OOC Thread
Recruitment Thread


WITCH HUNT

Bonus Chapter 1: Working Alone

Sunday, March 9, 19:12. Seattle, UCAS
Winter decided to work overtime on the Pacific northwest. The extended cold has claimed the lives of many elderly, and unknown numbers of homeless and SINless. The sky has been a dark gray blanket for so long, people have forgotten what the sun looks like. Not once in 2070 has there been a break to the oppressive gloom. Suicides are on the rise, as are all manner of escapist vices. Living with depression has become the norm - a rythmn that the denizens of the Emerald City are adjusting to.

All day you've each had a mildly nauseous feeling, like vertigo. It's not enough to make you feel sick, but it can't be ignored. It's rained all weekend and you're slipping into a state of restless boredom when a priority text message comes in from Alfred Ancient, the Alpha coordinator in Seattle's Sons of Apollo chapter:

<[Alfred] If you are receiving this, a special invitation has been extended to you for a last minute get-together this evening at 21:00, 300 112th Ave SE., Bellevue. Dress is business formal. RSVP immediately. Do not be late.>

A note like this is a sure sign trouble is brewing. The extremely short notice is an instant red flag. "Business formal" means this is a job offer, and Alfred wants you to come prepared to start immediately. There is no pretense of being inconspicuous.

Something's going down.

A quick MapFind reveals the address belongs to The Gloria Stein Hotel, which makes things a bit more interesting, but a bit confusing. No room number, no "lobby" or "bar". . . just the address.

Alfred did say "immediately", so you begin to compose your reply.

Somewhere in Seattle a nondescript man dressed in the same business wear of the local denizens, watching the sea of wageslaves ebb past him dully leaning against a streetlight on the sidewalk...when something arouses him from his "work"
a text? must be a blanket send something is wrong...and more important than this I would wager...
almost unoticed he turns and dissapears into the endless chaos that always follows at the end of sunday mass...
a quick data search on the news and I'll see whats up.
Re:<yes father...>
no world catastrophe, not terrorists mutating the good outstanding children of the world, that can only mean one thing...I better get my things.
as he flows with the swaying tide of people hailing taxis walking along the sidewalk attempting to get out of the frigid weather as fast as possible, no one notices out of the corner of his eye he watches a beautiful suit surrounded by guards walk from the archway of the church down the steps, time seems to slow and the rhythm of his steps seem distant and far off compared to the sound of his heart in his mind.
there just one look at the glories of the universe before i must delve down into the pit of the soul where no man dares to venture..."el duche, invino veritas?"
just before she gets into her car she stops and stares into the crowd could it be? she shakes her head, it couldn't he's forgotten all about her by now, always forget she says to herself, just her heart fooling her eyes. as a shadow disappears from sight and longs for just one more...

In some relatively safe and peaceful place, Ether is sitting in eir car after an annoyingly nauseating day of non-work and is mostly irritated by the job offer. It had to be a free day. I want to relax my brain and shooting up some indescribably cute creatures is exactly the way. Ether doesn't stop playing the Matrix game even after starting to think more deeply about the issue of money, or more precisely the lack of it, and how much the message smells of a setup due to lack of details. I dislike lack of details. My shopping list has more details.

After pulling up the information on the Gloria Stein Hotel, Ether goes a bit pale and thinks thrice before answering.

<[Ether] Acknowledged. I would like information on what is the exact spot to meet and who I should expect.>

Ether's Lockheed drone is hovering just beside the car and performing overwatch – or as much overwatch as it can perform with a makeshiftly attached mini-umbrella to protect its electronics. Ether commands it back inside the car and gives the car coordinates to an address a few blocks away from the hotel.

Having done that, Ether starts analyzing message headers to check whether the message was legitimate and if it really did come from Alfred. Ey also stops playing the game (some freeware multiplayer shoot-'em-up called "Fluffy bunnies and hammy hamsters") in favor of searching for information of the hotel's neighborhood – what kind of other places are around it and where Ether could check the building out before actually going there.

Sunday, March 9, 20:32:26. 300 112th Ave SE. Bellevue, UCAS - The Gloria Stein Hotel
the cold damp weather shows heavily on the average looking suit that enters the entracehall of the lobby "environment change detected, initiate self dry procedure" he sets his briefcase down as his suit fluffs up and begins to dry itself, after it finishes he steps sideways back into the flow of the patrons, and again he moves into a crowd of tourists and attempts to get lost in the small ripples of pedestrians before finding a seat where he can both return to being one with the background, and view as much of the area as possible.
if those skimmers weren't on backorder I'd have a better map of the area, guess I'll be talking to the rep about that tomorrow, hrm...that gent appears to be expecting trouble...ah he's part of a bodyguard team...hrm...that one...got it, the drunkard isn't really drunk, that one moves a bit too graceful, and smells of peach not liquor, that area there is good for cover from that location, this area will be most likely to spring an ambush from, these are the three best routes for evacuation alone, these three are best for hostage that area will give the most cover from pedestrians and allow me the most time to return fire...fun fun...if only this were a setup this would be alot of fun.
the immaculate design of the Lobby is lost on the lone figure sitting quietly to himself as patrons saunter by, his constantly darting eyes are hidden behind sunglasses as any motion attract his attention for at least a moment.

Sunday, March 9, 20:50. Seattle, UCAS

Ten minutes before the scheduled time, a second message arrives from Alfred:

<[Alfred] Thank you for your RSVPs. There has been a slight change of venue. Please see me at the Gloria Stein Hotel, at the 4th floor mezzanine bar overlooking the lobby. The dress code is still in effect. >

Mr Whisper:
From your perch in the lobby, just after receiving the message, you see Alfred emerge from the Black Tulip accompanied by two other men, a woman, and an ork man, all dressed in immaculate suits. You recognize these men immediately as Sons of Apollo Headmasters, the Seattle chapter's leaders: Headmaster Felix Rivero, and Masters Charles Royer, Heather Armenise, and the ork, Master Christopher Nicola. They shake hands and part from each other. Alfred heads to the elevators.

Sunday, March 9, 20:39.

Dressed in eir running getup, Ether arrives at the spot after confirming that the place isn't swarming with anything openly "suspicious". Ey drives the car by once and parks it about a block away from the hotel. Leaving the car and drones on standby, Ether leaves and jogs around the block toward the hotel and eyes it for a moment.
No matter how much I fear it, there shouldn't be any reason why they would question me for just going inside. Am I too skeptic nowadays?
Ether decides that since only an address was given, the meeting would happen somewhere outside, and thus only keeps watching over the building.

However, when the message from Alfred comes, ey changes the plan. As a sort of security measure, Ether turns off the wireless function of eir internal commlink which is currently running Stealth, Analyze, Command and Scan. Having done that and feeling annoyingly helpless without the Matrix, ey goes into the hotel and moves into the spot where they're supposed to meet. Ey isn't wearing the commando mask (unless there are other regular people wearing them, of course) and carries eir helmet under the arm.

Sunday, March 9, 20:39. 300 112th Ave SE. Bellevue, UCAS - The Gloria Stein Hotel
Mr. Whisper; PAN=Active [6-65290-00182-5]; SIN= Gil Bradshaw [Broadcasting]
Mr. Whisper; PAN=Active [0-05387-35894-8]; SIN= Fox Tye [Hidden]
Mr. Whisper; PAN=inactive [a2a9545d-a0c2-42b4-9708-a0b2badd77c8]; SIN= <Deceased> [Skinlink]
A nod in Ether's direction as the archway is breached. pointing at the bench next to himself as he moves his briefcase away to clear a spot for sitting should Ether be so inclined. ey can see his online persona is called "Gil" today. he's a single father looking for a hot and sexy dominatrix that makes more than 300,000¥ in a year, he likes combat biking and is into trog deathmetal. oh yes and the most important thing in his life is his daughter, she's two years old, eats off the floor, wears a collar and is all current on her rabies and other vaccinations.

[edited previous posting time to reflect arriving close to 20 minutes early instead of 20 minutes after the message was received]

Sunday, March 9, 20:45.

Ether acknowledges Mr. Whisper's presence and looks at him knowingly after having spotted him, feeling a little relieved to see a somewhat familiar face. However, ey then resumes eir watching from a distance and doesn't move closer. Better safe than sorry. Ey does feel amused at the man's Matrix profile, though.

Sunday, March 9, 20:50:12. 300 112th Ave SE. Bellevue, UCAS - The Gloria Stein Hotel
Mr. Whisper; PAN=Active [6-65290-00182-5]; SIN= Gil Bradshaw [Broadcasting]
Mr. Whisper; PAN=Active [0-05387-35894-8]; SIN= Fox Tye [Hidden]
Mr. Whisper; PAN=inactive [a2a9545d-a0c2-42b4-9708-a0b2badd77c8]; SIN= <Deceased> [Skinlink]
without uttering a word but sending a look to Ether the blended suit stands as he sees Alfred and like a chameleon dissappears into the flow of the crowd making his way to the 4th floor bar...remaining in the background with the sea of patrons. and of course close enough to hear.
<<to:Ether "<--" >>

sitting at a small table within eyesight of alfred, nodding in recognition when noticed, checking the time waiting for the others to arrive. his drink remaining untouched in front of him.