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Edana
Shady Rest Inn, Room 303, Auburn, 05:30 PDT, 04 June 2072
None

...eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee...

The incessant, high-pitched tone compels attention. The dwarf's eyes finally snap open when he can no longer ignore the noise that's been there since he first awoke. A quick glance around puts him in a low rent hotel room of some sort, cheap brown drapes block out most of the lamp light from the parking lot outside. Still, enough filters in to get a decent look around the room.

A small desk with a chair in the corner. Two single beds, one his own, and one occupied by someone who seems unperturbed by the droning noise. Finally, the nightstand holding the object creating that infernal sound, adorned with a shiny Shiawase Biotech logo. Fixing his eyes on the box, he can see the small screen displaying a two short messages for those without their AR overlays enabled: Supplies depleted. Condition critical.

Looking a bit closer now, he can see that the box is connected to the man in the other bed, who is probably unperturbed by the noise because he's not actually breathing.

And is that blood coming out of his mouth? And eyes? And ears? And just what the hell is going on here? For that matter, where is here? Why can't I remember anything? Ugh...

A glance in the mirror doesn't do anything to improve his mood. His bald head has more than a few bruises, though at least they don't seem to hurt any more, wherever he got them. His t-shirt has several holes that were decidedly not a part of the original design, revealing a light grey undershirt that seems to be mostly unscathed, despite the fact that the holes look suspiciously like they were made by bullets. His arms appear to have several scars, but none of them are new, the left is adorned with an angry red serpent tattoo, coiling its way up from wrist to elbow. The hole in his right leg is definitely new, still oozing a bit where the bullet went in. Oddly, it doesn't seem to hurt, despite what conventional wisdom would say about having a fresh hole in your leg.

He can just barely make out the sounds of sirens outside. They're not close, but are getting louder.
Dumori
I've been shot? I've been shot it sounds like hells going to brake out soon. There's got to be a clue as to where I am. I doubt my leg will carry me far in this sate. I'll check the desk and then the other guy I'm with Hauling his body up out of the bed he limps to towards the desk to see it it holds any clues as to where he is what happened or at least who he could be.
[ Spoiler ]
Edana
Getting out of bed doesn't seem to stress him too much, the leg wound oozes a little, but seems to be mostly under control. Running around on it would probably be a bad idea, but the lack of pain makes the motion of walking natural enough.

Scanning the desk reveals a cheap, coffee-stained pad of paper, the watermarked logo reading "Shady Rest Inn". The condition implies it's been there for quite some time, and housekeeping doesn't seem to care that it's in less than pristine shape. It doesn't look like the desk has even been touched in the last week, let alone since his arrival.

The man in the other bed doesn't seem to be in a position to aid in the questions running through the dwarf's mind, but looking more closely it's easy enough to tell he's been shot as well. There don't appear to be any penetrating wounds, but the jacket he's still wearing has seen much better days, with several new holes adorning the outer fabric covering the armor that probably stopped the bullets. The blood around his eyes, nose, mouth and ears is partially congealed and lacks any obvious reason for being there. Based on what he can see, there's no good reason for this man to be dead, and yet he is.

A quick search of the dead man's pockets turns up a cheap disposable 'link, with apparently dead batteries, a gun, a lighter, and a half empty pack of cigarettes. Whoever he was, he was apparently traveling light.

Outside, the sirens continue to intensify.
Dumori
Realizing that he hasn't even looked at his own pockets yet he dose that before taking the other guys items. God he bleed for where I'm bleeding from. I hope that not the cause of death. He then proceeds to take a peek out of the window see see if he can find out what the sirens are about.
[ Spoiler ]
Edana
Fumbling through his own pockets after realizing that he probably should have checked there first, he finds a single certified credstick, though with no reader handy there's no way to discern the contents. As well, he finds the shattered remains of what was likely his own 'link. It doesn't appear to be repairable, though there's enough big pieces that he might be able to find a way to retrieve some of whatever data was on it.

Outside, daylight is just starting to filter in through the cloud cover, as it's shortly after dawn. The room's single window overlooks a fairly empty parking lot occupied by a few compact vehicles. It's impossible to tell where, exactly, the sirens originate from, but the pillar of pitch black smoke about 3 klicks away is probably a good guess as to where they're headed. Without knowing exactly where he is, the surroundings put him on the outskirts of an industrial sector, and a raised highway is visible not too far off.
Dumori
Seeing that the sirens aren't heading here he spends some time to search the rest of the room. Humm I wonder if there's any way to charge this comm. I'll also hunt for any more pain medication and such aswell as any clues to where or who I am.
[ Spoiler ]

<OOC I'm hunting the room for any useful items I'll also decern the make of gun and who many rounds i have if any.>
Edana
Searching the room, he comes up with a point to charge the 'link. Setting that up, a sweep of the rest of the sparsely furnished room turns up little else of value. There's a hardcopy notice posted to the back of the door showing the floor layout and fire exits, as well as declaring that checkout is at 10:30. It's an odd anachronism in the age of AR, though probably a cheaper way to deal with fixed info and has the benefit of not being hackable.

Not finding anything particularly useful to the current situation in the room, he snags the gun from the dead man and goes over it in an oddly familiar manner. It appears to be a well-used Colt Manhunter, with a modified grip, though it doesn't fit his hand as well as could be hoped. Ejecting the magazine and checking the ammo in a practiced move, there appear to be 6 rounds remaining.

After a few minutes of charging, the 'link beeps indicating it's readiness. Flipping it on, it automatically connects to the dwarf's PAN, though the results are a little mystifying. AR overlays pop up in his eyes, indicating that he's at least in possession of an image link. Amongst a bit of spam advertisements he finds three bits of interesting info.

The first appears to be bio-monitor data:

<< Unauthorized user (Sid Connor) - Display mode only
Eyes: Nominal
Access Denied
Monitor: Nominal
System Malfunction
System Offline
Orientation: Nominal
System Offline
System Offline
Datajack: Nominal

Health: Vitals stable. Blunt trauma to torso and head. Systemic bruising. Penetrating wound right leg, minimal necrosis, uninfected, limited bleeding. >>


The second is a text timestamped 0440:

<< Yo B, where you at? J is getting antsy. -Lobos >>

And, finally, a second text at 0520:

<< J bailed. We need that pay. Be at the 93 at 22:00 and we'll figure something out. -Lobos >>

<OOC Datajack is behind left ear, not immediately obvious, but you can find it easily enough.>
Dumori
Better see how much yen I have. After that I'm going to see what programs I have see if I can find what the "93" is.

<OOC I uses the comlinks built in credstick reader>
Edana
Shady Rest Inn, Room 303, Auburn, 05:50 PDT, 04 June 2072
N/A

A quick check of the credstick reveals 648 nuyen.gif remaining on it. Enough to get by for a little while at least. Having verified that, the dwarf begins a matrix search, trying to figure out what the "93" is in reference to. Most of the early returns are for Underworld 93 in the Puyallup Barrens, a popular place for both novahot bands, and up-and-comers to play, anyone who's anyone has been there at least once. Unfortunately this means that getting in takes a lot of money, time, or connections.

Sifting through the details is interrupted as a large explosion that can be felt as much as heard goes off, and alarms begin to sound. An alert pops up in AR indicating that Knight Errant has ordered the evacuation of the area as a "precautionary measure in an ongoing emergency situation". A map overlay is also brought up indicating the path to the nearest emergency exit.

A quick glance outside shows a few people hurriedly exiting the hotel, and the black plume in the distance seems to have some new orange streaks in it.
Dumori
I proceed to make sure I have everything. Then see if there's any clothing that will cover up the bullet holes. I could have something do with that. I don't want to draw any unwanted attention. After that I'll leave the Hotel and ask any evacuees if they know what this is all about.
Edana
Shady Rest Inn, Parking Lot, Auburn, 05:50 PDT, 04 June 2072

After grabbing everything that appears to be useful, it becomes quickly apparent that there are no spare clothes or other convenient ways to cover up the bullet holes in his outfit. Heading down the hall towards the marked exit, he does notice a small vending area with a machine carrying overpriced flats, but at least they're clean and hole free. A quick swipe and change later, the dwarf looks about as nondescript as can be expected from someone wearing a cheap suit that doesn't quite fit right.

Venturing out the exit, he finds that there are only a few people remaining milling about the parking lot waiting for taxis or just trying to stay awake in the early dawn hours. Querying the nearest person, a rough looking human man wearing a worn leather jacket over jeans and a faded t-shirt, all he gets back is a dismissive wave towards the black smoke and quick "Fuck if I know, chum. Don't look good, whatever it is." before he goes back to leaning against the wall, smoking his cigarette, and eying the plume in the distance.

None of the people in the parking lot look particularly interested in chatting away the morning. Aside from the man nearest him, the dwarf can see there's a man trying to load the last of his bags in a small van while a nearby woman, presumably his wife, holds a crying child. A little further down the lot a woman in business clothes waits, staring off into space, indicating that she's probably interacting with some AR data and not paying much attention to the surroundings. Finally, there's a pair of men at the far end of the lot standing by motorcycles discussing something, though they're too far away to hear.
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