[ Spoiler ]
I don't have many devices, so yes, my goggles (which are modded to act as a commlink) are likely slaved to Waywalker
Full Version: Umbrae Europae [IC] (part 3) - Mist of Nycthemeron
[ Spoiler ]
#148
"Porca miseria!" Waywalker thinked in italian as the matrix bomb blowed off in his face. "I couldn't have done differently given the time-frame..." was his only consolation. The explosion was very bad on his persona and on his deck, and he barely avoided being dumpshocked.
"We're out on our luck. The commlink went dark and I couldn't get my hands on the file. What should we do next? Having identified Madame Claude commlink we could retry in a few days but I think the rodent trick could not help us again..."
"Porca miseria!" Waywalker thinked in italian as the matrix bomb blowed off in his face. "I couldn't have done differently given the time-frame..." was his only consolation. The explosion was very bad on his persona and on his deck, and he barely avoided being dumpshocked.
"We're out on our luck. The commlink went dark and I couldn't get my hands on the file. What should we do next? Having identified Madame Claude commlink we could retry in a few days but I think the rodent trick could not help us again..."
[ Spoiler ]
[ Spoiler ]
With Waywalker getting some serious matrix damage and the brothel's guard clearly trying to locate them, the two partners got worried and quite tense. It took a few instant for the three large men, in front of the house, to gave up and simply come back in. This all operation had been a bust, but, at least, they did not have to deal with more problem.
[ Spoiler ]
Waywalker was still trying to repair his deck when he noticed, roughly a hour after the all mess, that Madame Claude's commlink icon suddenly reappeared on the matrix. It was still running silent, but now Waywalker knew her commcode. Checking out the icon, barely booted, Waywalker realized, the commlink was actually calling an other (and so in the process of establishing a matrix communication)
<<Keep cool and concentrate on repairing your stuff. I think it's time to take a discreet look into this house of sin.>>
Rex left his body behind and went into the astral, searching for the vengeful free Ancestor Kami. Once he found her, he told her:
'This is your chance, the back of the building has been breached and I'll take down the barrier for you.'
Rex left his body behind and went into the astral, searching for the vengeful free Ancestor Kami. Once he found her, he told her:
'This is your chance, the back of the building has been breached and I'll take down the barrier for you.'
[ Spoiler ]
#149
Waywalker went from VR to AR to fix his deck; luckily he always had some spare tools and parts at hand. After working for a while he noticed that the commlink was running again. "We should not lose this chance to get our info!"
Readily he jumped back into VR to eavesdrop the conversation.
Waywalker went from VR to AR to fix his deck; luckily he always had some spare tools and parts at hand. After working for a while he noticed that the commlink was running again. "We should not lose this chance to get our info!"
Readily he jumped back into VR to eavesdrop the conversation.
[ Spoiler ]
[ Spoiler ]
Despite his recent set back, Waywalker did not waver. His persona jump on the commlink's icon and discreetly found a weakness in its firewall, enough for him to put a MARK on it! With this MARK on the device, Waywalker could now try to snoop on the ongoing exchange...
[ Spoiler ]
Waywalker was barely able to force the device's firmware to duplicate the channel, but he still managed to do it. When the streams arrived to his device, the recipient commlink still had to accept the connection. Waywalker hold his breath (as much as one can in VR) and waited to see if his partner and him were finally going to catch a break...
In the meantime in the astral, Rex had found again the ghost spirit, still weeping in front of the protected house. Casting a powerful spell, he suddenly surrounds her by a bright, white lighted sphere of Mana. The sad lady seems to hold a breath a seconds and smiled at Rex's display of power.
"Shiny and so beautiful! You, ô visitor of the Realm of the Dead, are clearly an artist in the craft of magic!"
Nodding at the ghost, Rex slowly shift the manasphere towards the damaged ward of the house. As the sphere surrounding both of them advances, it forces the astral barrier of the brothel to retract, giving, at last, entrance to the ghost!
At the same time, Madame Claude's commlink finally establishes the communication, after a dozen of "bips":
"... You are not supposed to use this number!" (says, in French, and rather rudely a deep, dark voice on the other side of the line)
"I do know that, Your Excellency, but I have to call you to cancel our appointment tonight. We had ... a security incident."
The man pauses for a all second but before he can answer, some scream echoes behind the Madame Claude. It's clear for the runners that their ghost friend has already manifested and is already running amok in the house. Madame Claude goes on:
"What the Hell? ... Your excellency, I have to go. All my..."
"Say no more. Understood. Thanks you for your diligence." and he hangs up...
[ Spoiler ]
... but now, Waywalker has spot the device icon in the Matrix, despite it running silent!
Rex began to hastily scrub away his own signature again, before returning to his body.
<<I just let loose an angry Kami inside the club. With any luck they'll think she is the originator of the rodent attack as well. We should go while the security guards are going back inside.
Did you find out anything?>>
<<I just let loose an angry Kami inside the club. With any luck they'll think she is the originator of the rodent attack as well. We should go while the security guards are going back inside.
Did you find out anything?>>
#150
"Well done Rex, luckily we'll be in the clear for this little..."accident". Now I got ourself a lead: madame Claude was on the phone with our new Excellent target..."
"Well done Rex, luckily we'll be in the clear for this little..."accident". Now I got ourself a lead: madame Claude was on the phone with our new Excellent target..."
[ Spoiler ]
Waywalker did not wait for the exchange to be finished. The minute Madame Claude said "Your Excellency", he started looking for the icon of the recipient. Once he got it in his VR sight, he started hacking it to get a MARK on it. Which he got immediately.
Once he had access to the commlink, he start looking into the files and was very quickly disappointed. The commlink had been formatted, just a few days ago, and contained almost zero data. Not even the usual free files coming with this kind of device. The contact list was empty but for one commcode... the one of Madame Claude. This device was definitely a burner commlink dedicated to one thing: communicating with the brothel.
As the Waywalker observed the current activities of its user, he realized things were about to get worth. Whoever was behind the commlink was clearly about to format the device again and reboot it! Waywalker, again, had, but a few seconds, to exploit anything from it.
[ Spoiler ]
Once he had access to the commlink, he start looking into the files and was very quickly disappointed. The commlink had been formatted, just a few days ago, and contained almost zero data. Not even the usual free files coming with this kind of device. The contact list was empty but for one commcode... the one of Madame Claude. This device was definitely a burner commlink dedicated to one thing: communicating with the brothel.
As the Waywalker observed the current activities of its user, he realized things were about to get worth. Whoever was behind the commlink was clearly about to format the device again and reboot it! Waywalker, again, had, but a few seconds, to exploit anything from it.
[ Spoiler ]
#151
"This is no match for me, but I am not sure I'll find anything useful..."
As content from the commlink poured before Waywalker's virtual eyes, it becomed clear that it was only a burner phone.
" It's a burner phone, but even thtat could be useful to us. Let's find out where is this commlink!"
"This is no match for me, but I am not sure I'll find anything useful..."
As content from the commlink poured before Waywalker's virtual eyes, it becomed clear that it was only a burner phone.
" It's a burner phone, but even thtat could be useful to us. Let's find out where is this commlink!"
[ Spoiler ]
[ Spoiler ]
As fast and as stealthy as the first one, Waywalker added a second MARK on the commlink and began immediately tracing its icon before it got rebooted. Almost instantly his persona zoomed to a point quite North from is current position (in the meat space), and nearby the Channel. Looking at the geotag, the decker realized the commlink was somewhere on the coast of Normadie. Flying toward the actual location, Waywalker soon realizes that the commlink lies into a landmark of France, the famous Mount Saint Michel.
As his persona zooms even closer, before the icon blips out of existence, Waywalker even managed to locate not only the building but the room inside it where the commlink currently is. The owner of this device is not only in the Mount StMichel but even within the limitation of the cloister. Whoever is using this commlink, he must belong to the French Catholic Church, as it seems that France gave back the all site to the institution a while back.
#152
Waywalker smiled even as his connection with the commlink died. He tried to locate some other Icons but knew he had very little chance of success.
"I think we found our brothel client and is a bit far from here, so we will have time to rest a little." Waywalker shared his findings with Rex:
"I'd go there, to Mt. San Michel, to try and get some info on their connection to us, the book, and so on. I'll draw our ride for the autopilot. Do you have any ideas?"
Waywalker smiled even as his connection with the commlink died. He tried to locate some other Icons but knew he had very little chance of success.
"I think we found our brothel client and is a bit far from here, so we will have time to rest a little." Waywalker shared his findings with Rex:
"I'd go there, to Mt. San Michel, to try and get some info on their connection to us, the book, and so on. I'll draw our ride for the autopilot. Do you have any ideas?"
[ Spoiler ]
Rex replied: <<Well, well. If you remember I tracked that spirit that spied on you in the secure library back to St. Michel. I wouldn't be surprised if we had to find a way inside the cloister to get the next lead to the book - or the book itself.
Anyway, I'd better get back to studying our current copy - I still hope to be able to find something in it. Meanwhile you could try and find out if there are any mentions of a secret passage into the island fortress. Once we are closer, I'll send a water Kami to take a look at the base.>>
Anyway, I'd better get back to studying our current copy - I still hope to be able to find something in it. Meanwhile you could try and find out if there are any mentions of a secret passage into the island fortress. Once we are closer, I'll send a water Kami to take a look at the base.>>
#153
"You're right, with all that happened I forgot that detail. Seems we're going to find something, and I'm not sure of what. I'll dig deep into the Matrix to find what you mentioned..."
"You're right, with all that happened I forgot that detail. Seems we're going to find something, and I'm not sure of what. I'll dig deep into the Matrix to find what you mentioned..."
[ Spoiler ]
A quick browse of the matrix quickly reminded the two Shadowrunners what they had previously learned about the Mount Saint Michel. The renovated building was given by the French Catholic Church (FCC) - a separate entity from the Catholic Church, to the latter, in attempt of appeasement in the late 50's. While relation between the two churches has far from being normalized, this gesture did help establishing a better communication in between them.
The Mount Saint Michel became quickly the HQ of the Order of St. Sylvester in France. Any operation involving the order is generally planned and executed from there. The place thus has high security, already to care for the large amount of tourist visiting it, on a daily basis, but also to ensure that the "cases" of the Sylvestrine are not being spied on.
So unsurprisingly, as Waywalker quickly found a rather strong host on his way. Any devices or information coming from the place is thus being protected. From the outside, it also seems that the host provide security and data processing for all the touristic related needs (from VR visit, to AR to guide - or rather track tourist) along with business management for the numerous small shop selling memorabilia or the simply the famous dry cookies from the place.
Fortunately for Waywalker, the cloister plan are in fact public and does not requires access to the host. He quickly searched for the room in where the commlink was before being shut down: "Corporate Relationships Bureau". Apparently, this office is in charge of communication with corporate powers, in France, that interact, for one reason or an other, with the Order of St Sylvester. As he would have expected, Waywalker couldn't really find a more accurate definition of this agency.
However, he collected some rumors on numerous "shadow-friendly" forums stating that this office is often used to funnel money from corporate entities directly to the Order for either "service rendered" or "sponsorship". Regardless, Waywalker quickly identified the man in charge: Monseigneur Lebrun. He was not a very much public person, but he did appear on some video feeds, generally for official business of either the FCC or the Order of St Sylvester (those being far less common, obviously).
He was a human, mid forties, with a rather sympathetic, roundish face. While not yet completely bald, his brown, hairs had clearly begun their departure. The man look rather common and seemingly harmless, which looked surprising given the kind of dealings he appeared to be in charge of.
The Mount Saint Michel became quickly the HQ of the Order of St. Sylvester in France. Any operation involving the order is generally planned and executed from there. The place thus has high security, already to care for the large amount of tourist visiting it, on a daily basis, but also to ensure that the "cases" of the Sylvestrine are not being spied on.
So unsurprisingly, as Waywalker quickly found a rather strong host on his way. Any devices or information coming from the place is thus being protected. From the outside, it also seems that the host provide security and data processing for all the touristic related needs (from VR visit, to AR to guide - or rather track tourist) along with business management for the numerous small shop selling memorabilia or the simply the famous dry cookies from the place.
[ Spoiler ]
Fortunately for Waywalker, the cloister plan are in fact public and does not requires access to the host. He quickly searched for the room in where the commlink was before being shut down: "Corporate Relationships Bureau". Apparently, this office is in charge of communication with corporate powers, in France, that interact, for one reason or an other, with the Order of St Sylvester. As he would have expected, Waywalker couldn't really find a more accurate definition of this agency.
However, he collected some rumors on numerous "shadow-friendly" forums stating that this office is often used to funnel money from corporate entities directly to the Order for either "service rendered" or "sponsorship". Regardless, Waywalker quickly identified the man in charge: Monseigneur Lebrun. He was not a very much public person, but he did appear on some video feeds, generally for official business of either the FCC or the Order of St Sylvester (those being far less common, obviously).
He was a human, mid forties, with a rather sympathetic, roundish face. While not yet completely bald, his brown, hairs had clearly begun their departure. The man look rather common and seemingly harmless, which looked surprising given the kind of dealings he appeared to be in charge of.
#154
Wayalker shared the results of his errands with his partner in crime.
"I don't think it will be necessary to go inside...physically.
I found their Host and I'm planning to enter it once I've finished repairing my deck. Do you want to try and find this Lebrun with your mojo? The autopilot will drive us safely where you want if you need to be in a particular location."
Wayalker shared the results of his errands with his partner in crime.
"I don't think it will be necessary to go inside...physically.
I found their Host and I'm planning to enter it once I've finished repairing my deck. Do you want to try and find this Lebrun with your mojo? The autopilot will drive us safely where you want if you need to be in a particular location."
[ Spoiler ]
<<I can do that, but I'll be at risk of being spotted. I'd prefer to ask a Kami to do so, as that will provide me with more options to hide again. By the way: Do you have a picture of him? That will allow me to narrow down the search quite a lot.>>
Rex replied.
Once he had received the feeds, he nodded: <<Good, now I can have a spirit search for him. The search alone won't trigger anything, but it is still best to get as close as possible to his position. Every kilometer makes it harder for the Kami to find him - especially if he is behind a barrier of some sort.>>
Rex replied.
Once he had received the feeds, he nodded: <<Good, now I can have a spirit search for him. The search alone won't trigger anything, but it is still best to get as close as possible to his position. Every kilometer makes it harder for the Kami to find him - especially if he is behind a barrier of some sort.>>
#155
"For my limited understanding, Kami are a part of your mojo." Waywalker laughed as their van proceeded in the direction of Mt. St. Michel.
"I think he should be inside the compound, in little time we should be there. Do you want to eat something while we're on our way?"
"For my limited understanding, Kami are a part of your mojo." Waywalker laughed as their van proceeded in the direction of Mt. St. Michel.
"I think he should be inside the compound, in little time we should be there. Do you want to eat something while we're on our way?"
<<Always.>> Rex replied while he began to prepare his summoning
[ Spoiler ]
The road trip from Rennes to the Mount Saint Michel used to be a rather short one, but with all the foray did by the Mist since it appearance, many road have been diverted. Adding that to the fact that, as shadowrunners, Waywalker and Rex tried to keep away from the highly control autoroute, it took them a bit longer to get to the vicinity of the Mount St Michel than one would have expected.
As the impressive landmark was finally appearing on their horizon, Rex's Kami came back:
"oh, Thy Master of the Unseen Art, who yield control over me: I have accomplished what you tasked me to perform. The man you seek is indeed inside this ... Castle on water. He is behind a powerful magical barrier that has denied me access to him. But he is there, that I can tell for sure, Ô my master..."
And with this final words, the spirit popped out of existence and went back to its astral realm....
As the impressive landmark was finally appearing on their horizon, Rex's Kami came back:
"oh, Thy Master of the Unseen Art, who yield control over me: I have accomplished what you tasked me to perform. The man you seek is indeed inside this ... Castle on water. He is behind a powerful magical barrier that has denied me access to him. But he is there, that I can tell for sure, Ô my master..."
And with this final words, the spirit popped out of existence and went back to its astral realm....
[ Spoiler ]
#156
After grabbing soyburgers and some soy-fries at a McHugh's, Waywalker talked to Rex and shifted his fingers in AR to draw a virtual framework:
"Let's re-examine our informations:
1) We're looking for a book, a rather dangerous one, and we're waiting for our Ghoul Johnson, Mr. Corbitt, to finish his analysis of the other book we found in the SOX to get a clue on its location;
2) Our enemies are the Professor, a being from the Seelie Plane (and an evil one) with which I had a contact in my search for the "Book of Haute Magie" in the Mist and the order of St. Sylvester, which had a spirit spy on us in the library at the beginning.
3) We managed to get to know the name of a high ranking member of the Order, and I got knowledge on their Host, in which I would like to enter to get some information on how did they know where in the SOX the book was, given how careful we were. If there is a "deep throat" or an insider, we need to tknow before going on the search of the second book.
Do you think I forgot something?"
Waywalker started eating his soyburger waiting for his companion reply.
After grabbing soyburgers and some soy-fries at a McHugh's, Waywalker talked to Rex and shifted his fingers in AR to draw a virtual framework:
"Let's re-examine our informations:
1) We're looking for a book, a rather dangerous one, and we're waiting for our Ghoul Johnson, Mr. Corbitt, to finish his analysis of the other book we found in the SOX to get a clue on its location;
2) Our enemies are the Professor, a being from the Seelie Plane (and an evil one) with which I had a contact in my search for the "Book of Haute Magie" in the Mist and the order of St. Sylvester, which had a spirit spy on us in the library at the beginning.
3) We managed to get to know the name of a high ranking member of the Order, and I got knowledge on their Host, in which I would like to enter to get some information on how did they know where in the SOX the book was, given how careful we were. If there is a "deep throat" or an insider, we need to tknow before going on the search of the second book.
Do you think I forgot something?"
Waywalker started eating his soyburger waiting for his companion reply.
#156
After grabbing soyburgers and some soy-fries at a McHugh's, Waywalker talked to Rex and shifted his fingers in AR to draw a virtual framework:
"Let's re-examine our informations:
1) We're looking for a book, a rather dangerous one, and we're waiting for our Ghoul Johnson, Mr. Corbitt, to finish his analysis of the other book we found in the SOX to get a clue on its location;
2) Our enemies are the Professor, a being from the Seelie Plane (and an evil one) with which I had a contact in my search for the "Book of Haute Magie" in the Mist and the order of St. Sylvester, which had a spirit spy on us in the library at the beginning.
3) We managed to get to know the name of a high ranking member of the Order, and I got knowledge on their Host, in which I would like to enter to get some information on how did they know where in the SOX the book was, given how careful we were. If there is a "deep throat" or an insider, we need to tknow before going on the search of the second book.
Do you think I forgot something?"
Waywalker started eating his soyburger waiting for his companion reply.
After grabbing soyburgers and some soy-fries at a McHugh's, Waywalker talked to Rex and shifted his fingers in AR to draw a virtual framework:
"Let's re-examine our informations:
1) We're looking for a book, a rather dangerous one, and we're waiting for our Ghoul Johnson, Mr. Corbitt, to finish his analysis of the other book we found in the SOX to get a clue on its location;
2) Our enemies are the Professor, a being from the Seelie Plane (and an evil one) with which I had a contact in my search for the "Book of Haute Magie" in the Mist and the order of St. Sylvester, which had a spirit spy on us in the library at the beginning.
3) We managed to get to know the name of a high ranking member of the Order, and I got knowledge on their Host, in which I would like to enter to get some information on how did they know where in the SOX the book was, given how careful we were. If there is a "deep throat" or an insider, we need to tknow before going on the search of the second book.
Do you think I forgot something?"
Waywalker started eating his soyburger waiting for his companion reply.
Rex replied while munching his own burger:
<<My Kami came back and confirmed that Monseigneur Lebrun is indeed were you located his commlink - also it is highly probable that he is the one behind the Kami spying on us.
Now, as I understand it, you have to take a look into the host to search for any clues Lebrun could have collected on the whereabouts of the book. Hopefully we could combine those with the info we might gain from our book.
If there is nothing inside the host, we need to search his desk or other personal area. Finding the snitch would be nice too.
Finally, to get into this host, I assume you need a device slaved to this host. And the only one we know for certain is the link of the Monseigneur.
Since we obviously don't want to enter the building, we need to steal it when Lebrun leaves his fortress to visit the brothel or some place else for that matter.
Do you concur?>>
<<My Kami came back and confirmed that Monseigneur Lebrun is indeed were you located his commlink - also it is highly probable that he is the one behind the Kami spying on us.
Now, as I understand it, you have to take a look into the host to search for any clues Lebrun could have collected on the whereabouts of the book. Hopefully we could combine those with the info we might gain from our book.
If there is nothing inside the host, we need to search his desk or other personal area. Finding the snitch would be nice too.
Finally, to get into this host, I assume you need a device slaved to this host. And the only one we know for certain is the link of the Monseigneur.
Since we obviously don't want to enter the building, we need to steal it when Lebrun leaves his fortress to visit the brothel or some place else for that matter.
Do you concur?>>
#157
Between one handful of fries and a bite of soyburger, Waywalker replied:
"Yes, I agree. I could try to breach into the host from here, but a direct connection would help with the first assault."
After a sip of soy-coke, the rigger continued:
"Well, we do not know for sure if the commlink is slaved to the Host, but could have interesting information even if it's not slaved. The other option is to locate some other device not too weel guarded and proceed from there, like a camera or maybe a speaker.
Given our position, I'd favor to try the brute force approach first and go for the frontal assault.
What do you think?"
Between one handful of fries and a bite of soyburger, Waywalker replied:
"Yes, I agree. I could try to breach into the host from here, but a direct connection would help with the first assault."
After a sip of soy-coke, the rigger continued:
"Well, we do not know for sure if the commlink is slaved to the Host, but could have interesting information even if it's not slaved. The other option is to locate some other device not too weel guarded and proceed from there, like a camera or maybe a speaker.
Given our position, I'd favor to try the brute force approach first and go for the frontal assault.
What do you think?"
<<I as usually defer to you on those matrix things - but if you allow me to draw the parallel - if it was an astral object, I'd spend some time to analyse it and try to learn as much as possible about the device before I start to dispell or attack it. I assume you can find the commlink in the matrix? Gain whatever information you can: What are it's defenses what were the last actions taken with it, does it run silent, etc.
Because if the brute force approach fails they will go after us and the window of opportunity may close completely.>>
Rex replied.
Because if the brute force approach fails they will go after us and the window of opportunity may close completely.>>
Rex replied.
#158
"You are right. Sometimes I lose focus. Let's try to find our commlink."
"You are right. Sometimes I lose focus. Let's try to find our commlink."
[ Spoiler ]
Waywalker gave an other look into the matrix to see if Lebrun has brought back his commlink online. However, as he was afraid, once he formatted the device and shut it down, he probably got ride of it. Looking at the information about him, he searched his the man had a public commlink he could join him. He quickly found a commcode, but a quick look at the icon told him it was a fix commline tied to the Mount Saint Michel's host. Waywalker expected this line to be either an advanced answering machine or simply connect to his secretary rather the man itself. He expected people in the French Catholic Church to be old fashion enough to have actual, breathing and living secretary.
He was about to gave up, and prepare himself to hack the host, when some movement on the van's sensor caught his (virtual) eyes. Their vehicle was park quite away from the Mount StMichel entrance, but still within sensor range. And during the night, the place was closed to tourist, so any activity in front of the main gate was doomed to be noticed by them. Waywalker saw then a very fancy Phaeton Roll Royce taking the road crossing the beach leading to the main gate.
A quick matrix look told him this was a rental from a fancy cab service and that the vehicle was on its way for a pick up...
He was about to gave up, and prepare himself to hack the host, when some movement on the van's sensor caught his (virtual) eyes. Their vehicle was park quite away from the Mount StMichel entrance, but still within sensor range. And during the night, the place was closed to tourist, so any activity in front of the main gate was doomed to be noticed by them. Waywalker saw then a very fancy Phaeton Roll Royce taking the road crossing the beach leading to the main gate.
A quick matrix look told him this was a rental from a fancy cab service and that the vehicle was on its way for a pick up...
<<Do you think what I am thinking? An ideal opportunity to hijack the driver>>
Rex said while he already went about calling his Kami for help
Rex said while he already went about calling his Kami for help
[ Spoiler ]
#159
"I was hoping you'll say that! I will only inspect it to see if it's a drone or a manned car."
Waywalker was ready to move the van to get into the hijacked car.
"I was hoping you'll say that! I will only inspect it to see if it's a drone or a manned car."
Waywalker was ready to move the van to get into the hijacked car.
[ Spoiler ]
Before Rex waste his mojo on an automated car, Waywaylker took a look and quickly confirmed the presence of a driver in the car. Luckily enough, the driver was actually using the wheel rather than being jumped into the vehicle. Waywalker assumed, given the pricey-ness of the service, that customer expected a polite, well-dressed human being to great them.
After he told his partner about the driver, Rex asked his kami to perform to one more task. A few instants after he mentally ordered him, the Kami replied to him.
"My Lord, I did you biding and I'm in the moving metal box, unseen by the mortal being in there. I feel his mind is amendable to my suggestions. How do you wish him to help your ploy?"
After he told his partner about the driver, Rex asked his kami to perform to one more task. A few instants after he mentally ordered him, the Kami replied to him.
"My Lord, I did you biding and I'm in the moving metal box, unseen by the mortal being in there. I feel his mind is amendable to my suggestions. How do you wish him to help your ploy?"
"He is to stop, meet with us and follow our instructions because we are action on behalf of his superiors."
Rex transmitted the message with a rough description where the car should stop for a moment. He guessed, the driver couldn't stop for longer than a minute before his real boss would notice something, so they would have to be quick.
<<Get us there. The driver is now believing that we come from his company and have special orders for him. I don't want to get him into trouble, so I think it would be best if we ask him where he brings his passenger and arrange for us to be there waiting for him. We can choose a spot for a discret mugging - or if you are a good pick pocket an even discreeter lift of his commlink.>>
Rex transmitted the message with a rough description where the car should stop for a moment. He guessed, the driver couldn't stop for longer than a minute before his real boss would notice something, so they would have to be quick.
<<Get us there. The driver is now believing that we come from his company and have special orders for him. I don't want to get him into trouble, so I think it would be best if we ask him where he brings his passenger and arrange for us to be there waiting for him. We can choose a spot for a discret mugging - or if you are a good pick pocket an even discreeter lift of his commlink.>>
#160
Waywalker smiled as Rex's mojo was set in motion. "Maybe I should learn that too...
I was planning to impersonate the driver, but I like your plan more."
Waywalker smiled as Rex's mojo was set in motion. "Maybe I should learn that too...
I was planning to impersonate the driver, but I like your plan more."
As predicted by the Kami, when Rex called the driver on the phone, using a line secured by Waywalker, and pretended to be one of his boss, the driver made no trouble. He immediately acknowledge that, once his customer picked up, he will go through a nearby abandoned village, and stop there, which will allow Waywalker and Rex to be waiting for him. The car then reached the door of the Mount Saint Michel and stop in front of it.
A couple of minutes later, Waywalker and Rex could see the customer coming out. It was maybe their lucky day, because it was indeed the man they wished to talk to - Dominique Lebrun. However, it was maybe not their lucky day because he was accompanied by a large troll, sporting a catholic priest outfit, up to the famous roman collar, but also carrying a large sword on his hip. Both of them quickly entered in the fancy car, unaware it was going to led them to an ambush...
The priest looked at Rex's message and replied to it out loud, fully aware that the drone would be recording his answer.
"Let me start by sparring you the usual rhetoric about how dangerous it is to pick a fight with an organization as powerful as ours. You are obviously skilled and experienced Shadowrunners. I will assume you know what you are doing."
The tone of the priest was indeed not threatening. He then carried on:
"I'm obviously not at the liberty to disclose private matters of the Church, especially under duress, like this, but, as a token of appreciation for your.... let's peaceful "approach", I will tell you that much: Yes, I am aware of a long lost work, an original edition of a two hundred years old french, esoteric book, called the Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie. This book was written by Alphonse Louis Constant who is generally refers to by his "nom de plum", Elivas Levy. I am aware of this book because it is part the Index Librorum Prohibitorum. Or rather it was before this index was abolished in 1966. A misguided idea, but I guess, even for the Pope, back then, it was difficult to foreseen such a drastic event as the return of Mana on Earth."
The priest makes a brief, to look at his brother, the large troll who has yet to mutter a word. The man was clearly, silently asking him a question. The troll nodded in approval and thus the priest carried on:
"I think it would be no surprise for so-called 'deniable assets' such as you are to learn that the Order of St Sylvester has taken upon itself to research any items mentioned in Index Librorum Prohibitorum. Indeed, if many of those books were ... Let's just say 'in poor taste', back in the Fifth World, some of them may now contain... dangerous knowledge."
Again, he made a pause, but this time, for dramatic effect:
"I do realize that calling upon Shadowrunners sense of moral is, at best, grasping at straws, but I would like to do so anyway. I don't know who or what your client is. But whoever he or she (if those pronouns does apply) is, you should question his or her true motivation. Ours is crystal clear: we want to retrieve this book to protect the secret it contains. Or rather protect the world from those. Are you sure your employer will be as careful as us with this nefarious artefact?"
A couple of minutes later, Waywalker and Rex could see the customer coming out. It was maybe their lucky day, because it was indeed the man they wished to talk to - Dominique Lebrun. However, it was maybe not their lucky day because he was accompanied by a large troll, sporting a catholic priest outfit, up to the famous roman collar, but also carrying a large sword on his hip. Both of them quickly entered in the fancy car, unaware it was going to led them to an ambush...
[ Spoiler ]
- it may tip them off...
#161
Waywalker set the coordinates on his RCC to get the van going to their choice point of ambush.
"I've got an idea: the little drone will receive them, and we will ask for the priest's commlink (having the rotodrones point guns at him). I think we can manage to get enough juice out of it before it's compromised; when we are near I would like you to make the driver invite 3 MARKS on his commlink so I can shut it down for good.
Do you think we should ask about the book?"
Waywalker set the coordinates on his RCC to get the van going to their choice point of ambush.
"I've got an idea: the little drone will receive them, and we will ask for the priest's commlink (having the rotodrones point guns at him). I think we can manage to get enough juice out of it before it's compromised; when we are near I would like you to make the driver invite 3 MARKS on his commlink so I can shut it down for good.
Do you think we should ask about the book?"
[ Spoiler ]
<<If at all, we have to do this very quickly and not give them a chance to react. That man is a powerful mage and I bet this priest with him is at least an adept - No I didn't read his aura, too big a chance to tip them off, but call it an educated guess.
No, if you have it this would be the time to load gel rounds into your drone and knock out the mage directly if we can't make a discreet lift of his commlink. If the mage is down, I can levitate the brute out of harms way. Any chance they get to talk, the old man gets a chance to call some powerful spirit - I bet he has one bound and ready. Get your jammer ready to block any outgoing calls as well. And have your car ready for a quick getaway. Just in case I'll have a Kami assemle a little critter army, should we need a distraction.
Also, don't hesitate to call the driver - he still thinks that you are his boss. I'm not that fit with that technology stuff.>>
Rex had already begun to call another servant of the Beast King.
No, if you have it this would be the time to load gel rounds into your drone and knock out the mage directly if we can't make a discreet lift of his commlink. If the mage is down, I can levitate the brute out of harms way. Any chance they get to talk, the old man gets a chance to call some powerful spirit - I bet he has one bound and ready. Get your jammer ready to block any outgoing calls as well. And have your car ready for a quick getaway. Just in case I'll have a Kami assemle a little critter army, should we need a distraction.
Also, don't hesitate to call the driver - he still thinks that you are his boss. I'm not that fit with that technology stuff.>>
Rex had already begun to call another servant of the Beast King.
[ Spoiler ]
#162
"How would you make them exit the car? I'll replace the rounds with gel, but it's gonna be though to shoot them i side the car."
"How would you make them exit the car? I'll replace the rounds with gel, but it's gonna be though to shoot them i side the car."
<<Easy: The Kami emits a noxious gas into the vents. They'll get out or suffocate.>>
Rex replied.
Rex replied.
#163
"Fine, seems a good enough plan to me."
While the RCC drove them to the ambush location Waywalker swapped regular rounds for gel rounds on his rotodrones.
"Fine, seems a good enough plan to me."
While the RCC drove them to the ambush location Waywalker swapped regular rounds for gel rounds on his rotodrones.
Rex got off and hid in the scrubs with a clear view of the ambush site while his dog aura was hopefully concealed by the living vegetation.
With their plan set and in motion, the two runners just had to wait. After a few minutes, the black, fancy car arrived in the village and stopped. A brief, and heated discussion arises with the driver, but soon the two people inside stepped out only to be welcome by Waywalker's drone - or rather the speaker of the drone, telling them, in the most robotic voice possible, to open their commlink to discuss. The human and the large troll looked at each other, clearly suspicious and on their guard. However, they quickly, and silently, arrives to a decision and the christian mage pulls out a commlink and boot it. A few seconds after, the icon of the commlink, not running silent, appears in Waywlaker's augmented reality...
#164
Waywalker opened the communication with a burner phone: "We do not wish to harm you. what we want is just to have a little chat."
While distracting them, he quickly tried to get Matrix access on the commlink.
Waywalker opened the communication with a burner phone: "We do not wish to harm you. what we want is just to have a little chat."
While distracting them, he quickly tried to get Matrix access on the commlink.
[ Spoiler ]
This didn't go exactly to plan, but less violence certainly wasn't something Rex would complain about.
Instead he kept himself ready to take out the bodyguard.
Instead he kept himself ready to take out the bodyguard.
The two clergymen looks at the drone, in silence, before the human replies simply:
"I am listening..."
In the meantime, Waywalker hacks the commlink but he soon disappointed to get access only to an empty, freshly formatted burner phone...
"I am listening..."
In the meantime, Waywalker hacks the commlink but he soon disappointed to get access only to an empty, freshly formatted burner phone...
Seeing that Waywalker needed more time to work his special magic, Rex used the opportunity to get some answers:
<<We are very sorry for this inconvenience to you and your associate. But you are a man that is hard to reach and even harder to take one serious.
We know that you and your clergy are after Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie. We would like to know why. If you give us an honest answer - and I mean honest and not just true - we'll answer you honestly in turn.>>
<<We are very sorry for this inconvenience to you and your associate. But you are a man that is hard to reach and even harder to take one serious.
We know that you and your clergy are after Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie. We would like to know why. If you give us an honest answer - and I mean honest and not just true - we'll answer you honestly in turn.>>
#165
To:Rex "We have to do this the hard and slow way. That phone is a burner one. I think we need to actually talk to them..."
Waywalker kept the Matrix traffic of the commlink under monitoring to find out if they called help or did something fishy.
To:Rex "We have to do this the hard and slow way. That phone is a burner one. I think we need to actually talk to them..."
Waywalker kept the Matrix traffic of the commlink under monitoring to find out if they called help or did something fishy.
[ Spoiler ]
[ Spoiler ]
[ Spoiler ]
[ Spoiler ]
The priest looked at Rex's message and replied to it out loud, fully aware that the drone would be recording his answer.
"Let me start by sparring you the usual rhetoric about how dangerous it is to pick a fight with an organization as powerful as ours. You are obviously skilled and experienced Shadowrunners. I will assume you know what you are doing."
The tone of the priest was indeed not threatening. He then carried on:
"I'm obviously not at the liberty to disclose private matters of the Church, especially under duress, like this, but, as a token of appreciation for your.... let's peaceful "approach", I will tell you that much: Yes, I am aware of a long lost work, an original edition of a two hundred years old french, esoteric book, called the Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie. This book was written by Alphonse Louis Constant who is generally refers to by his "nom de plum", Elivas Levy. I am aware of this book because it is part the Index Librorum Prohibitorum. Or rather it was before this index was abolished in 1966. A misguided idea, but I guess, even for the Pope, back then, it was difficult to foreseen such a drastic event as the return of Mana on Earth."
The priest makes a brief, to look at his brother, the large troll who has yet to mutter a word. The man was clearly, silently asking him a question. The troll nodded in approval and thus the priest carried on:
"I think it would be no surprise for so-called 'deniable assets' such as you are to learn that the Order of St Sylvester has taken upon itself to research any items mentioned in Index Librorum Prohibitorum. Indeed, if many of those books were ... Let's just say 'in poor taste', back in the Fifth World, some of them may now contain... dangerous knowledge."
Again, he made a pause, but this time, for dramatic effect:
"I do realize that calling upon Shadowrunners sense of moral is, at best, grasping at straws, but I would like to do so anyway. I don't know who or what your client is. But whoever he or she (if those pronouns does apply) is, you should question his or her true motivation. Ours is crystal clear: we want to retrieve this book to protect the secret it contains. Or rather protect the world from those. Are you sure your employer will be as careful as us with this nefarious artefact?"
Rex replied carefully:
<<No, we can't be sure. That is the main reason we have taken the risk to contact you directly. We have to pay the bills, but we certainly don't want to be the reason that Cthulu wakes up. But to be entirely honest with you: This isn't just between you and us. There is a third party involved - and while we can't vouch a 100% for our employer, we have very concrete reason to believe that the Fey Professor is as dangerous as he is unscrupulous. You can be sure that he will use the book for every bit of power he can get - and if it means keeping the world hostage to the apocalypse.
But there is one thing I'd like to know - and truthful at that: You didn't say you'd destroy the book but keep the world save from it. That indicates motives a lot less pure than you profess. So what is it that you'd really do if we were to hand the book over to your organization - and what would you be willing to spend?>>
Rex hoped his implications would be enough to get the Priest interested, despite Rex being not the least bit interested in betraying the trust of their Johnson.
<<No, we can't be sure. That is the main reason we have taken the risk to contact you directly. We have to pay the bills, but we certainly don't want to be the reason that Cthulu wakes up. But to be entirely honest with you: This isn't just between you and us. There is a third party involved - and while we can't vouch a 100% for our employer, we have very concrete reason to believe that the Fey Professor is as dangerous as he is unscrupulous. You can be sure that he will use the book for every bit of power he can get - and if it means keeping the world hostage to the apocalypse.
But there is one thing I'd like to know - and truthful at that: You didn't say you'd destroy the book but keep the world save from it. That indicates motives a lot less pure than you profess. So what is it that you'd really do if we were to hand the book over to your organization - and what would you be willing to spend?>>
Rex hoped his implications would be enough to get the Priest interested, despite Rex being not the least bit interested in betraying the trust of their Johnson.
#166
To:Rex: "I applaud your wording. I would not talk now, before they answer, to not give the impression that we are not agreeing between each other, but I think we should ask them how they knew our whereabouts."
To:Rex: "I applaud your wording. I would not talk now, before they answer, to not give the impression that we are not agreeing between each other, but I think we should ask them how they knew our whereabouts."
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