Shadowrun
Shadowrun Play => Play-by-Post => Topic started by: Csjarrat on <01-01-15/1011:56>
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Welcome to the Old Smoke CH4 gents.
Players as follows:
Lumen as "Knives"
Scawire as "Mantis"
Zweiblumen as "Mams"
Please reserve this thread to in-character only, please post rolls, OOC questions/banter/whatever in the OOC thread
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Knives
== Info ==
Street Name: Knives
Name: Miles Britt
Movement: 14/28
Karma: 31
Street Cred: 3
Notoriety: 1
Public Awareness: 1
Human Male Age 26
Height 1.7m Weight 70kg
Composure: 7
Judge Intentions: 6
Lift/Carry: 9 (60 kg/40 kg)
Memory: 7
Nuyen: 11905
== Priorities ==
Metatype: D - Human or Elf
Attributes: A - 24 Attributes
Special: C - Adept, Magician, or Technomancer
Skills: B - 36 Skills/5 Skill Groups
Resources: E - 100,000¥
== Attributes ==
BOD: 5
AGI: 5 (7)
REA: 5 (7)
STR: 4
CHA: 2
INT: 4
LOG: 2
WIL: 5
EDG: 3
MAG: 6
== Derived Attributes ==
Essence: 6
Initiative: 11 + 3d6
Rigger Initiative: 11 + 3d6
Astral Initiative: 8 + 2d6
Matrix AR Initiative: 11 + 3d6
Matrix Cold Initiative: 4 + DP + 3d6
Matrix Hot Initiative: 4 + DP + 4d6
Physical Damage Track: 11
Stun Damage Track: 11
== Limits ==
Physical: 8
Mental: 5
Social: 5
Mortimer of London: Greatcoat Coat [+1] (Must be visible)
Astral: 5
== Active Skills ==
Animal Handling : 0 Pool: 1
Archery : 0 Pool: 6
Armorer : 0 Pool: 1
Assensing : 2 Pool: 6
Automatics : 0 Pool: 6
Blades : 6 [Knives] Pool: 13 (15)
Clubs : 0 Pool: 6
Computer : 0 Pool: 1
Con : 2 Pool: 4
Cybercombat : 0 Pool: 1
Demolitions : 0 Pool: 1
Disguise : 4 Pool: 8
Diving : 0 Pool: 4
Escape Artist : 2 Pool: 9
Etiquette : 0 Pool: 1
Exotic Ranged Weapon : 2 [Grapple Gun] Pool: 9
First Aid : 2 Pool: 4
Forgery : 0 Pool: 1
Free-Fall : 2 Pool: 7
Gunnery : 0 Pool: 6
Gymnastics : 2 Pool: 9
Hacking : 0 Pool: 1
Heavy Weapons : 0 Pool: 6
Impersonation : 0 Pool: 1
Instruction : 0 Pool: 1
Intimidation : 2 Pool: 4
Leadership : 0 Pool: 1
Longarms : 0 Pool: 6
Navigation : 0 Pool: 3
Negotiation : 0 Pool: 1
Palming : 4 Pool: 11
Perception : 6 Pool: 10
Performance : 0 Pool: 1
Pilot Ground Craft : 2 Pool: 9
Pilot Watercraft : 0 Pool: 6
Pistols : 5 [Tasers] Pool: 12 (14)
Running : 2 Pool: 6
Sneaking : 4 Pool: 11
Survival : 0 Pool: 4
Swimming : 2 Pool: 6
Throwing Weapons : 4 [Blades] Pool: 11 (13)
Tracking : 0 Pool: 3
Unarmed Combat : 0 Pool: 6
== Knowledge Skills ==
Area Knowledge: London : 2 Pool: 6
Bars and Clubs : 2 Pool: 6
English : N Pool: 0
Knives : 2 Pool: 4
Magical Threats : 2 Pool: 4
Security Design : 2 Pool: 6
Underworld : 2 Pool: 6
== Contacts ==
Freddie Jones (1, 1)
Jimmy "The Blade" Hughes (3, 4)
Mikey "The Mauler" Maxwell (1, 1)
Ol' Nick Evans (1, 2)
Clerkenwell Family (5,5)
== Qualities ==
Addiction (Mild) (Tobacco)
Adept
Ambidextrous
SINner (Criminal) (Miles Britt)
The Warrior's Way
== Powers ==
Astral Perception
Attribute Boost (STR) Rating: 2
Attribute Boost (AGI) Rating: 1
Combat Sense Rating: 2
Critical Strike (Blades)
Improved Physical Attribute (AGI) Rating: 2
Improved Potential (limit) (Physical) Rating: 1
Improved Reflexes 2
Rapid Draw
== Lifestyles ==
Knives' Flat 5 months
4 months remaining
== Armor ==
Actioneer Business Clothes 8
+Insulation 4
+Nonconductivity 4
Mortimer of London: Greatcoat Coat 3
+Chemical Protection 2
+Concealability
+Custom Fit (Stack)
+Electrochromic Clothing
+Fire Resistance 4
+Thermal Damping 4
== Weapons ==
Cavalier Safeguard
+Hidden Gun Arm Slide
+Smartgun System, Internal
+Spare Clip
+Spare Clip
Pool: 12 (14) Accuracy: 7 DV: 6S(e) AP: -5 RC: 2
Combat Knife
+Concealed Quick-Draw Holster
+Gecko Grip
+Personalized Grip
Pool: 13 (15) Accuracy: 7 DV: 7P AP: -3 RC: 2
Combat Knife
+Concealed Quick-Draw Holster
+Gecko Grip
+Personalized Grip
Pool: 13 (15) Accuracy: 7 DV: 7P AP: -3 RC: 2
Combat Knife
Pool: 13 (15) Accuracy: 6 DV: 7P AP: -3 RC: 2
Combat Knife
Pool: 13 (15) Accuracy: 6 DV: 7P AP: -3 RC: 2
Combat Knife
Pool: 13 (15) Accuracy: 6 DV: 7P AP: -3 RC: 2
Combat Knife
Pool: 13 (15) Accuracy: 6 DV: 7P AP: -3 RC: 2
Grapple Gun
+Smartgun System, Internal
Pool: 9 Accuracy: 5 DV: 7S AP: -2 RC: 2
Grenade: Flash-Bang (Aerodynamic)
Pool: 11 Accuracy: 8 DV: 10S (10m Radius) AP: -4 RC: 2
Grenade: Flash-Pak (Aerodynamic)
Pool: 11 Accuracy: 8 DV: Special AP: - RC: 2
Throwing Knife
+Tracker
Pool: 11 Accuracy: 8 DV: 5P AP: -1 RC: 2
Unarmed Attack
Pool: 6 Accuracy: 8 DV: 4S AP: - RC: 2
== Martial Arts ==
Fiore Dei Liberi
+Two-Weapon Style Attack
+Two-Weapon Style Defense
== Commlink ==
Fairlight Caliban (ATT: 0, SLZ: 0, DP: 7, FWL: 7)
== Gear ==
Advanced Medkit Rating 6
Ammo: Taser Dart (Tasers) x60
Autopicker Rating 6
Catalyst Stick
Cellular Glove Molder Rating 4
Contacts Rating 3
+Smartlink
+Vision Magnification
Earbuds Rating 3
+Audio Enhancement Rating 3
Fake SIN (Charles Rutherford) Rating 5
+Fake License (Adept License) Rating 5
+Fake License (Driver's License) Rating 5
Fake SIN (Nigel Pebblebottoms) Rating 3
+Fake License (Driver's License) Rating 3
Gecko Tape Gloves
Glasses Rating 4
+Vision Enhancement Rating 3
+Low Light
Grenade: Flash-Bang (Aerodynamic) x3
Grenade: Flash-Pak (Aerodynamic) x3
Keycard Copier Rating 6
Maglock Passkey Rating 4
Micro-Transceiver
Qi Focus (Bonded Foci) (Astral Perception) Rating 1
Sequencer Rating 4
Stealth Rope (100m) x2
Tag Eraser
Throwing Knife x4
Weapon Focus (Bonded Foci) (Combat Knife) Rating 2 x2
== Vehicles ==
Suzuki Mirage (Racing Bike)
+Morphing License Plate
+Sensor Array Rating 2
+Atmosphere Sensor
+Directional Microphone
+Motion Sensor
+Radio Signal Scanner
== Description ==
Knives is a smaller than average human but appears tough and wirey. He is usually seen in his Moritmer of London Greatcoat with a collared shirt and black tie underneath. His hair is cut short and geled to spike up and his deep brown eyes draw people into them.
== Background ==
Knives came into the employ of The Clerkenwell Family at the ripe young age of 19 after his best mate Jimmy signed up and has slowly been climbing up the ladder ever since. His aptitude for knives and sneakery set him apart from the other wiseguys and he was able to secure the position of "Mademan" after only five years of service. Since then Knives has headed up many "protection contracts" on behalf of the Clerkenwell Family as his talents lent well to "collections and enforcement". Thanks to his advancements within the family he was able to afford his own flat on the north side of Brixton.
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Mantis
Priorities
Race: B (Ork, 4 special Att.)
Attributes: D (14)
Magic A (Mystic adept, 6 magic and 10 spells, 2 Rating 5 skills)
Skills: C (28 and 2 SG’s)
Nuyen: E (100,000 Y)
Street Name: Mantis
Name: Marc McMullion
Movement: 8 / 16
Swim: 0
Karma: 0
Street Cred: 0
Notoriety: ?
Public Awareness: 0
Scottish Orc Male Age 29
Height 5’8” Weight 177lbs
Composure: 7
Judge Intentions: 5
Lift/Carry: 7
Memory: 12
Nuyen:??
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Brown
Skin: White
Attributes(Karma 25)
BOD: 4
AGI: 3 (4)
REA: 2 (4)
STR: 3
CHA: 2
INT: 3
LOG: 5 (7)
WIL: 5
EDG: 5
MAG: 5
Adept PP: 5
Derived Attributes
Essence: 5.3
Initiative: 7 + 3d6
Astral Initiative: 6 + 2d6
Matrix Initiative: 7 + 1d6 (AR), 3 +DP +3d6 (cold), 3 + DP + 4d6 (hot)
Physical Damage Track: 10
Stun Damage Track: 11
Armor: 15
Active Skills (6 Karma)
Athletics SG 1 Pool 5
-Gymnastics
-Running
-Swimming
Assensing 1 Pool 4
Binding 2 Pool 7
Counter spelling (Combat) 3 (5) Pool 8 ( 10 )
Con 1 (Fast Talking) Pool 5 (7)
Electronics SG 1 Pool 8
-Computers
-Hardware
-Software
Etiquette 1 Pool 3
First Aid 1 Pool 8
Sneaking (Urban) 2 (4) Pool 6 ( 8 )
Locksmithing 1 Pool 5
Perception (Visual) 2 (4) Pool 5 (7)
Pilot Ground Craft 1 Pool 5
Ritual Spell Casting (Minon) 1 (3) 6( 8 )
Spell casting (Illusion) 6 ( 8 ) Pool 11 (13)
Summoning (Man) 5 (7) Pool 10 (12)
Unarmed Combat (Martial Arts, Praying Mantis AKA Ninjustu) 5 (7) Pool 9 (11)
Knowledge Skills (16 free)
English N
Data Havens (magic) 1 Pool 4 (6)
Forensics (Magic) 1 (3) Pool 8 (10)
Lay Line Theory 1 Pool 8
Magic Rumors 3 Pool 6
Magical Groups 1 Pool 4
Magical Theory 3 Pool 10
Magical Threats 1 Pool 8
Parazoology 1 Pool 8
Spirits 1 Pool 8
UK Magical Reagents Locations 1 Pool 4
Contacts (12 Free)
Contact INFO
Name: Glen Finagin
Race: Orc
Job: Fixer for the Scottish Syndicate
Location: London
Known by Mantis from: Glen has been getting jobs for Mantis for the last 6 years since Mantis moved to London at age 23.
C 4 L 2
Name: Luke Greenwood
Race: Elf
Job: Talismonger / Drug Dealer, has been laundering money for the Scottish Syndicate for many years now
Location: London
Known by Mantis from: When Mantis was looking for magical gear in London Glen told Mantis to go see Luke Greenwood, ever since then Mantis has been upgrading his magical gear from Lukes shop. With a some candy (Drugs) on the side.
C2 L4
Spells
Clout: Type P Range LOS Damage S Duration I DV F-3
Lightningbolt Type: P Range: LOS Damage P Duration I DV F-3
Heal: Type M Range T Duration P DV (F-4
Improved Invisibility: Type:P Range: LOS Duration S DV F-1
Physical Mask: Type: P Range: T Duration S DV F-1
Control Animal Type: M Range: LOS Duration: S DV F-3
Influence: Type M Range LOS Duration P DV F-1
Levitate: Type: P Range: LOS Duration: S DV F-2
Vehicle Mask Type: P Range: T Duration: S DV F -3
Ritual Spells
Ally Conjuration (Minion) (as page 200 street grimoire)
Tradition Hermetic Drain Will +Logic = 12
Adept Powers (5 PP 25 Karma)
Improved Reflexes R2
Critical Strike (Unarmed)
Astral Perception
Combat Sense R1
Blind Fighting
Qualities
Positive ( 5 Karma)
Mystic Adept
Mentor Spirit (Dragonslayer)
+2 Combat Spells, + 2 Con
IF you break a promise, by accident or choice take -1 dice pool mod to all actions until you make good on your promise
Negative (33 Karma)
Addiction (mild) Tobacco (Smokes)
Addiction (Mild) Finding Lost Loved One (Wife, Jennifer McMullion)
Addiction (mild) Pyro Mania
Addiction (Mild) Media (Always looking for new magic related news, and rumors.)
Allergy (Uncommon, Mild) Bee Stings
Prejudiced(Specific, Outspoken) (Royal Family) (They are rich and they are not the Scottish Royal Family).
Spirit Bane (Beast)
Martial Arts (7 Karma)
-Ninjutsu (AKA Praying Mantis)
-Dim Mak (See RG 137)
Gear (100,000 + 25 Karma 50,000
Lifestyle
Apartment # 504
Cost 2,000 / Month
2 months paid for (2,000)
Cyberware and Bioware
Bioware 0.6
Cerebral Booster R2
Muscle Toner R1
Cyberware: 0.1
Datajack
Armor
Argentum Coat AV 12/+4
-Electrochromic
-Non Conductive R4
-Fire Resistance R3
-Chemical Protection R3
-Insulated R1
Helmet (Baseball Cap) AV +1
Forearm Guards AV + 1
Leg Kit AV +1
Form-Fitting Body Armor AV 8
-Custom Fit
-Concealability
Armor AV’s
Coat + 3 accessories AV 15
FF BA AV 8
Weapon
Unarmed Attack 4S
CommLinks
AR Gloves (Green Leather)
Subvocal Mic
Micro- Transceiver
Commlink
Name: Butler 2.0
Transys Avalon
FireWall 6
Data Proc: 6
Device Rating: 6
Sim Module (cold)
Gear
Magic
Magical Lodge Materials R4
Reagents 1,500 Nuyen worth (Spent to bind ally)
Reagents 500 nuyen worth
Drugs
Psyche 3
5 Stimulation Patches R4
1 Trauma Patches
Medkit R6
Medkit R3
Ears and Eyes
Goggles R5
-Vision Enhancement R2
-Image Link
-Flare Compensation
-Vision Magnification (Optical)
Earbuds R3
-Select Sound Filter R1
-Audio Enhancement R2
ID
Fake SIN R5 (Chris McDougal)
(UK citizen, Occult Investigator, Security Consultant)
Fake License R5 (Buy/Own/Carry Magical items)
Fake License R5 (Locksmithing Gear)
Other
Survival Kit
Tool Kit (LockSmithing)
Lockpick Set
Respirator R6
Vehicle
Suzuki Mirage (Racing Bike)
Handling 5/3 Accel 3 Speed 6 Device 3 Pilot 1 Body 5 Armor 6 Sensore 2(Signal: 0)
-Sensor Array R2
Description
White orc that wears a dark green long coat with a hood, and sports a black baseball cap and black goggles.
Background
Mantis was born in a small poor neighborhood on the outskirts of Edinburgh, to a single Orc mother, Janic McMullion. At a young age Mantis started training martial arts in order to survive in his rough neighborhood. The master that though Mantis was an expert in Southern Praying Mantis, this is the style that Mantis studied. Not being able to go to school without a SIN Mantis got his schooling from his Mother Janic. At 8 yrs old Mantis had his magical skills awakened well working on a technique to extend his chi abilities in his Southern Praying Mantis style he threw a stun bolt that dropped another student in his small martial arts club. Not having anyone to train him in his magical abilities he started to go into local libraries where he could study, Mantis gained a deep love for magic and the power it gave him. This self-studies continued for 6 yrs when he was 14 Mantis got his hands on a part time job and was able to buy himself a comm link with his comm link his library visits to learn about magic turned into on line searches for mystical knowledge. At the age of 16 Mantis got into handing out with known Scottish Syndicate members. The hanging around got into doing odd jobs for the Syndicate, as the money started to flow in Mantis began to save his illegally hard earned money. After saving and working for the Syndicate for 5 years (age 21) Mantis was able to go on a spending spree where he got his body pimped out with bio-ware in order to augment his brain and mystical abilities. Now being a full fledge adult Mantis decided to move South to London, still doing odd jobs for the Scot Syndicate to pay rent Mantis met a girl 2 years (Age 23) after moving to London named Jennifer. The two began dating and when Mantis turned 24 he asked her to marry him. The two were living as nice of a life that a connected man and women without SIN's could live, not a high end living but a nice life none the less, but then when Mantis was 27 tragedy struck, one day Jennifer disappeared, leaving Mantis alone. After talking to the Syndicate's London Fixer that had been supplying Mantis with jobs, the Syndicate did their best to find out what had happened to Jennifer but no leads showed up. After two years now Mantis has decided to no longer to do odd jobs but to go full throttle into Shadowrunning. With his fixer looking for work for Mantis, hope for more mystical power and news on Jennifer lingers in Mantis's enhanced mind.
Notes:
Questions: RC Pg 19 (a few of them)
1) Info about Parents
Single mother lives in Edinburgh, Father unknown
2) Why Shadowrunning
Needs to find his wife and this might help him find her, also helps him make money and gain magical powers
3) House info
Lives in a loft like apartment in east end of London.
4) Negative Personality
Not like the British royal family they are rich for no good reason and they don’t have rights over Mantis since they are British and he is a Scott.
5) Downtime
Checking through the matrix for info on magical rumors and news
6) Skills
Learned from his mother an Orc martial artist and self-training
7) View On Magic
A science of manipulating mana that if you have the blood for it you can gain great power but in order to gain this power you have to learn a lot and train a lot.
8) Cyberware Background
With saved money from working odd jobs for the Scottish Syndicate he was able to get bio-ware to improve his mind and body.
9) Ordinary life
It’s fine if you can afford it kind of on the boring side and not a lot of help at getting more magical powers.
10) Nightmare
Not finding his wife and worrying about her.
11) Sacred items
Wedding ring, and likes his comm link
12) Dreams
To get his wife back and gain A LOT of magical power
13) Street Name
Since he has trained in Southern Praying Mantis style since a young age he got tagged as Mantis when the Scottish Syndicate watched him fight.
Concept
Mystic Adept Scott that is adept at both casting spells and unarmed combat. A combat Mystic with ties to a Scottish crime family.
NOTES
Contact INFO
Name: Glen Finagin
Race: Orc
Job: Fixer for the Scottish Syndicate
Location: London
Known By Mantis from: Glen has been getting jobs for Mantis for the last 6 years since Mantis moved to London at age 23.
Name: Luke Greenwood
Race: Elf
Job: Talismonger / Drug Dealer, has been laundering money for the Scottish Syndicate for many years now
Location: London
Known by Mantis from: When Mantis was looking for magical gear in London Glen told Mantis to go see Luke Greenwood, ever since then Mantis has been upgrading his magical gear from Lukes shop. With a some candy (Drugs) on the side.
LifeStyle Notes:
Mantis lives on the fifth floor of an apartment building in the East end of London. Most of the apartment is taken up by Mantis's magical lodge. There is a one bed room, one bath room, and a loft style kitchen / living room which is lived in by Mantis's lodge and a single reclining chair.
Questions About Lost Love Jen
Q)Is Jen still alive?
A)Queen of Pentacles. She infuses life and fertility into the world, bringing joy where she steps. I see she lives, and has another in her care. a young one. {she stares into your eyes with an intensity you've never seen in someone before} Rabbit urges caution, look before you leap. If you seek her, they will seek you.
Next card. Ask question and choose again
PAGE 37 CH3
Q)What is it that caused her to disappear?
A)Judgement. Her deeds need be answered on this plane, for her to move to next. Her journey with you ends, a new one begins.
Next card.
Q)I know you said I can't get a location for her, But I was hoping I could get a starting point. So where should I start looking to find her?
A)Page of pentacles. You have big responsibility, you must lead team well, gather resources and use wisdom.
Opportunity rises soon.
PAGE #8 CH3
Q)My next question was what forces stand in my way to meeting up with Jen
A) Death. Great challenge lies ahead, you must make great transform inside if you want to seek her. Use inside strength, nourish it; for you will need it all
Q)What has Jen found on this new journey she is one?
A)The world. Next level of entire existence. She is, how you say? Enlightened... Her soul has transcended, to a higher form.
(Page 39 last answer IC THE OLD SMOKE)
KARMA IMPROVEMENTS
26 Total
Ally Spirit
Force 3 (24 Karma)
Name: Smoke
Description: 17 inch tall male fairy with black moth like wings, wears a black suit with a green tie, a black fedora hat, and smokes a black cigarette. Has blue eyes and white hair.
Attributes
Body: 3 Agility: 3 Reaction: 3 Strength:3 Logic: 3 Intuition:3 Willpower:3 Charisma:3
Edge: 5
Powers (force free)
-Astral Form (Free)
-Banishing Resistance (Free)
-Realistic Form (Free) (17 inch tall winged fairy)
-Sapience (Free)
-Sense Link (Free)
-Concealment (Free for 1 force)
-Influence (Free for 1 force)
-Guard (Free for 1 Force)
Skills
-Assensing (Free)
-Astral Combat (free)
-Perception (Free)
-Unarmed Combat (Free)
Mantis Skills
Assensing R1 (2 Karma)
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Mams
Name: Taylor Phelps
Alias: Mams
Race: Human
Sex: Male
Physical Description/Personality:
He has a boyish face with a ruddy complextion and a mop of red hair. This all sits atop a short 5 foot 7 inch frame that weighs in at a whoping 10 stone. For all that he's got a charming personality and is quite likable. After having a pint or two with him the most obvious thing that will stick out is how much of a momma's boy he is.
History/Backstory:
Born and raised in the sprawl outside of Manchester in Ashton-under-Lyne. His father, Paul, worked for a smaller corp as a mid level wage-slave. He devoted his life to the corporation which let them live a reasonably comfortable if modest life. Taylor was an only child, and his mother, Judy, was able to stay home and raise him. He grew up adoring his mother and was known as quite a momma’s boy. As a child he excelled in all things computer. He was wiz with a comm and could get around the ‘trix like he was born there. This made him lots of friends at school, but they still picked on him for being such a mamma’s boy, often calling him “Mams.” Gear on the otherhand was his undoing, and his father had to keep him away from the important equipment in the house like the autocook and the one time he tried to tinker with the family car.
As he got older, Taylor became interested Law Enforcement. He became obsessed with old police trids and stories along with the Victorian era in general. As a teenager he started going to history festivals and events. It started to get a bit odd when he started wearing the costumes all the time. But, his mother approved and that was all he needed!
The hardest decsion of his life was to go to London to train with the Metropolitan Police. 18 months into his training, he was homesick and becoming more and more disillusioned with the way the police actually worked. They were mostly underpaid/overworked corporate shills. They kept the poor poor and the rich rich. On top of this, he started having odd visions, seeing AROs when he wasn’t wearing his glasses, being able to read articles and review documents without his comm. He realized that he was awakening as a technomancer, and this was struck home when he accidently compiled his first sprite. With his general malaise, he decided to keep this to himself instead of reporting it as he knew he should. One of the few shining lights was Amber. She’s a bartender at the Walking Stick, a bar near the academy that he frequented often. They became friends as he didn’t have any local friends and while he got along with a few of the other recruits, his choice in clothing when not at the academy struck them as a little too odd. Luckily, Amber thought it was wiz. It’s pretty obvious that Taylor has a crush on Amber, and while not necisarilly recipricating, she doesn’t seem to mind his flirtations. His only other friend from the academy was Ralph Timms. He was Taylor's bunkmate in the barracks and would constantly make fun of Taylor for his clothes out of uniform. Those were always in good nature though, and Ralphy got along famously with Taylor. He was amused at how well Taylor could play the straight man while wearing such an odd getup. They made a great comedy troupe.
3 months later his father got sick. Really sick. And at 65, he wasn’t exactly a spring chicken. The company decided that taking care of him would be more expensive than it was worth, and laid him off. His father was heartbroken. Taylor was sure he would have survived being sick, but being abandoned by the company he gave his whole life to was more than he could take. He died less than 48 hours after recieving the news. This left his mother alone and pennyless. Taylor became enraged, and foreswore everything the corps stood for. Amber knew someone that could help. She introduced him to ‘Fingers’ Malloy, called so for his reputation for having his fingers in a bit of every business. Fingers was able to get him a few jobs to start, but the biggest thing he did was further the chain and introduce him to Mr. Smith.
Mr. Smith, it turns out had been keeping an eye on Taylor through his connection in the academy and had seen quite a bit of potential in him. Hearing about how he seemed to move through the Matrix more easily than others. Mr. Smith ended up recruiting him to start doing network security for some of his operatives by offering to move his mother to London for him and set him up with a nice place they could both live. Taylor had a lot of doubts, but when Mr. Smith showed him what his first paycheck would be for a job and knowning his mother had no other options, he jumped on the oportunity.
It’s now three years later and Taylor has been working for Mr. Smith quite succesfully. It has allowed him to take care of his Mam while indulging in his eccentricity and uniqe style. And what with *still* being such a momma’s boy, the name calling has never gone away. Folks think they are making fun of him by calling him “Mams,” but he just wears it as a homage to her. Life is actually pretty good for him now. And while his work with Mr. Smith isn’t well publicized, the work he does on the side for Fingers has started drawing more attention amongst the shadows. He's still got a thing for Amber, and Ralphy won't let him live that down. When business does call him away, he knows that Amber and Constible Malloy will still look after his mother while he's gone. He’s always interested in jobs that allow him to stick it to the corps.
Health Monitors
P: [][][] [][][] [][][]
S: [][][] [][][] [][][] [][]
Attributes
Body 2
Agility 2
Reaction 2
Strength 2
Willpower 5
Logic 6
Intuition 5
Charisma 5
Edge 2
Essence 6
Resonance 6
Initiation Grade 1
Initiative 7+1d6
Matrix Initiatve 11+4d6
Positive Qualities
Focused Concentration (2)
Technomancer
Negative Qualities
Codeblock: Erase Matrix Signature
Dependent(s) (2): Mother
Gremlins (1)
SINner (National SIN): British
Echos
Resonance Signal Scrub (minus 2 noise)
Active Skills
Name Rank Pool
Cracking Skill Group 6
Cybercombat 6 15
Electronic Warfare 6 15
Hacking 6 15
Stealth Skill Group 4
Disguise 4 9
Palming 4 6
Sneaking 4 6
Clubs (Batons +2) 6 8(10)
Compiling (Machine Sprites +2) 6 12(14)
Computer (Matrix Perception +2) 6 12(14)
Etiquette 1 6
First Aid (Fading Damage +2) 1 13(15) Rating 6 Medkit
Hardware 1 7
Locksmith 4 6
Perception (Visual +2) 4 9(Visual:13;Hearing 12) Contacts w/Vision Enhancements (2);Earbuds w/Audio Enhancements (3)
Registering (Machine Sprites +2) 6 12(14)
Software 6 12
Knowledge Skills
British Criminal History 4 10 Acedemic
Criminology 3 9 Acedemic
Police Procedure 2 8 Acedemic
Security 2 8 Acedemic
Resonance Realms 2 7 Interests
Language Skills
Dutch 3 8
English N N
French 3 8
German 3 8
Gear (2275¥)
Cyberware/Bioware
Armor
Vashon Island (Shiawase) Steampunk 10
Modification Rating
Custom Fit
Insulation 2
Medkit 6
Universal Mirror Material 4
Weapons
Weapon Dice[limit] Damage
Stun Baton 10[4] 9S(e) v-5
Identities
Taylor Phelps National SIN Middle Lifestyle (1 month)
Philip Baggins Fake SIN (2) None
Misc
(5x) Certified Credstick, Standard
Contacts (3)
Flare Compensation
Vision Enhancements (2)
Data Tap
(10x) Datachip
Ear buds (3)
Audio Enhancements (3)
Lockpick Set
Micro-Tranceiver
Monocle (2)
Low Light Vision
Thermographic Vision
(2x) Psyche
(10x) Security Tags
Toolkit, Disguise
Toolkit, Hardware
Toolkit, Locksmithing
Contacts
Name Connection Loyalty Type
Amber 1 4 Bartender
John 'Fingers' Malloy 3 1 Fixer
Mr. Smith 6 1 Mr. Johnson
Ralph Timms 1 2 Beat Cop
-
___Lumen___
It'd been a whirlwind couple of days and you'd never been so happy to end up back in the old docklands.
The young lad shook your hand and welcomed you home, passing a concerned look at your shoulder as you wince as you slide off the back of the van.
You recognised the warehouse as you took a look around, huge stacks of crates stood about in orderly piles in the centre of the cavernous space, two processing lines stood unattended, the belts slowly moving from left to right, devoid of workers.
Johnny appeared from the 1st floor office and jogged down the metal stairs noisily, cig in hand.
Facking 'ell mate, you look like shite!
He smiled at Mantis and Dunk and waved off the young lad who'd started fucking about on his comm.
Doc's on 'is way. Cig?{he looks at Mantis and Dunk} Got a cab arriving any second for you two. We'll sort the payment out lads.
He motioned you up to the office, curling smoke drifting from the end of his cig ahead of you as he climbed the stairs.
Sitting heavily in his faux-leather chair he shoved the other chair out to you from under the desk with a shove of his polished shoe.
How was your 'oliday then? I hear it didn't go so well? haha
The sound of car doors slamming preceded the engine noise as the autocab pulled off down the street, Mantis and Dunk's form sat in the back.
They were soon lost from the narrow view of the road that the large hanger-style doors afforded you through the mucky pane of glass in Johnny's office.
Workers streamed back in at the young lad's command, returning to the belt as a forklift drone trundled up with a new batch of fish to gut, ice and pack.
It was one of many "legit" business the Clerkenwells owned as a front, though you knew that most of the workers here were SiNless, underpaid and that many were here illegaly. Not that it mattered one fucking iota, a job was a job and they were massively better off working for your outfit than trying to find legit work for the corps.
Johnny grabbed a bottle of whisky out of the desk drawer with a pair of mucky glasses, gesturing to you in offer of a tot.
Mick wants you back at work ASAP mate. Maxwell's been causing all sorts of shit for us. We've lost nearly half of the Ork quarter and they fucking raided the jewelry store on Old Kent Road a fortnight ago. We torched the Three Lions Inn in response but they've got the younger lads scared. Mick wants to organise a fight-back and he wants you to lead it. How bad is that arm mate?
-
____Scawire____
Sliding off the back of the cold van floor is a huge effort and Dunk helps you down the couple of foot down to the floor.
The large warehouse you occupied seemed to have been recently vacated, the sorting line near the stacks was still running, though left unattended.
The young driver took a look at your leg and glanced over at Knives, clearly sussing out what kind of shit you'd got yourself into but it was now clear you were intruding on Knives's territory.
The driver ushered you and Dunk outside and called an autocab as one of Knives's pals came down from an upstairs office. You waved your goodbyes but it felt awkward, like you weren't supposed to be here.
A black cab pulled up, thankfully driverless, and you followed Dunk into the back.
The young lad swiped a comm over the payment reader We got this one lads, stay safe yeah? before the flat-screen chirped and asked for your destinations.
Dunk punched in a relatively local address as you tapped yours in and the taxi pulled off smoothly.
Glancing back down the road, it is clear that the warehouse had been cleared at short notice. Maybe 20 or so workers streamed back into the warehouse through the large hangar door you'd been ushered out of.
The heavy industry and warehousing of the docks shot past your window for what seemed an eternity. the cab got stuck behind a small convoy of heavy goods vehicles that crawled along the pitted road under their load of huge box-steel sections.
Nearly everyone you saw was an Ork, downtrodden, mucky and dressed in coveralls or some industrial protective gear. Whilst it seemed some kind of a tired stereotype, the humans you saw sported nice looking suits, drove nice cars or wore the more expensive PPE of skilled workers.
It was hard not to notice the disparity and part of you resented it, your eyes catching the molten metal of a blast furnace and feeling your need for flame ignite within you.
Eventually, industry gave way to residential and Dunk bade you goodbye, hopping out at a tired looking tenement block with his kit bag.
The streets began to blur as your head rolled and bobbed with drowsiness but before long, the taxi pulled up to your apartment block and chimed a merry tune to wake you up.
You were home, at last.
The door opened with a creak and a stack of epaper adverts, flyers and reminders were stacked up on the welcome mat.
The place smelled fusty and unlived in, a pan half full of frying oil sat on the hob unwashed and a half-drunk mug of coffee sat on the table in the living room.
Your trid system popped into life as the home-node registered your entrance, notifying you of 2 messages received within the last fortnight.
-
___Zweiblumen___
The vacuum drone trundled up and down the landing outside your room in full-clean mode, stirring you out of your restless sleep.
The resonance well you found last month had stuck in your mind and even though you emerged stronger from your experience, something about it remained an enigma that kept gnawing at you, even when asleep.
You rolled over in bed and flipped the pillow to the cold side, teasing one eye open as you did.
Weak light streamed under and around the curtains and partially illuminated your well appointed bedroom and the noise of the boiling kettle downstairs told you your mother was up and doing.
TAYLOR!!! TAYLOR!!! I've done you a brew now get up you lazy git!!! she shouted up to you.
You hated it when she was up and around unsupervised, she was lethal on that walker and it was only a matter of time before she had a fall and bust her hip or wrist or something else.
Dragging yourself out of bed was a chore, last night's registration attempt had really taken it out of you, that little git kicked and wrenched its way out of your control and left you feeling bloody awful.
Your mum had thought you'd been dumped or something and kept prying you for info, eventually giving up and getting stroppy at your refusal to divulge details.
You felt better for a reasonable night's kip, but your head still ached and you felt woozy on your feet as you threw back the curtains to let the weak winter sunshine into your room.
A row of white-fronted victorian houses greeted you, as they always did. A distinctly middle-class street in a reasonable zone of middle-class Kensington wasn't a bad place to live, you'd certainly worked in worse.
You made a show of banging about so that your mum knew you were up and grabbed a quick shower, dressing and heading downstairs to grab your now lukewarm tea.
The Renraku arcology stood way off in the distance framed by the kitchen window, sheathed in a beautifully rendered ARO of a giant christmas tree, its baubles shining and glinting with the lighting strewn across it. Periodically a ticker scrolled across it promoting their January sales, where the new line of household drones would be featured at a massive 40% discount. You figured they were probably 40% more expensive before Christmas anyway as you clicked a couple slices of bread into the toaster.
Are you feeling better this morning dear? asked your mum from the living room
-
"Johnny! It's never been better to see your ugly mug. Cig? That's not a question, fork it over and give us a light." Knives lumbers up the stairs to the office. A decent rest was certainly nice but that damp cellar floor was hardly decent and his back was stiff from not having properly warmed up. "Holiday? Yea that's a real laugh. That was possibly the worst fuckin' job I've ever had! Don't ever go to France mate, it's a fuckin shite hole."
Once he saw the whisky he knew the social bit was over and it was down to business. He takes the glass and holds it up, staring at its contents as he answers, "Those bloody Maxwell's have been re-fuckin-lentless lately. You know they sent that ware'd up troll wanker after me, yea? Turned a corner while on the job and there was he was flappin his gob." He rolls his injured shoulder a few times then gulps down the whiskey, "With a proper bed and a few decent meds I'll be right as rain in a day or two. If Mick wants Maxwell blood I'll be more than happy to give it to him."
-
He grins and pops you a good one, one of the nicer brand of polish imports your boys specialised in.
It hit the spot better than the cheap shit you'd got in france and sat nicely on the palette with the decent whisky.
Haha, France would be alright it weren't full of the fucking French. Fuck, yea we heard about that. He seems to be their point man. Been a bit quiet o'late since you had to make yer escape, hearing ee's been in froggy-land makes a bit o'sense now. {scratching his stubble} Probably lying low.
Mick reckons the Maxwell boys 'ave a bit o'support from some fucking unknown. Started flexing their muscles all o'sudden, caught us on the 'op a bit. Word is that good ol' Ronnie Maxwell 'as got the ear of our local NDM top brass. And one of em in perticular as been a bit noisy about the upcoming re-licensing of a number of our boozers down the east end and three of em aren't gonna have their licenses renewed in the new year. Needless to say, this is a bit of a facking issue. Now, Mark Hatchwell was our inside man on the borough council's licensing committee, but his mail's been set to out of office for weeks and his 'ouse asn't seen any action for about the same. Doesn't take a fucking genius to see what's going on here so Mick needs you to go an' "'ave a word" with this uppity prick and show 'im that the facking Clerkenwells will not be pushed around by some fucking suit o' the Maxwells payroll. Right?
I'll drop the address and details of the NDM fucker..
His attention turns to the noise of footsteps coming up the metal stairway as the slender form of "the doc" fills the doorway.
Rapping on the frosted glass of the door, Johnny beckoned him in.
Awright Doc, Take a look at Knives's shoulder will you mate?
He looks back to you, get some rest yeah? I'll send over the details in a couple of days when you're all patched up. Tell Tim to look after the place for the afternoon. I've got a few house-calls to make.
He winked at you and patted you on your good shoulder before leaving you in the office with the doc.
The doc was attentive and thorough, cleaning the wound as best he could, though by its nature the crushing blow had done more internal damage than external.
He put in a couple of shots of anti-inflammatory agents and a dose of nano-debriders to help strip out the bruised and damaged tissue and sent you on your way.
Tim waved you over as you descended the steps, stood by the hangar doors he'd fired up a ridiculously large cigar as he cast a lazy eye over the busy workers manning the line. His badly fitting suit clearly marked him out as one of the young pretenders.
He reminded you a bit of yourself a few years back. Fresh into the family, you'd felt like a hotshot. Though you were given the shitty boring jobs at first, you'd soon earned the trust and worked your way up.
Maybe he'd be the same, maybe he wouldn't.
Awright Knives, you need a ride 'ome?
-
"I reckon Mick is right, those fraggers didn't grow balls all by themselves overnight. Yea sounds good, I'll go 'ave a word with this bloke. Make sure he sees things our way." As The Doc enters Knives smiles to Johnny, "You got it mate. Once I'm patched we'll go have a pint, on me."
After The Doc does his work Knives heads down the stairs and gives Tim a nod, "Yea I need a ride. Johnny says it's on you to watch the place this afternoon, he's got some errands to run. You been keepin' yer nose clean lad?"
-
His shoulders slump with the deflation of being put on guard duty again
Yeah, a bit too facking clean if you ask me. The bosses talk about all this facking action 'appenin and alls i get ta do is stand around wi' me thumb up me arse.
Darnt get me wrong Knives, Its a decent job an' all, just wish I could get me 'ands dirty a bit y'know? I'll call you a cab mate.
He presses a few buttons on his comm and offers you a drag on his oversize cigar as you stand in the large hangar doorway, watching the hustle and bustle of the docks district.
The mucky Thames sat off somewhere to your left, obscured by warehouses, fences and HGV's and a crisp winters day shone through the light cloud above. Beyond that lay the city proper, the high rise of the renraku arcology dwarfing the tower bridge and the rest of the once-dominating skyscrapers of the square mile financial district. A thin layer of smog hung around the peak of the arcology, hazing over the star at the top of its Christmas tree ARO way off in the distance.
The cocoa mills wafted a pungent smell of pseudo-chocolate over the air, mixing badly with the stench of the fish from the noisy packing lines running behind you.
It felt weird in a way, though you'd not been away that long, you almost expected things to have changed somehow. They hadn't of course, you were just one cog in a mighty machine after all.
The cab trundled back to your gaff down the pitted unmaintained roads and off out into slightly more residential dominated zones before pulling up outside the Fox and Hound opposite your gaff.
Tim had pre-paid the journey and the auto-cab re-joined the flow of traffic as you slammed the heavy door shut.
A new spray of graffiti covered the door to the tenement, but it was otherwise unchanged in your absence. Punching the code into the door lock you swing the heavy, reinforced door back on its noisy hinges and rifle through the post tray in the communal area. Your slot was filled with junk, epaper promos for the local takeaways, crime prevention tips for homeowners from the Met's outreach team and the usual bullshit.
A hand scrawled note from the landlord let you know that last month's payment had been invoiced off your pre-pay total and that you've got 4 left paid up front. It also said there'd been a leak through to the ground floor flats and a plumber had gone in to sort it. A commcode for the plumber finished off the torn paper for any questions.
-
"Yeah mum, yesterday was a rough day. I'll doin' some more consulting today in my office, so won't be around too much. Maybe dinner 'round 6ish if that's a'right with you? I can call in for some help if you need while I'm workin' again today, you know the doc said you had to be careful. And if you won't take the help, please use the autocooker. I know it's not as good as you cook, but we really can't have you getting hurt again. You know you can just call me if you need anything while I'm out."
Taylor finishes his toast and heads into his office. Closing the door, he sets up his fake deck for when his mum comes to check on him like he knows she will. Still agitated that he lost that sprite yesterday he goes about carefully crafting another one. While he's always been good with programming and the 'trix these past few years he's learned so much more. And his comfort there makes so much more sense in retrospect.
With the self reflection done, he gets back to work.
-
Well i'm glad you're feeling better m'lad. Don't forget to get my prescription from the doctors now will you? they shut at 5 today and I'm on my last sleeping tablet, so don't forget! And I know what the doctor said and I'm not just going to sit and vegetate all day!
You heard the trid system fire up in the living room and poked your head around the door to check she was alright.
She'd put on some show about antiques and was sat with a brew in the mug you'd bought her for christmas and she looked happy enough.
You headed to the office and set to work for the day, determined to gain mastery over your creation this time.
-
Taylor sits down in his chair, leans back and closes his eyes. He relaxes, and its like he's letting go of the meat. Sometimes it feels to him like he has to strain in order to be part of the "real" world. The dull, slow, dead "meat" world.
In his, literal, comfort zone, he looks archaic. He has a loose white buttom up with slightly puffy sleeves and a dark grey vest, and dark tight trousers over sharply polished ankle boots. Arm garters at his elbows, a green visor and a monocle complete the look. His desk is a well appointed heavy wooden monstrosity straight out of a Charles Dickens story. He actually looks almost like a young Scrouge behind his accountants desk. He opens his ledger and begins working on writing a new assistant. Then he dips into the resonance and calls forth the sprite. There is a sharp bark and a red spaniel comes and curls up at his feet.
<<<Good boy Winston, welcome to my home. Looks like we're off to a great start here. Lets see if we can get you a bit more comfortable 'round these parts>>>
With the dog/sprite here it's time to let the 'trix know he's actually welcome. Taylor starts with the long and arduous task of making GOD think the Winston here is a normal thing that belongs. As he's going through each bit he remembers his recent journey into the Resonance. It was his first time breaching that layer. Finding that Well had been nothing short of a miracle. Once he finally took the dive, in his clasic diving suit and brass helmet of course, it was a literally mind bending experience. Everything he thought he knew about the Matrix was turned on its head. The swiriling tumolt of the data flows was blindingly beautiful as it ate away at his very core. He could feel himself slipping further and further away. But if felt so natural, so right. He belonged there. He had to force himself away, knowing that if he stayed to long he would loose himself entirely. Fighting, wrenching, driving his way back. As he returned to the Grid he found he was able to sense data much more clearly. Distances seemed less, and busy flustering icons were less distracting. The noise of the matrix quieted down just a notch.
Time slipped by and Taylor was completely obvlivious to it. Winston sat patiently at his side watching intently with eyes too smart for a normal agent/dog. As he finished, it was almost as if Winston wanted to be a part of this world for a while. He gave Taylor no troubles and seemed eager to help, much like his icon would in the meat. With that complete, he attached a collar to Winston that sported a nice tag with his name on it and set a bowl of data down by the foot of the desk for him to go through. Details about his house and what gear he had with a morsel of current events and holiday says chaff for flavor.
The task complete he took the opportunity to get in a bit of gaming, he had a Victorian crime simm he was really enjoying right now. Just as he started, his alarm for 4:30 went off letting him know he had to get back to the Meat and take care of errands.
Patting Winston on the head, he said <<<@Winston [Mams] Time to go pup, lets see what the world has for us today.>>>
Coming back to the "real" world was always awakening to boredom for Taylor. Time slowed down, and everything moved at a snails pace. Shaking the cobwebs, he headed to the kitchen and grabbed a biscuit. Checking on his mum, still watching some trid about the Royals from the 1990s or something. Shaking his head he hollered "Off to get your meds Mum, gonna stop by the Stick on my way back for a pint. I'll be home for dinner!"
He heads out the door with an AR of Winston following him down the street to the drug store.
-
Ok love! she shouted through as you zipped up your coat.
The heavy wooden door slammed shut behind you as the cold dusk hit your lungs. It had been one of those lovely crisp winter's days and the sun had dipped behind the city's high rises casting a lovely orange hue onto the light cloud cover. You shove your hands deep into your pockets and head up the road towards the small GP surgery your mum was registered at.
You were practically on their lunchtime sandwich order, you popped in so frequently.
The young lass on reception smiled at you as you stepped in to the overly warm waiting area.
A few pension age folk sat staring at the trid panel as BBC news 24 prattled on about the financial news. They were obviously tried hard to ignore the screaming kid and the indifferent looking young mother lamely rocking the pram whilst tapping away on her comm screen.
come for the repeat prescription? Oh, I meant to say last week, she's due her quarterly medicines review with the nurse consultant. Do you want to book it now or shall I send an appointment out to you?
She smiled as you took the sealed bag and headed back out into the cold evening.
You swung a right and headed up for a swift half to offset your hunger and have a change of scenery from your old mum.
The traffic picked up as you hit the main road, evening commuters heading home in nice cars and sales shoppers emerging out if the underground in search of bus connections and something to eat on the way home.
"The Stick" was doing a good trade this evening, a mix of locals and passers through laughing and drinking the working week away in preparation for the start of the weekend.
Someone had ordered the steak and ale pie, the waitress walked past with it on a tray with a pint of dark ale and your stomach rumbled hungrily.
Those slices of toast seemed an awful long time ago.
A couple of the suits noticed your approach and nudged their mates, smirking at your outfit as you headed up to the bar. John seemed to be the only barman on this evening and he looked a bit hot under the collar as the pub was busier than he'd bargained for.
He looked up at you as he finished pulling a Guinness,
What you having mate?
-
Mantis still feels like he wants to crawl into a bed and not move for a good long time. Getting into his appartment Mantis is glad that the old hell hole in the wall is still as messy as he left it. Spotting the 2 messages, Mantis first gets a nice strong black soy caf then gets his home-node to play his two messages. Oh drek no down time, well maybe it is some nice guy telling me I won the lotto, then I could get some arctic gear for the shadow life. Ya right. Mantis guns a smoke as he waits to hear what horror story is going to blast his way.
-
"Send me the available times and we'll get her booked after the weekend. You have a good one!" he says cheerily to the lass at the counter and quickly heads for the door away from the screaming pram. Winston stops to sniff it casually before hurying to catch up. As he's walking down the street he brings up an AR window of next weeks calendar and drops in the time given to him by the GP. Taylor opens his mother's calendar and adds it there as well, knowing she's never going to check it anyway.
The Walking Stick had the usual suspects in there for a friday night and some new kids from the Academy. The regulars smiled as the costume walked in, a few raised pints as he's walking past. The corpers with their smirks seem so out of place to Taylor, doffing his cap with a hint of a mock bow in their direction he takes his usual seat at the bar.
"Hoi John, bloody busy even for a Friday. Amber out sick today? You look crushed. When you get a chance I'll take a pint and a soup."
Looking around, Taylor checks to see if Ralphy is around while Winston curls up at the foot of his stool.
-
The appointment times come through and 10.20 on Monday morning looks like the best option, it'd give you most of the day to yourself that way.
John half-smiles as he replies, nah mate, she drew the short straw over Christmas so she's got the weekend off. Charlotte said something about her seeing her sis up in Sheffield. She's back on the rota for Monday afternoon though. take a seat mate, I'll get Charlotte to bring it over.
He serves the last of the suits and pulls you a pint of the seasonal ale as you sit at the only table free. Charlotte pops over and clears the spent glasses and mucky plate for you, giving he table a quick wipe down.y'aright duck? she asked in her Lancashire accent.
The trid screen was flicked over to the sports news channel, a beautiful blonde woman talking through the night's upcoming FA cup games. Arsenal had drawn Chelsea in the third round and it promised to be a good one.
Your work comm vibrated and drew your attention, a meeting invite. Private VR node, mark invite included. Had to be Smith or one of his middlemen. Scanning the details you saw the meeting was in 15 minutes
-
___Scawire___
You were relieved to see it was nothing dramatic, just one message from your landlord letting you know he'd invoiced you for the first month of your pre-payment and that one more remained.
The second message was a week old, Luke had dropped you a line about some work he needed doing, though thankfully he was vague enough that the message wouldn't be incriminating given how legit his work usually was.
-
"Keep your chin up Tim. Everyone starts out with the shite jobs. I'll keep you in mind lad." Finally walking in his door was like waking from a dream. It was mostly a shit hole but it was his shit hole. Knives does a quick check to make sure none of his stuff was out of place. Then he spots the bed... his greatcoat had barely hit the floor before his head hit the pillow and dreams took him.
-
___Lumen___
The afternoon passed and you awoke with a crick in your neck and pins and needles in your arm from where you'd slept funny.
The noise of the refuse truck emptying the glass bins of the pub opposite roused you from your slumber.
Your AR wallpaper glared 06:04 at you, making you groan as your bladder informed you it was full.
Chucking the duvet back, you grumbled about forgetting to set the heating to come on, it was bloody freezing. Your stomach rumbled with hunger due to missing tea last night as you relieved yourself and a prickly thirst assaulted the back of your throat.
How was it possible to feel this knackered after all that sleep? Still, your shoulder felt a ton better and it was clear that your body wasn't going to let you just get back to sleep without a decent feed and a drink.
Word had obviously gone round that you were home, a series of drunken voice messages had been left on your comm overnight, most asking where you were and if you were coming out for a beer, with a turn to the more drunken "yooo faag, where are ya? pints not gonna drink itself!!" as their night clearly descended into a right royal piss-up
-
Cursing quietly to himself Taylor wonders if he can get 15 more minutes to cram some food in his system and get home. Missing lunch and supper wasn't a good way to get things done in his opinion.
"Ahh shite. Charlotte, luv, what can you bring me in a hurry? Looks like I've got to run before decorum would dictate. Any chance you could bag it for me?"
<<<@Sender [Mams] Outside circumstances require my presence at that time. Available for consultation at 17.45. Please confirm.>>>
Mum always comes first and he's gotta get her pills home. He sends a payment to his tab at the bar to cover his bill with a bit extra for making Charlotte hurry and finishes pint. While he's waiting for his snack to go he runs a basic check on the private host to see what he's getting himself into. Winston starts pacing, seeming to sense Taylor's sudden agitation at the situation. <<<@Winston [Mams] 'Tis okay boy, just doing some leg work first. This ain't 'zactly your cuppa here. Might need to get ye a friend to 'elp out 'fore the day is over.>>> As he winks at the sprite.
-
Mantis takes a deep long drag of his smoke. Well lets see what work I have penciled in. Luke is a good bud, maybe he can help me with some arctic magical stuff for this work.... That would be sweet.
Mantis takes a seat in his torn up lounge chair and gets his comm link to message Luke.
------ Message -------
To: Luke
From: Marc
Hey bud its been a while, good to hear from me. I hear you got some work. I'm free right now if you want we can meet up over some nice soy cafe and noddles and discuss old times and anything else that pops into our heads.
Later
------ End of message ------
Mantis is glad he has work coming his way, thing is he kind of wishes he could just take a bit of a breather, with all the drek that came his way down in France. Oh well better to have a job then be sleeping in sewers drink what ever that hell drips your way.
-
___Scawire___
A reply comes through swiftly:
//Hey man, sorry, that last message was about a job I already got done a few days back. got something for you over the weekend though if you're free? Shouldn't take too long, meet for breakfast at O'malleys? Say about 9.30?//
You were relieved in a way, It at least gave you time to get your head down, have a shower and fix yourself a proper meal
-
___Zweiblumen___
The mailer daemon errored out on your reply:
<<Message undeliverable:: Unknown destination>>
It got stuck in a loop of resend->error so you killed it, the burner comm had been burned already or its return-commcode spoofed. Either way, it left you with no room for negotiation on times.
You could either do the meet here on the shitter and hope no-one kicked the door in while you flopped into VR, or grab your grub and dash for home.
Sure thing, chuck. I'll ladle you some up to-go and pop in a bread barm for you
Charlotte went off towards the kitchen and returned momentarily, paper bag and polystyrene soup container in hand.
Wiping the beer's froth off your top lip you take it from her with a smile, Winston wagging his tail in understanding.
-
Knives rubs his eyes sleepily as he goes through his messages. Since they were for a party long since dead he opts for a shower. Once he's dressed again and feeling more like himself he sends Johnny a text. <Sorry I missed the party. Proper rest and all, you understand. I got a few things I'd like to exchange for some other things. Pints later though for sure.>
-
___Lumen___
It was nice to have a morning off, kicking about in the living room felt a dream.
You switched on the trid and caught up on the past few weeks' worth of footy news and settled in with a brew as Johnny slept off last night's beer.
Around 9.30 you receive a reply;
Awright mate, yeah you missed a good one; lads were on good form and we got young timmy-boy laid, at last! hahaha. Facking scally of an ork as well, bet ee's itching this morning!!
Sounds good mate, I'll be down in Chinatown for lunch. I'll meet you near the big pagoda about 12.15.
-
"On second thought Charlotte, can you hold that for me for a few minutes. Need to talk to a man about a horse." And he heads to the loo.
For a pub bathroom, it's surprisingly clean. Not that you'd keep your own house this clean, but for a bar, it's not half bad. He finds a stall with no floaters in it, and locks the door. Winston curls up floating about 8" off the ground as even the Matrix construct doesn't want to laydown on these floors. Wishing he had a camera handy, he quickly pulls up an AR catalog and orders one to be delivered to his house. "Here goes nothing." He mutters under his breath to himself. Wiping down the seat first, he assumes the usual position, then lets go of the meat to escape to the Matrix.
The stall in the Matrix isn't much better. Winston sees his persona fully in VR and perks up. <<<@Winston [Mams] Hoi, time for us to head to work champ. Lets get you a friend first though.>>> Taking a moment before leaving the bar, Taylor pulls up some old code he was working on the other week and infuses it with Resonance. Proving his familiarity with this code, another setter joins Winston eager to help. <<<@Sprites [Mams] We'll call ye 'Alastair' for now. That suit ye well 'nough?>>>
Feeling more confident with some allies in tow, Taylor heads to this mysterious Host to meet his unkown contact.
-
She stops in her tracks just before heading through the swing doors into the kitchen, and nods, a quizzical look on her face.
The smell of the urinal lemon-cakes catches the back of your throat but its actually reasonably clean everywhere; the benefit of drinking in the nicer part of town (thought the beer prices more than made up for it).
Your head lols to your chest but you don't even realise, your consciousness transported into the digital aether.
A deep blue grid expands near limitlessly ahead of you, winston yapping and barking with excitement as if he were the actual dog his digital form imitated.
A cluster of personas lit up your view, moving around the bar-room as you'd expect. You connect to your commlink's data-store and pull the invite off it, accepting the MARK and smiling as the host revealed itself to your keen eye.
Nothing about it seemed obviously dodgy, just a stock host with a little extra security.
Alistair's form sprung into being as you channelled resonance into it, Winston instinctively sniffing it in approval. No matter how many times you pulled that trick off, it always felt good.
Joining the host, you're ported into a stock-white clear room, a cube of perfect dimensions with no windows.
The node sculpting grid had been left toggled to "on", probably to give some depth perception
<<Connection from::Anon>>Accepted.....
Rendering.....
Anon_01 Joined Host//END//
Spinning around, Becky's sleek avatar had joined the room behind you, a slim idealised female form with a shock of purple hair that flowed as if a calm breeze stirred through it. Her eyes were shadowed by a matching purple make-up scheme and you'd just die for a real-life copy as your girlfriend.
<<Anon_01:: Changed username to Bexter_777>>
Bexter:://Good to see you, sorry for the short notice. Smith needs you to scan some data urgently. Encryption on it is totally baffling our guys, say its not something they've seen before.
If you can tell us what it is, where its from and who made it you'll get the usual fee. If you can crack it, fee is doubled. Interested?
-
Mams://Been a while. Sounds intriguing, I'll take a look. Normal transfer methods I assume. Once I get my hands on it, I'll let you guys know how long it'll take me. Standard rates as usual. Thanks.
Taylor realizes he's been entirely too paranoid today. It must have been that doosey of a day working with that sprite yesterday making him loopy. He leaves the host, and makes sure everything is sorted before coming too in the loo.
Standing up and making the appropriet noises/motions, he washes up and heads back out front. Seeing Charlotte, he thanks her and takes his food to go. Eating on the way home and getting lost in thought about what kind of things this could have that are giving Mr. Smith such a headache. As he gets close to his house, he shrugs it off figuring this is what they pay him for.
Entering the house, he hollers out "Hoi Mum, got your pills for ye. Also sent you the calendar update for your appointment next week. Lets not miss this one, yeah? Lemme know when supper is ready." Then he heads up to his office again to mull over his first dip into the Resonance Well. Submerging felt so right, the struggle, the challenges, the soul rending data flow. As painful as it was, he misses it already.
And boy is he hungry. The pint and the nosh seemed to have disapeared into him without making a dent.
-
Mantis gets his message from Luke. Wow that was speedy. After reading the message Mantis takes a breath of fresh air. (well ok his apartment has no fresh air.) Ok good I might have time to heal after all. Mantis checks his clock on his Image link. Seems I have a bit of time before the meeting best clean up, no use smelling like I live in the sewers. Looking around his apartment Mantis knows some sewer dwellers might have clean holes in the ground then this place. Mantis drops his reply to Luke then hits the showers.
<<<< MESSAGE>>>>
I'll be there.
<<<<END MESSAGE>>>>
Mantis is blessed when he gets into the shower there is still hot water pouring out. When completed Mantis heads to bed setting his clock with enouph time to get geared up and make the meeting.
When Mantis gets up to his alarm with which he most likely would have still been in dreamland into mid day. Mantis grabs some clean clothes, they have to be clean he smelled them so that means there clean right. Mantis gets strapped with all his normal legal no license needing gear then head to his bike to take a ride to his meeting at O'malley's. Hope this meeting doesn't put me through another meat grinder like the job he gave me last time that landed me in the hospital. Mantis takes a mental note to remember he is NO rigger, so stop trying to fallow perps like he is some wire head rigger you only end up with your head smashed up.
-
Catching up on the footy news meant figuring out how much Johnny was going to owe him. At least a tenner but their bets were more about bragging rights anyways. When the reply finally comes Knives lets out a chuckle, <Damn Timmy-boy finally got some!? She musta been ugly and shit-faced. Lunch sounds great mate and don't forget that tenner you owe me from the West Ham game.>
With a few more hours to kill Knives relaxes back and pulls up some highlight reels and predictions for this week's matches. Then like a train it hit him... *Shit, I need a smoke. There's gotta be some around here.* He ransacks his flat for a few minutes before finding an old pack with a couple left inside. He lights one up and plops down to watch the telly a bit more before heading out.
-
___Lumen___
You've got a big shit-eating grin on your face as Johnny signs off the call, you'd missed the lads, missed London, missed home.
Taking your time, you got suited and booted, your shoulder feeling better by the minute.
Heading for the tube, you see its turned into a beautiful bright winters day. The only blight on your trip was the thousands of shoppers descending on the Old Smoke for their Christmas presents.
It'd be a week or so until it calmed down, right in time for the shitstorm of the january sales.
The tube was crammed till Covent Garden, thousands of people disembarked onto the heaving platform. Alighting at Leicester square you were glad to be off that damn thing, it was fucking boiling and your waistcoat and heavy coat were made for colder climes.
You take your hat off to vent some heat as you stand on the long escalator, a barrage of AR advertisements mauled your image link. Everything from discounted tickets for Les Miserables to the newest must have "Captain America" replica drone (with real flying action!!). This is the bit of London you didn't miss..
Heading out of the station and back into the light of day was a godsend. You lit another fag and headed into Chinatown proper, eyeing the faces not-so-subtly keeping a lookout near the pagoda. You were a couple of minutes early but Johnny was nowhere to be seen yet.
A shuffle of feet behind you caught your attention and the face who'd been stood outside the takeaway 20 yards away was actively hunting for your eye-contact.
___Scawire___
The alarm blared and jolted you from a massively deep sleep. You felt rested in a way, but still felt like another good 10 hours kip was a possibility!
Hitting the shower, you were amazed that it ran warm for as long as it did, hopping out feeling revived as it sputtered into a cold dribble on you.
The clothes you dug out were passable, certainly cleaner than your last batch at any rate, but one look at the mound of washing in your bedroom showed you it was beyond time to either get a domestic drone or put in a bit of hard graft and do it yourself.
As you grab a drink of water, a tapping at the grubby window next to the sink catches your attention.
Sliding the old wooden frame upwards, you see tweety. His bright plumage stood out a million miles and you recognised him instantly.
He'd been massively spooked by your encounter with the mage but obviously remembered where home was.
He hopped into your large hand with a pleased chirrup and you returned him to his spacious cage, topping up his water and birdseed before suiting up and heading downstairs to the parking lot.
The bike looked alright considering the high speed crash you'd been in. The mechanic had done a decent enough job with the paintwork but ssome of the chrome hadn't buffed out. That'd need replacing at somepoint.
Kicking the stand back you fired up the engine, pleased as it purred to life. The headlight swung a bright white beam out over the rough red brickwork of the walls and was lost into the bright daylight of London's winter.
Traffic was fairly heavy thanks to the thousands of shoppers descending on London for their Christmas shopping. Packed tourist buses clogged the already busy streets as the extra thousands of pedestrians constantly pressing the buttons for the road crossings ground everything to a halt. You almost wished you'd taken the tube but in a way it felt nice to be home.
You parked up at a multistorey a few minutes walk away from O'Malleys and headed downstairs into the cellar bar.
It was a fairly generic chain of irish pubs that had become popular in the last year or two but the prices were still reasonable and the food was decent.
Luke was sat in a booth near the window and called you over as you entered.
Alright Mantis, Long time no see! How are ya?
___Zweiblumen___
//Great.. Dead drop at Kings Cross, left luggage. Reclaim ticket will be forwarded on to you. Collect any time from 20:00. Call ne on this number {commcode attached} when you've got something//
<<Bexter_777 disconnected>>
Her avatar waved goodbye as it disappeared, disconnecting from the host and leaving you alone in the large empty box. Mission in hand and a couple of hours to burn till the parcel could be collected, you reflected on your experience
memory test please
-
Nothing truly said 'You're home lad' like a walk down the cold London streets puffing away a fag. Knives can't help but give a little smile as he hears the shuffle behind him. *I haven't been gone that long... have these wankers already forgotten who I am? Maybe they just need a refresher course.* He stops abruptly, takes a long drag from his smoke, and stands tall. He locks eyes with the fella staring his way and lowers his right hand ready to draw his taser to his hand in an instant. Still facing forward he speaks out, "Can I elp ye fellas with somethin'?"
-
___Lumen___
The young lad stared at you, making a point of not breaking eye contact.
He clearly knew who you were as he addressed you;
Clerkenwell, no trouble here. You no start trouble
The chinks and the japs were small fry in a big town, mainly too busy slotting one another to get involved in the wider city scene.
Something had this kid rattled though which raised an eyebrow.
Awright mate? you making friends already? Johnny laughed, patting you on the shoulder. Leave 'im alone mate, Chinks don't start trouble with us, they know their facking place. Cam on, lets gets some lunch, I'm bleeding starvin'.
The wiry lad stepped aside, watching the pair of you like a hawk as you headed down the busy main street of chinatown.
Mandarin AR signs and oldskool neon bulbs dominated the view above the heads of the crowd, beautiful aromatic smells of food mixed with aromatherapy and massage parlours, though thankfully you couldn't smell the brothels from the street.
A mixture of curious tourists, the asian immigrant community and a few hungry brits roamed the streets, ducking under strings of lanterns and winding through queues of people waiting on street vendors for noodles covered in god-knows-what. Any normal visitor wouldn't even have looked for the Triads and Yaks monitoring the goings-on from their corners, subtly chatting away into their microtransceivers built into their jackets.
You and Johnny knew better though and you couldn't help but feel that something was out of the norm. The place seemed on edge.
Swinging down a sidestreet the foot traffic lightened. A row of lanterns arranged vertically denoted you'd arrived at the restaurant and you both ducked your heads under the low hanging timbers at the entrance.
It smelled divine and a stunning young asian girl greeted you with a bow, asking Johnny if he'd made a reservation.
She smiled and led the two of you through the half-full restaurant and through a curtain divider off into a VIP area.
Bowing again, she invited you to sit and gave you two real leather bound menus. The VIP treatment came as a bit of a surprise and Johnny just smirked and carried on reading the menu as your eyes bored into the top of his skull.
____Zweiblumen____
It was all bit of a blur, but the portal to the resonance pool was as clear to you now as it was then.
Masked and concealed, something had piqued your attention, no, it was more like you were called to it. As a challenge, some kind of test maybe?
Defeating its concealment was no simple task, but your sprites were keen workers and helped you shake off it's veiling procedures.
What you saw stunned you, it was the most realistic rendering you'd ever witnessed in the matrix, even as some of it stood at as utterly alien, it beckoned you in to swim and you couldn't resist.
You'd no sooner dipped your toe into the pool than it began to seep up your leg in a globular, quivering mass. Panicking somewhat, your instinct had been to shake it off, to run.
This only excited the "pool", agitating it and energising it.
Your body felt cold, numb and you began to hallucinate vividly. Layers stripped off of the visions you saw, node rendering stripped down to its source code, beyond that into its naked machine code and further still into the machine processes that interpreted the light-speed binary streams. It tugged and poked at your consciousness, at your soul as if looking for something, as if it were judging you.
Your memory becomes fuzzy at this point, though the next thing you can be sure of was waking up in the office with a splitting headache. That headache took three days to subside but you've felt stronger every day since then.
The commlink pings and vibrates with an incoming message. Bex had forwarded on the collection code for you, marked up as **URGENT**
-
Mantis still limping a bit is glad to be in a pub where people will know what the hell he is saying. Mantis grabs a seat. Well Luke, I did get stuck in the leg with a blade and shot in the shoulder so let me tell you, never visit France. Those french seem to have a problem over there with me. And don't me started on trying to buy cigs. I think the whole place should be burnt and burnt some good. Mantis pulls out one of his Ares Black smokes glad he now has his brand again, something tasted funny about those french smokes. Lighting up Mantis puts in an order for a pint over his comm link to the bar. So what has been happen with you Mate, seems like you got something you wanted to talk to Limping Mantis about.
-
Knives smirks at the Asian man staring him down and laughs when Johnny pats him on the shoulder, "You know me mate I make friends everywhere I go. Is it just me or are they more edgey than usual?"
When they're seated Knives lets out a long low whistle, "Fuck me this is swanky! I bet they even have some real sake. Whatcha say mate, wanna try some? The 'ell are ya doin out here anyways?" He runs his fingers over the leather binding a few times before opening the menu. The only thing Knives had known this fancy was Smith's mansion and certainly did not expect to see it again so soon. After a moment he starred to get nervous. *Shite I usually only get the fancy stuff right before I'm expected to do something fuckin stupid.*
-
The buzz of his commlink pulls Taylor from his reverie. Pulling up Bex's message in an AR window as he gets up. He acknowledges reciept of it and heads downstairs.
"Oi, Mum, lets eat." he hollers as he heads into the kitchen. He sees that she's set the autocooker to prepare a simple meal for them, but he enjoys spending the time with his mother regardless of the food. One day, he'll upgrade it to make food he thinks she deserves. And while it looks like food, the Soy Processing Unit is still just printing out nutrient paste, it's healthy enough. He sets the table for the two of them, as Judy turns off the trid. He helps her into her chair and moves the walker out of the way. Another thing for him to work on getting upgraded. They have a nice life here, but so many things can be done better. The basic first aid he learned in training doesn't help all that much with the systemic and chronic problems his mom is starting to have. She's old, but not that old. He should be able to do something for her.
They eat and make small talk. Judy's glasses having a basic image link in them let her see all the AR work he does around the house to spruce it up and add virtual art until he can afford the real stuff. Looking around she's startled by the two dogs. "What on earth are those things dear?" she says gesturing to the AR dogs.
Laughing, Taylor says, "Oh this one is Winston, and this is Alastair. They are some AR projects I'm working on. What do you think?" The dogs move around looking amazingly realistic. Judy's a bit taken aback by them, but figures this is in line with how Taylor pays the bills and says nice things to that effect. Taylor is used to her tuning out when he talks "work" as most of it goes over her head.
Once dinner is over Taylor clears the table and tells Judy that he's going out with the boys for game of darts or billiards, they've not made up their mind yet. Even after all these years he's not comfortable lying to his mother, but he knows it's safer for her if she doesn't know anything about what he's doing.
<<<@Ralph Timms [Taylor] Hoi Ralphy, been a few days. Lets toss some darts down at the Stick around 21.30? Or where ever works for you if you aren't around the 'hood tonight.>>>
With that he heads to the station and takes the Tube down to his dead drop.
-
___Scawire___
He whistles and raises his eyebrows at your story, inspecting the wounds you showed him, half-proud in a way
Fuck man, you really got in with the wrong crowd on this one eh? haha
A couple of beers are brought over by a disgruntled looking ork and you continue your conversation..
Its been a bit fucking mental here while you were away to be honest. I had a shipment of gear coming in the other week that seems to have gone "awry" shall we say. Job was to find out why it was so late, but it comes out in the wash that some fucker re-routed it or something. Either way, I need to find out who and hopefully why. Fancy having a dig about the docklands? There's a K in it and a couple doses of your fave vice {he winked and smiled}
__Lumen___
They're well facking edgy mate, and for good facking reason. I'll tell you all about it over dinner.
He smiled a huge beaming smile, like he'd won the fucking lottery or something and led you down the teeming streets, winding through the queues of tourists and ducking by street vendors dishing up cartons of noodles and won-ton soup.
As the beers arrive he leans in a little bit to answer your questions.
We're 'ere as a bit of a "tour de force" {he said in a mock french accent}. While you was away see, Maxwells 'ad been flexin' their muscles so to speak. Signed a facking deal wi' the yaks to open up their access to the slitty-eyed markets darn 'ere. Well, our polish lads darn the docks saw that the yaks 'ad a special shipment comin' in. So we "intervened" an' knocked it off. Distributed it with our new best buddies, the chinks see.
Yaks got their suspicions, but ain't got no proof. All the facking influence they got in the boardrooms of them facking skyscrapers means shit out 'ere mate. Thats why we're ere. To show the chinks some support, cos them facking yaks are just itchin' to get fighting with their old bessies. Chink's said they'd put lunch for us in celebration so don't hold back yeah? Banquet 4 suit you?
-
Oh they're marvellous dear! So realistic! aren't you a good lad eh? How much are you selling them for then?
She puts her hand down in motion to stroke Winston as he yaps and wags his tail, forgetting that she'd need her AR gloves on if she wanted to interact with gestures.
After dinner is done, your mum heads back through to the living room slowly and clumsily on her walker as you prep to head out into town.
You have a nice time and don't be too late! She shouts through to you.
Zipping your jacket up against the cold of the January night, you stuffed your hands into your pockets and headed a few blocks down the nicely fronted Kensington houses, their warm rooms full of well-to-do corp management, bankers and successful self-starters.
Your mum had been one of the lucky ones, she'd got a generous inheritance from your grandma and got into the market just at the right time, now living mortgage free since your dad passed away.
You thought of him briefly, stuck in his youth, listening to the blaring guitars he'd rocked out to in his teens, giving it the whole "back in my day" speech at every possible opportunity.
Smiling to yourself with the memory you received a reply on your comm as you waited to cross the road past the stick.
Sounds like a plan stan. See you down there!
South Kensington tube station was quiet, the heavy footflow of suits ended hours ago, now just leaving a few people heading out for a beer or to catch a late showing at the theatres in the nearby west-end.
The train clattered to a halt, blowing your hair about your face with the smell of warm and stale undergound air whilst the entrenched AR ads blared all around you, competing for your eyes and ears.
You try to drown them out, streaming some music to clear your head as the train pulled away into the inky blackness, the occasional wheelspin resulting in huge white sparks that showed the proximity of tube's exterior.
You didn't need to worry about impending tube collapses for long, a change of platforms and a short ride later, you popped up into the bedlam of Kings Cross-St.Pancras station.
It didn't matter what time of day you came through here, it was always rammed. Trains up to scotland and the north east ran out of here every 15 minutes and St.Pancras linked out to Paris, Brussels and beyond through the old tunnel. The police presence was always high as a result and you did your best to act natural as you made your way over to the left luggage area.
Swiping your commlink's screen over the code reader was met with a green light and a locker RFID chip in the slot below.
Heading over to locker 2703, you retrieve a small padded brown envelope loaded with what felt like a couple of datachips in. You dropped the rfid back into the recepticule at the exit and headed back into the tube and waited for the train back down the opposite line
-
"Oh, I'm not sure yet. We'll see what folks think they're worth. These guys are just proto-types anyway."
He gives her a kiss on the cheek on his way out, "You worry to much." he says with a smile.
He grins at the prospect of a couple of games before getting home and actually working. After he retreives the envelope, he secures it in an interior closeable pocket in his coat. The police presence is both worrisome and somewhat reasurring. As long as they aren't after him, they should help keep him safe. Just to be safe, he keeps an eye for people following him and marking anyone suspicious in AR. His training helping him with counter surveillance, but he's got to flip the script and remember he's the "bad guy" now. Paranoia keeps people like him alive, but even after three years of living in the shadows he's still not comfortable out in the "field."
Getting safely back to the tube, he finds a seat and looks like just another bloke lost in AR even though he's keeping an active eye on those around him. He finally begins to relax a bit once he gets back to the Stick. After loosing two games to three he pays for Ralphy's tab and calls it a night.
Once he's home, he see's his mom is asleep and he heads to his office to get started on the chips.
-
Mantis takes a puzzled look and thinks over the request. Well Luke I can always need some more nuyen, I'm no Queen of England shatting gold, so Ya I can take a look around. Mantis wonders if this is the boat he came in on, odds are good it is, best he clean his tracks and find out what happened to the boat and more importantly the girls. Dam those girls being trafficked pissed Mantis off. Mantis hopes his bud is not into the girl side of things but this is the shadow life and dark things worth nuyen happen. I was wondering have you got your hands on any ally spirit formulas I've been looking to get a little back up on my side. Mantis lights up a smoke and takes a sip from his lounger. Also if I take this job, the hunt for the missing ship. I'll need some where to start and any intel you have on the job. Intel up front will help speed things up.
-
___scawire___
hah, good lad. It was a jap ship, inbound from Tokyo via Dubai. There was a container on it that never made it through the east end docks. A gent I know checked the manifest out and it made it out of Tokyo alright but seems to have gone walkies before it landed here. Fuck knows who's involved but I've got me suspicions. I'll forward you over what I've got on it so far mate. How's tricks, other than being shot to shit? he smiled, taking a big glug of the cheap lager.
___Zweiblumen___
You turn out the bubble wrap lined envelope onto your desk and handled them, running them through your fingers, sensing their contents, feeling them intuitively as their iconography appears before you.
The first disk contained three files, heavily encrypted. Bex was right, it was pretty arcane encryption too.
Something about it drew your eye though, the largest file was clearly databombed.
The second disk contained four files of differing sizes, again, the largest of which was databombed and all featured very heavy, arcane encryption
-
"Ooooooooh. Gotcha mate, that makes sense. Yea banquet 4 sounds brill and don't forget the sake. Shit if ya want me to just hoof it round the block lookin badass that's no problem. Though sounds like the battle lines are formin up, shit's gotta hit the fan sooner or later." Knives a few big gulps from his beer and leans in a bit. "So what was it mate? Ya know? Never know with the yaks."
He leans back and pulls out a smoke. Before lighting it he speaks as it bobs between his lips, "Oh yea speakin of didn't ya want me to have a word with some bellend on Maxwell payroll?"
-
He grinned at you as the waitress returns,
Banquet four and a bottle of sake please, two glasses
She smiled, bowed and left you a bowl of dim-sun each as a complimentary aperitif.
Shipment of the usual mate from what I 'eard. Packets o' the white stuff every party goer loves to shove up 'is nose {he chuckled}
Worth a few quid too. Crafty little fuckers though, 'ad hidden it facking well! Chinks were well 'appy, they're cut was like every one o' their miserable shitty little Christmases 'ad come at once.
The waitress returned with the sake and two incredibly posh glasses, clearly their best stuff, and addressed you two after pouring a shot into each.
Prease, compwiments of Xi Tian. Enjoy!
She bowed and left you alone.
I could get used to this eh?
His memory jogged, he tucked into his inside jacket pocket and pulled out a small brown envelope. Everything we've got on 'im is on there. It ain't much but we 'ad one o' the lads tail 'im the other week. Looks like ee lives off of Harley street. Big 'ouse, Fackin massive 'ouse actually. Obviously got "some" money to match 'is power. Sounds like ee's a bit of a perv too, got a thing for the "exotic". Likes 'is lasses to be "varied" shall we say {He smirks and winks knowingly at you} Other than worrying about 'is pork-sword, ee's apparently got some skills with the real thing, fancy shit too, competition level. Timmy ran a check on 'im an' ee's won medals an all sorts. Trains down at a private club about 5 minutes walk past Number 10.
Swanky bastards, but might be able to get in to see 'im that way if the lads can get a good forged membership card. Take a look at the chip when you get 'ome mate {he grabs the glass}
Glad to have you back pal, chin chin!
-
With the chips in front of him, he holds one in each hand, and then lets go of the meat again. Relishing the flow of data around him, able to move at the speed of thought he relaxes. Winston and Alistair look to him as if bored at this point. Smiling, he says to them "We'll get to play in a bit boys, but first some work. Lets take a look at these things, what do you think?" He starts examining the icons on the chips. The dogs sniffing around as well, but rather passively, more out of idle curiosity rather than any real concerted effort.
He perks up a bit and finding traces of Resonance on each of the files. Well, this is going to get interesting. Lets see who did this. And he closely examines the residue before moving on to the first databomb.
Materializing in his hand are some needle nose pliers and wire snips, on his head an old fashioned headband loupe appears and shines a light onto the icon that now has a rather cartoonish looking bomb with wires all over the place. He starts to snip one wire, pauses, takes a deep breath, and switches to another. The Sprites duck down behind him in anticipation, and he cuts ...
-
"No shite mate, this is swanky. Could definitely use a few more days like this."
Knives takes the envelope and tucks it in his breast pocket. "Harley street? No shite I'm sure 'is house is fuckin massive." As soon as sword play is mention his eyebrow is perked and a familiar grin beings to spread across his face. "Competition level ya say? Metals ya say? Oh this should be fun... I haven't met a lad in years that could best me with a blade. You abso-fuckin-lutely gotta get me in that club! Nothin says 'Don't fuck with us' like bestin' a metal winnin' wanker in his own game. Gonna need a new suit though and to get me coat pressed. Probably a trim and a shave too." He is almost giddy at the idea of crossing blades with an over paid, over privileged twat.
He grabs the sake glass and lifts it, "Fuck yea mate. 'ere's to ya cheers!" With that he clanks glasses and slams back the sake and immediately proceeds to pour another round.
-
Mantis is glad his good buddy didn't have a hand in the trafficking of women that would have tore at old Mantis's heart. Mantis takes a drag from his smoke then blows out two rings of smokes. Well noush I'll tell you I hate boats, those things are death traps and I would really like not to get on board any more if I can help it. As for me I did have a combo of a good and bad trip to France. So I think if I header back that way I best stay off boats, and pick the right neighborhoods to stick my old neck into. Mantis gets some more of the dust out of his gullet by downing a few swigs of his lager. Also I found out some grand news on me trip over the blue waters of death. Jen seems I got a reliable source tell me she still be breathing the toxic filled air of this earth. Bad news haven't the foggiest news where she be at. Mantis decides to sit back in his seat and let his great mate Luke soak in the news about Jen.
-
___Scawire___
Sounds good mate, yeah I'm no fan o' ships either. 'Ave a good dig around though yeah, I wanna find out what fuckers are sticking their noses in 'ma business. He nearly spits his his beer out at the revelation;
Tha fuck? how d'you find that out?
__Lumen__
He smiles a big grin your way as your eyebrow puckers it's interest.
Nah mate, not your fucking chope-em-up style; he does all that white suited shit with the pokey swords. y'know, the sensors in em that go off when they get poked. "EN-GARDE" an' all that shite!
He laughs as he pulls a fencing pose with a bottle of still water to illustrate what he meant, though his memory for the correct term failed him.
Still, 'ow 'ard can it be right??
The food begins to arrive in copious volumes and is of an excellent standard. The sake begins to take the edges off reality a bit and you begin to seep into the pleasant warmth of inebriation, laughing at shit jokes you'd heard before and reminiscing about all the shite you lot had gotten up to over the years, the scrapes, the near misses and the glorious friday nights on the piss with the lads.
It felt fucking good to be home, on the lash with your mates.
__Zweiblumen__
The data felt bizarre as you probed it, testing its defences.
It soon becomes obvious that the major intercepts you'd scanned over featured extra protection. Their encryptors had laced the biggest transmissions with
attack code.
Your heart rate rose as you considered your options; go for gold and risk the fallout or leave it intact and take the lesser cash.
In the end a decision was made. Winston huffed and growled at the file as you set to work, preening as much of the attack code out of the bits you could access through the arcane encryption.
Your attempt wasn't deft enough however, the icon fragmented before your eyes as the malicious code overwrote the transmission into a blur of binary spam.
Your sprites ran for cover, fearing the worst. You breathed in sharply, waiting for the stinging shock of biofeedback but it never came...The file simply disappeared..
Your sprites cautiously approached you, tails low and barely wagging. They begin to nuzzle you in reassurance, probably expecting you to have been hurt.
-
Just as he cuts the wire he realizes its the wrong one, and braces for the impact of the bomb. And nothing happens. The file is gone, but gut crunching hit. Taylor looks at the sprites to see if they are surprised, wondering if this is some aspect of the Resonance he's not familiar with. But if they know anything they are keeping it to themselves.
The three of them return to work and pick out the resonance laced in all of the files except for the still active bomb. Weary after this confusing turn of events, he thinks to himself "I should have used some of my stash of Psyche for this job, would have cleared up a lot of things for me."
Meticulously they analyze each of the other files to try and discern the contents.
-
Mantis chuckles to himself seeing his good buds response to the great news. Well I was in a nano paste face mask and some mystic seer asked to see me with news of Jen. Kind of shocked me being how I had a mask covering my face. Turns out the lady had some divining powers and was able to answer some of my questions about Jen. Mantis takes the last sweet smoke of bliss from his cig then kills it dead in the ash tray. Then reaches into his pocket pulling out a card. I was so impressed with the ladies knowledge I got this from her. It is a way from me to contact her if I to talk again. Mantis hands the card over to his good mate Luke. I was unable to find out where she is or really any good leads where to start. The old mystic lady did seem to know her stuff and from seating with her I feel in my heart that she was telling the truth, same with my mind. Mantis starts to flick his silver lighter looking over the dancing flame. You might want to do a check on her if you get the time. Drek man we where hunting for her for so many years and I get some great news when I cross the blue waters of death, well seems she is alive and I have a shot at finding her after all. With the flame dancing before Mantis's eyes a smile graces his Scottish orc face. I'd burn the world down it seems just to get to see her in person again.... well hopefully not the whole world need a place to dance with her again after all.
-
___Zweiblumen___
Each file seemed to be a fragment of a two way conversation. Its difficult to make out what on earth it is about though, the files are not in sequential order and the content seemed boring and mundane. Inventory, assets, stock levels and such are mentioned in several lines and repeated in the other files. The date range on the files is recent, only 3 days old at the oldest. The most recent was intercepted this morning at 07.54 GMT.
Its difficult to say what specifics the traffic represented though; the language used by the senders was deliberately vague and obfuscated the cargo. You figured it had to be illegal or dangerous whatever it was, it would be pointless to encrypt and obfuscate this much for your bog standard cargo of food or electronics.
The last bastion that could possibly give answers was the remaining large file, unencrytped now though its databomb still gleamed bright through the threads of code.
___Scawire___
Hahaha, you daft bastard. Please tell me you didn't fall for that old charlatan trick? Let me guess, you were politely minding your own business and she sprung out from nowhere offering you hidden truths? then spouted nothing but vague shit at you for 15 minutes? Oldest trick in the book you daft sod, just a "read thoughts" spell and some convincing front.
His face turned serious now he'd said his bit;
Look mate, she's gone. I know you want her back 'an all, but ye gotta realise its been years now. She'd have made contact if she was still 'ere, alive an' kickin'.
Going to these "psychics" is bad news mate, they just wanna scam ye out of yer dole.
The conversation in the pub fell silent for a second as a bulky troll stooped under the low door and made his way up the bar, ordering a lager off the scared looking barman.
You could sense most of the eyes in the pub trace his movements, including luke's.
-
Wow this stuff is fresh. And I probably blew up half the data I needed to break this code.
Taylor takes a moment to consider his options. He pushed his luck with the last data bomb and blew it. Knowing that it will only take him a few moments to disarm the bomb if he's able to in the morning, he decides that he'd be better off attempting it in the morning. He decides to leave a message for Bex where he knows she'll find it.
>>connect: Daily Post
>>cd: missed connections
>>Post: You were waiting for the bus by the grocery, I was eating a pasty on the corner. You noticed I had a bit of trouble, but had finished most of my task. We should meet in the morning.
>>disconnect
-
Knowing that discretion was the better part of valour, you decided to call it a night.
Hitting up the Metro's dating posts, you left the message on the usual thread.
The reply came through fairly soon, an automated reply message flashing it up no later than 15 minutes after you'd posted. They were keeping close tabs on this one...
//So glad you posted! Yeah, I'd love to! See you at the grocery ;-)//
The grocery was actually a deli off kensington high street, busy enough to be anonymous but local enough that you didn't have to make special travel arrangements.
9am was the usual protocol so you knew you'd have to make a reasonably early start if you had to get mum up and doing before hand
-
Glad that the message came back so quickly, Taylor pats Alistair on the head. "Thanks for your help Al. We'll see if I can compile you up again some time, but for now, back to the source for ya mate." And he dismisses the sleek sprite.
Returning to the physical, he stretches. Still confused about the databomb that he was sure went off, he puts the chips away in a false drawer in his desk. He takes advantage of being in the 'burbs and has a nice warm shower before heading to sleep. He shuts down his "OS" and schedules it to restart at 07.30 to wake him in the morning. Judy will want breakfast in the morning, and he'll need to make sure she takes her meds before he gets back to work.
-
"Fancy pants or not mate I ain't fuckin scared. One real poke with a blade and 'e'll be sobbing like a school girl. An what's this choppin shit? I'm a bleedin artist." Knives laughs at his own joke and raises his class before emptying it once again.
"Get me a proper suit and a member card, I'll take care of the rest. Might need to brush up on what the posh chit chat about but no worries. So I just need to get 'im to push the permits yea?"
-
___Lumen___
Pretty much mate, yeah. Get him to change 'is mind on them facking licenses, or beat the shit out o' 'im until ee reconsiders 'is position.
One step ahead of ya mate, already found where they sell them swordfighting suits. they ain't cheap though. Mick said ee'd cover it, aas it was fer work an all.
He slid a credstick across the table at you.
There's an outfitters down in Kensington, again, facking swanky. Just off the 'igh street, bout 5 mins down from the tube.
Members card might be a bit more of an issue though. Speak to Tim, seems to be 'andy with 'Trix shit. If ee can't elp, you'll just 'ave to get creative won'cha?
He smiled a knowing smile at you and sank back another hit of sake as the waitress brought out the first of the plates of mains.
It smelled bloody lovely.
__Zweiblumen__
The shower ran hot and steamy for ages, soaking and resting your muscles. you'd not done anything physical, but it was always tiring work shaping the resonance to your will.
You helped Judy to bed, locked up and headed to bed yourself. Alistair wagged his tail and disappeared back into the digital ether as you bade him farewell, your eyes heavy with sleep.
You slept like a log, waking spot on 7.30 to the sound of the garbage truck rattling your neighbours bins.
-
Taylor stretches as he gets out of bed. Well rested though still confused about the events the previous night. Washing quickly, he heads downstairs to make sure Judy took her meds and trys to get breakfast going, but he fumbles something and Soy Processing Unit just blinks error codes at him. Sighing at his cursed luck with electronics, he pulls out a bit of the limited real food he's scrounged up and makes some soy-bacon and eggs (real) for breakfast. Winston snickering at him the whole time.
He gets his mother seated and sits down. "Sorry mum, broke the SPU again. I'll get it sorted this afternoon as I've some errands to run after 9 this morning. I'll bring lunch home with me."
After breakfast he tidies up and then heads to his office to sort that last file and then heads to the deli.
-
Knives takes the credstick and pockets it, "Yea mate sounds brill. I'll check out the outfitters and ring Tim. Ifn I need to, well I'll diddle my way in the place." His words trail off as he goes slack jawed taking in the mass of delicious smelling food coming his way. His eyes follow each plate to the table them look up a Johnny as if to confirm it was real. The smells are so fantastic he's on the verge of drooling. "Right mate. Nuff business for now let's tuck in!"
-
__Zweiblumen__
The psyche hit came on low and smooth as usual, sharpening your senses whilst rolling off the hard edges.
It was a dangerous game getting involved with this shit, but you knew it gave you the edge you needed for delicate work such as this.
Learning your lessons from the earlier failed defusal attempt, you take your time, settling in at your desk in your comfy work chair.
Feeling the chip in your hand you initiate the connection, prying and picking at the bomb's layers of defences.
It finally relents, disengaging from the file's contents. Peering in, you see why it all looked weird from the outside.
The transmission protocols were subtly different to the main 'Trix data flows you were used to seeing.
This looked like it was off some subnet, like a military or secure subnet or something similar.
The file itself was interesting, clearly a coded and obfuscated message relating to some "preparations" that were underway at some non-specific location.
Though weapons were not overtly mentioned, you got the impression that the preparation they talked about was not for a public garden party, though you had nothing concrete to back up your hunch...
-
Thinking on the jargon and types of anonymization used in the transcripts Taylor tries to narrow down where this information could have come from. He knows better than to make copies to keep for himself, though he is sorely tempted. So, instead he takes some notes and locks those away on a file so he can reference the pertinent details in the future. Nothing conspicuious or revealing, just concepts and ideas. No need to cause a conflict of interest down the road. He is a professional after all.
The psyche helps him focus and hightens his task-driven personality even more. With a great sense of accomplishment, he wraps things up, pats Winston on the head and heads down stairs. An AR notifcation of his delivery lets him know to check the receptical to retrieve his new camera. Meticulously opening the packaging, removes the device and stashes in on of the many pockets in his suit. One of the nice things of his eccentric style is that he's got lots of storage! Not quite sure what today is going to bring with him, he packs all of his gear including his baton. It's not likely he'll need it, but he's feeling a bit paranoid right now. Between the data he's packing and the effects of the psyche, the world seems to vibrate around him.
"Mum, I'm gonna head out for some errands. Enjoy your 'trids! Call me if you need anything."
His eyes are dialated so even the weak winter sun is very bright. He has to manually override the auto darkening of his contacts since it's not bright enough for them to try and compensate. His mind racing at every thought that pops up, his walk to the deli seems to take forever even though its only 10 minutes away. Finally there, he opens the door and enters the deli.
-
Will do love!
The sound of the trids blared through the living room and into the hallway as you put on your shoes, stepping out into a grey and drizzly morning.
The smog hung low under the oppressive cloud layer, hazing the Arcology into a murky half-concealed form and rasping at your throat as you inevitably breathed lungfuls of it in.
A light drizzle doused your enthusiasm for the job a bit, slicking your hair down as you reach the busy deli, its windows steamed up from the heat of the inside.
You head inside to the lovely smell of fresh coffee and toasted sarnies, spotting bex sat at high table behind the pay-station. She appeared engrossed in an AR terminal and didn't register your arrival.
-
Taylor walks up to the counter and orders two coffees. He looks around to see if there appears to be anyone else showing interest in either of them. Bex is a pro, and knows her stuff, but you can never be too careful. He walks over to the condiments and very carefully measures out an exact amount of sugar to add to his so as to exactly balance the bitter brew. Bex's drink he leaves alone as he knows she likes her coffee black. Satisfied that the situation is safe enough, he palms the two chips as he takes the drinks he goes over the terminal and sets her cup down over the chips. He smiles his hellos and holds onto the two drinks, not yet offering her the cup.
"G'morning. Gotchya cuppa here. We lost a bit in the excavation, but the rest of it is available at your leisure. Find anything for me?"
-
After rapidly scarfing down what could easily feed two men Knives comes up for a breath and a shot of sake. "Fuck me mate, I think this is real chicken in the General Tso's! This almost makes the whole trip to Frogville worth it! Except for the being whipped part by a fackin chain part. Nothin can really make up for that." He stuffs an eggroll into his mouth, "So enough about shitty France, other than this whole mess what's been goin on in the smoke since I've been gone? More importantly when are we takin the fight to the bloody Maxwells? You know me mate, I'll cut a drekhead at the drop of 'at! Bout time we drop the 'at innit?"
By this time the sake had clearly gone to Knives' head as his accent was beginning to shine through, an act only anger or booze could provoke. "I'm rarin' te cut a ma' facker... an ya know yer boy Tim is too. Was gripin earlier bout it, 'ow 'e wants ta be an action man. Well sounds ta me there's plenty o' action ta be 'ad. Let's get aggro!" He slams his fist on the table then pours himself another shot of sake and drinks it down.
-
__Lumen__
Fack, Yeah I think it is! Facking beauuuutiful! Yeah how's your shoulder 'olding up? doc said you'd be right soon enough.
Well Spurs 'ave done alright. West Ham 'ave done shite, went to see 'em against Chelsea the other day and they were bollocks. Harry Lind'll be gone by month end, I tell ya. Shite. Facking pulled Wallace off just after he'd rattled the bar twice and put Johnson on instead. Facking prick then went an give away a prize penalty and we got fucking murdered from there on in!
He grabs another drink and cocks an eyebrow through the dark wooden lattice separating your VIP area from the main restaurant. Following his gaze,
you spot a burly bloke arguing with the waitress, pointing and gesturing in the general direction of the VIP area.
Fack, this doesn't look good..
__Zweiblumen___
She smiles and looks up from the AR feed, killing it with a gesture and greeting you warmly.
How are you Mams? Been a while!
She slid the brew across the table to herself, closing her legs together to receive the chips as the fell off the side of the table from under the container.
Oh that is a shame, how much did they lose in the end? mmhm, yep, I've got some thing for you! she dug around in a small handbag, searching for something at the bottom. She passes you a cheap and tatty looking commlink.
Thanks for saying you could fix this for me, the screen is pretty beat up as I said. If you could take it apart for me I'd really appreciate it.
-
"Too long luv, too long. It was just one of the larger containters. The rest of them made it to shipping intact. I was going over some of the bills of lading for the boxes and found that some of the previous ports were very unusual. A rather unique route was taken to get to the shipping yard."
Picking up the commlink and giving it a cursory inspection, he nods in appreciation. "Sure thing, I can get it sorted this afternoon and have someone drop it off for you." he says knowing the unit was just transport for the credstick inside.
-
Well its definitely reassuring that most them got there intact, but it seems odd that such a route was taken in the first place. Any surprises during the dig itself?
-
"You could say that. It's possible we just got lucky when the first box fell of the truck and no one got hurt. Everyone was braced for something to go wrong, but the crate just broke into tiny pieces with no other reactions. The boys were cautious and tried to clean up the mess, but of course the contents were still destroyed. Everyone was still very confused, between not being able to tell what was actually in the crate, and then the lack of exterior damage. Have you ever heard of anything like that?"
-
I have to admit, I haven't. Would it require an archaeologist with very specialised knowledge to examine these artifacts as you found them or could an interested amateur help out? It's an incredible shame for you that you've taken losses, but at least no-one got hurt. Best be extra safe for now though!
-
"The paperwork is all there, any interested party can now go through and see what's what. But as I said, the route the crates took was extremely unique and parts of the bills of lading required translating."
-
When asked about his shoulder Knives lifts his arm and rolls it a few times, "Eh ain't nothin' another good night's sleep won't fix. Only real bad part was sleepin in a fackin boat or cellar for a few nights afterwards. After than even my shite bed felt like luxury." He knocks back another round of sake, "Mate I been tellin' ya fer months that West Ham was gonna be bollocks. Lind is a bloody wanker an a joke, Ham'll be better off when e's gone."
Following Johnny's gaze Knives tries to get a good look at the fella making a ruckus. "You know that fella mate?" Dialing up his audio enhancement he tries to get a better listen at what this burly bloke is going on about.
-
__Zwei__
Interesting, I'll give it a look over then! Lovely to have bumped into you again, good luck with your next dig!
She smiled and reached down to pick up her fashionable handbag (probably a well rehearsed manoeuvre to drop the chips off her lap into it) and stood.
She gave you a polite hug, whispering in your ear: VR meet again tonight, keep your comm on for the host invite. Her high heels clacked along the polished floor as she ducked through the queue of customers at the counter, holding the half-drunk tea in her free hand.
She didn't look back into the shop after she left, taking a left and disappearing behind the steamed up glass.
__Lumen__
Your audio enhancement didn't really help too much, his level of agitation blurred the rapidly spoken chinese or japanese words into a never ending torrent. He was clearly upset about something and the waitress looked genuinely worried, pointing upstairs and seemingly genuinely apologetic to the pissed off bloke. Something about it seemed odd, the whole gesture looked like a "i was only following the bosses' orders" kind of thing and she was clearly getting a monster bollocking off someone she saw as a higher rank than her.
Johnny shook his head to indicate no, subconsciously opening his jacket wider to allow for better access to his weapons should it all go to shit.
This doesn't look good mate, be ready.
The girl began to cry under his verbal onslaught and looked over at the VIP area, her eyes locking with yours with an "i'm sorry" look in them
-
"I'm always ready to tussle. This better not be a double cross. The family has enough on its plate." Knives straightens up and enables his arm sling to deploy his taster at a moments notice.
-
___Lumen__
The angry looking bloke kicked the door open and gestured at someone outside as the girl slunk through the mesh screen behind the desk and headed upstairs.
Something about the whole affair made you feel uneasy, though you were clearly not welcome in chinatown based on your allegiance, the atmosphere had now turned decidedly more hostile.
Come on mate, think we best wrap this up before shit kicks off here.
Johnny tucks into the last plate of lemon chicken, keeping an eye half on the door
__Zwei__
The tea was pretty decent as you sipped it delicately (it was bloody boiling hot!) and you thumbed the "broken" commlink idly, feeling the hidden slide to confirm it was the usual credstick carrier. It rattled subtly with the door open a few millimetres, letting you know it was indeed the usual case.
You now had most of the day to yourself before the VR meet later and your drug-addled mind raced at the implications of your morning's research, unable to detach from a job done reasonably successfully.
-
Taylor's mind is seeing everything in pinpoint focus. But he's lost direction, and he starts to mentally spiral. Sitting there staring somewhat wall-eyed at the door as Bex leaves, he unconciuosly takes another drink from his tea burning his tongue. This snaps his attention back to the here an now. He pockets the fake comm link and heads for a walk.
On the way he thinks getting Winston a friend would be a great idea! He starts compiling the new dog-sprite before he's at the end of the block. He starts concentrating on AR and lets his feet take him where they will, the psyche courseing through his neurons allowing him to continue moving without distraction while simultaneously working in AR at his usual full speed. Winston keeping pace beside him watches curiously as he goes through his routines. Anyone watching would see a new persona appear next to him and Winston. A large brindled bull dog with a thick broad chest and lean body. It's broad head juxtoposed by the stub tail and short spine. Winston and Victoria begin to investigate one another and get a feel. Winston welcomes her to the pack and they begin to cause mischeif for Taylor. He smiles and whistles at them, causing other pedestrians to look at him even more peculuarly than normal unless they happen to peek into AR. It wasn't the best compilation he's done, and Victoria is no where near as quick to respond as Winston is. Taylor begins the process of meshing Victoria with the Matrix to allow her to roam freely and not bring GOD down on them.
Hours go by as he wanders tweaking this and that, re-writing code and infusing other bits with resonance. Finally, hes done, and he snaps his head back. It feels like he's been hit in the solar plexus and he coughs up a tiny bit of blood. People on the street start to come to his aid, but he waives them off. "'tis okay. Just a bit startled. Thanks though." He says to the bloke that came to his aid.
With that fading done, he looks up to see Victoria standing proudly infront of him, eager to help.
Smiling he looks around and realizes he has no idea where he is. He pulls up an AR map of the city and trys to pin point his location.
-
Mantis's smile leaves his face then grabs a new smoke from it's pack, and starts it's grave death in form of cremation. Mantis glances over at the troll taking him in, then switches to astral viewing the big guy. After a short scanning of the troll Mantis addresses Luke. Hey we have been running around with no news for so long I will need you to do a check on the lady. If you want spend 1 to two hundred of my nuyen from this job on it. See what you can dig up on her. You know there are still some really diviners in this awakened world, maybe she is the really deal. Mantis really needed to know if she was the real deal or just a con lady. There are many skills in this awakened world and divining the information is something real, no need to dismiss the clams until solid prof comes that she is a con artist. Mantis drags on his smoke as he scans the pub with his astral sight seeing what is around him.
-
Knives follows Johnny's lead and shoves one last egg roll down his gullet before downing another shot of sake. "Cheers mate. Now follow me, let's not let them catch us up here." He stands and straightens his coat before gesturing his taser into his hand. He holds it behind his back and moves towards the front door stopping for cover before exiting the VIP area.
-
__Mantis__
Ha, I ain't gettin' in no wild goose chase mate. She's a con artist I tell ya. You look 'er up in yer own time if you don't believe me.
Did ye even get 'er name?
The big troll seemed to be sporting some cyber, a huge black smear erased what should have been his right arm and smudges of black rippled throughout his body, following the routes of arteries or nerves. Yes, nerves. They all emanated from his spine and ran down into his musculature.
The more you looked, the more you noticed just how badly his aura had been corrupted.
He seemed to sense your stare and shifted his position at the bar, opening his body towards your table in invitation to carry on staring now he could see you properly.
___Lumen___
The other couple of diners had clearly got the jist of what was said and looked over at you fretfully as you both stood, slamming back your drinks in anticipation of what lay in wait outside.
From your vantage point behind the dark wood separator the main doorway looked clear. Johhny reached into his jacket and grabbed his stun baton, grinning gleefully as it crackled and arced as he pumped a shot through its capacitors.
Pushing up to the main door, you hear voices outside, deep and commanding, similar to the pissed off bloke from earlier, though he seemed to be deep in argument with a couple of lighter toned voices using the same or similar language.
-
__Zwei__
The afternoon seems to have rocketed by in a blitz, the utter focus you'd had on your task had removed any sense of peripheral vision from you as you'd almost strolled through london on autopilot.
Kids had tried to pet winston with their AR gloves and you'd barely even registered, you'd walked straight through SiN checked areas you'd normally have avoided and now you'd come to your senses, the pain of the fade resurfacing your conciousness from the hyper-focussing effects of the pysche.
The salty brine of the Thames ran to your left on the other side of the flood defence wall but the Arcology was nowhere to be seen, presumably hidden below the low hanging smog and rain clouds. It had drizzled on and off all day, everything felt damp on you and you suddenly realised how cold you were, your fingers like icy tendrils at the end of your hands.
Looking around, the buildings were old, red brick. Factories and warehouses for the most part, their smoke stacks belching out the smog that gave the city its moniker "The Old Smoke".
It hang thick and low, clawing and rasping at your nasal cavity and irritating your throat. A shift change must have been taking place, most of the folk about were Orks, dressed in tatty and filthy looking coveralls, coming and going down the side streets and smoking outside factory doors. A couple glanced at you as if you were a passing oddity and continued their conversation over their cig break.
A long way down the street that ended at the flood defences must have been a blast furnace. roiling orange flames lit a square of the street in flame orange as it shone through the tall open shuttered door. The road traffic you could see at the crossroads before the furnace was mainly vans, lorries and drone lifting rigs.
You figured you were down in the industrial east-end, Ork Quarter, a quick check of the AR mapping showed you were correct. You must have walked for miles and were definitely in the wrong part of town.
The street lighting flickered into life as your stomach rumbled and your feet ached, though Victoria gave you an appreciative nuzzle showing that not all your afternoon had gone to waste
-
Wiping his nosebleed away, Taylor quietly curses to himself. Passing by a shuttered store-front he sees his reflection in the mirror and chuckles. The sprites following him are clean and healthy looking, he however is another story. His drenched hair is clinging to his face and his fancy clothes are all soggy and bedraggled. The term "what the cat dragged in" seems to apply. He pulls up an AR window to see if there's any chance in hell he can get a ride in this part of town or if he's going to be hoofing it back home. He's not in anywhere near as good of shape as he used to be in the Academy. He know's this is a good place to find someone looking for something, that generally being anything he has. He unconsiously taps his thigh to remind himself that he's got his baton under his coat and hopes he doesn't need to use it.
-
*Now it really feels like home again!*
Tucking behind the door and knowing Johnny was right behind him the familiar sadistic smile spreads across Knives' face. Sure Mantis and Dunk had his back well enough on the road but it's nothing like being at home with your best mate in a good old fashioned street tussle. He knew it was important to put this mouthy bloke down quick, it will set an example not only to the other combatants but to all of Chinatown. He concentrates drawing mana into his body loosening his muscle and ligaments to ensure his shot will find it's mark. Once focused Knives boots open the front door and scans quickly to pinpoint the commanding voice belonging to the burly bastard mouthing off moments before. He fires off a dart from his taser straight away hoping to unleash thousands of volts of fury into the mouthy wanker for interrupting his fancy lunch.
-
Mantis is a bit upset that his good mate will not lend a hand on finding intel on the "diviner" oh well gets he does the digging himself. Ok then hand back the card the lady gave me it's how I can contact her if I want a second reading. Its what I have to go on with gathering intel on her. Mantis notices he is spotted by the big cyber troll and doesn't want to piss the troll off too much so he looks away. Best not start a pub brawl unless no other choice, there is a girl or nuyen involved.
-
__Scawire__
He slides it back with a quick gesture, though his face broadcast concern
Look mate, don't get yourself hurt alright. Think it through, how the fuck could she have known, out of all the fucking people in paris, that you wanted to know about Jen. How did she know about her? If she was dead, maybe she could speak to her spirit or some shit, but if she's still alive as she claims?.. Sounds like bullshit to me mate. Be careful yeah?
The troll grunts and smiles as you break eye-contact and returns to looking like a hard bastard while he drinks his drink and watches the trid screen
__Lumen__
Kicking open the door you see the stroppy bloke engaged in a losing fight with two badly suited yaks. Had to be yaks, always wore cheap shitty suits.
A third Yak, seemingly the boss stands back and watches the ongoing fight, glancing up at you as you launch a taser dart his way.
He ducks as if out of reflex, but its too late. The bolt slams home, leaving him a quivering wreck on the floor.
The combatants are too engaged with each other to notice your shot and the quivering form of the lieutenant downed behind them.
As you change your aim, Johnny sprints off into the melee, stun baton crackling in readiness..
__Zwei__
The suggested transport links are a twice-hourly bus ride into victoria and then out again on a separate bus or tube connection, a 15 minute walk to the overground rail service through what looks like the shittest bit, or a pretty pricey autocab ride (which could take anywhere up to 10 minutes to come and pick you up)
Mulling your options over you drum your fingers subconsciously over the baton, its presence somewhat of a comfort.
Your fancy sprites seem to be drawing the attention of a couple of the burly orks stood having their cig break. One of them nudged the other and he clipped his monocle back over his face to get a better look
-
Mantis looks back at his good mate Luke then nods to what he said. I'll try not to get my hopes too high but this is the best intel we have ever got. Both of us know there are mysteries in magic that we haven't figured out and known diviners do exists. I'll do my best to look at this as a possible hoax but there is still a chance she is the real deal. Mantis takes the last drag of his smoke then downs the beer at the bottom of the mug. I'll check out the missing ship for you but I will want you to get me that ally spirit formula I've been looking for, take the cost of it out of my 1,000 nuyen. Mantis texts Luke a message over his comm telling his bud what he wants in the formula. If you can get me the formula that would be braw. Mantis looks at his glass. The bellywasher was great but best send me the intel and I'll get huntin for the missing ship. Mantis is glad to see his old mate but best not waste too much time before hitting the trail if any of the lost ship, Mantis just hope he doesn't have to spend any more time out at sea.
-
___Lumen___
Johnny races into the melee, swinging heavily at the leftmost yak.
He's nimble and well trained though, stepping back from the 2v1 to easily parry the attack with a glancing blow to Johnny's forearm.
The triad clearly appreciates the assistance, stepping back before smacking the distracted 2nd yak in the throat and following up with a stinging elbow slam to the face.
The first strike finds its mark, causing the yak to stumble backwards as he gagged and coughed somehow managing to find the strength to shove the incoming elbow slam wide of the mark.
You're up again, @ ini8.
__Mantis__
He smiles and finishes his pint,
Will do mate. Give me a shout once you've found out what the fuck happened to that shipment
-
Knives draws his trusty combat knife with his free hand and closes the distance to the melee. His sadistic grin grows to its full force as he wills the focus to activate, igniting it in an eerie blue glow. Moving around behind the yaks he positions himself to block off escapes routes.
-
___Lumen___
Johnny manages to get a strike through the tricksy Yak's defenses, discharging 50,000 volt's worth of power into his gut.
You hear the crackle and guttural involuntary groans as his incapacitated body drops heavily into the puddle at Johnny's feet.
The wounded Yak that the Triad smacked in the throat had managed to stumble backwards under the triad's assault and caught sight of what had happened to his two comrades.
Sensing the game was up, he reached into his suit jacket and drew a shiny looking palm pistol, gesturing at the three of you to back the fuck up and shouting at you in broken engrish to do the same.
-
Realizing he's in the frying pan and his only other option is jumping into the fire, Taylor decides two blokes he might be able to talk down are better than an unknown number of problems walking to the tram. He checks the time for the next bus and gets ready to talk to the orks.
<<<@Sprites [Mams] Time to make friends. Wanna go sniff around like normal dogs would at seeing something interesting? Just act like interested pups sniffing around the orks. Friendly like if ya would?>>>
Putting on his friendliest smile, he walks towards the orks and says, "Hoi, seems I left my sticks at the pub, mind if I bum a smoke while I wait for the bus?"
-
Mantis stands then extends his hand and shakes Lukes. Thanks I'll get on it very soon. I'll check over what you have for intel then see what I can dig up. Mantis forwards his payment via his comm link to the bar then heads out. Once outside of the pub he keeps checking his 6 as he makes his way to where he parked his bike. That troll looks like a real ass kicker best make sure I don't have to swing any mojo to stay alive before the job starts.
Mantis is planing on heading back to his pad to look over what Lukes intel is then make his move after he has seen all the data Luke gave him.
-
___zwei___
The orks are taken aback by your confident stride and seem to take to your eccentricities a little more warmly than you'd anticipated
awright pal, ow's it goin? Dem dogs are class! Where'd ya get em from?
___Lumen___
The triad instinctively takes a step back, making a subtle gesture of submission to the gun toting yak. It's enough to draw his attention for a second, letting you and johnny close the gap a little bit.
By the time he realises, you'd gained three or four paces before he makes a show of pointing the tiny pistol at you both with a renewed and somewhat panicky shout to back the fuck down. He took a few steps back, trying to maintain a gap to you all.
The senior yak you'd hit with the taser dart began to stir; groaning and coughing, trying to roll onto his back.
___mantis___
You'd no sooner got to the door than the big troll grunted, drawing your attention.
He smiled at you and gestured you over to the bar. It seemed like a genuinely friendly gesture somehow..
-
"Oh, Winston and Victoria here? They're a project a few friends and I are working on. We just play with AROs when we can." He pulls out one of his burners and starts putzing with it. "Winston, rezz a bit will ya? We gotta sell this!" He looks around at the sprites and hopes this doesn't get him in deeper.
To change the subject he says, "Does the 31 run anywhere near to on time? Looks like the schedule says it's due shortly." As he takes an offered smoke from the bigger ork.
-
Winston obligingly flickers and pixelates, his front right paw freezing as the "animation" falters before returning to his functional form.
Shit, yeah, that is pretty awesome. Think my daughter would love one. 'ow much they selling for? the first one asked inquisitively.
Oop, nah, now its facked mate, hah. Still got some work to do on em eh? laughed the second as Winston hammed up the act a bit.
The first one looked up from his squatted position, stroking Winston with his AR gloves.
Yeah mate, runs pretty regular, though gets busy on the evening shift. Runs over there{he slings a nod over his left shoulder in the direction of the crossroads}.
-
Knives is a veteran of the streets. He'd been at the business end of much bigger guns held by much bigger men and prevailed before His mind flashes back to the double barreled shotgun on the boat, *No way in hell this little pea shooter can hurt me*. This little whelp was succeeding at nothing but pissing him off.
"Ye'd better put the gun down lad, fore ya loose that arm." With the taunt he lunges forward to close the gap again and plant his blade in the yak's gut.
-
You're quick off the mark, quicker than the wounded yak at any rate.
You lunge forward with an accurate thrust of your blade, catching him off guard as he tries to aim the pistol at you.
The focus sings with energy as the blade bites into his gut. A round discharges as he hits the deck, fragments of elaborate pagoda style roofing scatters the entranceway to the restaurant, frightened diners scurry for cover at the back of the restaurant as the yak gasps, covering his wound with his hand.
The street falls quiet as the stroppy Triad bows to you and johnny, clearly thankful for your assistance. He'd taken a kicking but was clearly a hard bastard, his nose looked broken and he'd be sporting a pair of shiny black eyes come the morning.
-
"Yeah, these guys are prototypes. Haven't figured out the price on 'em yet, but ya know, gotta get the kinks sorted or they'll end up hoopin us no matter what we charge." Still trying to broaden his focus from a single action at a time, he keeps trying to bounce between this and the bus while they finish their smokes. Having the conflicting effects of the fading from registering Victoria and the focus of the Psyche, Taylor's head is basically swiming when the bus pulls up. He's using his actual SIN so the ride is charged to his account and aside from a worried look from the driver there's nothing stoping him from getting out of this neighborhood on the bus.
As he walks towards the back, he accidently jostles a couple of rougher looking orks. And then Victoria and Winston start drawing a *lot* of attention from everyone. "Damn, I should have had these two head back to the Resonance until I managed to get home. They are going to cause more trouble than help on this trip." As he tries to apologize to the orks, the bus pulls away from the stop causing him to fall gracelessly into them.
-
Knives wipes his blade on the yak's shitty suit before placing it back in its sheath. He pulls out a smoke, lights it, and offers one to Johnny. When the Triad bows he lets out a chuckle, "You alright there omae? Will ya be needin' any more of the Clerkenwell's services today?"
Not expecting a response Knives looks to Johnny, "We done here mate? What's the next move?"
-
Mantis walks up to the troll. So mon what seems to be going on. Mantis lights up a kill stick and puffs away wondering why this cyber troll of death is wantin to trade words with him.
-
___Mantis___
Hey boy, 'sup. Saw you makin' eyes at me earlier. 'Chu doing tonight?
He smiles, looking you up and down, clearly liking what he sees.
__Lumen__
Your arrival here is an unwelcome provocation to our enemies. You forced their hand and now their anger will be raised.
Either send more support or leave. He'd said his bit and wiped a stream of blood off his lip onto the back of his hand and nodded a goodbye, heading into the restaurant, presumably to get himself cleaned up.
Johnny shakes his head at you.
Don't wind em up mate. Ee's right, in a way. Shoulda known it'd end in tears. I'll have mick send a van-load o' lads over.
Gotta stay true to our facking word if it's gonna mean shit in this city.
He gets on the blower and calls it in as you clean yourselves up and drag the beaten bodies of the yaks out of the side road and into the service alley, giving them another kick or two to make sure they stayed down for a while.
You knew there'd be no rush on the police's part to get here and start taking names, Chinatown was pretty much a self-policing state and the bobbies only really showed their face during the daytimes to keep the tourists happy. What bothered you more was the prospect of their pals turning up in force, falling back to friendlier ground seemed like a decent idea.
-
"Wind 'im up? Only thing I did to that bloke was save 'im from a worse arse kickin. Provokin wankers is my fuckin job mate, it's why the family keeps me around. That and my lovable personality." He laughs and elbows Johnny. "Look mate I'm all bout helpin em but I'm not too keen on taking on all the yaks in Chinatown. If lads are on the way let's get the fuck outta here. Can't get all shot up 'for my real job."
Knives keeps his eyes peeled as he puffs away, chain smoking as he waits. "We gettin more drinks or what? If not guess I can get a jump on some shopping and catch you at the pub later. "
-
Mantis finishes his drag on his smoke, then blows it up into the air away from all the occupants of the pub. Ya I was scooping you out mon, When a walking death bringer like you enters the room you make sure you and on the death list. Mantis smiles a bit then adds. Got me a bit of biz to handle but heading to me pad first. Whatch ya up to? Mantis guns down on his cig as he waits to hear what the Cyber Troll has to say.
-
___Zwei__
The bus rattled up to the stop, squealing brakes and noisy hydraulics assaulting your ears as it shudders to a halt and lowers to the height of the pavement to let you on.
It stank of sweat, cheap cigs and diesel fumes onboard, tattered fabric seats and graffiti were the decor of choice. You stuck out like a sore thumb and you knew it.
A group of oily, sweaty orks sat around smoking, talking shit about football as they headed home from their early shift.
The largest of the group who was sat on the back row clocked your entrance and nodded his head your way. His mates began to laugh;
A little lost are we darlin?
Taking an empty seat, you feel their eyes burning into the back of your head and its not long before scrunched up bits of litter start raining on you as they hurl them forwards.
___Mantis___
The troll laughs a deep, hearty laugh, his bassy tones drowning out the background noise of the bar and busy road outside for a second or two.
Cybered up death bringer? I think you got the wrong idea boy. Only thing i bring is people to their best fucking-climax they've ever had!
He passes you a business card, his commcode emblazoned in lurid pink AR writing and offering "male company" services. The first session came with a 30% discount and a 100% satisfaction guarantee.
He looks deep into your eyes, his expression softening.
I've got a cancellation tonight. Call me.
__Lumen__
Johnny smiles a big grin at you. I'd fucking love to mate, but I'm feelin' pissed already. Mick wants me to do a few things this afty so let's go for a pint tonight or summat.
The main street was notably quieter as you headed back down to the pagoda denoting the beginning and end of Chinatown. Eyes watched you from shopfronts down the main street, people hanging out of upper floor windows and peering between rows of clothes hung between buildings on lines put the hairs on the back of your neck up.
The small trickle of tourists that had avoided being forcibly ejected while shit kicked off seemed oblivious, too busy taking selfies on expensive looking commlinks to realise what was actually happening.
A triad squad stood by the pagoda, waving would-be entrants away in a show of force. The last thing chinatown needed was a million and one videos of the gangs kung-fu fighting and engaging in open sword battles in the streets. The extra tourist influx would be worse than the police pressure.
The triads waved you through and Johnny whispered in the ear of the one who seemed to be organising them before you headed out into the busy afternoon of the "Old Smoke".
The feeling of being merry still washed through you, resurfacing as the adrenaline of the fight wore off. All seemed well with the world as you bade Johnny goodbye, promising to call later for a beer.
-
"No worries mate, I'll meet up with ya later at the pub then. Oi and have Tim give me a ring, don't 'ave 'is digits." Knives keeps bopping down the street towards the tube. He thinks twice before taking the tube home rather than the one to Kensington. *Probably better to show up sober and dressed proper before getting my swanky sword suit. Plus would be good to look this stick over before I carry on.*
Once he's on the tube and riding he browses a few fancy catalogs for fine suits. His greatcoat was pretty fancy for a street lad but those real rich bastards would spot his cheap suit underneath a kilometer away. He spends the ride looking through suits and salons close by the outfitters in Kensington.
-
Not even bothering to dodge the detritus being thrown his way, Taylor hunkers down into his seat trying, and failing, to disappear. Cursing himself for not being more careful, he tells Winston and Vicky to return to the Resonance and wait for him. Winston seems disappointed, but turns to go. Victoria is more ameanable to leaving Mams and beckons Winston on. The two of them vanish from AR as they leave the Matrix and return home. Taylor sees the portal they open and has a sudden yearning to return once more. With the psyche still coursing through his veins he's able to keep an eye on his physical surroundings while trying to catch the secret of how the Sprites are able to move so easily between the Matrix and the Resonance without first having to use a Well.
Looking around again with the sure knowledge that nothing good is going to come from the rabble rousers in the back of the bus. With no other options, he sends a text to Ralphy. <<<@Ralphy [Taylor] Oi, mate. I know it's a long shot, but any chance any of the boys are near the 31 line near this location? I seem to have raised the ire of a few local boys. It's my fault for being over here in the first place, so don't want to start any trouble. Would be nice to have someone show up just as a deterent if you've someone near by. Also, beers after dinner?>>>
They don't call him "Mams" for no reason, but he's smart enough to know he's severely out numbered and probably safest on the bus until someone shows up or the blokes leave on their own.
EDIT: fixed sprite name
-
___Zwei___
//Fuck, you're a long way from home! There's a patrol about 10 minutes down the road from you. I'll have 'em jump on for a few stops. Yeah I'll take you up on that, you're buying the first round lol. Time and place?//
The orks continue hurling stuff for a few minutes but swiftly get bored as they fail to get a rise out of you and true to Ralphy's word, two beat cops hop on. The mood sours instantly as they begin SiN checks on the passengers attempting to board. The orks begin to hurl abuse at the coppers for harrasing "good honest folk" and the ring leader stands up to them, expecting his "boys" to form up behind him. He's rewarded with a taser bolt to the gut as his friends fail to stand up and the two bobbies drag his twitching body off the bus and give him a kicking for good measure.
The rest of the ride is pretty peaceful and you pull into Victoria bus station unhindered to make your connection.
__Lumen___
Will do mate, stay outta shit yeah? Johnny waves you off and merges with the crowd as you head towards home, the smell of warmth and stale air of the underground assaulting your nose as the obnoxious AR ads assault your eyes. The ride home doesn't take long, a quick change off the hammersmith and circle line to get around a broken down train the only real highlight.
Thumbing through your commlink, your AR feed rapidly fills with allsorts of promotions, sales and special offers on suits and there seems to be a fairly decent looking tailor "Gentleman's Finest" about a 5 minute walk in the opposite direction out of Kensington tube station. Fittings are by appointment only and your first purchase is at 10% discount (on items over £100).
Your basic search returns plenty of hits for salons in the area, is seems there is no shortage of barbers in the upmarket district of Kensington, and you book a slot at the one in the shopping arcade that encompasses the tube station for the morning.
Timmy tries to call a few times, but the underground 'Trix connection glitches out and he gives up, switching to text message instead:
<<Alright Knives, Johnny said you've got a job you need my help with??>>
-
Knives sets appointments for both a haircut and a suit fitting for late morning tomorrow. Yea it will cost more than a month's rent but he needed to look the part and the high life was starting to go to his head.
<Yea mate. Heard you were a Trix wiz and I could use one. How long are you stuck at the factory? I'd rather discuss the details face to face.>
-
__Lumen__
Timmy's reply takes a few minutes to come through
Jay said he can cover me this afternoon. Ha, i'm no wiz but i'm better than any of you old bastards. Where'dya wanna meet?
-
<<<@Ralphy [Taylor] Of course! Thanks for the look out. Didn't need the paperwork of going to the station after an altercation. The boys look like they took care of things just fine. Got anyplace better than the Stick to go to? Otherwise, same table as usual? A pint will be waiting for you 'round [Zweiblumen needs to dig through the backlog and find the time].>>>
Taylor is happy to see the uniforms come on. Funny how a crook needs the cops to keep him safe. Strange world we live in, friends in low places and all that rubbish.
Once he gets on the Tube and is heading home, the effects of the psyche are finally wearing off. Taylor stops by the market and gets some lunch for himself and his mum. As he gets home he brings the boxed lunch into the living room for Judy so she doesn't have to pause her trid shows just to get some food. He makes sure her meds are in the right place and that she took the ones she was supposed to take, then heads up to his office. Pulling apart the broken commlink and retrieving the credstick from it, he checks to see how much is on it. Then he calls Winston and Vicky back from the resonance and asks Win to see about sorting the problem with the soy processing unit downstairs.
He makes himself busy while waiting for the message from Bex about where the next meet will be.
-
Mantis smiles and does a small chuckle to himself. Oh man I need to read up more on all the drekin cyberware man, this guy will record me and sell the brain wired memory for some nuyen. Mantis takes the card, well seems I got a better card in France then here in the old smoke.... I hope Mantis nods at the Troll. Thanks mate. Bit busy tho. Mantis walks out not sure he wants to shake that troll hand and defiantly nothing else that's for sure. Mantis makes his way to his big still keep an eye out for any threats, I guess getting shot and stabbed in France has him a bit on edge but you can never be too careful.
If Mantis can he will make his way back to his apartment and get his comm system to read the intel his good bud gave him on the ride home.
-
<Don't take much to be better than me, I can barely tell a node from my own arsehole. Swing by my flat whenever you get relieved. Oh yea and bring me a pack of smokes while you're at it. Cheers lad.>
Knives continues his journey through the tubes trying his best to occupy his tipsy mind. Tipsy minds only lead to two things for a young street thug, fights and birds. Neither of which he had the time for right now. He pulls up the schedule for tonight's footy games and checks the spread. If he's gonna be out with the lads gotta have a few bets going to keep things interesting.
Once he gets home Knives digs through the various objects Johnny had passed him over lunch. He slots the datachip to start perusing the intel on this mark then checks the credstick.
-
___Lumen___
Sure, will do.
Checking through the spreads, you see a decent set of odds on Nottingham Forest to beat Hull City 2-1 in the FA cup 2nd round and Man Utd to draw 0-0 against Aston Villa. Your slightly tipsy trigger finger itching; you hazard a fiver on each and contemplate taking the long odds on Inter Milan to beat Juventus in the European Cup. They'd been playing shit all season, including getting hammered by Spartak Moscow 3-0 at home, but last year they'd pulled it out of the bag for the home derby and smashed Juve 4-1. You stood to make 50 quid return on a fiver and your finger hovered for a second before making a decision.
The heavy reinforced fire door slammed shut behind you as you hung up your heavy coat, the salty Chinese food and copious volumes of Sake combining to make you both unreasonably thirsty and gagging for a piss at the same time. Chipping each one into your Link whilst you sit on the bog, you skim over the intel Johnny had provided. Most of it seemed to be trawled off public databases, social media and news aggregators and such.
The name was Lord Langdale, inherited his mint from his dad. Daddy made his fortune on the stock market and put him through the Eton toff factory and he's headed up the political chain from there on in, though a position in the council was a long way from Parliament which you knew was where most of the Eton crowd ended up. Either he was too thick, pissed off the wrong people or someone else was holding him back in his ambitions. None of the info on the chips made any steps forward on your hunch though, so you skipped on, finding the commcode for the madame of the whore-house he frequented.
The last chip had photos from varying fencing e-magazines and publications winning national tournaments. He was a greasy looking fucker, 6'2" and skinny as a rake, his face sporting only a wiry and waxed moustache like something out of the history books.
He was obviously good, but you understood what Johnny was on about, the swords were tiny and thin, loaded with sensors to detect hits, not made for hurting people. Still, it gave you a method of testing him out and making his acquaintance.
You realised your legs had gone pins and needles-y from sitting on the shitter too long and that the kettle had long since boiled. You'd got stuff to go on at least...
-
___Zwei__
Fancy a change to be honest mate, few games of pool? Rileys by Marylebone station work for you? Don't sweat the bailout mate, got a favour I need to call in though, will fill you in over a beer.
Heading inside, you kick off your heavy stylised boots and hang up your damp, heavy jacket, picking out the bits of detritus the orks had pelted at you.
Hiya love, did you have a good day? Did you lose your dogs? Your mum calls through to you, looking a little concerned as you begin to bustle about her without them, as you go about sorting her food and her meds.
Heading into the kitchen to tackle the soyprocessor, your two lively sprites burst forth from the resonance with wagging tails and excited jumping, sniffing around the machine under your instruction.
__Scawire__
He shook his head, and elongated his affected American-ish accent, drawing the words out to emphasise his disappointment at loosing a prospective client.
Your loss my man... Call me if you change your mind.
Heading out into the cold, the hit of the nicotine felt good and the winding, flickering dance your flame made drew your eye, entrancing you before the gusty winter wind extinguished it.
The flat hadn't managed to clean itself in the period you'd been out, much to your disappointment and you rubbed your hands to get some warmth into them as the heating system had clearly packed in again.
Heading into the living room, you slot the chips into your trid projector as a strange noise at the window caught your ear. Turning to get a better look, you see it was a small bird, tapping its beak on the window as it gently hopped along the windowledge. It couldn't be could it? It was.. Sliding the old wooden window to its maximum couple of inches, Tweety hopped in, chirruping loudly.
-
"Naw mom, just didn't have them loaded for a bit. They're fine, see!" Winston starts to nose around the SPU, subtly repairing the problem Taylor's gremlins caused.
<<<@Ralphy [Taylor] Sounds like a plan. I'll meet you there.>>>
With that done, Taylor starts researching different types of data bombs. Using a variety of fake accounts to route through so as not to draw attention to his searches.
-
Nottingham was good enough odds and Knives never hesitated to put a few quid on Manchester United. Now this Inter Milan business... that was tricky. *Oh fuck all let the fiver ride. If they hammered Juve last year they could do it again.* He nods decisively as he confirms the bet.
Most of the file on Lord Fancypants seemed pretty clean to a life time street thug. The only thing that really peaks Knives' interest was the fencing background and even that was a fancied up pussy version of the blade play he was used to. The 'exotic' taste in women could prove useful for blackmail if the cards were played right but madame's generally weren't too keen on ratting John's out, especially rich ones. It's worth taking a look into if the clubhouse conversation doesn't work out. Feeling the pins and needles he finishes his business and hobbles awkwardly to the kitchen. He rinses out the kettle and tries again with fresh water.
-
___Zwei__
Ooh thats good then, I was worried you'd broken them! Come here boy, come on then, come see your grandma
She cooed at winston, gesturing at him, not quite getting that she'd need her AR gloves on for gesture communication. She seems genuinely taken with him though, as if she really wanted one of her own for company.
Maybe a robodog would be a good purchase for her, keep her company while you were out at "work".
Heading into the kitchen you set Winston to work on the jiggered soyprocessor. He buzzed about it, ducking in and out of its flickering icon as he disected each and every circuit board on the damn thing.
Eventually it fired up, scrolling through its demo-mode as it reverted back to factory settings.
It went through its noisy calibration process, spitting out various sizes of feed material as you checked your link and the comm-shell. The credstick was good for the full amount, clearly they were happy with your work.
Bex forwarded on the meet details, yet another custom node. You had an hour to kill before the meet and your head began to pound as the last vestiges of the drug exited your system. Everything felt a bit overwhelming after a long day of clear focus and you felt like you needed the warm embrace of the VR world of the matrix.
Getting comfy, you relaxed into it.
Waves of information roiled over you like waves in a churning ocean. Most of it was speculation and bullshit, but there were numerous reports of sneaky bastards using databombs to inject tracking code into the triggering user's persona file, embedding it and reporting back much like the tracking cookies of old.
__Lumen__
The kettle boils and you make a decent brew, pissed off at having to use an old carton of UHT soymilk instead of the fresh stuff. You really needed to nip out and get some bits in now you were back.
Enjoying a cuppa, you sat and waited for Timmy to arrive and its not long before theres a buzz on the intercom and an excited Tim appeared at your door.
Awright Knives, whats this job about then eh? Need some digital muscle eh?
His smile was infectious, this was clearly his "proving" job, the one where he felt he could make a name in the family and secure better work than poxy guard duty at shitty fish packing factories..
-
"Settle down lad. Where's my smokes? You wanna cuppa?" Knives gestures him to sit down and pauses long enough to make it uncomfortable. "Just fuckin with ya mate. Awright 'ere's the skinny. I need a way into this swanky private club down the way from Number 10. Think you can whip me up a membership card or a guest pass? Pretty sure it was you that dug this all up but have a look if you fancy." He turns the trid to project file with the information about the club and lights up a smoke.
-
Mantis is glad to be back at his home but when his little mate shows up at the window, Mantis knows why The Old Smoke kicks Frances butt. Mantis goes to the window to let his little helper into the apartment. Mantis opens a cupboard and pulls out some bird food he had on hand from before Speedy went missing. Well Speedy it seems you came home guess this big lug of an orc ain't so bad after all lets home Jen thinks so too Mantis spends only a short amount of time hanging with Speedy, before reviewing the intel Luke gave him on the missing Boat. Hey Speedy I need some nuyen, so I'm going to see what Luke has for me but this time I'm leaving you at home too cold out side for you bud.
After going over Lukes Intel Mantis will decide if he will summon his Ally or wait until after the job is done.
-
Spending time in VR is just more comfortable for Taylor these days. Finding some interesting things on the new methods of data bombs, he whips up a data sprite to help him. A little scotty slips out of the resonance as he pulls the bits of old code together and applies heavy doses of Resonance to glue it all together. Oddly, the programmer in him is almost revolted by the way sprites come together. He knows the code shouldn't work, but after years of practice and then finally submerging his intuitive understanding has eclipsed the base logic he uses for coding. So as not to loose track of time, as he is partial to doing he pulls up an icon of an Elizabethan cuckoo clock that will go off when it's time for him to meet Bex another unregistered host. Then he wraps his sprite in static to hide him from GOD. Don't need those pesky g-men sticking their nose where it doesn't belong.
Standing up from his desk, he creates a room of mirrors for himself and the sprite. They two of them begin inspecting his persona looking for any icons that look out of place. The wiry little dog starts running around him in circles, spiraling up and down invisible stairs as he sniffs and sticks his nose into all of the nooks and crannies of Taylors icon. Taylor peers into the mirrors trying to find anything that looks out of place. He wonders if he should do a self-reboot just to be safe, but figures these types of things would defeat that simple measure as most people would reboot any equipment after doing any type of nefarious deeds. And he remembers that he rebooted overnight anyway, this may all be a pointless task in any case.
-
___Lumen___
His smile fades a little as you get down to business; he digs out a pack of middle-of-the-road smokes and nods at the offer of a brew.
He fidgets nervously as you look at him, clearly uncomfy and not sure of what the issue is. His eyes dart around the floor, desperately searching for something to focus on other than your glare.
He laughs nervously as you lift the mood, joshing him in the shoulder to reinforce that you were joking.
He sips at the tea as you explain the job and nods in agreement, his enthusiastic smile bleeding back across his young face.
Yeah sure, you got a name for this place? If you can get a card or a real good look at one, I could probably knock up a decent enough copy. I'd need you to scan the card though so I can copy its chip data. Should be doable though mate...
He scratched at his thin and wiry facial hair. Thumbing through the AR overlays he catches up on the bits of info he didn't provide.
Guy is gonna have decent security at home and that club won't be that easy either. At least they expect you to go in armed eh? one less fuckin about anyways.
I can create a profile on their side, providing I can get through their defenses. You'll prob need to find out what their door security is though. If its a card system, i'll need a working card or a scan of one if not. I've got a spare scanner at my gaff if you need it.
___Mantis___
Speedy chirrups and pecks hungrily at the seed you lay out in a dish for him, fluttering about and re-acquainting himself with his old home as you flick through the data you've got from Luke.
It shows that the container ship made port in Durban and the container was checked over there fine.
A commcode for Luke's contact in the Durban port authority is enclosed on the bottom of one file but no further scans into or out of any holding bay or checking process had been made in at London East Terminal.
A commcode is provided for Luke's London contact, named only as "J", but Luke's scrawly AR handwriting overlays the commcode with a note saying "no answer", which hardly fills you with confidence that his contact was still around.
More scrawly over-writing directs you to the Three Lions Inn, the nearest pub to the freight terminals. You assume Luke and "J" used this as a meeting point, or perhaps it was a last known position for him.
___Zwei__
Your heart races as your search turns up a worrying result.
A stain of resonance signature lingered around one of your public-facing persona config files, worryingly similar to one of the techno's sigs you'd sensed from the intercepts. Something about it worried you deeply, knowing what you did about personas and that segment of code, it was likely to have been a cookie or capture script. Either way, it wasn't great news.
You and your sprites set to work on removing the last vestiges of it's datatrail and you prep for your meet with Bex, going through your usual security procedures to rule out a digital ambush.
The layout of the host was identical, a shiny white pop-up host, straight out of "factory settings" mode, not a single iota of sculpting done.
Bex popped in right on time, her avatar different this time, thigh high boots complementing jet black shoulder length hair set to maximum reflectivity.
It was stylised to fuck, but man did it look good.
<<Bexter_101::>> Entered host...
<<Bexter_101::>> //Good work on those intercepts. We learned a lot. Got another job for you if you're up for it? Same rates again//
-
<<</me whistles.
<<<Always happy for work. Normal rate for normal work! Same type of thing?>>>
-
"Nah mate no idea what the name of the place is. How many fancy fuckin twat swordery clubs could there be by Number 10? I'll probably need to check door security? Ya think mate? This is your first job not mine, you don't have to tell me what I have to do." Knives leans back and lights up smoke, "Ya know what mate? It'd do ya some good to see a pro at work. Come on, we're going to check it out. You got the scanner or do we need to make a stop." He stands and puts on his coat. "You got a car Tim?"
-
__Zweiblumen__
//bit different this time, intrusion and monitoring. I need to get an ear on a specific commlink at a specific time. 1500 for successful completion and retrieval of audio capture. Sound good?
-
<<<Monitoring no problem, audio capture, no problem. Intrusion? Not normally my thing, but for a bit of a bonus I can be talked into it.
Are we talking good ol' fashioned B&E or is this more of a schmooz my way in type deal?>>>
-
__Lumen__
Tim looks decidedly embarrassed as his inexperience gets him a bollocking. He flushes red and avoids eye contact, nodding meekly as you suggest a visit.
I've got a spare tool kit in the car, it'll do the job.
He looks at you apologetically.
Yeah, i brought my motor. It ain't much but it's outside.
You stand up and peer out of the mucky glass, well overdue a wash, and see a Nissan Jackrabbit that seemed in reasonable nick.
Black and without too many dents, it wouldn't draw any more attention than any other car out on the Old Smoke's roads.
__Zwei__
//Electronic intrusion preferably, though the good old fashioned stuff might be necessary if you can't catch him on the hop.
Target is a councillor. He's been making a lot of friends and a lot of enemies. Smith needs to know who he's talking to on a call about 7pm tomorrow. We know he's got several planning and comissioning hearings at the council offices and know that he likes the deli across the road. He'll probably nip there between 12.30-1.30 and he's a smoker too, so should be outside in the smoking area at some point in the day.
Unfortunately, his house is about 5 mins down from 10 downing street so security is likely to be fucking ridiculous, so best make plan A work to be honest.//
-
<<<Oi, yeah. No problem. Get me the address of the deli, and the targets info. I'll get you the phone call.>>>
-
Mantis lets his little buddy speedy finish his small meal as he looks over the intel. After Mantis has finished with the intel he guns a smoke then puts Speedy back in his cage. Well fellow I'm going to be doing a bit of dangerous magic best not to have you flying in causing mana to go hay wire and get us both geeked.
Once Speedy is safely away in his cage, Mantis gets into his magical lodge and cleans it up a bit. Well time to see if I can get myself a ally spirit to aid me.... Hope I don't die.
At the start Mantis draws out arcane symbols sandwiched between two circles, and a between two lines this takes about 1/2 hour. The next 1/2 hour a double triangle is drawn at the end of the line also with hermetic writing inside the two triangles. Mantis spends another 1/2 hour charging triangle circle and connecting lines. Once the prep work is done for the ritual Mantis stands in the center of the circle with his ally formula at the edge of the circle touching the lines connecting to the triangle, and begins his summoning. When the summoning starts Mantis grabs a prepaired bag and pulls the mana out of silver sand as he draws a cross on the ground.
With force of well and a lot of luck the summoning has succeeded. The next part was going to take time but Mantis has already spend 1 1/2 hours prepping for this stage.... The binding. Mantis releases 10 bags of silver sand into piles evenly spaced around the circle and asks the hope to be ally spirit into the triangle. Mantis begins pulling mana out of the universe around him and grabbing extra raw power from the 10 bags of silver sand positioned around the circle and starts to direct a knitted cord of mana into his own mind and the mind of the Ally. This is not Mantis's expertise but after a few minutes the first cord linking Mantis and this spirit is in place. Mantis continues to link 6 more cords to the spirit one for each of the major chakras in the body. With a lot of time and major luck on Mantis's side each and every cord takes hold. The 7 knitted cords have been put in place and the ritual is moments from completion and he now has to do is charge each cord with part of his essence / soul. Mantis directs his essence down each of the cords and into his possible ally spirit. 5 out 7 cords start to hum with no problems but the two are a bit of a struggle, the solar plex and root chakra both send back ample amounts of drain to Manits, but it seems they to get charged. With all 7 chakras connected and charged the ritual is done it seems even with low skills in this area Mantis had enouph luck on his side to day to get his ally spirit to be by his side for the times ahead.
3 hours have passed and it turns out Mantis is not dead and he has a new ally "Smoky" a 17 inch tall air spirit that looks like a fairy.
-
"Yea mate that'll do just fine. Alright let's do this." Knives shuts down the trid and locks up behind them. "We're gonna stick out in the swanky neighborhood so let's keep as far away as you can do your thing. I'll do a walk by and record the door. With a little luck we'll find a bloke comin' out and nick 'is card."
-
__Lumen___
Ok..ss..sure
Tim nodded and headed down the stairs, the smell of damp getting stronger as you passed through the ground floor entrance hall.
Gridguide pinged every few minutes, letting Tim know to turn left or right.
The local news streamed through the audio system and the london traffic slowed you to a crawl. It took the better part of 40minutes to get there and the only parking nearby was a pay-on-street bay at £10 an hour.
Security was high as you knew it would be. Plenty of bobbies walking their beat just down from the chancellery and prime minister's residence. A support drones hovered behind and above a two-man patrol as you parked up.
Timmy waited until they were out of line of sight and slipped on a trode net under a smart hat, powered up a sleek looking tablet computer and nodded at you to indicate his readiness, though his peaky white face said something about the state of his nerves.
__Zwei__
//Deli is called the "deliberators' delight" and its just next door to the Westminster Arms just outside the QE conference centre.
Target is Lord Langdale, Councillor for Westminster. He sits on the advisory board for Greater London Planning Comittee. Let me know ASAP if you can't get the job done//
-
__Scawire__
You step back from the circle exhausted, your head pounding from the focus and mana flow and your throat dry from the repetitive incantations.
A shimmering air-spirit materialises in front of you, bleary-eyed and a little worse for wear.
H..H..Hello, summoner.
-
"Tim, chill mate. Just be calm and act like you have a reason to be here. If ya look guilty ya are guilty. Stay frosty, I'll be back in a tick."
Knives takes the scanner and heads out onto the streets. He pulls his greatcoat tight and lights up a smoke. He takes in the first puff and exhales with a big sigh. *Time to get down to business. *
Heading towards the club Knives keeps his eyes peeled around the crowd. Any swanky businessman carry a duffel is a potential mark.
-
<<<Consider it done! I'll flag when it's done.>>>
-
Mams bids farewell to Bex and logs out of the host and looks up the info on Riley's. Seems like a nice enough place. Might just be synthahol, but a pint is a pint.
Taylor jacks out, and heads downstairs to check on his mother. She's fallen asleep again with the trideo player still running. He take the throw off of the couch and tucks it around her and turns off the machine, leaving a message for her that he's gone out for a pint with Ralphy and that the food unit is working again so she can eat when she wakes up.
Grabbing his coat, he decides to snag his walking cane to compliment his outfit. A gentleman never leaves home without it. Then heads down to the Tube to catch the train to Marylebone station.
-
Mantis stretches his back after such along ritual he needs to move around a bit. Hey there Smoke, the name is Mantis. I'm glad you can join me for the time I have on this earth. Mantis goes to his jacket hanging on a chair and grabs a smoke. Smoke, I need you to do something for me head down to the docks. Mantis gives mental directions to his new best bud then continues. I'd like for you to stay on the astral and take a look around. I'll share your vision with you, but if anyone or thing starts a fight with you run like hell back here ok. When you are there I want you to look and see how many Metahumans are there. I'll be in mental contact with you the whole time. Both of us will be going down there after I get ready but a first look by you in the astral will be of great help. Thanks Smoke I know you are the best spirit for the job. Mantis takes a drag from his smoke Waiting to hear the rely from his new best friend.
-
___Zwei___
//Perfect. Here's where you need to send the data to//
<<File transfer request::>> BeX_101; Accept? Y/n....
She logs off, leaving you alone again in the shiny, factory-spec host. Its windowless, shiny ceramic white tiling gave it an asylum feel, clinical, sterile. Unnatural.
Shaking off the sensation you set about the rest of your evening
Your mum looked really uncomfy, head lolled to one side, dribbling gently from one side of her mouth.
The re-runs of some old-style soap-opera still played in the background, obviously not stimulating enough to maintain her attention.
She stirs a little as you put the throw around her, rolling slightly into a more comfy position and wincing a little in her sleep at the crack of her stiffened neck.
There was a buzz about the city this evening as you strolled down to Kensington tube station. People seemed happy and up for it, dressed in their glad rags and hammering away enthusiatically on their commlink screens or AR keyboards. You remembered that for wage-slaves, today was payday. That usually meant it'd be a pretty good night to be out on the town.
The train clattered into marylebone underground, sparks occasionally illuminating the darkness of the tunnels as the wheels momentarily slid on their contacts.
Most of the train seemed to disembark onto the already busy platform and the usual jostling and shoving came to play as everyone tried to make their way through the morass of metahumanity, either onto the train or away from the train and onto the escalators.
You were boiling in your finery and were glad when the escalators dumped you into the cavernous concourse of the overground station. Sleek maglevs sat waiting for passengers out to the commuter belt of the south west and south coast and security patrols kept a watchful eye for unruly types as their support drones scanned the passers by.
Heading out into the cold night air, you get your bearings, your AR nav-compass flashing left or right at each junction. The grey drizzle of the afternoon has settled into a clear and cold night, the first scratches of frost attacking the parked car's windscreens and chilling your nose with every breath.
The pool hall hit you with a welcome blast of warm air to the face, the sound of pool balls smacking into one another barely audible over the chatter of the busy bar area and jukebox.
It was bigger than it looked, pool tables arrayed in neat rows beyond a small, half height dividing wall that separated the bar area and a few low tables and comfy chairs from the meat of the business.
A couple of young, studenty looking types manned the busy bar and you spotted Ralph queueing up to get a beer in.
___Scawire___
Smokey bowed its fairly androgynous head in acknowledgement of your gratitude, I'm excited to be here too, I've only been summoned to this plane once or twice and it was a much different country. Tell me, where exactly am I?
Smoke laughs at your last comment, Well it hardly looks like you're spoiled for choice does it? Ok I'll take a look if you give me directions. Anyone or anything specific I'm looking for? If its anything like the docks I saw in Singapore then they'll be really busy..
___Lumen___
Getting out of the small car was a relief, it had been a tedious crawl across the city in shitty traffic. The old Dartford tunnel had roadworks on and tower bridge was up for 30 mins to let shipping through, causing a fucking chaotic city centre.
You preferred your bike for a reason, you'd have done it in 20 mins tops.
Sparking up, you spot the club on the far side of the road, half-choking on your first drag as you spot a well suited bloke leave through the heavy reinforced glass doors and join a throng of foot traffic, disappearing into the crowd. Tim slid the powered up deck under the driver's seat and tried to look natural as he mentally sifted through the local Matrix nodes, sweating slightly with nerves, pressure or both
-
Mantis does his best to get his gear ready to go down to the docks and see if anyone there could give a lead for Mantis to fallow to the missing ship. Mantis smiles at Smoke. Well Smoke this is the great island nation of England. We are now housed up in the city of London, in a neighborhood we like to call the old smoke. I'm from up north myself. Mantis starts gearing up forearm guards and his leg kit. Then grabs his Comm link and pulls up a map from there apartment to the docksThis here little buddy is where we are and this is the way to the docks. When you get there stay hidden on the astral and see if you can see any offices with people inside and see if you can spot anyone in charge. This isn't a major scouting mission, but you checking the area out before I head down might give me an idea where to look for chaps with some info to sell. If you like you could fill me in on a bit of what you been up to before our new friendship has begun. Manits puts his comm link in his coat jacket when he is sure Smoke has the directions known, then keeps on getting ready to head down to the docks himself.
-
___Scawire___
Ah.. London. I've heard about this place. Big Ben, houses of parliament and all that? ACE! Well the last time I was summoned here I was in Korea, near Seoul helping a mage with his studies of the plane of Air. The time before that wasn't great, I was involved in a fight and disrupted. Still haunts me to this day, those negative emotions and the pain. I hate to talk practicalities, but am I to live here? with you?
The spirit shifted awkwardly, clearly hoping for a positive answer. It's wings flickered delicately as you explained the plan and Smokey seemed genuinely excited for the first outing.
-
Mantis is almost finished with getting ready to head to the docks and is glad his ally spirit Smokey can give him a look at the location before he gets there. Smokey buddy, this small messy pad of mine is now your home too. You can run around the place and do as you please. Also I sometimes get into some dangerous work, but knowing you don't like combat you run away from fights as fast as you can. I don't need my new best friend getting hurt so if you ever see me in a battle you flee the area and keep yourself safe. Sorry about the bad news that some fights might happen but remember you run and hide if that happens OK. Mantis smiles at Smokey hoping he will see that Mantis doesn't want any harm to befall his little helper friend.
-
Knives clears his throat and sighs, *Bullocks! Saw a good one an' cocked it up. Get yer head in the game Miles.* He takes a good scan of the street. *No chance of finding a proper dark alley, not here, but maybe a blind spot if I'm lucky and I can duck the coppers long enough.*
-
Taylor sees Ralph just as he's ordering his pint and darts over to the bar. "It's on me mate, and I'll have one as well," he says as he slots a credstick to cover the tab.
Once they've got their drinks, they head over to a table. Taylor sets up a rack and tosses the cue ball to Ralphy.
"Oi chummer, how's your day? Thanks for the backup this afternoon, how can I return the favor?"
-
Knives takes another draw and exhales confidently. He steps off the curb and joins the throng as well. *Just do what ya do second best, blend in. You're just another suit wanker in a fancy coat.* Mingling among the crowd.
-
___Lumen___
You finish your cig and pat on the roof of the car to let Tim know you're heading off.
Crossing the road was a nightmare, traffic fighting each other to duck around buses as they fought to disembark passengers and return to the flow.
Ducking through a minute gap to the sound of horns you reach the other side and merge with the pedestrians heading about their business.
As was usual for London, no-one batted an eye-lid. As you head past the club, you get a much better view.
It is set back off the road by a metre or two up a short flight of 4-5 steps and features a large glass frontage, frosted to opacity so you couldn't see much/anything going on inside. A relatively featureless metal panel was inlaid on the right hand side, in front of the recessed glass doorway.
Any number of suits could be heading in there, spotting one with sports bags was tough in the thick of the crowd however.
Perception test at -2 please
___Zwei__
Ah there you are mate, how you doing? {to barman: 2 pints of lager then please mate}
Been a bit hectic to be honest, politics at work. Fucking LPO sticking their nose in, trying to get us of a big case. Head-sheds are fighting it tooth and nail but seems inevitable. Anyways, hows you doing? not seen you in a while. Hows yer mam keeping these days?
No worries, got a few minors out of em, meant the lads hit their weekly quota so they were happy enough. I've got an old system that keeps fucking around, loosing data and stuff. Any chance you can take a look at it?
Ralphy lines up a break and manages to pot a stripe, putting you on spots. He sets up a pearl of a shot but over hits it, rattling it around the rim of the pocket.
He grimaces and smiles, need te get me eye in! as he takes a swig of frothy lager
___Scawire___
Ok, so what is it you actually do then? Smokey looks a little concerned at what its let itself in for, but smiles and walks over to speedy, who's flapping happily from branch to branch in his cage.
Who's this adorable creature?
As you answer the last of its questions, Smokey follows your directions and disappears into the astral as you kit up for your recon run.
-
"Doing well. Been doing some consulting for some suits downtown here and there. Payin' the bills. Mum keeps forgetting to take her meds, and I'm always running down to the GP. Gettin' old is for the birds. She keeps well enough though, and it's nice to share the house with her."
Taylor pulls a cue off the wall and sees how warped it is, and puts it back. Finally finding one that comes at least in the approximation of straight, he moves over to the table and trys to put the 7 ball in the side pocket, but as usual, misses horribly, and sinks the 12 instead.
Looking sheepishly up at Ralphy, he grins. Takes a sip from his lager and says, "Sure thing mate. What kind of system we talking about, and when do you need it by? I've an all day meeting tomorrow, but depending on what needs doing I could get to it in the evening." Looking at the table and the situation, he takes a deeper drink. "Gonna be a long night if I keep shooting like this. A fiver on the game since I'm buying the rounds already?"
-
__Lumen__
You walk a couple of minutes past the club and draw level with a security cordon outside downing street.
Doubling back on yourself you spot a guy that must have only been a few yards behind you. He fitted your mental snapshot perfectly; swanky suit, bit sweaty (maybe from recent exercise?) and most importantly, a decent length sports bag. He was maybe 5 metres away, ogling for a better look at the security cordon, clearly unimpressed that he'd have to take the longer route back to work.
__Zwei__
The queue was still pretty shit, the tip had come loose and it transmitted the vibration of the shot into a noisy twang as your shot ricocheted wide.
Ralphy grins at you and takes the table as you step back for a glug of beer.
Its one of them old holo-stations, probably about 3 years old. Still works alright other than loosing its memory periodically so i have to back everything up on chip. If you can get it back to me by Sunday that'd be great mate. Got a few private jobs on next week
Con or negotiate test please
-
*Ah perfect! Tired, cranky, and in a hurry.* Knives shuffles through the crowd towards the mark. He glances around looking irritated at the inconvenience as he makes his move.
-
__Lumen__
The pissed off bloke clearly hadn't noticed you, too busy trying to figure out why he couldn't make a meeting or get home or whatever.
You shimmied through the crowd, everyone equally annoyed at the intrusion into their daily route and deftly slid a hand into the mark's jacket pocket.
A pack of fags, a folded up epaper and a swipe card "fell" into your possession.
You head back down towards the club through the heavy foot traffic and praise your luck as the card checks out. It is a private members card for the fencing club and health suite.
Timmy pings you a message as you close the distance back to the intersection;
Knives; Think I've got a read on their scanner's frequency. How you getting on?
__Zwei__
He smiles and slaps down a fiver on the edge of the table.
Fine, but if you're husslin' I ain't buying you a celebratory pint haha.
He takes his shot, rattling two into the far corner pockets before setting up a tactical snooker, smiling and nodding a gesture at what was going to be a tricky shot to get out of.
Get out of that then you swish bastard
-
<I'm done mate. Heading back your way. Start up the car.> Knives looks around irritated, still trying to blend with the crowd. He loops back around and gets back in Tim's car. "Good work mate! Now let's get goin."
Once they're a few blocks away Knives lights up one of the smokes his just found and says to Tim, "Alright mate I nicked a card. How long do you think it'll take to make a decent copy?"
-
Taylor looks at the table and laughs. "Fuck you, you tosser, he says with a jovial smile. Moving around the table to attempt to do a jump shot, he nearly smashes the cue into the table top. He does manage to actually get the cue to come off the table, unfortunately it just bounced of the blocking ball and skip right off the table. Ralphy, being quick on his feet snatches it out of the air and they both start laughing uproariously. About half of the room turns to look at them, and Taylor's face turns as red as his hair. Snickering among themselves. "Sunday will work if you can have someone send it around to my place tomorrow. I'm going to be out, but Mum can answer the door if someone can drop it off. Now take that cue and do something out of character for you with it... you know, smart!" Taylor says laughingly as he takes another drink he notices both pints are low. He head's over to order another round while Ralphy takes his shots, hopefully not winning the round.
-
___Lumen___
//Fantastic, saves some fucking around. I can knock you up a decent copy in about 10-15 minutes mate. Grab the tool kit from the boot would ya?//
You head back towards the car, crossing the road to avoid a patrol drone and it's accompanying beat-sticks and pop the boot, grabbing the tool kit and slipping back into the passenger seat with it.
Timmy had obviously logged out of the 'Trix and was looking wild-eyed with excitement at your successful return.
He pulled out fo the parking bay and headed for the shitter bits of town at your direction.
Pulling up in a multi-storey car park, he winds his way up to the top with a decent amount of tyre squeal on the slick surface and jams the card in a reader before setting to tapping away on an AR keyboard off his deck.
__Zwei__
You two end up getting pretty merry and as the beer flows, your aim drops off a cliff. Ralphy easily takes the fiver and jibes you for not being able to hit the backside of a barn, leading to a game of "around the pound" that was surprisingly close.
Eventually you deem to forget about playing pool (much to the relief of your table-neighbours) and retire to the bar. A couple of his copper mates join you later on, already half-cut from a trot around Soho and the night has all the makings of a morning feeling sorry for yourself.
-
After loosing his fiver and the rest of the chaps show up, Taylor gives up on pool and sticks to drinking and story telling. Mostly about back when he was in the academy and how things are now. He stays away from details on what he does for a living now, labling it as "matrix and security consulting." Between his clothing being so much stranger than his career choices, and Ralphy's emphatic support, there's plenty else to gab about over drinks. Continuing to get shitty until the hall closes down, they all stumble down to the Tube. Taylor and Ralphy catch a train back to their neighborhood being rather roudy on the ride back. Singing horribly out of key and time random pub songs while hanging on to eachother in an absurd attempt to stay upright. They miraculously get off at the right station and stumble down the street. Getting back to the house, Taylor tries to sneak in and not wake up Judy. It's comical to watch his exagerated drunken attempts at silence that result in enough of a cacophony to wake the dead. His only saving grace is the meds his mum is on keep her blissfully unaware of her son's disgraceful state. He manages to get a couple of pints of water and an asprin down before passing out in his office.
...
Taylor wakes painfully to the sun creeping between the smog and the blinds in his office to shine painfully on his horribly hungover face. He pulls himself painfully out of his chair and lurches to his room to shed his clothes and get them into the cleaning unit. Counting his blessings as he's got warm water to take a shower in an attempt to re-hydrate via osmosis he spends long enough in there that his mum actually messages him asking if he's alright, and when is breakfast going to be ready?
Extricating himself from the blessed steam of the washroom, he towels off and puts some clothes on, almost falling down the stairs.
"Sorry mum, Ralphy needed some help with some drinks last night. Seems like we may have gone a bit over board with the lads. I'll get the processer to make us some food in a moment." The reproachful look in his mother's eyes does nothing to improve his hangover, and she recognizes that he's paying his dues enough as it is. She relents, and actually goes about sorting breakfast for them. Fake-eggs and soy-sausage with a nice cuppa tea. She sets these as quietly as she can while juggling the walker and the food. Taylor feels horribly that his frail mother is having to take care of him. "I swear, I'm never drinking again!" And Judy lets out a belly laugh at that, which causes Taylor to wince at the noise. She says, "If I had a Nuyen for every time your father said that, we'd be livin' atop the arcology instead of out here in the burbs sweetie. Finish up breakfast and then head back up and get some rest."
Taylor looks through bloodshot eyes up at her, "Thanks mum, but I've actually gotta head into the city for some work today. Won't be home until late tonight. Chose the wrong night to get knackered. Time to pay the piper." He sighs resignedly.
After breakfast he ducks into his office and starts trying to get some work done. He pulls up all of the information he can find on "Deliberators' Delight" and the Wesminster Arms. Looks to see if he can hack some feeds off of any of the surveillance equipment around. Mam's figures it's long odds, but the deli may have some low-grade cameras or something near by to get a view. Thinking on the task, he figures the best thing to do will be to have a sprite put a cookie on the target so he can track him and then make the intercept at the correct time. Planning will be key for the day. "Damn, shouldn't have let that data sprite from yesterday go to waste... I'm in no shape to be doing this." Winston and Victoria seem to be snickering amongst themselves at Mams' discomfort.
-
"So ya got in and out easy as ya please? Good job mate! You make a good copy of that card and I'll buy your first pint. We're goin' out with the lads tonight!" Knives playfully wallops Tim in the shoulder and chain smokes as he waits for him to finish.
He goes over his schedule for the job and sets up notifications and reminders with plenty of lead time. *Gotta show the lad a good time, he did good. Can't go too late though, this whole playin fancy game will be up if I wreak of cheep booze.*
-
___Lumen___
He looked at you sheepishly coughing a nervous cough,
I er.. Didn't get in "as easy as you please". I er.. managed to get you an account though. Not sure how long it'll last so you might want to try it pretty soon..
-
"I was planning on using it tomorrow. Is that quick enough or did you cock it up? Ya raised a few flags I take it?" Knives shrugs, "No worries lad, long as I can get in tomorrow ya done fine. Hopefully our luck will hold."
-
__Lumen__
He looks pretty embarrassed, a stutter emerges, halting his speech in short staccato patterns on the leading edge of the occasional word.
Yeah, their systems found me before I had time to cover my tracks.
If they're doing a full scan of new members, the one I created will probably be found quite quickly. Go in as early as you can.
__Zwei__
The deli has only a token Matrix presence, the odd AR ad popping up for a lunchtime meal-deal and a few business listings turn up in the london business directory.
It looks like the registered premises has been classed for food retail purposes for about 15 years, having been classified as general retail premises prior to this. The current registered owner is Christos Popadopolous, but that's as much as the public directory yields.
The Westminster arms trawl brings up plenty of links, its a historic pub, featuring in over 300 years worth of literature on subterfuge, pub grub and decent beer.
Its convenient location across from Parliament means its a great spot for overhearing the latest gossip from the back-benches as they nosh on a ploughmans and sink an ale or three over a taxpayer-funded lunch. It has featured in many recent "good pubs" guides and plays host to a rotating guest ale every week, representing every county in the land.
You've no doubt that the area is laced with cameras, seeing as its so close to parliament, but the footfall is high enough in the area that you wouldn't draw undue attention.
-
Still aching from last nights festivities, Taylor prepares to catch a post rush-hour train into town. He gets his coat and stashes his baton under it. As he's heading out he almost forgets the new camera he just bought, and starts to dash upstairs but his head is having none of it. Instead he slows down and gets the camera from the shelf and puts it in one of the many pockets in his coat. With all of his gear stowed, he heads to the station for a quick trip to Downing St.
With the sprites still in the resonance he's less worried about them getting into any trouble and he's able to relax a bit on the train. He sets an alarm for when he arrives at his station as the rhythm of the train causes him to start dozing off. And a good thing he does. The AR window flashes brightly in his mind waking him up just in time to duck out the closing doors of the tram.
Following the directions he got from GridGuide to get him to the deli and bar he assesses the area and decides to start with the deli since it has the easiest piece of hardware to get at. Contemplating calling Victoria to do this for him, given his current state, as he orders a flavored nutrient drink and a hot tea. He takes his drinks and sits down for a moment, once again waiting for the world to stop spinning. "Swear I'm never drinking again... EVER!" he thinks to himself for at least the thousandth time this morning.
-
Knives sighs, "Fuck mate... Let's hope they don't do a nightly scan. It's alright kid ya tried and now we'll just see how our luck holds. Come on, I still owe you a pint. It's a helluva sight more than I could've done."
-
___Lumen___
Doubt begins to set in in your mind as you scrabble for a plan B, but the prospect of a pint lightened the quietly awkward mood in the car.
Traffic was lighter heading away from the centre and back out to the shitty East-End, but you had to divert around a police roadblock, the audio feed in the car talking of industrial action in the Ork quarter spilling over.
No sooner had the presenter finished rambling on about the suggested political fallout of such civil disobedience than your comm rang with an incoming call.
Knives, its Mick. Get to the Swan as fast as you can. Fucking rioters are going mental and smashing the place up.
The swan was a dank little pub but it had a massive cellar and served as an illegal brewery, the adjacent blast furnaces keeping the basement at a balmy temperature year round and making it the perfect spot for brewing beers and liquors.
You knew how much cash that place span for the Clerkenwells, you couldn't afford for it to go down to some uppity Ork labourers out for a rise. Pushing timmy to take the back roads, you get as near as you can, still some blocks away as the car is brought to a standstill by a slow moving wall of a protest march.
__Zwei__
The hustle and bustle of the morning had settled by the time you headed out onto the streets but the train was rammed with tourists heading into the centre of town for some January sales shopping.
Track works meant that you had to take the overground into town and then cut across on the Circle line to Westminster, your AR alerts re-routing you as you neared the entrance at Kensington. The tourists laughed and joked and generally got on your tits as they got in the way and generally stood out like a sore thumb on what was clearly not going to be a good day for you. Tinny music escaped peoples earphones and babys cried further up the carriage as mothers desperately tried to comfort them with rattles and soft toys.
After what seemed a life time, the train clattered into Euston and you headed down into the bowels of the earth to grab the circle line, the connection not long enough to warrant trying to nod off.
You popped up above ground just as Big Ben struck 9.30, its guttoral clanging reverberating off the high rises that dwarfed the ancient building, themselves shrouded in low hanging cloud and smog.
The greyness of the morning wasn't helped by a drizzle, and the excited squeals of a Japanese bus tour did little to assist your headache.
Feeling like half-baked shit, you headed into the "Deliberators Delight" and joined the queue at the busy and pleasant deli.
Racks of cooked meats were laid out in a large glass servery, pots of spiced and oiled olives and feta cheese scattered about as adornments. The queue soon died down thanks to the speedy serving of the two young looking immigrants, an eastern european inflection on the lass's warm tone betraying her heritage.
You spot the camera, a standard factory model of ball cam, the ocular hidden behind smoked a one-way glass dome built into the ceiling.
A holo-terminal stood at the far end of the servery, hooked up to a SiN payment system and you swiped your comm near it to authorise the eye-watering payment.
You knew it was london but a tenner for a super-smoothie and a brew took the piss. Maybe the Japs were daft enough to pay it you thought as you headed back out into parliament square, taking a seat on a bench as you sat and sipped at the smoothie, using the brew more to ward off the winter wind from your exposed hands.
The cameras around here were all well defended, raised way off the street level and secured to brick away from windows so they couldn't be tampered with. Cabling into the rear of the boxes told you they weren't daft enough to risk wireless in an area this central to the British government, but their absence of data streams in your "enhanced" view of the world told you that without looking for something as basic as a cable.
-
"Yea Mick, you got it. On my way."
As traffic crawls to a halt Knives steps out of the car, "I gotta get to the Swan, take care of yourself Tim." He pops the collar of his greatcoat and pierces the crowd, bobbing in and around to navigate through the assembled hoard. As he draws closer to the pub tension begins to raise. *Great just what I needed... My first real day back in the Old Smoke and I get into a tussle with Yaks, get my job cocked up by some greenhorn, and now I get to fend off a bunch of pissed off orks. What else could go wrong?*
Once he nears the Swan Knives peaks up trying to get a good look at those gathered closest to it. Chances are if he can find who is responsible and put him down the rest of the crowd will disperse.
-
___Lumen___
Timmy nods, wishes you good luck and reverses through the thin crowd as he tries to escape the main bulk of the protest. The swan was a little way down the road, but a steady stream of Ork labourers moved up towards it, holding up badly written placards and chanting slogans about poor pay and living conditions. A few Dwarfs and Trolls had joined the protest but the human population seemed to be nil, you drew points, gestures and snarls as you pushed your way upstream towards the pub.
Eventually, after a lot of pushing and shoving you reach the pub. The head of the protest had already moved past and most of the businesses around had smashed windows as minimum. Scorches and burn marks could be seen on the sides of some of the brick walls where molotov cocktails had impacted, and trails of goods had been spilled from where looters had taken their fill and dropped what they couldn't carry.
The pub was no exception, its beautiful old glass frontage had been smashed in and two heavy set thugs were hacking away at the metal doors to the barrel cellar with crowbars. The landlord was nowhere to be seen but you could see frantic movements through the shattered glass of people shifting furniture to the doors.
-
After sipping his nutrient drink and savoring the warmth of the tea, he starts pulling up AR windows while wincing at the pain the concentration is causing him. Knowing this would be easier in VR, and avoiding the bright lights of the world around him, but figures in this part of town passing out in the street is probably not the best idea. Not wanting to risk his National SIN, he pulls out one of his burner phones and has it broadcasting his Phillip Baggins identity.
He calls up Winston and Victoria to help him out with the camera while wraping himself in a static viel. Safely cloaked from a portion of GODs eyes he pulls up the icon for it in an AR window and has Victoria help him get his mark on it. With surprising little effort together they enscribe the icon with a small looking glass in a heart, and the camera accepts Mams as a bonifide user. Smiling at Victoria and tossing her a virtual dog treat. Whistling virtually to Winston he then goes about snooping on the camera feed, the two work together and they get an AR window showing what the camera sees. <<<@Winston [Mams] Alright lad, here's where you shine. Go ahead and pump up that camera as much as you can to help me find this bloke.>>> Now that he has eyes on the customers in the deli, and he sets a program to alert him for any image matches on his Mark, and he lets VIctoria head back to the resonance. With Winston hidden in the camera and Victoria doing whatever sprites do when they aren't in the matrix, Taylor ala Phillip finishes his breakfast and savors his tea for a little while. Reading up on the daily news and generally nursing his hangover.
At 10:30, he gets up and heads over to the pub next door and orders another tea then sits where he can get a decent view of who comes in and goes back to checking his AR feeds. Most of which are about hangover cures, though the video feed of the deli is prominent in his line of site.
-
*Fuck me this is tough spot. I hope these tossers will listen, if I draw arms here the whole fackin protest is liable to rearrange my face. Gotta play this one frosty.*
Knives pulls his collar close around his face trying not to draw anymore attention to himself as he closes in on the swan. In this sea of green he stuck out like a smooth peach thumb. Sticking to any available shadows he slinks in to the pub and creeps up on the two burly blokes banging away at the cellar door.
"Evenin' chummers, is all that really worth your trouble? It's easier to get a pint during regular business hours. All your friends are leaving without you."
-
___Lumen___
The heavy-set orks were clearly not affiliated with the protest, just chancers out to make a few quid of its back. They looked a bit startled at your interruption;
Nah mate. Aw my mates are roight 'ere. Na' what the fack as it got to do wi' you, what facking toime o' day I wanna get a facking pint? Eh?
He looks around, gesturing with his crowbar at a couple of other trouble makers, checking windows and shutters of the nearby businesses, seeing what they could half-inch.
They get the message, turning to stare at you to see what your reaction would be.
__Zwei__
The morning passes without too much of a chore. Drizzle overtakes the grey overcast sky intermittently, causing you to seek shelter under the first floor overhang of the QE conference centre.
A couple of convoys pass on their way to Westminster, police outriders at the vanguard and armed support drones flying passes overhead, but other than school parties doing tours and the usual camera clicking gaggle of tourists, the morning passes fairly pleasantly, at least the tea and a bit of decent grub got rid of the arab's-jockstrap taste in your mouth.
The news is full of the usual, arrests and police raids in the ork quarter, agitators outed on various trid streams, vlog articles and countless forum debates linked in support/critique of the various parties involved.
At its core, you knew that the orks practically were treated as slaves in the old east end, living in the old terraces and providing manpower in the factories and docklands. Things had quietened down over christmas, but you knew that a fresh batch of raids would only serve to heighten tensions.
Checking the camera feed idly, you ping your mark stood at the back of the steadily growing lunch queue, chatting to a pretty young brunette about something or other, but paying plenty of attention to her "assets".
-
"Poor luck on your part mate. Ya fuck with Clerkenwell pints and it becomes my business. I ain't askin' omae. Move the fuck on." Seeing he was outnumbered Knives went with his instincts, put down the biggest wanker and the others should tuck tail. With a flick of the wrist his taser is in his hand as the other draws a combat knife from it's sheath. Before the orks get a chance to close in on him Knives launches a dart at the mouthy one.
-
A flicker of recognition passes over his face at the word "Clerkenwell" and begins to make a dash for the safety of the crowd in slow motion as your lightning quick reflexes kick in.
He'd gained maybe a yard or two by the time your taser has discharged its dart, expertly leading the target, the dart made contact with his flank.
Coughing and twitching, he hit the deck hard as his two mates sprang into action.
-
Knives chuckles as the ork hits the dirt and holds his knife up in a defensive fashion. He growls to the others, "I told ya bellends to piss off, now get." He turns his attention and leveled weapon to the next closest crowbar wielding ork. Taking an extra second to line up the shot he lets loose a dart straight at his broad chest.
*I'll give these other two wankers a reason to remember the name Clerkenwell and turn tail like their mate tried to do.*
-
The dart sore true to land on target, right at the ork's heart. Crowbar clammered on the ground as he convulses and collapses into seizure. Knives grins wide and returns his weapons to their hidden places. Pulling out his com he calls up Mick, "Oi boss, got the Swan safely nested. The bloody wankers wat did it should still be out for a tick, if you'd like to have a word with em."
-
Having spoted his mark, Taylor makes his way to the restroom and occupies a stall. He pulls out his micro camera and sets it up watching the door to his stall as he slips in the comfort of VR. The matrix envelopes his consciousness once more. He smiles as Victoria and Winston pad up to him. Hoi pups. Time to earn our pay now. He compiles a Courier Sprite to put a cookie on on the Mark, and quickly masks it with a Static Veil. Now that GOD will only witness it's bad actions, he sends the mangy spaniel off towards the target. Hit him with a Cookie, and send me the file at 8pm.
With that out of the way, he and the other two sprites meander around the area in VR being innocuous. Pondering the best way to go about this he decides having Winston doing the dirty work is probably best. First he does a closer inspection of the Persona and finds a second hidden commlink that is much better than the crappy one he's running on here. Seeing an opportunity he sends resonance into the hidden device and commands it to invite marks from Winston. Mams reels from the fade of channeling that much Resonance, but suddenly there are 3 paw marks tucked away on the icon and Winston goes to work. He first attempts to put a trace on the device, but is foiled. Dissappointed but not detered, he starts to snoop the traffic going to and from it dumping the stream to one of Mams' burner phones.
Taylor attempts to clean off the residue of Winston's naughty actions, but finds it very difficult to resist the resonance fade from doing so. Rather than pushing his luck any further he nurses his hangover and fade and just puts another static viel over Winston. He regretingly leaves the comfort of the Matrix and returns to his shell. Packing up his little camera, he staggers a bit form the stall, looking for all the world like he was still recovering for a horrible night. A fellow patron looks on at him in pitty, pats his shoulder and says, "Its alright mate, you'll feel better tomorrow. But lay of the sauce for a few days, a'right?" Grinning painfully back, all Taylor can do is nod.
His work mostly done, he pays his tab, and heads back out to the park to try and relax for a few more hours.
-
___zwei___
Satisfied at the job down well, you kick back in the park and try to put your banging headache out of your thoughts.
The convoy screemed back the other way after an hour or two, headed by the outriders. A wave of pressure runs through the nearby processing nodes as they groan and flex under the added security protocols imposed by GOD and the met's overwatch team, sending shivers through your spine as it passes.
Now more than ever you feel your connection to the matrix, battered by it, bruised a little, but allied to its denizens and breathing it's matter as if it were your own.
The cold never quite shifts as the weak January sunshine fails to burn through the smog and cloud, drizzle returning in waves to dampen your afternoon. Late afternoon came and a scrum of journalists descended on the park, doing set pieces to their drone-cams so the Palace of Westminster fell into the backdrop. Their security teams clear you and the other civvies and tourists out of the park and you find yourself at a bit of a loose end and with a rumbling stomach
__lumen___
Good lad. Keep an eye on it for an hour and check in with Johnny if there's no bother. I'll get a van load of lads over if them cunts come back mob handed.
The third looter scarpered and disappeared into the crowd, leaving his twitching and coughing partners stranded.
The protest march carried on, chants about equal pay, safer conditions and slum housing blaring over megaphones mixing with the background noise of sirens and breaking glass. You'd seen similar protests before but something said this was different, an atmosphere of hostility brewed.
-
"You got it boss. Consider it done. " Knives slinks quietly into the shadows of the pub and pulls a spare clip from his jacket pocket. As he changes clips he gives the closest or a good look over. *I doubt he's gonna be out a whole hour. Gotta figure something out. * He searches around the tossed pub for anything suitable to tie this bloke up with.
-
Knocking loudly on the half-barricaded door, the landlord and his staff poked their head through the broken windows and smiled with relief as you said you were there on behalf of the Clerkenwells.
Facking glad te see ye mate. Thought them wankers was gonna ruin our facking brewery. Couple o' grands worth a' whiskey down there. Ere, give ya boss a bottle as thanks. and er.. one fer yerself mate.
He dissapears down stairs and reappears with two bottles of dark brown liquid, each in an unlabelled bottle, one larger than the other.
His staff, a young looking mix of student-age lads and lasses fetch you some zipties and a stretch of old rope from the stockhouse downstairs and give you a hand dragging the prone body of the gobby twat indoors.
Where'dya want him guv? panted the eldest of the staff members, still no older than 18 or so.
-
"Let's stash em in the broom closet for now lad. My mates will be round in a bit to pick em up."
When the owner returns with the bottles Knives thanks him and tucks the bottles away. He keeps guard until the lads arrive then hitches a ride back to his flat. He sends Tim a raincheck on the pint and turns in early for his busy day of infiltrating high society.
-
Rousing from his half slumber as the newsies security crew clears out the riffraff, when did that become me?, Taylor heads for the street with a clearer head. He quickly finds someplace to sate his growling stomach as he realizes it's close to days-end and he's not eaten since before lunch. He finds a cafe that's serving the -tween crowd late lunches/early dinners and tucks in there for a bite and some more water. Also, taking advantage of the plumbing facilities, this time for real rather than a place to hide.
While he's eating he checks the newsfeeds and a couple of the MeFeed personalities he's fond of for the latest in what's going on in the world. More of the same, the corps purporting to be doing things for the good of everyone while actualy shafting the whole bloody population. Personalities railing against their corporate overlords, while actually just proping up more of the same. Taylor shakes his head at the uselessness of all of them, while keeping an eye on both the clock and the feed from Lord Langdale. Since he's got some time, he sends the Courier Sprite off to find as much information on the bloke as possible. Damn, those lagers ruined me last night, I swear I'm never drinking again. Should have done that first thing last night or at least this morning.
He continues to pass the time waiting for the 7pm call.
-
___Lumen___
It takes a fucking age before the lads get there, you assume because the protest probably ended up closing most of the roads nearby.
They're a bunch of the lower ranks, enforcers and street thugs that you recognised but couldn't really put a name to most of them. They gave you a respectful tip of the hat as they entered, grabbing the ziptied rabble rouser and leaving the sack over his head that you'd thought would be a good touch.
He was soon disappeared into the back of the van and the rest of the lads pitched in with patching up the smashed windows and chucking on extra security for the brewery. Sensing your need to be there diminish, you finish your beer and head out into the cold.
Tim fires back a disappointed sounding reply as you head down the steps of the underground and into its usually stale atmosphere, a permanent subterranean warmth emanating from below the city keeping it warm enough for the hobos to huddle the platforms after dark. today was different though, a sort of casualty receiving station had been setup for the protesters; march organisers and first aiders pouring gallons of eye wash into the puffy red eyes of blood stained protesters as they coughed retched against the lingering effects of the tear gas.
you pushed your way through the crowds, admiring the bleeding head wounds, black eyes and other artefacts of police brutality before the crowd thinned out near the elevators.
The platform was just as full, groups of orks huddled around talking about the next phase and escalation.
You were glad to be high-tailing it back home. Your head was banging and you were ready for a quiet night in.
Slamming the door shut behind you was a dream. You kicked off your shoes, hung up your coat and put the kettle on, relaxing back into your chair as you rolled a ciggy.
-
___Zwei___
Your head began to clear as the evening approached and you felt pretty much human, well the effects of the alcohol had worn off anyway. The fading induced headache was another matter.
A tourist-ville chippy was the nearest place to hand and though it charged a small fortune thanks to the column of yank and jap tourists wanting "authentic British fish and chips" to complement their holiday experience, it served actual cod on actual chips with proper mushy peas.
It was a rare treat and it hit the spot; just the right level of salt, vinegar and batter to sate your delayed beer-munchies.
The news was a depressing shower of shit as per usual, the LPO massively mishandling yet another protest wave about the slum conditions of the old east end, responding in force with arrests, alleged beatings and police brutality and all the usual hallmarks of a caring benevolent elected government.
It wasn't long before the courier sprite pinged back some results, Langdale was a prominent member of the London City Council and was a descendent of a long line of old-money politicians.
Expensively educated at Eton, he'd seemed to hit somewhat of a glass ceiling compared to his classmates and his family, who'd mainly all headed up into parliament or the upper echelons of various NGOs, corporations and international charitable organisations.
He'd acquired some fame within high society as a pro-fencer, competing at the national level in the epee and foil classes and at a regional level for the sabre class.
A couple of junk-articles pointed to an address near downing street and a quick glance on the street-view showed it as a beautiful old Georgian fronted building with a high perimeter wall indicative of his family's accrued wealth.
Your AR infused view of the world is occasionally interrupted with the ping of his incoming messages, mainly procedural stuff, plans for developments, sign offs required on departmental spends and such. More interestingly, a slew of messages came in from constituents and brewery firms about the upcoming review.
It appeared that trading licenses were up for review and extension in many areas of the city and last minute lobbying was being done by those on all sides of the debate; everyone from concerned citizens groups, industry lobbying groups and some mysterious benefactors via solicitors letters all weighing in.
This info could be worth a read for the right kind of client...
-
Taylor thinks back to his time in the academy and is particularly glad that he is no longer in that line of work today.
Pouring over the report from the sprite on their young lord he's particularly impressed on the multi-discipline accomplishments in fencing. Most competitors concentrate on a single form, mastering two and being accomplished in the third is truely a mark of expertise.
Noticing the flurry of activity over the licenses, he makes a second copy of all of that data and sends a quick message to 'Fingers' Malloy.
<<@Fingers [Mams] Hoi, came across a bit of data that you or someone you might know could be interested in. Looks like folks are lobbying for and against trading licenses in various parts of the city. Lemme know if you or anyone you know would like more details.>>
-
The reply comes through rapidly;
//Alright Mams, cheers for that pal. Send me a sample and I'll get you a quote. Sound good?//
Eventually suspicious eyes fall on you as you outstay your welcome at the chippy-cum-restaurant and you make a tactical withdrawal to a coffee house a couple of blocks up.
It was a chain store, soulless and fake but that was great. The queue for a soycaf is long and the staff look bored as shit.
BBC news 24 scrolls idly in the background off a holoprojector, its quiet audio output drowned by the steam jets, clinking crockery and general hubbub of conversation of the patrons.
Plonking down with something warm and stimulating, you prepare for the call.
It comes through a few minutes after 7, a withheld commcode dialling in.
{caller}-Evening Councillor. How are we doing on this shitty afternoon?
{Langdale}-Er, Fine thanks Mr Maxwell. What can I do for you?
{caller}-You know damn well what you can do for me you snivelling prick. Get that bitch of a woman onside for this meeting or make sure she doesn't attend.
You know who her ties are, and you know she cannot be allowed to represent them. You fail me and those snaps go public at 09:00 the morning after. YOU HEAR ME??
{Langdale}-Yes, yes I hear you. It er.. It won't come to that. I'm sure something can be er.. "arranged".
{caller}- Good. You've got the list, make sure their licenses are revoked. Any you can't get revoked, increase the price. Fucking screw them into the ground. If I here they got off lightly, you'll be fucking exposed as the dirty rotten bastard you are and all them poor young smack addicts you love to stick your dick in will suddenly find themselves getting interviews with the evening post.
{call ends}
The caller had a deep, gravelly voice. It sounded like the typical Cockney-done-good accent, the old wide-boy banter replaced with proper pronunciation that slipped when his anger rose.
Langdale sounded seriously nervous, out of his depth, the transcript of the call recorded, you had no doubt that this politico was in the pocket of someone much larger and meaner than he could ever hope to be.
-
___Lumen___
Morning breaks and you're rudely awakened by the dustman, its noisy mechanism reverberating off the flat brick walls of the street below coupled with the rattling of glass bottles and god knows what else as it emptied the bins noisily into its gargantuan crushing compartment.
06.32 said the AR clock on your bedside table, plenty of time to grab a fag, a brew and get ready for the day ahead.
[spoiler]Feel free to IC your kit loadout and anything you want to do prior to heading out. The barbers goes well, no issues. Etiquette roll needed for the tailor's salon though.[/spoiler]
-
Taylor takes 5 random conversations, anonymizes them and sends them to 'Fingers' letting him know he's got the names to fill in and more where that came from.
After moving to the coffee house, he sips his soycaf and sends Ralphy a message. <<@Ralphy [Taylor] You never said when you needed that old kit fixed. And is it at your flat or should I pick it up from somewhere else? Get me the details and we'll get you sorted.>>
As the call comes in, Taylor sits up in his chair and starts paying more attention.
Cursing under his breath he trys to trace that other number before the call is finished, knowing he doesn't have much of a chance.
[spoiler]Matrix Perception on maxwell (Int 5 + Comp 6 + MP spec 2 + techno 2 = 15) (http://orokos.com/roll/267477): 15d6t5 8 (limit 6)[/spoiler]
He removes that conversation from the list of calls for 'Fingers' and copies that data one data chip and encrypts it.
[spoiler]Encrypt Files (Log 6 + Computer 6 = 12) (http://orokos.com/roll/267479): 12d6t5 4 (limit 6)[/spoiler]
And then he moves the Maxwell conversation to another data chip and encrypts that as well.
[spoiler]Encrypt Files (Log 6 + Computer 6 = 12) (http://orokos.com/roll/267482): 12d6t5 4 (limit 6)[/spoiler]
Finally he erases all of the information from his 'link and lets the courier sprite return to the resonance.
With his work done he leaves a matrix deaddrop for Bex to let her know he's ready to meet, finishes his soycafe and gets up from the table. A big stretch and a yawn, he pats Winston and Victoria on their heads. Good work you two. Couldn't have done it without you. Lets go home and see about our payday. And then heads to the Tube to get home.
-
Knives sits bolt upright in bed "Bloody hell! Fuckin rubbish!" After a quick shower and a strong cuppa breakfast tea complete with morning smoke Knives packs his kit. Most things going in their rightful places, the small bits of odd machinery he wrapped up in an old shirt and stuffed in a duffle. *Alright mate, gotta keep it light. Just the taser and a set of throwing knives, surely a place like this will appreciate the practice. Sorry boys.* He pulls out his two weapon foci in their sheathes, deactivates them, and stuffs them up under the mattress. *Gotta leave you fellas behind this go round. I know you'll be alright, I'll be back by high tea if everythin' runs smooth.*
He hops on the tube and heads too the heart of proper London. Knives entertains himself with checking the latest footy feeds and scores from last night. Undoubtedly there were a few harassing messages from the boys because once again Knives was stuck with a job again. *You'll be made 'e says, easiest money ever 'e says. Beats the shite outta watchin a fish warehouse but these early mornins are killin my cred.* Arriving at the Kensington station he pops out on to the street He makes a quick stop in at a barbershop for a shave and haircut before heading to the tailor.
-
___Lumen___
The audio feed in the barbers shop quietly hums background music out between banal chatter about the recent unrest as you sit with a cup of tea and wait for your slot.
14 police officers were apparently hurt by stones, petrol bombs and vicious attacks by the protesters and 150+ arrests were made.
Prosecutions were due in a mass-sentencing hearing at the Old Bailey tomorrow at 9am and various callers rang into the show to put their widely ranging views across on the matter. A police spokesperson came on and was appealing for restraint and calm amongst the ork community as you were called forward to the chair by an expensively manicured gentlemen barber.
He expertly wrapped a towel around you and set about your shave and trim with the minimum of fuss and small talk.
It set you back a few quid, but there was nothing quite like a proper hot-shave to set you up for the day.
Hitting the streets, the wind felt cool against your newly exposed skin and getting a couple of early nights had really helped shake off the last vestiges of your hangover from France, the arm feeling much better and freer now it had had time to heal.
The tailor's shop was a different matter though; the shop front looked properly old-school, so far beyond actively trying to look old school, it could actually be legit.
An old metal bell clanged as the door opened into it, announcing your presence in the shop. It stank of material, fust and something unfamiliar that you just couldn't place.
A door opened at the back of the shop and an incredibly skinny, haggard looking man appeared. His gait was lanky and bordering on weird, his beady eyes almost looking through you as he sensed that your "smart suit" was only really considered "smart" in the wrong end of town.
Yes? he said, almost an accusation rather than an opening to a conversation.
Minding your P's and Q's helped to soften his edge as you stated your name and appointment time but his manner heavily suggested you were below him and his status, though he happily took your money after some awkward inner leg measurements.
It took about forty minutes of waiting in the stuffy, old smelling shop with its quaint bell and real paper catalogues, but eventually he came back out with your suit, cut in and made to fit perfectly.
___Zwei___
<<Reply::Fingers>>//These look good mate. Call it 50 a pop yeah and double that for anything particularly juicy?//
<<Reply::Ralph>>//Ah sorry mate, got distracted by beer and kicking your arse at pool. Yeah, its at the flat. If you wouldn't mind picking it up it'll save me getting a courier to pick it up mate, no worries if not though, Let me know when you'll be in and I’ll have it sent over//
As you gaze at the icon, it becomes apparent it was a burner, the commcode starting with +3901 was a dead giveaway. Its response to a general ping confirmed the rest, slow response and crappy security protocols on outward facing ports.
The data was being routed through the East London Long-Range antennae but the call dropped before a more accurate trace could be established. Knowing what usually happened to cheap links after dodgy phone calls like that, it'd be in the sewers or a rubbish bin by now with the commcard smashed in.
Leaving the coffee house, you headed back out into the cold of the night, an acidic tang in the air irritated the back of your throat as the smog hang low under the drizzly cloud cover.
Your breath hung in stiff clouds in front of your face, collecting and diffusing into the exhaust fumes of the stationary traffic beside you.
It wasn't weird for this time of night, or this part of the city but when you saw the drone responders shoot overhead followed by a column of police outriders you knew something was up.
A huge ARO flashed over Westminster tube station entrance, warning of severe disruptions on the circle line and the trid-verts plastered on the side of the hotel by westminster bridge switched over to the stern face of the BBC news anchor Roger Stephenson.
<<ARO audio feed>>Police advise of civil unrest and skirmishes with protesters currently marching into the west of the city. Thousands of protestors are thought to be en-route to the Mayor's residence to hand over a petition and there are unconfirmed reports of looting and damage to property along the route. Police are advising of snap-road and tube closures and diversions and are advising the populace to remain calm and stay indoors.
Panic sets in a bit, knowing that there was a good possibility that the protest was heading to the Mayors house, a mere ten minute walk up into Kensington from your house. Your Mum was due her meds and would be panicking like mad having seen the news.
-
Knives suits up and tips his hat to the stuffy old tailor. *A proper jackass but he makes a fine suit. Damn I make this look good.* With a fresh shave, trim, and suit Knives bops on down the street. The fine fitting suit made him walk a little smoother, his back a little straighter. He lights up a cig and walks on over to the sporting shop Johnny had pointed out for him. He makes it a quick stop, grabbing the suit and sword needed to complete his ensemble.
Then it's on to the club. He takes a deep breath before approaching the door. *Come on luck don't fail me now.* Pulling his doctored swipe card from his breast pocket Knives swipes the card and steps forward hoping and expecting it to work.
-
The sports shop was practically alien in comparison to the stuffy tailors.
A shiny looking salesman greeted you at the door, slick and polished ARO's guided you around the store and helped you pick up a decent set of fencing gear.
It wasn't cheap, but you figured it'd be necessary and you could always shift it second-hand on the London-Board 'Trix site afterwards.
There were three choices of fighting blade, sabre, epee and foil and the annoyingly pristine salesperson pressed you for your choice as you tried on the sensor laden chestplate and face guard for size.
Having made your choice, you head out into the morning air again, pushing through the crowds outside the tube station as you double back on yourself to head into the fencing club.
Your shoes clack noisily on the damp marble steps up to the entrance, nervously palming and flicking the card around your fingers as you approached the scanner. Swiping the card over the panel, you're received with the satisfying clunk of a disengaging maglock and the heavy-set door swung open under power assistance as you pull it towards you.
The marble continued across the expensively attired lobby area, scented diffusers sat on top of an unmanned reception desk. A slick ARO noted that the receptionist would return shortly.
A flight of stairs to your right were marked as the path to the main recreation hall whilst the corridor ahead was marked for the squash courts, gym and sauna. A doorway was set behind the reception desk marked with "staff only". Foosteps echo down the stairs on the noisy marble and were accompanied by what sounded like a casual conversation between friends.
-
<<<@Fingers [Mams] Sounds good. I've attached the conversations.
. conversations.audio
>>>
Hearing the ARO, works his way through the pedestrian traffic as quickly as he can.
<<<@Ralphy [Taylor] Works for me mate. I'll swing by tonight or tomorrow. Door code still the same? And do you have any info on the protest? Sounds like its going right by the house, worried about mum.>>>
[orange]Wish I'd gotten around to having that damn comm implanted in mum as I know she often forgets it.[/orange]
[spoiler]I'm assuming I've at least 3 marks on all of Judy's gear. Trace mom's icon (Int 5 + Comp 6 = 11) (http://orokos.com/roll/269012): 11d6t5 2[/spoiler]
<<<@Mum [Taylor] Hey mum, I'm on my way home. Just saw the news, stay in the house and lock the doors. I'll pick up your meds on my way back and I'll be careful.>>>
With that he breaks out into jog trying to make ith through the crowd.
-
<<Reply:: Fingers>>//Great, you'll have the money in your account by sunday. How's yer mam by the way?//
<<Reply:: Ralphy>>//Yeah, code reader's a bit fucked though, if it doesn't work gimme a shout and I'll let you in manually//
Jogging into the crowd is like jogging into treacle. People seem a bit flummoxed by the disruption to their normal routine.
The TFL hub [spoiler]transport for london[/spoiler] recommended a bus out to green park station to pick up the Victoria line out to Kensington as a diversion route, but it seemed like every man and his digital dog had the same idea.
20 minutes of sweat and cramped buses later, you were on an equally sweaty and overcrowded train.
Your mum's icon is right at home, the ping strong and clear from within the property's boundary on the overlaid AR map.
//Oh, Taylor, come home son. Its right outside and there's a fire at number 46!//
The train clattered and squealed on the ancient track and came to rest at the platform, though the doors seemed to take an absolute age to open.
When they did, a depressing sight awaited you at the bottom of the escalators.
A thin wall of police with crowd control drones had blocked the escalators up to the ground level and were appealing for calm from the increasingly pissed off commuters as they held you on the platform.
One stressed looking bloke in a long trenchcoat was hollering over a loud speaker but you could barely hear what he was saying as the train disgorged an angry mob of suits at them. He was clearly the one in charge and the uniformed officers looked a bit nervous as they glanced at each other.
Stay calm, everything is OK! We just need you to stay here for your own safety! PLEASE, BE CALM!!!!
-
Taylor quickly looks for the ID on the officer in charge.
[spoiler]Matrix Perception on cop (Int 5 + Comp 6 + MP spec 2 + techno 2 = 15) (http://orokos.com/roll/269119): 15d6t5 6 limit 6[/spoiler]
<<<@Ralphy [Taylor] Using your name in vain mate. Trying to get through a blockade to mums place. She's terrified. I'm talking to Sgt Barlow here at the Kensington stop. He might check up on me. Telling him you've asked me to go check on number 46 for you.>>>
With the message sent, and hoping that Ralphy gets the message in time, Taylor walks up to the sargent like he's supposed to be here. Relying on the training he recieved all those years ago.
[spoiler]Etiquette roll for police proceedure (Cha 5 + Eti 1 + Friendly 2 = 8) (http://orokos.com/roll/269128): 8d6t5 2 limit 8[/spoiler]
"Hoi, Sgt Barlow? I'm Cadet Phelps and Costible Timms, ID# 239857293 has asked that I get out of your hair and head down to number 46 Kensington to help the family there. I'm known in the neighborhood and it was thought I could be helpful.'
-
*Spota luck there. The card worked and the receptionist stepped out for a smoke. Let's see... I guess main hall.* Knives starts to make his way up the stairs, looking up for the approaching voices. He keeps his eyes peeled for his target and makes his way up to the main hall.
-
___Lumen___
Two well dressed gents head down the stairs as you begin to climb them, chatting about some legal case by the sounds of the banter.
They paid you little attention as they move into single-file to let you pass, too engrossed in their own world.
Reaching the top of the stairs, a long marble corridor stretches to your left and right and a magnificent glass frontage takes up nearly the whole wall, running the entire length of the corridor.
The main hall was a really decent size, maybe 10-20 white suited and helmeted folk were sparring and practising their moves on the hall floor, apparently under the supervision of a tutor or more experienced fencer who moved between the sparring pairs subtly adjusting posture and demonstrating strikes and parries.
A viewing balcony at the end of the corridor had stairs down to the hall floor if you wanted to join the crowd of fencers, from here everyone's face guards blocked any hope you had of getting a positive ID on your mark.
___Zwei___
Shortly a reply pings through from Ralphy;
Shit man, you can't just go bandying my name around like that, you trying to get me disciplined? For fuck's sake, its a city wide crisis here. I'll see what I can pull but don't expect them to be co-operative.
The officer was running a police SiN by the name of Sgt Barlow and he seemed genuinely pissed off at your intrusion, dropping the loudspeaker away from his mouth before he addresses you.
Cadet? Ha, No-one is allowed through here lad, especially not some trumped up cadet. Under highest orders here mate, too many fecking trouble causers looting and smashing the place up. You'll just have to wait 'till this protest moves on.
-
Taylor is disappointed that he couldn't bluff his way past the Sargent. "Understood Sargent. I'll get out of your hair. Sorry for the intrusion."
He turns away from the Sargent and pulls up a map of the station and heads for one of the maintenance exits furthest from the blockade.
He casually walks towards the exit trying to avoid the cameras as much as possible in the bedlam of the station.
-
Knives stands there watching for a few seconds before moving down the hall to the viewing balcony. He stands quietly observing, *Hmmm do I risk suiting up and making a proper fool of myself or do I just wait? Besides... fancy joint like this ye'd think they'd have a changing room.* He reaches for a smoke but thinks better of it and watches, sizing up the fencers for one with the skill Johnny described.
-
After a few minutes of watching Knives shoulders his duffle and heads back out of the hall to the stairs. *Better to get in there and play the part than stand around with my dick in my hand.* He trots up the stairs to the locker room and changes into his new sensor suit and grabs the sabre he picked out. He gives it a few quick flicks before stowing his bag and heading back to the main hall. *Not bad for a little pussy sword. Though looks to me like those lads where just playin tag with em.*
-
Taylor heads away from the crowd and finds a maintenance corridor with a keypad locked door at the end and a camera watching the hallway. Twenty meters further away from the hallway is a door with a card lock, but fortunately out of the view of the camera. Weighing his options, he comes the conclusion he needs more data and starts opening AR windows with info on all of the objects he sees.
It appears that everything is tied back to the TFL host, and that's a reasonably secure venture. The technomancer has heard that some can connect to a device simply by touching it, but he's got to do it the old fashioned way. With the way everything is setup, he thinks it's best to just go through the host and then having direct access to the individual devices, and pick up an internal map to boot.
-
___lumen___
The suit is a pretty snug fit around the chest but has plenty of give in it around the shoulders and arms, leaving them free for the thrusts and parties you knew you were about to perform.
As you donned the mask, it's inbuilt image link fired up with a yellow outline of a human form, going through a rapid self-check as the hit sensors fired up and calibrated themselves in turn. It was complete by the time you'd put your kit in the locker, passing three gents from the hall heading back up the corridor to the changing room, slapping each other on the back and telling in-jokes in a bloody annoying posh accent.
The session seemed to be in recess as you push through a heavy glass door and head down onto the floor and it became clear as the group began to split into groups that practice time was over, now it was sparring time. The large group had split into four smaller ones, each being organised into sparring pairs as you head across the hall.
The main instructor you saw as you entered was leading the furthest group from you, most of the attendees and instructors had their masks down over there faces and were beginning their last stretches.
-
Knives walks in the main hall and strolls across to the main instructor. He clears his throat to get attention and tries to hide his East End accent as he speaks, "Excuse me, got any room for a rusty chap to give it a go? I know I'm a bit late but I'd like to get in a round if it's not too much of a bother."
-
"Ah yes, not a problem old boy. Give me a minute and i'll put you through your paces, see just how "rusty" you are eh?"
He finished pairing the small group off into partners, calling them surname by surname and then came back to you. What's your name then chap?
Heading to a bit of empty hall, he synced his suit and foil with yours, a second outline appearing in the mask's image link in red and called "en-garde!"
[spoiler]Right, blades roll then please![/spoiler]
-
"Much appreciated. The names Rutherford, Charles Rutherford." Knives tries to mimic the stance he witnessed the others taking as they squared off.
[Spoiler]
Agility 7 + Blades 6 = 13d6. 13d6.hits(5)=5 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4850280/)
[/spoiler]
-
@Lumen
He dips his head in respect to his opponent, gets into his stance and the mask pulses green once to let you know that the match is now active.
The crowd of fencers around you beings to blur out of your focus as your heightened fight-or-flight reactions kick in. The thrill of the fight began to rise inside you, even if the weapon in your hand was non-lethal and your opponent was a poncy toff who's weekend car was probably worth more than everything you owned!
@Zweiblumen
The host yielded to your attempts to trick it into giving up a MARK and you entered it's AR interface, accepting it readily.
Its sculpting was subtle in AR, designed in a utilitarian way so as to highlight the useful but not obstruct the real world life of its workers with over the top drama that many designed when let loose.
A subtle orange hue denoted devices belonging to the host, the keypad and camera both changing colour slightly.
An AR terminal opened at the host's request:
//HOST BROADCAST//<<Due to the police presence and civil disobedience, all non-essential access to security devices has been banned. employees found distributing images from TFL security or that are complicit in civil disobedience or abetting those evading the police will face disciplinary action. Extra Host security will be deployed for the duration of situation. For assistance please contact your line management or use the helpdesk VR/AR channel as appropriate//
Calling up a Host search terminal, you begin a trawl for a sector map including your station and its maintenance corridors. A red herring diverts your attention, but your second trawl brings back the bacon.
The corridor ahead runs through to the old manual signals control and station controller's offices. Emergency exits run from the back of both suites and upto the surface via a shared service access for the sewerage.
Taking a look around in the corridor, a crush of people had now formed densely at the station exit, shouting and chanting anti-police slogans as the overstretched line of police blared into loudspeakers in return somewhere out of sight up the corridor.
The atmosphere was nasty, you knew shit was going to kick off any minute.
-
Taylor curses under his breath, words that would surely cause his mother to blush if she thought he even knew them let alone used them, at how long this is taking him. Between the protest starting to boil over behind him and knowing GOD is going to start seeing his tell-tale activity he knows he's got to hurry. In order to buy some time on the the GOD front, he pulls on the Resonance and weaves a Veil of static around himself in the matrix, obfuscating his miss-deeds from the all seeing eyes of GOD.
Walking up to the door lock he subtly swipes his signature MARK onto the device and tells it to unlock for him. Keeping the map open in one AR window off to the side he also looks for any more cameras he's bound to run across. As soon as he thinks the coast is clear, he slips through the doorway.
-
Knives tips his head to return the courtesy, when he brings his eyes up they are hyper focused on his target. Even if it's a practice bout with practice swords the thrill of the fight has always gotten Knives' blood pumping. His natural quickness and mana infused reflexes left the instructor moving in slow motion. While he knew it might blow his cover of knowing anything about fencing he couldn't help but thrust out towards the instructor.
[Spoiler]
Agility 7 + Blades 6 = 13d6. 13d6.hits(5)=4 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4850385/)
[/spoiler]
-
The instructor's passive starting posture led you right into the trap he'd set.
His pace was electric; you thought you were going to land a lovely strike into his abdomen but before you knewe it, your blade was parried with a beautiful and graceful arc and his momentum carried the tip of his blade into your chestpiece.
Your image link pulsed red and the outline of you was now sullied with a red mark approximating the point of impact.
You staggered forwards under your own momentum and the instructor danced backwards, retaking a neutral defensive posture as you readied for another point.
[spoiler]instructor spends 7 ini to perform riposte. you are up again at ini 15.[/spoiler]
-
@Zweiblumen:
The lock invites a MARK and yields to your attempts to open it, a heavy deadbolt disengaging from the inner mechanics of the heavy security door letting you know that it was now open. The crowd up the corridor had reached a crescendo and judging by the change in tone of the hailing on the loudspeaker, stuff was getting hurled at the police lines.
-
*That fraggin twinkle toes! Bet you think you're bloody clever don't ya?* Knives' was shocked at the speed in which his blow had been countered and answered but it wasn't the first time something like that had happened. Everything he had learned from his lifetime of fighting with short blades had thought him to get in quick and hit hard. So that's just what he did. Letting his momentum carry him Knives plants and once again thrusts with his saber.
[spoiler]
Agility 7 + Blades 6 = 13d6. 13d6.hits(5)=5 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4850909/)
[/spoiler]
*Let's see how you like that one ya stuffed shirt wanker!*
-
Silas Blackwell grumbled angirily as he walked down the snow-covered streets. he had been down to the local pub to get a pint, and before he knew it the already snowy streets had turned into a bloody blizzard! The dwarf took his frustration out kicking a snow pile before continuing on his way towards where his apartment was. The mage breathed on his gloved hands, trying to get some warmth on him. He may be dying, but he was not going to have it put in his obituary that he got claiemd by some bloody frozen water. After a while he finally made it back to his apartment building. He let himself in, and the cold air that came with him got a complaint from someone lounguing around on the floor, and a half-mumbled apology and a glare got Silas passage without getting yelled at. The dwarf took the stairs, and eventually made it to his third story single-room. He went inside and set up some soy to get cooking. Whiel he waited, he checked his comn for any messages. Ad..Ad..spam...some idiot I owe money to...Tilly, apparently she want me to meet her third boyfriend...No jobs. Nothing He thought as the soy cooked Nothing to do. Gaah, this is driving me crazy!. He started on the food, shoveling it into his mouth. I could have kept my mouth shut, but nope, I had to tell Callie, and now she'll give me any work because she's afraid I'll drop dead on a job. Bloody diesase is ruining my life, just not in the way I imagined.
-
As Ena strolled around the corner of the street near her flat, she permitted herself a slight smile. She actually liked the snow. The cold air made everything smell crisp, and though it did very little to dampen the actual scents of the city it seemed to make even the smoggy air smell a little bit clearer. That and the way the sunlight on the top of the snow caused those wonderful shimmering patterns to appear as the light refracted was a treat. She'd brought up the phenomena to Evan once, way back, but his response of "What, ye like the way it sparkles?" had shown he probably wasn't seeing quite the same thing.
I guess not everybody sees the things I do.
Ena shrugged to herself and tightened her jacket around herself at a sudden chill breeze. Mentally checking her current funds through her DNI she grimaces.
Ah well not something to worry about. Not like it's anything new. I better find some work this week though, or it's more time at Beaumont's shop and that'll hardly keep me breaking even.
-
@ Knives:
His neutral stance allows him to easily read your attack, expertly shifting his weight and parrying your thrust with an artistic flourish.
He slapped his foil across your back as your momentum opened you up to reprisals and he expertly stepped around you.
Once again the image link pulsed red to register the contact and another wound was added to your sensor suit's outline.
Frustrated at his artistic flourish and easy professionalism, you realise this must be your mark. A wave of common sense overcomes you, He'd easily dodged attacks that had gutted your regular opponents and left them bleeding on the streets. A new approach was needed.
He took an easy stance, heading to your side of the sparring line as you'd overcommitted and taken his.
Who taught you boy? You thrust like you're used to using something far heavier than a foil. You overcommit, more like you're trying to cause a grievous wound than score a point.
@saithor:
You'd not long stepped over the threshold of the doorway into your apartment before the cleaning drones fired up and buzzed about the kitchen as you cracked on with the cooking. A you still had plenty of the nicer flavourants and some pre-made sauces and made up a passable thai green curry.
You stared idly out of the window whilst you shovelled it down, alternating between the slowly drifting snow flakes and the line of drivel in your AR feed from your mailbox.
The threats on the debt were getting more severe with the passing weeks and your bank balance was no where near healthy enough to meet even half the interest.
Your heart rate rose slightly at the sight of a couple of heavy set thugs heading down the street and the backed up fluids in your lungs provoked a coughing fit.
You hacked and spluttered, a thin sputum hitting the back of the sink and bringing a touch of relief, though the heavy tinge of red confirmed that your time for this world was running low.
Setting the dishwasher running, you got yourself cleaned up and settled in on the couch and flicked idly through the trid streams.
You almost didn't hear your commlink vibrate, but when you did, you were most surprised:
//<<From: Callie207>>//Big player is after a team. High risk, decent pay. Interested?//
-
Looking at the map, Taylor sees his safest course of action is to take the long way around by the signals room. There's less people over there and everyone is distracted anyway. He sees 4 cameras along that path and quickly gains access to them.
[spoiler]
HotF 4 TFL cameras (Log 6 + Hack 6 = 12) (http://orokos.com/roll/317854): 4#12d6t5 2 7 7 2
the 2's mean there's a *tiny* chance they could tie me as they have 2 dice to defend. Can't believe I got 2 hits not once, but twice!?!?!
[/spoiler]
Using the cameras to make sure his path is clear, Taylor carefully makes his way through the hallways towards the exit. As he goes past each camera, they oddly suffer from poor image quality and appear rather pixelated.
[spoiler]
Edit File 4 TFL cameras (Log 6 + Computer 6 = 12) (http://orokos.com/roll/317857): 4#12d6t5 4 6 4 3
[/spoiler]
'As long as no one physically sees me, I should be good to go. Come on kid, you can make this!' He thinks to himself as he sneaks through the eerily quiet hallways.
-
//<From:Blackwell101>//Give me the cooridnates and the sitrep, and I'll be there as soon as I possibly can.//
Food forgotten Silas opened up his closet and got his armored jacket out and put it on. Finally, some excitment in the world again. He may not be afraid of dying, but dying out of boredom wasting away in his apartment was something else entirely. The second thing he got from his closet was a long thin brown package, within which contained his good ol' Defiance. Getting the fake license for it had been a doozy, but the gun was worth it. Spellcasting might be better, but made to much of a target out of himself, and nothing made your displeasure with someone known like a barrelful of buckshot through the mouth. He fondly remebered a particulary nasty executive that he had executed like that. Shaking his thoughts out of the past he grabbed the package, amde sure his focus was still tied to his sleeve, and he started walking downstairs to head out, waiting for Callie's reply. He was so keyed up to be working again, even the snow didn't seem as bad as it was jsut a few minutes ago.
-
"My apologies... I haven't fenced since my school days and got a little over anxious." Knives takes his spot at the line. *Come on Miles you're making an arse of yourself. You can't over power him like ya would in a dark alley. Be smart, stay calm...*
He readies himself for the next encounter, determined to come out on top.
-
@profgast_______________
The breeze picked up as you rounded the block and headed down to the river's edge. a steady stream of workers trudged past you heading to the East-End industrial estates ready for the late shift. Their incessant footfall had turned the snow on the path to a thick sludge that caked your boots and slopped at the bottom of your jeans, dampening your ankles as you headed along the bank.
A few street traders interspersed the usual pop-up stores along the promenade, hot toddies of cider and meat-wrap sellers filled the usually rank air with a sweetness that rarely pierced the Old Smoke's smoggy atmosphere but the snow and breeze helped shift the shit out of everyone's lungs and made for a pleasant change of pace.
Stopping by the railings, you placed your mittened hands on them and peered up-stream and over to the north bank. The Arcology dominated the skyline to your left, towering over the square mile's skyscrapers and drowning them with a barrage of oppressive AR ads for half the city's January sales specials. It utterly dwarfed tower bridge, which looked like a relic that could as well have been as old as the pyramids contrasted against such a backdrop.
The city had seen some history alright, it had been a good home to millions over the ages, but without a source of income soon, you were gonna be up shit creek without a paddle.
A voice from behind you startled you out of your mental headspace.
You spun on your heels, caught off guard.
A rank looking hobo stood near you, shod in kit that had long fallen apart but had been coerced to carry on in service of this wretched looking bloke.
Y'allright love?? can ye spare some change fer a bite te eat?
His accent was thick Glaswegian, a single digit number of teeth occupied his bleeding gums and his outstretched palm showed the distinctive nip of frostbite and as you suspected from his appearance, a couple of track-marks.
He wasn't in a good state.
@lumen_________________________
No... That's not right at all. I've trained many a rusty schoolboy before. They just forget how to parry, lose their instinct a bit. Your style is...... different.
Again. He calls En-Garde! and advances towards you, left hand neutral as a counterbalance behind him and with a defensive posture.
He looks for an opening and whips a lightning quick jab your way before retreating to his defensive posture
[spoiler]Free action: pre-emptive parry (-5 ini)
Complex: melee attack(-10 ini) 15d6.hits(5)=5 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4851760/) 5 hits.
remaining 7 ini[/spoiler]
@Saithor__________________
You'd just locked the door and cleared the first floor of stairs when the reply came through
//Cool it, the meet with the bigwig isn't for a day or two. Need to run you through the basics first. Breakfast tomorrow, O'Malleys at 9.30am alright?//
@Zweiblumen________________
The cameras yield one by one and you start to make progress down the hallway. after the first doorway, the corridor splits off to the left through a heavy security door to the signals office. A pane of bulletproof glass separates you from the room that was backlit by the green displays of the staff at their holo-terminals. You could hear the mutterings of people at work and caught a glimpse of a suited woman moving on the far side of the room before you ducked back down out of line of sight.
[spoiler]Roll infiltration to advance or roll perception/ewar to view through cameras.[/spoiler]
-
Silas cursed and turned around to head back upstairs.
//Yeah, that's fine, I'll be there at that time. Night//
Sighing, he went back into his apartment and put both the coat and the gun back inside his closet. It was late enough for him to turn in. He set his alarm for 7:30, better to make absolutely sure he didn't miss the appointment because of some drek cropping up. With that he went to bed.
-
@saithor__________
The night was restless, you awoke several times, hacking up the clear sputum that belied chronic heart disease. Morning came like a kick to the balls, the garbage truck's noise reverberating off the sheer walls of the apartment blocks of south-central London and into your ears.
The soyprocessor had already made a start on breakfast as you showered and the trid display popped up with the BBC news. Spurs had beaten West Ham 2-1 and the highlight reel looked like Zedanov scored an absolute belter in extra time.
You peered through the blinds at the street below to find that it had snowed even more overnight, a thick blanket lay on the pavements and parked cars, punctured only by the tire tracks and footprints of the garbage collectors below.
-
This was the moment Knives had been waiting for, finally this glorified sensor poker made an offensive move. Knives was ready and moved his blade to counter the oncoming blow. He deftly batted away the initial blow and tried to capitalize on the small opening. The instructor's advantage of knowledge and honed skill in this particular style was clear but Knives' pride wouldn't stand for being so obviously bested. The window of opportunity was small and closing with each second but he stuck out to finally land a blow.
"You've caught me... Fencing I haven't practiced since school but it is much easier to find a fencing club than one that practices Fiore Dei Liberi around these parts..."
[spoiler]
Parry (- 5 Ini): Agility 7 + Blades 6 = 13d6. 13d6.hits(5)=6 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4851850/)
On Initiative 14:
Complex Action (-10 Ini) Melee Attack. Agility 7 + Blades 6 = 13d6. 13d6.hits(5)=5 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4851861/)
Remaining Initiative: 4. Not really enough to do anything with
[/spoiler]
-
Taylor quickly ducks away from the view of the window and sneaks a look through the cameras to get his timing down.
[spoiler]
4 perception on cameras (Int 5 + EW 6 = 11) (http://orokos.com/roll/318094): 4#11d6t5 5 6 3 5
[/spoiler]
-
"Oh, bloody heck." The dwarf said. He went and grabbed the armored coat, but left the shotgun in this time. No need to bring that to fiendly brunch. He frowned as he saw the soyprocessor cooking. He had known about the brakfest, and he could have sworn he had set the thing not to waste food in the morning. Maybe somebody has hacked into the machine, and was planning on using it to try and poison him? Had a hacker broken in and was currently observing him throught he innocent looking device? Something to check up on when he got back from breakfest. He headed outside, and yes, the snow was deeper and harder to slodge through this time. he was about to set off on his normal route to O'malleys when he remembered the Soy porcessor's weird behavior. Frowning and mulling it over, he headed off on an alternate route. Even with the tough going through the snow, he should still arrive a good fifteen or so minutes early to his meeting with Callie.
-
@lumen____________
His defensive posture and honed response to attack caught your assault just in the nick of time, redirecting your thrust into a clash of blades. You both struggled against each other, almost locking the hand-guards as the bendy blades slid across one another.
He desperately did not want to concede a point to an upstart, and you certainly wanted to land one, and it became a battle of wills as to who would land the blow.
[spoiler]
Pre-emptive parry allows him to use parry throughout the combat turn at no further initiative loss:
16d6.hits(5)=5 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4851867/) parried your thrust but you're now locked in blade-to-blade struggle.
STR + BOD (4) test please[/spoiler]
-
@saithor__________
The place was as busy as you'd expect it to be on a shitty winters morning. The queue for take-outs stretched to the door and most of the tables were taken. The smell of freshly baked pastries and coffee got your stomach rumbling as the maître-d took you over to Callie's table.
She looked at you agog. "you're not quite dead yet then?"
The waitress took your drinks order with a friendly smile and Callie's face dropped the jokey smile and looked deadly serious; "you fit to work or am I wasting your limited time here?"
@Zwei___________
None of the cameras showed any movement but camera three was the worry.
It overlooked the toilets, the grainy grey image it showed allowed you to just about make out the distinctive lines of the womens and you assumed the gents was just out of line of sight.
-
"Callie, lass, I'm hurt. And I'm fine. The doctor's say I should be good for another year at the least, and the bloody thing doesn't impair my performance in any way, so yes, I am fit to work." Silas said as he ordered his meal. "And don't skimp on it either lass." he told the waitress.
-
Knives pushed hard against his opponent, his sneer of contempt hidden only by the sensor helmet. Now was the time he could use the brute strength he had become so used to relying on. Locked in a battle of wills there was no room for quick moves or fancy sword tricks.
[Spoiler]
Strength 4 + Body 5 = 9d6. 9d6.hits(5)=3 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4851925/)
Spending edge to reroll nonhits.
6d6.hits(5)=1 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4851953/). Just barely but I got the 4 hits.
[/spoiler]
-
Ena smiles at the hobo sympathetically.
"Oh you poor thing. I don't really have any spare coin on me… I can spare these for a lad who's hard on his luck though, if you don't mind the colour that is.
She quickly slips her hands out of her mittens (pastel pink) and offers them with her left hand.
-
@profgast_____________
Yer..Yer an..Angel...
Thank ye sweatheart
He slipped them over his frozen hands and bowed his head in thanks before shuffling off up the river.
Your hands now felt the full force of the biting river breeze and it tugged at your hair, blowing across your face and into your mouth as it stuck to your lip gloss.
The snow began to fall in tissue paper size chunks and soon drifts collected in the windward sides of bins, benches and parked cars and you shoved your hands into your pockets as you headed upstream to the meet.
Ryan's was a small pub, frequented usually by the shift workers in the Ork Quarter, home of the most deprived people in london. Long hours in shit conditions in the smelting district did nothing for their already short longevity and instead of fighting it, most just made the most of the shorter time they had left, getting thoroughly pissed up in a mixture of excellent (depending on taste) dive bars, drug dens and BTL houses. Ryan's was on the classier end, but it was always a good shout for a night out
@lumen__________
You push and push shoving him back onto his off-foot with a series of grunts. He found good purchase against the high-grip flooring and steadied himself with a second hand supporting his sword arm. You redoubled your efforts and matched him with your left arm pushing your right forwards.
Something told you that the other students had lost interest in their own matches and had begun to pay attention to your duel with their lead instructor.
A stalemate broke out between you and you dug deep into your reserves, channeling mana into your muscles to give you the edge you needed. His laboured breath intensified with your own as he began to give inch by inch, millimetre by millimetre.
His foil gave out before his muscles did, shearing with an awful mettalic clang. The sudden release of resistance catapulted your arms foward, smacking him square in the chin of the mask with your hand guard and sending him straight to the ground as you stumbled forward slightly.
A stunned silence spread around the room as the instructor rolled prone and pushed up from there, a huge dint in in his mask belied the force of the impact.
You looked around as he got to his knees, the students looking at you agog as they flipped their masks up with quizzical looks on their faces.
An asian looking chap moved towards the downed instructor to help him up as you decided what to do
@saithor____________
The waitress looked unimpressed as she scribbled down your full-english order and returned shortly with a pot of tea for two and two piled plates of sausage, beans, egg, bacon, tommies and mushies. It looked like heaven as you took a glug of tea and tucked in.
Alright well, if you're really in the game so to speak. You wouldn't mind doing a little favour for me would you? prove that you're up to it?
This is a big job and I can't have you fucking this up. Pay is good before you ask. 10k a head, 2k bonus for timeliness. 500 quid kit allowance up front.
She chopped up a slab of bacon and piled a forkful of beans onto it and shoveled it in as she looked at you for the inevitable barrage of questions.
-
"Oh shite!" Knives exclaims as the foil snaps and his guard collides with the instructor's mask. He drops his sabre to the ground and steps forward to offer a hand up. "Terribly sorry about that old chap. You ok?"
Mentally Knives is kicking himself, *You fuckwit, now ya've made a scene and everyone is looking. Better keep this helmet on as long as I can. Never know who might recognize me.*
-
Its...ah...its fine. You lot, back as you were.
He waves away the asian bloke and takes you hand up, flipping up his mask as he got unsteadily to his feet.
A trickle of blood sullied his recognisable face, it was Lord Langdale, your mark afer all.
Where did you learn to fight like that? No fencer i've seen in the uk has that technique. You fight with so much...Hatred, Like your life depends on it.
He rubs a smudge of the red stuff off onto his crisp white sensor suit and looks at you, clearly not seeing you for what you really were; a sword wielding gangster from the east-end.
-
Ena steps into Ryan's quickly, sighing audibly as the heated air immediately starts to warm her up. She glances around, looking at the other clientele and taking the moment to shake out the bit of snow stuck in her hair.
"I don't suppose you could get me a nice hot cuppa?"
She walks towards the bar, working the chill out of her body since she's back indoors.
-
"No problem. Just name it and it will be done." Silas said. When the food came in he grinned and started digging into the good breakfast. "But first let me finish my breakfest. This stuff is good!"
-
"You certainly know your stuff sir. It wasn't a school instructor who taught me to fight like that and it wasn't here in jolly ole England. They teach you to fight with everything you've got in the Royal Marines and that sticks with you when the blood gets pumping. Sorry if I got a little rough on you." Knives finally lifts his helmet to reveal a devilish grin. "Maybe I could buy you a pint after the class? I feel just awful hitting you like that."
-
@Lumen__________
"Ah, Marine eh? RAF myself. Why not? Lets get finished up here and head to the rose and crown. We can swap war stories eh old boy? Meet you out front in a bit. Langdale's the name; yours?"
He wipes the last of the blood away from his lip and pushes the dint out of the fine mesh mask as best he can and checks over the remaining fencing partners, advising on posture, stance and technique.
Most of the group began to fizzle away now, heading up towards the changing rooms and having a good gossip en-route.
@Saithor_________
Simple courier job, just need someone more reliable for this one as its really important it gets there unopened. I'll give you a couple hundred quid so you're not out of pocket.
The breakfast was as hearty as anything you'd get from a greasy spoon cafe; oodles of beans, a pair of sausages, a couple slices of bacon and a dollop of scrambled eggs, all topped off with tinned tomatoes and fried mushrooms.
A couple slices of granary toast sat on the side of the plate with plenty of butter on each slice. It was heaven!
@Profgast________
The place was like a sauna in comparison to the biting wind off the river. It was pretty busy, shift workers grabbing a bite to eat before/after their day at work and a few locals getting out of the wind.
A fat and greasy ork manned the kitchenette, a knackered looking soyprocessor and drinks dispenser being the only functional looking hardware aside from the gas hob which displayed some less-than-hygienic pots and pans.
Course we do love, Medium/large/troll size? Oh, and you staying in or taking out?
Bex sat at a small table in the far corner, absorbed in an AR display that was locked to private. She'd changed her hair colour again but looked much the same otherwise
[spoiler]Bex is one of Smith's agents who act as middlemen. You've seen Bex before and know she's reliable[/spoiler]
@Zwei________
You sneak through the first two sets of doors with no issues, the long corridors boxing around the signals room with only minor store cupboards branching off from it.
The next set of doors split into a crossroads of sorts, the toilets to your right and an open door into the signals room to your left. You can hear voices and the background hum of machinery and cooling fans.
You scan the cameras again looking for movement and it all looks clear, so you take your chances and push on to the last set of doors. Before you disengage the lock, your blood runs cold; John? John? come take a look at this mate, its fucked again.
[spoiler]One of the operators aced an audio perception check and heard your footsteps as you passed the doorway but didn't get a visual on you[/spoiler]
-
"Not a problem then lass, just get me the goods and directions, and this little package of yours will make it there untouched and unhamred. Their isn't anybody after it now though is there? Because someone may or may not have hacked into my soy-processor this morning." said Silas as he enjoyed the heavenly experience of the food. Best to enjoy this stuff while he still could.
-
Knives flashes a smile, "Brilliant, I'll let you wrap up here and meet you out front in a tick. Name's Rutherford, pleasure is all mine." He gives a respectful nod then grabs his sabre and heads with the rest of the crowd up to the changing room. *Well that didn't work out too bad... more attention than I was hopin for but hopefully between here and the rose and crown we can find a place for a proper chat.*
He keeps to himself despite the chatter unless someone directly approaches and gets changed. As he slips back into his street clothes Knives tucks away two of his blades to be readily accessible. Once set he heads out front and lights up a smoke waiting for his mark to come out.
-
Ena smiles at the server.
"Medium for here would be lovely."
She waits near the counter until they have her drink ready before taking it to the corner table. Ena makes sure to step past Bex's peripheral vision so she's noticed before sitting down opposite
"Alright Bex?"
-
@Zwei________
You sneak through the first two sets of doors with no issues, the long corridors boxing around the signals room with only minor store cupboards branching off from it.
The next set of doors split into a crossroads of sorts, the toilets to your right and an open door into the signals room to your left. You can hear voices and the background hum of machinery and cooling fans.
You scan the cameras again looking for movement and it all looks clear, so you take your chances and push on to the last set of doors. Before you disengage the lock, your blood runs cold; John? John? come take a look at this mate, its fucked again.
[spoiler]One of the operators aced an audio perception check and heard your footsteps as you passed the doorway but didn't get a visual on you[/spoiler]
Hearing the operator call for his friend, Taylor decides he's pushed his luck far enough. He keeps walking down the corridor to the door at the end. He knows once he's past that he can sprint to the emergency exit.
The operator's are still looking at their screen, what ever is "fucked" probably the camera's he's tweaked. Not interested in finding out for sure he quickly disables the alarm on the fire bar for the last door. Keeping as calm as he can as he waltzes past the Signals room, as soon as the last door closes behind him he bolts for the fire exits and slams into it at full, if not somewhat feeble, force.
He explodes out of the building and quickly heads towards the crowd to disappear into while rebooting his Persona. Once back online he sends a message to Victoria and Winston <<<Well that was fun wasn't it? Next time I should plan for that a bit more. Winston, run ahead and keep an eye on Mum for me, let me know what's going on around the house.>>>.
Taylor will wait until he's sure he's clear of the building before sending a message to his mother.
-
@Profgast__________
Bex looks up a bit startled, obviously deeply engrossed in her AR window.
She closes it and kicks the spare chair a few inches out from under the small table and smiles at you, engaging in the usual small talk to make it look normal to the other cafe visitors.
Hi! nice to see you again, how are you? I love your hair by the way!
-
@Profgast__________
Bex looks up a bit startled, obviously deeply engrossed in her AR window.
She closes it and kicks the spare chair a few inches out from under the small table and smiles at you, engaging in the usual small talk to make it look normal to the other cafe visitors.
Hi! nice to see you again, how are you? I love your hair by the way!
Ena beams at Bex and takes her seat
"Thanks! I like what you've done with yours too! Did you find a new stylist? Or just trying out something different?"
Nothing special to see here everyone, just two old friends meeting up, one of them warming herself back up with a nice hot drink.
-
@Zwei_____
A shout erupts behind you as the door slams shut and you set off running, your footfall pounding against the metal grill of the fire escape. You're plunged into darkness for a second as the fire escape door slams shut behind you and then a bright searing light clicks on as the emergency lighting activates and guides you up towards the emergency exit. The sound of footfall and shouting in the corridor behind you drives you on, and you head up the steps and burst back up into daylight, appearing in the thick of a large crowd of pissed off protesters who are mildly stunned by the mechanical door opening and revealing your bemused form from below the street level.
Winston nods at your command and disappears into the ether, taking forever to get back a sitrep for you.
[spoiler]Sneaking roll at +6 for the heavy crowd around you[/spoiler]
@Profgast_____
Aww, thanks. Yep I've got this new colourist and she's done it a bit different. Glad you like it!
So, how's work been recently? I might have something for you on the freelance side of things if you're still looking?
A young waitress brings over your drink and a complimentary biscuit and asks if you'd like to order any food.
Bex orders a ham and cheese toasty and looks at you with an "i'll pay for it" kind of look.
@Lumen________
The chat in the changing room is bouyant, most of the gents talking about big functions and work do's coming up, balls and corporate-hosted reception nights and the such.
Most seemed to talk Renraku, the Arcology being mentioned more than once.
The cool air outside was a welcome relief, as was your more breathable clothing. the sensor suite was definitely more like armour than clothing and it had chafed around the lumbar support.
The rose and crown was a swanky pub. You'd heard of it but never been in. You couldn't think of any concealed alleys around this part of town, but you figured there'd be a service area for loading somewhere en-route. The difficulty would be getting him to go into it without too much of a scrap
@Saithor_________
She looked at you a bit daft; And what do you think they're trying to do? put you off your breakfast cereal? No, there's no-one I know is actively after it, but its a sensitive packet and it needs to be hand delivered and signed for. The usual channels can't be trusted due to its sensitivity. It must not be opened. Not by you or anyone other than the addressee. Understand?
She slid over a datachip and looked you in the eye for your acknowledgement
[spoiler]sorry for delay guys, busy few days!![/spoiler]
-
@Zwei_____
A shout erupts behind you as the door slams shut and you set off running, your footfall pounding against the metal grill of the fire escape. You're plunged into darkness for a second as the fire escape door slams shut behind you and then a bright searing light clicks on as the emergency lighting activates and guides you up towards the emergency exit. The sound of footfall and shouting in the corridor behind you drives you on, and you head up the steps and burst back up into daylight, appearing in the thick of a large crowd of pissed off protesters who are mildly stunned by the mechanical door opening and revealing your bemused form from below the street level.
Winston nods at your command and disappears into the ether, taking forever to get back a sitrep for you.
[spoiler]Sneaking roll at +6 for the heavy crowd around you[/spoiler]
Taylor does his best to bury himself in the antsy crowd working his way to the other side and try to get to his house.
[spoiler]
Hiding in the crowd (Sneaking 4 + Agi 2 + situational 6 = 12) (http://orokos.com/roll/320152): 12d6t5 6
Limit on this is my physical limit right? In which case, it's a measly 3. Don't think I have anything to boost my sneaking limit right now :/
[/spoiler]
-
"Who knows, I wouldn't put it past some of the people I've met in the past. There was this one weird bloke who thought he was a serial killer from some horror series back before there were Trids. Wouldn't take off his stupid mask, and kept on prank-calling us. He had some sort of bloody voice-adjustment device. never did find out what happened to him. But either way, alright. Where, to who, and when does the package need to be delivered?" Silas said as he finished the scraps of what was left, trying not to waste a signle crumb of delicous heavenly goodness.
-
@saithor____
It's a small letter, locker 248 at King's cross's left luggage office. The datachip has the locker code on it. It needs to he delivered to the address on the datachip. It needs to go directly to Hugo Valjenov, no-one else. Hes a bigwig with the Hungarian arm of the Vory. Lovely people, don't fuck with them and don't ask stupid questions. Just deliver the letter and get a signature from him to say it's been received. Get there by 5pm at the absolute latest. Call me as soon as you get done alright?
@lumen_____
You finish your cig as langdale comes through the heavy glass doors behind you;
righto, it's just up the road chap. Have you been there before?
-
"Jolly good timing. I don't believe I've had the pleasure. Lead the way old boy." Knives gestures, hoping they'll be walking. *Alright now I just gotta keep my eyes peeled for an opportunity to have our little chat. Let's have a good look at him. I'd put a fiver down saying he's a pushover in a real fight.* He rubs his hand across his brow piercing and quickly shifted his perception to the Astral.
[Spoiler]
Perception to look over Langdale:
Perception 6 + Intuition 4 + Visual Enhancements 3 (Wireless Bonus) = 13d6 [Mental 5+3 = 8]. 13d6.hits(5)=1 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4857099/)
Assensing Langdale:
Assensing 2 + Intuition 4 = 6d6 [5]. 6d6.hits(5)=0 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4857100/).
Well fuck you too Invisiblecastle...
[/spoiler]
-
@Zwei______
You head into the thick of the crowd as the workers give chase, stopping at the street level access in awe of the size of the crowd.
Chants about fair wages, more housing and SiNless rights bounded around with banners held aloft and the heady smell of tear gas mixed with the fumes of the flares the protesters were letting off clawed at your senses.
You'd heard the usual shit on the news but you didn't expect it to make its way to the west end of London, it was far too nice around here.
You knew that was going to mean one thing and one thing only as they encroached onto corp territory; swift and brutal retribution by the 'Met.
Pushing against the flow of the crowd was like swimming through treacle and Winston's report made your efforts even more urgent;
//She doesn't seem to be moving much and isn't resting in her usual spot. I've tried through all the normal sensors in the house. She was unresponsive when called on the home node and her medical bracelet appears to be in an alarm state. I suggest you hurry. Do you wish me to call for medical help?//
@Lumen__________
Langdale stands at an average height and build, though you've seen from his swordsmanship an exceptional dexterity and natural balance. His lip had been sealed with some medic-gel which had set in its usual clear resin and was barely perceptible. Nothing stood out about him in the astral, he looked much as any mundane did.
As you scan over his body with the enhancement dialled up, you figured he wasn't obviously carrying anything lethal, though his heavy overcoat wasn't too dissimilar to yours and you knew you could easily carry blades and tasers without the pigs noticing anything at a casual glance.
His trim suit and overcoat fitted perfectly with the upper-crust gentry background you'd skimmed and its colours flittered between cool business greys and autumnal shades as it's sensors picked up the overhanging oak trees in their decidual semi-leafless forms above you.
He shook your hand and said "Don't worry about it, I've had worse knocks! these things happen."
He turned to lead and strode on up the pathway, skillfully dodging a stressed looking mother with a double pram full of fat-looking twins before addressing you:
So, Marines eh? What regiment? My cousin was in the Marines; Commando... Bloody good chap but got his leg blown off in Prague. Tough old bugger... Got a new one made and carried right back on fighting the next week!
-
Aww, thanks. Yep I've got this new colourist and she's done it a bit different. Glad you like it!
So, how's work been recently? I might have something for you on the freelance side of things if you're still looking?
A young waitress brings over your drink and a complimentary biscuit and asks if you'd like to order any food.
Bex orders a ham and cheese toasty and looks at you with an "i'll pay for it" kind of look.
Ena nods to the waitress.
"Thank you but this is plenty."
As the waitress walks away Ena turns back to Bex.
"Definitely interested in some work right now, though of course it does depend on what I'll be doing. If it's another one of those 'dress up like a mascot outside of Harrod's' situations again I may have to reconsider…"
-
She smiled a genuine smile and lowered the volume of her voice, leaning in to account for the loss.
Its an extended trip away. Job is up north, I'm putting a team together and I need some eyes-on before we go live. Simple job first of all, just an aerial sweep to get the lay of the land. It is absolutely imperative you don't get rumbled. There's a few hundred quid in it for you and we'll cover the mileage as usual. Depending on what you find or don't find, we may need you to head up the team for an infiltration on the target, obvs that'll be better cash. Interested?
-
She smiled a genuine smile and lowered the volume of her voice, leaning in to account for the loss.
Its an extended trip away. Job is up north, I'm putting a team together and I need some eyes-on before we go live. Simple job first of all, just an aerial sweep to get the lay of the land. It is absolutely imperative you don't get rumbled. There's a few hundred quid in it for you and we'll cover the mileage as usual. Depending on what you find or don't find, we may need you to head up the team for an infiltration on the target, obvs that'll be better cash. Interested?
"Merseysprawl? Or further north? Either way I'm definitely interested."
Could give me an excuse to see Evan face to face on the way out. See how he's holding up
-
Further than that, up at the top end of the Pennines. There's a brief on the chip, but frankly it's vague. Most of the area was abandoned after the crash.
The area we're interested in used to be an old barracks and tank gunnery range for the army, but it hasn't been mapped in years. Most of that area is off-grid, we know some of the old villages had been reclaimed by varying groups but solid data is damned hard to get. There no decent trip connection and anything up there will have to make its own power and draw its own drinking water. We need a sweep of everything within 2miles north and south of the old A66; starting at the barracks and running for 5 miles. Don't speak to the locals unless you absolutely have to and don't let on about your activities if you get questioned. Questions?
-
"Off-grid and isolated huh? Sounds like I may have to do some specialized shopping before heading out. Signal Boosters, supplies and the like. I assume there is at least half-decent roads around the area? Otherwise there might be major complications"
Ena makes a mental note to pull up maps of the area, and definitely talk to Evan for any tips, and then starts assembling a shopping list of things she'll need to acquire.
-
yeah, from the old sat-maps, it looks like the old a66 is still in fairly reasonable condition, but those maps are almost a decade old so they're probably spotty in places. Quality looked better through the old villages so I guess the locals at least patch the worst of the potholes. Back roads are anyone's guess but I wouldn't expect beautiful new Tarmac.
Yeah, I'd take a dish with you if you haven't already got one on your rig. Upload the stuff to me after every flight so I can get cracking with the analysis.
As for food, yep, take enough supplies that you won't need to bother the locals. I'd imagine you could be done in a day or two, but I guess it'll depend on weather and flying conditions.
-
@saithor____
It's a small letter, locker 248 at King's cross's left luggage office. The datachip has the locker code on it. It needs to he delivered to the address on the datachip. It needs to go directly to Hugo Valjenov, no-one else. Hes a bigwig with the Hungarian arm of the Vory. Lovely people, don't fuck with them and don't ask stupid questions. Just deliver the letter and get a signature from him to say it's been received. Get there by 5pm at the absolute latest. Call me as soon as you get done alright?
"No problem." Silas said as he got up, picking up his paper brown package as well. Thank god nobody had decied to ask about it. He had the license for it, but guns were rare enough to have possibly caused a panic. He headed out the door, and put his goggles on and his earbuds in. He was officially on the job now. He started off for King's Cross, mildly annoyed that the snow was still there and getting in his way, but it wasn't that hard to slog through at least. He also made sure to keep an eye out on his journey, no such thing as being to careful when he didn't even have a vehicle.
[spoiler=OOC]Perception 9d6 3 hits on the test. Link: http://orokos.com/roll/320476[/spoiler]
-
"Yes sir, four assault. Bloody hell... new prosthetic and back in combat in a week's time. That is one tough sod! I don't have any good stories like that... just did my time, served my country and got back here recently. Sorry if I'm a bit out of sorts..." Knives keeps just a step behind Langdale, his eyes darting to each alley way and opening in hopes of finding one suitable.
*There's a reason I never make it to this side of town, terrible place to do business... well my kinda business... Well if there's no spot between here and there I can always try to bring up birds over a pint. Fancy arse like this might only step outta camera sight to wet his wanker. Jus hope I don't have to keep up this bloody act for long.*
-
@Zwei______
You head into the thick of the crowd as the workers give chase, stopping at the street level access in awe of the size of the crowd.
Chants about fair wages, more housing and SiNless rights bounded around with banners held aloft and the heady smell of tear gas mixed with the fumes of the flares the protesters were letting off clawed at your senses.
You'd heard the usual shit on the news but you didn't expect it to make its way to the west end of London, it was far too nice around here.
You knew that was going to mean one thing and one thing only as they encroached onto corp territory; swift and brutal retribution by the 'Met.
Pushing against the flow of the crowd was like swimming through treacle and Winston's report made your efforts even more urgent;
//She doesn't seem to be moving much and isn't resting in her usual spot. I've tried through all the normal sensors in the house. She was unresponsive when called on the home node and her medical bracelet appears to be in an alarm state. I suggest you hurry. Do you wish me to call for medical help?//
<<<@Winston [Mams] Yes! Her biomonitor should have done that already, but make sure they are on their way. They'll be delayed by the riots I'm sure. Keep me informed of what's going on as well as you can!>>>
Taylor immediately breaks out into a fast jog knowing he doesn't have what it takes to sprint all the way home, he goes as quickly as he can. While he's moving he starts pulling up data from his mothers biomonitor to see what condition she's in. He's sure that Winston would have done that if he could so he's sure something is wrong with the device. Lacking any information from that he stats going through the security system on the house checking for any alarms or breaches.
[spoiler]
Perception Check using house sensors (Int 5 + EW 6 + Specifically Looking 3 = 14) (http://orokos.com/roll/320605): 14d6t5 5
Guessing the sensors in the house are only rating 3 or 4, so whatever limit that puts on the check. Looking for signs of forced entry or damage from the riot.
I'm not sure what skill you'd want me to do to check for the alarm status on the house given he's the owner.
[/spoiler]
-
@Lumen_________
{he laughs} Yes... yes he was. Buggers riddled him again a few weeks later. Learned his lesson then. Took the option to head back to civvie street. No amount of surgery sorted out his mental wounds though....{he drifts off into reminiscence as he crossed the road during a break in traffic}
Four assault eh? hmm... where did you boys see service?
You follow his lead and cross the road, turning left into a cobbled road that looked like it belonged to a different world entirely.
Smart cafes sat down either side of the street and a steady flow of foot traffic and cafe-gawkers sat looking out the windows. A couple of side alleys presented themselves, access to disposal areas and such probably...
It was tempting, but any struggle would probably be overheard if it went noisy
@Zwei__________
The sensor covering the living room had the best view of your mum; she lay half-sprawled over the side of her chair, walking frame kicked off from in front of her and laid in disarray on top of a pile of plates and her e-reader.
Through the grainy camera feed you could just about make out her rapid, shallow breathing; but the one-sided drooping face got you really worried.
You could make out her medication pots in the kitchen, it looked like they'd been rifled through, a couple had ended up on the floor and it was difficult to tell what had been taken and what had been knocked over.
None of the alarms had tripped in the house except for the medical emergency alarm that winston had triggered.
Her medical bracelet indicated raised heart rate, low blood pressure and abnormal ECG patterns. It didn't look good....
@Profgast__________
You set a trawl running on your link on shop-net and was pleasantly surprised to see the items you wanted on sale. Both items were in-stock at the Tech-Warehouse. Pulling up the map, it was only 2 tube stops up from where you were now, about a 10minute journey.
@Saithor__________
[spoiler]Check the ooc thread mate, i'll update IC if you're happy to plough on but kings cross isn't a great place to be carrying a weapon and the game-world will react to it. OOC or PM if you're happy to proceed[/spoiler]
@Zwei___
The crowd thickens and thins at varying points as you head down what is ordinarily a short walk home from the tube stop. You couldn't even see the pub through the density of the crowd but the cloying black smoke covering the area didn't raise your hopes that it had escaped unharmed. You pushed on through the crowd as best you could, arriving home in time to see flashing blues pulled up outside. the protesters had thinned massively by now as the head of the march had proceeded on but their chants still echoed loudly in your ears. The pretty fences, hedges and flowerbeds of the neighbourhood lay flattened underfoot and the parked cars had been scratched, glass smashed and roofs dented from where they'd been walked over.
None of it really registered though as you saw your mum being stretchered out to the waiting ambulance, the paramedics loading her into the back as you ran over to them, breathlessly panting.
You alright mate? asked the youngest and nearest, manning the tail lift.
His older colleague looked around as he bagged oxygen into a mask covering your mothers face, clocking the family resemblance.
-
"Blast" SIlas muttered to himself as he realised just how badly him dragging a weapon into King's could end. He headed back to his apartmwnt and put the shotgun back into his closet. "Maybe some other time." He said, and with a final glare at the soy-processor, started out for King's Cross again.
-
Ena nods to Bex and polishes off her tea.
"Well it seems straightforwards enough. I accept but I have to run and do some shopping to prep for the trip. You'll hear back from me soon"
With that she rises, stuffs her hands back into her jacket pockets and sets off for the nearest Tube access to go purchase the necessary supplies.
-
@Zwei__________
The sensor covering the living room had the best view of your mum; she lay half-sprawled over the side of her chair, walking frame kicked off from in front of her and laid in disarray on top of a pile of plates and her e-reader.
Through the grainy camera feed you could just about make out her rapid, shallow breathing; but the one-sided drooping face got you really worried.
You could make out her medication pots in the kitchen, it looked like they'd been rifled through, a couple had ended up on the floor and it was difficult to tell what had been taken and what had been knocked over.
None of the alarms had tripped in the house except for the medical emergency alarm that winston had triggered.
Her medical bracelet indicated raised heart rate, low blood pressure and abnormal ECG patterns. It didn't look good....
<<<@Winston [Mams] Help the medics when they arrive, run Diagnostics on their medical gear. SAVE MUM!!!!!>>>
@Zwei___
The crowd thickens and thins at varying points as you head down what is ordinarily a short walk home from the tube stop. You couldn't even see the pub through the density of the crowd but the cloying black smoke covering the area didn't raise your hopes that it had escaped unharmed. You pushed on through the crowd as best you could, arriving home in time to see flashing blues pulled up outside. the protesters had thinned massively by now as the head of the march had proceeded on but their chants still echoed loudly in your ears. The pretty fences, hedges and flowerbeds of the neighbourhood lay flattened underfoot and the parked cars had been scratched, glass smashed and roofs dented from where they'd been walked over.
None of it really registered though as you saw your mum being stretchered out to the waiting ambulance, the paramedics loading her into the back as you ran over to them, breathlessly panting.
You alright mate? asked the youngest and nearest, manning the tail lift.
His older colleague looked around as he bagged oxygen into a mask covering your mothers face, clocking the family resemblance.
"That's... that's... that's me mum! What happened? What's her condition? I'm going with you!"
He tries to push his way into the ambulance.
-
@Zwei______
//<<Winston>>//Will do//
Can't tell until she's had a scan but it looks like a brain-bleed of some sort.
We're taking her to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, she's alive but she's not very responsive.
The one at the back kicked off a box of spare oxygen tubing off the passenger seat to make way for you and they continued to run their tests on your Mum; testing pupl dilation, response to verbal commands and pain stimuli.
She flinched a bit when nipped and the young paramedic nodded at you to indicate that was a good sign.
Closing the doors, the older one went round to the cab and reversed it out the way they'd come in.
You couldn't see much out of the one-way glass in the rear windows, but you weren't really interested anyway, your poor mum lay on the stretcher a shade of ashen grey, an oxygen mask over her nose and mouth and an array of auto-givers and biomonitors trying to correct the haemorrhage and restore her blood chemistry to normality.
The young paramedic looked on at the array of readouts from AR from his harnessed seat at the rearmost position of the patient compartment and worked in silence, clearly focussing on the task in hand.
He barely looked up as you leaned over and took her hand, squeezing it to reassure her that you were with her.
@Saithor_____
The snow had lightened now, the tissue paper sized chunks reduced down to a mere dust-like size, whipping and spinning in the whorls of air currents as they changed between the built up tenement blocks of the south-east city. The mood was pretty vibrant as you headed down the street, the local kids had begun making snowballs and were pelting them at each other across the grid-locked traffic. You had to duck at one point as a badly aimed shot went awry but as you rounded the corner and headed down the stairs of the Southwark tube stop, normality returned; snow to slushy steps, slush to water, water to the ancient hard marble flooring of the 1900's construction of the jubilee line station.
Millions upon millions of feet had probably walked the same path as you over the century it had been running and they'd all breathed that same stale underground-air smell as you, only relieved by the incoming rush of wind that the trains brought with them onto the platforms.
Wet shoes squeaking on hard marble, you made your way through the ticket barriers with a swipe of your 'link and headed down to the north bound platform, boarding a busy service to stanmore.
You swayed and swung as you stood in the busy carriage before changing at Green Park for the Picaddily line and finally arriving into King's Cross station.
The route from the tube platform upto the main concourse was fairly torturous, heavily packed with january sales shoppers and the usual batch of tourists making the most of the cheaper hotel rates, it was hot and oppressive, suitcases clashing with suited city-slickers and everyone in the way of pretty much everyone else as they jostled for position on the escalators.
Finally the crowd thinned as you reached the top, swiping your link over the reader you headed across the concourse, conscious of the armed police patrolling the entrance to the adjacent St.Pancras international rail station.
You caught the AR signage for Left Luggage, but not before a patrol drone caught you and began scanning your SiN.
[spoiler]are you using a legit sin or a fake? [/spoiler]
@Profgast_____
Bex smiled and shook your hand, pulling you into a pseudo-hug to maintain the friendly appearance of the conversation.
Call me when you get there ok? let me know how you're getting on
The snow had lightened a little now and it blew in finer chunks, whipping off the exposed pathways with each gust of wind and attacking the unprotected parts of skin through chinks in your scarf and jacket with its icy chill and the steady warmth of the tube was a welcome relief, even if it was absolutely packed with tourists, shoppers and the usual faces.
The train clattered down the short run between three stations and the hubbub of city life always brought a little smile to your face; the buskers, the charity-beggars and the kookily dressed natives all clashed with the visitors to give it a real sense of atmosphere and excitement. Heading up to the surface brought respite from the cramped and graffiti'd carriage though, and it was only a short walk to the superstore where you collected your reserved items. The satellite receiver was an absolute gem, it would be perfect for this job. You eyed a pop-up stand over by the door. Winter hats, gloves, scarves and umbrellas at 5 quid each or 15 for the bundle deal.
[spoiler]i'l need to run a SiN test for the purchase, fake sin rating or legit sin used?[/spoiler]
-
Silas muttered angirily as the patrol drone started to scan his SIN. It was legitimate, he hadn't been stupid enough to bring a fake one for a job like this to King's Cross. If whoever was after the package already knew who Callie had as her bagman, he didn't really stand that much of a chance anyway. Besides, he wasn't planning on heading home until after the job, and that would only be to pick up his gun. He could rent another place under his false SIN and stay there for a while. He headed over to locker 248 and input the given code.
-
"Well I can't go too much into it really... sorry old boy, you know how it goes. Let's just say I understand a great deal about those mental wounds..."
Knives eyes the alleyways, *Damn... it's really tempting but no way I could pull it off. Not with all these gawkers around. Best to wait and see if I can lure him out with some bird bait.*
-
<<<@Ralphy [Taylor] Sorry for any trouble I caused you. I'm in an ambulance with Mum. She's had an accident. We're headed to C&W Hospital. Any problems come your way, I'll testify I was playin' a prank. Just worried about mum right now. She may have had an aneurysm or something. I don't know. If mum's okay, I'll get to your kit after we get settled. Again, sorry for any trouble mate.>>>
<<<@Bex [Mams] I was great seeing you last week. Tommy loves the idea of a camping trip. We should plan that. He said the usual site would host us just fine. I might not be able to make it this time though. Family troubles, you know how it goes. Let me know if you have any problems with the site and I'll make sure it's sorted.>>>
[spoiler]
That message to Bex was once again my poor attempt at semi-coded language. It occurred to me that I never made an IC message letter her know the data was available. References to the "usual site" should let her know where the data drop is, and I was also letting her know that I'm buys dealing with family troubles.
Very much pretending this is a pre-arranged set of messages that he knows she'd understand.
[/spoiler]
He looks at his mothers frail form on the gurney. "Hang in there mum! We'll get you taken care of." He looks pleadingly at the EMT in the back of the ambulance. "She's going to be okay, isn't she?"
-
@Saithor_________
the drone verifies your SiN as legit and moves on to a crowd of suits heading towards platform 6 and you swiftly head over to the Left Luggage lockers.
248 was quite a way down on the left of the reasonably sized hall and its AR icon flicked to green as the code you entered unlocked its mechanism.
Inside was a small envelope, hand sealed with an ancient looking wax seal. Perusing it in AR, you weren't surprised to see that it had no associated icon running publicly.
@Lumen_________
Ah, so they had you on the er..."behind the scenes" operations then? very well sir... keep mum!
He laughed jovially and tried a different tack.
So you said they taught you your skills with a blade off-shore. Where abouts was that and how long did you train for? you handle it exceptionally well. In fact....
He trailed off as he rounded the corner a few paces ahead of you.
Aha, here we are. Pint of the guest ale I think!
The quaint old pub stood off a few tens of yards, ancient timber beams supporting its mass even after all these years. beautiful hanging baskets adorned the front entrance though you knew in these temperatures, they weren't the real article. [spoiler]sin scanner in the doorway fails its roll:
2d6.hits(5)=0 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4860261/)[/spoiler]
Inside was just as ornate as the exterior; a large open fire roared in a grand fireplace and a row of old fashioned wooden stools lined the luxuriously carved wooden bar. Not one single AR icon was to be seen in the place they clearly like to preserve the old traditions and each of the hand pulled ales had an old-fashioned enamel badge on the front to denote its name and brand.
@Zwei_______
//<<Ralphy>>Shit mate, don't worry about it. just see your mum is alright eh? I'll deal with anything that pops up. Call me if you need anything, no rush on the kit, just do it when you can pal.//
there was no immediate reply from Bex which was odd, she was a work-a-holic and normally replied immediately.. You couldn't give a shit right now though as your mum's head lolled about with the motion of the ambulance, or was it?
You were sure she mumbled something in reply but the sound of the engine drowned out whatever it was.
The paramedic looked through his AR display at you and gave a half-hearted smile that you assumed was meant to re-assure you.
She's stabilising now, but until she's had a scan, there's no way to tell what the outcome will be. The neuro docs will be best to answer that one I'm sure. Just keep re-assuring her, I'm sure a friendly voice will help keep her calm.
15 or so minutes must have passed before the ambulance came to a halt outside the A&E bay at the Chelsea and Westminster and the double doors swung open automatically.
the young paramedic ushered you out first and then lowered your mum out on her trolley with its self-deploying wheels and the two of them marched her into the dept. and handed over to the charge nurse.
The tired looking elf tried a smile but couldn't make it look convincing and checked through your mum's personal details whilst a couple of the more junior staff got her hooked up to an array of monitors in the emergency dept bay and paged the on-call registrar to begin her analysis and book her in for a scan.
She returned to her work after ushering you through to the waiting area whilst mum was being seen to and a short while later a young nurse came out to you.
Your mum is going up for her scan in about 15 minutes. We'll know more about what has caused her symptoms after that but she'll be gone for about an hour whilst they run the tests.
We can provide her with gowns and such but she'll need admitting to the ward is going to be here for at least a day or two so we can keep an eye on her, maybe more. If you could bring in some clothes for her and her personal things like any dentures, medications, walking aids, that'd be really helpful. I know its probably been a bit of a shock for you, did you have any questions?
-
[spoiler]
Composure (10) (http://orokos.com/roll/321844): 10d6t5 3
He holds it together in the hospital.
[/spoiler]
Taylor spends the rest of the ambulance ride griping his mother's hand and talking to her as calmly as he can.
Once he gets settled into the waiting room, he starts reviewing all of the security footage in the house. They don't have much, but he wants to make sure this was just a medical problem and not anything else.
His review is interrupted by the nurse coming to politely tell him to go home, there's nothing he can do here.
"Is she sedated right now? What is her current condition? How long until I can see her?" he rattles off trying to keep the more inane "is she going to be okay? how long is she going to be like this?" type questions to a minimum, but he can't help himself.
She calmly relays that they are waiting for the results of the tests before they'll know anything more and re-iterates that he should get some of her personal effects and when he returns they'll know more.
"Thank you miss. I'll run home and get some things."
-
Satellite booster check. Survival Kit and rations. check. Hmmm extra winter wear wouldn't be bad, it's bound to be even chillier up north and I can't spend ALL my time hiding in the van. Hope I've got the dosh for all of this.
Ena spends a little bit of time browsing the stores while she sends a command to her GMC bulldog to navigate to her and pick her up.
No sense lugging all of this stuff through the underground either.
As she waits around she spend some time reviewing Bex's chip some more as well as putting her Orientation System cyberware on the job of plotting a travel path that passes through Liverpool on the way up to her destination.
-
"Thanks for your understanding... Righto I did say that. They sent me and a few other lads to Italy for cross training. Stayed there training for a year before the behind the scenes action. Thank you sir... coming from you that's quite the compliment!"
Knives stares in awe at the old pub. *Well ain't this a blast from the fackin past... Old money sure does love it's old traditions...*
"Pint of ale sounds brilliant! Whatever you recommend."
-
Silas unbottoned a puch on his coat, put the envelop carefully inside, and rebuttoned it to ensure that pickpockets would have quite a bit of trouble getting to it. He then quickly checked to see if there was a trian that could get him any closer to his destination. The quicker he got there, less chance of him getting jumped. And if he could catch one about to leave, less chance that anybody could follow him on board.
-
Taylor, in something of a daze, walks out to the cabstand at the hospital and mechanically gets into the first car available. His mind racing through all of the implications of what could happen he distractedly gives the driver his address and swipes his comm over the reader to initiate the payment. It's a quiet 15 minute drive home. The riots have moved passed his neighborhood.
Walking up to his front door he sees the trampled remains of his and his neighbors lawns, the wan street light making it even more bleak than it is. Shaking his head in dismay, he goes in and starts assembling a care package for his mother. He gathers her meds from the mess she left of them. Getting a few of her house dresses from her closet and her dentures. He quickly packs all of this into a small luggage and folds up her walker wanting to get back to the hospital as quickly as possible. Finally he looks around the house and it feels cold without her presence here, even gone only a couple of hours, causing him to shiver. Pulling his unique coat closer around him, he turns off the lights and sets the alarm on his way out. Waiting on the stoop for a cab to take him back to the hospital.
Finally he sends another message to Bex checking to see if everything is okay.
-
@Lumen_____
Ah, excellent. Italy is a rather lovely place to get posted. Well it was before the wars anyway. How long were you over there? {He eyes the beer selection for a minute}
Well if I recall correctly, its your round! {laughs}
The golden girl is particularly good, very hoppy. I'll have a pint of that I think!
Langdale headed over to the table by the fireplace and pulled up a comfy looking chair off an empty table nearby for you whilst you headed to the bar.
A quick scan over the old enamel badges showed that "Golden Girl" was the guest ale, "Martsons Dark" was the heavy and "Humber Sloop" the IPA of choice.
The barman eyed you suspiciously and something about his face seemed familiar to you as well, though you couldn't quite place it at first.
[spoiler]Memory test (3)[/spoiler]
@Saithor______
The letter feels odd as you slip it into an inside pocket; it seemed to have an energy, no, more of an aura to it. It brushed against your own and made you feel slightly uneasy as it sat next to your chest.
Doubling back out of the left luggage dept you pull up the stations host in AR and consult the tube map.
the address you were given was for a decrepit church in the far side of the east end dock sprawl, probably a good 15-20 minute walk from the old DLR line. Beckton was the last surviving stop on the line that would get you anywhere near.
You'd have to take the Northern line to Bank and pick up the DLR from there, with another change at canning town for the Beckton-bound services. it'd be a bit of a trek by london standards, but 30 minutes in the relative warmth was preferable to the old, overcrowded and breezy bus services.
@Profgast_____
The van accepted your command and reported it's progress to you through push notifications to your AR overlay's Gridguide app, indicating it'd take about 20 minutes under current traffic conditions to get to you.
That gave you an age to sift through the data and plot a route up to liverpool. A small cafe was located about 2 mins down the road from the hardware store and you took a quick walk up there and grabbed a brew whilst you skimmed through the work stuff.
On the chip were a number of files which gave basic intel about the area in question.
It largely mirrored what had been relayed to you orally and the headlines of the data were as follows;
The area fell off the grid after the first crash + major awakenings, the surviving populace either dispersed thinly across the surviving villages or headed to the major cities at either end of the A66, Stockton, Newcastle and Middlesborough in the east and Brough, Kendal and Carlisle in the west, with a good chunk appearing to head to Manchester.
The old barracks and tank range at Catterick was vacated by the MOD in the 2050's and left to ruin, though reports say that it has been repopulated and taken over by a militant eco wing of the NDM (new druidic movement), but no official documents exist to back this up.
Aerial photography and Satellite photography that does exist is patchy, and shows a number of the small villages nearby having had roofs repaired and some of the roads appear in slightly better condition in later images.
None of the images on the chip is newer than 5 years old.
Another file detailed some field work by a professor of parazoology from Norwich university which was some 20 years old and its main thrust was measurements of the increase in populations of awakened animal forms across the north pennines following the recent leyline awakenings of the times. A number of species were listed and none of them sounded overly friendly.
-
Silas quickly purchased a ticket for the northern line, and headed over to where the train was waiting to depart. Getting on-board, he seated himself next to a door, where if a threat confrotned itself, he could at least try to make a run for it into another car. One thing people seemed to forget about Dwarves was how well their small size served at letting them hide from people. He tried to keep a weather eye out for anything remotely suspicous as he waited for the train to depart, and on the ride as well.
[spoiler=OOC]Perception: 1 hit Link: http://orokos.com/roll/322157[/spoiler]
-
"Stationed there a year sir. Right you are, first pint is on me! It's the least I could do after that belt I gave you." Knives gives a chuckle and heads to the bar. He stares at the vintage taps with their enamel badges for a minute before noticing the barkeep eyeing him. He holds up two fingers, "Two golden girls mate."
*The fack is his problem? Givin me the eye, eh? Wait a tick... I know that ugly mug from somewhere...*
[spoiler]
Memory Test: Logic 2 + Willpower 5 [5] = 7d6. 7d6.hits(5)=3 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4861021/)
[/spoiler]
-
@Zwei_____
The cab ride seemed incredibly short, the weight of worry on your mind transporting you to an almost alternate world where time just dissapeared.
You re-reviewed the footage from the cameras as you sat on the chair opposite your mum's usual spot and sobbed a little at her obvious state of panic.
The microphone in the home sensor suite picked up the background noise of sirens, chants and the roar of the crowd as it surged past the house; the external camera showing scuffles with the mounted police before they affected a retreat and surged across gardens, parked cars and hurled items at the retreating police lines.
Flicking back to the internal camera footage you see your mum frantically trying to manually lock the doors and shut the curtains, moving as fast as her old legs and walking frame would allow her to. She overbalances at one point, banging against the glass before steadying herself against the frame.
She'd headed back to her chair and flicked the channel over to the news, you recognised the BBC anchorman on the trid and saw the announcements of the civil disobedience as they'd been broadcast.
She'd then called you, her muffled voice barely audible above the background noise and then she span around in her chair, looking over her shoulder into the kitchen.
Getting up, she'd overbalanced a bit again, swaying on her walker before righting herself again and moving as fast as she could into the kitchen. She stared through the kitchen window out over the back garden and was clearly horrified, she started waving her finger and shouting at someone or something that must have come over one of the neighbour’s fences.
Something had taken its toll on her though, she rubbed her head and looked unsteady on her feet. She rummaged through the cupboards looking for some medication but her movements were slow and uncoordinated. Grabbing at her head again, she gave up and walked unsteadily towards her chair, collapsing into it at an awkward angle and appearing to pass out. the footage doesn't change much from there on in until the paramedics arrive, using their emergency responder access to gain entrance via the home node.
By the time you'd got back into the cab bex had replied:
//No problems, busy away here as usual. The usual site should be fine with me! That's not good, hope all is well?//
@Lumen___________
He nods silently and sets to pouring your beers as you scour your brain for a name to put to the face, you ultimately couldn't but you remember him as some distant relative of the Maxwells, third cousin or something like that. He was a barman in one of their now-razed pubs in the east end, courtesy of your lot.
He hadn't aged well, deep lines in his face revealed he'd not had an easy life and his thinning grey hair belied his age. It was definitely him though.
@Saithor__________
You pushed your way down heaving stairways full of tourists and shoppers once more and claimed a seat artfully from under a suited bloke thanks to your smaller demeanour. He tutted disapprovingly and then cracked on with his AR activities as the train pulled off.
Nothing particularly caught your eye as you stared back out at the crowded platform, the faces too dense and too plentiful to scan through in the short amount of time you had for anyone paying you close attention.
None of your carriage mates appeared to be interested in you, they were all too absorbed by their AR feeds or chatting amongst themselves.
The tube clattered and whistled along the dark tracks, the occasional electrical short between the tracks and the bushels providing a fleeting illumination of the extremely close up walls, revealing just how crammped the whole arrangement was down here.
You tried to put the thought of the weight of all that earth on top of you out of your mind and focussed on catching your next train as Bank station rattled into view.
Plenty of people got off, presumably to ogle at the square mile and take a riverside walk down to Tower bridge, though you didn't really give much of a fuck, you had a job to do.
Keeping an eye out, you headed up the escalators with the throng of metahumanity at your side and headed for the DLR line.
The stream of people thinned out significantly here and you had plenty of personal space on the platform. The smell of the stale air never changed, neither did the rats feasting on the discarded kebab from last night on the tracks. They scattered as the green DLR train approached, boxier and more spacious than the standard underground trains, given the DLR spent most of its time above ground and the few underground sections were about 75 years newer than the oldest lines still in service.
You took a seat in the front carriage facing backwards to see the platform through the window as a few stragglers rushed down onto the platform. A heavyset eastern-european bloke caught your eye amongst them, frantically searching for something with his eye movements other than the massive DLR train right in front of him. He joined the train a couple of carriages down from you and dissapeared from sight.
the doors beeped and closed shortly before the train departed, clanking up the tracks and into the frigid daylight of the Old Smoke
-
Well this seems like just a wonderful place doesn't it?
When her Bulldog arrives, Ena moves the new purchases inside before taking the vehicle back to her place. Trip doesn't ready itself.
After arriving at her home she carefully packs all the survival gear and necessities into the Bulldog, and spends some time prepping both of her vehicles for a road trip.
-
*That fucker's a Maxwell! I thought I smelled shite around here. Damn them... who are they in bed with ta get a posh pub like this one? I wonder what they'll be sayin bout me paling around with their permit bitch. Better not linger here long.*
Knives gives the barman a shit eating grin, pays for the pints and heads over to where Langdale sat. "Here we are sir." He chuckles, "Golden girl... now that reminds me of a lovely young thing I met in Italy. Beautiful skin and legs all the way up to her arse." He raises his glass in a toast. "To pretty women."
-
Oh great. Here's hoping he isn't on-board because of me. SIlas thought. He shouldn't panic just yet, the man could have been looking for something else entirely. Still however, believing in coincidence more often than not ended up with Shadowrunners dying. He checked to see how far away the next stop would be from his destination.
-
@Saithor_________
The train rattles in and you'd not seen hide nor hair of him getting off at any other station.
Somewhat nervously you disembark and follow the AR trail created by your commlink as you head down the platform, up the escalators and up into daylight. A thin crowd surrounded you as you headed up to the street level and you searched around for the suspicious bloke you'd seen before [spoiler]Perception test {3} please[/spoiler]
You'd not been down this end of town before and it was clear that it was a real shithole, most of the buildings were dilapidated and the foot traffic looked beaten by life.
A mixed meta gang huddled on the far side of the crossroads outside a convenience store that had seen better days, laughing and joking amongst themselves as an autotaxi trundled across the quiet road.
@Lumen_________
His icy stare didn't even crack as you gave him the grin, just a slow shake of his head side to side let you know you'd overstepped a mark somewhere.
Grabbing your beers you took your seat and Langdale joined in the conversation with a smile.
Aha, yes! no doubt, some dusky skinned maiden from yonder shores eh? a good marine would rut one of them like a bloody shag-starved stag haha!
He takes a healthy glug of beer and joins in the toast, a creamy head of beer stuck to his top lip.
So, we're diversifying a bit at the club, trying to get in some new styles to help keep the younger chaps happy with the provision and I was wondering if you'd like to join us? We'll probably be going for a couple of short sword techniques and buying in some new instructors and it would be good to get some new blood into the system if you know what I mean?
@Profgast________
It took a while to prep; a quick scan of the weather app on your link showed you it didn't know whether to shit, shower or shave up there at the moment so you packed as much warm gear as you could alongside your new purchases and prepped some sandwiches and a flask of tea for the road. It'd take a good 5 hours to get to MerseySprawl on a good run, but the christmas sales traffic would easy put another hour on that as you fought around the double stacked motorway of the M25.
Most of the journey was long and boring, the overcast grey skies brought dusk early and to avoid dropping off at the wheel, you let the pilot take over and kicked back thumbing away at your AR overlays and skimming the news feeds.
You took over from the pilot as you hit the outskirts of Mersey sprawl and pulled in to the reserved parking bay around 7.30pm.
The snow had stopped falling just north of Birmingham but a thin layer still coated the roofs and gardens of the terraced houses that lined either side of the street. A strong smell of cooking drifted from open windows and reminded you just how hungry you were and your bladder signalled its urgent need to empty after necking the last of the tea south of Stoke.
@Zwei______
You pushed through the double doors of the emergency department and the round faced nurse recognised you immediately from your outlandish clothing as she finished a cup of water from the cooler next to reception.
Your mum is away in radiology having her scan and will be going straight up to neurology from there, we've got a bed on ward 32 if you want to go up now, they should be expecting you.
Taking note of her directions, you headed up the lift and buzzed on the intercom:
"Ward 32, can I help?" came the reply.
-
Silas kept a weather eye out for the bloke, hurridly scanning around him for the bloke. In this part of town, he just didn't have to worry about whoever he was, but also getting jumed by a bunch of jokers who thought they were tough. Worse comes to absolute worse, a couple of spells would solve his problems, but it would also get a lot of attention, and turn what was wupposed to be a low-key job into something bigger.
[spoiler=OOC]Perception Test: 4 hits link: http://orokos.com/roll/323470[/spoiler]
-
@Saithor_____________
You spotted the bloke coming out of the tube station a little way behind you, a bit over-eager in his looking around-the-place routine.
He wore a shiny "leather" jacket, obvious stiffening supports at the elbows and across the torso showed it was built for taking a knock more than looking good.
His short hair gave away a scar at the top of his head and you got a general "grizzled" feel about the guy.
He hadn't obviously clocked on to you but was walking in the same direction, past the crossroads with the gang opposite and down the high street
-
He hadn't been spotted yet. Perfect. Silas walked over to a part of the street where he could have around ten seconds or so without anybody seeing him, and started casting a spell. He put a lot of energy in it, and he felt like someone had punched him in the gut as he released the magical energy, but he was rewarded as he saw himself fading from sight. He moved back out on to the street, and continued on his way, being careful to avoid bumping into people and to tread as quietly as possible.
[spoiler=OOC]Casting force 6 Improved Invisibility 12d6 Hits 7, reduced to to 6 by force, Link: http://orokos.com/roll/323594, Resist Drain of 5, 12d6, 2 hits, link: http://orokos.com/roll/323595 Sneak roll 6d6, 1 hit Link: http://orokos.com/roll/323597
Stud Damage Track: 8/11[/spoiler]
-
Knives takes a long swig from his glass, "You offering me a job? I must say I'm flattered. I'm not sure what to say..." He takes another gulp of his beer. "Is this a paying position?"
*Is this some sort of game? Or is all it takes to impress this guy is a challenge and a belt in the mouth? Damn... how am I gonna get this guy alone for a chat?*
-
It had been a long drive to through Birmingham up to the Liverpool area by the time Ena pulled into a parking structure near to Evan's pub. After she parked the Shin-hyung she gave a mental check on the status of the Bulldog still making its way to the rendezvous point on Autopilot before opening the door and stepping outside.
The weather was still doing no real favors this time of year and Ena pulled her jacket in tighter and keeping her hood up as she walked the couple blocks to the pub. It was a small place, cozy-looking right on the corner, with the sign above the entrance in both hand-painted letters and ARO reading simply: "O'Brien's"
She hesitated a moment at the door, it'd been awhile since she'd visited, but after the brief pause she shrugged to herself and pushed open the door and stepped inside.
"Hello…"
-
@profgast_____
The pub seemed lively for this time of night and this time of year, a younger crowd than you remembered used to frequent the place. The carpet had been ripped up and replaced with something more practical, a hard wood floor clicked under the heel of your boots as you strode towards the bar, currently two deep. Cocktails were on two for one and the barmen were struggling to keep with demand from the studenty looking crowd.
The small stage area was set up for live music later and a generally pleasant atmosphere washed over the place.
@lumen_____
haha, a job? Bloody hell no! Haha, I was wondering if you'd like to attend, hone those skills into something more "polished".
@Zweiblumen___
The nurse buzzed you through the double doors and you strode onto the quiet ward. Rooms sat on either side of the wide corridor, most of the lights were off but the occasional trid projector flashed from behind a partially closed doors. Walking up to the nurses' station, a pleasant young doc with a stethoscope around her neck looked up at you from an AR display and closed it as she addressed you.
Your mum will be returning to room 16, just down there on the left. I'll be in with you in a tick.
She returned to the AR screen as you headed into the sparsely attired room; the NHS wasn't the home of luxury hospital suites but this would do for now. You put the bag of her overnight kit into the bedside locker/table and sat in the hard plastic chair next to the empty space where her bed would go.
Ten or so minutes passed before the doc popped in and she stood awkwardly inside the door as she inhaled, ready to break bad news:
So, I've reviewed the scans and the blood tests and the results indicate that your mother has had a bleed, commonly known as a stroke. Most of the bleeding has been contained to her left hemisphere and we'd expect to see deficits in her memory, speech and language centres for the immediate short term. Long term, there's no way of telling how much damage will be done, but patients tend to see at least some Mild recovery by a year afterwards. Whatever happens, your mum is in for a hard slog through rehab. For the immediate future she'll be here, being assessed and under going intensive therapy, with a long term goal of discharge to a rehab ward and eventually, and I stress eventually, discharge home. I know this is a shock and there's lots to take in...do you have any questions at this stage?
-
@saithor _____
You had to cross the road and duck down an alley before you could break line of sight to the suspicious bloke and you breathed a sigh of relief as you saw him pass the end of the alley shoving some earbuds in to his Ears and nodding his head in time to a beat as he passes on the far side of the street without paying any attention to your hiding spot.
A wave of fatigue overcomes you with the efforts of knitting the mana into shape around you, but you immediately felt safer with the knowledge that your physical form was shielded by the cloak of invisibility the mana offered.
The stench of the bins in the alley overpowering, you moved off back along the glowing AR trail your link laid down for you and dodged and weaved the foot traffic and road crossings as best you could for the next ten minutes or so. Gradually the density of tenement blocks well past their age transitioned to industrial units, also way past their age and the atmosphere of the place took a dive as AR graffiti and gang markings began to dominate the available wall space. Menacing looking figures stood just within the alleyways, smoking and keeping half an eye on the street and half an eye on their AR feeds as if waiting for something specific to happen. Most of them looking similar to the dodgy bloke from the tube and you felt distinctively on the wrong side of the tracks. Advancing as best you could whilst keeping the noise down, you got near enough that you could see the church about 500m down the road, just on the left of a semi derelict tenement block. [spoiler]Perception test please[/spoiler]
-
Ena pulls her hood back and loosens her jacket as she walks to the bar and nods at the people behind the counter.
"Hey there. Is the owner in? Can you let him there's a 'little fire' for him to attend to?"
-
Silas stopped. This was dodgy so much it was impossible to disguise the street ahead as anything but an ambush site. It was practially screaming it proudly to the known world, and there was no way he was jsut walking on into it. He tried to spot something, anything, that could help.
[spoiler=OOC]Perception test 9d6, 4 hits, link: http://orokos.com/roll/323685[/spoiler]
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"Haha...ha..haha..." Knives laughs nervously, "Oh look at me, making a complete arse of myself and in front of a lord no less." He takes several gulps of his beer. "You know more lessons might do me some good, not that I have much use for it here on civie street. I don't suppose you give private lessons do you?"
-
@lumen____
no, not any more. No time for that malarkey, not now with this project on and my commitments to the club already. Couple of chaps down there do though, I could pass on Their names?
The barman caught your eye, he muttered into his link, his eyes flickering at your table as he tried to not to make it too obvious.
@profgast_____
you wot? There's a fire?!
The young lad panicked a bit and a couple of the students at the bar laughed at his mishearing of your accent.
He snuck off through the back room and returned a few minutes later.be right out lass, yous wanna drink?
A few minutes passed and then a friendly face appeared at the door to the back room;now then! Long time no see stranger! How the devil are ye?
-
Silas bit back a curse as he saw the man watching him from the shuttered room. Time to try something tricky, and is he was lucky hopefully it would pay off. He concentrated mana together, focusde on using the gathered energy to cast an illusion of himself, as realistically as possible. The strain of staying invisible made it more difficult, but he needed the spell to stay up for this to work. As he started down the street as fast as he could, outside of the soon to exsist lines of fire, an illusionary car pulled up, and a window rolled down to reveal a nondescript looking man in ganger clothes, who points an assault rifle at the nearest group of gangers and starts screaming incoherent threats at them. The cost of the magic took more energy from him, but he still kept on heading onwards.
[spoiler=ooc] Force 6 Trid Phantasam, I know the link says Hot Potato, I forgot to change the description when I changed my plan, 5 hits, Link: http://orokos.com/roll/324006, Resiting drain of 6, 4 hits, Link: http://orokos.com/roll/324007 Next round sprinting Sprint Roll 1 hit Link: http://orokos.com/roll/324008
Stun Damage Track 6/11[/spoiler]
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"Evan!"
Ena's face breaks into a big smile as she spots the man who was once her surrogate father.
"Was on my way north for a business trip. Thought I'd stop by and see how you were doing."
-
Taylor tries to digest this information. A stroke? How did that happen. He starts off slowly"You say 'eventually' how long are we talking about her staying here? ... " and then he can't stop the flow of questions going straight from his brain to his mouth. "WhatdoIneedtodo?Ineedtomakesureshe'sokayshe'sallthefamilyIhaveleft.WheredoIgo?DoIstayhere?...." As he's asking these questions he's running dozens of matrix searches trying to find all the information about stroke diagnoses and suggested treatments. CT scans and x-rays fly by in his AR view as he's pouring through data much faster than he could possibly ingest or retain.
His shoulders slump as he realizes how entirely out of his league he is. "Some kind of badass shadowrunner I am. Mom, what am I going to do now? You've got to get better!"
[spoiler]
Composure (10) (http://orokos.com/roll/324210): 10d6t5 5
[/spoiler]
He gathers his wits about him and looks up at the doctor, "I...I'm so sorry, that was uncalled for. I don't mean to waste your time with inane questions. How long until I can see her? And how much time can I spend here at the hospital with her?"
-
@Profgast____
Bloody hell, well i'm glad you did! been far too long eh?! Come on through, catch me up!
Evan lifted the door section of the bar and let you through as it clanked heavily back down on its hinges behind you.
He pushed the back-room door open and a smell of stale beer and cigs hit you as you walked down the narrow corridor full of empty barrels to the office.
Kicking out a spare chair from under the desk, he gestured for you to sit as he pulled a bottle of whisky from the old-skool filing cabinet along with two dusty glasses.
So, how the hell have you been? He smiled warmly at you and raised the glass in a toast.
Prost, nazdrovye, cheers and all that shite!
@Zwei_____
The poor doc began to answer your question as your flurry of activity overtakes your conscious stream of thought, standing silent as you regain your composure.
Its ok, really, its a lot to take in. To answer your first question, i'm not going to lie to you. The superficial damage often clears within days, weeks, but the deeper, more affected tissue can often be too badly damaged to repair, leaving a long standing defecit. Years ago, we would have had nanites to debride the damage done and promote repair of damaged tissues but that's no longer the case. We unfortunately have to do this the old way, using lots of intensive physiotherapy sessions to recruit the body's own ability to reprogram. Ultimately we won't know exactly how the damage manifests itself until we've done a lot of tests and examined your mother's abilities as she recovers. For tonight we'll keep her sedated, give her brain the opportunity to rest and begin the repair process. She should be down from MRI any time soon. Feel free to access the ward at any time, the duty nurses will give you an RFID so you can come and go. I would recommend that you get some rest yourself tonight, she'll need you to be strong for her in the coming days and weeks.
She smiled and touched your arm in a friendly, reassuring manner and left the room.
You slumped into the chair, head in hands and fought back a sob.
Your mind raced with all the things you'd need to organise, modifications to the home, care packages and such but the heavy double firedoors of the ward shut and the hustle of pairs of feet and beeping of monitors mixed with hushed voices denoted the arrival of your mum, back from her scan.
She was an ashen grey, an oxygen mask covered most of her face and her face was furrowed, as if pained. A pale blue blanket covered her body except for her left hand, where the mass of cabline and giving sets connected to the ports installed into her veins to allow drugs to be administered swiftly.
A young nurse and a porter wheeled her into the room, the nurse smiling at you in recognition as the senior charge nurse entered the room.
The young nurse handed over to the charge nurse, reeling off a list of drugs administered and changes in her vital signs over the last hour. The charge nurse furiously annotated an AR terminal according to the info given to her and the porter and young nurse left, their duty done.
I'm Sister Jones, I'll be co-ordinating your mother's care and her rehab. I believe Dr Chang explained your mother's condition to you?
Looking at the full locker she smiled, thank you for bringing that in, you have no idea how much comfort it brings patients to have their own things with them.
I'll give you some time together now, but its getting late. You need some rest yourself.
The door closed and left you alone with your mum, just the gentle sound of the oxygen rasping through the piping and the rythmic beeping of the cardiac trace on her monitor to puncture the layer of silence that blanketed the room.
@Saithor________
The gangers that could see the phantasm shouted in a panic and ran for cover, causing the man in the window to laugh and disappear back into the room.
They yelled into their links as they screamed for backup and you knew that time was now of the essence.
-
*Shit shit shit... Swank joint like this, they'll have good response time. Even faster if it's fuckin Mickey. I better hoof it and quick. The boss is not gonna be happy about this.*
Knives smiles and pulls out his link, "Yes I'd love to get a few names. Oh bullocks, look at the time. I really must be off." He quickly chugs the rest of his beer and offers out his hand, "It was pleasure meeting you sir. Hope to see you soon. Cheers!" With that he's up and out the door. Disappearing into the crowd of pedestrians Knives thumbs at his link, changing his greatcoat from a deep grey to a dark blue and pulling up the location of the nearest tube. Once he's headed towards the tube he sends Johnny a text.
<Bad news mate. Made contact but couldn't find a private place to chat. Time for Plan B.>
[spoiler]
Sneaking 4 + Agility 7 = 11d6 [8]. 11d6.hits(5)=3 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4865929/)
[/spoiler]
-
Ena raises her glass in an answering toast before taking a gulp. She sputters for a moment as the fiery liquid hits her throat then continues.
"I've been good Evan, work's been a bit slow, but steady. This next trip though smells like it might be a good one. Takes me north of the Pennines. Writeup says there may be all sorts of critters and the like up there though. You got any advice?"
-
Taylor takes his mother's hand, her face sagged and loose under the oxygen mask. "Mum, dinnea if ya can hear me but I'm right here for ya. I'll be here as much as I can, but no more than a comm-call away. We'll make sure you've got everythin ya need. We're gonna pull through on this."
He continues to fret over his stricken mother for sometime before succumbing to exhaustion. He falls unceremoniously into the chair by her bed shortly before passing out. Stress and grief written large across his boyish face.
-
@Zwei_____
A hand touches your shoulder and you jolt awake, a crick in your neck reminding you painfully of your poor posture.
The ward sister's blurry face gradually came into focus and she brought you a cup of tea. Come on love, you can't sleep here like that. Go home, get some rest and come back about 10am ok? She's in good hands.
Your AR view showed the local time as 2.56am, you'd dozed a good two hours. Your mum hadn't changed; the machines still beeped gently and the oxygen flow still sucked and hissed with her respiratory pattern.
Taking the nurses' encouragement, you headed back to the taxi rank with the cup of tea in hand, glad for its warmth against the biting cold of the early hours of a snowy january morning.
Kicking your boots and heavy jacket off at the door, you felt spent. Winston popped into your view and ran up for a stroke, nuzzling gently against your leg for reassurance.
@Profgast_____
North pennines eh? hmm.. bit of barren wasteland for the most part. beautiful drive though, scenery is gorgeous.
Yeah, think i remember some of the students last year talking about doing some fieldwork up that way, some research project about the leylines and their influence on the native species. Think they had to get a gamekeeper to escort them. Stuff gets hungry overwinter and they didn't want to be dinner, as you can imagine!{he laughs a little}. Not really my forte but they were talking about scent, trying not to smell too human and all, keeps them from coming to investigate or somesuch. other than that, wrap up warm! What's the job then eh?
@Lumen______
Langdale looks shocked at the sudden burst of activity as you glug the beer, spilling some over the side of the glass and off your expensive jacket, the waterproofing saving it from staining thankfully.
Oh, er.. right you are then. Well thanks for the beer, hope to see you soon for those lessons?
The barman waved and smiled a sarcastic smile at you as you left through the main door and merged with the foot traffic as best you could, nervously counting off the seconds in your AR overlay as you moved towards the tube as quickly as you could without drawing attention.
A black SUV with tinted windows pulled up down the road, the doors sliding back and disgorging three big looking lads in cheap looking suits as you hit the top of the stairs down to the tube.
A flicker of recognition came across the face of the biggest ugliest lad and you remembered him as well. He was one of the thugs from the alley all those months ago before you hit Gridguide. He nodded at the others and they ran towards you, some 100-200yards to cover giving you a sizeable lead.
[spoiler]We're going into initiative timing now, ini roll please![/spoiler]
@Saithor______
Giving up on the stealthy maneuvering, you broke hell for leather towards the church as chaos unfolded behind you and you had to dodge and weave out of the way of an oncoming van as you temporarily forgot you had your invisibility spell up. You'd cleared maybe all but the last 200 yards to the church as a watcher manifested smartly in front of you, its form shimmering and shining against the slushy pavements that lined the road.
You carry an important package, important people would like to negotiate on its delivery. Will you talk with them?
-
Even bone-weary and emotionally drained, Taylor can't keep a small smile from creeping in as Winston greets him at the door. He tosses the sprite a virtual treat and pats him on the head. Knowing Victoria is off in the Resonance he doesn't bother looking for her. He quickly tidies up the mess from the afternoon and heads up to his room. He doesn't even finish undressing before falling face first onto his bed, letting sleep wash over him.
-
Don't give a frak about you, or who this is going to, but if you think I'm falling for that you must think me a very fresh fish indeed, mate. Essentially "F*ck you" but I like to be respectful.
Silas said as he continued running towards the church as fast as he could, gathering magical energy as he did so. He really should have summoned a spirit for this, didn't realize it would be this hard however. Had Callie set him up to fail? He focused on making everything metal in the area surronding him heat up, burn whatever it was touching, or at least give the sensation of it. He realeased the energy, and thankfully this time he didn't leech anymore energy from himself with the magic, something that was very relieving as he continued running for his life.
[spoiler=OOC]Frce 6 Hot Potato Spell 3 hits, Link: http://orokos.com/roll/324778, Drain Resistance vs 3 5 hits Link:http://orokos.com/roll/324779, Sprint Roll no hits Link: http://orokos.com/roll/324780 Stun Damage Track 6/11[/spoiler]
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"Seems like a simple enough job, drive up there, do some aerial mapping, check out an old base. I hope to get up there and take a couple of flights then be back down in a bit. I figure it's probably best not to take my nicer car up there though, think I can leave her with you? I hope to not actually be out and about camping much just passing through and then back to the south I go."
-
@profgast_____
Yeah not a problem at all, stick it on the drive and I'll make sure it doesn't come to any harm.
So, hows the old smoke been treating you? glad to be back up north eh?
He winked and took another swig of the fire-water, offering you a top up on yours
@Saithor____
All hell was breaking loose around you, the gangers starting to realise the phantasm was just that suddenly dropping their bats and knives as the spell kicked in, screaming about burns to their hands.
The watcher kept up, its shimmering astral form relaying more of it's creator's reply.
Now now, you're clearly not a business person are you? Don't put the offer on ice before it's even been properly proposed....
The ground in front of you snap froze, aided by the slush and snow from earlier in the day, becoming lethally treacherous underfoot, keeping your balance at full sprint was nigh on impossible...
[spoiler]Slip test as per "ICE SHEET" spell please[/spoiler]
@Zwei______
The sun shone brightly as you played on the swings, leaning back and pulling forward as hard as you could on the chains to lift yourself into the air, ever closer to the clouds.
A piercingly blue sky stretched out for eternity above you at your favourite park, the one just down from your primary school on the way home.
The ice cream truck's tune resonated sharply, a piercing howl that seemed right for your environment but something deep within you said didn't quite fit.
Spinning your head to face it, you could see it pull to a halt beside the dark green painted fence that formed the boundary of the park, the other kids running towards it excitedly at full tilt, parents in tow.
That wave of excitement washed over you as well, the thought of a '99 ice cream with a chocolate flake and sprinkles lighting up a beaming smile on your face.
[spoiler]perception test please, just attrib + skill[/spoiler]
@Lumen______
[spoiler]you @ 19
Grunt 1 6+2d6=15 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4867869/) 15
Grunt 26+2d6=10 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4867870/) 10
Grunt 3 6+2d6=11 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4867872/) 11 [/spoiler]
The foot traffic ahead of you was dense, a large crowd stopping at the foot of the steps whilst they figured out which line they needed to board, typical fucking tourists and typical fucking timing!
You're on first pass, pushing through the crowd is a complex action and will move you at 1/2 walking rate. more creative solutions might mean you make better progress through them :-)
you've got about 50m of relatively dense foot traffic to clear before hitting the pay-barriers at the top of the escalators down to the platforms
-
*Fuckin' tourist wankers! If I don't think of something quick those blokes will be on me and then I'll have to make a scene. Guess I don't have much of a choice...*
Knives wades into the crowd, shouldering his way past the loitering masses towards the pay-barrier. In his many years on the streets Knives had pretty much mastered weaving in and out of crowds but with all these slack jawed bumblers around that was not an option. After a few meters of progress he tucks his head into his jacket and yells, "OH MY GOD! That bloke's got a gun. Run!" He keeps his head down and continues to try to push his way towards the tube station.
[spoiler]
-10 Ini
Complex Action: Move through the crowd. At half walk speed Knives makes it 7 meters into the crowd.
Free Action: Speak. I'll try a Con test to make it convincing, and pushing the limit.
Con 2 + Charisma 2 + Edge 3 = 7d6. 7d6.hitsopen(5,6)=2 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4868649/) Not great...
Current Edge 1/3.
[/spoiler]
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Ice puns? Really? Well you can go to hell Arnie, because I don't betray my employers. Unlike you apparently, my loyalty's worth more than a little bit of nyuen. Silas thought as he tried to keep his footing on the suddenly slippery ground he was on.
[spoiler=OOC]Slip Test 3 hits Link: http://orokos.com/roll/325421[/spoiler]
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"Life in the Smoke's been ok so far. Biggest downside is the cost compared to up here and I have to sometimes do a little extra labour to make ends meet. But there's also a lot of opportunity so it's worth it. At least right now."
Ena swirls the liquor in her cup a bit before downing the rest of her drink.
"Anyhow Evan, thanks for the drink and for the advice. I'll drop by again after this job's done but I should probably not dawdle too much."
She grins
"And make sure you take care of yourself you old pirate.
-
@Saithor_____
[spoiler]Ice sheet F4: 10d6.hits(5)=3 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4869312/), three hits[/spoiler]
You barely manage to remain stood up, ankles kicking out sideways as you desperately bid for traction on the icy surface.
Very well. You leave me no choice.
A shimmering dome erupts out of the ground around you, hemming you in on the ice. It felt solid to the touch and would take plentiful force to penetrate it, punching it only hurt your hand
[spoiler]Feel free to roll for initiative here if you don't want to piss about any more and return fire, otherwise i guess destroy the barrier or counterspell it as you see fit[/spoiler]
@Profgast______
Shit, that was short and sweet.{finishes glass and goes to hug you} Come 'ere!
He beams a big smile at you and nudges your shoulder.
Its good to see you again kiddo, stay a night or two when you're done alright?
[spoiler]Feel free to IC the drive up north/motel on the m6/whatever you want. don,t go further than the turn off for the A66 though[/spoiler]
@Lumen_______
The crowd nearest you screamed and ran in all directions, though mainly back towards the steps to street level. Panic set in as the people out of earshot of your shouts clocked the state of alarm of their co-shoppers and headed for the exit. For you heading the other way, it was like swimming into a tsunami wave, it was all you could do to just hold onto the tiled wall and maintain your position, but at least you knew it would be the same for your pursuers.
As the majority of the crowd dispersed up the exits you got straight back on it, shoving and pushing your way to the barriers.
[spoiler]the three maxwell thugs advance up to the emerging crowd at the top of the stairs with sprint actions, you're up again.[/spoiler]
@Zwei_______
You looked around for mum in the park, desperately scouring the usual benches and pathways she often talked to other parents by, but alas, you couldn't see her. A wave of panic overcame you and you desperately tried to slow the swing down, trying to scuff your feet across the ground to get a bite of friction but the ground stubbornly refused any purchase, shifting away from your feet as you stretched.
The icecream truck's tune became more and more dischordant, sinister even and the line of over happy kids stretched off into the middle distance, the park stretched out of all physical boundaries to accommodate it's size.
With no other option to get of the swing left, you hurled yourself off at the apex of the parabola and braced yourself for the sickening impact.
The ground raced towards your face and the feeling of deceleration jolted you awake miliseconds before you smashed face first into the hard floor.
Sweating profusely you come to, disoriented and pale in your bed.
The home node chimed happily as it announced an incoming call from a restricted number
-
Taylor jolts at the sound of the comm ringing, and sits bolt upright. Cold sweat drenching his t-shirt and the sheets.
<<<answer comm>>>
"Allo? Mum?"
-
Silas shot off more curses as he focused on tearing apart the construction of mana that had formed in front of him. He poured his own magic into it as he willed the invisible barrier to cease it's existence.
[spoiler=OOC]Counterspelling Magic 6+ Counterspelling 6 -2 sustained spell 3 hits Link: http://orokos.com/roll/325682[/spoiler]
-
Knives braces himself against the forces of the panic he just created. Clinging tightly to the tile he waded through the initial rush then continues his efforts to make it to the pay barrier.
*Not exactly the best plan but if it slows them as much as it did me I should be alright.*
-
Ena gave Evan a quick embarassed hug as a farewell before ducking back into the bar proper, and then outside. As she made her way to the rendezvous to her GMC, she made a mental note for the drone-brain of her Shin-Hyung to move to Evans' before buckling in for the drive north. While pulling out of the Merseysprawl she took the time to double-check the status of her scouting drones before she ran out of Grid-Guide and had to take over manually.
Well everything looks good, just a couple hour drive now out now to what the map calls "Penrith" and then onto the real work.
-
@Zwei____
The calm voice of the ward sister replied;
No, Its not your mum, but i am calling you about her condition. She stabilised overnight and is responding well to the treatment so far. The doctors are going to attempt to lift the sedation later this afternoon all being well. She'll want to see a friendly face if she wakes up. I'm finishing my shift shortly but Annette will be running the day shift. I hope all goes well.
@Saithor_____
The barrier flickered and faded under your counterspell and finally relented, fading back into the mana it was woven from.
Picking yourself up as best you could on the slippery surface, you carried on heading towards the church but your stomach sank as a heavy SUV with tinted windows screeched around the corner.
Its doors opened with a mechanically assisted grace and a booming voice shouted out of it:
You messenger yes? Get in.
-
Silas didn't have much choice. Worse came to worse, if the guys inside the SUV weren't the receives, he would just rip them a new one and borrow the SUV. He clambered inside and said "Better get driving, this idiot has a bunch of guns and a good amount of magic."
-
"Oh, thank you Sister. I'll be there as soon as I can."
Taylor quickly gets showered and goes about trying to clean up the place. Still mentally exhausted between the run on the Lord, crashing the blockade and his sainted mum having a stroke, it's amazing he can function at all. Thinking back to the run he remembers he still has the data, Bex never got back to him. That worries him somewhat, but his priority is his mother right now. He sends her another coded message letting her know that he's busy, but still has her data when she wants it. He hopes he'll still get paid even if she doesn't need the data anymore, but this wouldn't be the first time a runner got stiffed on a job, even by "friends."
Work's been steady, but he's still a little short for rent due at the end of the month. Yet another thing to worry about.
Pushing that out of his mind for now, he finishes his breakfast and heads to the hospital knowing his mum won't be coming around until the afternoon, but he wants to be there just in case something happens.
-
@Lumen______
You'd shoved your way through the remainder of the crowd by the time the goons had made it down the stairs and vaulted the pay barrier in one clean jump.
Mana and adrenaline coursed through your veins as you lengthened your stride, hitting the escalators downwards at full speed.
The three of them shouted after you, barging people out of the way and hitting their stride on the concourse, trying to make up lost ground.
[spoiler]The distraction kinda worked, it slowed you both down equally but they made up a bit of distance above ground getting to the clogged stairway.
roughly 40m or so lead and you're now at the top of the escalators. they branch left/right at the bottom for the circle line and northern line respectively. [/spoiler]
@Zwei____
//<<Bex>> Sorry, major issues here. Events might have overtaken the original plan. Where you gonna be at 10am?//
@Saithor_____
their accent was thick and heavy, dripping with eastern european/balkan/russian affectation.
Two heavy lads sat either side of you, obvious plating buried beneath their exposed sections of skin. You had no doubt about their role in whatever organisation this was.
The one opposite you was built much more slightly, dressed in fashionable clothing and with designer stubble around his chin. They all had a slight tinge darkeness to their skin, belying their non-native status in the under-sunned British isles.
Yes. Not friendly people. You have letter? spoke the thin man.
Ambush drove our men away. Interested 3rd party; before you ask. He flicked his eyebrows to reiterate his enunciation, asking about who they were wasn't looking like a great idea.
@Profgast______
Pitch black surrounded the van on the drive north from Merseysprawl, only the lights of passing haulage rigs broke the monotony of the journey. the long straight drive northwards on the M6 was usually gorgeous in the day, the beautiful peaks of the lake district standing proud on your left and the north penines all around. At night, only your AR screen and the cool LED lighting of the cabin stood to entertain and soon you grew tired, switching to autopilot and snoozing for an hour.
The autopilot chimed 15 mins before the turnoff to the old stretch of the M6 and onto the old A66 and you smoothly took over control, guiding it off the ramp and onto the old worn out concrete surface.
A large ARO pinged up on either side of the old road as you merged onto it off the roundabout, informing you that this was an unmaintained road and that any damage or loss to personal or vehicular effects was not insured and to expect poor road quality.
It wasn't long before you saw what it meant, gaping cracks in the concrete had opened up after many seasons of heat expansion and ice damage and all sorts of foliage had begun to grow through them.
Your headlights picked out areas of denser foliage and you decided to take it slowly, given that you still had about 5 miles of this to go before you hit the old A66.
[spoiler]Driving test (2) at -1 for low light, -2 for poor surface please. usual gear/sensor bonuses apply[/spoiler]
-
"Oh. I don't suppose you could just drop me off then?" Silas muttered. "At least your being more polite about this, but I was paid to deliver this specifically to one man. If I dont, my reputation is dead. I'm barrly getting any work at all, so the answer is no. So you willing to let me off, or do I need to fry the both of us to death in a final blaze of glory?" the dwarf said. "[/color=blue]I'm terminally ill, so don't doubt my willingness.[/color]"
-
Well this is some fantastic paving isn't it?
Ena, no, Redline deftly maneuvered the GMC Bulldog as the terrain started getting bumpy before synching with her control rig and jumping into the vehicle.
[spoiler]10d6.hits(5)=2 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4872109/) AR DP of 12, -1 light, -1 condition (improved by 1 due to Steely Eyed Wheelman)[/spoiler]
-
With the Maxwell blokes gaining ground Knives tries to slide down the banister of the escalator to bypass any foot traffic on them. Once he reaches the bottom he heads left towards the circle line. It was his best bet to getting back to friendly territory. He continues to dodge and muscle his way through the crowd once he's made his landing. Every second counting as he tries desperately to reach the tube before the Maxwell goons are able to catch up.
[spoiler]
I assume Gymnastics is the most appropriate roll for sliding down a banister.
Gymnastics 2 + Agility 7 = 9d6[8]. 9d6.hits(5)=2 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4872117/)
Sprinting if enough room is available.
Running 2 + Strength 4 = 6d6[8]. 6d6.hits(5)=1 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4872118/)
[/spoiler]
-
<<@Bex [Mams] Seems my luck recently. 'Round 10 I'd be heading to the hospital. Did you have other plans?>>
-
@Zweiblumen____
which hospital? I can meet you in the canteen, plenty of other plans. Will bring you up to speed when I see you, probably got another job for you. Mines a decaff if you get there first.
@lumen____
Shouting at the few people descending ahead of you they duck to the left as you try to slide down the centre railing. A gust of air rushed up the escalator, announcing the imminent arrival of the train, though it was hard to tell from which platform. Kicking your legs over the moving handrail you begin to pick up a huge amount of speed, racing past the startled shoppers and commuters.
The ground raced towards you at a scary pace and you knew this was gonna hurt.
[spoiler]Freefall test please, each hit will reduce the 5s falling damage from exiting the slide at high speed. Then soak any remnants with arm and BOD as usual.[/spoiler]
@profgast______
Sliding into VR felt warm and comfortable, second nature almost as the rig synced your brain with the sensors and various motor systems of the van. You deftly guided the van around the worst of the divots and cracks and are soon at the old turn off for the a66. Sweeping your headlights over the large overgrown roundabouts startled something, you saw a pair of back legs disappear into thick undergrowth.
A few minutes further down the road and the quality of the surface picked up I quality; it looked like it had been bodged a few years back and allowed you to pick up the pace slightly as the huge cracks disappeared in favour of much smaller versions and a lack of trees and scrub growing through the road made your job a piece of piss.
Progress was good but after another mile passed and you suspected problems could be imminent. Two lorry trailers had been deliberately parked across the road to create a chicane and an old bus stop had been coopted into a makeshift checkpoint. It appeared deserted. [spoiler]sensor test please[/spoiler]
-
@saithor___
no blaze of glory needed. We take you to new meeting point. Just need to see letter, not open it. I promise. You man of your word? I too.
The thin man smiled a genuine smile and held his hands up in mock surrender. You wanted to believe he was genuine and on your side.
-
"Heads up! Comin' through!" Knives hollers as he speeds down the railing. *Oh shite... this may have been a bad idea...* In the last meter he flings open his greatcoat, holding each side out like a make shift parachute. He managed to slow his descent drastically and plants solidly on the ground below with an "ooph". With a quick look around Knives makes his best guess at which train was approaching and took off towards the platform.
[spoiler]
Free-Fall Test:
Free-Fall 2 + Body 5 = 7d6[8]. 7d6.hits(5)=4 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4873237/)
Soaking 1S:
Body 5 + Armor 8 = 13d6. 13d6.hits(5)=5 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4873239/)
Knives takes it like a champ!
Since I made such good progress down the escalator we'll do a Perception to figure out which train is arriving then take off in that direction.
Perception 6 + Intuition 4 + Audio Enhancements 3 (Wireless Bonus) = 13d6 [8]. 13d6.hits(5)=9 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4873242/) Limited to 8. Damn, one away from a crit success. What else can I roll? IC is on fire tonight lol.
[/spoiler]
-
<<<@Bex [Mams] Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, I'll meet you in the cafe.>>>
Taylor goes about gathering his necessities, has Winston stick around the house to keep an eye on things and to keep him more or less out of trouble and then heads to the hospital. He brings a pair of glasses with an imagelink so his mom could watch her daytime trids when she wanted to even if the trideo player was sub-par at the hospital.
He gets to the hospital and checks on his mum once more, but she's still sedated. He lets the sisters know that he's going down to the cafeteria for a while, and to please let him know if he is needed. He gives them his direct comm number again even though they have a copy on record and he's given it to them a dozen times in the last 14 hours already. Taking a deep breath, he heads down and gets both himself and Bex decaf coffees. He really doesn't need anything else making him any jumpier than he is.
-
Silas sighed in relief, and let go of the mana he had been gathering, and cracked a grin to match the one on the man's face. "Right. Sorry about that, but my fixer has something of a problem with failure." he said, reaching for where he had stashed the letter. "This is it. I swear to god, if this turns out to be some message from his mistress he didn't want to be intercepted over the comn, I'm going to be pissed."
-
Ena pulled up to the lorries warily. This hadn't been in the brief after all.
Guess this is where things get interesting
[spoiler]9d6.hits(5)=4 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4873513/) Sensor limit of 2, 2 hits.[/spoiler]
-
@lumen____
You landed heavily but shook off the worst of the landing, shoving a couple of civvies out of the way as you saw the train clatter up to the northern line platform and the doors open. A heavy rush of passengers disembarked and you knew it was going to be tight getting onto the train before the doors shut. Shouts from pissed off passengers erupted behind you from the escalators and you knew the maxwell enforcers were still on your trail.
[spoiler]sprint test [2] please[/spoiler]
@profgast____
You scrolled through the various sensor feeds available, scrutinising them for any sign of activity.
Only the breeze shoving the foliage around caused any significant signal, as far as you could tell the makeshift checkpoint was deserted.
-
@Zweiblumen____
The ward sister smiles and reassures you that they'll know whether she's coming out of the sedation by 2pm and to take your time. Pretending to take down your number yet again she waves you out of the ward and you head upto the canteen on F floor. A number of nurses and cleaners sat on different tables and you swiped your link over the reader to pay for the soycaf before Grabbing a table at the back of the room. Bex appeared a few minutes later, flustered and looking pretty beaten up.
A fresh looking scar tainted her neck, running parallel to the line of her chin and some part healed bruises were only partially hidden by her long sweeping fringe over to her right hand side.
She looked like shit and barely made eye contact as she sat down opposite you, Grabbing the spare coffee.
@saithor_____
The thin man's eyes glazed over for a second as he seemed to look through the letter and then nodded his assent, apparently satisfied with the letter as genuine.
He settled back in his seat and nodded on the sheet of glass separating your section from the drivers cabin. The driver accelerated and swerved into a side street, causing you all to hang on to the various grab handles and other fixtures in the luxury suv for balance. The other lads seemed used to it and scanned the sensor feeds in the AR display, probably checking for tails.
After ten minutes or so you pulled up outside an old warehouse, itself surrounded by a plethora of other semi-derelict warehouses.
The thin man nodded at you and opened the sliding door with a gesture before offering you out first.
-
Taylor starts to stand up as he sees her, but knows she isn't the sort to be coddled. He hands her the spare coffee as she takes her seat.
"Holy shit Bex. Looks like you could use some of the services here. Mr. Smith taking care of you? What happened?"
He starts to look around to make sure none of the staff start looking at her with too much concern.
[spoiler]
Looking to see how old/bad the cut on her throat is.
First Aid (Log 6 + FA 1 + Spec (lacerations) 2 = 9) (http://orokos.com/roll/327827): 9d6t5 1
Welp, so much for that.
[/spoiler]
-
Just a run in with some Romanians. Negotiations went bad, I'll be alright. Anything good on those chips?
She rubbed at her neck wound, it still looked angry and relatively fresh. It still had a scab over the top section and you'd go as far as saying the bottom third could be inflamed enough to indicate early stages of infection.
-
"You know me, I just get the data. It's value is up to you."
He leans in and takes her hands looking concerned, while handing her the datastick trusting that he'll get paid for his work.
"I'm pretty concerned about how you're healing, I could maybe help a little bit there? I've got a little time, we could take a walk?" He says knowing there's a good chance she doesn't have a good enough SIN to get her care here at the hospital. In the back of his head he worries that he's opened up a bit too much sharing with her that he has family that is enough part of society to get the kind of care that one gets at a hospital like this. But that's water under the bridge now. All he can do is go forward. He knows the sisters will call as soon as his mum is available so as long as he stays within 10-15 min of the hospital he'll be comfortable.
-
"Much obliged. Good day to you mate." Silas said as he got out. He opened up his comn to check the nearest way to the church using back-alleys and less obvious places then the roads, then refocusing his energy into recasting his spell of invisibility again. He faded from sight as he released the mana, and thankfully the magic took no more vitality from him, as he already felt pretty bruised and battered already. His camoflague restored, he set off for his destination.
[spoiler=OOC]Casting force 5 Improved Invisibility Spell 6 hits, reduced to 5 by force Link: http://orokos.com/roll/327932 Resisitng Drain of 4 4 hits drain resisted Link: http://orokos.com/roll/327933 Stun Dmage Track 6/11[/spoiler]
-
Seeing the northern line roll in Knives makes a mad dash for the train. He deftly dodges exiting passengers as he tries desperately to make it on before it was too late. With the Maxwell's still closely behind this was no time to miss the doors.
[spoiler]
Sprint Test [2]
Running 2 + Strength 5 = 7d6 [8]. 7d6.hits(5)=2 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4874032/)
[/spoiler]
He narrowly squeezes in just as the doors are shutting and lets out a heavy sigh of relief, the adrenaline still pumping through his vains he aches for a smoke. Knives finds his way to a seat but can't stop his mind from racing through the world of shit he's in for not coming through for the family.
-
Odd. Normally you wouldn't just abandon something like this. No other way but forwards though…
Ena nosed the GMC forwards, keeping half a sensor on the surrounding area as she drove towards the gap in the checkpoint.
Here goes nothing
-
@lumen____
The cabin is crowded and sweaty, packed with shoppers and commuters and there are only a couple of spare seats. You breathe a sigh of relief as the doors shut and the train begins to move away down the tunnel. The three goons hit the platform as your carriage heads into the tunnel, the baldy you fought before yammering into his link.
Johnny's reply pinged back to you as you took your seat:
<<fuck. Alright mate. Plan b. We'll grab the lads and lift the fucker tomorrow. Ping over what you got on him so far, mick'll want answers though. dog and duck tonight, 8pm.
@profgast_____
You shimmered through the narrow gap and were relieved you didn't dink the paint as you cleared the back of the lorries. The road opened back up and you made decent progress down a renovated surface, two lanes either way obviously used to carry a decent flow of traffic back before the crash. Only one lane either way was serviceable and even then it had only been bodged back to serviceability. A quick check of the sensor feed got your pulse raised; flickering lights indicated a camp of some sort over on the hillsides surrounding the road. There was no way your engine noise and headlights would have gone unnoticed here.
-
@saithor____
hey, where you going? I told you meet has changed.
The two heavies caught up to you as you headed away from the suv and grabbed you on the shoulders, steering you back towards the warehouse with a good shove in the back.
after you laughed the heavy to your right.
A large shuttered steel door covered the frontage of the warehouse, it's original wooden signage long rotted past legibility but you didn't have time to look in any more detail as the door noisily clattered into life, retracting into the roofspace to reveal another couple of heavyset eastern European types.
The place stank of damp and decades of rot, collapsed sections of overhead gantries lay about on the flanks of the wide shop floor but the stairway to the 1st floor office seemed just about serviceable. The two heavies nodded at your escorts and they seemed to take over duties, gesturing you up to the office.
@Zweiblumen___
She looked at you warily and subconsciously rubbed at her neck, ermm...I'll probably be alright. but didn't say it with any kind of conviction.
[spoiler]Negotiation test please, supporting evidence for +2 from your previous medical test applies.[/spoiler]
-
"You're my meal ticket luv, I can't have you out of the picture!"
[spoiler]
Defaulting on Negotiate (Char 5 - default 1 + situation 2 = 6) (http://orokos.com/roll/328163): 6d6t5 1
I'm spending a point of edge here. If I can re-roll misses and count that as total rolled for calculating a glitch then I'll do that, otherwise I'll just spend the edge to negate the glitch.
Edge re-rolling misses (5) (http://orokos.com/roll/328164): 5d6t5 0
Welp, either way the net result is using the edge to negate the glitch and end up with only 1 hit. Same-same. (thats some amazingly bad rolling!)
[/spoiler]
-
Silas scowled slightly at it, but he headed up the steps to where he assumed Valijenov was. Going to the office he knocked on the doors. “Mr. Valjenov? Got a letter for you.”
-
*Shite... better switch trains to throw em off. I don't want another scene at the next stop... I'm in it deep enough as is.*
Knives thumbs out a response on his link. <I know mate... I'll be there ready for a lashin. I worked a good cover but it we ended up in the rose and crown, which belongs to the Maxwell's I came to find out. Didn't get much, he was RAF had a cousin in the Marines who lost his leg in Prague. That club I went to will be looking for new blood for classes soon, asked if I was interested. After that I had to hoof it.>
-
Well that's torn it, so much for abandoned and quiet. Might as well keep going though, see where this takes me.
As she drove, Ena lowered the window slightly and sent out her Flying Eye with the directions to gain altitude, then tail the Bulldog while keeping an eye out.
Might as well get some insurance though, hopefully it'll see something the car's sensors miss.
[spoiler]Flying Eye drone is equipped with Low Ligh + Vision mag and Thermographic camera sensors.[/spoiler]
-
@profgast________
The sensor feed flickered into view in a VR terminal, just to the right of your main centre of view. turning up it's opacity, you could make out several large tent-looking structures on either side, the lights distorting the picture somewhat.
Thermo revealed several person sized heat signatures running down the hillside towards your position
@Lumen________
<<Right, sounds like a fuck up then. not much to work on there, maxwells will no doubt give 'im the 'eads up so club sounds like a no-go. We'll sort it. still, better be on time. Mick'll want a word.>>
You hop off at the next stop and embark on a bit of a tour of central London tube stops before finally settling back into a seat on the Hammersmith and district line towards the south east.
Foot traffic was light through the station, none of the glamorous shopping sorts or tourists frequented your end of town, and it felt good popping back up into the weak afternoon daylight and catching a lungful of diesel exhaust fumes.
You had a couple of hours to kill before the expected grilling and The Three Tuns [spoiler]nearby pub[/spoiler] seemed like a decent option after that afternoon you'd had.
@Saithor__________
A grizzled looking bloke in a suit sat in a chair opposite, a cheaply suited guard stood off to his left.
He eyed you warily as he dragged on a large cigar, the embers falling onto the battered and tatty desk.
Gesturing with a scarred and pitted hand, he asked for the letter and spent what seemed like an age inspecting the seal before opening it.
The guard was on edge, staring at you, his hand hovering precariously near the opening of his suit jacket and the atmosphere was tense, broken suddenly by Valjenov's deep booming laugh.
Ha ha ha, fool boy. He make shit bargain. Good for me. I sign.
He gestured for a pen and a lighter, signing the letter and reforming the old style wax seal before handing it back to you.
Do not open. You do, you die. haha
He smiled a toothless smile at you and waved you away with a disinterested look, picking up the tab end of his cigar from the ashtray on the knackered desk.
@Zwei______
[spoiler]Bex resistance roll:
9d6.hits(5)=2 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4876009/)
She wins, turns down your offer[/spoiler]
Look, meal ticket or not, its just a scratch. I'll be fine. Really. I've got shit to do anyway.
She looked a bit downcast, clearly having had a bad week so far. She passed you a credstik and stood to leave.
VR call tonight at 10pm, I'll pm you the meet details. More work on the horizon so don't let me down.
Send my regards to your mother.
She walked out of the canteen having left most of the soycaf you'd bought.
In her place walked in a gaggle of junior docs swarming around what must have been the surgical lead or some other head-shed of surgery. They were all in their blues and excitedly chatting about some new study or other.
-
"No problem. I wasn't given a return address by my fixer though. Who do you want it to go to?" Silas said as he gtook the letter.
-
Taylor was still concerned about the nasty condition that Bex was in, but it was obvious she was drawing a line here. "I'll be there. Take some time to take care of you, alright?"
He finishes his soycafe and heads back up to his mother's room. How is he going to balance working and taking care of Judy? He'll figure something out.
-
Ena watched the drone-feed for a moment.
I'm not sure I like the look of this, and Bex said I should try to stay away from any locals. Let's see if I can ditch them…
With that Ena started accelerating, coaxing the sluggish GMC to outpace the approaching pedestrians.
-
Soon as Knives makes it top side he lights up a smoke. *Mmmm smoke and diesel, the smell of home. I've got time to kill and nothin to do but wait for the shoe to drop. Better find a pint to keep me outta anymore trouble.* He slowly strolls through the streets heading towards the Three Turns. When his first smoke runs low he lights another off it. Keeping his head down he meanders towards any solice he can find at the bottom of his next glass.
-
[spoiler]Server was down yest afternoon so apologies for late post![/spoiler]
@Profgast________
The van responded to your urge to run forwards, the gearbox dumping a gear and revving high to provide a nice kick of torque from the diesel engine.
You felt the bumpy road slip by under your wheels but you weren't surprised to see a response from your pursuers. A couple of the heat signatures stopped for a few seconds as they clambered onto blue-hued frames which suddenly flared with heat signatures of their own; given their size and shape, they could only be motorbikes of some sort.
Your options changed in a flash, it was late, you were on crap roads, didn't know the area and your pursuers were on much more nimble craft and had the upper hand on local knowledge...
They might not even be outright hostile?
@Lumen________
The three tuns was pretty busy, pre-match build up for the Man City vs Spartak Moscow in the Europa league dominated the trid as you walked in.
It smelt heavily of cigar smoke and the troll behind the bar clocked your face and pulled you a pint of ale as you walked in. They were well in with the Clerkenwells, always had been.
Paid their dues on time, every time.
<<Change of plan; Oil depot, Thunderer lane, Dagenham. Come armed and ready for a scrap. Don't be late.>>
[spoiler]You're in downtime now so if you wanna do any healing/prep/purchasing you've got a few hours. otherwise feel free to skip ahead.[/spoiler]
The old oil depot was on the boundary of Clerkenwell and Maxwell territory, You'd only been there a few times and it was usually as a staging ground before something big kicked off or as a rally point after a big bust up.
You knew it was probably going to be serious so a couple hours to yourself was a good way to get in the zone.
@Zwei_____
She nodded as she left and you pushed your way through the registrars and house officers in their blues and headed to the large elevator, absent mindedly swiping the AR terminal for the neuro wards.
The sister greeted you warmly as you headed through the double doors and up to the nurses station;
Ah, we'd been wondering when you were going to arrive. We've got some good news; your mum had a really settled night and her bloods showed good signs of stabilisation this morning. The doctors are on their way down now and will start to lift the sedation. We obviously can't make any promises, but it looks good so far. If you want to head in, they'll be along shortly.
The ward was like a different place entirely in the daytime. It bustled with activity, cleaners going to and fro, nurses answering call buzzers and the background hum of trids on in patient rooms gave the place a nice atmosphere, homely almost. The sight of a pair of physios supporting an elderley looking patient in a walking harness down the corridor highlighted your concern though, just how much damage had been done?
You pushed through the door to her room and were pleased to see an auxiliary nurse bed-bathing your mum with the help of a student. They looked up sheepishly at you as you entered, hesitantly deciding whether to stay or leave them to it;
Won't be a minute love, just wanted to get her ready for her big afternoon.
The auxiliary spoke with a warm northern accent and smiled as she pulled your mother's gown back on and tucked her sheets back in around her before leading the student out. A small speaker set had been placed on her side table and played soft music.
A half smile had wrought its way onto your mum's face, crooked though it was; the right side notably lower than the left.
You had a while to "catch up" with Mum before the docs arrived and a stern looking asian bloke in clinical uniform led a gaggle of registrars[spoiler]mid-level doctors[/spoiler] into the room unannounced.
He barely nodded at you before addressing his reg's, giving them the clinical presentation of your mother before quizzing them on various aspects of their medical knowledge of her condition and proposed treatments.
The tone was officious and they showed no level of empathy for "the patient", your mum, just pure clinical fact. No names, no personal touch. She was just a bag of meat with a problem, something about their way really griped at you, infuriating you with their lack of compassion.
@Saithor___________
You take it to that.. bastard Vory {spits on the ground} cunt and you tell him no. NO. NO DEAL.
This wasn't part of the plan... it all just registered as wrong to you. Your part of the deal had been completed and it was really unlike Callie to drop you in the shit like this, well, it had never happened before anyway...
-
"Umm, Mr. Valijenov, I am sorry, but I have no idea who the ...cunt...you are talking about is. This is my first experience dealing with you and the Vory." SIlas said, trying to be as polite as possible with the suddenly extremely irate busnissessman. He needed to get the hell out of here and comn Callie to find out what the hell was going on before he did the return delivery however. He thought this man was Vory.
-
Knives gives the barman a nod and takes the pint, "Thanks mate." At the sound of his link his head drops, "Great... what now?" A grin spreads across his face as he reads the message.
<You got it mate. I'll be there full of beans.>
*At least it sounds like I can get some frustration out with a tussle.* Once he's finished with his pint he pays up and heads back towards his flat. He repacks his kit and tucks his favorite knives in their usual spot before heading out to the Oil Depot.
[Spoiler]
No healing or buying needed. Just got to change up my loadout. I'll post in OOC what he's bringing to the fight later tonight.
[/spoiler]
-
Well. Bugger.
The options being limited as it was, Ena slowed down the Bulldog from its initial acceleration and jacked out of the vehicle, returning to the safer Remote control method.
"Here's where things get interesting."
As she waits for the motorbikes to catch up, Ena quickly composes a short initial scouting message with GPS location pulled from her Orientation System, grainy stills from her Flying Eye's Low light camera and fired it off to Bex as a status update (utilizing Satellite link if necessary).
-
@Profgast____________
Slipping out of VR felt a lot like stepping out of a warm bath into freezing cold air, the AR controls just not giving you any comparable feeling of motion.
The dish on the roof had already synced with a low geo-sat by the time you'd finished dictating the message and it sent no bother. Your van had obviously picked up on the spotty service coverage out here and done the hard-yards for you. No reply came immediately from Bex, not that you were expecting one, but the send receipt proved it had at least been delivered.
Shortly after, the sound of old-style two stroke engines rippled through their gears as they decelerated and crawled past your van, clearly inspecting it as they came level with the cab.
You did as they gestured and lowered the window.
Who are you and where you going? asked a young female elf from behind her bike helmet
@Lumen__________
Two heavy vans waited on the cracked and weed-ridden tarmac, their headlights casting long shadows over the broken surface and barely illuminating the crumbling and decrepit spars of the old Oil tanks from a bygone era of the city.
Most of the lads had been called up by the looks, they stood in a semi-circle around Mick, getting their briefing before loading up and heading out. A variety of bats, blades and rusty shooters stood by the two vans and Johnny's trusty 2x4 for was nowhere to be seen which raised your eyebrows.
Mick clocked you and your slightly-late arrival and interrupted the briefing, causing the heads of the crew to turn in your direction.
Ah, its facking twinkle toes 'imself. Glad you could fackin join us. Cam on darlin', pull up a seat, Dan 'ere'll pour ya a brew he mocked sarcastically.
As I facking said, the job tonight is simple. Maxwell's got a ship coming in. Word is that they've got a great big fucking gem of a shipment in there and it's your fackin job to get in there and make sure the fiwthy cunts get a good hiding and that that shipment makes it back 'ere to us. They've been fackin stepping on our toes for too fackin long and their about to see what fackin retribution from a bunch of 'orrible cunts like us feels like. Get in the fackin vans and smash those cunts a new one, roight?. RIGHT!!!!! bellowed the lads as they turned and headed to the vans.
You spotted Tim getting into the second van with a box of electronics and a mixture of experienced faces, "Tank" being the one most senior. You'd not had much to do with him over the years but he'd got a fierce reputation for being a bad bastard. He'd smashed his way through more than his fair share of bare knuckle rounds and he was well feared in south london where he spent most of his time.
You guessed he'd pull rank on this job.
@Saithor____________
He goes from pretty chilled to absolutely fricking ballistic in the blink of an eye, the expensive cigar discarded as he launched into a lunge over the desk
HOW DARE YOU, YOU FACKING CUNT! YOU COME IN HERE AND DARE TO GIVE ME THIS, THIS SHIT!
WHO THE FACK DO YOU THINK I AM?!?!
The bodyguard really had no idea what to do, whether to draw down his pistol and pop you to save his boss the effort, or to show total disregard for the situation and not anger his boss further. Luckily for you, it was the latter, his attention suddenly diverted to the squeal of tires and roar of engines outside.
Boss, time to move.
It cut the rant well short and seemed to snap him out of his rage, but you were worried by the sudden change in attitude and look of concern on the bodyguard's face.
He drew a battered looking snub nose revolver from inside his jacket and pushed his boss towards the door, both of them hitting the steps at pace and heading out of the back door.
The suits you'd come in with were nowhere to be seen, but you could hear a fracas erupting outside, car doors opening and slamming along with broken glass, sounds of fighting and two rythmic thumps.
A large chunk of corrugated steel flew into the warehouse and you knew what those thumps were, double barrel shotgun shells.
The taste of rusted metal and cordite filled your mouth and you knew you needed to get the fuck out of here before you got caught up in it.
-
Taylor casts a dour look at the crowd of people treating his mother as just another number, but keeps his opinions to himself. They know what needs to be done, he'll provide the warmth and attention she needs if they won't. This is an exact example of why he left the force and went to the shadows. People aren't just numbers on a tally sheet, they are individuals. To be treated with a modicum of respect and humanity.
Shaking his head in dismay, he turns to his mother and talks with her to let her know that as distasteful as they are these people will get her back to normal before she knows it.
-
You know what? Silas thought to himself Callie can go **** herself. She can deliver this ********* letter too. This while he ran as fast as he could for the back door, casting his invisibility spell for the third time this day. He faded from sight yet again, but he gasped as more vitality was sucked from him like an overeager teenager going after soda with a straw. He gasped and grabbed the wall as he felt his heart pund in his chest. Not now! he thought as he struggled forward at what seemed like a snail's pace to get out. The attack passed, and he tried to stop gasping for breath. Sound would give him away, and he didn't want to die, as much bravado as he had with the guy in the car earlier. Now why couldn't have he been Valijenov? Silas thought as he opened and close the door and started moving away as fast as possible while trying to make as little noise as possible.
[spoiler=ooc]Casting Force 6 Improved Invisibility hoping for some luck here. 6 hits Link: http://orokos.com/roll/330771 Resistng Drain of 5 2 hits Link: http://orokos.com/roll/330772 Stun Dmage Track 3/11 Cutting it close here[/spoiler]
-
Knives walks up with a lit smoke hanging from his lips and hands in his, currently dark black, greatcoat pockets. He nods at Mick's acknowledgement then just lowers his head and kicks at some weeds piercing the tarmac when it quickly turns to ribbing. When the others cry out to answer Mick he also barks out in unison, "RIGHT!" *That wasn't nearly as bad as it could as it coulda been, this must be a big haul... just gotta chin up an be good solider. If there's one thing I'm good at it's showin a Maxwell their innards.*
Following Tim, Knives heads into the second van and gives him a hardy slap on the shoulder as he takes a seat next to him. "Oi, all right mate?" Then he shifts his gaze to Tank and gives him a silent nod of respect.
-
Showtime
Ena puts on a relieved expression as she lowers the window.
"Ah ye've no idea how glad I am tae see people around here. I was afraid it'd only be me an' the critters out here like they said it was. I thought you were the 'critters before actually but then I heard the engines and I dinnae think that they can use motorcycles and…"
She's now projecting youthful, excited, breathless, and Scottish in that mile-a-minute speech way.
"… but oh you asked me what I was doin' here. Tae be honest I'm here because I need the credit. M'professor said if I ran this surveying errand I'd get good marks and between the two of use I really need to pass this course or m'Pa will stop givin' me pocket money. Honestly I'm feelin' I'm in a little over my head but I really do need this and they told me it wouldn't be that difficult except for maybe…"
-
@Profgast________
Maybe what? This isn't a free territory for you swanky-ass academics to go sniffing around in you know.
[spoiler]Negotiation test please[/spoiler]
@Lumen_______
You crawl past a couple of the big lads and take a seat at the back of the van next to Tim.
Alright knives! How're you doing? Finally got a big haul mate. cracked into one of those Maxwell tosser's commlinks the other day. though ee couldn't be eard!!
Mick was well chuffed. Hope there's summat decent on that boat! You get that swanky bloke you were after?
Tank nods at you in return and signals with a little finger and thumb extended, the old universal sign for a phone call. You opened up a comm-call with him as he headed to the first van, his heavy cockney accent coming through loud and clear.
Awright mate? You head up the lads from the second van yeah? we'w secure the dockside and draw them fackers attention whilst you take the boat. We'w follow you up once the dock is owrs.
Quick blast, grab the good shit and then back in the vans before their lads come down and ave a look-see eh?
@Saithor_______
The sound of the heavy steel door slamming at the front signalled Valjenov's departure and you moved towards it, heart racing and head spinning as the effort of knitting the mana into form drained you of energy.
You just about held it together, opening the door gingerly as two more rythmic thuds went off behind the building, followed by the squeals of further tires from the front.
Peeking your head through the doors you could see an expensive looking car kicking up dirt on the way up to the main road (heading left) and a scrubby yard extending some 20 metres out to the chainlink fence with a hole in it where a gate had once been for cars.
Derelict warehouses surround the badly maintained road/track that runs from your left to right and the sounds of fighting begin to abate behind you.
@Zwei_______
The docs adjusted a few bits of machinery, emptying and refilling auto-givers their drug payloads and quizzing on recovery times, contra-indications of various medications and such as they went.
The consultant turned to you as they left;
Should see if we get a result within an hour, nurses are the ones to call. Bye!
The next hour was a frought one, several nurses and a registrar checking in to take observations and monitor for signs of wakefulness.
A student came in and fitted a set of trodes to your mum and hooked it up to what appeared to be an incredibly top-end link, slaving it's feed to her med-tablet before passing it over to one of the senior nurses.
Your mum's eyes flickered and her hands twitched, gently at first, but after nearly two hours, they picked up in strength and deliberation. Well, one did anyway; the left arm stayed low with only the fingers twitching.
The right moved up her body, clasping at things, seemingly at random; exploring her environment.
Her eyes remained shut but the nurses came in, alerted by the flashy monitors' change in tone.
-
Runnign would give away his perception at that point, and they would be after Valijenov, so Silas started walking down the road to the right, as quietly as he could. At the same time he opened up his comnlink and sent a message to Callie. Time to find out what the hell was going on.
>>To: Callie
>>I delivered the message, Valijenov signed it, and told me to return it, when I asked him who to, he freaked out, looked like he was abut to kill me until somebody came and started shooting up his warehouse. Could you mind filling me in on what the hell is going on? I don't want to die not knowing what on earth for.
-
@Saithor_______
That disease affecting your noggin? It isn't obvious?! Looks like your "negotiation" errand was a stalling tactic for an ambush, Romanians got screwed and now our names are part of the story. Get the fuck out of there, now. I've got a safehouse up north, I recommend you take me up on the offer.
-
Silas growled at Callie's insult. He'd almost had it with his fixer. She had never been this bad before. What the hell was she taking out on him?
I'm making my way out, invisible. Can't go to fast, too much noise is going to clue these people in. Where's the safehouse, or do you want to meet at one of the coded locations? Line might not be secure.
There ambushers might have brought a hacker along, and Silas didn't trust anything electronic at the moment, not after his weirdly acting soy processor. The "coded locations" were a thing Callie had set up, nicknames fro locations that nobody else was suppsoed to know but her and here runners. One of the reasons he liked working for her.
-
"Please Miss, ye gotta let me through. I swear I'll be in and out ye won't hardly know I was here!"
[spoiler]11d6.hits(5)=1 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4881968/) 1 Hit. Garbage roll, 1 short of a glitch, whew…
Edge to reroll Misses:
10d6.hits(5)=2 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4881971/) 3 Hits total.[/spoiler]
-
@Saithor_________
A note in her voice quivered, long enough for you to notice something was up.
Meet me at frankfurt 1 in an hour. We'll regroup and plan a move from there. Stay safe
You'd already cycled through frankfurt 1, that was from several months ago and related to a safehouse in the docklands, about a ten minute run from where your link said you were at right now. Whatever was going on, it probably wasn't good.....
@Profgast_________
She thinks about it long and hard before replying [spoiler]6d6.hits(5)=2 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4883090/) you win by 1 net hit[/spoiler]
Look, I'll cut you a deal. This road doesn't pay for itself. giz' a hundred quid and you can go about your business. just don't cause any shit alright or you're a dead girl
-
"Ohthankyousoverymuch! I promise I'm just going to finish my assignment and be out of your hair!"
Ena made a show of scrambling around inside the van a bit before coming up with a credstick which she slotted into her commlink briefly before passing it over.
"You've been ever so helpful!
-
Silas put his comn back into his coat and set out for Frankfurt 1. He and Callie had been played for fools, but at least he was alive, and if this didnt convince Callie he was still good, he didn't know what would. As was, he'd be needing quite a bit of sleep to take care of all of the vitality his magic had sapped from him.
-
He continued to hold her hand as long as the Sisters would allow him to, his heart leaping with the prospect of his mother recovering. Even knowing that he had a meet later tonight, he couldn't really concentrate on that. Winston could detect his anxiety and excitement through their shared link, but these types of reactions were more of the meat and made less sense to him. He still kept alert looking for anything that could have gone wrong.
-
Knives shakes his head at Tim, "Nah mate... long story..."
When Tank rings in he picks up, "Oi, yea mate null sweet. We'll come up behin ya then make fer the boat and mop up any fackers unfortunate enough to be on it. Ring me if ya need."
Moving to the front of the van Knives barks out to the lads inside, "Oi listen up lads! Tha was Tank on the line, him an 'is lads are crashin the dock an we're te charge in straight to the boat. Soon as we stop, hop out and unleash holy hell! We'll leave em bleedin and make off with the loot quick as ye please. LET'S FACK EM UP!!!"
-
@profgast_______
She shakes her head and wipes a mucky and battered comm over yours, taking the payment. She gestured to her pal and idled the bikes back around before taking off in the direction they came from, leaving you alone on the road again.
The co-ords showed you still had another 20 or so miles to go, probably about 30-40 mins drive at a safe pace
@Zwei_________
eventually the flickers turned into action, her hand gripped yours meaningfully and her eyes began to open.
The increase in heart rate and cardiac output brought the nursing team down and soon after, the friendly registrar you'd met yesterday.
She began to scan the room with a partially open eye, mumbling something incoherent through a half-open mouth.
The registrar took notes frantically in an AR terminal before heading round to the side of her bed, grabbing her less active arm.
Excuse me ma'am, please can you squeeze my hand?
The sister tapped you on the shoulder and motioned for you to step away from the table.
This is a good sign love, she's presenting fairly normally. usually have a bit of weakness down one side, but it normally gets a bit better with some physio.
The registrar was very thorough and your mum seemed keen to co-operate, doing as she was told before locking eyes with you, groaning something you couldn't understand with her good arm outstretched.
@Lumen_________
A chorus of shouts of agreement fired up in the small van and Pete, the driver, opened the throttle easing up through the old chain link before keeping a tight tail on Tank's van.
It was only a short ride down to the docklands, just the other side of the "border" of the two faction's territory really, and within five minutes you were there.
Tank's van careened off the road slightly too early for the official checkpoint into the docks and it took a split second to see why; they blasted through the rusty chain fence as two large panels tore down under the assault of the vans and Pete opened the throttle, punching for the same gap Tank's lot had created. Your adrenaline burned in your veins as you tore down through a series of rusty and decrepit cranes, seeing a bunch of 30 or so dockers unloading a strangely familiar craft moored up at the dockside. They looked startled at the squealing of tires as your two vans pulled up, as did the suited and booted Maxwell guards on the deck of the boat and by the lorry the stuff on the dockside was being loaded into.
[spoiler]Roll for initiative please![/spoiler]
@Saithor_________
[spoiler]got to head to work now, will get yours up tomorrow morning mate[/spoiler]
-
@Saithor_________
As you set off walking under your invisbility spell, a couple more thuds emanate from the rear of the warehouse you left, shortly followed by the screeching of tires and a wooshing dustcloud being kicked up by the SUV's as they leave, racing up the road in far too low-a-gear in a rush to get back on to the main drag.
You take a second to prop up against a rusty sign and catch your breath, the effort of the day beginning to catch up with you.
As you ran through stuff in your mind, it just didn't add up, Callie had been a total bitch, well out of character, and what was more, you'd then been asked to meet her at a previously used safehouse, which ran contrary to your usual mode of operating with her. The wobble in her voice on the last comm came back to you, somehow when you thought it through, it all seemed to click into place... Callie probably wasn't acting entirely under her own influence...
@Lumen________
The doors slid open at Pete's command and disgorged the two teams, Tank's lot heading down to the dockers with their weapons drawn, shouting as they charged. You had probably 20 or so metres to get the to the gangplank and your position at the front of the van meant you disembarked first.
[spoiler]Maxwell goon on bridge is surprised and can't act against you,
all your team will do this pass is disembark and move toward the ship whilst readying weapons
You're up with the first action[/spoiler]
-
Taylor tries to grasp her hand and move closer to hear what she says. "What'sat Mum? I'm right here, everything's gonna be just fine!"
-
She smiles at you, groaning and grumbling through half-parsed lips
[spoiler]perception test {3} please[/spoiler]
-
[spoiler]
Perception Check (Int 5 + 4 = 9) (http://orokos.com/roll/333092): 9d6t5 3
Hit the threshold, but in case it's auditory here's another 3 dice for his earbuds:
Ear Buds (3) (http://orokos.com/roll/333093): 3d6t5 1
4 total hits if it's hearing
[/spoiler]
-
Ena waits a few beats as the group departs then takes a deep breath.
Well, that could have gone worse. Don't have to worry about them until later I hope.
With that she takes the Bulldog back into drive and heads down the road, pausing only to deploy her FlySpy.
[spoiler]FlySpy and Flying Eye are both flank the Bulldog on either side from above and provide extra eyes and ears. Both are running off of Redline's RCC and sharing a Rating 2 Clearsight[/color]
-
As the van squeals to a stop and the doors fly open Knives leaps out into action. His trusty combat knives already in hand down by his sides and glowing a dull blue, he dashes off towards the dumbfounded goon on the gangplank. *Take em out hard and fast, set a good example for the lads.* Closing in Knives thrusts upward with his blades in an effort to shove them clear up under his target's rib cage and into squishy bleedy bits.
[spoiler]
Free Action: Run. Run speed is 28 meters.
Complex Action: Melee Attack. Charging and using Two-Weapon Style Attack(+1 Accuracy and Damage)
Blades 8 + Agility 7 + Charging 2 + Foci 2 = 19d6[8]. 19d6.hits(5)=6 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4886446/)
Damage 8P, AP -3
[/spoiler]
-
Silas sighed and rubbed at his eyes with his hands, kneading his brow as he tried to force himself to think. Blast, but he hated having this sort of stuff happen. You'd think occasionally even the simple jobs would turn out to be simple as well. He didn't know the intentions of whoever was pressuring or even threatening Callie, but one thing he wasn't doing was just walking into it like a half-mad idiot. Sighing, he walked a couple of blocks to a semi-safe spot, and dropped his invisibility spell, and got to work. It wasn't a summoning circle, but that was just a way to better concentrate, and he begin to recite Latin. He didn't want something big, not with him doing this in a public place and as tired as he was, and he went for something small. Small lines appeared beneath him as his magic went out in search of the spirit and seized upon it. The lines of power burned beneath him, thankfully dim thanks to the small power of his target. His chanting grew a little faster as he neared the end of the ritual. As he finished, the spirit coalesced into a small human made of air, a small grin on it's face. The little thing was much like it's brethren, one that loved humor. Silas communicated it through the astral Go to this location, and scout everywhere surrondig it for exactly one-half of a kilometer. Tell me the location of every living thing in that half of a kilometer, and also the location of any weapons within that same distance. Tell me if the building is occupied, and if so, the number, species, gender and anything else you can determine about the occupants. If at any point you are attacked, immediatly return. And then he sent the little spirit the location of the safehouse, and watched as the little sprite dissapeared off of the material plane and left to complete it's task.
[spoiler=OOC]Summoning 1 Force 3 Air Spirit, Summoning 3 hits Link http://orokos.com/roll/333301 Spirit Resistance 1 Hit link http://orokos.com/roll/333302 2 services owed. Ressiting Drain of 2 drain resisted link: http://orokos.com/roll/333303[/spoiler]
-
@Saithor__________
The spirit shimmered into existence, its wispy outline bowing to your command before returning to astral space to complete your command.
It took what seemed like forever to complete, but when it shimmied back into the material plane it was clear that things had not gone well for Callie.
The building you specified is currently occupied by 5 people. One has the gift as you do, 3 do not. 2 were armed, one with a blade, one with a handheld gun. One is restrained and in distress. Many of the nearby buildings were densely populated and I could not count and determine their occupancy before the gifted one began to probe at me.
@Lumen__________
The guard had just enough time to yammer something into his commlink and half turn away from you before your blades found purchase, shanking into the hardest part of his concealed armour vest; throwing him unceremoniously onto the deck, his commlink skittering over the hatches.
[spoiler]
Soak roll;
12d6.hitsopen(5,6)=10 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4888320/)
edge used + he takes 4S and is knocked down[/spoiler]
Two cracks of gunfire erupt from behind you and you can see tank emptying an old double-barrel into some crates where some maxwell lads had taken cover. Your lads broke cover of the vans and headed up towards the gangplank, bats, blades, tasers and allsorts drawn and at the ready.
Spinning back round to face your direction of travel, the deck was short and an open cargo hatch lay directly in front of you, on the far side of the maxwell you'd bowled over. The sound of an old hydraulic lift rising gave away that you weren't going to be alone shortly; and a flash of a figure across the bridge above you and to your left meant you knew they were beginning to move to defend their position.
As you got your bearings, it became clear that the goon was still in the game, albeit a bit worse off. He drew a taser from his inside pocket and pulled the trigger, launching a pair of darts in your direction
[spoiler]
Fire taser: agi 3, pistols 3, laser 1, -1 wound (6d6.hits(5)=2) 2 hits (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4888336/)
Pass one:
knives moves + attacks
Goon is knocked down and fires from supine
your team move up the gangplank
their team moves internally.
You're up again for second pass after dodge/soak[/spoiler]
@ProfGast___________
You have to drive slowly so the pair of drones can keep up, but it at least helps to reduce the vibrations off the shitty road surface.
Thermal scans from the drones show little, except for an occasional thermal signature from 750-1000ft above you, consistent with a low power engine moving through patches of dense cloud cover.
It stayed visible on the drone's feeds throughout your hourney, though positioning the sensor suite in such a way to catch it meant the drones rapidly lost altitude and had to slow down as they righted and generated more lift again. The pitch black became all encompassing as you drove on into the night. the beams of your headlights seemed more like the beams shone by deep-sea explorers into the murky depths than headlights on a British road.
City driving never really got dark, shit tons of neon and street lighting everywhere meant that it was almost a perpetual daytime in the main hubs. Civilisation was a long way away here though, and the clock was against you. Fatigue began to set in and the urge to take a leak before seeing to your empty stomach grew in your mind.
@Zwei____
[spoiler]thanks mate, it was an audio test, well guessed! :-)[/spoiler]
What happened my love? I can't feel my left side. Did I fall?
Her speech was muffled and mutilated by her apparent lack of muscle control of the left side of her face. Her lips barely moved, gently pulled only by the actions of their right-sided counterparts.
A tear ran down her right eye, pooling in where the oxygen tubing touched her wrinkled face
-
"You're gonna be just fine mum. You're in hospital now, they're taking good care of you."
Taylor chokes on his words as tears start to leak from his eyes. He looks pleadingly at the staff for help as he's at a loss for trying to explain what happened to her as his throat tightens up with emotion.
-
A wicked grin spreads across Knives' face as his Tage hits the ground. He steps forward and leans slightly to avoid the poorly aimed taser dart. With a quick flick of the wrists the blades in his hands flip to point downward and he plunges them deep into the fallen goon's torso.
[Spoiler]
Dodge: Reaction 7. 7d6.hits(5)=3 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4888375/)
Edit: Zweiblumen reminded me that I get Intuition as well.
Intuition 4. 4d6.hits(5)=1 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4888557/) So 4 total to dodge.
Complex Action: Melee attack
Blades 8 + Agility 7 + Focus 2 = 17d6. 17d6.hits(5)=5 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4888381/)
DV: 7P, AP -3.
[/spoiler]
-
Silas nodded, gunted, and started walking towards the safe house. He didn't really like a direct confrontation, but it was swiftly looking like the only option that he currently had avaliable to him, and he wasn't going to leave Callie to get tortured or killed. The problem was that he was running so low on energy that he might knock himself out. Well, there was one thing he could do. He headed back to his apartment, aware that every second could tick further to Callie's doom, and to not cause further suspicion, sent another message to her comn.
>>To: Callie
>>Sorry it's taking so long. Ran into a spot of trouble. Couple of street toughs. Nothing I couldn't handle. Will be there shortly.
He then retrieved the brown package containing his sporting rifle, and then headed back to the safe house. He stopped a few streets away. There was a mage in there, that meant that spirits would be a useless weapon, and also that the mage would be able to keep track of him. Luckily, he could as well, as he peered into the astral to see where the people were positioned inside the building.
-
Ena grimaced, definitely not looking forwards to using the facilities, or rather the lack thereof, in this frigid environment. She spent a moment finding a likely spot before breaking out a light from the survival kit and setting the drones to appropriate overwatch setting and pulling over.
May as well take the moment before I'm closer to ground zero
From there it was a quick, chilly break outside then back into the van to warm up again and consult her Orientation System cyberware while munching on one of the largely tasteless ration bars that came with the survival kit.
-
Silas decided to end the game. Maybe whoever was in there would at least be willing to talk. He opened up his comn again.
>>To: Callie
>>Mind telling me who your friends are, "Lass"? Or whoever the hell you are. I have no idea what the hell if going on, but be a gentleman and let the lady come outside. Alone.
-
@profgast_____
The cold night air hit you and the rush of VR left you feeling drained and exhausted. It had been a really long day and the evening's drinking hadn't helped keep you awake at all. You still had a couple of miles to go, maybe 10 minutes or so, but the mixture of fatigue, pitch dark and low cloud base meant you'd have a really damn tough time of getting any useful work done. The clock on the dash read 01.58 as you chambered back in to the drivers seat and your mouth felt craggy and horrible, it being nearly a full day since you last brushed.
[spoiler]any further tests based on REA, LOG or INT will be at -4 until rested(or stimulated with drugs if you have them), with thresholds for tests increasing with time. The booze has worn off and left you feeling knackered and drained now[/spoiler]
-
I'm definitely not going to get much done like this… Time to stop and set up camp a bit
Ena finished up the ration bar and continued down the road a small bit before pulling the Bulldog over. Grabbing a pile of blankets she moved to the back of the Bulldog , locking down all the doors and ordering the Drones to "Monitor" only. With a short mental command she shuts off most of the vehicle and curls up in a little cocoon of blankets.
[spoiler]Ena's fitted with a Sleep Regulator, so she should be up and about again in about 3 hours. Drones are set to alarm if anything attempts to gain access to the Buldog.[/spoiler]
-
@Saithor_____________
Callie's voice begins to answer but then the line crackles as it is picked up and taken off her. A deep, guttural, accented voice answers after a second or two.
Ah, the messenger arrives. Do not be stupid. we will not let her go quite that easily. Come in here. We want to talk.
@Lumen___________
Your blade pierces his throat, sliding in above the heavy ceramic plating that absorbed your last effort. A gush of arterial blood sprays onto the deck as his cardiac system desperately attempts to maintain systemic pressure, to no avail.
Heavy footsteps up the gangplank behind you let you know your lads were ready and at your six. With the crew scrambling to positions, it was up to you how you began the assault. The cargo hatch directly in front still had it's lift on the ascent to the deck and probably contained what you were looking for, but the bridge off to your left would allow you to sieze the command and control of the craft swiftly and organise from there.
[spoiler]Decide how you want to proceed mate, which direction and whether you're splitting the attack or concentrating forces[/spoiler]
@Zwei_______
She begins to sob and the nursing staff moved over to comfort her, gently explaining that she'd had a bleed and the next few days would determine just how well she'd heal.
They promised to do everything they could over the next few months and you suddenly realised the astronomical advantage your family had over the majority of people in the world and certainly in your "industry".
The cost of the rehab would have broken many lesser able families and SiNless were flat out denied through the door unless they'd been shot, stabbed or were in police custody.
You spent the rest of the afternoon trying to console your mum, helping her eat her meals and discussing her condition, prognosis and immediate future with various members of the rehab team and felt thoroughly drained by late afternoon. Your mum fell asleep with a raspy snore and you finally had a bit of time to digest and absorb the onslaught of information the day had thrown at you.
[spoiler]I'll leave it up to you whether you want to continue the scene or move onto the VR meet with bex; she pings over the meet details late evening and the host is another bleak white off-the-shelf one like last time.[/spoiler]
@Profgast_________
You're awoken from your sleep shortly after 3am, dragging your brain back into the wakeful world took a few disorientated seconds to do, but a quick scan of the AR alerts showed that the Fly-Spy was low on power and was about to attempt to land. A separate alarm showed that the Flying-eye had been blown off-course some 500metres and the pilot software could not overcome the adverse weather conditions, and it was requesting your intervention to resolve. You cursed it's weak hoverjets but concsiously realised that it wasn't really the drone designed for such a job.
You felt the wind tugging at the sides of the van and wooshing through the trees that lined the old road and sensed that the recon work was going to be much harder than you'd bargained for, a quick scan of the Van's suite showing that it had begun to snow heavily in the hour you'd been asleep.
-
Silas grunted, then started walking to the door. When he reached the front door, he tore the paper package off of his sporting shotgun, and with it at the ready, opened the front door and stepepd isnide the building. "Alright, you said you wanted to talk? Let's talk then." he said, covering the one that his astral sight had told him was awakened with the shotgun.
-
Knives stands and points to the lift, "Alright lads, post up and be ready for whatever comes up on the lift. Soon as the guards are down start loading the van." Then he turns and points at two of the more experienced faces in his crew, "You two come with me. Let's make sure they don't get any bright ideas about leaving port." With the two lads in tow Knives heads left towards the bridge of the ship.
-
Ena cursed under her breath pulling herself out of her warm cocoon of blankets just long enough to retrieve both drones and set them back to recharge, no doubt a slow arduous process this far from any decent Matrix connections. This was going to be quite the painful little ride but she NEEDED To complete that sleep cycle. Trust to luck then to finish up the rest of her sleep, with the GMC's suite dialed up for passive detection.
Bollocks. With this sort of luck i'll have to shovel out the van when I wake up too.
[spoiler]Didn't roll for recovery of the flying eye, assuming that with a Jump in, even with prevailing conditions that Redline'd be able to get it back to the van, eventually. If you want me to roll for it then let me know. Flying Eye Dice pool is at 9 dice even with -4 to REA, and grants -2 to threshold target numbers while jumped in.[/spoiler]
-
Taylor sits with his sleeping mother, emotionally exhausted from the trauma of the last 30 hours. He sits back and closes his eyes and the matrix is still there. Beckoning, welcoming... home. He can sense Winston still keeping an eye on the house, and even Victoria off in the Resonance Realms. His email and social media windows are in his periphery, that later scrolling by. Word of his mother has gotten around to friends and the little family left. Condolences and offers of help pouring in. As mentally tough and bright as he is, it's just too much for right now. And then he knows he has to meet with Bex in a few short hours and that's going to mean another job. He'll have to leave Judy here with the hospital staff and trust that they'll do what is best. The Sisters seem to at least have a human touch even if the doctors don't. He quickly makes note of the presiding physician and the interns that couldn't tell the difference between a VR representation of a body and an actual human if their life depended on it. He hopes he'll have time to find some way to give them a lesson or two in that down the road.
He knows he's overly stressed and needs to rest, at least a cat nap before his meet and then a full nights sleep before "work."
He gets up and heads to the nurses station. "Will she sleep through the night? Should I go home or stay here? I've never had someone in hospital before." He's obviously torn between being here for his mother or getting his much needed rest.
[spoiler]
I'm actually fine with him spending the night in the hospital. It's easy enough for him to pass out in the room and have his meet.
I know he's still got to check on Ralphy's kit for him as well, but I don't remember what day that was supposed to happen, or even what day it is now :P
Poor kid, looks like he's starting to bite off more than he can chew. He'll figure it out though, I'm sure. He's a bright one :)
[/spoiler]
-
@Saithor__________
The blokes spin around at the sound of the door opening and the scene before you looks about right from what you saw in the astral.
The big lads look bedraggled, like they've had a really shit day. The one you tagged as awakened had a bleeding head wound, and the others sported a variety of cuts and bruises on their visible skin.
Callie was strapped to a chair in the middle of the room, her hands behind her body and out of your line of sight. She looked at you frantically, also sporting signs of having had better days.
A thin strap of material had been placed in her mouth and the heavy guarding her tracked the snub nose revolver away from her and pointed it at you before gesturing it at her again.
Put the gun down dickhead.
Your veery pretty friend here gets hurt if not.
-
"Threaten her again asshole, and your face gets a double round of buckshot. Like hell am I putting down the only thing keeping you from capping her in the first place. So, you so much as move that snub-nose back towards her, you are going to be taking a little trip to the other side." Silas said, keeping the shotgun trained on the heavy. "Same goes for anybody else. So much as one move towards her and me, and you're either going to be dead, or missing your newly detached limb. I've had a hell of a day, and haven't been paid for it, and that makes me a litle irritated. And when that happens, my trigger finger gets twitchy." The false bravado would hopefully keep the thugs off-balance enough that this wouldn't devolve into a gunfight. "So, anybody want to tell me why you boys decided to start this little party?"
-
@Lumen________
The two big lads follow suit and back you up as you head to the bridge.
The bulkhead door lock started to spin wildly, you guessed it was someone trying to lock it shut from the inside to prevent you entry. the two big lads looked to you for direction as the sound of a brief fight and a heavy clang of something falling onto metal reverberated across the deck.
The other team had managed to clear the lift and gave you a thumbs up before punching the console and descending noisily.
[spoiler]Between the lot of you, you could probably stop it from locking and haul it open (STR +BOD teamwork test, assume your two team mates are PR3 goons for assistance dicepools on this), or utilise their distraction and attack from the other direction (up the far side ladder and into the bridge from the second floor)[/spoiler]
@Saithor________
The big lad with the revolver wavered slightly, a rush of common sense over taking his conscious thought process for a second as he balanced the conundrum of being outgunned versus outnumbering you.
[spoiler]Intimidation check please, all the usual mods in play (inc bonus for holding weapon)[/spoiler]
Party? Ha. It was you cunt who start "party".{he begins to go red in the face and the tone of his voice raises significantly} You who set ambush. You who responsible for death of my brother!
He waves the pistol in gesture to elaborate the emotion behind his words more than as an act of agression but your eyes monitor each thrust carefully. The other guys look to the big lad as he speaks, distracted by their shared sense of loss.
Who paid you? WHO, THE FUCK, PAID YOU CUNTS?!?!
@Zwei__________
The sister replied warmly;
There's a visitor room for relatives of emergency patients at the end of the ward. Its basic, but if you want to stay here, you're more than welcome tonight. We've not got anyone else in it but tomorrow you'll have to head home or get a hotel nearby I'm afraid. Food is for patients only but there are some soyprocessors in the staff canteen available 24hours if you want something from them. The noodles are passable but i'd give the pie a wide berth, look what it did to my waistline!. She smiled and tried to lighten the mood a bit as she ushered the nursing staff out of the room, leaving you alone with your mum.
[spoiler]Ralphy was wanting it done for the weekend. think we said we were on friday today, but he did say not to worry too much due to the family crisis. He'd be super chuffed if you came through for him though of course and would owe you a favour.[/spoiler]
@Profgast__________
[spoiler]totally forgot that flying eye could roll along the floor as well! yep, you can give me a pilot ground test at -6 due to snow, poor weather and such in that case. VR bonuses etc apply. It will count as a very difficult test (4)[/spoiler]
-
"Grab 'old lads... an... 'eave!" Knives grabs onto the spinning wheel along with the two big Clerkenwell lads and all together they give it a mighty thrust in the opposite direction. The lad to his left is barely able to grab on and offers little assistance, however the other one took hold and gave the wheel a good heave.
[spoiler]
Invisible Castle 503'd again so I used Orokos.
PR3 Goons: x2
Body 4 + Str 3 = 7d6
Lad 1: 1 Success Lad 1 Teamwork Test (http://orokos.com/roll/336332): 7d6t5 1
Lad 2: 5 Successes Lad 2 Teamwork Test (http://orokos.com/roll/336334): 7d6t5 4
Each hits adds +1 and increases limit by 1.
Knives Leader Roll:
Body 5 + Str 5 + Teamwork 6 = 16d6.
Teamwork to Force Open Door (http://orokos.com/roll/336337): 16d6t5 7. That's a damn fine roll, hopefully it's enough.
[/spoiler]
-
@Lumen_________
The handle stops turning and you manage to heave it back on itself as the people on the far side shout for help.
The three of you haul the door open and two blokes in engineer's coveralls stand looking at you in terror, hands raised to the roof in surrender
-
Knives waves a glowing blade at far corner, "If you want to keep all yer blood on the inside get in the corner and sit the fuck down!" Glancing over his shoulder at the boys, "You pat em down, make sure they ain't packin. You keep eye on that lift and holler when the lads surface." Then he turns his attention to the various displays on the bridge, looking for any emergency signals or camera feeds from other parts of the vessel.
-
"You got me asshole. I don't know who hired me, why, or even who the hell your brother is. All I know is that I have had it with guns in my face. wave that revolver again, and I will pump a load of lead into your face," Silas said, "So let go of the fixer now before I blow your godamned face to hell."
[spoiler=OOC]Intimidation test three hits Link: http://orokos.com/roll/337017, one point of edge to re-roll 9 dice that didn't score a hit 0 HITS! :( Link: http://orokos.com/roll/337018[/spoiler]
-
Taylor thanks the Sister and heads back to his mom's room for as long as he can. He wants to be there if she needs anything even though he knows that due to their status as SINners they are afforded this level of care. He also knows that if he gets hurt "working" he's unlikely to be able to rely on something like this unless he can come up with a damn good explanation.
He spends the next few hours fretting over his mum until he knows he's got to get back to work. Heading over to the visitors room, he takes a bunk and drops blissfully not to sleep, but into the matrix. Home. The comforts of the resonance and data flowing by are almost enough to make him forget that he's laying in a cot in a hospital with his mother suffering from sever brain damage. Almost.
Using the Sprite-Techno link, he checks in on Winston and reaches out to Victoria to see how things are in there various states and then he heads to the generic blank host. He wonders how Bex is able to get these all the time and wonders how many jobs he'd have to run to be able to get one of his own. Could come in handy one day.
-
Ena braved the cold air briefly to retrieve the Fly spy and then cursed under her breath when she was unable to get the Flying Eye near enough for an easy pickup.
Well. It's snowing. Windy. I'm tired. And I'll have to trudge pretty far out there to retrieve the 'Eye. But if I don't do it now it'll be buried under this snow and probably lost. I suppose the worst that could happen if I go out there now is I freeze to death.
She stops for a moment to rexamine her thoughts.
Yeahhh that last one doesn't sound preferable. Mark location, Finish Sleep, Try to recover it from there.
[spoiler]EWar to Find roll (http://orokos.com/roll/337397): 7d6t5 2 Ena puts a ARO marker where the Flyspy was last spotted and settles in to finish off her interrupted nap.[/spoiler]
-
@Saithor______
[spoiler] (http://orokos.com/roll/337572): 3#8d6t5 3 2 4[/spoiler]
The two heavies began to lower their guard, seeing sense in trying to de-escalate the situation. Gunfire at this range was in no-one's interests and something about the way you held your nerve seemed to carry with them.
The awakened guy, silent until this point begins to protest;
He's fucking bluffing. Hey, come on, shoot the fucker and be done with eh? but the two remain unconvinced, unsure as to what to do next.
The one with the revolver look at the awakened bloke; and then what? we find out anything from corpse? fuck that shit. Everyone. Guns down on floor, yes?
[spoiler]thats some shit rolling on your part lol. orokos apparently hates you. You got enough average hits across all three goons to draw even and begin negotiations[/spoiler]
@Profgast___________
Morning breaks with a wan light through the windscreen. It hit your face and stirred you from your sleep. The dash clock said it was 06.48 but it still felt like 2am, your sleep regulator not compensating for all the combined fatigue quite yet.
You noisily cricked out your neck from the uncomfortable make-shift bed and took a glimpse at the sensor read-out from the van. the cameras showed a good covering of snow across the road surface and that was going to make driving up here particularly difficult. Atmosphere sensors registered a shift in pressure and expected no further snow for at least 2 hours, though its percentage of forecasting accuracy dropped off significantly after that.
Your stomach rumbled, the rations last night only really staving hunger off rather than killing it completely. Your mouth tasted like shit too, you needed a drink and something to clean your teeth with.
-
"Okay." Silas said, and carefully placed the shotgun on the floor. He was still worried about the unknown Awakened, but if he turned out to be a mage, Silas was confident he could at least tear a few strips in this lot's collective hide before they took him down. "Let me level with you, I have no idea what the hell is going on. All I know is, I was paid to deliver a letter to a Valijenov. I got shot at, bunch of spells cast at, and arrived at his place only to get a revolver in my face and a quick exit before I got my head blown off. What's your side of this little fair tale?"
-
Ena shakes her head muzzily as consciousness slowly begins to register. Untangling herself from the mess of blankets she braces herself and opens the door, wincing as the cold air buffets her in the face. The icy air serves as a pretty good wakeup call as she takes in the sparkling winter wonderland. She takes a quick drink from the canteen that came with her survival kit, she washes out her mouth with the water and spits the second mouthful out, before pulling a long third gulp. Then, a measure of fresh drifted snow gets placed into the Survival Kit's water Purification unit (doesn't hurt to be safe) to replenish lost stores.
Alright. Time to track down that Flying eye.
She follows the ARO marker to the last known general location of the drone and begins her search.
[spoiler]Redline has Tetrachromatic Vision (+3 visual), Olfactory Booster (+1 smell) and Magnesense to aid in the search. She also has Thermographic on her contacts but that's probably not really applicable at this point.[/spoiler]
-
@Profgast___________
The cold wind hits you like a freight train as you step out of the van, the wind attacking in short bursts and whipping the surface of the shin-deep snow at your exposed sections of skin.
Pulling your jacket tightly against you and you immediately felt better for making the winter clothing purchases yesterday. The silence when the wind dropped was almost deafening, you'd never heard anything quite like it, especially not when you lived in the Old Smoke, the sirens, generators, traffic and all the other shit meant you were used to a constant hum of activity. This felt alien, like the shots you saw from the mars base or the moon base on the trids.
The water was good, but it only diluted the stale taste and you weren't particularly looking forward to the chemical tasting stuff the purification unit chucked out either.
Pushing on through the snow, you climbed over the section of knackered and rusting railing that separated the old road from what would have been pasture land or agricultural land, now a whited over sheet of perfect virgin snow, spoiled only by scrubby leaf-less trees and bushes, themselves wearing a white cover on their boughs.
The snow was much deeper on the field, it being partly sheltered by the raised roadway, wading through it took a lot of effort and time.
You could see the smoke trails rising from the village you saw on night-view way off in the distance, a cluster of maybe 20-30 houses and barns with their roofs glistening in the pale morning sun.
You started to dig around in the snow, cursing not bringing a spade or tools to help shift the snow, taking a minute to really look and assess the drifts around the area of interest. Something caught your ear as you did, a distant howl piercing the silence.
A general feeling of unease filled you and you redoubled your efforts, the gloves soon sodden from the melting snow as you shovelled it away with your hands. Eventually, you dug it out, the tell-tale tingly feeling in your spine giving away the presence electronic components nearby.
The battery had gone almost completely dead and it wouldn't boot out of emergency standby for more than a second before returning to hibernation.
@Saithor___________
The heavy with the revolver slowly lowered the gun and dropped it to the floor with a heavy thud. The awakened guy shot him a look of bloody murder, clearly unhappy with the move but not enough to intervene further.
We expect a deal, peace today. We ready to celebrate, then pub hit with molotovs, others killed, beaten. Letter was arranged through 3rd party, not usual way for Vory to do business, normally do things face to face, like real man. I want to know, who was 3rd party?
Callie's shoulders slumped, reluctantly accepting that she was firmly in the shit. Giving up the details of the deal was not how the fixer's world worked. Blood would be spilled and the trail would lead inevitably back to her leak. A trickle of blood ran from behind the gag, from the side of her mouth and she'd wake up with a beautiful black eye or two in the morning.
She looked at you, scanning you for an indication of what you thought was best. She was clearly scared shitless, realising the consequences of staying quiet and giving the details both involved a lot of risk, and a lot of pain
@Lumen______________
The sailors co-operated, your lads patting them down and removing a menagerie of small utility blades and light tools, nothing meaty. The security feed scrolled through the cameras in the hold, engine room, the mess and a couple of the walkways. It flicked onto the engine room and you could see two sailors frantically working on something, as if trying to get it up and running against the clock. Before you could get a better view, it flicked to the next camera, the hold. Your lads had reached the bottom and were in the middle of a fracas with a couple of heavies, and seemed to be winning. It flicked again, the mess this time. Empty. Walkways scrolled through the feed, also empty. Back to the engine room; the two sailors were still frantically working at the machine, silently mouthing suggestions and commands to one another as they rifled through toolboxes and connected up cables to their datajacks and electronic boxes.
@Zwei________
Your mum rested peacefully, the latest dose of painkillers resting her back into blissful sleep and respite from what was the beginning of a long and arduous journey to recovery.
You kissed her on the head and retired to the visitors room, a solitary lamp on the bedside unit the only physical item adorning the stark room other than a charity shop style printed art piece from decades ago.
Plonking down on the stiffly starched sheets and uncomfortable plastic-coated mattress, you kick off your shoes and flick the lock on the door before passing out into the warmth of VR.
The hubub and buzz of the matrix activity around you warmed you to the core, hitting you like a high.
The host coalesced around you as you requested entry using the credentials bex provided, it's stark white walls expanding off into limitless space.
{sysAdmin-User; BeX-101 joined host}
The stunningly beautiful avatar bex used walked gracefully over to you after appearing some 50 yards away to your right, slinking with a cat-walk ready elegance, a thigh cut skirt adorning the lower half of what was an expensive revealing digital dress, probably a custom render at an eye-watering price no doubt.
//Sorry about today. Its been a shit week. How's your mum holding up?//
[spoiler]Both winston and victoria report that they're fine, asking if you need them to assist with anything[/spoiler]
-
Mums looks around the now familiar blank white space of the temporary host. Completely minimal, clean, untouched. He sees Bex enter, and her normally well rendered avatar has been replaced by something absolutely out of this world.
He lets out a long low whistle.
<<<Fancy new look luv.
As for this week, I saw. I hope you're feeling better.
Mum's starting recovery. But, lets be honest, that's not why I'm here. You got the data from the mark, guessing there's been a change of plans?>>>
-
*Shit... those wankers in the engine room are up to something. Better get down there quick.* Knives spins back around and points a blade at the sailors, "What's the quickest way to the engine room? Don't get any ideas. Lie to me and my boys here will bleed you both dry and dump your corpses into the freezing water."
-
Silas sighed. It was the choice of two evils at the moment, and personally, he didn't see how he could take all four of the foriegners and keep Callie alive, and personally, he wanted to know as well. Him and Callie might have a chance of surviving whoever had hired Callie, but they didn't have a chance agianst these four. Not with him close to falling over from drain and an awakened in the mix as well. "Tell him Callie. We can always try to avoid whoever hire you. We start a firefight here, you're pobably going to die. So, for ****'s sake, just tell them who hired you."
-
@Lumen______
The one with epaulettes on his ragged uniform looked a bit panic stricken, glancing at the screens and back at you lot; blades, bats and hammers drawn. A million and one things must have been running through his head right now, clearly he wanted to buy time for his lads down in the engine room, but his self-preservation sense kicked in at the same time. Sweat poured down his brow as his froze in inaction, stammering and freezing on his words
[spoiler]Intimidation or negotiation will work, as would a good hard slap lol, choice is yours[/spoiler]
@Zwei_______
The impeccable avatar looks down at itself, an unconscious real-life-ism her hotsim mod picked up and translated into digital motion.
Thanks, I love it. These shoes are amazing! {she trailled off a bit, probably looking for the right words to say}
I'll be fine, I'm sure. Just seen a lot of crazy shit this week that made me rethink a few things. As for the data, yeah. That was what started all this shit. The hunch we had about Langdal was right. He's totally bent and has serious debt with at least one of the Old Firms and someone behind the scenes is pushing the Clerkenwells to call in favours from him as part of that debt.
The reason I tell you this is because I've got another job for you, related to the work you've done here.
We squeezed a few contacts and ran some data past a forensic accountant, looks like they're using his leverage with the Lord Protectors Office and the Land Registry to make significant land purchases on the sly.
Perfectly shady shit for a suit to get up to, except this land is utterly worthless. Off grid, way up north. Abandoned since the crash. No worth or value to it.
We think its got something to do with an old and I mean old mining complex. Can't be sure at the moment. We've got an asset in the area recce-ing it at the moment, as soon as we get a fix on a solid building we want it monitoring and infiltrating. I need someone to deal with the signals, get me some ears. Fancy it? Timing's shit, I know, but I really need someone I can trust on this job.
-
Mams looks crestfallen at the idea of leaving his mother. But he knows he needs to pay the bills or she'll get booted out of hospital with no one caring at all. His avatar sighs deeply. The intricate folds of his signature Edwardian look rippling in an illusory wind echoing his inner turmoil.
He looks up at Bex.
<<Yeah, gotta keep the lights on. I'm guessing you want me onsite? Rough co-ords on the location? How soon, and are you providing transport?>>
Once Bex gives him the location he quickly compiles a sprite and has it do a quick matrix recon of the area and report back what's happening.
[spoiler]
compile data sprite level 3 (comp 6 + res 6 = 12) (http://orokos.com/roll/339543): 12d6t5 6 limit 3
Sprite resists (level 3) (http://orokos.com/roll/339544): 3d6t5 1 2 tasks
Soak 2 fade from compiling (Will 5 + Res 6 = 11) (http://orokos.com/roll/339545): 11d6t5 4 soaked all of the fade
Thread Static Veil on Data Sprite level 2 (Res 6 + SW 6 = 12) (http://orokos.com/roll/339551): 12d6t5 6 limit 2, sprite is shielded from OS rising due to time
[/spoiler]
<<@DATA [Mams] Check out the matrix activity in this area and report back, then you are free to return to the Resonance.>>
He looks back at Bex while his sprite goes to investigate the area with a look of despair and depression that his avatar can't hide.
-
Knives quickly sheathes one of his blades and takes a few heavy steps to close the short distance between him and the sailor. He rares back and delivers a hard open handed slap across the man's face, "Wrong fackin' answer ya knob! Speak up or you'll find out why they call me Knives!" Leaning in close, his face is scrunched with a simmering rage.
[spoiler]
We'll do a little of both. :)
Intimidation 2 + Charisma 2 + Outnumbered 2 + Wielding Weapon 2 + Caused Harm 2 + Street Cred 3 = 13d6[5]. Intimidation vs Sailor (http://orokos.com/roll/339560): 13d6t5 4. If Street Cred doesn't count then it drops to 2 hits. Hopefully if it doesn't count then a physically imposing bonus will...
[/spoiler]
-
Ena pocketed the Flying Eye quickly before moving back to the Bulldog. Making sure both drones were charging nicely she turned GMC back towards the road and started making her way through the cold snowy landscape towards her destination.
Time to see what's actually waiting for me ahead.
-
@Saithor____________
She stumbles over her words, coughing up a bit of blood and spitting it out onto the knackered wooden floorboards
before you could even react, the heavy revolver flew across the floor and into the awakened bloke's hand.
I suggest you start talking, and quick[/]
She looked at you, tearful and agonised and spoke.
It was an agent of Smith. We know her as Bex. {she spits another gob of blood onto the floor}
He cocks the revolver and takes a step forward;
Alright, alright! for fuck's sake. They were trying to do Valjenov a favour. get the Vory off his back. Said something "sinister" had been creating power vacuums; disrupting business-as-usual for years, the swooping in and getting more and more powerful.
He took another step and put the gun to the back of her head;
WHO? WHO the FUCK are you talking about?!
She sniffles and sobs, bleating out an answer;
I don't fucking know, {coughs} I just don't know. Neither did Bex. Whoever it is, Smith is royally pissed about it and is passing a lot of work out through his network and they're responding.
{coughs again, more blood spat out} The Vory must have already been reached by them, used it as an opportunity to take you out of the game once and for all. Look, I'm sorry. We're sorry.
We just wanted to help...
She starts to openly sob, genuine tears of fear rolling down her face as the revolver is pulled away from her head and into his jacket pocket.
The heavy stood next to her clips her handcuffs off and mutters;
Get the fuck out of here, GO!
She struggles to stand and wavers slowly towards you
@Profgast_________
The howl repeats, this time from up the hill on your left somewhere and is met with further howls in reply.
Something unnatural about the howls chilled you to the bone, almost making you want to run.
You pick up the pace and feel vastly safer with the van door slammed shut and locked behind you, triple checking the sensor feeds just to make sure nothing was creeping about the scrub to your right.
The driving was slow-going, the road tires occasionally struggling for grip in places but the bulk of the van provided more than enough momentum to blast through the worst of it.
Eventually the co-ords were as near to the ones given as you could get, the true central position of the GPS lay off the road and somewhere in a lightly wooded area off to your left.
You'd come to rest at the top of the old north pennine pass, the view off to your right was staggering, just truly beautiful. The hill steeply dropped off and rolling moorland spread as far as the eye could see, a crisp white blanket covered the land and the morning sun glinted off it's crystalline constituents and sparkled like a frozen sea.
[spoiler]i'm happy enough with your dicepool and threshold modifiers that i don't need a vehicle test for snowy driving as you're not under any pressure and can take your time.
Its about 10.30 by the time you coerce the heavy van up the snowy hill passes and arrive at your location.[/spoiler]
@Lumen_________
[spoiler] (http://orokos.com/roll/339884): 1d6t5 0 with the -ve mods involved for this guy, thats hardly surprising![/spoiler]
He recoils from your slap, smacking into the machinery and slumping down into a sitting position on the floor. Your lads laugh for effect and menacingly draw their weapons too and you can see the coveralls of the sailor dampen around the crotch. The second sailor yammers something at him in a language you don't understand and he talks, looking at you with begging eyes.
Please don't kill them, they just try to keep Maxwell's happy. They try to override drive from bridge to engines, get out to open water. Please, don't kill them.
One of the lads piped up, Oi, Knives, deck map 'ere mate, gesturing to an old half-sepia with age harcopy deck-plan printed on the back of the door you came in.
[spoiler]The engine room is two decks down at the far rear of the craft. Access stairs to below decks are out behind the bridge room you're in now[/spoiler]
@Zwei________
Yeah, I'm sorry about the timing, but we need to move quickly. I'll need you onsite. Area is pretty much off-grid since the crash so anything you find will probably be routed through some obsolete protocols to keep it quiet or on some encrypted sat-link. I've trawled it myself but came up blank. I'm hoping putting you onsite will yield better results than trying it from here in the 'Smoke. <<File transfer initiated>>
Its way up North. We'll get you on a train to Newcastle and get the Recce specialist to pick you up. You'll be working as part of a team for this one. We'll put you all in touch once we've got the details sorted.<<50% downloaded>> It'll be a few days while we get everything in order, so make the most of the time with family. It'll be 5k pay, before you ask. <<100% downloaded, view now?>> Her avatar smiled and her head tilted slightly the way she did in person. [spoiler]the file contains a rough aerial/satellite composite image showing a bleak area of moorland, a quick zoom out showed it lay on the old old road between the old A1 and the M6 at the top end of the Pennine range[/spoiler]
The sprite coalesced into form, taking Bex by surprise as its shimmering, irregular appearance hovered by your side.
It acknowledged your command and vanished from the host as Bex's avatar looking at you quizzically. That's one bizarre looking agent?!
-
Silas grabbed Callie as she drew near. "It's alright lass, you're okay," he said comfortingly, before saying to the assorted toughs "I see any of you gentlemen again, you better stay the **** out of my way." With that he scooped up the shotgun, and supporting Callie as much as possible despite the height distance, got her out of the door. He chose a random direction, started walking, and a few block later said "So, you got a place we can hide out? Because I don't think my apartment would cut it."
-
Knives snarls at the sailor, "I won't... unless they make me..." He then turns to glance at the map before addressing the lads, "Keep an eye on these two and for the rest of our crew. I'm going below."
With that he draws his second blade back out and heads out and down the stairs to the engine room below.
-
@Zwei________
Yeah, I'm sorry about the timing, but we need to move quickly. I'll need you onsite. Area is pretty much off-grid since the crash so anything you find will probably be routed through some obsolete protocols to keep it quiet or on some encrypted sat-link. I've trawled it myself but came up blank. I'm hoping putting you onsite will yield better results than trying it from here in the 'Smoke. <<File transfer initiated>>
Its way up North. We'll get you on a train to Newcastle and get the Recce specialist to pick you up. You'll be working as part of a team for this one. We'll put you all in touch once we've got the details sorted.<<50% downloaded>> It'll be a few days while we get everything in order, so make the most of the time with family. It'll be 5k pay, before you ask. <<100% downloaded, view now?>> Her avatar smiled and her head tilted slightly the way she did in person.
Mams thinks about the ¥5k and how this one job will pay a full month of bills. He knows he can't turn it down even though he wants to stay.
<<You know I'm not one to let ye down luv.>>
He opens the file Bex send him in a window off to the side and throws a couple of map overlays on it, old and new and lets out a low whistle.
<<Absolute middle of nowhere indeed. ¥5k plus expenses and I'm your man. Send me the train reservation and I'll head up North. Monday?>>
The sprite coalesced into form, taking Bex by surprise as its shimmering, irregular appearance hovered by your side.
It acknowledged your command and vanished from the host as Bex's avatar looking at you quizzically. That's one bizarre looking agent?!
<<What that thing? Oh, it's just a little program I picked up of off one of the Azzie sub-grids when I was doing some work out that way. You find odd things around and start collecting oddities. You know how it goes>>
[spoiler]I can't remember any more, but I thought that Bex knew Mams was a TM?[/spoiler]
-
Ena pulls her vehicle to a stop as she nears the target destination and stretches in her seat.
Those howls must've been the critters I was warned about. Not something I want to run into I don't think.
After taking a quick stock of the surrounding area using the GMC's sensors, Ena also checks on the status of her drone recharges.
Definitely not used to being this far off the grid though, they wouldn't have lost power like that if we'd been in the sprawl…
[Spoiler]Redline's taking in what she can right now, recording using the vehicle sensors and her contacts for later broadcast. Sensor Check (http://orokos.com/roll/340395): 10d6t5 5 2 Hits (limited by Sensor rating)
Visual Perception Check (http://orokos.com/roll/340396): 12d6t5 0 Man. Those dice…. No hits. [/spoiler]
-
@Profgast___________
The sensor sweep shows pretty much the same as what you can see with your eyes, woods off to your left up a large hill, a huge expanse of snowy landscape rolling downhill to your right.
the road ahead rises up the hill which blocks your view further up.
The drones had nearly recharged, the fly-spy was at 97% whilst the lower capacity flying eye sat at 86% charge, more than enough for a decent flight.
@Zwei________
I'll let you know. Be prepped for monday but it might be tuesday or weds, I'll send the details over for you as soon as I've got them sorted. Take the time to get ready, its fricking cold up there this time of year.
The avatar gives you a knowing look and a smile and bex logs out, leaving you alone in the white walled host.
@Lumen_______
The lads nodded, the one with the hammer taking to pushing the sailors over into the corner and the slimmer one with the blade took to monitoring the security feeds.
You headed back out onto deck to hit the stairway and saw the lads on the dockside dealing with the last of the loaders and beginning to root through the crates and boxes on the dockside for their contents.
Hitting the stairways, the smell of stale fart and cigarette smoke caught the back of your throat
@Saithor______
They don't even look at you as you make your retort, they just gather in the corner and yammer at each other in their own language, probably discussing their next move.
She slumps into your arms in considerable pain.
Yeah, get us to Dulwich. I've got a car and a crash pad there. Can get the fuck out of town for a few weeks whilst shit blows over.
She rubbed a tear from her eye and the last bit of blood from her fattening lip and looked at you.
I'm sorry Silas, this has gone to shit. I need to call Smith, let him know what's gone down here
The fresh air of the outside was incredibly welcome, even though the winter chill was pervasive and did its best to get into the cracks in your clothing.
You got any wheels with you or you wanna call a cab?
-
Mams nods to Bex as she heads out, then crafts himself a chair to sit on. Enjoying the solitude of the empty host for a short time. Escapism is needed at least as much in the Shadows as it is in the SINner's world.
He knows he can wait anywhere or even return to the meat for his sprite to return with some data, but he waits here in the empty white-walled host. A solitary white plastic chair in the middle. This lets him think about his mother and how there's nothing he can do about that in a slightly more detached way. He'll do everything he can to take care of her, there's no doubt of that. It just looks like it might require him being away. He'll have to setup some kind of mechanism for her to keep in touch with him that's secure. Can't risk too much.
Once the sprite sends him the limited data it was able to find it returns to the Resonance and he releases the form he was threading. He walks out of the host and it disappears, its purpose complete.
<<<@Ralphy [Taylor] I'll head over to your flat in the morning. Don't forget to activate my access code.>>>
-
"Don't have any wheels, so a cab it is." SIlas said, setting his comn to flag down a cab, setting it to advertise to one's not coming out of where they had come from.
-
Knives scowls as he hits the stench and heads down the stairs, "I fackin hate ships..." He quickly scurries down the stairs, sheathing one blade and signaling his taser into his hand. There was no need to kill these guys and experience has taught him taking one down quick was an excellent negotiating tactic.
-
@Lumen____________
The taser seats perfectly in your palm as you round out the last of the stairs and hit a metal grated walkway on the lowest deck. it ran a short way to your right before hitting a bulkhead door and a much longer way to your left before hitting a similar bulkhead. You knew the engines were to your left and the bottom of the cargo section was probably to your right.
Focussing on the immediacy of the task ahead, you ploughed on towards the engine room.
It smelt of a potent mix of sweat and diesel down here and the irregular sounding misfires of the engine did nothing to steady your nerve.
You heaved and heaved at the bulkhead, drawing mana into your muscles to augment your strength and eventually it gave, releasing with a heavy clunk of something solid on the far side against the metal grating.
Shouts echoed off the metal chamber and you saw three figures separately darting for cover as you poked your head around the corner.
Two looked like they were in overalls, probably the sailors you saw on the screen, but the third was garbed in black and dropped off the railings above you down behind a large stack of machinery, some 5-10 metres nearer the engines than your current position.
[spoiler]
the room is built around two engines, both about 3m long, same height and attached to the far bulkhead wall. your entry point is a small walkway splitting left and right to allow access to both engines, with a narrow ladder at your end going up to a small catwalk to access a myriad of other equipment (pumps and such). the long distance to the far bulkhead is about 15m, and about 3-5M intervals are the gearboxes and drive shafts for the bow thrusters, providing chest high cover. The dark garbed figure dropped off the railing behind one of those, but was that quick, you couldnt tell which.
The ambient noise of the engines puts audio perception at -2.
Roll initiative [/spoiler]
@Saithor_______________
A battered looking auto-taxi pulled up about 5 minutes after you called it. Callie spent all her time frantically tapping on an AR terminal, you assumed calling in favours and letting her contacts know of the impending shitstorm.
You knew it would be a good idea to lay low for a while whilst the Romanians lashed out at whoever they thought betrayed them and the Vory tidied up their loose ends but the matter of where was the issue.
The Smoke had always had its hidey-holes, but it wasn't that big a place if you knew where to look.
You helped Callie in and she painfully tapped in the destination on the terminal, wincing a bit as her sore ribs protested against her movement.
She leaned back on the tired fabric seats and rubbed her face, smudging her mascara even more after her tears.
Bex knows its fucked up.. She's gonna get Smith onside and get us the fuck out of town for a while. You don't have to take their offer at all, but I figured you'd at least want to hear it yourself.
@Zwei_______________
The reply came through swiftly, he'd probably be in the middle of winding his night down with a trid or two and a cuppa on his sofa.
//Ralphy//<<No problems mate, no rush on my end. Hows your Mum doing?>>
The sprite returns after some serious delay. It was subdued on its return, almost as if it "felt" guilty for not returning with much.
<<Sprite>>//The search parameters are mostly a void. Some data streams detected from light vehicles, two data streams through very slow satellite connections.
Unfortunately that is all I can report//
-
Taylor isn't surprised at the sprite's response, but can't hide his disappointment.
Back in the meat, he responds via AR to Ralphy. <<<@Ralphy [Taylor] Mum is a fighter, you know her. She came out of her coma today, so good so far. At least she recognized me, so while the damage may be bad she's not all gone. There's plenty to be hopeful for.
As for this weekend, gotta do something to keep busy. Your kit is as good as anything. Nosh before, or are you on shift tomorrow?>>>
He lays in the simple bunk. The privacy is nice, but he misses his own bed. He takes a moment to go and check in on his mum one last time for the night and sees she's sleeping soundly. He gets a bit of a scolding for being here in non-visiting hours, but the sisters are rather understanding. He stays quiet and then retreats back to the visitor's room for a few hours of restless sleep.
[spoiler]
He'll respond in the positive to either option Ralphy gets back to him with.
[/spoiler]
-
"Probably. Questions are the usual; Who the hell are they, who do they work for, what do they want, usual drek," Silas said. "Hell, as long as they're square-dealers and pay good I'm all for them." He had his Shotgun hidden back in it's paper package, although he was keeping a good eye on the cab driver in case he tried something. "Probably should have him drop us just a street shy of our actual destination."
-
"Well I guess it's time to earn my pay then."
Ena breaks out another ration bar while taking a sip of water and boots the Flyspy up. After a short diagnostic she sends it out the window to check on prevailing wind conditions before prepping a slow spiralling upwards flight to get an initial lay of the land.
Let's hope that there aren't too many more surprises.
-
@Profgast________
The atmoshpere sensors pinged back a south easterly wind, rushing up the hillside from the plains below.
Holding station with the drone would be harder work than usual, flying across it's gusts even more so. thankfully, a recce flight didn't call for pinpoint accuracy, just a nice steady recording.
As you gained altitude and began your first sweep, the small drone began to be buffeted by the crosswind, finding its little wings less of a match for the wind speed than you'd hoped.
It was going to take a bit of wrestling with if your data was to be of any use.
[spoiler]Heavy gusty crosswind will put you at a threshold increase of 2 for all vehicle tests.
Can i get a pilot test for your first flight and a sensor test for it as well?[/spoiler]
@Zwei_______
//That's as good a set of news as you can hope for mate, it could have been a damn site worse. She's a fighter, a tough old bird. I'm sure she'll be 'reet. I'm on a late tomorrow, so could grab a bite before hand if thats good? say 10.30am? You choose this time//
@Saithor________
She smiled a pained half-grin at you and rattled off an answer Smith is a serious bigwig. No-one really knows how big, or what kind of wig even, but he's playing at corp level. Got eyes and ears in government and all sorts. Deals through intermediaries mostly as you can imagine. Bex is his right-hand man at the moment. Runner background herself, likes to get her hands dirty. Tech-stuff mainly. Nice lass. {thumbs wildly at her comm screen, distracted for a second}.
Erm.. Yeah where was I. Erm, yeah, Smith. He's a bigwig. Plays behind the scenes, likes to orchestrate stuff as far as I can tell. Uses a lot of runner teams and word is that he's been increasing his activity over the past few years to counter something new, something sinister. Scuttlebutt would have you believe there's something nasty and insidious worming its way into the city through the cracks and the corruption, but common sense would tell you the city's already full of shit and one more won't make a difference, even if it were true. I'm not convinced he's anything more than a paranoid ex-banker myself but I’ve done good business off the back of it, as have most of the right-minded fixers round the 'smoke.
[spoiler]Feel free to rattle back any questions you've got, otherwise you arrive after 20-30 minutes in a darkened back alley at the back of some knackered tenement housing.[/spoiler]
-
Ena jumps into her Flying Eye as it climbs into the air, feeling the eddies and currents of the winds with the mechanical body of the drone and taking in the snowy landscape through its eyes.
[spoiler]Pilot Roll Flyspy (http://orokos.com/roll/342862): 13d6t5 6 All 6 hits should count due to modifiers to drone handling while jumped in.
Sensor Check (http://orokos.com/roll/342864): 11d6t5 4 Again all 4 hits should count[/spoiler]
-
<<<@Ralphy [Taylor] 10.30 works, lets try that Breakfast Club down the street from your place. See you in the morning.>>>
He wakes from a restless sleep. It's still quiet in the visitor's room as it's reasonably sound proofed. He gets up and washes as best he can before heading in to check on his mum again. She's either still unconscious or has fallen back to sleep, he can't tell. He gives her a kiss on the forehead and then heads to the Tube to get to his breakfast meet with Ralphy. On the way out he stops by the Nurse's station and leaves his comm number for them again. "I know ye've got it, but just in case anything happens, let me know soonest." Somewhat sheepishly he heads out the door knowing that he's pestering them more than they need even if their professionalism won't let them tell him to bugger off.
Taylor gets to the station and grabs a seat on the next train headed out all in a daze. He's lucky he's so familiar with the route or he would have likely gotten on the wrong line.
-
"Sounds no worse than most johnsons, heck, sounds a bit better than a few I've worked with, so you can count me in for it." SIlas said. Deciding that it would be best to leave the hurt Callie alone for now he settled back and tried to relax for the rest of the trip. Once they reached the tennant he took a look out at it from the safety of the cab. "Not exactly the picture of home, but it'll do." He said, getting out of the cab and holding the door open for Callie.
-
@Saithor___________
She swipes her link over the reader in the back of the cab and climbs out of her seat, wincing slightly at the effort of standing up.
After a short walk, you round the corner of a tired looking tenament block, a gang of youths listening to loud music and smoking something dangerous smelling give you both a wary eye as you head past them to the elevators.
The elevators themselves stunk of sweat, urban decay and cheap cigs and you were glad that Callie didn't press the button for the 12th floor. The lift shuddered to a halt and you followed her down a badly lit corridor into apartment 304, a pokey and sparsely furnished affair. A tired looking sofa sat opposite a super-badic trid model and the open plan kitchen attached to the living quarters looked like it'd just about do. a super basic model soy-processor and kettle were about the only electrical goods you could see.
Callie dumped her jacket and boots and headed in, flopping heavily on the worn green fabric of the sofa and breathing heavily.
Grab me some pain killers would ya? should be a kit in the bathroom. Make yourself at home, Bex is gonna set up a meet tonight. Go through the deets of how we're getting out of this shit-tip.
@Lumen__________
[spoiler]Shit sorry mate, totally missed your OOC post!!!
Initiative:
You: 22
Shady bugger: glitches initiative (http://orokos.com/roll/343550): 3d6+10 14, goes last
Engineers: (http://orokos.com/roll/343551): 2#6+1d6 10 9
Engy 1: 10
Engy 2: 9
Begin your first pass[/spoiler]
@Zwei__________
<<Yeah sounds like a plan mate, see you soon.>>
The nurses smile and humour you once again and you head out through the busy concourse into the morning air. A menagerie of life walks past you, the b=place literally alive with the hustle and bustle of patients coming and going, ambulances wailing in and medical staff going about their business. A grey drizzle poured through the low-hanging smog and it's dense fumes prickled at the back of your throat. Even the Arcology couldn't pierce it and your usual landmarks had dissapeared into the haze.
Pulling your scarf over your mouth, you headed out to the underground, welcome for the stale and tepid air as a reprieve from the shitty smog above ground. The usual hustle and bustle went on around you, mostly unnoticed as your head swam. It was slowly beginning to sink in. She'd need a lot of help. A lot of therapy. You'd really benefit from one of those rehab specced drones, but they didn't come cheap. Before you knew it, your station pinged over your AR alert and the train juddered to a halt. Only you and one other passenger alighted and you headed up the stairs as a busker harangued you for a donation with a fairly decent rendition of a pop song from last year on an old-skool acoustic guitar.
@Profgast___________
The rig seamlessly connected your motor and sensory cortexes to the varying servos and sensors in the drone and you felt the familiar buzz of flight and VR wash over you. A strong gusty cross-wind buffeted you relentlessly and you wished you'd brought something a little more hardy to the northern wastes than an insect drone as you wrangled with all your skill to keep the sensors straight enough to film.
At the apex of your sweep, something caught your eye, a series of regular depressions in the ground, only visible because of the weak sunlight shadowing into the cratered portion.
-
[spoiler]
No worries, I was planning on making a post tonight if you hadn't noticed.
[/spoiler]
*Shit, was that another one? Better not bugger about.* Knives takes a moment to draw mana into his body, fortifying his strength and limbering up his limbs. Enhanced by his magical abilities Knives slowly creeps down the catwalk between the giant motors. About half way down the walk his crouches behind a gear box and holds position, hoping his opponents will reveal themselves.
[spoiler]
Simple Action 1: Boost Strength. Magic 6 + Attribute Boost (Str) 2 = 8d6. Attribute Boost Strength (http://orokos.com/roll/343567): 8d6t5 1 Four 1s... Strength Currently 6?
Simple Action 2: Boost Strength. Magic 6 + Attribute Boost (Agi) 1 = 7d6. Attribute Boost Agility (http://orokos.com/roll/343568): 7d6t5 2 Agility Currently 9.
Free Action: Sneaky walking (About 7-10 meters depending on where a good spot is.) Sneaking 4 + Agility 9 = 13d6[8]. Sneaking (http://orokos.com/roll/343569): 13d6t5 3
[/spoiler]
-
"Right," SIlas said, heading to the bathroom and grabbign the first aid kit and tossing it to Callie. He then started up the soy processor, maybe they could get some decent food, nothing on the level of the breakfest they had eaten this morning, but having some warm food of any kind in their bellies would help. He quietly thought about estabilishing some form of magic defense, but a this point he had drained so much energy he was afraid he'd collapse if he tried any more spells.
-
Brought out of his dark thoughts by the AR notification, he wanders off the train and up to the street. Years of paranoia are all that let him know that another passenger left with him. As he passes the busker he tosses 1¥ in the AR guitarcase he has in front of him sending the money to the artists comlink. Taylor takes this opportunity to check if the other passenger is still following him as he heads slightly away from Ralphy's to make sure he's not being followed.
[spoiler]Am I being followed? (Int 5 + Percp 4 + spec (visual) 2 + Vision Enhancement 2 = 13) (http://orokos.com/roll/344176): 13d6h5 6 limit 10, get all 6 hits ... Damn, kid really *is* paranoid! :P Oh, and I forgot to take the specifically looking bonus, or ask for any environmental modifiers. Probably at least -1 for the smog (if it's as bad out here as it was by the hospital). Lemme know if you want a re-roll[/spoiler]
-
@Lumen___________
The bulkhead door behind you slams shut, the wheel spinning and clanging heavily into the locked position.
It soon dawns on you that that was not a good thing, that the only way out had been shut, trapping you in here with a total unknown.
You sneak forwards, taking up a place you saw as defensible and opened your eyes and ears. The engineers clearly hadn't registered your entry, or if they had, it didn't concern them much.
Frantic Clanging of the engineer's tools on metal echoed off the machinery and scattered, confusing your spatial recogniser as to the original source
[spoiler]Engineer actions; complex: use nautical mechanic skill[/spoiler]
A flash of movement erupted above your head, brief though it was. A tiny insectoid drone flew above you, followed by a booming taunt.
Aha, Mr Clerkenwell. Welcome. WELCOME!!!
Its deep tones sounded out of place, you couldn't name the accent, but it certainly wasn't cockney. That was worrying in and of itself.. The Maxwells were Cockney bastards to a man.
[spoiler]
Actions:
Simple, command device
Simple, perception
free, communicate
You're up again[/spoiler]
@Saithor___________
The soyprocessor whirred to life, a small status light indicating that it was low on 2 flavourant sachets meant you didn't have the utmost confidence in what it could make.
The usual repertoire of stuff popped up on an AR menu, noodles, spaghetti, pasta, curry and such. You punched in your choice and headed into the basic, but clean, bathroom. A decent medkit was in the bottom cupboard, along with a couple sets of disposable overnight bags of stuff, toothpaste, toothbrushes and shower gel. An industrial size container of C2 sat at the back behind some spare bog roll.
It was clearly a standard safehouse setup, crash for a night and then get the hell out of dodge. You slumped down next to Callie on the sofa and she half-smiled at you as the processor chimed to say it was complete.
Evrything ached as you hauled yourself out of the overly soft sofa again and grabbed the food.
She'll be here about 10pm. Patch me up and get some kip, might be a busy evening.
You passed her a bowl and a set of cutlery and tucked in, glad of the nourishment.
[spoiler]You've survived your mini-story arc now mate, so you've earned 4 karma and have enough downtime to attempt a healing roll and refresh one point of edge.[/spoiler]
@Zweiblumen__________
Your paranoia ran to a new high and you breathed a sigh of relief as the other passenger makes a dash for the District line escalator to catch a connecting service elsewhere.
You pushed on through the barriers with a swipe over the readers and through the busy concourse and out into the grey drab day. A light drizzle had begun and the passing cars had their lights and wipers on as they navigated the tight street. A throng of pedestrians pushed down the pathway, umbrellas jostling for position above their owners, occasionally colliding and bouncing off each other and scattering lightly acidic rain onto the foot-traffic underneath.
You took a left and joined the flow, heading up a flight of stairs to join the overpass road that had been rudely plonked between two glass-fronted buildings. The traffic was heavy and a HGV kicked up a wad of spray that soaked your right side as you cursed loudly at the bastard.
the roadway split at a roundabout and you took another left, arriving at the doorway of Ralphy's rather bland looking apartment block
-
Noting the odd shapes on the ground Ena spread her wings to catch a gust into an updraft and banked towards the location, keeping altitude but looking to get a bit of a better sensor fix on the spot. As she moves, fighting the turbulent air, she also does her best to keep a wide angle look to try and match her current location with existing maps of the area.
This certainly looks promising. Might not be paydirt but it's definitely something.
-
After an okay meal and patching up Callie, Silas crashed on the bed. It wasn't a very restful nap, but it helped a little with some of the energy he had spent during the day through to work his magic. After an okay hour of sleep he got up. It was approaching ten, time to get ready for Callie's "friend" to arrive.
[spoiler=OOC]1 Hit on healing up, 1 point of stun damage healed, Link: http://orokos.com/roll/344649 Stun Damage Track 4/11[/spoiler]
-
*Shit this isn't good. Door shut behind me and now I'm spotted by a drone... If'n I can't see em maybe I can find em on the astral.*
Knives raises a one finger salute to the bug drone above him as he flicks the small ring in his eyebrow. Activating the focus he shifts his perceptions to the astral realm to sniff out his obscured targets. The surrounding machinery made honing in on them conventionally difficult but the dull grays should make his targets stand out like a sore thumb on the astral.
[spoiler]
Free Action: Gesture :)
Simple Action: Activate Focus
Simple Action: Shift Perception. Assensing 2 + Intuition 4 + 6d6[5]. Assensing (http://orokos.com/roll/344668): 6d6t5 4
[/spoiler]
-
@Lumen____________
The engineers still clanked loudly at the bottom of the diesel tainted room as you shifted your perception to the astral.
An exceptionally bright aura shone from behind the next set of decent cover, a few metres up from you.
You knew immediately that the person up there was awakened and was excited, or amped up in some way. Definitely preparing for the unknown.
The drone looped around your position and headed back towards the bright aura, its inky black outline punching through the hazy astral background. The sound of blade on hilt focussed your mind on the task in hand and you realised this one wasn't going to be a walk in the park.
[spoiler]The engineers continue working whatever initiative they have left on the engines
the awakened opponent;
free: send message->drone (DNI)
Drone returns to owner on its own initiative.
Simple; ready weapon
Simple; Martial arts parry defence[/spoiler]
@Saithor____________
Callie had zonked out on the sofa, the pills obviously doing their job nicely. A little drool had trickled from her mouth and as you roused her, she worked out a kink from her neck and stood and stretched painfully.
You'd no sooner had chance to put the kettle on than the intercom buzzed loudly, a young-looking relatively attractive lass popping up on an AR terminal at the same instant.
Callie gestured in AR and she entered, reaching the flat a few minutes later after noisily climbing the stairs.
Callie saw to the tea as you opened the door, she smiled politely and greeted Callie;
Jesus. You two look like cold shit warmed up. Tough day?
@Profgast_______________
As near as you could get the old aerial maps to overlay, it seemed like you'd hit the western end of the old tank ranges of the Catterick garrison; each divot you assumed must have been a firing position once upon a time, but now many decades of mud, silt and general detritus had nearly filled them. You'd got your fix on the eastern-most section of your scanning area and breathed a sigh of relief, you were definitely on the right track here.
A sweep north, one north west and one south west should give you great coverage of the area now you'd got your bearings.
-
@Zweiblumen__________
Your paranoia ran to a new high and you breathed a sigh of relief as the other passenger makes a dash for the District line escalator to catch a connecting service elsewhere.
You pushed on through the barriers with a swipe over the readers and through the busy concourse and out into the grey drab day. A light drizzle had begun and the passing cars had their lights and wipers on as they navigated the tight street. A throng of pedestrians pushed down the pathway, umbrellas jostling for position above their owners, occasionally colliding and bouncing off each other and scattering lightly acidic rain onto the foot-traffic underneath.
You took a left and joined the flow, heading up a flight of stairs to join the overpass road that had been rudely plonked between two glass-fronted buildings. The traffic was heavy and a HGV kicked up a wad of spray that soaked your right side as you cursed loudly at the bastard.
the roadway split at a roundabout and you took another left, arriving at the doorway of Ralphy's rather bland looking apartment block
Cursing the HGV, Taylor does his best to keep everything under his coat as dry as possible. Wiping as much of the residual water off. He huddles into his long coat and tries to keep warm as he heads down the block. Taylor rings Ralphy's flat, stamping his feet in the cold. Ralphy answers the call and Taylor says, "Bloody hell, open the damn door. Its freezing out here and a lorry tosser soaked me one." Once in the lobby, he shakes his coat out as well as he can before heading up to his friends flat.
"Okay mate, what's wrong with your kit?"
-
SIlas grunted "Callie can tell you about her's. Mine was a day spent running through gangers and a weirdly polite mage to deliver a message to a foreigner, who, pardon my french, tried to blow my ****ing head off. Then escaping when his place came under atack, and then having a mexican standoff with some people who were trying to kill Callie's because the lead guy's brother, who I have no idea which one in this mess is, wanted to know what the hell was going on. A sentiment I can very much relate to at the moment." He then made sure his Shotgun was in easy reach. Callie trusted this woman, but today had defintely taught him to not always trust the Fixer.
-
*There you are... Guess those Maxwell wankers finally realized they need a pro to deal with me. This just got interesting.* Knives shifts his perception back to the meat world and readies himself. A quick flick of the wrist and his drawn blade is pointed down in a more defensive fashion, he uses it to steady and support his firing hand. He steps off, closing the short distance between him and his target quickly. Popping around the corner the Maxwell dog was using for cover Knives fired off a taser dart into his chest.
[spoiler]
Simple Action: Shift Perception
Free Action: Walk
Simple Action: Fire Taser.
Pistols (Taser) 7 + Agility 9 + Smartlink 1 = 17d6[7]. Tasing (http://orokos.com/roll/345334): 17d6t5 5
DV: 6S(e) + Net, AP: -5
[/spoiler]
-
Ena banked a bit to catch a thermal before quickly plotting a course for the sweeps.
Time to get paid.
[spoiler]Sensor Test 1 (http://orokos.com/roll/345680): 13d6t5 3 3 hits.
Sensor Test 2 (http://orokos.com/roll/345682): 13d6t5 4 4 hits. No losses due to control rig.
Pilot Roll 1 (http://orokos.com/roll/345686): 9d6t5 2 2 hits
Sensor Test 3 (http://orokos.com/roll/345687): 13d6t5 3 3 hits.
Sensor Test 4 (http://orokos.com/roll/345688): 13d6t5 4 4 hits. Man. that sounds familiar.
Pilot Roll 2 (http://orokos.com/roll/345689): 9d6t5 2 … very very familiar.[/spoiler]
-
@Profgast___________
Most of the sweeps just showed endless white moorland as you battled against the frequent strong gusts. Miles away from civilisation and the omnipresent wifi and the induction charging it provided, your drone's battery was taking a real kicking. You decided to chance your last flight to the south west, and were rewarded for your efforts;
A semi-derelict farm stood proudly over a small gorge, fresh water running through at pace fed by the snows.
Its barn looked in mint condition, the patches uncovered by snow shone brightly as the corrugated steel roof bounced the sun's light back into your sensors.
A pile of what looked like construction materials sat under a blanket of snow and a lack of tracks through the white covering meant no-one had been there since last night's storm.
Cross referencing against the old aerial + satellite imagery you'd been given, only the ruins of an old farm could be seen. This had definitely been worked on since the last image was taken, some 4-5 years ago.
-
@Lumen__________
[spoiler]dodge (http://orokos.com/roll/345785): 13d6t5 3
edge to re-roll fails;
(http://orokos.com/roll/345786): 10d6t5 5
evaded
[/spoiler]
His form seemed un-natural, his complexion a greyer shade than you expected. It moved with an unnatural grace as it jinked efficiently out of the path of your darts.
[spoiler]And we're out of initiative; roll for fresh round;
Shady lad; (http://orokos.com/roll/345787): 3d6+10 21 no glitches this time!
Engineers; (http://orokos.com/roll/345788): 2#6+1d6 10 11
Knives:
[/spoiler]
-
*Bloody hell, what's wrong with this bloke? Who moves that fast when they look like hell?*
[Spoiler]
Initiative 11+3d6. Initiative (http://orokos.com/roll/345810): 11+3d6 24
[/Spoiler]
More annoyed than shocked Knives fires off two more darts at sickly looking fella.
[Spoiler]
Simple Action: Take aim, +1. Tasing (http://orokos.com/roll/345880): 1d6t5 1
Simple Action: Fire Taser.
Pistols (Taser) 7 + Agility 9 + Smartlink 1 = 17d6[7]. Tasing (http://orokos.com/roll/345812): 17d6t5 5
Total hits 6.
DV: 6S(e) + Net, AP: -5
[/Spoiler]
-
@Saithor_________
Yeah, look, we're sorry about how today panned out. Its been a fucking disaster from start to finish.
We need to get you out of town for a while and I'm sure callie has already mentioned that we can make it worth your while, earn whilst you're away kind-of-thing.
Job is an infiltration and recce. You'll be part of a team, we're currently building it and getting them onsite. You'll be away for at least a few days and you'll be operating off the grid, way up north. Pay is 5k a head and we'll cover transport.
@Zwei_________
Sorry man, come in, come in.
The door buzzed as the maglock disengaged and the smell of cleaning products hit your nose as you stepped into the lobby and hit the stairs.
Now then, how you holding up? Sorry to hear about your mum, anything I can do to help mate, let me know? As for the kit, that holo-terminal has been fucked for ages. Seems to have just gone really unstable recently, glitches and dumps back to OS. If you can get it running smooth again I'll owe you one!
@Lumen_______
[spoiler]Can't do multiple attack actions mate, so you've got another simple action to use[/spoiler]
-
[spoiler]Damnit! Post got eaten :([/spoiler]
"No worries mate."
Taylor heads up the stairs as the lift is almost always out of service anyway. He gets to the door and hands Ralphy his slightly-less-dripping coat to hang somewhere and dry a bit.
"I'm getting along. The nurses are taking great care of her. She woke up for a bit yesterday but they've sedated her again. I'll let you know if anything comes up."
He starts poking around the Trideo machine like he knows what he's about. <<<@Winston [Mams] Hoi, come take a look at this kit for me. Ya ken I know shite about this. Lets see if we can get this sorted for 'im.>>> "Lemme run some code against it see what comes up. I've got an agent that can help us sort it out. How about a cuppa while we wait for the results?"
[spoiler]
Mam's checking the system:
Checking the Trid (Log 6 + Comp 6 = 12) (http://orokos.com/roll/345991): 12d6t5 7
Crazy good roll, doing that for diagnostics dunno if it's useful
Winston's fixing the system:
Checking the Trid (Hardware 6 + Level 6 = 12) (http://orokos.com/roll/345993): 12d6t5 5
Dunno if you want me do add any dice or if you want me to have Winston use diagnostics to help me do actual repairs in which case I'd be adding the 5 dice to Mams do a hardware repair roll. Actually, lets do that. I'd use that roll above for the Diagnostics instead (it's the same number of dice) and use Mams' roll for getting a clue as to whats wrong. I'll do a few repair rolls for him using Winston's roll as his bonus:
Repairing Trid (Log 6 + HW 1 + Diag 5 = 12) (http://orokos.com/roll/345994): 12d6t5 5
Repairing Trid (Log 6 + HW 1 + Diag 5 - trying again 1 = 11) (http://orokos.com/roll/345995): 11d6t5 1 (not much help)
Repairing Trid (Log 6 + HW 1 + Diag 5 - trying again 2 = 10) (http://orokos.com/roll/345996): 10d6t5 1 (wow, hope the threshold isn't that high! A few more just so you don't have to go back and forth)
Repairing Trid (Log 6 + HW 1 + Diag 5 - trying again 3 = 9) (http://orokos.com/roll/345997): 9d6t5 4 (better!)
Repairing Trid (Log 6 + HW 1 + Diag 5 - trying again 4 = 8) (http://orokos.com/roll/345998): 8d6t5 3
Repairing Trid (Log 6 + HW 1 + Diag 5 - trying again 5 = 7) (http://orokos.com/roll/345999): 7d6t5 2
Repairing Trid (Log 6 + HW 1 + Diag 5 - trying again 6 = 6) (http://orokos.com/roll/346001): 6d6t5 2 (almost a glitch!)
That gets me to 18 hits which is "Hard" on the table in CRB p. 48 for difficulty. He's got 5 dice left so if he needs to get to 24, He'll have to use his last bit of edge to get there. [/spoiler]
-
@Lumen________
Your dart found its mark this time, thudding into his chest plate
[spoiler]Dodge roll; (http://orokos.com/roll/346125): 12d6t5 4 4 hits, so you get 1 net hit
[/spoiler]
But he seems totally unfazed by its effects; 50,000v not even making his muscles twitch perceptibly. [spoiler]Soak: bod 6, arm 12 + 6 non conduct (http://orokos.com/roll/346127): 24d6t5 11[/spoiler]
You figured he must be wearing insulated armour or have some fancy skin mods. Every other fucker you hit went down and stayed down after a hit like that.
He grinned an evil grin and returned the favour, lashing out with a vicious blow with a short blade directed at your centre of mass
[spoiler] (http://orokos.com/roll/346131): 14d6t5 4 4 hits, Damage 10, AP1[/spoiler]
-
Jackpot.
Unfortunately, because of power limitations, Ena didn't want to chance another flyby of the area but she did opt for a last long look as she took the Flyspy on its return approach. No doubt the amount of information she could glean would be limited but this was definitely the target. She also made sure to mentally drop an ARO on her best aerial map of the location.
With the Flyspy returned, she quickly compiled the files and uploaded another info dump to Bex, hoping that it would be enough, before making preparations to head back down the road.
[spoiler]Last Sensor Sweep (http://orokos.com/roll/346401): 13d6t5 6 limited due to Sensor to 4 hits. Let me know if you want me to roll something else for recovery.[/spoiler]
-
[Spoiler]
Reaction 7 + Intuition 4 + Combat Sense 2 = 13d6. Dodge (http://orokos.com/roll/346430): 13d6t5 5
[/spoiler]
Knives spins narrowly avoiding the oncoming blade. With a few quick steps he moves around his opponent and tries to bury his knife in between the shoulder blades.
[Spoiler]
Blades 8 + Agility 9 + Focus 2 = 19d6. Staby stab (http://orokos.com/roll/346431): 19d6t5 7
DV: 8P, AP: -3.
[/spoiler]
-
Silas grunted "Sounds decent enough. Consider me in, but I'll need some time to get ready, and some gear as well."
-
@Lumen________
Seeing his thrust parried so easily, he switches to a defensive stance; pirouetting on the spot.
You could make out more of his greyish complexion, a total lack of any beard or stubble and a waxy-like sheen to his palid skin.
Your blades clashed in mid-air, resonating with a beautiful tone, then grinding against one another as your momentum carried the blade back into a lock.
[spoiler]burn 5 ini to do a parry defence;
(http://orokos.com/roll/346894): 18d6t5 8 parries the attack successfully but your blades are now locked; BOD + STR[3] to resist knockdown/[4] to inflict it on your opponent[/spoiler]
@Saithor__________
Yeah, we're still working on the details, you won't be heading up until Monday at the earliest. I'll forward over whatever intel we get from the recce asset in the meantime. Give me a commcode and i'll organise a VR meet on a secure host to go over the details.
@Profgast__________
You do your best to maintain a solid sensor lock on the buildings but aren't particularly surprised by the lack of new information gained at your altitude.
There are no obvious heat sources from any of the buildings on thermal scans and you're too high to get a decent reading on motion scanners. The gusty wind defeats your attempts to listen for anything out of the ordinary but you do make out a few posts along a small section of nearby embankment which you assume mark the boundaries of the access track, currently submerged in the snow.
As you bank around to return to the van, the angulation change of the land reveals a smattering of outbuildings downhill from the main building. Most look fucked to put it politley, but two look as if they've seen recent repairs and a stack of snow-covered jerry cans next to one of them raises suspicions about the presence of a generator.
You settle the tiny drone down next to the van deftly on its emergency power supplies and head back out into the blustery frozen day.
The wind assaults you and thoroughly chills you to the bone in the short time it takes to retrieve it, and you're not surprised by the temp on the AR dash reading a frigid -6 degrees.
Rubbing your hands together for heat, you initiate a satellite connection to your MSP and battle through a noisy, laggy connection to upload the data.
After multiple dropped connections, you finally get the package through and a reply from Bex;
//Looks promising. Too new to be a coincidence. Get in closer and see if you can get me a feed on the front of the building and a full 360 close-up on those outbuildings//
@Zwei_______
Winston barks happily, appearing in AR beside the Trid and sniffing at it curiously.
He paces up and down before disappearing, merging into the Trid's icon.
[spoiler]for me, diagnostics is absolutely perfect for this, you're using resonance to get inside the machine and diagnose any faults, assisting you with knowledge on how to fix it. perfect choice and excellent roll![/spoiler]
Its not long before Winston returns his report;
//Faulty memory sector found in 0000x45Dt7778//<<Corrupt code embedded. Access privileges unusual; Device camera and microphone capture rights granted, diagnostic reporting channel broadcast granted (incorrect route specified for manufacturer's diagnostic team). Suspect Malware as probable cause. Terminate?
[spoiler]If you want to investigate the code more, have him copy files to quarantined folder or if you want him to just blast it, then your repair roll stands and is successful.[/spoiler]
-
"Oi, there's yer problem mate. Stop goin' to those crappy porn sites and this won't happen." Taylor pulls up an AR representation of the malware. Gesturing at it he says, "I'll make a safe copy of it and figure out exactly what it's doing and maybe even whodunit for ye."
He takes out a datastick and slots it in the trid for Winston to copy the data to. They'll analyze it when they get home.
[spoiler]Definitely track it down. More data the better :) Want another roll for the copy? And if so, which one?[/spoiler]
-
"Alright" SIlas said, giving the woman her his comb-code. "Hey, thanks for the safehosue though. I appreciate the help with the tight spot."
-
*Damn this guy is good... whatever the bloody hell he is...* Knives braces when the blades lock and with a determined sneer gives a mighty shove.
[Spoiler]
Body 5 + Strength 6 = 11d6. Knock back (http://orokos.com/roll/346923): 11d6t5 7 Great time for a great roll!
[/Spoiler]
-
Ena makes a face as Bex's message plays across her field of view.
Doesn't ask for much does she?
//Redline||@Bex//<<I'll try to get you a closer look but no promises given current weather conditions.>>
Ena appends a brief weather summary with the message and sends it off, not bothering to wait for a response to check on the charge-time remaining on the just retrieved Flyspy.
Don't fancy trying a flight with the Flying eye in this weather but if worst comes to worst I can probably use the Vision Mag that is has and get something out of it…
-
@Profgast___________
<<Its not optional. If it takes a day or 6weeks to get that view, I want it.>>
The Fly-spy only had about 50% charge on it with another hour to get to 100%. You knew you'd be able to quickly get a flight done and get out if you got nearer yourself and hand-launched it, rather than having to account for the flight-time to the target from your position.
@Lumen_______
The thing growled and snarled as you hurled it backwards, smacking its head loudly against the metalwork.
It uttered something as it hauled itself to its feet and vanished from view.
[spoiler]Free; gesture
Simple; get up/move
Simple; cast spell
You're up again (engineers wont act hostile until attacked) resist illusion spell too please;
spellcasting improved invisibility (http://orokos.com/roll/347562): 9d6t5 3 3 hits on test[/spoiler]
@Saithor__________
No problems, rest up and keep a low profile. we'll get you on the job as soon as we've got confirmation on the target. In the meantime, Order anything you need to this address and we'll route it on securely via courier. Password will be "frosty". Don't accept anything from anyone that can't verify first.
She smiled and spoke about some mutual friends with Callie for a few minutes before making her excuses and leaving.
Callie looked beat and she faffed with the medkit half-heartedly, mentally putting it off till tomorrow.
[spoiler]righto, you're on full downtime. You get full edge refresh and have chance to heal up fully. I'll get the mission rolling as soon as possible[/spoiler]
@Zwei________
Haha, don't go on this for that stuff mate. You think i'm fucking daft or what? The Mrs would kill me! He smiled and patted his personal commlink, giving you a knowing wink.
Cheers pal. Its slightly concerning I have to say, Literrally all that gets used for is watching trids and music. Still on for that grub?
[spoiler]Yeah, I'll have a software test to determine function please. extended software (15, 1 day) to thoroughly analyse the code to take investigation to next level. its eligible for teamwork tests too.[/spoiler]
-
[spoiler]
Resist Illusion: Intuition 4 + Logic 2 = 6d6[5]. Resist Illusion (http://orokos.com/roll/347668): 6d6t5 2 No good.
[/spoiler]
With his only real adversary slinking away to the shadows Knives makes his move to disrupt whatever the mechanics were attempting to accomplish. He bolts over to the nearest mechanic and in the blink of an eye pulls the pin and tosses a flash-bang at his feet.
[spoiler]
Free Action: Walk/Run: Walk is 14m, if it takes more than that to get to close range with the grenade (12m) then I will differentiate the attack roll.
Free Action (Using Simple): Quick Draw: Flash-Bang. Thrown Weapon 4 + Reaction 7 = 11d6[8](2). Quick Draw (http://orokos.com/roll/347670): 11d6t5 3. Thrown Weapon 4 + Agility 9 = 13d6[8]. Throwing Flash-Bang (http://orokos.com/roll/347671): 13d6t5 4. Only 3 hits if I get to Medium Range, 2 hits if I have to Run to short range. 10m Radius DV: 10S, AP -4.
Free Action (Using Simple): Transmit Phrase: Texting Tank.
[/spoiler]
After tossing the grenade Knives fires off a quick text to alert Tank to the impending threat. <In engine room trying to prevent ship escape.>
[spoiler]
Since this should end the round I'll go ahead and roll Drain resistance for the Strength boost.
Resisting Drain from Attribute Boost (Strength): Drain Value 2. Body 5 + Willpower 5 = 10d6. Resisting Drain (http://orokos.com/roll/347672): 10d6t5 3. All drain resisted.
[/spoiler]
-
"Fantastic"
Ena grimaces as Bex's last message scrolls across her field of view. She glances at the GMCs outside temperature readout before poring over the flyby images in an attempt to get a good bearing on where a decent approach would be.
Can't say I fancy taking a walk in this weather but this may be the only option I have…
[spoiler]Things Redline's looking for: whether or not it looks likely she can pull her vehicle closer, how far she'd have to walk etc etc. Let me know if there's any specific skill you want me to roll. Sadly as she's not exactly classically educated (lab-raised then followed by school of the street), I doubt she has much hope of making this easier….[/spoiler]
-
@Profgast_____________
You sat back and warmed your hands up on the heater as you thought about your options...
[spoiler]
Safest: It'd be about a ten minute walk to a nice vantage point from the main road as the road sweeps around, you'd still have a long flight time but would be furthest from the target
More risk: about a 15 minute walk along the road, 5 minute off-road walk down to the scrub at the top end of the farm's access road. Much shorter flight time so better time-on-target, more exposure to surveillance from the building however. Sneak test can mitigate detection though.
Risky: Sneaking all the way up the access road. Tons of time-on-target, best recon possibilities. Much more likely to encounter issues if detected (if there is even anyone there to detect you)[/spoiler]
-
@Zwei________
Haha, don't go on this for that stuff mate. You think i'm fucking daft or what? The Mrs would kill me! He smiled and patted his personal commlink, giving you a knowing wink.
Cheers pal. Its slightly concerning I have to say, Literrally all that gets used for is watching trids and music. Still on for that grub?
[spoiler]Yeah, I'll have a software test to determine function please. extended software (15, 1 day) to thoroughly analyse the code to take investigation to next level. its eligible for teamwork tests too.[/spoiler]
"Hrm. Well, I'll get to the bottom of where it came from." He ponders some of the options before responding, "Aye, lets get some eats. Over at the Stick? Check in on Amber?" He asks somewhat hopefully.
[spoiler]
This is going to take him a week or two probably. Sprites don't have software and he doesn't have any contacts that he can pull in for it.
Analyzing the bad code (Software 6 + Log 6 + VR 2 = 14) (http://orokos.com/roll/348719): 14d6t5 4
Analyzing the bad code (Software 6 + Log 6 + VR 2 - Retry 1 = 13) (http://orokos.com/roll/348720): 13d6h5 5
Analyzing the bad code (Software 6 + Log 6 + VR 2 - Retry 2 = 12) (http://orokos.com/roll/348721): 12d6t5 4
wow, 13 after 3 days!
Analyzing the bad code (Software 6 + Log 6 + VR 2 - Retry 3 = 11) (http://orokos.com/roll/348722): 11d6t5 3
16! W00t :)
Dunno how the longer periods work for extended tests. Is 4 days, 4 8-hour days or is it 96 straight hours? And if that's the case, how on EARTH do you do multi-month tasks? It talks about "having other things to do, or getting shot at" as ending the task, but does sleeping and eating count as other things? /me is confused.
[/spoiler]
-
Ena taps her teeth thoughtfully as she considers her options, and then grimaces again.
No pleasant choices at all. Option B it is I guess.
She pockets her Flying Eye and picks the Flyspy off of its charger while mentally setting up an ARO pathway via her Orientation system. Before opening the door she takes a drink of water and then bundles up in preparation for the frigid air.
As the door opens she winces as the air stings her exposed skin, but steps out and secures the vehicle door behind her. A moment to stretch her legs and get her bearings and then she takes off down the road, keeping as out of sight as she can from her target.
[spoiler]Taking the 15 minute walk down road +5 minute walk into scrub option. Sneaking Roll:
Sneaking to Launch Point (http://orokos.com/roll/348901): 9d6t5 3 3 hits[/spoiler]
-
@Lumen_________
The flash bang detonates squarely at the feet of the distracted engineers, knocking them to the floor via their machinery, clattering heads and limbs against the exposed metalwork as the sailed ground-wards.
The tang of cordite stuck in your throat and the aftershock of the explosion in the confined space caused your ears to hum in protest.
You'd barely opened an AR terminal before a huge hit of force clobbered you from behind, sending your link skittering across the floor and into the engine compartment
[spoiler]surprise attack from improved invisibility; (http://orokos.com/roll/349162): 8d6t5 3
throwing attack with fire extinguisher, base 4S, + 3 net hits on throwing test. resist 7S and check for knockdown
Remember you can see the guy in the astral!, just take -2 penalty for acting on a different plane to the one you're perceiving when attacking etc.[/spoiler]
-
[spoiler]
Body 5 + Armor 8 = 13d6. Damage Resistance (http://orokos.com/roll/349288): 13d6t5 3. So I take 4 boxes of stun. Physical limit is 8 so no worries about knockdown.
[/spoiler]
"Bloody hell!" Knives exclaims as the fire extinguisher crashes into his back and his link goes crashing across the floor. He tucks back to one of the machines trying to catch his breath. A flick of his brow ring shifts his perceptions back to the astral plane. *At least I got the damned mechanic but I better keep my eye on this fucker.* He yells out over the clammer of the engine, "Give up now Maxwell and I'll let that cheap shot slide. Otherwise I'll 'ave te gut ya."
[spoiler]
Simple Action: Take Cover.
Simple Action: Shift Perception.
Free Action: Shit talk.
[/spoiler]
-
@Lumen__________
Your perception shifted to the astral, the auras in the room looking exceptionally bright against the cold grey of the machinery and steel bulkheads of the engine room.
The one directly in front of you shone brightest, a weave of mana encircling it.
I'm no "Maxwell" you dumb fuck.
Its accent was thick and heavy, its vocalisation struggling almost to spit the words out over its hatred. Something about its aura, about its being, just didn't seem human. It raised its glowing weapon focus blade and taunted you mockingly, inviting an attack
[spoiler]Used edge to go first 2 edge remaining;
Simple, pick up
Simple, attack
Free; taunt
You're up next[/spoiler]
@Profgast__________
The walk down the slope was treacherous, the snow had layered onto ice and you never felt 100% steady on your feet, especially with the heavy gusts tugging at your sides, almost inviting you to fall over.
Keeping as low as you could, you headed off the main road and onto the access track, or where it would have been had it not been blanketed in snow.
Pausing behind a stumpy bare tree, you caught your breath and admired how it hung in front of your face for a second or two in hazy clouds.
Your approach hadn't seemed to have provoked a reaction from the house, it seemed no different to before.
@Zwei__________
He smiles and shakes his head side-to-side playfully. You're a fucking perv mate. Come on then, get your shit together. The Stick it is.
[spoiler]As its in VR, everything happens x3 quicker than in the meat. I'm happy with 3 days given i'm sure you could rustle up scripts and such the help speed things up.
You'll finish the last day of it as you're on the train up north so i'll give you the results of the tests once prof and lumen's stories are sorted[/spoiler]
-
"I can hear that but Maxwell's are the only fuckers I seen dumb enough to fuck with me!" Knives takes his invitation and charges in with his own trusty weapon focus glowing.
[spoiler]
Free: Return Taunt :)
Complex Action: Charging Melee Attack.
Blades (Knives) 8 + Agility 9 + Weapon Focus 2 + Charging 2 - Wounds 1 = 20d6[7]. Stabbing! (http://orokos.com/roll/349711): 20d6t5 7
DV: 7P, AP:-3
[/spoiler]
-
@Lumen____________
he jinks quickly to the right, but not quick enough to avoid a glance from the business end of your blade
[spoiler] (http://orokos.com/roll/349918): 14d6t5 5[/spoiler]
His armour plates bent and shift under the attack, transferring your lunge into what would no doubt be a sizable bruise underneath
[spoiler]resist 9P, (http://orokos.com/roll/349919): 18d6t5 6 takes 3S and picks up a wound mod.[/spoiler]
He smiled with glee at your rage and charge, transferring much of his momentum from the dodge into a wide handed grasp, it was only when you sensed the crackle of a spell running through his aura that you realised you'd fallen for his trap...
[spoiler]Casting Death-touch at F6:
Unarmed attack: -2 for charging and +2 for touch-only cancel out leaving (http://orokos.com/roll/349921): 12d6t5 5
5 hits. If you don't dodge it, soak;
(http://orokos.com/roll/349922): 10d6t5 6 6 hits with willpower only[/spoiler]
-
[Spoiler]
Reaction 7 + Intuition 4 = 11d6[8]. Dodge (http://orokos.com/roll/349934): 11d6t5 6
[/Spoiler]
With his own impressive jink move Knives twists and dodges the crackling grasp. He attempts to turn the trap back on his inhuman assailant and jabs his knife hard into the ribcage.
[Spoiler]
Blades 8 + Agility 9 + Focus 2 - Wounds 1 = 18d6 [7]. Staby stab (http://orokos.com/roll/349944): 18d6t5 5.
This is a pretty even fight so far, it may take a while.
[/Spoiler]
-
Ena pauses a moment as she reaches her destination and takes a couple deep breaths.
Well, here goes. Better make this fast because it's not going to get any warmer when I'm jumped in, even if I can't feel it.
She pulls the Horizon Flying Eye out first and sets it up as a passive observer of the area. It's POV comes up as an ARO window in the corner of her view and she sets it to ping if it detects any other motion in the area.
Then with a deft motion she launches the Flyspy into the air, sits leaning against a nearby tree and sinks into VR to control the (hopefully) last reconnaissance flight jumped in.
-
@Profgast_________
The chill of the snow against your body melted into the warm glow of VR. It felt oddly quiet though, as the total lack of other icons left you with a cool expanse of blue as far as your 'Rig could render.
Jumping into the drone snapped you out of it as the rig connected your parietal, temporal and occipital lobes to the drone's flight and sensor controls.
You leant forwards into the gusty breeze and wooshed low and fast over the snow, doing the best you could to look like a low-flying insect or bird rather than a high-flying obvious recon drone.
You maintained the illusion by zig-zagging, moving from bush to bush whilst keeping an eye on your estimated battery life.
Reaching the buildings, you got a much better feel for the size and layout of the area. The house itself looked like it had been recently repaired, the right hand side brickwork looked new and the mortar holding the bricks together was bright and un-weathered. The windows were all blacked out with heavy blinds and curtains and a suspiciously modern lock system controlled access via the front and rear doors.
<<Motion detected>>
The Flying eye pings for your attention, though a large gust of wind seemed to have blown the bare tree in it's field of vision. You saw it rock to and fro in the wind on the AR screen
[spoiler]Sensor test for observing the building, feel free to roll anything else you need at this stage too[/spoiler]
@Lumen______________
[spoiler]dodge (http://orokos.com/roll/350161): 12d6t5 4 you get 1 net hit through for 8P
resist: (http://orokos.com/roll/350162): 18d6t5 7
takes 1S for 4 boxes taken up now[/spoiler]
He half smiles in admiration at your sneakiness and grimaces as his armoured coat takes yet another kicking from your blade.
His sinister smile returns after the blow is largely deflected by the ceramic plate and the crackle of energy skitters through his aura once again;
[spoiler]Casting "Bind" at F6
(http://orokos.com/roll/350175): 11d6t5 4
Edge to re-roll failures:
(http://orokos.com/roll/350178): 7d6t5 4 6 hits as hit the limit
resist with BOD + STR and lose a point of AGI for every net hit that goes through.[/spoiler]
-
Knives groans and struggles against the mana entangling him. With a fiercely determined fire in his eyes he lashes out again at his foe. "No fackin way yer gettin outta ere that easy!"
[Spoiler]
Resistance Test:Resistance Test (http://orokos.com/roll/350637): 10d6t5 2 Agility Currently 5.
Complex Action: Melee attack.
Blades 8 + Agility 5 + Focus 2 - Wounds 1 = 14d6 [7]. Staby stab (http://orokos.com/roll/350638): 14d6t5 7
DV 7, AP -3.
[/Spoiler]
-
[spoiler]Flyspy Sensor Test (http://orokos.com/roll/350697): 13d6t5 6 4 hits limited by SENSOR rating.[/spoiler]
Redline interrupts her recon sweep letting the Flyspy drone idle for a moment as she alternates her attention to the ARO containing the the Flying Eye's field of view. She quickly cycles through its sensor suite trying to determine the source of the disturbance ready to exit VR as soon as possible if necessary.
[spoiler]Flying Eye Sensor Check [AR] (http://orokos.com/roll/350703): 9d6t5 3 3 hits, none lost due to sensor rating[/spoiler]
-
@Lumen_________
[spoiler]there's a net hits modifier from the bind spell so you lost two dice, only one of which was a hit.
Dodge: (http://orokos.com/roll/350913): 13d6t5 4
Edge to re-roll: (http://orokos.com/roll/350914): 9d6t5 6 of course you get that kind of roll when you only need 2 more hits lol.
[/spoiler]
The mana winds around your arms, restricting your arc and with some effort, your enemy manages to escape the business end of your blade.
He slings a handfull of shining powder into the air and looses another bolt of mana at you, feeling he was beginning to get on top of the fight..
[spoiler]
Casting Bind at F2 (reagents to boost to L4):
(http://orokos.com/roll/350915): 9d6t5 3 another 3 hits, remember the -2 modifier for the resistance.
(http://orokos.com/roll/350916): 9d6t5 1 takes 1 stun from drain for 5 boxes filled.[/spoiler]
@Profgast________
You sweep the sensors all around, but can't find anything obvious other than the movement of the trees across the visual sensors that could have caused the pilot to alert you.
-
Redline curses mentally at the dog-brain of the Flying Eye for an instant before re-setting the observation parameters and reloading the Clearsight autosoft to hopefully get a more refined body-watcher out of the blasted drone. The next instant she was winging back to jump into the Flyspy and finish the recon as best she could.
[spoiler]Flypsy pilot test (http://orokos.com/roll/351119): 11d6t5 4 -2 to dp from annoyed distraction towards flying eye, 4 hits total
Flypsy Sensor Test (http://orokos.com/roll/351120): 11d6t5 3 Still distractd. 3 hits total[/spoiler]
-
[spoiler]
Body 5 + Strength 5 - Modifier 2 = 8d6. Resist Spell (http://orokos.com/roll/351290): 8d6t5 4. If I understand right then that a successful resistance.
[/spoiler]
*Shit, this itn't goin how it should be goin... Let's try the ol zapper again, otherwise I'm fackin done fer.* Knives calls the taser to his waiting hand once again and tries to line up a shot to hopefully even the playing field once again.
[spoiler]
Free Action: Draw Taser.
Simple Action: Take Aim, +1 Dice pool.
Simple Action: Fire Taser.
Tasers 7 + Agility 5 + Smartlink 1 + Take Aim 1 - Wounds 1 = 13d6 [7]. Resist Spell (http://orokos.com/roll/351295): 13d6t5 7
-
[spoiler]Sorry guys, got roped into running a tournament this weekend![/spoiler]
@Lumen_________
Your bindings restrict your aim slightly and what would have been a good shot was just about dodgeable.
[spoiler] (http://orokos.com/roll/352091): 13d6t5 8 nice. Dodged[/spoiler]
Your sinister, grey skinned opponent jinked out of the way with unnatural grace and strode forwards, a sickly grin on his face.
He began incanting and his aural image shifted before you, loosing its bright vibrancy as its mask fell away. What it had covered was black, hideous, even perceiving it made you nauseous with the stench of rotting flesh and blood attacking your senses.
He unsheathed a small dagger from a scabbard in the small of his back and uttered some sinister sounding words as his free hand grabbed a handful of powder from inside his hooded coat.
A deep sense of foreboding overcame you and the astral space around you became sheathed in black.
Bile rose in the back of your throat as you become overpowered with the stench, barely noticing that he'd slashed at the back of your hand, siphoning the mana-charged blood seemingly into the hilt of the elaborate dagger, strengthening its magical glow.
He laughed and kicked you square in the chest, sending you sprawling into the metalwork and your consciousness faded to black.
@Profgast_______
The house looks deserted for the most part, though your determination pays off as you decide to get much closer to the building to get a better look. Landing delicately on the windowsill of the upper floor, a chink in the heavy curtains reveals that what would ordinarily have been a bedroom or study was filled with banks of storage cabinets and racks of large cardboard boxes with chinese/japanese writing on them.
It didn't mesh well with your location and you began to suspect you'd got the location you were looking for.
You breathed a sigh of relief, just in time for the Flying eye to ping another motion alert at you again
-
@Lumen_____________
A warm, wet feeling enveloped you, lapping at the sides of your consciousness as it trickled down your head and out of your arm.
Distant shouting battled against the sinister haunting shapes that flickered into reality and vanished as you reached out to them but a heavy blow to something, no, not something, someone caught your attention.
The figure coalesced into a mockery of the ghoulish man you'd recently fought before a second blow brought you out of your stupor. The vibrancy had returned to the astral plane as a heavily cybered and black ridden aura called your name and grabbed at your clothes to haul you up from the cold steel decking.
The voice was familiar and with great mental effort, you shook off your demons and returned your gaze to the material plane; glad to see tank and one of his lads from the harbour side.
The fuck happened to you mate? you alright te move?
Your head felt woozy and your hand was wet with blood as you touched it, but the more horrifying mark was that on the back of your hand. A sickly looking black wound remained where his dagger had made contact, even the memory of the strike made you retch bile.
Get 'im off lads, fucking pigs'll be swarming all over us in a sec.
-
Knives gives Tank a groggy and confused looked, "I was fightin some dead bloke... he did this." He holds up his bloody hand. After a moment he shakes his head as the fog clears a bit. "Wait a tick... gotta find my link... it went flyin durin the scrap."
-
Ena turned her drone body on a route that would take her back to her meat-body for easy recovery and mentally pulled the AR window of the Flying Eye's FoV out of her peripheral to see what sort of alert it was bringing up now.
-
@Lumen___________
Tank looks baffled at the wound, clearly having never seen anything like it. That shit looks nasty mate. Best get Doc te have a look at that. What did the bastard do te ya?
He dials your comm and you could hear it rattling away against the butress of one of the machines and the other lad grabbed it as Tank grabbed you and dragged you up through the ship onto the deck.
You began to feel hot, feint and nauseous, putting more and more weight through Tank until he grunted and slung you over his broad shoulders as you hit the gangplank.
The lads on the harbour side were hurriedly slamming the last of the boxes into the vans and waving frantically at you stragglers to get off the ship.
You could hear why; the harbour police had showed up. Patrol boats approached, powerful engines tearing at the water, churning it into a white spray behind them.
It was of little concern to you though, Your AR feed re-synced with the comm and a slew of messages popped up as you struggled to focus.
//From::<<Pavel>>//<<Urgent job, Smith needs you to lead a team, Monday. Working away from the City. I think you'll enjoy the peace and quiet. Train reservation will be forwarded on, pay is 5K non-negotiable. Be at King's cross, 6.30am. You're on the 06.42 to Aberdeen. Platform 10.>>
-
Knives mumbles into his microtransceiver as it converts his words into text in a reply to Pavel.
<<Oi Pavs! Sounds brill. Gotta sleep now cause I'm all knackered but I'll be there. Ok bye.>>
Once Tank sets him down in a vehicle Knives stretches out as best he can and drifts off back into unconsciousness.
-
@Profgast____________
Your stomach turned as the Flying Eye's AR overlay showed a scraggly looking black animal approaching your body tentatively from afar.
It was hard to determine what it was at the fidelity available from the sensors, but it was roughly dog-sized and looked as if it was in a bit of a bad way.
The Fly-Spy's auto pilot engaged with your command and you dropped back into your meat-bag body quickly, retrieving the drone as it deftly landed on the snow next to you.
Your arse felt wet and cold from where your body heat had melted the snow and it had soaked into your clothes. The pressing issue was the interested animal however, but your professionalism kicked in first, mentally commanding the recordings through to Bex.
The connection to the Van's satellite uplink was laggy and slow without the benefit of the mesh network of the city around you, but the compressed file zapped over quickly enough. The full hi-res files would have to wait till you hard-wired the comm into the Satlink's data port in the van.
//Bex//<<Good work. This looks like we're looking in the right place. I'm putting a team together to infiltrate and explore the area. As you've got local knowledge and kit, I want you to take the lead. I need you to pick up the team members up from Darlington station at 08:57 Monday. I'll forward their details over and brief the team in a Matrix meet on Monday morning.//
-
As soon as the message to Bex registered Ena turned towards the new threat(?) and shivered as the full force of winter seeped back into her bones. She pocketed her drones as she got her blood flowing back in her limbs and looked at the animal that was coming towards her.
[spoiler]Perception for oncoming dogthing (http://orokos.com/roll/355149): 12d6t5 6 5 hits by limit. 5 hits also on non-visual means[/spoiler]
-
_______CH4 begins______________
@Profgast__________
A mangy, sickly looking large dog sneered at you from the roadside, sporting a limp and a nasty looking bite wound on its head. It sniffed at the air hungrily, revealing an underfed set of ribs through a bedraggled pelt.
It certainly didn't look like it was here to be petted, and it growled at you as you tried to advance up to the road, back to the safety of your van.[spoiler]Roll initiative if you're gonna fight it, or declare actions and roll dice for other approaches[/spoiler]
@Lumen___________
Your dreams were tortured by horrific waves of agony that contorted your body and though you couldn't hear it in your passed-out stupor, your lads grew more and more concerned about the sickly looking black wound and the fever and sweats you showed as you writhed in your seat. Tank pushed your chest down and held you against the motion of the van as it careened away from the docks as the police response to your raid intensified.
You wouldn't know anything about it other than the stories in the Dog and Duck Inn tomorrow, but for tonight, the denizens of the astral aligned with evil, with blood magic, would visit you and prevent you from forgetting your encounter with that grey creature today.
Morning came as a relief, a wan light piercing through the curtains and striking you in the eyes, the unfamiliar sound of an autodoc beeping irregularly focussed your mind and brought you out of a dazed and hazy sleep.
You were on your sofa, the unforgettable scent of eastern european cigs rushing back into your nostrils to replace the smell of vomit that had dried around your mouth. It tasted rank, your tongue had a coating of furry day old grime on it and your breath could cut glass. You swiped clumsily at the array of cables attached to your head and your arm and the auto-doc protested loudly at your interference.
A set of footsteps from out of your line of sight brought panic to you, but Timmy’s gentle voice soon returned calm. Alright Knives? How you feeling?
@Zwei________
The pub grub had hit the spot and the stick was pretty lively. Ralphy had had to shoot off for his shift, but a few of the regulars were about and it soon turned into an all afternoon session.
The stresses of the past few days soon faded with a couple of pints of real ale and the gin, brandy and vodka shorts faded the rest out until you awoke with a stinging headache and a mouth dryer than the sahara next to a half-eaten takeaway. A blurry and out of focus ARO reminded you that you'd got shit-loads to sort before you had to head up north and you wearily drew your sluggish and hungover head out of bed.
You dreaded telling your Mum you had to go out of town for a few days, you knew you'd never live it down when she got home. "Abandoning me in my hour of need! I didn't raise you that way!!" you could almost hear her now in your mind as you cajoled the soyprocessor into life.
@Saithor_______
Bex had proved to be a most charitable host, organising a courier to pick up the kit you needed and a secure dead drop for your shopping list to be picked up from at Darlington station just before lunchtime on monday.
Killing time in the apartment had been pretty hard, the Trix connection wasn't that great and you soon got bored of watching re-runs of old Spitfire Ace seasons, but it was better having a working soyprocessor and soycaf dispenser than some of the doss-holes you'd lain low in before. You had a few hours before the auto-cab came to take you to Kings Cross and Callie had already shipped out, her excuses made and arse covered with her varying employers and middle-men.
She'd been good fun to be stuck with for a few days, both of you had shared stories and let your guard down a bit as you'd gotten bored of Trids and she was clearly grateful for you hauling her hoop out of the shit with the Romanians. [spoiler]Callie is now +1 loyalty for you as a contact[/spoiler]
-
Silas checked and double-checked himself. Condition: Presentable, not any stains he could see, and he didn't look that dishreveled, but a few weeks in the safehouse had taken their toll. Behind him, the soy-processor continued to make noises as it worked, and he fixed it with a beady-eye stare. Evere since the incident in his apartment, he had become well aware of the dangers of a possibly hacked soy processor. He still didn't know if his previous one had jsut suffered a glitch, but he wasn't taking any chances. As soon as the machine was done he quickly ate the quick breakfest it had made. Not as good as that traditional breakfest a few weeks back with Callie, but it would work out. He grabbed a fedora, pushed it down over his head, wrapped a scarf around his face, and with gloved hands he grabbed his recently re-wrapped and repackaged shotgun. The bloody thing was a little heavy, but nothing he wouldn't have too much trouble with. A Backpack loaded up with all of his other goodies was put onto his shoulders, and he then decided to wait for the cab to show up.
-
Knives feebly batted at the attached sensors until he heard Timmy's voice, "Feel like I got hit by a lorrie... an then someone puked in my mouth. Oi, be a good lad an fetch us a smoke yea?"
He fumbled around for his link trying to get his bearings and check his messages, typical hungover procedure. Seeing the message from Pavel sparks a bit of alertness and worry. "Fack, what day is it mate? I apparently got another job..." His last few words carrying a bit of worry considering how shotty he felt.
-
Rubbing sleep and assorted alcohol from his eyes, Taylor cleans up and gets ready for the day. He knows he's gonna have to spend some time working on those sprites and run the diagnostics on Ralphy's odd virus before heading to the station the next day.
While sitting in his home office, he frets constantly while working. He sends a few messages to the hospital asking about updates on his mum. He know's there's nothing he can do, and this job will pay the bills for the next month, but he still feels like he's abandoning her. He finally gets wrapped up enough in his work to stop pestering the poor sisters and then ends up forgetting to eat lunch or dinner. Coming out of VR and into the real world those needs hit him like a tonne of bricks. He races to the rest room to resolve those needs first, and then heads downstairs to make a midnight snack before catching some shut-eye and heading to the train station in the morning. On his way out the door he makes sure he has his survival kit and an extra scarf. His mom always worries when he's out in the cold for long.
-
Ena stared at the approaching mongrel and narrowed her eyes slightly.
Oh you do not want to try this dog...
She mimics the growl back at the dog and leans forwards into a loose fighting stance.
"Don't block my way cur. You'll regret it."
[spoiler]Sadly, Ena has like, no knowledge of animals or else she WOULD have used her expanded vocal range to mess with the dog's hearing. As is, this is an attempt to "intimidate" the thing out of the way. Take whichever roll is applicable:
Animal Handling Attempt vs Dog (http://orokos.com/roll/357246): 4d6t5 3
Same only Intimidate (http://orokos.com/roll/357247): 8d6t5 1
Er dang, that's a better roll than I expected on the handling. Good thing the Animal Handling roll is probably the applicable one :-P.
Initiative Roll if it fails:Init as Needed (http://orokos.com/roll/357248): 1d6+11 17[/spoiler]
-
@Profgast_________
Your steadfast approach seemed to stun it; it began to cower, its head held low and ears flat in a sign of submission. It slunk backwards, keeping its face towards you as you gained in confidence to move towards it.
[spoiler] (http://orokos.com/roll/357494): 6d6t5 1 wow, shit resistance roll!
It'll yield to you as you advance up the road but it'll defend against any attacks on it or on an approach within 5 metres[/spoiler]
@Zwei_________
It was ridiculously hard to decipher much of the detailed code, but patterning in the syntax used indicated it was written by a non-native english speaker. Something about it just didn't seem quite right, it was more complex than it needed to be because of the wording and grammar choices.
Your initial suspicions proved to be right though, it was definitely harvesting data from the hardware, probably exploiting a user permission set that Ralphy had allowed but not paid attention to, or it was piggy-backing off something legit he'd allowed. You'd have to spend more time to know for certain, and you'd definitely need another day or so to crack the phone-home protocols to see where it was sending the data back to.
Your bladder rupture averted and hunger sated, sleep hit you like a freight train. 6 hours shot by before your alarm went off and another one shot by before you poked your head up onto Kings Cross concourse.
You checked the ticketing details again, Carriage F, seat 32A. Bex had said that the other team would be sitting with you to get some time together before the job began. She'd included a pre-paid meal voucher too and your stomach rumbled after missing breakfast.
The train hummed noisily up on the platform and a bustle of passengers walked up and down the platform looking for their carriage or saying goodbye to relatives.
Security was present, but not obtrusive. A patrol drone skimmed along merrily and armed police kept watch from a long way back off the platforms, more bored looking at the routine Monday morning commuters than anything.
@Lumen___________
Timmy passed you a shit looking rollup but you were in no mood to get picky about quality. anything that'd take the edge of the foul taste in your gob would do right now.
Leave the probes on mate, looks like you'd taken a kicking. Lads said the place was empty apart from two knocked out techies though. Tank asked me to keep an eye on ye cos o' that big black bastard wound on yer hand. You been fighting spooks or summat? Its Saturday, just gone half ten. Bacon sarnie and a brew sound good?
@Saithor___________
Time dragged achingly slowly as it always did when you were waiting for a job. Every second felt like an hour, but the release into the Monday morning bustle of the city was more than welcome after being cooped up in the apartment for a long stretch. AROs assaulted your incoming feed and it was almost a joy to see the endless stream of adverts for upcoming Trids, cheap tickets for the west end theatres and new lingerie lines as the taxi plodded through the slow traffic up to the station.
It was utter chaos at the unloading bay, a luxury tour bus disgorged a load of chinese tourists onto the concourse and they argued with each other and the driver about who's luggage was who's. the security at the door seemed a bit distracted by the sight of 60 arguing tourists and they probably felt at least a little bit sorry for the driver as he tried to sort through the piles of multi coloured suitcases.
You picked your way through the melee and headed into the concourse through the grand glass doors. The noise of the idling trains was barely audible over the din of the platform announcements, the crowd and the hawking of the AR adverts trying to interest you in a time-share apartment in northern France, available from only £160/month!
Bex's ticket ran through your AR feed once more, Carriage F, seat 33A. The others would be sat at your table seat too.
-
Knives eyes the cig but shrugs and lights it up. "Yea mate, sounds brill. After breakfast though I'm getting a shower, Medkit be damned." He takes a look at the black wound on his hand, his memory of the fight finally getting clearer. "That's right... there was some grey bloke, looked half dead at least. A mojo slinger who walloped me but good. I guess he took off before Tank got there."
Thumbing through his link he reread the message from Pavel and shot off another reply, <<Any other info on the job? Am I going to need anything special?>> He then surfs the Trix for any information on Aberdeen.
-
Ena kept eye contact with the creature as she stalked up the road, skirting around the animal but not letting down her guard until the creature was at a sufficiently safe distance, as she made her way back to her vehicle.
That's right dog, you go about your business and I'll go on mine.
-
@Lumen_______
the reply sounded stiff when it came through.
Distracted yesterday where we? You'll be the protection for a team of techies and astral. Its an outside job, up in the wild north. Wrap up warm, ticket for the train will come through shortly. Your team mates will be sat at the same table as you and the final team member will pick you up from Darlington station on your arrival.
Alright mate, just don't break the fucking thing. I'll be back in a bit.
Timmy grabbed his jacket and left you to wallow in your wounded and groggy state as he headed down to the shop to get breakfast
@Profgast______
It backed off as you approached further, reaching the road and making up the hill towards the van. Desperation must have sunk in as it recognised that you were its best chance of an easy meal in its wounded and bedraggled state. It began to wind up for a charge, leaning back into its rear legs ready to pounce and you knew play time was over
Roll for initiative!
[spoiler] (http://orokos.com/roll/357870): 10+2d6 12 managed to glitch hard! beasty goes last and takes a -2 to its actions this turn :-(
begin your first action phase[/spoiler]
-
Silas checked his watch and sat down at the table. Being the first to a meeting was always annoying, since then he would have nothing to do till anybody else got there. He leaned back in his seat, lit a cig, and proceeded to wait for the newcomers to arrive.
-
<<I was handling some family business so I was tied up a bit when I got your message. Thanks for the info, I'll be there with bells on.>>
After the update Knives changes his browsing to some cold weather gear. Woolies, thick gloves and socks, and a posh scarf would do nicely. Throw in a survival kit and some extra medical supplies for good measure and he felt prepared enough. He sent the list off to the family's equipment guy and emphasized next day delivery. Once business was out of the way he skimmed through the sports feed.
-
If asked later, Ena wouldn't have been able to say what exactly she noticed first as the dog went from cowering to attack. A change in scent perhaps, or a slight difference in the pitch of the growl. Maybe it was the way its muscles tensed. Regardless, almost as soon as the creature had decided to chance it, Ena was already moving.
Alright, have it your way then.
Ena counter-dashed as the dog as it bunched itself to attack, muscles in her hands flexing and unsheathing the retractable claws hidden in her hands which sliced through the fabric of her gloves as slashed down at the mutt.
[spoiler]Spending 1 Edge: Initiative -- Blitz (http://orokos.com/roll/358018): 5d6+11 28
Free Action: Run
Complex Action Melee Attack, Claws (Reach 1, DV 5, AP-3), +2 from charging, assuming +1 for Reach.
Claw Melee (http://orokos.com/roll/358024): 16d6t5 6 last couple rolls are not hits so if I do NOT have reach advantage, hits stay same[/spoiler]
-
@Profgast_______
It froze mid charge, realising the error of what it had just done
[spoiler]That poor dog. dodge roll (http://orokos.com/roll/358456): 6d6t5 1 1!!!
oh dear.
5dv + 5 net hits, 10 to soak
(http://orokos.com/roll/358457): 3d6t5 1[/spoiler]
Your claws slashed through its pelt, finding purchase against a major artery or two and slitting them cleanly in half, gushing blood all over yourself, your attire and the the snow.
It yelped a horrificly pained yelp, loud enough that it reverberated off the harsh rockside of the pass in the peace of the afternoon. Everything nearby would have heard it, you thought to yourself as a couple of birds flew off their roosting spot in a nearby leafless-tree.
The wounded dog's lifeless body crumpled as its lifeblood poured away, its head listing at an awkward angle relative to its body.
Breathing out heavily, the adrenaline began to wear down and you looked about yourself. You still had clear line of sight to the target building, though it was some way off, if there was someone indoors, they could easily have heard and observed what had just happened.
It still looked deserted for now, but you'd need to do something about that bloodied corpse and the increasingly red snow around it lest someone find it and get suspicious.
@Lumen___________
The reply came through pretty quickly;
//Alright Knives, going skiing are we? I'll have one of the lads drop em round by lunch for ye.//
The sports feed was abuzz with good footy, the christmas break had ended a week ago and the Premier League was back in full flow. Stoke were on live, away at Portsmouth and Hull were at home to Newcastle. Spurs were on the late kickoff, so that could work for a beer and summat to eat tonight if you could stomach it on top of your nausea.
Inspecting the wound once more, it began to burn as you touched it. You shook your head as the flames began to dance around the crispening skin and the hallucination passed as quickly as it had overcome you.
Bile rose to the back of your throat and you began to heave and retch but nothing came up, having had your stomach thoroughly emptied from the last batch in the night.
@Saithor__________
The platform was slowly emptying as the passengers headed aboard and their families said their goodbyes. You found the carriage and swiped the AR door control on the exterior of the sleek blue and grey aluminium door and dragged your kit up a few steep steps.
A blast of warm air hit you and dissipated the frosty cold breath that had clouded your vision outside and you glanced left and right for the seat numbers listed on the AR display in the vestibule. Following it right, your table was empty. You were first.
There wasn't enough room overhead for all your kit, and you knew your team members were probably not travelling light either, so you stowed some of the larger kit in the luggage racks next to the vestibule.
The crew were just loading up the refreshment trolley and bringing it down from the front of the train as you sat back down heavily in the comfy seat and the pretty blonde smiled at you. Complementary refreshments sir?
-
Falling to the floor Knives starts to heave and scuttles over to a bin. *Fack me! What is this shite? If this keeps up on the job it could spell the end of me... I gotta do something about this quick.*
After a few minutes when it's clear nothing is coming up he drags himself over to the couch and collapses on it.
Once his stomach settled a bit more he send out a message to the family's mojo expertn <Oi mate it's Knives. I need your opinion on something. You ever seen something like this? It's been making me nauseous and it may have been on fire earlier.> A few seconds after the message he send a picture of the festering wound on his hand.
-
Taylor makes his way through the crowds. It's a bit dense with the families crowding around, so he entered the train before getting to his carriage and made his way through to the meal car. Using his voucher he ordered some soy-bacon with what passed for the fried tomatoes and "eggs" and a cuppa tea. It made for a passable meal which he brought with him down to carriage "F." The AR images of the seat numbers going by, he sees 32A with 3 other seats at a table, one currently filled with a dour looking dwarf.
"'Mornin gov. Guessing we've a mutual friend?" Taylor says in a friendly tone. His boyish face filled with a friendly smile as he took his seat and put down his meal.
-
Ena grimaces at the loud expiration of the dog and gives herself a quick shake as the death throes of the creature register on all of her senses.
Bloody hell...
She grabs the body and drags it off the road as quickly as possible before doing the best she can to deposit the body out of easy sight, but exposed enough that other natural scavengers would be able to get to it. Then it was obscuring the signs of struggle and then back up the road.
[spoiler] Tracking roll to obscure tracks and hide corpse. Edge 1
Hiding the Corpse (http://orokos.com/roll/358927): 7d6h5 1 hit[/spoiler]
-
"Probably," SIlas said, nodding at the new arrival, and sticking out a hand to shake. "Silas Blackwell, Mage. You're?" he asked gruffly.
-
Taking off his hat, unwrapping his long scarf and opening his insulated jacket Taylor shakes Silas' hand.
"They call me Mams, don't ask." He says with a wink. "I'm tech support," tapping his temple, "and fancy myself something of an investigator at times." Taylor responds to Silas' gruffness with warmth and a boyish smile to put the dwarf at ease. "I hear we're gonna get to spend some time in the cold. Did you get any more details, or are we gonna need to wait for our ride up north?" He pats his rucksack with his gear.
<<<Winston, Victoria, keep an eye on the carriage and make sure no one is snooping where they shouldn't be if you'd be so kind.>>>
His AR form tosses them each an electronic treat as he gives the command.
His Sprites, as AR dogs, pace around the area sniffing and peering into the Matrix before curling up impossibly under the table.
[spoiler]
In order:
1. As long as Taylor isn't expecting anything more than a cursory scan of his SIN he'll be running his Philip Baggins fake on one of his burner Meta Links.
2. Don't want to PvP even socially, but lemme know if either of you (saithor or Csjarrat) want roll or anything. Mams has a Cha of 5 and just enough etiquette to not make a complete fool of himself most of the time.
3. He's having Winston and Victoria run Matrix Overwatch while he's paying attention to the conversation. He'll do periodic Matrix Perceptions to keep an eye on their car and know the basic goings on in the carriage. He would Thread Transcendent Grid before each one at Level 1 and buying hits on the Fade, as he only needs it for a second to make his check. As the Sprites are staying on more of a constant overwatch I'm not sure how you want me to roll that. They are on the Local grid using Taylor's Lifestyle for access.
Series of basic Matrix Perception tests (Comp 6 + Int 5 + Spec 2 + TM 2 = 15) (http://orokos.com/roll/359205): 10#15d6t5 6 4 4 4 5 5 6 4 6 4 (limit 5 capped a few of those.)
[/spoiler]
-
@profgast__________
You grab its limbs and drag it across the road and dump it into the rough drainage ditch on the far side to break line of sight to the house.
You do your best to obscure the blood splatters by kicking fresh snow over it, but you knew that anyone really looking hard would see right through it, until another blanket of snow came down anyway.
Crossing your fingers for more of the white stuff, you doubled back and headed towards the van, happy for the warmth and relief of having an escape plan
[spoiler]You're free to IC whatever you did on the sunday (shopping for new kit, resting up, catching a movie etc) the drive into darlington station on monday morning is uneventful if you can pass a SiN (2) test by the station carpark scanner.[/spoiler]
@Zwei_________
Your sprites return a bevvy of information relating to the matrix activity in the carriage:
[spoiler]All passengers mainly carry consumer level commlinks (DR 2-3)running in public mode.
1 low rating (DR2) cyberdeck in hidden mode detected, master of a PAN.
No lethal or melee weapons found in public or hidden mode. 1 taser found in hidden mode slaved to the deck. that specific signal originates from two carriages up from yours.
No attacks or marking are detected for the first 30mins of the journey.
[/spoiler]
@Lumen___________
Hawk opens up an AR call with you and takes a look at the video you send through of the wound, pondering and humming to himself.
I've only seen things like this in a reference book and I have to tell you, its not good. You need treatment for it, and urgently. You'll need to spend a couple of days in my care so I can run a ritual on the wound.
It appears to be the work of a blood mage, or something similar. Powerful enemies you seem to be making. Tell me, what was the weapon like that inflicted the wound?
-
<<I can swing by in a bit but I've got a job come Monday mate... It was nothin impressive just yer every day knife. Bout the size of the ones I usually carry. Did seem almost like it was collecting my blood before I blacked out. I was worried about blood mojo, think you can help me out before I gotta be on the job? Soon as Timmy gets back with sammies we'll head your way.>>
-
I don't believe I've ever been this happy to see civilization again...
Ena mused to herself as she took the GMC Universe closer to the Darlington area and her Grid Guide override started picking up signal again.
A real bed, real food, and a real bath... it's just a pity that I'll have to get back into the cold again all too soon.
After a stop off at a small inn for all the promised amenities of civilization, as well as a proper transmittal of all survey information and a full report to Bex, Ena spent the first half of her Sunday refueling and restocking, including picking up a slightly-out-of-fashion-but-quite-warm cloak in preparation for the trek back out to the wilderness. The second half was spent resting and recuperating, making sure she saved a backlog of the last season of Water Margin in the physical storage onboard her van. After all you never knew when a few hours of trid shows would be useful to have when not in easy reach of normal Matrix streaming.
Monday saw Ena up bright and early, and at Darlington Station with a good 20 minutes to spare. With the Universe on standby nearby, cruising in circles via GridGuide as necessary, Ena waited patiently. As the appointed time for the train came close she lit up a plain ARO indicating that she was transportation reserved for the Smith party and consulted Bex's messages on who to look for as they disembarked.
-
@Lumen__________
Oh no, that's not on. That sounds plausible, they tend to use a special knife with a focus for their blood drawing rituals. I fear the worst then. You're making powerful enemies indeed.
You'll need treatment to begin immediately. If you don't, the hallucinations will get worse. A special salve of Lapsang and honeysuckle applied twice daily can stem the tide, but you must come to me as soon as your job is finished. I can bring a few doses of the salve round in a few hours and show you how to apply it if you cannot delay the job for a few days?
Timmy returned with breakfast with a heavy thud on the door. He greeted you with a flash of eyebrows, a takeout tea in each hand and a white paper bag full of the breakfast sarnies held between his teeth.
Grub's up mate, yours is that one with the brown sauce on. Went beserk, got the full fucking works mate!
A layer of sausage was topped with egg, mushrooms and tinned tomato dribbled out of the top of the towering sarnie and your stomach leapt with joy as the smell hit your nostrils. A large size tea to wash it down with sweetened the deal and you both tucked in hungrily, wiping egg yolk and tomato juice out of your stubbly beards and licking it off the back of your grubby hands.
Heaven.
You began to feel more human and Timmy left you after chatting shit for a while about the weather and the Clerkenwell boat raid, he'd dumped your share of the booty in your bedroom and you'd nearly tripped over it as you kicked off your kit and ventured into the shower. You stank, but the hot water running on your aching muscles was amazing.
You emerged a changed man, ready for a cig, salve, footy, pint and then onto the train in the morning.
[spoiler]If you're all done with downtime, make your IC hitting the train and any introductions you wanna do and we'll get rolling on the mission proper. You've got a full condition monitor and full edge refresh[/spoiler]
@Profgast___________
The van started smoothly and slid around noisily around the corners on the old A66's snow covered cracked tarmac, protesting loudly as it battled between your throttle commands and its traction control system. Eventually you quit fighting it and jumped in, becoming the van and instinctively kicking it's back end out to maximise power into the corners. It hurt the fuel efficiency somewhat, but it was brilliant fun on the abandoned route.
A herd of deer startled at the unfamiliar noise of engines, running and scattering in all directions into the bracken that lined the lower altitude sections of the pass and you revelled in the glee of the late afternoon sunshine and this utterly stunning part of the world. It was lightyears away from the dim, grey oppressive feel of the Old Smoke, and the stresses of the acid rain and crushing density of population seemed a lifetime away as you opened the throttle and dodged deer on the slippery surfaces.
The suburbs rushed up to meet you as you came down the long downhill stretch of the newly refurbished section of the A66 you'd joined 40 minutes ago and quaint little houses eventually gave way to tenement blocks and recently constructed glass and steel apartments built to house working class families. The city centre was nothing to write home about, the usual selection of chain stores and small-town regional names lined the narrow streets. Though the locals probably thought the city-centre traffic was bad, they'd probably never driven down in the Megaplex of London and found out just how shit traffic can really be.
It wasn't long before gridguide pinged you a choice of lodgings and you'd arrived, dumping an overnight bag onto the bed and stripping off for a decent scrub down and some hearty food before enjoying the rest of what remained of the afternoon and evening walking around the small city centre. A nice pub, the Lion's head, served a decent beer and choice of pie for less than a tenner and you plonked yourself down at a table and idled through your link's newsfeed whilst the locals played pool and listened to the young lass singing her heart out with her acoustic guitar accompaniment. No-one really paid you much attention and you hit the hay early, eager to get sorted out with shopping in the morning.
Bex replied an hour after the upload, having studied the hi-res video.
//Looks like the house is just used for storage or staging of goods. Can't make out what that stuff is, even on the hi-res. Party of three to pick up on monday lunchtime. They're on the Aberdeen service, going by the names of Knives, Mams and Silas. I'll forward on your descriptions and they'll know to meet you by the left luggage department on the concourse. I've set up a private host for a briefing, make sure you're all together when you log in. Jump into the host as soon as you're all in the Van and heading up to the site.[<<meeting invite received>>]//
Left with your instructions, you plodded out of your digs for the night and headed into town, picking up a breakfast roll and a cuppa from the kitchen and out into the freezing cold morning. Sunday brought snow and a light dusting lay on the ungritted surfaces of the pavements and shop frontages.
The town was quiet, a mix of dog-walkers, shop workers and mums with prams making up the light foot-traffic and the quiet town made for an easy day's shopping. You'd passed the station a few times on the shopping trips and knew what to expect come Monday morning. A Sunday roast at the Lion's head and another early night ensued and before you knew it, your early alarm was ringing in your ears.
-
<<That would be brill mate. Job is non-negotiable, I'm already committed. Thanks for your help, cheers.>>
Reborn after the food shower and shave Knives packs his kit, double checking each piece of equipment then turns in early for a good night's sleep. He is up bright and early the next day leaving in time to grab a cuppa and a few extra packs of smokes.
Boarding the train he nods to his table mates, eyeing the bloke in the odd get up for a moment longer than normal. "Mornin gents, the name's Knives. Oi is this a smoking car?" He plops down at the table and pulls out a smoke waiting to light it.
-
Taylor stands as Knives greats the table, rearranging his victorian era style as he rises. "Looks like the party is all here now mate. They call me Mams, they keep me around for tech support." Nodding towards the dwarf he adds, "The grumpy one there is gonna be our resident finger waggler," with a smile at Silas. Giving Knives a once over, "I take it you're our muscle?"
[spoiler]Is Knives' wound obvious?[/spoiler]
-
"You got it mate. There's two good reasons for my name. Sounds like you might meet em for we come back to the smoke."
[Spoiler]
Nope it would be wrapped and wearing gloves.
[/spoiler]
-
Silas gave the muscle a nod and an offered hand. "Personally, I hope we don't need you. My last job got messy."
-
Knives firmly shakes the offered hand and chuckles, "Same ere mate. A nice stroll through the countryside would be brill but if that's all it was I wouldn't be here. Let's hope yer right an I can watch footy the whole time."
He looks to Mams, "Aight mate... I gotta ask. What's with the fackin suit? Even in the smoke ya'd stick out, in the sticks you'll be a blaring red target."
-
[spoiler]i'll leave it till the end of the day in case anyone wants to do any more player=to-player chat, otherwise full update will go up tonight[/spoiler]
-
"What this?" Mams says gesturing to his steampunk attire. "Simply dressing to impress mate. I may stand out a bit, but I make by. And while people may remember me, there's rarely any proof I've been where folks tend to remember me being." He says with wry grin.
-
Eventually the last of the passengers board and the arduous announcements about the restaurant car, toilets, fire safety, evacuation procedure blah blah blah come to an end.
With a clunk and a whirring of the massive electric motors, the train lurches into motion and the platform rapidly gives way to a huge long tunnel under roads and housing developments before breaching up into daylight past the historic ground of Arsenal football club. called a different name almost every year with the change of sponsors the club had, it had been their home for almost a century.
It too whipped past the window at speed and the shiny high rises soon gave way to the slum-like shanty town exterior of the m25 commuter belt towns. As grey as the smog cloud that drifted lazily above it, you all tried to avoid heading out past the M25 wherever you could.
Away from the congested rail lines of the city with their criss-crossing points and junctions, the train kicked up another notch and soon the grey oppressive concrete gave way to lush green fields full of cattle and the refreshment trolley made its way through the carriage, a pleasant young chap with a northern accent asking you whether you'd like anything to eat or drink.
@Zwei_______
The "decker" doesn't seem to be running too much in the way of offensive load-out. The prying eyes of your sprites find that the user is kitted for data processing and running a suite of editing and publishing programs. None of the icons around the carriages appear to be marked by the decker, including any of yours or your team's icons
-
Mams takes a moment to look at each team members 'link number and starts a group conversation.
<<<@Team [Mams] FYI, it looks like we've got another passenger that has the potential to be a bit nosey. Running a low grade deck and has a taser with them. Not currently taking any overt action, but I'm keeping an "eye" on them to be safe. Lets assume anything we say out loud here is being heard by the world. Speaking of, anyone have any thoughts on what we're being sent to do? My fixer doesn't usually send me off to the nether realms looking for stuff for her.>>>
-
Knives smiles to the waiter, "Yea mate a pint a lager would be brill. Mind if I smoke here?"
Seeing the flashing notification in his AR he thumbs out a reply, <<@Team [Knives] Notes. Not a clue on the job. I've done a few jobs for the bloke who asked me along but each one was different. This isn't the first time he's sent me off to the sticks though.]]
-
@Knives________
The waiter raises an eyebrow quizzically and nods at the no-smoking sign. Vestibule area of car F only I'm afraid. We have some rapid-absorb patches on sale here though if you'd rather stay with your colleagues?
He returns a short while with a glass of lager so cold that condensation trickled down the outside of the elegantly shaped glass.
@All___________
The small talk was stilted and awkward, the public space and close proximity of other people's ears prevented too much "work" talk and the prospect of a breach this early on the job didn't fill you with glee.
Staring out of the window whilst chatting on your secure line, the lush green country side soon disappeared behind a sheet of drizzle and grey as the train sped through the midlands.
The decker alighted at peterborough, some 20 mins north of London on a train as fast as this.
You enjoyed the service and occasionally startled at the high speed services buffeting the windows with their aero blast as they shot past heading down south to the capital and looked on, interested at the wave of faces that came and went with every stop in a station.
Eventually, the restored Victorian redbrick roof of darlington station covered the train and you alighted with your kit, looking for the ARO that advertised the fourth and final member of the team, your driver and recon specialist.
You spotted the ARO next to a relaxed looking lass, killing time by left luggage as the brief mentioned. She clocked your arrival and nodded in acknowledgement.
@Profgast_______
A likely bunch of misfits steps off the high speed service and mooches over with large bags full of kit, clocking your ARO and sussing you at a distance.
You nodded your acknowledgement to them as they closed the distance.
[spoiler]left you guys plenty of time for IC, but figured your chars weren't too chatty in the open space of the train. You've got a bit of time in Darlington town if theres anythig you wanted to pick up before heading to the mission site but Bex did want to brief the team as soon as you were picked up and in the van, profgast, please let the team know that in an IC[/spoiler]
-
Ena bounces to her feet as she notes the approach of the rather motley looking crew coming off the train. She gives them a cheery wave as they approach.
"Hello chaps! You must be the Smith party! I'll be your driver for this little excursion, and you can call me Eve for now. Pleased to meet all of you, I'm sure. Now if you need any last minute purchases or walkarounds, we have time for a little bit of shopping here in Darlington, but if you could keep it short and sweet that'd be grand. Need to get you lot bundled into the van and so we can start up the Orientation trid.
Hoping the slight emphasis on the word 'orientation' will be enough to clue people in she continues to play the part of the cheerful tour-guide driver and beckons for her 'charges' to follow as they make their way out of the station.
"So any last minute stops we need to make before we get on the road?"
-
"Pleased 'ta meet ye Eve. Call me Mams. As for a quick stop, 'twould be brill ta swing by an electronics outlet if they've one in town. Could use a backup up-link in case we end up wandering a bit further than the guidelines of the tour. I'm known for a walk-about now and then and they come in mighty helpful out there." He says with a cheery grin.
[spoiler]Sorry if my "accent" is crap. I'm tryin' here :P[/spoiler]
-
The minute Knives hits the platform he has a cigarette in his mouth and looks about for no smoking signs. He eyes Eve up and down then nods, "Pleasures all mine. Friends call me Knives. All I need is a nic fix right quick an I'll be ready. Even better ifn I can smoke in the van."
-
@zwei_____
A quick AR search showed that there was a small radioshack store in the centre, about 5 mins walk from the station. It would sell pretty much any of the major brands of mid range and budget range links. A kiosk opposite the concourse sold prepay links in denominations of 5,10,20 quid for a cardboard cased burner as well as cigs, sandwiches and cans of soft drinks.
-
"Oi, Eve, mind if we head over to the RadioShack down the street before we roll out?"
[spoiler]
He'll buy a sat uplink there. Book price is ¥500 and availability is 6.
[/spoiler]
-
"Not at all, like I said, any last minute things you need to do before the tour, we're still on schedule as is."
She turns towards Knives.
"I don't mind smoking in the vehicle but please remember to mind the other passengers and not make it look like we've got a forest fire in there, so you might want to take that time and get a few puffs here."
She gives a bright smile to Silas next.
"And how about you luv? Need any last stops before we get on the road?
-
"I'm Silas" he said as a greeting. "No stops for me either, I can summon when we get there. Porbably be less conspicous anyway. Thanks for the thought anyway."
-
You all meandered out into the cold morning air and had a pootle about Darlington town picking up a few bits and bobs from the shops.
You drew a few stares from the locals, Mams especially, but no-one gave you any hassle.
Eventually you headed back to the van in the multi-storey carpark by the train station and loaded your kit into it, Ena still playing the chirpy tour-guide and you dumped as much of your stuff into the storage locker would hold and then filled the spaces under seats, the spare tire compartment and all the other nooks and crannies.
It was going to be a cosy/i] couple of days, especially without shower facilities!
Ena clicked the internal screens on and connected to the pop up host that Bex had arranged.
//Morning. Hope the train ride was pleasant, unfortunately you've all got a few days of the wilds to balance things out a touch. You've all accepted the job, and we expect results within 3 days at the latest. I want a full infiltration and evaluation of the house (the screens showed a montage of stills from a drone's recon footage), and these outbuildings here (the screens lit up with images from an aerial or satellite shot, circled and arrowed to show direction from the main house. We suspect the rest of the nearby grounds to be hiding other facilities, so keeping a keen eye and surveying the area will be necessary.
The wildlife is not known for being friendly, and the weather is a bit perky this time of year, so don't get eaten and don't freeze to death. Not until you've sent reports to me anyway. Redline has my details, I expect a report of each day's activities and findings to be sent by midnight. Questions?//
-
//No? Good. Redline will fill you in on the situation on the ground as she's been covering the ground on the initial recon. Get eyes-on today and get set up. Like I said, I expect a report by midnight tonight with your findings and activities. Good luck.// <<User logged out of host: BeX_1010>>
The flashy and overly curvaceous avatar she used disappeared in a flicker and Redline cut the connection to the host at your end, returning the internal screen to the vehicle diagnostics screen it had been displaying before.
You'd got your job, you were in the van and had done the shopping. The only thing you needed to worry about now was getting the job done.
-
"Okay, I guess next step is to get on site. Who brought the sammies?" He looks around at the assembled group, his perpetual child-like grin makes it hard not to laugh with him.
-
"Better question, who brought the scotch? A quick nip will warm ya up on a cold night." Knives chuckles then his face grows serious. "Oi, Redline was it, you see any boots on the ground? I assumed we were the first sent to ave a looksee. Can't tell much from yer surveillance, jus looks like a rundown farm house."
-
"Well supplies for a 3-day trip won't just be scotch and sandwiches you know... If you lot don't have some supplies packed away we'll stop partway for a little more of a food run but remember, only civilization that seems to be in that area is the target. As for opposition? I didn't actually see anyone on-location. I saw a couple of guard-gangers on the approach checkpointing the area, but I'm not entirely sure if they were related.
I ran afoul of a critter right by the target though, so there's definitely those around, and if they found the body they might be on slightly higher alert, if only to keep an eye out for nearby creatures."
Ena's demeanor has shifted subtly, and gone is the bubbly tourguide persona. She sizes up each of the other members in turn and then shrugs lightly.
"Which brings me to the next question. Any of you lot of have experience operating in the brush?"
-
"I brought a survival kit, should have enough rations for a few days. When I was told a few days in the country I didn't think we'd be completely in the fackin middle a nowhere. I ain't worried bout no critters though, I can andle em."
Knives leans back, "Nah not much time in the brush. I'm more of yer big city street tough sort, I prefer to stay in the Smoke."
-
"Same on the survival kit bit. As for the brush, not too much time. Mostly been city operating, but I can probably tough it out if needed." Silas said. Besides which, he'd be dead in a while anyway.
-
"Aye, was told we'd be roughing it and have provisions" he says as he pats his pack. "And the cold, so I got some insulation for the coat. As for experience, well there was that time in Scouts, but that was 15 years ago. The Ol' Smoke is home for me.""
-
Ena's mouth twists into a slight grimace.
"So what we're looking at is a bunch of cityfolk in the country. Well it's what the client wants I suppose?"
She waves her hand absently, obviously bringing an unseen AR into view then dismissing it.
"We have a little while before we completely leave civilization. Anyone have requests for the last guaranteed hot meal before we have to cook our own?"
-
"Bangers and a cuppa sounds brill love. I'm good with anything really, long as it's quick. How long will it take to get on site?"
-
The Darlington Arms opposite the station served over lunch, but the wait for a table was running to 20 minutes, more time than you wanted to waste given you wouldn't be served quickly either.
Instead, you popped over the road to Greggs bakery and got a round of cornish pasties and ham and salad sarnies with a few takeout cups of soytea and soycaf to swill it down with. A few choccy buns slipped in to the order as well for later.
Redline fired up the engine and eased the van out of the parking spot, nearly dinging a mini-car's wingmirror in the awkwardly designed space, clearly never meant for large vans.
She pulled out slowly into the lunchtime traffic of the city centre and jostled with autobusses and taxis for position whilst heading for the ring road, heading west towards the distant hills.
As you strapped in to the fold down seats that lined the rear cab area, you were amazed at the air clarity this far north. You'd never be able to see this far in the 'Smoke, you'd almost forgotten that a world of normality existed outside of it.
The small talk eased as your minds clicked into work mode and soon Redline was piloting you out off the main drag and uphill onto the old pennine pass.
Beautiful rolling hillsides swished past the windows, acres upon endless acres of space reclaimed by nature and all manner of livestock roamed free in the fields that remained in use. As the elevation increased, the farmland gave way to a rusty moorland, bracken spotted with snow provided a gorgeous backdrop, eventually yielding to a solid blanket of white.
The road got a bit hairy as the new road gave way to the old and the surface under the snow cracked and groaned under the onslaught of ice, compact snow and several tons of metal and methuman passengers on top of it.
Redline jumped in, her body ragdolling in the seat as she became the Van, and her efforts notably smoothened out the ride.
Your commlinks pinged with Redline's message:
Check point ahead, not manned at the moment. Be ready.
Easing the throttle back, she approached gently as you all unclipped your belts and peered over the driver's seat to get a better look.
An old rusting lorry had been placed across the road at an awkward angle near an equally awkward old horse box, just wide enough that you could slowly drive a van through it, but not at speed without causing a serious accident. an old Portaloo had been stripped out and fitted with a seat for a guard to sit at.
[spoiler]
@Profgast, you came through this on the descent but it was abandoned that early in the morning on a weekend. Sensors are picking up some recent signs of activity, footprints in the snow etc.
the others can't really see that well out of the cab so you'd need to let them know IC.
Matrix: a low rating motion sensor is buried into the roadside running hidden. Noise modifiers are at -2 at present, plus any mods for public grid if appropriate
Astral: there's nothing immediately obvious, but a nearly decayed astral signature marks out a bit of a patrol route. Low intensity, a watcher or very low force spirit probably. assensing test for more info[spoiler]
-
As they approach the checkpoint Knives muscles his way to the front to have a look. After a quick scan he switches his perception to the astral to look out for any suspicious mojo.
[spoiler]
Perception 6 + Intuition 4 + Audio Enhancements 3 (Wireless Bonus) = 13d6 [Mental 5+3 = 8]. Perception (http://orokos.com/roll/368663): 13d6t5 5
Assensing 3 + Intuition 4 = 7d6 [5]. Astral Perception (http://orokos.com/roll/368664): 7d6t5 1
[/spoiler]
-
As they approach the check point Mams drops into VR to better provide Matrix overwatch.
Mams does a once over on the motion sensor. Thankful for his resonant adaptation of the Signal Scrub program, he has that running.
[spoiler]
Does Mams detect the sensor before we are in range of it? If so he's going to ask Redline to slowdown a bit so he can make sure it doesn't alert to their presence.
Matrix Perception on the Motion Sensor (Int 5 + Comp 6 + Spec 2 + TM 2 + VR 2 + SS 2 - Noise 2 - PG 2 = 15) (http://orokos.com/roll/368689): 15d6t5 3
Wow, that's a horrible roll, but all I really need. I want to know what it's FW rating is, and what device rating it is
[/spoiler]
-
Redline "blinked" once as she saw the incoming lorries and slowed before speaking.
"We have some signs of people everybody, keep yourselves sharp. Let me know if you spot something first."
Jumped in as she was the quietly spoken line played across the internal sound system. She hadn't really thought about doing so, and indeed if asked if she could reproduce the effect while just controlling through AR, she probably wouldn't have known how to set it up. But here, jumped in, with her flesh and blood being the chrome and oils of the GMC, it was simple as, well, speaking.
-
Gunther grunted and looked outside, trying to spot any signs of an ambush coming in from the outside. The last thing they needed was a fight before they even got to where they needed to go.
[spoiler]Rolling Perception, 4 hits Link: http://orokos.com/roll/369067[/spoiler]
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@Lumen____________
You see that there are lines in the snow, depressions that overlap and that have been partially filled with fresh snowfall. Most likely bike tracks, given that the tracks overlap and skid as a bike would on a slippery surface like this.
The Astral is gorgeous here, vibrant, bouyant and full of life. None of the negative, ground down emotion that plagued the smoke's tarnished astral field was here, just pure, abundant life.
The fading trail of a watcher spirit's signature was present, but hadn't been here strongly in around an hour and it wasn't a strong signature to begin with.
@Zweiblumen__________
The motion detector had clearly been repurposed from some other junk, probably a parking sensor off that old lorry and hooked up to some low-end broadcast kit.
Given the lack of a mesh network and the static zone you were in because of the lack of ambient power, it must have been synced up to something within 500m or so with greater guts than it had.
[spoiler]FW1/DR1
An off the shelf motion detector has a range of 25m, unless redline or anyone has a laser range finder on their gear or sensor suites, its impossible to tell your exact distance from it.
But this is cobbled together junk, so probably isn't as long ranged as a factory spec version.[/spoiler]
@Saithor_____________
[spoiler]Wrong character mate, we're using Silas here[/spoiler]
The outside world looked calm, old half-buried tire tracks the only real indication that someone had been here reasonably recently
-
"Don't see nothin but bike tracks and about an hour old trail of a watcher. Best we keep rolling fore it gets back." Knives gazes out into the countryside fascinated at the beauty of the Astral. He still had not witnessed it many times and certainly never like this.
-
<<<@Team [Mams] There's a motion sensor up ahead. Gimme two shakes to have it not happen to notice us.>>>
[spoiler]die rolls once I'm back to my computer. But going to get a few marks on it and then have it not report any signals for 2 minutes.
HotF motion sensor (Log 6 + Hack 6 + VR 2 + SS 2 - Noise 2 - PG 2 = 12) (http://orokos.com/roll/370808): 2#12d6t5 6 2
Limit 6
That second roll was embarrassing. It's *possible* for the thing to defend that if unlikely. Here's hoping.
@CS I basically just want to turn off the alarm function of the sensor for a few minutes. I don't know what "Matrix Action" you want me to use for that. Command Device? And would that be free, simple or complex action? Lemme know and I'll get the rest of the rolls up for you.
[/spoiler]
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<<@Mams [Redline] Copy that, will continue when you give me the go-ahead.>>
Redline eases to a stop before the lorries and wait for Mams to give an "all clear"
-
@ALL______________
[spoiler]Sorry for the late update guys. malware alerts been popping up whenever i've tried logging on here the past few days due to trojan attacks.
Looks like that's been resolved now so normal service returns![/spoiler]
@Zwei___________
The piece of junk rolls over and accepts the marks, its broadcasting kit at least several years behind current firewall standards.
Once you were in, it was trivial to switch the sensor's alarm function off temporarily.
It became apparent that the device was slaved to a sat-link, somewhere over the ridge to your right. The crappy signal and rough terrain made it difficult to know exactly were it was, but it must have been drawing power from something, so that meant civilisation of some description
-
<<@Team [Mams] Okay, sensor is quiet. It's getting its signal/power from over the ridge on the right. Must be some kind of encampment or something over there.>>
-
"Last time I passed through a checkpoint like this, they had a small camp just past the lorries. I'm not exactly in a quiet vehicle right now so let's hope that sensor is the only thing paying attention."
Redline waited for an extra moment before easing into the acceleration and starting back down the road.
-
The wheels slipped and struggled for traction in the snow, causing the engine to flare and rev as its power fluctuated between traction and wheelspin.
The big van eventually got underway, weaving through the small gap inbetween the old horsebox and the lorry.
It became clear pretty soon that a sizeable number of people had been here not too long ago; footsteps littered the snow along with more bike tracks.
Whether it was a local patrol or something more sinister, you'd no idea as yet.
A couple of miles up the road and you'd climbed even higher up to the top of the moorland. A white oasis lay off to your left and a steep and ragged crag rose to your right.
a straggly looking bunch of goats grazed at the few tall grasses still poking up out of the snowline and scarpered at the alien noise of engines, bouncing off the rocks half-submerged in the white blanket.
Something about the natural world being so untouched up here struck you.
It was just like the trids, only more real. The folk up here making a life for themselves off-grid must have been hardy bastards. It was tough enough with the conveniences of the city, let alone all the way out here.
Satnav pinged your first waypoint, the 7.5 mile marker announcing your imminent arrival into the region of interest, still a way up the road.
Perception test please! {sensors and astral are fine too}
-
[spoiler]
Mams is in VR, but I'll give you both in case someone rouses him to look around in the physical also.
Matrix Perception (Int 5 + Comp 6 + VR 2 + TM 2 = 15) (http://orokos.com/roll/372398): 15d6t5 2 (wow, rolling like crap)
opps, forgot two for his specialization MP spec (2) (http://orokos.com/roll/372399): 2d6t5 0 no help
Perception Check Visual (Int 5 + Perception 4 + Visual Spec 2 + Contacts 2 = 13) (http://orokos.com/roll/372400): 13d6t5 5
[/spoiler]
-
[Spoiler]
Perception 6 + Intuition 4 + Visual Enhancements 3 (Wireless Bonus) = 13d6 [Mental 5+3 = 8].Perception (http://orokos.com/roll/372519): 13d6t5 4
[/Spoiler]
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[spoiler] Sensor Test (http://orokos.com/roll/372538): 11d6t5 3 3 hits, not limited due to Control Rig[/spoiler]
-
@Profgast__________
Sensors picked up one of the small settlements you'd come past in the dark the other day. This time, a blanket of snow had covered the ground and you could clearly make out the outline of semi-permanent structures with smoke bellowing from their chimneys. It looked almost like a nomadic settlement from one of the old trids they showed at school, all tribal like.
It sat way up on the ridgeline, arranged around a stone circle of some considerable size.
@Zwei__________
VR was quiet and laggy as fuck out here, but out of the blue infinite stretch ahead of you came a smattering of icons clustered around a Sat-Link. Their ping was high and reading their icons seemed to take days in VR when you were used to the speed of the city, but way off to the right was definitely some kind of gathering of people.
@Lumen________
You spotted the columns of smoke drifting over the ridge a little before the others, figuring something was up.
Guiding redline to slow down, you could make out the beginnings of some kind of settlement way off to the right along the leeward edge of the ridgeline.
Enough tents and semi-permanent structures stood to house maybe 100-200 people depending on their size, though it was hard to tell at this distance.
A worn track ran through the snow down towards the road and you began to think you'd found the village that the patrol lived in.
-
"I got some people up over there, and what looks like one of those 'henges' too... What do you all say? Keep going or investigate?"
Redline slowed her wheels a bit as they cruised on the approach waiting for a response from the rest of the team.
-
"There's at least a hundred folks up there and it looks like they keep regular watch ere. Ifn any supplies came through ere for the facility they mighta seen it. We keep it to civil talk an it could be helpful... it turns south and it'll be a total shit show. I don't get paid to talk though. I say we keep rolling."
Lighting up a smoke, Knives keeps his eyes on the ridge for any incoming activity. He rubs his hands together, already starting to get antsy.
-
Taylor comes out of VR to join the conversation.
"They've got a jury-rigged mesh network setup out there, but nothing serious. Between Red and me, we've almost as much connectivity as they do. I'm not much of a chatter myself, and would prefer to stay on task."
-
Given the mood in the van getting more and more tense, Redline gives it a bit of a squeeze and opens up the acceleration.
The van slips and struggles for traction on the snow and you begin to make some headway up the slight incline.
Checking the sensor feed religiously, it soon becomes apparent that someone at the settlement had seen you.
As the van makes the lip of the hill, a pair of bikes scramble down the hillside track towards the road, dots at first, but rapidly gaining in size.
Hitting the main road, one of the bikers loses traction and kicks up a huge plume of powder as the bike slips from under her and rattles off down into the valley, but the other rider keeps it upright and does his best to close some distance to the van
-
"Bloody hell, we've got one incoming. Guess I shoulda brought this up before but I'm more of the up close and personal type." With one quick motion his taser appears in his hand. "This is all I've got for range. Won't be a problem long, he's gaining quick."
-
"Gentlemen, please hang on it seems like we'll have to go for a bit of a ride. Mr. Knives if you want to be the one to take the shot, I recommend you move to your nearest window, unless someone else has a better idea."
Redline accelerated steadily, mindful of the snow coating the roadway.
Not like I'll be able to outpace the bike's acceleration but there's a few tricks we can do at speed...
[spoiler]Intention is to initiate a chase, and as the bike closes execute a Broadside Maneuver for any occupant.
Edit: Nevermind, broadside maneuver is apparently only for BF/FA weapons.... I suppose I'll try a "Switch the Six" trick if it becomes necessary.[/spoiler]
-
[spoiler]can I see the icons for the bikes in the matrix?[/spoiler]
-
@Zwei_____
[spoiler]No bike icons, too old for that kind of thing (matrix 1.0 generation bikes) but you've got two icons for their PANs running in public mode[/spoiler]
@Profgast_____
Chase initiated, Roll for initiative!
@Lumen_______
Chase has been initiated, Roll for initiative (mods for firing from a vehicle are -2 as per book)
-
Taylor looks down at his stun baton and the situation and figures he'd be better off in the Matrix. He double checks his restraints as things are likely to get interesting in the meat world, and then drops into the warm embrace of VR.
The view out here is amazingly sparse, he has so little information to work with. It's a little uncomfortable. Knowing it'll take a split second he thinks to ask their driver for some access to the meat world before things get too intense.
<<@Redline [Mams] I know we're a bit busy right now, but if you could throw me an invite to the sensor feeds, that would be brill. Keep me from being so blind in here.>>
He's not able to find the bikes on the matrix, they must be old school. But there are to 'links burning bright out on the empty planes here. He quickly does to checks to see what information he can gather for them before making any tactical decisions.
[spoiler]
Two Matrix Perception checks to see the Rating and FW stats on the comm-links. Any extra hits will go to get the commcode, last matrix action performed and when, and finally any other marks on the devices.
MP on comms (Int 5 + Comp 6 + Spec 2 + TM 2 + VR 2 - Public Grid 2 = 15) (http://orokos.com/roll/375347): 2#15d6t5 2 5
Limit 5, got 2 hits on the first one (pitiful, but got me the two things I care the most about), and 5 hits on the second.
[/spoiler]
-
[spoiler]Initiative - Chase (Matrix, Hotsim) (http://orokos.com/roll/375542): 4d6+8 22 [/spoiler]
-
[Spoiler]
Initiative 11+3d6. Initiative (http://orokos.com/roll/375929): 11+3d6 21
[/Spoiler]
-
[spoiler]INI order:
Zwei (VR)
Profgast (VR-Jumped in) 22
Lumen (meat) 21
Biker 1 (AR) 17
Saithor (meat) 2
Biker 2 (meat- crashed)) 1
[/spoiler]
@Zwei__________
The commlinks shine ridiculously brightly against the backdrop of fuck-all.
The one nearest you appeared to be a basic model, a metalink or equivalent given how shitty its firewall response time was, even given the lack of cloud power up here. The second one seemed slightly better, probably a sony emperor or equivalent model. Its ping returned quicker, but still felt like some crappy low end stuff.
It yielded its commcode to you and you mentally copy pasted it into a small shimmering terminal and you could see from its data trail, messages had been sent off the 'link within the last 30 seconds.
@Profgast______
You're up next. actions and dice rolled for vehicle chase as per rulebook please
-
[spoiler]
Sorry I forgot to do init, but rolled like shit to make up for it.
VR init (DP 5 + Log 6 = 11 + 4d6) (http://orokos.com/roll/376704): 4d6+11 21
This is my declared action once Profgast post.
HotF two marks on meta link (Log 6 + Hacking 6 + VR 2 - two marks 4 = 10 (http://orokos.com/roll/376708): 10d6t5 3 (browser error, accidentally rolled twice. I took the first roll by datestamp in the log) Still not great roll. Here's hoping the owner doesn't have a very good Int :P
(for me)Taylor figures it's time to start earning his keep. He throws two of his magnifying glass marks at the super cheap link to get that out of the way early.
[/spoiler]
-
Redline felt more than heard the humming in her 'bones' as she accelerated, building speed, the fresh-fallen snow slick beneath her tires.
"Gents, please hold onto something, this ride is about to be a little rougher than normal."
Concentrating only on spinning wheels she pulled her tires to a slight angle and then gunned the accelerator for a moment, kicking up a plume of powder between herself and the pursuing bikers.
[spoiler]I'm assuming I've got a speed of 2ish here, since I started accelerating off of the slow-cruise before combat began... Also curse most vehicle actions for being Complex.
Also assuming Terrain modifier to be a "4" rather than "-4" since in chase combat per rules they establish a threshold rather than a penalty to the dice pool... Which I suppose is actually *worse* than a -4 Dice pool but there you have it. I'll roll for both I suppose, and let you choose which one works.
Free Action: speak.
1st Pass: Complex Action: Shake Things Up a Bit; Push the Limit (1 Edge Spent)
Shake things up a bit! Chase (http://orokos.com/roll/376835): 15d6h5 6
4 hits using the -4 method, either way with Steely Eyed Wheelman I should successfully make the terrain modifier more difficult for pursuers within 100m by 1.
[/spoiler]
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@Zwei__________
The firewall yielded a little to your attempt, its owner probably never having feared any kind of hacking attempt this far away from real civilisation
[spoiler] (http://orokos.com/roll/377067): 4d6t5 2
You got the hit you needed! don't forget noise/static modifiers are at -2 still[/spoiler]
@Lumen______
You're up
-
Taylor figures it's time to start earning his keep. He throws two of his magnifying glass marks at the super cheap link to get that out of the way early.
[spoiler]I didn't put the noise in because he's got the Echo Quiet which gives a +2 for noise, or is the -2 including that?[/spoiler]
-
Knives maneuvers over to a side seat to keep the bike in sight. Too far away for any real shot he bids his time until it closes the distance to the van.
[Spoiler]
If you'll let it fly without sticking his head out in the cold Knives will take aim and wait until/if the bike gets any closer to try firing.
[/Spoiler]
-
The rider drops a gear and guns the throttle, it's raspy engine noise piercing the wind and engine noise of the van.
He wobbles heavily as he crosses the powder filled rut redline left for him but manages to just hold onto his handlebars. Shutting the throttle off a bit to keep the back end in line, he lost the distance he'd just made up.
[spoiler]Zweiblumen, we got a bit out of sync there, you got your marks on at ini 21. Rider has just been at 17 so it's onto saithor if he's still in the game, I'll autopilot him if not.
Lumen, I assume that's a delay action?[/spoiler]
-
Redline cycled a glance through her aft sensors to see how the biker was before making snap decision.
Well he's a little bit further back than I'd like but here goes
A light tap to her wheels caused her to drift slightly out-of-line of the pursuing bike, and then a hard-brake maneuver dropped her speed suddenly, with the intent of having the bike zoom right past.
[spoiler]Switch the Six Maneuver: Opposed Reaction+Vehicle Skill [Handling], since biker is at Medium range instead of Short he gets +1 Dice pool.
Switch the Six (http://orokos.com/roll/378131): 13d6t5 6 Handling is 3, +2 for VR, +1 for Control Rig, full 6 Hits.[/spoiler]
-
@Lumen_______
Feel free to jump in at any time with your delayed action
___Ini 1____
Silas took the opportunity to bounce a spell out, catching sight of the biker in pursuit in the wing mirror.
With a deep breath and a look of focus, he threw something out into the aether, its effect not noticeable at first.
@Profgast________
The heavy van slid beautifully on the snow, its arse end whipping about and making the steering go light.
The biker could see it happening but was ill placed to do much about it. Heavy braking would slide the bike and hard maneuvers likely the same.
He tried a combination of the two, wiggling about with the rear end in the thicker snow, trying to dump some speed but failed, overshooting you by a few metres
[spoiler]
Resistance roll: (http://orokos.com/roll/379243): 10d6t5 6 limit was 5 so he overshoots you slightly.
Roll me a crash test at threshold 4 please to stop the van entering a full spin on the ice and snow. If you recover it, you'll end up at close range on his tail. if not, you'll end up following him up the road pointing backwards! :-)[/spoiler]
@Zwei______
You're up
-
[spoiler]"Crash" vehicle test (http://orokos.com/roll/379382): 13d6t5 3
Whee!! Fortunately, if you count Control Rig bonus I meet threshold (-1 to vehicle test thresholds), and am 1 over if Steely-eyed Wheelman applies for terrain. If neither are applicable well, I'm sure Redline keeps bags for people who get carsick.[/spoiler]
-
@All________
The vehicle slides none-too-gracefully back into a normal heading up the road, slamming into a ridge of thicker snow and kicking up a huge cloud of powder. The startled rider looks over his shoulder at the huge van now sitting literally metres behind him, revving for traction on the powder
[spoiler]lumen, you're now at short range with your taser but he's likely to accelerate in his turn and increase the distance[/spoiler]
-
After some slick maneuvering by Redline Knives finally sees the shot he's been waiting for. As the motorcycle speeds past the big van he rolls down the window takes a quick second to line up the shot and fires his taser.
[spoiler]
Simple Action 1: Take Aim +1 dice pool.
Simple Action 2: Fire Taser. Pistols (Taser) 7 + Agility 7 + Take Aim 1 - Moving Vehicle 2 [Accuracy 7] = 13d6. Tasing (http://orokos.com/roll/379625): 13d6t5 6. DV: 6S(e) + net AP: -5
[/spoiler]
-
[spoiler]Resistance roll:
(http://orokos.com/roll/380066): 9d6t5 4 4 hits, knives gets 2 net hits through
Resistance:
resist 8s (http://orokos.com/roll/380067): 6d6t5 2
takes 6S, enough for knockdown.
Resist crash damage:
(http://orokos.com/roll/380068): 9d6t5 4 takes a further 2S[/spoiler]
The taser darts land squarely in his back, even with a duck and a weave. The jolting of the 50,000v through his body was enough to shake his control of the bike, his hands spinning the handlebars and pitching into the snow covered grass abnk to your right. He disappeared into a cloud of powder on the verge of the road along with his bike and nothing stirred from the site as you check the rear facing mirrors and sensors.
@All, encounter over; return to free action
[spoiler]Target site is about 2 miles up the road and a way off to your left down the hill.[/spoiler]
-
Redline eases the GMC back into a steady pace on the snowy road and continues towards the target.
"Hope that didn't shake you gents up too much, I think we're on schedule to the site."
-
Knives chuckles as he rolls the window back up. "Nah, that was some damn good driving. Did you see how big that bloke's eyes got when ya whipped round behind em? I just hope he don't stir up a fuss for us."
-
You finally crest the hill and the GPS pings to let you know you were within 0.5KM of your target co-ordinates.
The road, or what you could make out of the pristine white sheet ahead of you began to roll slightly downhill before rising into the distance. Rolling hillocks ran off into the vast distance of the wastes to your left and the hillside to your right cragged heavily at the top of a steep climb. An excellent vantage point, but rough on the knees no doubt.
The search area covered a huge tract of land off to the left, rolling countryside shadowed by heavy grey clouds, clouds probably laden with another dose of the white stuff judging by how dark they were.
@Profgast_________
You knew this was just the start of the co-ords that Bex had given you from the aerial shots, the farm you'd scouted was still some way up the road to your left.