Friday 12 June 2075 0113 Somewhere in Touristville Seattle


>>Hikari [Renee]: Thank God you are still alive. The bullet nicked me, but it is only a graze so I am fine, even though it hurts like hell. I am on the move and will call in later.<<

>>Hikari [Deepdwelver]: LOL You must think this is like magic or something. Your line is only as secure as your connections make it these days. If a skilled hacker is on your ass, you are already screwed. If you can, route your comms through a really good 'link or deck that has good sleaze and firewall capabilities. If you cannot get that, just go wireless dark and basically reboot your devices frequently to reset any marks anyone may have on you. What are you hoping for me to be able to do?<<


OOC:

I have to look at the initiations to see what I need to know about them. The RPC stuff is going to be tough to get, especially the Hardened Milspec Armor. Not a lot of that stuff just hanging around.

Friday 14 June 2075 0115 Somewhere in Touristville Seattle


>>Hikari [Deepdwelver]: The beauty of modern comlinks is that you can do this yourself and much easier than I can. Just reboot your 'link and all marks will just go away and unless they are close to you, it will be damned hard for them to mark you again as long as you are careful.<<

>>>Deepdwelver [Hikari] Thanks. I really gotta readup on Matrix security. <<<

>>>Renee [Hikari] When you get to a safe spot, let me know but don't send the location. We want to syncronize a comm-link reboot so both ends are secure. <<<

>>>Jackie Talon [Hikairi] Do you have a possible safehouse for Renee yet? If so I need a location - don't give me the address, but plan on sending me a taxi with a nearby destination programmed in, and someone to meet us at said nearby destination. <<<

Friday 14 June 2075 0116 Somewhere in Touristville Seattle


>>Hikari [Deepdwelver]: Yes, you should. But that is what I am here for. I will send you a bill for service rendered and advice given.<<

>>Hikari [Renee]: OK. I am still moving right now. I don't think anyone is following me, but I am not really skilled enough to know any different unless it was really obvious.<<

>>Hikari [Jackie Talon]: Working on it. Frag, girl, it has only been a couple of minutes. If I could do it that fast I could charge you triple my fee.<<

>>>Deepdwelver [Hikari] Okay. Will pay you as soon as I'm not sill in an active hostile situation. <<<

>>>Renee [Hikari] Okay. Stay alert. I've got a friend working on finding a safe house for you. <<<

>>>Jackie Talon [Hikairi] Thanks. Rough idea as to how long? <<<

With those threads all in play there was little I could do but wait. I sat down.

OOC:
Any word on the initiation?

Friday 14 June 2075 0130 Somewhere in Touristville Seattle


>>Hikari [Jackie Talon]: Alright. Auto cab is on the way to get you. It is preprogrammed to take you somewhere. Once you get to the destination, go inside. I promise that you will fit in. Have fun. Try to ignore all the guys until one comes up to you and asks if you like twizzlers. Don't worry, it is an archaic candy form that no one has heard of in fifty years. You will ask which flavor and he will say black. Go with him. Send the auto cab to pick up your friend and give her the code. Be nice and expect a large bill.<<


OOC:

Sorry. I was in a drinking water conference for most of the week and free time was limited. I did not really get to the initiation stuff and my posting suffered a bit.

>>> Jackie Talon [Hikari]: How large are we talking? Funny thing is, I actually do like Twizzlers, but only the red kind. <<<
>>>Renee [Hikari] I have an autocab en route. Find a safe spot with an address, but don't tell me where until I give you the signal. <<<

I got up and edged towards the street, looking for a cab.


OOC:
One of the things I find really annoying as a player is unspecified prices - both in regard to Deepdwelver's decking and the safehouse. If you can list prices that's appreciated. Let me know regarding initiation - especially if you want to apply the fancy rules on them from Street Grimoire, that makes things so much more complicated.

I take it a drinking water conference is about stuff like water quality, and not a conference where one sits around and drinks water?

Friday 14 June 2075 0131 Somewhere in Touristville Seattle


>>Hikari [Jackie Talon]: Cab service is 200, counting the cab fee and my arranging for everything. House fee is 100 a day and it covers a modest replenishment of food every day. You want special stuff you have to coordinate that on your own with the guy meeting you. 500 for me to get it all done in a short time. Any problems with the fees?<<

>>> Jackie Talon [Hikari]: That's all good. I'm ready as soon as I hear a pickup location from Renee. <<<

Friday 14 June 2075 0141 Somewhere in Touristville Seattle


An AutoCab pulls up to near your location and an ARO indicates that it is in service for a JT. When you approach the car you are requested to provide the name of the passenger of record. Once you give your name, the rear passenger door hisses open and you can climb in. The ride is quiet without an alive cabbie trying to keep you in conversation.

Friday 14 June 2075 0206 Sam's Place Downtown District Seattle


To say you are in the Downtown District would be strictly correct by boundary lines, but you are several streets over from the ritzy skyscraping apartments and corporate towers. The AutoCab pulls up to a brightly lit nightclub with flashing neon lights proclaiming it to be Sam's Place. A small group of people is standing outside the club, smoking and talking. It seems to you that every one of the six people has a different color of hair. You see a lot of ink and the girl with the neon pink hair has it shaved off on both sides of her head. It appears that the clothing of choice is mostly ripped jeans and T-shirts and four of them are wearing jackets. If there are any gang symbols, you do not recognize them.

OOC: Mercy, rolling with my plan (since you didn't reply in the OOC topic), which was to do a synced commlink reboot, then pickup Renee, and travel to destination. If that's an issue then let me know and I will edit it out.

IC:

I walked with Renee into the club, casually asking her about school and other bits of conversation, like urban brawl scores (I don't really care but know enough to hold a conversation) and an occasional joke or two. I had told her that we'd discuss serious business when reached the safe-house - I didn't want to let slip anything about the job, because you never know who might be listening in. I waited for the contact on the safe-house to show up. Part of my brain was planning next steps - I'd need to get details about whatever was happening, then likely go home and pickup my guns. I might have enough time before dawn that I could hit the professor's house and steal the plans (and check for any evidence he's alive - if it looks like it, then good to save him - he'll both know what's going on and it's simply the right thing to do).

I'll also want to get in touch with Urje - she both brings extra firepower to the situation and knows others who will want to fight something that "kills all the fish". Given the sniper, it might be good to work outside the shop next week, hunting reagents and the like - at least until some of the storm has passed.

Friday 14 June 2075 0207 Sam's Place Downtown District Seattle


Sam's Place is heavy with vibrant techno-style instrumental music blaring from the speakers placed all about the club. The clientele is diverse, but the mix of hairstyles and colors makes you feel at home. A live band is playing on the stage to one side of the room and the mosh pit in front is a sea of color and skin. A number of the people are topless, both men and women, but an equal number are fully clothed, if clothed is the right word. The mix of clothing styles is as diverse as the hair. You almost have to yell to be heard and Renee seems to not have the -we-are-being-looked-for-so-be-cool thing down, looking about all the time.

You are approached by a topless waitress asking what you want to drink.

"I'll take some soda." I answered.

OOC: Settings like this are things that do fall under the "avoiding sex' thing I mentioned a while back. If you can leave elements like that out it's appreciated.

Friday 14 June 2075 0207 Sam's Place Downtown District Seattle


The waitress gives you a look. "Sure, there is probably some mixer. Cola be OK?"

I smiled, "Sure. Thanks".

Turning to Renee (after allowing her to order), I asked, "So what's your major?"

Friday 14 June 2075 0207 Sam's Place Downtown District Seattle


"Oceanic Bio-Engineering. Incredibly interesting field with lots of opportunities as the AAAs get more involved in aquacologies."

The girl brings you your cola and moves on to the next table.

"So you do genetic engineering work, then?"

Privately, I found myself beginning to dislike her a tad - as a sea shaman I am no fan of messing with nature, and especially with the ocean. The only case where I might want to change the genes of sea creatures is if it helps them actually clean up pollution. I'll reserve further opinion on her and her professor until I actually see their work, however - it seems they might share some interest in the well-being of the sea. I was definitely at full attention now - even if I disagreed with her quite a bit, it would be good to learn about recent developments in her field. If something in the sea was going to be changing, I would rather know about so I can do something to stop it - and I'm sure Urje would feel about the same.

OOC: Any word on the initiation?

Friday 14 June 2075 0207 Sam's Place Downtown District Seattle


Renee actually looks a bit shocked. "Genetic engineering? No, that is what the professor and I were trying to stop. I am interested in finding ways for people to coexist with the sea without doing more harm to the creatures living in it. But we stumbled on something horrible."

My opinion instantly shifted - if what she said about coexisting with the ocean is true, then she's an ally, not a potential enemy. That said, I want to discuss the job at the safehouse - for all I know we may be still be under surveillance. "Glad to hear that coexisting is your goal. Let's save that bit of discussion about your findings for when we get to the 'meeting room'. That way people won't overhear." I followed up with a comm-text using my trodes: >>> And by meeting room, I mean safehouse.<<< . Hopefully she keeps her AR on.

Friday 14 June 2075 0207 Sam's Place Downtown District Seattle


Renee smiles and nods but does not say more as a young man dressed in bright neon pants and shirt and sporting a glowing purple mohawk comes up to the table. He has a bag in his hands that he holds out. "Hey, you hotties want some twizzlers? Only the best."

>>> Renee[Hikari]: This is probably our cue. <<<

"Which kind?"

Friday 14 June 2075 0207 Sam's Place Downtown District Seattle


The man looks in the bag and frowns. "Sorry, only got black ones left. Not my favorite, so you can have them if you like."

"I'll take those, then." I held out a hand.

OOC: Have you had time to look up initiations yet?

Friday 14 June 2075 0207 Sam's Place Downtown District Seattle


The man smiles as he hands you the bag. "I do have more at my place, if you would like to come over." He stands aside and motions with his arm.



OOC:

Yes. I think we can make it work, but I would like to RP it.

"Sure. Renee, come on." I left a payment for the soda with the club's Matrix host and a small tip for the waitress as I stood up.
OOC:

The only real issue I foresee with that is that the time required IC for initiation means that I'd probably pick up enough Karma for a second one by the time we were done with the first, unless we're able to suppress it into a few longer posts. Other than that we're good. How do you want to go about it IC exactly?

Friday 14 June 2075 0208 Sam's Place Downtown District Seattle



The man smiles at both of you as you rise from the table and motions for you to follow him. His route does not go near the front door, but instead to a side door in the building that leads to an alleyway cluttered in filth and garbage. You have to step over two men laying on the ground either too drunk or burned out on chips or drugs to even realize that you are there. Once a bit away from the club, the man looks over his shoulder at you. "So, no names and I will forget the one I heard. I am to take you to a place where you can lay low for a few days. It is not too far from here, but we have to hurry."

Fifteen minutes of walking through narrow alleys later, he stops and pushes against the wall, opening a concealed door and leading you across a small garden area to a building. The weak moonlight reveals that the garden is as badly neglected as the area of town you are in. The man unlocks a door and opens it for you to proceed inside. He follows and shuts the door behind him before flicking on a light. The single weak bulb shows you that you are in a kitchen that is better equipped than you would have thought. He gives you a tour of the building, pointing out the two bedrooms and the bathroom that open of the small but comfortably furnished living area. "Not too many amenities, but why suffer while you are hiding, eh? I have stocked the fridge with food to eat that should last a couple of days and will bring some more in when I return. The toilet and shower work, but there is a limit of fifteen minutes a day of hot water in the shower and another twenty minutes in the kitchen. These are fixed amounts, so please be aware of how much you are using. Questions?"


OOC:

I am fine with broad strokes, so I will leave that decision up to you. I can go either way.

I thought through a couple of questions that might be important. "Who do we call if someone figures out where we are? Or you if we needed something, like in a medical emergency? I'm also guessing that Matrix access is best not used - don't want any traces, as hard as those can be. Any security wards? I'll need the mage's permission to pass though them - I may be in and out a bit, physically and otherwise."


(OOC: If there are windows, than Hikari asks the following.)

"And are the windows bulletproof? Because snipers are a confirmed possibility."

OOC: I'll probably take the "broader strokes" approach and write something up - I'm not quite sure what approach to take yet as to how to RP the initiation. Some teaching from the Daughter of the Sea may be the most valid approach.

Friday 14 June 2075 0215 Safe House Downtown District Seattle


The man grimaces and shakes his head. "You must want the five-star down the road. No matrix use is right. There are no mojo wards and if you are afraid of snipers, keep the blinds pulled and stay away from open windows. I will leave you a com code to reach me in an emergency. I would be cautious about wandering about on your own in this neighborhood, but suit yourself. The place is as secure as it needs to be and too much more would attract attention I do not want. Moving in or what?"

"Just checking what aspects of security I have to worry about. We'll be here for as long as we need to, hopefully not to long- and you'll be payed of course. Don't worry about the neighborhood - they won't even know I stepped outside."

(OOC: Assuming he leaves after that, Hikari does the following.)

I pulled down all the blinds, and I grabbed the file from Renee out of my bag, and said "Alright, tell me about what you've found."

Friday 14 June 2075 0218 Safe House Downtown District Seattle


The man nods and smiles at both of you. "Well, you have my code if you need to get in touch with me. I will be back in two days with some food. Any preferences?"

After getting your choices, he leaves you alone. Renee practically collapses on the chair in the living room. Her face scrunches up and her hands start shaking. "I....I have been so frightened for so many hours that I am half afraid that someone will come through that door spraying bullets and......and.............."

She stops talking and puts her hands in front of her face as she breaks down.

I put my hand on her shoulders. Sometimes the best thing is simply to be there for someone - not a need to say anything to them. I waited, simply there to support her .

Friday 14 June 2075 0225 Safe House Downtown District Seattle


After a few minutes, Renee calms down. Removing her hands from her face, she shudders once then tries to smile at you. "Thanks. Sorry about that, but this is really not something I am used to. I am just a research assistant, not some kind of combat warrior. You have probably saved my life a couple of times and I have not even thanked you for that. So, thanks. I want to help, but I am exhausted. I can give you some idea of what I found but then I need some sleep."

She pauses to collect her thoughts then nods her head. "Alright. I was doing some research on the effects of past deep sea resource recovery on the aqua and bio-environments. My studies were to support a paper I was doing on the long term effects of mining on the ocean floor, and was focused on some of the early mining efforts. I was looking at data recovered from UCAS drones over the years off the West Coast and everything looked great, as if the older sites had actually had little long-term effects. But I thought I saw a glitch in one of the data spools. I took my concern to the professor and he gave it a look then decided I was seeing nothing. Still not satisfied, I took the feeds to a friend of mine who is a wiz with drones and it took him like three days of examining the feed to tell me I was looking at a loop. I asked what that was and he showed me that I was looking at the same pictures over and over. He said that it was artfully done, but one of the drones had developed a glitch in its processing, which was the anomaly I had seen. We spent another week looking at the rest of the feeds and found the same thing, only much better done. I went to the professor and he appeared quite worried and arranged to have us coordinate a drone of our own. It is all lies. All of it. The mining never stopped and it is ruining the ecosystem on the ocean floor. I have not had time to run any estimates, but there is a good chance that whoever is behind this is systematically killing the ocean in this area and if here, where else?"

"That is cause for concern. I have some connections who might be able to help us look into that and do something about it. First off, the professor - you said that he was missing? If getting him to safety was a priority to you, or at least learning if he was still alive, then that would be a good place to start. After that, we'd probably want to look into who's doing the mining, then either sabotoge them or leak the word to people who have the resources to do that themselves."

Friday 14 June 2075 0235 Safe House Downtown District Seattle


Renee nods as she stifles a yawn. "Sure, I want to see the professor safe. He has contacts all over, which is how we got that drone in the first place. I was more or less his paper carrier until I put some of the data together and saw the glitch in the feed. Since then, we've been running and hiding and I have no idea where he is." Another yawn. "And do we need to do this right now? Now that I feel a bit safer, I am feeling so very tired."

"I don't mean to keep you up later than necessary - but these are prime hours to get started for me. Would you mind giving me an idea on office location, or even better address of residence, family members, somewhere he might go to keep safe? If I have a place to start looking, then that's as good a lead as any. The only other thing I want to go over is making sure you know how to lie low - if you need to tell someone you're safe, I can arrange that indirectly. After that I can let you get some shut eye."

Friday 14 June 2075 0236 Safe House Downtown District Seattle


Renee nods her head. "Should I write the address down so I do not use my 'link, or is that safe? Um, I have his office, of course. That is at the U and the building is closed at this time of the morning. Campus security will be about. I have his home address, too. Not sure if it is important, but maybe you should know that I have slept with him, but he is not married or anything. Anyway, if you go there you might find some things of mine. There is a coded entry lock............wow, so tired. OK, I have it. 7-9-9-4-9-6. Oh, I have a key to the office at the U, too. Here it is."

Renee hands you a key chain. "This one gets you into the building and this one into our office. Mike, the professor, has an office of his own there with a connecting door, but I don't have a key for that. And this one here is the key to his house. You will need to use it after you enter the code into the lock. You get fifteen seconds after the light goes green or an alarm gets sent to the security company. Did I leave anything out?"

"If you know anything about the campus or the home's security, especially drones, cameras, motion sensors or metal detectors, that's helpful. Anything I should know about this Mike? That can range from 'he knows what's going on and he's on our side.' to 'he's got a vendetta against Professor Grant and would be happy to see him dead', or even that he's some kind of eccentric Awakened kook. And yeah, write it down - probably not a big risk but spending time in the shadows teaches you that's better to be paranoid and alive than careless and dead."

OOC: Going to be out of town til the weekend is over.

Friday 14 June 2075 0237 Safe House Downtown District Seattle


Renee nods and writes down the information you are asking for. "Mike? He is perhaps the real brains of the department. Old guy, maybe seventy or so. He is Stan's, er Professor Grant's research partner. I think he, like, invented our line of study. I know that Stan was always going to him with our results and asking for our advice. I rarely saw the guy. In fact I think I have seen him only three or four times tops as he came to the office or left it. Stan said that Mike preferred not to deal with too many juniors at once. Eccentric, he said. But really smart, you know?"

"I know very little about the campus security. There are a couple of campus police that patrol the buildings and there is an alarm that goes off if you don't use the key to get in or out of the building after hours. His house is as I described it. I never saw anything more than what I described already for there."

"Alright. Unless you know some passwords that might let me access the professor's computers or comms, then that covers everything I need to know. I think you understand laying low, but I'll reiterate it just in case - don't use any Matrix access. If you need to contact family, have me run the message indirectly. Don't assume you can trust anyone - people can be turned against you by bribery or threats. Stay away from the windows and keep the blinds closed. Got it?"

OOC: Last post before I go. Got the color slightly off.

Friday 14 June 2075 0238 Safe House Downtown District Seattle


Renee yawns as she nods her understanding. "Got it. No calling. Not a problem as I don't really have any family I want to call anyway. Sorry I don't know his passwords. Oooh, wait. I think I saw him look as a small card he keeps in his top center desk drawer once. He was muttering about passwords, so that might help. And leave blinds closed." Another yawn and a stretch. "I think I will take a nap while you are gone. How long before you expect to be back?"

"Before I forget - even I forgot about it in all the chaos, the impression from my contact was that you're hiring me for this. Although I wouldn't charge much for the work given that protection of the ocean is kind of important to me and even more so to some others I know well, I'd like a rough estimate. I'd plan on being back around dawn - at which point I can talk for a bit before I should get some sleep. I've probably only got time to hit the house tonight unless I risked visiting the office in broad daylight - not an idea I'm a fan of."

OOC: I'm back. I've also started writing a short story in the form of a metaplanar journey for the initiation, if that's okay for the purpose? Might be a little while before I finish.

Friday 14 June 2075 0239 Safe House Downtown District Seattle


Renee licks her lips a bit. "What were you thinking of for pay? I have some money, but I have never done this sort of thing before."


OOC:

That ought to be good.

"If I'm figuring right, 1000 for rescuing the professor, maybe a little more if it's not an easy job. Flat 500 if we just find out he's already been finished off. We'll discuss pay for dealing with the miners later - I'll need to figure out the scope of their security to discuss pricing, because that determines how much I need to put into resources - if it's light, then affordable for you, if it's not, then that hits the point where I have to start calling in external assistance. "

Friday 14 June 2075 0239 Safe House Downtown District Seattle


Renee nods. "Sounds fair to me. Uh, do you need any of the money up front?"

"If you can do the 500, I wouldn't complain. But I'll go without if it's tough to get it together on short notice."

Friday 14 June 2075 0239 Safe House Downtown District Seattle


Renee shakes her head and pulls a credstick from a pocket. "Where do you want me to slot it? I can transfer the amount to you."

I held out my own credstick, allowing Renee to transfer it directly.

OOC: Let's get this show on the road - I've got everything I need (or can think of) from Renee. Next stop - the warehouse - I want some of my guns.

Friday 14 June 2075 0339 Hikari's Warehouse Seattle


You leave Renee to get some sleep and cautiously make your way from the safe house. You do not think that you have been followed, but you take special care anyway. Once far enough away, you can move more rapidly and you head to your warehouse home.

I got together my pistols - a Streetline Special and my goto, a Steyr TMP that's pretty heavily kitted out. I loaded up some ammo for both - high density rounds for the machine pistol, and gel for the holdout. (Also, should stop at Melvin's after dawn - I'll be up a little late, but I need some more ammo and spare clips - I've been putting off stocking up on some things for too long - if I were to use up the Hi-De clip up right now, I'd be down to the armor piercing rounds, and I try to save those for when I fighting something nasty - like certain critters or toxics.)

I also made sure that I had about fifty vials with of reagents, and double checked the charge on my shock gloves. I packed my grapple gun and climbing gear into the myomer bag, taking about 20m worth of stealth rope. Shouldn't need it but if I'm breaking and entering than it's a huge help should it come to that. Some cheap C-squared and a bug scanner also went into the bag.

On my way, I chatted with the spirit. "By the way, is there asomething small I can do to thank you for your help earlier?"