there’s time to make a stop so I can change some where first would there?”
Sunday 8/10/70 23:31:36
The dichotomy of emotions and experiences flooding her mind all at once was surreal at best. On one side of her she was making new “friends” and was apparently being “kidnapped” to a party or some other crazy experience and on the other she had just escaped extradition to the Tir, temporarily at least.
She flashed a smile in Tuesday’s direction to hide her temporary confusion on exactly what the purple-haired girl and her friends had in store for her, but if this lockvox was anything like a wild party, it would likely be the last place they’d come looking for her, especially if it was deep within the Seattle subculture.
Shite, a name. I’ve got to come up with a name that fits this scene….damnit.
Suddenly with a little whisper from the darkness and a guiding hand a name popped into her head clear as the north star.
“Pleasure t’meet ye Tuesday, I’m Nyx.” She glanced down at the clothes she had created for herself and her mouth formed the slightest frown. She was hardly dressed for a party, especially one of Seattle’s caliber.
“Don’t suppose there’s time to make a stop so I can change some where first would there?”
Etain
Sunday 8/10/70 23:31:45
Tuesday frowned apologetically. "Shoganai ne - lockdown's at the witching hour, so we'll be cramming ticks as it is. Just change right here," she said, manipulating her AR glove in the direction of the glass separating the four young people from the cabbie, polarizing it.
Sunday 8/10/70 23:31:45
Tuesday frowned apologetically. "Shoganai ne - lockdown's at the witching hour, so we'll be cramming ticks as it is. Just change right here," she said, manipulating her AR glove in the direction of the glass separating the four young people from the cabbie, polarizing it.
Etain
Sunday 8/10/70 23:31:49
Etain’s mind filled with images of being behind bars in a jail cell when the mention of a “lockdown” was made. Something that struck just a little too close to home given her very recent “escape.” She shook it off and tried to make sense of just what kind of party this was going to be. It definitely wasn’t a type she’d ever have been allowed to attend, let alone been invited to back in the Tir.
“Call me scrambled since I just got off a long flight, but the lockdown? Just how long is this party gonna last, I mean not that I’m trying to bag out on yer invite and all, but I’m supposed to be looking for my brother now that I’m here. I don’t need him getting worried.”
Conall didn’t even know she was here, but she couldn’t afford getting locked into a building filled with strangers for 5 days and loose precious time trying to track him down all the same. From the corner of her eye she watched as the glass partition between the cabbie and her new friends went opaque white with a wave of a hand.
Nice trick. Wonder how many more she’s got up her sleeve.
She glanced down at the bag of limited clothing she had at her feet and then up to the boys that were sitting across from her and a slight blush turned her cheeks warm pink and she was thankful for the relative darkness inside the cab as it sped along to its destination. Reaching into her bag she felt around for familiar clothing, a pair of black pants, a thin long-sleeved shirt. As she rested her hands on both she stirred up another wave of mana to mold the clothing into something more appropriate for a gothic raver-type party. Feeling the material shift beneath her fingertips she withdrew the clothing and looked at the boys.
“If I’m about to do this back here, the least ye can do is look the other way like gentlemen, and NO peeking! I’ll make yer lives hell if yer looking for a cheap thrill.”
When they finally looked away she kicked off her shoes and shimmied out of her jeans and slipped on a pair of black pants, replete with wide legs and silver pinstriping. After that she stripped off her t-shirt and pulled on a velvet top which was very form fitting and had sheer long-sleeves with bell cuffs and lace ruffles in black and purple. She looked over to Tuesday and raised a brow, looking for the girl’s approval.
“Better?”
Sunday 8/10/70 23:31:49
Etain’s mind filled with images of being behind bars in a jail cell when the mention of a “lockdown” was made. Something that struck just a little too close to home given her very recent “escape.” She shook it off and tried to make sense of just what kind of party this was going to be. It definitely wasn’t a type she’d ever have been allowed to attend, let alone been invited to back in the Tir.
“Call me scrambled since I just got off a long flight, but the lockdown? Just how long is this party gonna last, I mean not that I’m trying to bag out on yer invite and all, but I’m supposed to be looking for my brother now that I’m here. I don’t need him getting worried.”
Conall didn’t even know she was here, but she couldn’t afford getting locked into a building filled with strangers for 5 days and loose precious time trying to track him down all the same. From the corner of her eye she watched as the glass partition between the cabbie and her new friends went opaque white with a wave of a hand.
Nice trick. Wonder how many more she’s got up her sleeve.
She glanced down at the bag of limited clothing she had at her feet and then up to the boys that were sitting across from her and a slight blush turned her cheeks warm pink and she was thankful for the relative darkness inside the cab as it sped along to its destination. Reaching into her bag she felt around for familiar clothing, a pair of black pants, a thin long-sleeved shirt. As she rested her hands on both she stirred up another wave of mana to mold the clothing into something more appropriate for a gothic raver-type party. Feeling the material shift beneath her fingertips she withdrew the clothing and looked at the boys.
“If I’m about to do this back here, the least ye can do is look the other way like gentlemen, and NO peeking! I’ll make yer lives hell if yer looking for a cheap thrill.”
When they finally looked away she kicked off her shoes and shimmied out of her jeans and slipped on a pair of black pants, replete with wide legs and silver pinstriping. After that she stripped off her t-shirt and pulled on a velvet top which was very form fitting and had sheer long-sleeves with bell cuffs and lace ruffles in black and purple. She looked over to Tuesday and raised a brow, looking for the girl’s approval.
“Better?”
Etain
Sunday 8/10/70 23:32:45
Asking the boys to turn away while she changed got Etain three querulous looks that made her feel that she'd somehow violated the rules of cool, but with a pair of unconcerned shrugs, the boys turned away.
While she changed, Tuesday was busy with something from her purse, and by the time Etain had pulled her head through the collar of her "new" shirt, she saw that the other girl had arranged four lines of silver-flecked white powder on a hand mirror. "Oh, triple-wiz flats! Like'em'alot. Anywho, chill is nil, sis," Tuesday answered with a winning smile that went far toward soothing the Irish runaway's misgivings. "Lockvox only till rush hour. Brother-boy can wait that long. How about a snack to zone up?"
"Uh, can we look now?" one of the boys said - turning their heads in the tight cab had brought their faces so close together - Etain thought of the way she and Conall's horses would nuzzle each other whenever they were close enough - without waiting for the all-clear they turned and saw Tuesday's treasure - "Don't mind if I do!" said one, but the purple-haired girl slapped his hand away, careful not to spill a grain of the mirror's precious cargo - "New friends first, silly! Nyx..."
Sunday 8/10/70 23:32:45
Asking the boys to turn away while she changed got Etain three querulous looks that made her feel that she'd somehow violated the rules of cool, but with a pair of unconcerned shrugs, the boys turned away.
While she changed, Tuesday was busy with something from her purse, and by the time Etain had pulled her head through the collar of her "new" shirt, she saw that the other girl had arranged four lines of silver-flecked white powder on a hand mirror. "Oh, triple-wiz flats! Like'em'alot. Anywho, chill is nil, sis," Tuesday answered with a winning smile that went far toward soothing the Irish runaway's misgivings. "Lockvox only till rush hour. Brother-boy can wait that long. How about a snack to zone up?"
"Uh, can we look now?" one of the boys said - turning their heads in the tight cab had brought their faces so close together - Etain thought of the way she and Conall's horses would nuzzle each other whenever they were close enough - without waiting for the all-clear they turned and saw Tuesday's treasure - "Don't mind if I do!" said one, but the purple-haired girl slapped his hand away, careful not to spill a grain of the mirror's precious cargo - "New friends first, silly! Nyx..."
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