[Tecumseh]

Doc is a certifiable genius. He doesn't really do crossword puzzles - they're too easy. He's more likely to design and populate a crossword puzzle... from scratch... without actually writing it down... while simultaneously considering the merits of the Sicilian Defense in chess, specifically comparing the Classical, Dragon, Najdorf, and Scheveningen variations for their various merits and drawbacks. Given all this brainpower at his disposal, it's little wonder that he's curious about the nanites in his system. He is a bit of a doctor, after all, one who dabbles in hemotology in his free time. He certainly doesn't have a medical lab at his disposal but - using biomonitors, his cybertechnology kit, hardware kit, and one of the medkits - he's able to jury-rig something that might give him a high-level understanding of what he's dealing with.

He sets something up while keeping watch on Ohanzee, with the idea that the final product could be used to monitor both Doc and Ohanzee overnight to see what sort of variations might be present in each subject. That will also give him a time series of data to examine if there are variations in nanite activity overnight. Having cobbled together a couple monitors, he sets them up on the dwarf and himself and then slips off to sleep.

In the morning, he has some initial results. Certainly not a diagnosis, but some high-level findings that provide clues:

1) The main concentration of nanites is found in the prefrontal cortex. This region of the brain is closely associated with planning complex cognitive behavior, personality expression, decision making, and moderating social behavior.

2) The second largest concentrations are located in the endocrine system, especially the thyroid and the adrenal glands. Some of the activity is highly reminiscent of what Doc would expect to see in certain bioware, such as a suprathyroid gland or an adrenaline pump. In fact, based on some of the levels of activity Doc is seeing (and can correlate with some of his more intense dreams), he guesses that it might be possible to consciously "activate" these glands for a physical boost in an emergency situation! Such use would certainly take a toll on the user - likely heavy fatigue - but it might be useful in a stressful or life-threatening situation. Similarly, the nanites might allow a subject to push beyond their usual limits of exhaustion, staying conscious when - under ordinary circumstances - the person might have passed out.

3) The nanites also seem to act as highly efficient scrubbers, keeping the subject's system clean of infection or other contaminants. Ohanzee's system, as a dwarf, is naturally clean, but Doc himself is surprisingly clean given the less-than-hygienic day that he just had. Using the bioware parallel again, Doc thinks that this functionality is similar to a pathogenic defense spleen, or a toxin extractor liver.

Doc can't say for certain what the negative side effects of the nanites are, but at least they seem to be symbiotic instead of parasitic. He doesn't have a solid explanation for why his case is so much more acute than Ohanzee's - he estimates that his level of nanites is approximately five times the level of the dwarf - but it could be a case of the dwarf's natural physiology interfering with the nanites, or it might just represent the fact that Doc has been exposed for longer. He does note a small but noticeable increase in the nanite levels for both himself and Ohanzee just overnight. Whatever they are, they are spreading.

[Zweiblumen]

As he is finishing breakfast, Doc mentions the research he did starting in the evening.  'My initial diagnosis of the nanites is that they appear to be rather beneficial at this point, though the expansion rate is still bothersome.  They are concentrated in two major locations right now.  Cognitive centers in the brain, primarily the prefrontal cortex, and primary hormone generators, again primarilly the thyroid and adrenal glands.  They also appear to be helping keep us, at least Ohanzee and myself, healthier by scrubbing our system like another liver and spleen.  I'm sure there are negative side-effects of all of these advantages, and I'm concerned about the rate they are spreading.  But for now, they are behaving similarly to the way bioware does without the impact on the essence of what makes us "us."

Sam goes ice cold and his face, a bit pale. He slowly turns to face "Doc" with a look of concerned apprehension on his face. "You haven't seen it?" He glances briefly at Chino before continuing. "You recorded it, you know?"

Sarcasm driping from his voice Doc says, 'Yeah, I remember everything that happened before 72 hours ago.'
Sighing and calming himself again, 'Sorry Sam, but no, I don't remember making any recording.  The only one I know about is from when I stole this.' pointing at his arm.  'But that makes some sense, I wonder if I was a cinematographer as well as a drek-hot decker and docter?  Anyway, I guess we should all watch this and see how horrible Chino and I used to be?  Chino, are you okay with that?  I'm sure I could get the trid projector to display this peice of art I've apparently made.  Maybe we can figure out some more about our past.'

[Tecumseh]

He looks at the others. "Aren't we getting a little ahead of ourselves? Figuring out what we're going to do after we're free is all well and good, but I think I'd rather be free first."

Ivana says, "I don't think we're getting ahead of ourselves. Figuring out the goal will inform the route. If Ace wants to go home, then we involve Ares. If Ace doesn't want to go home, we leave them out."

She looks at Ace. "I'm not a corper - at least, I don't think I am - but I would guess that your service is no longer voluntary. Given the quality and extensiveness of your cyberware, you likely represent too much of an investment for them to simply let you walk. And while you know that you don't remember any dirty secrets, they don't know that, and I doubt they could be convinced."

He turns to Ace. "You said that the Atlantean Foundation is out. I don't think so. We were willing to hand it back to Ares, back before we knew how connected some of us were to it. What's so different about the Atlantean Foundation? They might be interested in magical artifacts, but they're still a corp. Buying it off of us would be the easiest way to get this back, and they'll figure it out, too." He takes a sip of coffee. "I mean, think about it. If we leave out the Atlantean Foundation but invite everyone else, they have no way of competing for it. That makes them more likely to crash the party or go after us. You know they'll find out about it somehow."

"These are all fair points. Still, involving the Atlantean Foundation makes me nervous. One, there's the very real emotional response of being forced to pay ransom. When they're doing the math of what it would cost to get it back, that might nudge them in the direction of, 'Let's spend ¥300,000 on a dozen shadowrunners rather than ¥1,000,000 in ransom.' Second, we don't know how extensively they've been infiltrated by this cult. The cult won't be using a predictable cost-benefit analysis, and there's the additional risk of returning the obelisk to the Foundation only to have it end up in the hands of religious fundamentalists."

Ohanzee shares his thoughts with the group.

Ivana nods. "An excellent summary." She nods some more, impressed. "Really excellent." She glances at Doc, idly wondering if his big brain had anything to do with Ohanzee's roundup. Or maybe Ohanzee's subconscious worked this all out while he was asleep for twelve hours. Either way, she's impressed.

"We have to do our own risk-reward calculus. Do we want to start a bidding war to get the highest price, but knowing that the losing parties will like send hitters to the meet? Or do we want to agree on a more modest price that keeps the heat down?

"This obelisk could be the proverbial 'one last score'. I mean, it's worth a million for the previous metals alone, maybe two. Combined with its magical significance? We could ask for ten million, fifty million, more! The sky's limit. But we have to survive to spend it.

"If Ace is going back to the mothership, and the rest of us are willing to settle for less, then maybe we deal with Ares alone. That keeps us under the radar, and the risk-reward equation changes accordingly.

"Ares would certainly have the capabilities of helping with the nanites, if you decide that you even want help. It sounds like the nanites aren't the flesh-eating variety, at least. Doc is still alive and functional, maybe even healthier than ever.

"If Ace doesn't want to go back, or if we decide we want 'frag you' money, then we have to shop it around and accept the risks that come along with that. But that could set us up with a million each, a lifetime of high style, and no need to ever work again."

She looks to the group to assess their ambitions and how they want to play this.

[rednblack]

Ace weighs his options.  From his standpoint, Ares is the best bet for a quick payout, help for the team on the nanite front, and generally for keeping the obelisk out of the wrong hands.  He wonders if it's some of the old corp programming working its way through his gray matter, but the fact that Katsina tends to agree quiets that storm a bit.  And then there's Katsina. . .

He can see himself, on a beach at midnight, somewhere warm, somewhere with luminescent jellyfish, and a clear sky, somewhere Illeana won't be wearing a mask.  That sounds like a future. 

"I think I want to go home," he lies.

[Malevolence]

The silence drags on for a bit as the words already spoken hang in the air. This is a weighty moment, and what is said here can either save them, or get them killed. Ohanzee is tempted to cash out, sign on to some stable job with Ares and not have to think quite so much about the big things. But that was the problem - he couldn't just let someone else make the big decisions for him. He suspected that most shadowrunners didn't choose the life for such lofty reasons - they were likely little more than petty criminals looking to make a buck. But the big names inspired others because they fought the iron grip of the corporations. They didn't think that what the corps decided was what was best for them, or for anybody else except the corps. He fancied that he was that kind of runner - he had the skills to make good money as a wage slave, but he couldn't hand the reins over to some mega.

Of course, looking at the company he kept and what he knew of their pasts, it was much more likely that he didn't take the cushy job because they wouldn't have him - he was probably wanted by the law in every place he had ever been, whether they had ID'd him or not. It was for both of these reasons that considering any relationship with Ares after the deal was done was a bad idea. If he was the idealist he hoped, it would never work. And if he was the criminal he feared he was, they'd discover his past and he'd pay for the crimes of a man he no longer was.

The deal had to end with cash, and possibly information. Any sustained physical proximity to Ares or any of the other organizations as part of the deal was out until each of them could be sure of their friends and enemies and what parts of their past might come back to haunt them.

So, take the payday. That left two choices. Dump it for a fraction of its worth on some unknown talismonger, or dump it for a fraction of its worth at some high stakes meet full of unknowns. Either of those options risked party crashers. Was there safety in numbers? If four different organizations were represented, would they deter each other from trying anything?

Hell, going back to the talismonger idea, they cold just drop it on a fixer for nothing more than the value of its mundane components. That appealed to the dwarf - it was unpredictable. Any one aware of the artifact probably had every talismonger under surveillance of some sort, going on the assumption that they would look for one to dump it at. They would probably never suspect that they'd just offload it as a mundane item.

But who? Would Styles have enough weight to afford such an item and even be interested in taking it considering the obvious heat? Ohanzee had promised him a souvenir, after all. Or would Sam's contact be a bigger fish? Assuming they didn't want Sam dead just on principle, they might have the resources to work with an item of this value.

Baby steps. Let's figure out who to sell to later, but start by seeing if everyone can agree to sell through an intermediary.

"I'd rather sell the artifact for what we can get for it and then make ourselves scarce. I think that staying together is the smart move, safety in numbers and all, but that's only a suggestion. For all I know - for all most of us know - we are wanted by the law, or any number of corporations. We might walk in the front doors of some Ares office to start our new life there only to find that they've been looking for us for some crime we committed years ago. I don't want to live like a fugitive, but until I know for sure that I'm not, it seems the smart play."

He looked around to make sure everyone was at least paying attention. "I'm thinking that as far as selling it, we basically ignore its magical nature. Sell it as valuable metals to whatever fixer we can find that will move it. Get a million nuyen or so off of them and be done with it. After we've got the money, we can let them know it comes with some baggage in the form of some bad people hunting it down. Quite frankly, I'm not all that concerned with who ends up with it. So far as I know, no one wants to out and out destroy it or turn it into a bomb. Right now, short of falling on someone, the scariest thing it does is urn you into a drooling vegetable if you happen to read the magical lettering on it that only a small fraction of very learned people in the world can do anyway. Turning that into a weapon would require sending your enemy to school for months so that they can learn some long forgotten language and then somehow tricking or forcing them to read the inscriptions. Even considering our circumstances where we accidentally triggered it to a lesser effect, it still requires proximity to the device such that it would be significantly easier to just shoot a person."

"If some crazy cultists want to shove it in their secret underground lair and surround it with incense and candles so they can chant at it all day, more power to them. The world's lived without it for over 5000 years, it won't miss it if it disappears into someone's basement for a few more. If it turns out to be some device for summoning evil spirits via some ritual sacrifice or other end of the world drek like that, then they'll have enough other, better equipped, organizations breathing down their neck. After its sold, we can send a dossier on it to whatever organizations we want - or to the world at large, let everyone know it exists. Once it loses its secrecy, it's much harder for some drekheads to cause serious damage with it."

"To that end, Sam's contact seems like they might have some serious pull. If that bridge isn't hopelessly burned, I say we give them a call. Otherwise, I can see what Styles is willing to do. He's small potatoes though. This might be more than he can afford, and more than he wants to take on. Everyone we approach will be doing the same basic math as we are - is the profit worth the risk?"

"So, next step? Once we're done recuperating here, I say we find someplace to bury the thing while we look for buyers. Leave a couple of us to sit on it if we feel its exposed, but the rest of us can make calls or head into Denver to look for buyers. Really, it's just a matter of finding a place to lay low while we find a buyer. If we can find out more about us or our guests" he indicates the nanites by pointing to his head where the bulk of them are congregating, according to Doc's analysis, "while we're keeping a low profile, all the better."

[Malevolence]

Ohanzee turns to Ace and says solemnly, "If you want to go back to Ares, you have my blessing. You and Katsina know more about your pasts than the rest of us, so you have the luxury of making that decision. All I'm saying is that anyone that chooses to remain at large should stick together. But we should each make the decision that is best for us, barring those that disadvantage the others."

Then he turns to Doc. "I think I would like to see it that way. Might make it easier to watch, and I get the feeling it is something we should be familiar with."

[Zweiblumen]

Then he turns to Doc. "I think I would like to see it that way. Might make it easier to watch, and I get the feeling it is something we should be familiar with."

"It's Chino's chip, and up to him if he wants to share it.  Given the video I've shown you of my previous actions, I can imagine what's on it, and his reticence to share it.  Ball's in his court as far as I'm concerned."

[Poindexter]

Sam is starting to feel bad. He's been so desperate to find out something, anything concrete about who he used to be that he only assumed Doc felt the same way. But the look on his face as the prospect of watching the BTL is discussed is starting to make the troll think twice. What if he's just trying to do what we're all trying to do? Forget about the past and move on with this second chance. Finally feeling guilty enough to speak, Sam pipes up. "It was not my intention to 'out' anybody. If you'd rather not watch this horrifying thing Chino has on his chip, I understand. I've already seen it and I never want to watch it again." Still feeling awkward, the troll adds, "I apologize, Doc." The words feel foreign to his lips, as though he has to think hard to remember how to make the shapes in the right order.

[Zweiblumen]

Doc looks to Sam, "I've a morbid curiosity as to the contents of it, as well as hope that it will provide some insight into our past, as disgusting as they may be.  I didn't even know about this chip until this morning.  You don't have anything to apologize for, other than assuming I'd remember something specific from before the accident.  Unless this was recorded after that?  In which case that brings up a whole different can of worms."

He pushes his empty plate a little bit away and leans back in his chair a bit and pulls up notes that he's made in a few AR windows.

"It doesn't look like Ares likely knows much about the artifact.  Ace was sent to find APB when she failed to report in.  APB was sent to investigate the Atlantean Foundation's research as a result of 'odd behavior' from some of AF's expeditions into the PCC that were 'threatening Ares interests there.'  It would be nice to know a little bit more about what Agent Case's 'mandate' is/was, but from the data we have we can assume it was to recover APB and possible anything of interest she found.  I feel that if Ace is still on good terms with Ares, which we don't know for sure but can assume a to a certain degree given his "latitude", then dealing directly wtih Ares would likely produce the best risk/reward ratio in terms of profit to likelyhood of getting shot in the brainpan."

"The Atlantean Foundation would probably be able to pay only a fraction of what Ares could, and there's the fact that we have reason to believe they've got internal problems that preclude them from being a 'good' caretaker for the artifact.  I'm not particularly partial to this option, as I feel it has a very bad risk/reward ration.  High risk, low profits sounds like bad business to me."

"DIMR feels like a good neutral party for negotiating with, however if Ace returns to Ares he's likely to get into a world of drek when they find out he sold the artifact to DIMR.  Especially if we don't even include Ares in the negotation.  If Ace chooses to 'go home,' as he put it, this would basically be a non-starter for his well being.  Which I've come to care about over the last few days.  However, if Ace changes his mind about returning to Ares, I think given DIMR's positioning and status that they would be a very safe and reasonable negotiating option."

He looks to Ohanzee now and says, "With all due respect, and you've done really well by us so far so that quite a bit, I don't think selling to a fixer or fence will get us enough to slip out from under this.  We are actively hunted, and several of us don't even have a fake SIN.  My 1/6th cut of ¥50k or ¥60k wouldn't even get me out of Denver let alone get any of us started on figuring out who we were, or if these nanites are gonna kill us.  Though at this point I don't think it's as bad as all of that, still something I'd like to get more information on.  We are running out of resources at this point.  Also, as for 'letting crazy cultists shove it in a cave.'  Well, that's a gamble.  Sure, if the Children of the Dragon want to sing and dance around it at midwinter or some drek, who gives a slot?  But if someone like Winternight figures out they can strap a bomb like Sam's to it and put the world to sleep, they are going to do everything they can to accomplish that.  Additionally, the Atlanteans didn't have enough time to figure out everything about the obelisk in the two months between when they dug it up and when it was stolen; there are almost certainly other secrets that will be revealed with additional time and research which we have no way of knowing if they are good or bad. Seems like a really high risk for a really low reward from my perspective."

"As for calling a big party and having everyone bid on it, I'm sure we'll get the largest offer that way.  However, I don't see a good exit strategy for us.  If everyone is in one place at the time of biding, the three losers are likely to try an gang up on the winner (and us probably for good measuer).  If we hold the bidding remotely, it's unlikely we'll be able to provide enough security to ensure that the loosers don't find out about where the trade will happen and once again, everyone gets shot in the brainpain.  We've got the MAD solution if we can make sure that only Sam can disarm the bomb (and do it remotely), but there's a lot that can go wrong there.  I'm sure I'm missing something, but this still seems like a bad solution for us in general."

Doc takes a deep breath.  This is the most he can remember ever talking at once. And the brain dump seemed to relieve him, while leaving him visibly drained.  Then he looks up at Ace and says, "The best solutions I see are either asking you to negotiate with Ares for us, or for you to join us in the shadows and we find a way to sell it to DIMR."

[8-bit]

"I think I want to go home,"

What the fuck is he saying? One minute he doesn't want to go back to Ares, the next he's the poster child of a homesick corper. What the hell is he thinking?

While he certainly didn't mind giving it back to Ares, for a nice big ransom, at least, there was no love lost between him and the corp. Even in the two days that he remembered, he couldn't help but hate them. He had a feeling that he wasn't exactly corp material in his previous life.

He tries to keep it off his face, as he listens to everyone else talk.

"I'd rather sell the artifact for what we can get for it and then make ourselves scarce. I think that staying together is the smart move, safety in numbers and all, but that's only a suggestion. For all I know - for all most of us know - we are wanted by the law, or any number of corporations. We might walk in the front doors of some Ares office to start our new life there only to find that they've been looking for us for some crime we committed years ago. I don't want to live like a fugitive, but until I know for sure that I'm not, it seems the smart play."

No shit. We've only been chased by at least 2 corporations and had law enforcement hot on our tail in the past 72 hours. And there's probably another corporation or two who haven't sent anyone after us yet, plus a religious cult to boot. What is his point?

"I'm thinking that as far as selling it, we basically ignore its magical nature. Sell it as valuable metals to whatever fixer we can find that will move it. Get a million nuyen or so off of them and be done with it. After we've got the money, we can let them know it comes with some baggage in the form of some bad people hunting it down. Quite frankly, I'm not all that concerned with who ends up with it. So far as I know, no one wants to out and out destroy it or turn it into a bomb. Right now, short of falling on someone, the scariest thing it does is urn you into a drooling vegetable if you happen to read the magical lettering on it that only a small fraction of very learned people in the world can do anyway. Turning that into a weapon would require sending your enemy to school for months so that they can learn some long forgotten language and then somehow tricking or forcing them to read the inscriptions. Even considering our circumstances where we accidentally triggered it to a lesser effect, it still requires proximity to the device such that it would be significantly easier to just shoot a person."

And get a minor fraction of it's price? Anyone who is making a transaction of a million nuyen for a single item is going to thoroughly check it out. Hell, anyone who can assense the damn thing will have a pretty good idea what it is. They'll either try to backstab us, or they might just get the hell out of dodge to avoid the heat.

Chino quietly seethes, not hearing the rest of Ohanzee's words. A million nuyen split 6 ways seems way too fucking little for all the hell we went through with it. I'm all for getting rid of it, but not for that.

"With all due respect, and you've done really well by us so far so that quite a bit, I don't think selling to a fixer or fence will get us enough to slip out from under this.  We are actively hunted, and several of us don't even have a fake SIN.  My 1/6th cut of ¥50k or ¥60k wouldn't even get me out of Denver let alone get any of us started on figuring out who we were, or if these nanites are gonna kill us.  Though at this point I don't think it's as bad as all of that, still something I'd like to get more information on.  We are running out of resources at this point.  Also, as for 'letting crazy cultists shove it in a cave.'  Well, that's a gamble.  Sure, if the Children of the Dragon want to sing and dance around it at midwinter or some drek, who gives a slot?  But if someone like Winternight figures out they can strap a bomb like Sam's to it and put the world to sleep, they are going to do everything they can to accomplish that.  Additionally, the Atlanteans didn't have enough time to figure out everything about the obelisk in the two months between when they dug it up and when it was stolen; there are almost certainly other secrets that will be revealed with additional time and research which we have no way of knowing if they are good or bad. Seems like a really high risk for a really low reward from my perspective."

Chino nods. Everything Doc's saying makes sense, at least to him.

Trying to calm down, he speaks up, "I'm not exactly partial to dumping the thing either. I doubt any buyer is going to be naive enough to go into a negotiation blind. Especially when it's a million nuyen for one item. He's probably going to have mages; they'll assense the damn thing and tell him what the obelisk is. Sure, they might not know exactly what it is, but they'll be able to see how much power it has. The buyer is either going to backstab us, where we don't get paid, or just back off, and we don't get paid again. No one is going to buy something this hot. It might not be public knowledge that the obelisk was stolen, but anyone able to ascertain its power is going to realize very quickly that it's worth a lot more than a million nuyen. Then they'll come to the conclusion that we're just trying to unload the thing, and they'll walk away from the deal."

He pauses a moment to consider his words. "We've been through way too much to get such a small return on selling this. We lost APB, and while I can't say I knew her well, that could have been any of us, even me. She just was unlucky. We've been chased by multiple strike teams, and are wanted by law enforcement for several crimes. A million split 6 ways isn't going to go far, especially if we're still going to be running for our lives."

Draining the last of his coffee, he continues, "Besides, we have another thing to worry about. If we dump it on the black market, or even privately to a single corp, everyone else will still be coming after us. We could be facing dozens of strike teams before they realize we don't have it anymore. Even then, they might still come after us to find out who we sold it to. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm getting really damn tired of having to fight trained security forces. And that doesn't even cover the Natelys or Denver law enforcement. At least selling it for a decent price to a corp could buy ourselves some protection and reprieve, but even then ..." Chino shrugs. "Even then, we really need someone to make a deal." He glances at Katsina. "There is one thing you're right about, money isn't the only thing we're going to need to ensure our continued survival."

He lets out a sigh. "If Ace wants to go back to Ares, I'm sure we can figure out a good price and get the deal we need. Who knows if they really would honor it though? Corporations aren't exactly known for their scrupulous honesty and humanitarian desires. They might just pay the money to get the obelisk and Ace back; then continue to send strike teams at us. An open bidding war seems like the riskiest solution to me, but if we can coerce everyone to play nice by threatening to detonate the thing, it might be the best way to work it out. And while I'm sure DIMR can give us a good price, they don't have the pull to help us disappear. I think they're only good for the cash." Rubbing his face with his hands, he ends, "I really, truly, do not know what the best option is. To be honest? They all seem terrible in one way or another. Anyway, that's the way I see it."

He leans back in his chair and pulls out a simchip. He places it on the table. Turning to Doc, he softly says, "Here. Watch it if you want, it doesn't matter to me. All our secrets are out anyway, I doubt anyone will find it that surprising. The trid projector will isolate you from all the hyperreality and emotions of it, so knock yourselves out." Taking a moment to consider what he just said, he adds, "Figuratively, of course."

[Poindexter]

Listening to the group discuss payment, plans, the future, etc has finally convinced Sam that he's not cut from the same cloth as the rest of them. Two days ago, he was near obsessed with the payment from this job. Now, what with thoughts of ancient curses and mysterious nanites on and in him, it's the furthest thing from his mind. After listening to the rest of the group go back and forth about this and that, he finally pipes up.

"Forget about 'after this'. I don't feel like there is any such thing. For any of us. It's quite likely that we'll all die before this is over and if we don't, whoever manages to save our skins will never let us go. Pardon me if this is rude, but I feel like we're just kidding ourselves with all this talk of a big payday and retirement and going home and whatnot. Our home is in that van outside. Frankly, I couldn't care less if we don't see a dime from this whole thing. I only want three things; Answers, these nanites out of my body, and to be left alone."

[rednblack]

Ace turns to Chino and Doc.  "You're absolutely right.  Once Ares has the obelisk, unless you're willing to come on board, they will have no reason to care about your survival.  They will also have to reason to want to kill you.  Or anyone here.  No nuyen in it.  While I agree that there's no reason to trust one of the big ten here, it will be painfully obvious to them that the obelisk will not be in their hands if it were not for your actions.  As far as I'm concerned that would make you like any runner team: pay 'em off, be done with it.  If we go that way, Ohanzee, I want you there to help conduct the negotiations.  I'll do what I can to make contact, but also make it clear that the best way to insure the safe delivery of the artifact will be dealing with us as a team.  Doc, you can have some MARKs on my comm when we do so, for the safety of the team.  I may say some things to put them at ease, but rest assured my priority will be getting all of us away from the buy in one piece."

"The trouble," Ace continues, "will be making contact.  Rhodes hasn't proven fruitful yet, and I'm unsure the best way to contact my handlers.  My cover ID was a pharmaceutical company in Denver, so that may be worth a shot, but we're going to need a location with outside the safehouse to reach out from, and we need a plan there."

"As far as planning for tomorrow, and the tomorrows to come, I agree that we can't count on any of us being alive, but that doesn't mean we don't plan for it.  That is the goal, right?  Get rid of this thing, and hopefully get paid enough to start new lives for those here who want them?  It's a longshot I'm willing to work toward, and I certainly don't see what our options otherwise are."

[Poindexter]

"I do not require money to start a new life."

[Malevolence]

This was going very differently than the conversation in the bloody van. In that conversation, reducing risk was more important than maximizing profit, and yet here the trend was strongly leaning toward getting rich. Sam seemed the only person to share the original view, but he supposed he shouldn't be that surprised - Doc, Ace, and Katsina were not party to the original discussion, and so he should not have assumed that their view of the situation would align. But Chino's 180 was a little confusing. Or maybe he had misinterpreted his position during the discussion in the van.

"Ace, I will take as much of a role in the negotiations as I can, I just need to know what it is that the team wants. I'm trying to keep a mental tally of who wants to get stinking rich from the obelisk - high risk, high reward - and who just wants to ditch it and get out with their hides intact, with any nuyen gained just being icing on the cake. I'm also trying to understand who wants to throw their lot in with some corp or organization, possibly as a lab rat, and who wants to disappear into the sunset and start over with a new identity. Or something in between. So let me see if I have at least agreement as far as who wants what.

"Those that want to make as much money as possible: Doc and Chino. No stated preference from Ace or Katsina. Sam and I firmly in the survival-trumps-all camp, with a strong preference towards information and/or materiel aid over nuyen.

"Those that want to turn the negotiation into some form of employment or protection deal: Ace wants to go to Ares, everyone else wants to steer clear of Ares or anyone other org. I'll add that my main aversion to throwing in with Ares or whomever is simply that I don't trust them and feel it is more likely that I end up in a lab, cell, or morgue than live there happily ever after.

"I do note, however, that aside from Ace, no one seems particularly averse to selling the obelisk to Ares, then parting ways with them. And no one seems particularly averse to sticking together after the obelisk is gone. So, let's start from there.

"Let's call Ares plan A. We sell to them and then take what we get and try to start over somewhere else. Ace is still free to stay with Ares in this scenario because they should be happy that he got them the artifact despite the specifics of how. Our questions then become:

"A. Do we include anyone else in the bidding?
"B. How much do we ask for?
"C. What else besides nuyen do we ask for? This would include assistance with the nanites or interference to protect us from any repercussions.
"D. How do we manage the bidding and exchange?
"E. Where do we go afterward?

"Let's try to get a consensus in that order. So, do we reach out to Ares exclusively, or do we start a bidding war?"

[Zweiblumen]

"Ohanzee, this is the first time you've completely disregarded what someone said, so I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt here.  At no point did I say that I wanted to go with the highest risk to get the bigest reward.  I specifically suggested going with a medium risk/medium reward situation.  The problem with the middle ground is that it leaves one of our own, Ace, hung out to dry.  I'm not a fan of that solution.  The problem with going with the low end 'low risk/low reward' solution is it does nothing to improve our survivability other than making it so we don't have to lug around a huge peice of metal and stone.

"My preference is still to hope that Ace changes his mind on returning to Ares, but I don't feel I have the right to tell him he can't do that if he wants."

Doc mutters under his breath "Money is just the tool to keep our heads attached to our necks."

Shaking his head Doc looks at Sam and says, "I'm very confused by what your goals are and what you measure success to be.  You want to know what 'this' is, and you want 'answers.'  But you've yet to ask a question.  You want the nanites out of your chrome, but all we know about them is that, at this point, they are beneficial to us.  Possibly not in the long run, but for now they are helpful.  Do you want to know the full history of this 4th World artifact?  That'll take years and years of research by hundreds of people working furiously to fully answer.  I have a mild curiosity to that history, but I'm much more concerned with learning about how we came to be here so that we can get people to stop shooting us... at least until we, as individuals or a group, choose to take another job where, hopefully different, people shoot at us again."

He stands up to stretch and work the kinks out of his shoulders.  Rubbing his forehead he looks back up at the group.  "To be clear, I'm not in this for the money.  I'm willing to bet the 'old' me was, but right now, I just want to know that I can lay my head down somewhere two nights in a row without worrying about someone trying to take it off.  I've grown fond of my head over the last 72 hours or so."

"To answer you questions more directly Ohanzee, unless Ace changes his mind, I vote Ares with the caveat that I'd really much prefer DIMR.  And I'd rather not do an O.K. Corral, but if that's what's determined to be the best I'll back that play as well.  I've commited myself to the group, and wanted to make sure that everyone knew what I know."

Doc is now he's pacing back and forth trying to think through each point while he's talking.
"A. I'm the wrong guy to answer this question."
"B. We've estimated the raw material value at several million and the mystical/historical/research value as priceless.  I'd say we start at ¥6M and work our way down from there.  I say 6, because the math is easy." he say's with a wink.
"C. Medical care, and or access to medical facilities.  Preferably for life, but for the next week/month would probably suffice for our Nanite situation.  And some sort of name clearing/protection from others.  Again, this is something Ares is going to be better suited for than DIMR, but I'd place this lower than the medical facilites as almost all of us, Ace excepted, have been hiding from the Law in one way or an other for at least some time if not all of our adult lives.  We've the skills to disappear into the world if we've a few resources."
"D. That is going to wholey depend on who we end up dealing with.  If Ares, then I'd defer to Ace for that.  If DIMR, I'm likely to defer to Sam on that as it's a tatical question that he seems best suited to answer.  If a fence/fixer/talismonger I think you" looking at Ohanzee[/color] "are best to answer that question."
"E. To Disney Land!,"[/color] he says with a grin on his face.  "What?  Not a good idea?  Okay, fine.  Real answer would be likely to head to Denver and some form of medical facility.  After that, the world would, hopefully be our oyster.  If we got answers to our past we could find out if we have people we care, or cared, about.  I'm doubting anyone gives two shits about me, but I can see that being different for Sam, Ohanzee, Ace and Katsina.  Chino and I are apparently horrible people.  To realistically answer this question, we are going to need more information first.  Or, ya know, Diseny Land?"

He leans back in his chair and pulls out a simchip. He places it on the table. Turning to Doc, he softly says, "Here. Watch it if you want, it doesn't matter to me. All our secrets are out anyway, I doubt anyone will find it that surprising. The trid projector will isolate you from all the hyperreality and emotions of it, so knock yourselves out." Taking a moment to consider what he just said, he adds, "Figuratively, of course."

He stops pacing and picks up the chip and says to Chino, "Thanks, I'll watch it in private once we've finished here."