Help - Search - Members - Calendar
Full Version: IC: Daughter of Deep Silence
Dumpshock Forums > Discussion > Welcome to the Shadows
Pages: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14
BishopMcQ
<<@Team[Rikik]: Working on it.>>

Actions begin to mesh and blur all around Rikik, but he sees the dome and watches Eklipse fall off the bike. Pulling hard to the side, he turns the bike toward the fallen changeling. Angry chitters come from the extra sense in his head as the bike falls to the ground and the clockwork sprite can no longer right it.

With a grunt of effort, Rikik gets his arms unders Eklipse in a half carry. He runs, half dragging the larger man.

At the van, he claws open the door and unceremoniously dumps his teammate inside.
Buddha72
Street in Loveland
The sound of a bike engine being gunned hard and fast fills the area as the slim Elven mage attempts to bring his bike to a stop but somehow ends up accelerating directly into the magical dome. The smell of burnt rubber fills the enclosed space as the bike rockets forward to solidly connect with it. The barrier fluctuates wildly and then with an audible pop breaks. The bike skids along the street and dumps its now unconscious rider to the street like an afterthought. The sounds of people screaming and chaos flood into the space no longer muted by the dome.

A flurry of activity happens with the demise of the barrier. There is streaks of motion and distortion in the air around you as something or someone moves quickly into the area. You watch as Zero's body is cradled by unseen limbs and rises from the street and then watch as a ripple of mana passes over his form and it begins to fade from view - your senses struggling to keep him visible. Your attention is almost immediately grabbed by the sound of several hollow pops or bursts as grenades roll into the area around you. You brace yourself for the light and pain as they go off but instead find they belch forth hot smoke enveloping the street along with the sidewalks.

The smoke begins to twist and dance before your eyes as a wave of magic slams into you and begins to draw creatures out of the smoke - devils and flames, people tortured in vast seas of flame swell before you and threaten to draw you down with them into their personal hells. A strong voice cuts through the Faustian visions and landscapes swarm around you.

"We have what we seek and have no further quarrel with the rest. Let us depart and return peace to these blighted streets."

Fat Man
You hear a voice calling out in concern and then anguish that abruptly cuts off - silenced by who know what as you struggle with the large pillow in your face that erupted from the steering circle of the van.

Rikik
You watch and cringe as the bike along with Zero smashes through the dome. You can see the impact rip through him and feel phantom pains as his body slides across the street limp and clearly out of it. You feel more than sense someone or something move by you. You watch as Eklipse is somehow hefted from the back of the van and begins to ripple and disappear from view. You hear a gentle and softly accented voice speak to you - the timbre is rich and warm like a narrator or announcer from the grid.

"You are a kind soul. Do not take on this burden."
UmaroVI
Hearing the sounds of his friends in trouble, Fat Man lashed out at the infernal pillow that had attacked him with a bolt of pure mana.

BishopMcQ
<<@Team[Rikik]: Eklipse just vanished.>>

Rikik swats at the tiny burning fragments in the air as they sear his skin. He coughs, trying to clear his lungs and squints through the smoke.
Buddha72
Fat Man
You draw deep and feel a sickening lurch pass through your body as some outside force seems to eradicate the power you call forth. You feel the numbness spread and blot out the flow of mana from your fox, it no longer feeds and aids your casting. You struggle to keep the working of magic going and push what's left at the billowy bag over your face only to feel the magic wash over it and just barely connect to its fundamental structure. The bag is shredded by the weaves of mana through it and explodes around your head, falling to the seat like snow. The interior is dusted with bits of the airbag.

Rikik
You push as much of the hallucinations from your senses as you can, trying to ignore the demons lapping at your flesh and the small scaly forms crawling up your legs to see what or who grabbed Eklipse. You think you see his body shifting in and out of existence a few meters away from you, propped on something though you can't see what it is. It is carrying the dim echo of him at about shoulder height, his body in a C shape maybe draped around its neck.
Fenris
With a quiet curse in Arabic, the hobgoblin's eyes snap to the one visible figure through the smoke as his hand jerks the pistol from it's holster and snaps it up to center mass.

Why would he make himself a target like that, with everyone else invisible? Better to be cautious, then, in case there's a spell or something we can't see.

<<Gel Rounds Selected.>>

The shots are squeezed off quickly, more to test the figure than intending grievous wounds.

<<@Team[Fleet]: We've lost two team members in 2 seconds. Fat Man, Rikik, do you have a way to track Eklipse or Zero? We can't just let them disappear, but invisible people are going to be a lot harder to track on foot.>>
Buddha72
Street in Loveland
The older man hears more than sees the gun brought into play. His face takes on a disappointed cast as he tries to twist out of the way of the incoming rounds. The first is avoided but whether due to his advanced age or bulky armor, the second catches him squarely in the shoulder. His grunt is audible above the fading screams of the panicked crowds fleeing the area and the echo of the shots fired. As soon as the shot connects there is a keen slicing noise that cuts the air as two arrows of all things quickly fly through the smoke towards Fleet.

Rikik
The shimmering image of Eklipse moves further away from you, clearly moving at some speed on whatever thing is carrying him off. He bops towards the sidewalk and appears to be heading for an alleyway or side street off this main street.
Emilio
Emilio stays in survival mode, and focuses on the battle he can see. He adjusts and aims the pistol at the shadowy form near him of the man who just recently hit him. The pistol barks twice as bullets fly..
Fenris
The first shot catches him more out of pure shock than anything else. He wondered, briefly, how often people in his line of work got shot with...arrows? as the first one slammed into his shoulder.

He feels the familiar/unfamiliar twitch of augmented reflexes shift his body to the side as the second arrow comes darting through the smoke.
Buddha72
Street in Loveland
The older man stumbles under the solid impact of the second shot and catches himself. He shouts out over the street, pitching his voice to carry while holding his side.

"Please stop, there doesn't need to be blood shed here. Stop before you leave us no choice!"

Fleet
The first arrow makes contact and instead of a metallic thunk or even feeling a point of thrust on your armor, you hear and see a discharge of electricity arc out from the arrow head before your nerves scream in protest.

Emilio
You think you see the form stagger under the impact of the incoming fire as a high pitched whine reaches your ears. You turn and scan the air and spot a small root drone clearly with a weapon mount attached to its underbelly. You watch as it pivots the mount and releases a short burst at you and quickly follows up with a second burst.
BishopMcQ
Pulling the door shut behind him, Rikik begins tripping and climbing over the mess of ties, motorcycles and small pointy drones in the back of the van.

"Outta my chair, we need to start driving!"

The words are a rough shout, his throat hoarse and scratchy from the smoke. Words echo oddly in the van, bouncing against the cracked windows and bent metal.

Pulling on the sense within him, the hacker reaches out to his spidery companion. That vehicle cannot drive without me. Please help me get this one moving after the oaf smashed it into the wall.

<<@Team[Rikik]: I can follow their comms. Time to go, my bike is unharmed if anyone needs a new one.>>

Emilio
<<Team[Emilio]: Fucking flying guns! Going sounds great!>>

Emilio dodges out of the way of the bursts coming in. For a moment, it looks like the first burst is about to hit him, but he nimbly moves out of the way. Unfortunately his movement shifted him so that he couldn't dodge the second burst as well, and takes a hit.

Ouch ouch ouch!
Buddha72
Street in Loveland
The echoes of the gunshots fill the air as the burst slams into Emilio's torso but whatever armor he is wearing seems to be taking the brunt of the assault. The smoke hangs heavy in the air and the whatever magic was conjured before still washes over the area, tugging at your senses trying to draw you deeper into the imagined hell on earth. The air seems to start to ripple and distort, something separate from the illusions since the smoke particles are moved by it when suddenly a burst of something fills the area and washes over the group.

Fat Man
You look around as Rikik pushes his way into the driver's seat and feel your stomach turn from the miasma hanging in the air around you. You see a ball of mana building up in the air, growing in density and complexity as someone creates a structure from raw magic. The intensity is fierce to look at, it is clearly more powerful and the practitioner is either reckless or skilled as the final surge flows into it as it explodes outward like a small sun. You watch as it slams against the heavy distortion around you and sluggishly push its way towards you, clearly diminished.
UmaroVI
Fat Man

At least Rikik's curse is sharp on both sides.. Fat Man thought as he tried to reach through the haze and contain the hostile spell.
Buddha72
Street in Loveland
The pulse of magic passes over leaving a wake in the air as it reaches out trying to ground itself out into a living host. The older man in the military gear appears to be source of the spell as he holds out a single hand while clutching his side.

"Enough! Leave now and seek no further violence with us! These are good men but you press them and will find their goodwill replaced by righteous anger."
UmaroVI
Street in Loveland

Fat Man rolled out of the van and stumbled away from Rikik until his head cleared. Feeling sudden clarity as his magical power rushed back, Fat Man reached into the Astral for the strongest spirit he could find and called out for its help. Perhaps sensing his desperation, the spirit came without injuring Fat Man.

On the astral, a stocky man wearing old-fashioned lamellar armor and carrying what looked like a stylized black-powder rifle took shape.
Buddha72
Fat Man
You see the astral energies ripple and twist as the passage the spirit traveled closes around it and almost as suddenly you see flows of it's form savagely attacked - something or someone is severing its ties to this place and time, undoing the summoning you had just completed.
Fenris
Reeling, Fleet clutched at the bike, electricity arcing through his system, leading just before the wave of magic slammed into him.

Frag. Completely out-gunned and unprepared.

<<@Team[Fleet]: You heard the man. We can track them later. For the moment, focus on getting out of here in one piece. If you're still with us, sound off over comms.>>

Out loud, he swung the pistol to bear on the man again while simultaneously kicking the bike around to point it down the street again, past the ambush and back towards the safety they'd been aiming for.

"You're kidnapping our people! You can't expect ufff to just roll over and play dead. We kill for a living, and by Alla's will, if you take them, you willingly bring that on your own heads. I promise that your Jesu won't stop a bullet from the dark."

<<@Team[Fleet]: Rikik, get the van moving again, if it can. Emilio, get moving as soon as you can, head west. Fat Man, hop on and you'll ride with me. We're leaving in about 5 seconds.>>
Buddha72
Street in Loveland
The older man's face flushes with emotion, stiffens at the threat and the use of religious terms. Still behind the rage and shock in his eyes is a sad resignation.

"May God take you into His keeping."

His voice is heavy but fierce as he speaks and with that utterance a wave of violence manifests as burst fire rings out through the air followed by the sharp tang of a bowstring as arrows slice through the air. The sight of a small shimmering aerial drone drops into the street area from above that brings its weapons to bear against Fleet. While the arrows appear in the air from one of the cloaked assailants in the street.

Fat Man
You see the spirit struggle to remain tethered but succumb to the force brought to bear against it as it abruptly returns from whence it came, leaving behind a slight ripple in the astral as the breach into this reality is sealed once again.
UmaroVI
Fat Man

Fat Man tries to duck the first arrow, but catches it in the shoulder instead where it embeds in a ceramic plate. Off-balance, he throws his arms in front of his faceplate rather than try to avoid the second arrow and felt a numbing impact on his upper armor.

This is not good. We need to either fight them or run, not taunt them as we flee.
Emilio
<<Team[Emilio]: Heading west for now.>>

Emilio starts driving the bike out of the ambush.
Buddha72
Street in Loveland
The seconds flow by as street sam's bike moves its way away from the confrontation another response appears from the ambushers. Two thrown blades - knives of some sort whirl out from the smoke on the street arcing their way towards Fat Man while a bolt of conjured lightning arcs from the roof of a nearby building towards Fleet.
BishopMcQ
<<@Widget[Rikik]: Grab Fuzbun and start packing. We are coming and evaccing with anything not nailed down. Someone's done their homework and grabbed Zerone and Eklipse. Aruba is starting to sound really nice.>>

As he moves, Rikik is taking in the warning messages from the van and the growing storm of gunfire and blurred metal outside. When the thunder rolls against the van from a lightning strike nearby, he nearly loses it.

"Sure, we can bend the universe to our will, but pushing on the brake is too hard..."

If they all survived this, there would be a long talk about the right pedal and left pedal.
Buddha72
Rikik
You see the red flashing icons all clamoring for your attention as the van reports it's many ailments from the impact. You see every system protesting its use as you drive away from the scene. You see a message come in from Widget.

<<@Rikik[Widget]: WTF?!? There's nothing here right now - I have a perimeter with drones and they are all happy. I'll start throwing things into bags. I can break a piggy bank and get us a place to run to. Should I? >>

Street in Loveland
The smoke swirls and the distant lonely cry of hired law enforcement picks as as the two different groups of professionals withdraw from the impromptu field of battle. Curious and anxious faces peer out from store fronts and from behind cars. The spell covering the area slowly dissipates as the unearthly screams of tortured souls and hellspawn fade away leaving their echo ringing out through the night.

The Safe House
The team drives up to the small compound to see the slim Even woman dragging supplies up to the area where the vehicles park just inside the security fencing. She seems to have used blankets as makeshift sacks and bags. Her face is concerned and sweaty as the headlights flash over her. She jogs to the driver side window of the van.

"Anyone hurt?"
BishopMcQ
The Safe House

"Fat Man's got a long stick that looks uncomfortable, but no blood that I can see. The van is wrecked and limping. We lost two and will need to start hunting for them.

"Anyone else hurt? Fleet? Emilio?"


Rikik leans out the window to shout at the motorcyle brigade, and brushes him arm against Widget's shoulder to catch her eye.

<<@Widget[Rikik]: They were talking in something that I could almost understand, Latin or Greek maybe? They didn't want me. One of them took Eklipse from my arms and told me to be at peace. This might be something from before you and I showed up. Do we need to stay with them?>>
Fenris
Locking the kickstand into place with a vicious thrust of his foot, Fleet's face betrays the emotions roiling in the hobgoblin as he peels the helmet off his head.

"Fragging Christian freaks, spouting that crap about God while they threw knives and shot guns and kidnapped people. No, no, I'm fine, nothing that a nap won't cure. Emilio?"
UmaroVI
"I'm fine now, I just didn't want to leave any blood behind," Fat Man said as he yanked the arrow out from where it had lodged.

"But I'm not so sure we should move unless we have a new hideout that's already warded. If they want to come after us, given the sort of magic they were slinging around, they can easily locate us with a spirit unless we have a ward up - and that would take hours for me to do. If they come after us here, we can at least be ready and the ward will slow down their spirits."

Buddha72
The Safe House
Widget's open look of confusion at the mention of crazy Christians stay on her face as she replies.

"I don't know much about the magic angle but I know I have this place sealed up as tight as can be from the Matrix. Makes my skin itch but everything wireless is shut down and I have drones maintaining a security perimeter so if something comes this way we might get a heads up. I have a favor I could cash in for a new place to go but that's your call all. I want to stay with you all and keep my chances of living higher than running by myself."
BishopMcQ
"If we're not going to run, then we're going to need to make sure there aren't any more surprises. We've had people show up out of nowhere at spots we thought were secure, some very nasty people are spreading money around for your heads, and a team straight out of an action trid know our route well enough to lay a hefty ambush. My vote is running, but I don't fancy spending time with anyone who might have gotten the idea that I know where you are, so like Widget said, I'm staying where my odds of survival are better.

"Fleet what do you need to get these drones up and running as backup for Widget's? If Widget and FuzBun are all locked down tight, it would be stupid for anyone else to keep transmitting. I can track down the other two wherever they go, if any of their gear can reach the matrix, but that won't be something I can do while we're locked down. How much of a headstart are we going to give them?"
Fenris
"Alright, let's quit talking around it. We got our asses handed to us out there, and if they wanted us, they could have had us. Thankfully, they seemed focused on Eklipse and Zero. It doesn't really matter if they know about this place or not. If they were going to hit us, they could have. Did, in fact. I don't even think it's worth it for us to keep ourselves blind and locked down. They're not going to bother with us, they just wiped the street with us. We're not dead because they didn't want us to be.

Well, that's their mistake. I'm assuming because of the Christian connection these are the people Zero's clone put on us. I'm not sure what the angle with Eklipse is, but I have no intention of letting anyone hit our team, kidnap people, and just thumb their noses at us.

I need a couple of hours to swap AccessID's and software in the stolen drones, and we can have a whole well armed army hidden around this place in case someone else decides to stick their nose in. After that, I'm thinking Fatman and I head into town, and I can take the van to my shop for repairs. In the meantime, Rikik and Widget can focus on finding them, and seeing about finding other people that don't like them. With only three of us geared for up front fighting, I think we're going to need some help dealing with these guys. Bonus points if they have a grudge against the Inquisition and the Yaks.

In the meantime, since I'm sure everyone can multi-task, I think we need to figure out exactly what everyone's skills and backgrounds are. I don't care if you had a troubled childhood, but I want to know if there's another well connected, skilled group of prime runners or organized crime chasing you for anything. I also think it would help if we had a clear idea of what everyone can do. It's hard to plan not really knowing much about each other, and I think we've gone past the point where we can afford the normal 'runner paranoia."


Pausing, he looks around to the group, eyes raised, waiting for the responses from the beleaguered co-criminals.
Buddha72
The Safe House
Widget blinks several times in rapid succession before coming to herself and answering.

"I talk to machines and I'm ok with a gun but prefer to fight with drones. I have the Yaks after me and my uncles are not best pleased with me. I have an odd friend in the form of an AI named Fuzzbunbun who seems to know more about me and my life than I ever seem to. That's the my story."
BishopMcQ
The Safe House
Rikik looks his friend as she finishes her spiel and adds his own.

"So, I'm a data broker and got a call from Widget that she needed me to pick up some friends. I try to stay out of the way. Most of my work is done with alternate economies, the Changeling community, and for my patron, the Red Queen who set up a few of you with new IDs. I'm a quick study and can do a little bit of anything except the magic mojo and according to some people, my aura is a thrice-cursed wasteland.

"And I really liked my van better without the radiator leaking and the axle bent."

Fenris
Fleet gives a small shake of his head at Rikik's commentary.

"I'm almoffft sorry to have dragged you into thiff. So, in caffe anyone was wondering, I'm a rigger. I don't talk to machines, I program them, and my guefff is that there'ff some pro'ff and con'ff between my way and Widget's. Most of my skillff and ware is optimized around running a drone network, handling ECM and ECCM and all that. I'm okay in a firefight, but it'ff not my speciality.

I...work for SK. Used to, I gueff, except they don't know I ran off with a bunch of their stuff and put in a resignation notice. As far as I know, they're not gunning for me, but I worked with Eklipse, so it's possible it'ff jufft taking the Dragon some time to get around to tracking uff down. I also went through a "re-education" program with them, trying to cut down on my natural instincts to kick people in the nuts hard enough to make 'em choke on em. Works, mostly, and I haven't seen any other side effectff..nothing that stopped me from running off with a ton of their stuff and doing my own thing, so I assume I'm not programmed to pretend I'm leashed to them or anything.

Widget, we've got about twenty armed drones in the back of Rikik's van. While we're at, why don't you take half of them and put them on your network, that way, if anything happenff, they don't all go down."
Buddha72
The Safe House
She nods and makes her way to the rear of the van. She opens it and sucks air through her teeth at the sight of the pile of machines. Her voice is tinged with genuine sympathy as she begins to sort them out.

"You poor things.......don't worry I'll get you sorted out in no time..."

The early morning hours are filled with the sounds of drones and bikes being pulled out, sorted and patched up. There are promises made to see about fixing up the van so it's a little more road worthy. The time passes as people tend to the their own wounds, checking gear and replacing spent supplies if possible.
UmaroVI
Fat Man seemed a bit tense at Fleet's suggestion. He waited until the others were done before speaking.

At this point I suppose I have no choice but to trust them. I can hardly refuse to at least explain enough to not endanger them.

"Aside from the Yakuza, I don't know of anyone who is actively hunting me. However, I am not a metahuman and I would prefer to avoid drawing attention - the more people find out the more likely someone is to come after me.

"As you may have noticed, I cannot pass through magical wards without difficulty. I need to either see the creator's aura, or destroy the ward in a way that will alert the creator. I am always present in both your world and the Astral plane, so can see both physical and magical objects, but the other side of that coin is that I can't hide from Astral beings the way a metahuman magician can.

"As far as my skills, I'm a priest in the service Guan Yu the God of War. Most of the gifts granted to me by the shen are either destructive or healing, and I myself am very hard to injure without using magical or weapon foci."



Fat Man then carefully explained the details of the spells he could cast.
Emilio
The Safe House
Emilio throws in his response.

"The Yaks thought I was good for experimenting on. I was somehow wrapped up in all the mess that Cypher dumped. I like them dead.

"As for how I do that, I am good with guns. Lots of them. I also am good with demolitions. Haven't talked about it much as it wouldn't have helped the gangers. But it can help other things, say the Inquisition folks. I have a lab under another name that doesn't seem to be burned where I can mix up chemicals and make some ammo. I also can tweak and fix guns.

"I also know the front from the back of a med kit and help it do a better job.

"One last thing. Aideen had arranged some magic folks to see about fixing Fleet's cars. They are some place out here. Not sure if we can afford them, but getting the cars back if we can afford it would probably help right about now. Who wants to come?"
Buddha72
The Barrens
The daylight doesn't seem to add any more color to the wrecked and ruined buildings around you. The burnt out structures are mirrored in the hollowed out souls that dwell here. You see a sullen hunger and hopeless rage in the eyes of people as you drive by, clearly having more than a few resources to your name but your apparent status as predators keeps anyone from risking a confrontation with your group as you make your way to the GPS coordinates you were given. You approach a large commercial structure - like a garage or hangar - large enough to hold semis it seems and relatively intact. You see a single small door that is strangely hanging open like someone just entered and left it ajar.

You park and walk your way towards the door and see the interior is well light and clearly has access to power. The interior is clearly painted with wireless negating paint. You see connections to the outside world cut off as you enter and see the wreckage from the run that lead to your current circumstances. The drones and vehicles are piled around the edges of the room and an odd sight greets you from the center of the space - a large and complex series of circles with mystical and arcane looking symbols running through them. An athletic pair of Asian men, in their mid twenties are standing next to one drone that looks completely restored and almost brand new. Their faces are shiny and happy as one steps forward greeting the group, the one with red and green hair.

"Afternoon I'm Zihao and this is my brother..."

The second one steps forward his hair blue and yellow, taking up the sentence without a pause.

"...Zian. As you can see we took the initiative and repaired one of the damaged drones so you can see..."

The first steps back and gestures with a hand and you see the ripples of mana gently wrap and cradle the drone as it floats to hover just before you as he takes over the dialogue.

"...the quality of our work. This is free of charge, of course since you came to us as a referral from Aideen. That woman has a way with words and we can rarely refuse a..."

The second one, Zian calmly walks towards the drone and gently sets it to spinning with a gentle tap of his finger so you can see all the different angles of it. He flows into the sentence seamlessly.

"...request to meet a friend of a friend. Any questions?"

They both smile and look to the group for their reply.
UmaroVI
The Barrens

Fat Man stays on his guard, letting Fleet and Emilio pay attention to the route, looking suspiciously at the Barrens-dwellers as they passed by.

At the meet, Fat Man was quite surprised to see magicians repairing Fleet's machine-things. He inspected the auras of the brothers.
Buddha72
Fat Man
As you enter the garage you see the flows of mana woven into the ritual circle in the center. The lines of force glow with a steady and strong pulse so you know the ritual space is active and empowered, not just for show. The two men themselves are cloaked in the aura of several spells interwoven into their bodies and you see two small spirits, the white one resting on Zihao's shoulder and the black on Zian's. You feel the ripple of awareness as they lock eyes with you and look you over.
BishopMcQ
Gesturing at the partly open door to the only building in view that hasn't had its windows shattered.

"Well, that looks kinda ominous..."

Rikik follows the rest of the group into the building, double checking that his pistol was actually holstered under his coat and not in the glove compartment. He watches the exchange between the two men. He'd seen hackers that used custom icons that looked like two people or two headed giants. They spoke with a single voice, but two mouths kinda like these men were doing.

He reached out toward them virtually, looking to see if it was actually just one system controlling two parts like drones.
Buddha72
Rikik
As you stand at the edge of the space near the open door, you can feel the stillness press against your skin as the flow of electronic life diminishes. Your skin prickles and you feel the disconnected from the larger world. You extend your senses inside this constrained VR space and immediately sense two other points of digital life. It seems to be on each of the mechanics you're here to meet.
Fenris
Fleet obviously had to struggle to keep the disdain from his voice at Emilio's suggestion.

"Do you have any idea how much it costfff to repair that stuff? We just don't have that kind of cafffh."

He shakes his head for a moment, and then quietly sighs, turning back to Emilio and visibly composing his features.

"Look, I appreciate the effort, and I guess it won't hurt to take a look at what they can do. Worst case, we still can't afford anything. Befft caffe, maybe we can work out some kind of payment plan."

Piling 4 of the drones into the van with the rest of the crew, Fleet spends the trip ensuring that they've been updated with the improved pilots and systems that he had.

Got caught off guard with bad software last time - won't happen again.

When they arrive at the hanger, he shrugs the large automatic shotgun off his shoulder and into his hands before following Emilio into the door. He visibly gapes at the repaired drone, glancing suspiciously at the twins and then back to the drone, stepping close to inspect it. He pauses the spinning at one point, tilting the drone slightly to inspect something, and then nods to Emilio.

<<@Team[Fleet]: Best patch job I've ever seen - can't tell it's not fresh off the factory floor. It's got the marks of my work, though, so I know it's not just a new drone. Looks like they're legit.>>
Emilio
<<Team[Emilio]: Who knows. Maybe they would take Yak ears for payment...>>

"Your work looks impressive. Thank you for the repair. I have now doubt that you can repair the rest of our belongings. I do wonder however how much it would cost for such aid, and if we could find mutually-agreable non-cash options."
Buddha72
The Barrens
The twins smile in unison at the compliment of their work and Zihao moves his hand in a gentle forward sweep placing the drone gently on the ground next to Emilio as Zian begins to speak.

"Thank you. We are somewhat aware of your precarious position and how funds maybe limited at present or frankly needed for more pressing things..."

As he speaks he walks back towards a small table set off against the side of the garage that has a small collection of tools and objects on it. His brother picks up the dialogue as he moves.

"...or just to ensure survival. Aideen is a good friend so we would be willing to work out an arrangement for a non-cash trade. With your current restrictions we know it needs to be a quickly accomplished task and something local. We have a loose end that needs tying up but..."

Zian returns with a small optical chip which he hands to his brother as he picks up the sentence fragment.

"...find ourselves unable to attend to the task directly. There is a small group of professionals that have stumbled on to some very particular items that must no longer remain in their care. My brother and I remain unresolved on how to deal with the people but we are clear that we must retrieve the objects in question. Our compromise is you. Would you be willing to deal with this group and bring us back a small list of items in their possession?"
Emilio
<<Team[Emilio]: Sounds fortuitous to me. Something we need/can really use for something we are good at. What do y'all think?>>

"I certainly am interested. Could you please tell us more? Do you have specific concerns about their state of health or knowledge of the retrieval afterwards?"
Emilio
<<Team[Emilio]: Sounds fortuitous to me. Something we need/can really use for something we are good at. What do y'all think?>>

"I certainly am interested. Could you please tell us more? Do you have specific concerns about their state of health or knowledge of the retrieval afterwards?"
Fenris
Eyes following the drone as it settles to the ground in front of Emilio, it's easy to read the expressions flashing across the hobgoblin's face without the helmet.

<<@Team[Fleet]: It sounds almost too good to be true. I'll abstain from a vote, it's mostly my stuff they're repairing, so I'm pretty sure I have a biased opinion. If you guys are willing to hit what sounds like another team of runners, I'm be grateful and I think it would be helpful, but if not, I understand.>>
UmaroVI
<@Team[Fat Man]: 17 533m5 13k3 f41r p4ym3n7 70 m3.>

Why did it come out like that? Maybe Rikik's curse interfered with this device's aura.
BishopMcQ
<<@Team[Rikik]: If you get me some specifics, names, commcodes, etc. I can help track them down. Not worth much in a direct fight, but I can tell you what the world knows about them. Fair trade to me, information for a fixed van. Stuff from over there for some repairs over here.>>

Buddha72
The Barrens
They nod in unison as Zihao replies.

"Understandable and a reasonable request. We had the bad luck to work with them while repaying a favor to a close friend. We lent what aid we could and did what was asked of us but they..."

As he speaks he paces slowly and looks over the arcane diagram on the floor of the garage pausing to move a few select items when Zian takes over the dialogue.

"...were still trying to finish a job. The items they have in their possession should be frankly in someone else's care. They are delicate and potentially dangerous if mishandled. We do not want to risk bad feelings with our friend and the wording of our agreement leaves us with limited options..."

Zihao stands and hands his brother a small strip of parchment with symbols on it. He takes it back to the small table as Zihao speaks.

"...to rectify this issue so we have had to get creative which leads us to you. The team is a hacker, a troll street samurai and a mystic adept though I assure you I do not see them being much of issue for your team."
This is a "lo-fi" version of our main content. To view the full version with more information, formatting and images, please click here.
Dumpshock Forums © 2001-2012