[Beta]

"Any objections to me staying on my bike for now?  If you think that's dumb I can get someone to come take it.  Just thought a couple extra wheels might be worth having around?"  It feels to Tipperman that this makes sense, but he hates that when he tries to trace through the logic of it he just gets muddled.  What if he is missing some factor?

[Jack_Spade]

"Suit yourself. Having more than one transport isn't the worst idea I heard yet." Omen replied, looking at the other runner as if waiting for someone else to get out their personal ride. In truth, he didn't care for passengers anyway. The screaming got on his nervs.

[Aria]

[Tuesday November 14th, 2079; Isotopes’ HQ, Seattle Metroplex]

In their new set of wheels the team made their way towards the Tribe in northern Redmond.  The terrain was about as bad as they’d expected but at least it was passable…albeit the shocks of the van could do with a serious overhaul once this was done and going fast wasn’t really an option.

The various gang tags and colours, both real and augmented, slowly gave way to signs that the Tribe were staking their claim.  There wasn’t a perceptible shift in the quality of the environment, this was still very much the barrens, but there was a palpable feeling that this was a less hostile place. 

As they approached the former retirement village they could see the cluster of low rise housing and in the central courtyards a series of geodesic greenhouse domes which was presumably where the nut jobs thought that growing stuff where barrens dwellers could see was a good idea.

0Day was tracking several matrix signals which formed the surveillance perimeter, mostly cheap cameras with motion sensors.  Any half competent decker would be able to take them apart in moments, but then again there weren’t that many around here…

There did appear to be one or two people who were obviously sentries so they weren’t completely oblivious to security concerns but perhaps no match for a gang attack of any significant size.

***

#10

[gwilym]

Dynamyt steps to her bike.
"I'll follow on this, he right about keeping options open"
The roads where horrible, much worse than the ones over by the docks. She kept in low gear and wove between the potholes and pools. As the van bounced and rock she felt she had definitely made the right choice.
As they neared the site. She could feel the background count change. It was still there but it felt and tasted different. When she gets to the commune she will concentrate more on it but right now it dodge the pot hole and spot the gang colours

[Jack_Spade]

Having two bikers flanking the van, Omen tried to keep the old car steady. When they reached the compound, he stopped before the sentries had a reason to get hostile. This was clearly the job for someone able to talk to people without setting them off. So he kept his mouth shut.

[Beta]

Tipperman stopped his bike about ten meters back from the sentry and then walked up.  No need to ride the hog right into the poor kid's face.

Tipperman had been rehearsing his words on the way over, and to his relief they came out sounding pretty normal.  " Good day.  We are here for social call of sorts.  Tom.  I hear he's a good kid, but we're here to check up on how things are going for him.  Of course his pride probably says he doesn't need anyone looking in on him, but tell him that Beth sent us."

[ZeroSum]

When the van got closer to the Tribe hangout, Viktor sent out several of his microdrones to provide recon and overwatch. While unable to provide the kind of eye-in-the-sky functionality of a dedicated surveillance drone like an Optic-X2, the tiny insect-like drones were more than capable of creating overlapping sensory data from a vantage point far above any metahuman. With half a dozen drones operating as a mesh and combining their processing power, he would have plenty of warning if anyone approached from within or without.

With Tipperman taking point in the physical realm Viktor slipped into the all-too familiar feeling of hot-sim VR. The dreary interior of the van was replaced by the resplendent beauty of the Emerald City grid; 0day soared into the simulated sky above the city, the digital realm splayed out beneath his warrior-like persona. The act of hiding his digital footprint took the form of his icon wrapping the clouds around itself, growing translucent in the process. ^*1

He gingerly began seeking out the members of the Tribe in the Matrix, taking care not to intrude where he wasn't welcome. This was a social call, as Tipperman had put it, no need to rile up the locals just yet. ^*2

#7

^*1Running Silent: 14d6t5 6
^*2Matrix Perception: 13d6t5 7

[Aria]

[Tuesday November 14th, 2079; The Tribe’s turf, Northern Redmond, Seattle Metroplex]

To 0Day it was trivial to pick out the matrix signatures of the inhabitants and the crude surveillance mesh that surrounded the former retirement village.  There were also two local hosts, one dedicated to running the green houses and the other an administration hub.

***

The sentry looked a little flustered but nevertheless got his ‘link out, a crappy Metalink, and called someone

“Tell the boss there’s someone at the entrance to see him, Beth sent them apparently… well how the hell should I know… yeah, yeah… no it’s a group, I’d hazard a guess at mercs or runners, probably runners… they said a social call…”

Turning back to Tipperman he said “wait here, the boss is coming…”

A short while later, short enough to not be rude but long enough to indicate he hadn’t come running, a trio appeared.  The two broad shouldered types had obviously been picked up to give Tom some physical presence but although he was particularly ordinary looking… mousy brown hair and a rough trimmed goatee, he even wore glasses… when he smiled, genuinely smiled, it was obvious why these people followed him…

“Beth sent you?” he asked without preamble “What sort of trouble is my little sister in now?”

***

#11

[Beta]

No, this wouldn't do -- giving a quick summary at the edge of the territory, where Tom could just deny entry to some anonymous visitors?  He needed to make this more personal.

"You'd be Tom then?  People call me Tipperman, that would be Dynamyt on the other bike over there, Omen and 0day are in the van.  And these are?"  He pointedly looked at Tom's broad-shouldered companions, and then to the sentries, and gave Tom time to answer, or not.

++++++++++++++

With that out of the way, Tipperman continued -- falling into the short burst of words pattern again.
"Well then, as to why we are here,
It is to help you, not to ask help of you
We were called together by a Fixer
-- I'm sure you know how that goes --
But were told that Beth's concern is the root,
The reason we were offered a wiff of cash.
That you have neighbors losing respect;
respect of old boundaries, of The Tribe."

Drek, he was doing it again!  Tipperman paused for a moment, took a long breath, gave his head a touch of a shake, and then continued "In short, even if we are not Karl Kombatmage and his team, we pack enough punch and talent to adjust the direction of events onto a more favorable vector.  We could just go start busting heads among your neighbors," Tipperman emphasized that remark by smacking one hand into his other palm.

"But the view from ... wherever ... is never the same as down in the trenches.  So we came to you first, to gather field intelligence and refine our approach.  There is always the possibility that the solution here could be more constructive than destructive."

Tipperman looked fairly dubious of that last thought, but he let it hang in the air anyway.  If The Tribe was running greenhouses they were composting most likely, had salvaged enough material to make the structures, maybe had enough electricity generation to add light and heat at times.  He approved of this, but more importantly anyone leading a group like this was not apt to leap at the violent solution; hopefully making it clear that if they were turned away they would start the bloody dance would encourage the man to talk to them in more detail.

[Aria]

[Tuesday November 14th, 2079; The Tribe’s turf, Northern Redmond, Seattle Metroplex]

Tom looked puzzled but not particularly disturbed by Tipperman’s revelation…

“Why don’t you come in and we can talk about this?  Stick your vehicles over there, my people will watch over them so don’t worry about the hubcaps…although those look like they will fall off by themselves if you hit a pothole…”

Once they’d parked up to their satisfaction Tom led the runners inside the building on the left through what had once been a reception area and in to some repurposed offices.  The place was shabby, a bit like the old people it had once housed, but efforts had been made to make it feel welcoming.

“Soykaf?” Tom asked as they settled in to a scruffy lounge area, rousting a couple of teenagers who took off in a cloud of giggles.

“Introductions then, I’m Tom Smart, guess you know that, Tipperman, Dynamyt, Omen, 0Day, good to meet you.  So what’s this about?  You said neighbours?  I’m guessing you mean gangs?  There have been some brushes recently but nothing particularly out of the ordinary.  So is this some of my sister’s weird prophecy voodoo?  It’s ok, I don’t expect you to answer that.  If she’s seen something coming I’d be a fool to ignore it, she’s right far more often than she’s wrong…and believe me that’s as irritating as it sounds!

So she’s paying you to sort things out?  Well that’s all very well up in her ivory tower but we have to live here afterwards, scan?  We don’t want a war with anyone so whatever you’re going to do for frag’s sake keep it quiet!  I appreciate you coming to talk to us first… I’ll help if I can but I won’t put my people directly in harm’s way if I can help it!”

***

#12

[Jack_Spade]

Omen took to the soycaf with gusto. He was thirsty and tired already. When he had taken his first satisfied pull from the cup he nodded at their host and said:
"Depends on how total the war is. But yeah, we already got told that. We'll try to keep it ninja style.
Any idea why the Reapers started their agro tour around here? There's a rumor they are backed by someone. Any offers to take real estate of anyone's hands around here? Corporate types usually try to buy what they want first with peanuts, before they bother to spend them on monkeys"

[Aria]

[Tuesday November 14th, 2079; The Tribe’s turf, Northern Redmond, Seattle Metroplex]

“The Reapers?” Tom raised an eyebrow “That’s the old Greystone lot isn’t it?  They’re a bit off our patch and I don’t think we’ve had any dealings with them.  I’d heard they’d changed m.o, got a bit more crazy violent, but no worse than some of the other psychos in the neighbourhood.  Nothing corp related as far as I know...there's nothing here worth their while as far as I know.  If Beth thinks the Reapers are a threat to us here then that is something to take seriously… I can ramp up security for a bit but I don’t know how long we can sustain that… pull too many off the gardens and we all won’t eat this winter…”

***

#13

[Jack_Spade]

"Listen, we don't know drek yet - no reason to show nerves just yet. In my experience there are only two reasons for a gang to get ambitious all of a sudden: They get a new, hungry leader with ambition, or they are being paid by someone to get their asses of the curb. Around here there's not much in natural ressources beyond real estate. Hence my question: Has there been any change in the market around here? People trying to buy or sell, new competition for you or someone else? Recent deaths or retirements of prominent figures? Stuff like that."
Omen replied, while thinking of Africa and how the warlords there went about their business.

[Beta]

"Corp--or whoever-- involvement with the Reapers might not even be aimed at you.  It could be part of a move against another of their neighbors." 

Tipperman still had regrets about what had happened down on Carling Street.  He hadn't been the one making the call, but he'd been the interface to the Karling Kripplers.  And after that squat had burned down in the resulting violence and all those kids had died, he'd been the one to take out the gangers who'd known about Novatech's involvement.

"Yah, gangers aren't a precision instrument., you can't exactly aim them precisely."

In part he was rambling, but at the same time Tipperman kept a careful eye on Tom to see how he'd react to mentions of random ganger violence.¹

1: judge intentions: 9d6t5 2
 Well, he doesn't keep a very good eye on Tom, it seems.

[ZeroSum]

0day hid in the black clouds above the horizontal plane of the Matrix where most people conducted their digital business. Wrapped in mist and clad in armour darker than the clouds around him, he surveyed the compound below him. Several icons milled about their seemingly daily tasks, and some personas entered and exited a tribal tent dashed with vibrant colours stood out.

Unable to contain his curiosity, 0day slipped closer to the tent and used an exploit program in the form of a traditional Japanese tanto to cut a small sliver in one of the canvas walls^*1. The codebase warped around the blade and the host defenses were laid open to 0day's trained eye, and with a fluid motion of his tanto he made the opening large enough to slip insde the tent^*2.

Once inside he deftly avoided the host's Patrol IC program; the icon resembled a Salish warrior in resplendant garb, hunched on a rocky outcropping watching the entrance to the tent. Since 0day had slipped in through a back door, he had easily avoided the silent warrior's gaze^*3.

Moving in utter silence, the black-clad samurai slipped deeper into the host and scaled the rockface behind the sentry. The tent was far larger on the inside than seemed possible, but rules in the Matrix were guidelines more than anything; designed to be bent from the outset by entities such as corporate spiders and GOD, and frequently broken by deckers such as 0day. From his vantage point atop a cliff he could see a valley laid out below, with a stream carrying water from the nearby mountainside to an encampment down below. In the center of the camp another host icon was broadcasting, this one in the shape of a cornfield. With no obvious threats appearing, 0day made his way towards the field.

He paused for a moment and observed the maze-like construction from afar; the design was simple and merely designed to confuse, and to a mind like his the path through was immediately obvious^*4. He barely slowed down as he moved through the maze, and in some cases slipped through parts of the maze using his tanto to carefully part the wheat stalks before him^*5.

Once he neared the center of the maze he spotted another IC program, this one in the form of a scarecrow with a raven perched on it's shoulder. The raven seemed distracted, however, and 0day slipped past the sentry with ease^*6.

With administrative control of both hosts firmly in his armored fist, and no alarms raised, 0day shifted his focus back to the real world. He checked his diagnostics information and determined he was safe from the watchful eye of GOD for now, but he kept a close eye on his surroundings just in case^*7.

#8

^{*1 Probe (Extended, 1min), Cracking + Logic + Overclock vs Firewall x2: 14d6t5 3 1d6t5 0 12d6t5 2}
Wild die result of 4 means no impact. 1 net hit, which becomes bonus dice on the Backdoor Entry test. OS increases by 2 for opposing hits and an additional +1 for use of a hacking program, for a total of 3. +2 Edge gained, for a total of 7 (max).

^{*2 Backdoor Entry (Major), Cracking + Logic + Overclock + Probe vs Willpower + Firewall: 15d6t5 5 1d6t5 1 7d6t5 3}
Wild die result of 5 for 3 extra hits. 5 net hits. OS increased by 3+1 for a total of 7. Edge at max, earned edge wasted.

<sup>*3 Patrol IC Matrix Perception (6): 4d6t5 1

*4 Probe (Extended, 1min), Cracking + Logic + Overclock vs Firewall x2: 14d6t5 5 1d6t5 0 8d6t5 2</sup>
Wild die result of 4, 2 Edge gained spent on increasing this to 5 for 3 extra hits. 6 net hits which are added to Backdoor Entry test. OS increased by 2+1 for a total of 10.

^{*5 Backdoor Entry (Major), Cracking + Logic + Overclock + Probe vs Willpower + Firewall: 18d6t5 7 1d6t5 0 5d6t5 1}
Wild die result of 3 for no effect. 6 net hits. OS increased by 1+1 for a total of 12.

<sup>*6 Patrol IC Matrix Perception (6): 2d6t5 1

*7 Check OS (4): 14d6t5 7 1d6t5 0</sup>
0day is successfully aware of his actual Overwatch score.