While certainly not child's play, you are able to set your tracker and watch it as the packet heads off to its destination, finally getting a good idea of where Tanaka lives, at least in the matrix.

[Cynthia Rawson - Tuesday June 11th, 2075 - Downtown, Seattle] #468

Pleased to finally get something right regarding Tanaka, Cynthia quickly walks back to her car, instructing it to get her near Tanaka's location, checking while she does that it wouldn't take her to a restricted area. On the way, she keeps an eye on the 'link: she's certainly too far to hack it reasonably well, but she can keep an eye on it. In addition to that, she calls Arsène back. She probably could do it without his help, but it would be much easier - and safer - that way.

Tuesday June 12 2075 1953 Little Japan Seattle


Your car takes you back to Little Japan but you have to stop before you get very close to the location the packet was delivered to. As you had noted earlier, the few blocks closest to the inner compound are pedestrian only and you have to park in one of the large lots or parking garages before going further. Arsene appears when you summon him. "And what is it I can do for you, Cherie?"

[Cynthia Rawson - Tuesday June 11th, 2075 - Downtown, Seattle] #469

{I've just found the Tanaka dude, and now it's time to steal everything I can from his 'link.}

Cynthia starts doing just that. Once in the 'link, she copies every file she can. In addition to that, she inserts a new file there, a bit like the one she put in the trucks: the goal is to register all of Tanaka's communications in an unused part of his 'link memory. At regular intervals, the result is sent to a specific relay host in the matrix.



Hack on the Fly (Sherlock): 8d6t5 3
Hack on the Fly (+2VR, +3 Sherlock): 21d6t5 9 (limit is 7)
Software: 8d6t5 2 (For Arsène)
Software (+2VR, +2 Arsène): 16d6t5 9 (limit is 7 too)

As you move in and place the mark, you casually note that your target is not on the same grid as you and that the firewall is a bit more robust than you had expected. Still, the mark is on and you are in and can place your file on his 'link.

[Cynthia Rawson - Tuesday June 11th, 2075 - Downtown, Seattle] #470

Once she has put her file in place, Cynthia restores the news packet to normal in order to remove any trace of what she has done. After that, with Tanaka's files copied - she will analyze them later - she removes her marks, and starts to drive back to the Cajun's town. On the way, she starts to look at Tanaka's files, first his agenda and directory.

The files you are looking at seem to be fairly generic and innocuous. You find folders for his news packets and a folder named Gardening that contains the adds for the various prostitutes he has received as well as little critiques on each one. He has also chronicled his affairs with the wives of two other Yakuza made men; one his neighbor and supposed friend and the other his immediate boss. He brags to himself that both affairs are still secrets from his wife as well as both husbands. There is some discussion on what he likes in his prostitutes and his favorite sex positions. Other files contain information on DIY home repairs and he seems to be a big fan of bonsai trees and how to care for them.

[Cynthia Rawson - Tuesday June 11th, 2075 - Downtown, Seattle] #471

Cynthia sends a sum up of what she found to Tanya. She adds she may be able to add some more based on his communications later if what she has done worked. Then, realising she has forgotten something and cursing herself a lot, she goes back - in the matrix at least - to check if Tanaka has a second 'link.

OOC: What would tell you if he has a second 'link?

Only with a Matrix Perception of the icons in close proximity of his first commlink, filtering by type to only keep commlinks. If the second 'link is in PAN to the first one, it would be much easier of course. If it's not and not running silent, it's pretty obvious, which would defeat the thing, so let's say it's running silent, then I'd need to beat his Sleaze + Logic with my 16 dice pool of perception.
Given that giving a decent sleaze rating to a commlink is really expensive (3000 x rating ^ 2), it should be reasonably easy...as long as it's not shut down of course.
Otherwise, if he sometimes makes mistakes and transfers stuff from on link to the other, it could appear in some logs.

There is a second 'link that is not in a PAN with the first and is running silent. Its sleaze and firewall ratings are higher than normal but probably not so good as to keep you from failing unless you glitch. All of the files on the second 'link are encrypted.

[Cynthia Rawson - Tuesday June 11th, 2075 - Downtown, Seattle] #472

Cynthia curses herself, again, for having almost failed to get to the second 'link. Before anything else, she switches to the grid that 'link is on. Then, she switches to a random standard Persona, and gives some instructions. First to her car: she programs it to go back to the Cajun Town in ten seconds. After that, every few seconds, she resets the timer: that way, if she falls unconscious for whatever reason, the car will drive itself to safety. Second, she asks Arsène to take care to erase any traces she will leave. If she does fall unconscious, the Mark she will put on the 'link will disappear, but there'll be other traces as she copies the files.

Once she's done all that, ready to proceed, she marks the 'link, puts there too the program that will record communications (and send them to an anonymous relay in a Host she knows hidden among other outgoing traffic) and finally copies the files using her Editor Complex Form, which doesn't care about such little things as protections, encryption or even Data Bombs.



Matrix Perception (TM+2, VR+2): 16d6t5 5 just to make sure I didn't get said glitch
Hack on the Fly (Sherlock): 8d6t5 3
Hack on the Fly (+2VR, +3 Sherlock): 21d6t5 7
Limit is 7, so all successes apply to get the required mark.

Software (+2VR): 14d6t5 6 Limit is 6, to successfully tweak the software to record, hide and send discreetly the communications (text messages, files, vidmails and calls)
Data Havens (N. America): 12d6t5 4 to select a nice Host in which the files can be sent, where Cynthia will be able to regularly get them, and even if the thing is found out, the trail will stop there.

Editor [5]: 4#12d6t5 4 3 4 3, resisted by Intuition + Data Processing
Fade (Versus 4S): 4#13d6t5 4 4 5 3
Only 1S of drain.
Here I really need Editor's advantage of bypassing defences / encryptions on the file to copy their content directly, and especially the fact that even if it fails, it doesn't alert anything/anyone. If you need more, let me know of course.

Basically, Cynthia will continue this for as long as there are files, or until she drops unconscious from too much stun. She has 10% chance to take 2S, 18% chance to take 1S and 72% to resist all Fade, so basically, she'll take 1S every three Edits, so could reasonably do at least 30 of them.
As far as successes go, assuming a 12d for Tanaka's Data Processing + Intuition (7 device rating, 5 in intuition), she has 41% chances to get one net hit. It increases to 47% with 11d and 53% with 10d.
So basically, on the ~35 editor attempts, she would manage to copy 14 of them for now. Hopefully, it's a few big and really well protected files, instead of a swarm of small ones...
Of course, it doesn't take the wound penalties, but it doesn't change that much.

OOC: How does anyone defend against this sort of attack? It seems that you are near unstoppable, but there has to be a defense against it that has a chance of success. Your GM is almost completely new to any TM abilities, or even most matrix actions and defenses.

First, as far as the system goes, the defences are:
- A Intuition + Firewall roll to defend against my Hack on the Fly. If I can't mark, I can't do anything. Worse, if I fail to mark, the 'link is warned and I get a Mark on myself. In present case, with 7 hits, it'll be difficult of course. But Cynthia is beginning to be really good at this so...
- For the Worm she installs, it's difficult. There's nothing system-wise that would allow for a defence. But to be fair, there's nothing system-wise that allows it in the first place anyway.
- For each Editor attempt, there is a Intuition + Data Processing roll.

Now, beside the system... It's difficult. First, because even if 'links are high level and well protected by themselves, it's almost impossible to protect them effectively against a good hacker, which Cynthia is. They are far more vulnerable than a Host, and always will be.
So the first possible defence for a 'link would be a to have it in a PAN with a Host as Master. In defence rolls, you would take max(Intuition, Host Rating) + max(Firewall 'link, Firewall Host). So with a good Host, you could make the 'link as hard to hack as the Host. But it introduces a huge vulnerability on the Host: marking the 'link gives a mark on the Host itself. Even worse, if the Host is marked, every other device connected to it is visible and can be accessed as if alone (so without the bonus of the Host). If you can guarantee no one could direct connect to one of the devices, which would remove the Host protection on the device, then it's a reasonable idea. Problem is, it's effectively never possible to guarantee that. In a plant, warehouse, office, etc. It's "possible" since you have security on site etc. But for 'links which will move around with their owners not so much. Which is why it's never done (or at least, I never saw anyone willing to take that chance).
Another possibility would be to have an Agent monitor the 'link at regular intervals, to make sure there are no Marks that shouldn't be there.

For the Worm, it would require someone to monitor very closely the processes running on the 'link and its communications. It's possible since an agent could do it. I'd say it would require the Agent to get one more hit than I did on my Software roll?

Finally for the files, if each and everyone of them is protected, with a Data Bomb to boot, it's very difficult for a Decker to do it. Failing to disarm a Data Bomb will have it explode in your face, possibly destroying the file in the process and warning the 'link of this (if it's configured to do so anyway), and if there are many data bombs (with a reasonable level at least) it's a given some disarm tests will fail. The protection on each file would be a pain in the ass: failing raises the alarm. Worse, each time you attempt to crack the protection of a file, it tries to defend (with a pool of Protection x 2, the protection being the number of hits the owner got on a Computer + Logic roll when setting up the protection), and each hit on the defence roll increases the Overwatch score. With everything else, the hacker would quickly reach Convergence from GOD. Plus, successfully editing a file (to copy it for example), leave a trace. And, it's possible to filter the results of a Matrix Perception based on the last action. For example, you could want to see only icons whose last action was a Crack File. With the Hacker doing them most of the time in that case, it's quite easy to know something's wrong, and do something about it (for the record here Cynthia's last action would be a perfectly innocuous Edit File).

Now, most of this doesn't concern Cynthia. TMs have a huge vulnerability where cybercombat is concerned (since they take everything as biofeedback physical damage) and they are very sensible to Noise (which is why I always get as near as possible to the device I'm hacking to remove the distance component of the noise. But of course, it implies she is always nearby. As we've seen with the cave, it's not always safe...).
However where stealth and subtlety are concerned, they are the kings of the hill, plus defences are seldom done with them in mind (they're quite rare and very few understand them anyway...). For example, the Agent wouldn't really help against the Mark: Cynthia can just hide it with a Resonance Veil. For the files, she uses Editor, which by directly infusing Resonance into the files bypasses pesky little things like protections and data bombs. And of course, since she's using the Resonance to do it, her own Overwatch score doesn't increase.

Had she been a Decker, there's almost no way she could have done it, unless by being Fastjack's level (okay, maybe not that high but...), so the existing defences are good. But right here, it's the perfect scenario for Cynthia to capitalize on her strengths: she has the necessary Complex Forms to do what she needs to avoid the most dangerous parts of this, it's a 'link and not a Host, the subject's paranoia is playing against him, she could get close enough that noise is not an issue, etc. So it's no surprise she has a good chance to pull it off. All that paranoia about TMs is overinflated (considering that they're far from able to do anything they want with Hosts), but it's not completely baseless...

If you want to make things difficult for Cynthia, there are many possibilities:
- Hide things in a decent level Host (6+). With 6 she could still do things, but she'd be spotted quickly (The Patrol Ice tries to find intruders every 2 + 1d6 turns, it has 12d to spot her, and she has 12 to stay hidden so...). With 7+, she would fail more actions than she would succeed.
- Prevent her from getting near the devices she wants to get in (devices, not Hosts). It won't prevent her from doing it, but it would add Noise, which reduces her pools, limiting what she can do. Another way to do it would be to use Jammers, but it's visible and not necessarily a good option: putting a Jammer near your devices could prevent them to work as intended. Even for Cynthia, there are ways to reduce the noise (something that is in my shopping list) though.
- Monitor the devices she's interested in, like Tanya's for example. A good Agent (level 5-6) would be a pain in the ass to bypass. Not impossible (especially with some of her Complex Forms), but in some cases it would make noise, it takes time, and it reduces her effectiveness. Note however that an Agent cannot be used on a 'link. It must be on a Deck.
- The best way to avoid any problem is of course to store stuff offline. But it's never done, since most of the time, it's just shooting oneself in the foot.

OOC: What about using sprites to guard a system? Would that help? I am just trying to find some way to avoid saying that Cynthia succeeds at everything without any trouble. It is insanity to expect that all these guys have 'links tied to a host, right? Would a host even be big enough to do that? Your 18+ dice is waaaaaaaay better than I can get on even a high end 'link + int. I do not want you to fail, just be challenged once in a while.

I didn't speak about sprites because TMs are rare, but for all intents and purposes, they're the same as Agents. The main problem is that to have a sprite guard something, it needs to be a registered sprite, which is the same process as binding a spirit: obviously possible, but right now for example, while Cynthia could register a level 4 sprite with her 6 in registering, doing so on a level 6 would be difficult (she would fail half the time, and she'd probably fall unconscious for her troubles).
A level 4 Sprite would require someone good with a bit of luck (remember that the sprite would get 4d to resist compilation, then 8d to resist registering, and for each success on those tests, it's 2S to resist with Willpower + Resonance), but it's reasonable. It would make things more difficult for Cynthia (need to hide, to disrupt the sprite somehow). In fact, depending on the type of Sprite, it could be a pain...

Note however that having a sprite to monitor the 'link would mean the sprite has some access to the 'link which could be a vulnerability under the right conditions (conditions Cynthia could manufacture I think). In addition, the sprite is not necessarily good at hiding itself... It would however make things more difficult...

OOC: I will have to look at this a bit. So, back to the story........



It is very likely that these guys never saw you coming and you can copy a number of Tanaka's files before getting dangerously weary from the stun you have taken. Most of the files on this 'link are communications between Tanaka and several of his underlings, but a few are conversations he has had with his bosses.

OOC: What sort of search parameters are you using to determine if anything is useful or important?

[Cynthia Rawson - Tuesday June 11th, 2075 - Downtown, Seattle] #473

Clenching her teeth, Cynthia will go on as long as she can: she already took precautions to be taken when she falls unconscious, and she doesn't want to even leave one file she could have gotten. That would hurt her far more than a migraine and a small nosebleed...



1 - The most important thing is to identify who he is in contact with and in what capacity. Knowing who are the members of the conspiracy is objective N°1, priority being given to the top of the ladder of course.
2 - The current location of the suitcase that was intended to be given to Tanya. Assuming there is a lot of data in the suitcase, it could be the best way to get the most important information.
3 - The conspiracy in general (Simpson Industries, Renraku, Liston, etc.). Especially their goals and important locations (HQ "office").
4 - The mercenaries location. That's something she would really, really, love to get, but...it's not the most important thing to learn right now, as much as it depresses her (odds are if she finds everything else but not that, she'll be depressed. But she knows it's a minor point in comparison to the rest. But she'll be depressed anyway ^^). Plus hopefully, with point 1) she will have the contact information which would allow her to find them later.

Unfortunately, this is going to take more effort than that. For all your suffering, you determine that all the files you have found so far on the 'link are completely related to what you would say is "normal" gangster stuff dealing with various Yakuza activities, such as prostitution, drugs, and gambling. There is not one message from or to anyone about any sort of conspiracy, nor anything about Sampson Industries or Liston Pharmaceutical. There is some conversation about the mercenaries, but it all seems limited to some frantic conversations wondering if the mercenaries were after any Yak allied gangs or any of the business ventures that seemed to lie in the path the mercenaries were taking. Those seem to die down when it becomes obvious that the eventual target is a Vory neighborhood.

[Cynthia Rawson - Tuesday June 11th, 2075 - Downtown, Seattle] #474

Cynthia sighs. It's clearly not what she was hoping for. Nothing much she can do if he doesn't store those files on his 'link, except hope that her worm will manage to catch interesting conversations or data transfers. And maybe from that she'll know where to look.
Quite depressed, with a big migraine coming, she'll go back to the Cajun Town, where she'll go to sleep as soon as she gets there, planning to get up at six.

Tuesday 12 June 2075 2237 Cajun Town Seattle


The deputy at the entry arch has changed again, but he is just as courteous as the other one. He must notice that you are not completely well and asks if you need some assistance. Declining his help, you walk the silent dirt road to the boarding house, seeing no one still on the streets, although there are lights in a few of the windows you can see from the street. As you approach the porch, you see Eugene fast asleep in one of the rocking chairs, his harmonica on his chest. Once in your room, you are fast asleep in minutes.

[Cynthia Rawson - Wednesday June 12th, 2075 - Cajun Town, Seattle] #475

When she wakes up, the first thing Cynthia does is to transfer to her 'link any data the Worm sent to the Host in the night. She doesn't look at that however. Instead, she changes into shorts and t-shirt, running shoes on her feet. She then walks to the river while doing some warm-up. Once there, she picks a direction, and runs for half an hour, then turns around and runs back to the town. For the last five minutes, she's not quite sprinting, but finishes fast. Maybe too fast, given the state she's in once back.

All the while, she runs as if still asleep, not really paying attention to anything, just following the path automatically. It's pretty much in that same way - except that her lungs and muscles are burning - that she walks back to the building to take her shower. Her run improved things a bit, but she's still feeling down, not really eager to do anything today except maybe stay in bed and forget everything else. Still, she makes a new transfer for the Host results. But once again, she doesn't look at it for now: she doesn't want the data to sit in the Host for too long which is why she makes the transfers, but she's not expecting to get anything of value, which is why she doesn't look at it. And is feeling down...



Just as a reminder, things Cynthia is waiting news about (not to say it needs to be done now of course, just to have the list somewhere):
- Roger's kidnapping (a bit later probably)
- Professor Freed
- Tanya's contact for the clinic
- News from Barbara (difficult given that Zen is awol of course, don't worry)

The run along the river path is hot and muggy, even at this time of the day and you feel your energy drain from you as if something was sucking it away. You are sweating like a pig by the time you get to your turn around spot and it only gets worse on the way back. The run is scenic, though, as you pass between huge trees with swathes of moss dripping from the branches. There are a few flatboats on the river and people on them will wave to you as you come abreast. You also see two men fishing from much smaller boats drifting on the water.

The shower is nice, but you just cannot seem to shake the feeling of ennui that settles in on you. You lay on your bed after downloading the data from the host and wish the large fan in the ceiling would stir the air a bit more. Not exactly sure what you want to do, your reverie is broken by a knock on the door and you hear Eugene calling to you. "Cynthia, are you awake? I was thinking some breakfast and was wondering if you would like to come down with me?"

[Cynthia Rawson - Wednesday June 12th, 2075 - Cajun Town, Seattle] #476

Cynthia sighs. She doesn't want to move, but if she doesn't eat after this run, her stomach will digest itself... She gets up and opens the door. Grumbling something that could be understood as a hello (if one was expecting that at least...), she closes the door behind her and starts to walk in the direction of the restaurant.

Eugene opens his mouth to say something but closes it after seeing your face. He is as silent as you are on the walk to the restaurant, where you see what has to be the same three old men on the porch. They tip their hats to you as you pass them, nodding a good morning. Jeanette smiles and wishes you a good morning when you walk into the restaurant, motioning you to your table. "What can I start you with this fine morning, Miss Cynthia? Some griddle cakes, perhaps? The butter is fresh made."

[Cynthia Rawson - Wednesday June 12th, 2075 - Cajun Town, Seattle] #477

Cynthia stays silent on the walk, barely noticing anyone and responding in kind. She nods at Jeanette's proposition, slowly answering with a "Yes. Please. Thanks". Then, her chin in her hand, elbow on the table, she looks outside, not really seeing anything. As if her brain had stopped, and was waiting for something to start again.

The food arrives, you eat, you are done...........all without you even really noticing. It is much as if you are in a daze and you remember almost nothing of the experience. The first real thing that you notice is a soft touch on your arm and you look up to see Sophie's caring gaze. "Eh, Cherie, are you alright? No, of course you are not alright. Would you like to help in the kitchen and talk to me about it or is this a private funk you have for yourself?"

[Cynthia Rawson - Wednesday June 12th, 2075 - Cajun Town, Seattle] #478

Cynthia blinks a few times, clearly surprised. She looks at the table with a frown, trying to understand where her breakfast went. Then, she shrugs, and stands up "Sure, but..." She shrugs again "There's not much to tell."

Eugene is sitting across from you with a concerned look in his eye and his harmonica in his hand as if he were about to start playing. Sophie rises from the table and smiles at you. "That is alright. Sometimes it is just enough to have company. Who knows, you might find the words you are trying to say if your mind is on something else. In any case, I am a great listener."

She takes you into the kitchen and points to where your apron and hat are waiting. When you lift them off the hook, you see that "Miss Cynthia" has been embroidered on the front of the apron and on the inside of the chef's hat. Sophie sees you pause and says, "That was just in case you wanted to come back."

[Cynthia Rawson - Wednesday June 12th, 2075 - Cajun Town, Seattle] #479

Cynthia looks at the apron in her arms, at a loss for words for a moment. After a moment, she smiles "Thanks, I... I'd like that."

In the following hour, Cynthia helps a bit here and there, losing herself in this work she's thinking about as a hobby. She takes a bit of time however to try something on her own, purely improvised and without a recipe, with some of the things she found in the kitchen. With limes and another fruit, Muscadine says Sophie, she tries to make some cookies, that she puts in a corner of the oven for 15 minutes. After that, she tastes one of the dozen she made. She doesn't seem completely sold, but it doesn't seem too bad either "Maybe I should have added something sweet to counter the bitterness... Something like..." She looks at the Satsuma Oranges nearby, and tastes one "Yup, something like that. Well, next time anyway..."



Artisan (Cooking): 8d6t5 2 For the help part in the kitchen
Artisan (Cooking, Custom -2): 6d6t5 1 for the cookies

Wednesday 13 June 2075 0730 Cajun Town Seattle


Sophie is a good companion in the kitchen and would probably be the kind of big sister you could wish for. She lets you do your thing and gives advice only when you ask for it or if you look like you are doing something dangerous. Her best bits are just listening to you and talking about cooking. Even with you around, she manages to get the food out of the kitchen and onto the tables. When you have finished your attempt at the cookies, she tries one and pronounces it passable and gives some advice if you ask for it. Her wealth of cooking knowledge is impressive. "You will get this, Cynthia. But it takes practice. No one is great the first time and maybe not the twentieth time. Patience and practice are the bywords of a chef. So, do you wish to keep these or will they go to feed the ducks? I cannot tell you how many tears I have shed over what I have fed the ducks, but I keep on trying."

[Cynthia Rawson - Wednesday June 12th, 2075 - Cajun Town, Seattle] #480

Cynthia listens to Sophie's opinion and advices, she doesn't mind. Plus, she knows she doesn't know much as far as cooking goes... But she's not really doing all that to get better, or with a lofty goal. It's more to do something else, to clear her mind.

When Sophie mentions the ducks, Cynthia laughs lightly "I'm not sure fattening them is doing them any good..." she shakes her head, amused. After a couple of seconds, she shrugs "To be honest, I don't really care if I succeed or not. Well, except that I'd like to avoid poisoning myself when I sample that... Anyway, there's no pressure, no expectation. If it's good, cool, if it's not, doesn't matter. It's...refreshing..."

Sophie laughs. "Fattening the ducks is good for us as it makes the meat taste better." After your last comments, she looks at you for a few moments. "Are you alright? You seem a bit down this morning."

[Cynthia Rawson - Wednesday June 12th, 2075 - Cajun Town, Seattle] #481

Cynthia's smile wavers a bit before disappearing. She sighs "I suppose." She shrugs "Nothing went right yesterday, that's all. And I learned more about some stuff than I would have ever wanted too..."

The woman nods her head. "I sometime get that feeling, usually when I have tried some new recipe or when Jeanette just rebels against the rules. I have learned that sometimes it just helps to talk things over. It may result in nothing more than realizing that someone is interested enough to just listen. It might also lead you to look at something a bit differently and find a way to improve on yesterday. I am a very good listener so do you want to talk?"

[Cynthia Rawson - Wednesday June 12th, 2075 - Cajun Town, Seattle] #482

Cynthia sighs "I don't think I'd do you any favour by talking about that..." She pauses, then shakes her head "Let's say that I'm looking for something, and that instead of getting answers, all I got were more questions and not a single answer, it's frustrating. Plus, I don't really know what I can try now. And, as if it weren't enough, as I was looking into said answers, I kinda got an introduction into Yakuza businesses. And not the ones in the front." She shifts uncomfortably "It's one thing to know it exists, another one to...well, to know..."

Wednesday 13 June 2075 0800 Cajun Town Seattle


Sophie goes quiet for a few moments then speaks in a soft voice. "Jeanette is a bright and energetic child, but she can be a chore. What child her age is not, non? But one of the things she did that really used to push my buttons was always ask questions, usually in the form of "Why". And she asked the question in the most annoying tone possible. I was so frustrated that there were times when I would punish her or I would use the tradition mommy answer and just say "because", which of course did nothing to shut her up, bringing about the first response of punishing her. One day I lost it in front of my mother, back when she was still alive, and she pulled me off to the side and talked to me, telling me that I had been exactly like Jeanette when I was her age. She cautioned me that no matter how irritating the questions were, I would like it less when they stopped. She then gave me a bit more of her wisdom by telling me that questions are a sign of an active mind and that once someone has no more questions they are as good as dead. No one has all the answers and so there will always be questions, often finding an answer will only lead to another question, and that is a good thing, not a bad thing. Just keep looking more to find the answers to the new questions and hope to God that you will find another question at the end of your search."

She pauses for a moment. "I miss my mother very much, but she gave me so much to live for and a desire to carry on and to keep asking questions. I advise you to keep seeking and asking questions, even if things are not clear. I have it on very good authority from a person I admire very much that you are a very clever girl." She smiles and turns away, but adds something that you barely catch. "I happen to know that he also finds that you are extremely attractive and I think that he would like to know you better."

As you stand in the kitchen, digesting what Sophie has said, you get a message on your 'link. >>Good morning. Tanya here. Still interested in Margot Freed? She is giving a lecture on some of her research applications at the U this afternoon at half one. Would you care to accompany me to listen to it? You can at least see some of what she is interested in before deciding to talk to her or not. I also happen to know that her research assistant recently up and quit and she is looking for a new one.<<

[Cynthia Rawson - Wednesday June 12th, 2075 - Cajun Town, Seattle] #483

Cynthia's mouth work for a moment without producing a sound. Finally, after a few seconds, she manages to get it to work right again. More or less anyway. "I... Er..." She rubs her forehead "I wasn't sure I had read that right" She shakes her head "But... It's not that he's not nice, and probably a good man but..." she seems really, really, uncomfortable "I'm...erm... It's not against him either..." She blushes a bit "And I'm not really interested in girls either. But... Well..." She shrugs "I'm not interested like that by anyone. Or anything really..." She shakes her head "And there's already far too many complications in my life right now to even think to add anything of that magnitude even if I were interested." She ends a bit lamely "Plus, I'm just seventeen, I have time..."

She plays with a knife for a couple of seconds, then changes the subject "As for the whole questions / answers thing... Well, you're lucky to have family like that. I'm not sure how I could follow up on the questions I have though..." She frowns, absent-mindedly taping the knife on her lips "Well, maybe..." She groans "No, not possible. But..." She pauses, staring into space for a couple of seconds "Uh... Won't give me what I want but... Maybe I could..." She blinks and looks at Sophie "Uh, thanks, see you in the evening."

With that said, Cynthia walks to her car, barely seeing anything, nodding in greetings to anyone she passes but not paying them any attention. On the way, she starts by quickly answering to Tanya >>Sure, I can make it I suppose. If Roger didn't kidnap me or worse before. But you know that I've just finished high-school right? Aren't research assistants supposed to be grad-students or something?<<

Then, she - once again - pulls what is on the Host about Tanaka's latest activity - and calls Sherlock {Hey Sherlock. I've got something for you to find. Well, several somethings. First one is about the Franklin family, owners of Franklin Construction and more specifically Mathew, Mark and Luke. See what you can find about who they know and work with, specifically any possible links with Sampson industries, Avila Transport and Grainger Manufacturing. Or the Yakusa and Phil Tanaka I suppose. Oh and I'd like to know who is the architect in charge of the Goldstein building for them, I'll want to get the plans from him.

Second, I need to see what you can get about the Goldstein Building. Mostly who got the security contract, and who is handling things on-site for the Governor.

And third, see what you can find on the Arawak Tower and the Saks Department Store. Thanks.}

Now that she has reached her car, Cynthia orders it to take her near the offices of Grainger Manufacturing. There, she hopes to reproduce what she did the day before regarding Avila Construction. Hopefully, she will be able to understand what is going on the Goldstein construction site.


Plenty of important things to look for, so it's time for big Sherlock:
Data Sprite [6] (Compiling, Defense, Fade): 12d6t5 4 6d6t5 0 13d6t5 4
4 services (I would still have one more after those three searches), no drain, a good start of the day.

Sophie laughs again. "Now, Cynthia, I am not suggesting that you go jump in bed with him, or even that he wants more than friendship right now. But you might be missing out on something good if you just toss the chance away." She watches you leave and shakes her head, concern written on her face.

{Hey there. That is a tall order and aren't you sort of combining several tasks together to try to get some free ones from me? I might have time to do all that, but it is a tall order. Which is your priority?}

>>The world of academe is strange to me, Cynthia, and I am no expert. I rather think that who she picks as a research assistant is her business and that it would depend a lot on how much you impress her. Of course, I was just mentioning that and you do not need to try to interview for the position if you think you are not qualified for it.<<

[Cynthia Rawson - Wednesday June 12th, 2075 - Cajun Town, Seattle] #484

{Of course not, I'm just giving details on what I'm most interested in and suggesting ways to reach that information. There's Franklin Construction as one, Goldstein Building as two and Arawak Tower and Saks Department Store as three. Or as three and four maybe, ok, alright. As for priorities... Well, let's go in the same order. But do three and four first, I'm mostly interested in a quick survey of those two, maybe see if there are similarities with the Goldstein Building apart from Avila Transport.}

>>Possible, we'll see. There'll be time constraints though, especially if I end up going to Bogota for a few days...<<

{Got it. I will be back as soon as I have anything on 3 or 4.}

>>Bogota? Dangerous place right now. Would you let me send someone with you to keep you safe?<<

[Cynthia Rawson - Wednesday June 12th, 2075 - Cajun Town, Seattle] #485

{Cool thanks.}

>>I didn't plan to go there alone. I'd go with a platoon if I could. So yeah, of course you can send someone. As long as said someone understands that when I need to go someplace, she needs to think about how to make it happen, and not how to prevent me from going... But it's probably the only place where I'll be able to get some answers, and while distance doesn't matter when hacking Hosts, it does matter for a lot of things. I'll have to learn a bit of Spanish before I go there though. And there's some stuff I'd like to have done, like the clinic stuff.<<

>>Alright. All of that prep work will take a few days, which ought to give me the time to get something organized. I am glad that you seem willing to go there.<<

[Cynthia Rawson - Wednesday June 12th, 2075 - Cajun Town, Seattle] #486

>>I'm willing to consider going there at least, even if I'm not so sure it's a great idea at the moment... Anyway, I got where I needed to be this morning, time to work. Oh and let me know how it went with Roger...<<

This message sent, Cynthia looks at the Grainger Manufacturing offices in the Matrix.



Matrix Perception (+2 VR, +2 TM): 16d6t5 5

Wednesday 13 June 2075 0900 Outside Grainger Manufacturing Seattle


Grainger Manufacturing's offices in Seattle occupy part of the fourth floor of a six story office building. Public information is scarce, but you do find out that they have thirteen employees, and that the local office manager is one James Van der Slatten. Besides the offices, there is a small plant out at the edge of the industrial district, actually not too far from where Avila Transport has its operations.

[Cynthia Rawson - Wednesday June 12th, 2075 - Industrial District, Seattle] #487

Cynthia will definitely look at Van de Slatten's 'link, but first, she checks on the plant, and more precisely, the Host they probably use. Maybe even for the offices. She's interested to know what its ratings are, but also what devices are linked to it in a PAN, like the doors of the office or the plant, cameras on the outside of the plant, or even the 'links of some of the employees for example.

The security at Avilla was abysmal, but she can't really expect to be this lucky twice.

Wednesday 13 June 2075 0945 Outside Grainger Manufacturing Warehouse Seattle


And you would be partially correct. The host and security for the offices is much better than Avila's office was, but it still fairly easy for you to get into, but just like at Avila, the warehouse host is far more robust. Also, as before, some of the information is in a less secure area of the host, but anything really confidential is kept behind a steel safe-like entrance inside the host. It is hard to see what is on the PAN beyond the door, but nothing seems to be one on this side of the door.

[Cynthia Rawson - Wednesday June 12th, 2075 - Outside Grainger Manufacturing Warehouse, Seattle] #488

Noticing the hour, Cynthia first sends a message to Roger: >>Hey, will you still be at the Digital today? I should be able to get there by 11:00, but I didn't get anything yesterday since I was working on something else, so I'll count on you to keep me up to date!<< Of course, she hopes she will not have to go there... But she has to take some precautions in the event someone gets access to Roger's coms after he has "disappeared".

This being done, Cynthia delves back in her information gathering process. At first, she leaves the warehouse's Host alone. She will have to go there, but looking around in the offices' Host and the 'links of the employees - or the director - should be enough to get some clues: first as to what they are doing at the moment, second, hopefully, she'll get some new leads, areas of interests she wouldn't have thought to check when she finally goes into the secure Host, and third, maybe, she'll find some way to circumvent the Host.

After all, the human element has always been the weak point of any security system. Maybe someone, somewhere, saved security protocols in his 'link instead of going to the trouble of learning them for example.

OOC. TYping from a small screen and not sure of the connection.


You get no immediate response from Roger.

The links of the office staff are all connected to the host. As you search through them, you find that all seem to be work links and there is no personal information or message traffic on them. There is a message header on every link warning of the risks of using the company comlinks for personal use.

All message traffic and other information concerns the company's involvement in various construction projects. Their main product seems to be conduit for electrical wiring. None is made in the Seattle area, but they do seem to have immense store of it in the local warehouse that is slotted for the "G" building. Other projects are supported,too, but they are providing miles of conduit for that one project.

[Cynthia Rawson - Wednesday June 12th, 2075 - Outside Grainger Manufacturing Warehouse, Seattle] #489

As far as Cynthia's concerned, no news is good news. In fact, if she never again heard anything from Roger, she'd be perfectly happy.

As far as her data search goes, she's less thrilled by the results however. She supposes the G stands for Goldstein, but that doesn't tell much to her. She tries to look at what this conduit is used for, but after that, she's out of options.

Well, no, not really. But any other option would be a lot less safe and would require that she goes to the plant itself or possibly the offices to get her hands on something. A direct connection to something in PAN with the Host would be the most efficient way to get answers. And maybe the only one.

The question then becomes to know on what she can get her hands on, even for a few seconds, without drawing too much attention to herself. Or any attention at all. She starts to look at the warehouse, and most specifically at its doors. Odds are they are secured, protected from the Host. Maybe she can find one that is seldom used and out of the way, where she wouldn't be too visible for the few seconds she'd need?



Data Search (+2VR): 16d6t5 5 to know what the conduits can be used for.