Shit, I just realized that I mixed up the qualities: It's Fade to Black which I meant.

bnc observing the situation has nothing to do with him hiding: That was meant to establish the situation of the matrix fight. The decker is reacting only to Eliza putting a MARK on their persona.

The hiding in a host will happen as soon as bnc actively enters the fight (as in: they aren't interested in duking it out with two deckers)

Cool!
Then, one last question (it's not my turn yet, anyway, is it? As the spirits all acted, I think it's Nova's turn now). Did I detect, with my matrix perception check, any means how he can figure out that Eliza marked him? That is, does he have an agent who checks for marks, did he himself perform a matrix perception action or did he just guess/deduct?
I'm asking because, I, too, would try to put a mark or two on him before he realizes I join the fight. But if he's constantly checking for marks somehow, there's no point and I'd go into a straightforward attack.

Sorry, I forgot to mention: There is of course an R4 Agent running on his deck that doesn't seem to do anything.

except checking for marks haha

All right, then let the fragger know that a retreat is his only chance. After all, I win nothing but animosity by frying another expensive tool ^^ guess they're already hot because of the control rig.

Phase 1
Free Action: Swap Data Processing ( and Attack (7) [I don't lose init because I'm running toolbox atm]
Complex Action: Data Spike: 17d6t5 9
If I hit, that's:
9 (Attack + Decryption) + 2 (Hammer) + 1 (him running Virtual Machine) + 9 (hits) - x (Defense hits) boxes of matrix damage.
Huh. That might even take him out.

Defense Dataspike: 23d6t5 3

Yeah, that is certainly going to hurt

Soak: 14d6t5 1

Seems like all the good mojo from Orokos has been used up.
So, yeah, the board is toast and the decker vanishes from the matrix.

Ok, so are we rolling initiative or just move on out of combat time now?


Anyways, here's what I plan on doing next...

Nova will quickly check Battery's body as well, looking for his commlink especially, but also grab any weapons he had. Then she will put the stuff into the bag together with the rest (including that knife and commlink from the mage's clothes; the suit itself will stay there), careful not to damage that weird container. She will take a few pictures from the ritual stuff (the chalk markings and the suit even), grab that naginata and head down (she should be able to just jump down from the window, IIRC; probably need to be careful where she will land, due to the rubble from that collapsed scaffolding, I suppose).

Do commlinks have some button you can press and hold to turn them off completely, like phones do these days? Because she would just do that with the two commlinks (Mage's and Battery's).

Bye
Thanee

Sharkboy would just move to pick up the AA-18 or whatever the Auto-shotty is called, and then finally stroll back downstairs to join in on the conversation between Assault and Anna.

Unless Wraith informs us that we need to chase a mage down a sewer.

Sheesh! That's 15 boxes of damage. Lucky bugger I didn't load Biofeedback or something. Still, they won't be happy about this ^^

@all
I'm happy to continue in normal time now. All opponents are defeated.
Don't forget Assault's big bad gun. The one bnc toasted before he could pull the trigger. It should be reparable.

@Squirrel
Please don't scroll downstairs but run towards the van. Time to bring some space between us and them.

@Thanee

Yes, you can shut down almost anything with a manual button.
Commlink on Battery is a Transsys Avalon. There is the weapon focus hatchet and the Ruger Super Warhawk with a long barrel, smartlink and ammo select. He has a saphire knife on him as well as three more gas grenades

Assault has his commlink implanted in his right arm.

Since there is no more opponent active right now, we can leave ini time.

@SquirrelDude
The AutoAssault 16 is in good order. It has full recoil compensation through counter weight, gas vent 3 and electronic firing. It also sports a custom grip and also a long barrel for more accuracy. There is even a scope on it that sports a smartlink display.

@gilga

Make an assensing test for the loot. The blooddrinker axe is very much a weapon focus and can be traced as long as it isn't destroyed or rebound.

Any locks or hinges in the box?

Assensing: 16d6t5 10

I am not sure what her limit is. 7 or 8 I think.

Anna can open it with magic fingers if you want.
And wevalready know that Wraith has the mindprobe spell.

No visible hinges or locks, just the seal seam all around the lid

@gilga

you can sense the faint aura of an infected that has touched the box. The box itself seems to be a Vault of Ages, used to store preparations indefinitely. The construction blocks any kind of measure to peer inside, including astrally sticking your head in.

The saphire knives are not magical, but they show trace auras of murder and bloodshed.

Oh, right. Forgot about that. That will come in handy.

Bye
Thanee

So if the Axe is bound to Battary and Battary is definately dead.. it is unbounded right? Is it still a security risk?

It is a known magical object. It can be searched for by spirits since the mage likely knows what it is and looks like - better at least then what he knows about the rest of the team.

Over which port? Cyberlimbs are directly wired to the brain and have no online functionalities. Why would they need a port?

Maybe for diagnostics / repairs?

I wouldn't expect it to be a simple plug'n'play, though. Probably requires some more effort to make a connection.

Bye
Thanee

There has to be some way to update the firmware, fix bugs, replace a worn out component. I assume that such limbs have some sophisticated computers in them and definitely many sensors so you can feel temperature, touch, and your lover's embrace. There has to also be some controller (with sophisticated mathematics by the way) to allow you to balance yourself and so forth. In real limbs, not everything is done by the brain, a lot of the functionality is local.

For example when you touch something hot, you move your hand from there as a local decision before the signal gets to the brain. I'd assume you'll expect the same functionality from a prosthetic limb.

"Devices have a universal data connector, which is the
global standard for connecting devices together for
power and data exchange. If you have a cable, you can
connect to the device directly." p.232 core

Betaware has a DR of 4 (p.234)

I know that line but would you consider a cyberlimb a device? I mean, fine by me
I wouldn't want limbs and eyes and headsets to have UDCs sticking out of my everywhere.

You have to calibrate and charge them somehow.

Wiz. May I assume that there's something like a central port somewhere at the head rather than a single one for each and every drek they've got?

Normally, each would be separate accessible, but this guy has an internal router, so all his mods are hardwire connected.

all right
sweet

That's more power over a person than bnc should ever have.

@Luckace Anna/bnc could take the wound modifier away so just assume we did?

@Luckace: Nice roll on that Mind Probe there!

Bye
Thanee

Gee, it's exhausting to come up with so much detail for such a deep probe

fuck, wow ... Now I begin to understand why you didn't want us to catch Assault too easily

It was an interesting read Jack.

Oh, right. I tend to forget that I'm travelling with two and a half medics. That really comes in handy

Who's the half?

Nova and bnc are really good at first aid. (Nova has 6 points). Anna has the medic kit functionality with health spells.

Oh, wow. I actually meant Anna and bnc with the "full" medics, but I had no idea Nova was so good at first aid
Looks like I underestimated her.

She is just as good as bnc (perhaps better but I am not sure what the neocortical nanites do).

Does anyone even have those nanites? Nova has them on her shopping list (i.e. useful stuff to buy later). They give bonus to Logic-based skill checks. Pretty nice. But you need nanohive cyberware to really use them, and they are expensive.

Anyways, Nova has the better skill, so she has the potential to heal more boxes with First Aid, as that is limited by the skill rank. bnc has the better dice pool, though. Working together with a teamwork test, we should be able to do some nice healing. And then, of course, Anna can still use her healing magic. Overall, we should be able to treat wounds rather well.

Bye
Thanee

Alright, the game seems to have stalled a bit.

Any more questions for the mercenary?

Otherwise you have a hot lead to find Abdecker.

Anna had a question about assault's ways of recontacting his boss.

Ah sorry, I had overlooked that.

He did.

(Although, I think the correct name is "Dr. Johann", but even Jack used both "Dr. Jakob" and "Dr. Johann" for him. )

However, the mage fled in mist form, so he turned his body to mist and left all his worldly possessions behind, including the commlink, which is in our possession now (as is Battery's commlink and - technically - Assault's commlink, which is implanted in his body).

So, the mage is on the run fully naked (but probably shapechanged into some critter, I suppose).

Bye
Thanee

Indeed - and I have no idea how I added Jakob. There was only one Mage at this place and using the help of Assault and Battery: Dr. Johann

We should hack the links and see what we find. Messages reports recent contacts etc.

Jack also since you intended for us to have their equipment please list what we have.

@Jack

In how much detail do you want to roleplay the hack? You can assume that bnc will thouroughly rip apart the 'link including ... well, everything she can get her hands on, combined with extensive matrix research. Do you just want to give us a summary or shall we go into more detail?

He actually did. It is a bit further above, where Nova collected the stuff.

Bye
Thanee

Here are the relevant posts:





Bye
Thanee

No need for a long hack: When you start up the link, you'll find it pretty clean with only three commlink numbers:
Assault
Battery
Czerno

The call history seems to have been deleted after every call. Czerno seems to be the handle of the hacker you tangled with, although you can identify an active link behind the number - which you can identify as a burner phone that probably won't be active for much longer. If you attempt a trace it to an address that corresponds with a hotel next to the Linzer Zoo.

@Gilga: Lol, I did not expect engaging in a theological discussion via Shadowrun

@Jack: of course I'm not expecting a detailed description of all crimes Assault committed over the years, fleshing out the background for my mind probes is probably already taking enough time
A simple example of his moral guidelines like "he appears to have a strict moral codex, doesn't hurt innocents/ is a ruthless killing machine blabla" will suffice.

@Luckace Me too Though to be fair she is trying to get an ally more than to debate (as she is not religious herself).

What does my mind probe tell me anything about his subconscious, like a deeply hidden anger, thoughts of revenge...