[Tecumseh]

The Blue Team brain trust puts their heads together on the question of the code between Sam/Frank and Mom. Sam provides a translation for the Russian. Doc tears into the code, his mind being perfectly suited for challenges such as these. The others chime in occasionally, with Ohanzee making some particularly good observations. The general conclusions - mostly Doc's - are thus:

1) Sam/Frank sends a coded message to Mom each Friday at 3:05pm.
2) Mom responds shortly thereafter.
3) Sam's messages are always phrased as questions.
4) The timeline of the messages overlaps with the planning phases for this job (e.g. the timeframe that Sam has been using the Ralph SIN, the timeframe of Ohanzee's communication with Gloria Winters, etc.)
5) It is likely that Mom is involved with this op somehow, either as support or as an overseer.
6) Mom's final response arrived 5 minutes later than usual. This suggests that she had to consult with "Dad" or someone else before responding.
7) The fact that the last communication with Mom was on January 25th and the short call with Gift Shop was on January 26th may suggest that Sam's coded message was a request to meet or talk to someone, which would make sense given Mom's response (even though "Dad" and "Gift Shop" are listed as separate contacts).

Given all that, Sam feels that he needs to send a question in Russian at 3:05pm exactly. Not phrasing it as a question or sending it early or late will break the pattern, which might be okay (like a distress signal) or might be bad (a breach of etiquette or signaling that he has been compromised). It is unclear of whether repeating one of the earlier questions would raise a red flag or if it would generate the same response as it did before.

[Tecumseh]

Calvin arrives to pick up Katsina. She dumps her bags on the ground and steps into the back of the car when Calvin opens the door for her. The young ork pops the trunk wirelessly and deposits the duffel bags, backpack, and cooler in with the previous clothing purchases.

<<@Ace [Katsina] I'll pick you up from Café Nobadachi. Nochabi, whatever. We'll pull up to the curb and you can jump in. We'll drive to the outdoor outfitters for the binoculars, balaclava, and the medkit supplies. I'm not sure if we want to risk a separate stop for ¥5 security tags or if we can wait for tomorrow when we get the biometric reader.>>

Ace merges back into polite society and is a block away before his pursuers finally make it to the street behind him. They look around frantically and finally spot him as he's crossing the street down the block. They also spy the SecForce patrol passing by. They give up the chase, leaning against the wall of the alley to catch their breath and formulate what they're going to do to that elf-stealing motherfragger when they finally corner him in a dark alley on some noisy, stormy night.

Ace makes it to the café safely and doesn't have to wait long before the black S-K Bentley Concordat pulls up in front. Katsina opens the door and Ace steps in smoothly. To anyone on the street it looks like your average corper getting picked up by his driver and his Japanese/Russian elven jailbait. How sweet that life must be!

"Calvin, take us to Hamilton Sports, p-" She almost says "please" before remembering her part. She adopts an imperious look instead. Calvin just nods.

Katsina continues to play her role, leaning up against Ace and twisting her fingers around the hair on his neck. Suddenly she flinches.

<<@Ace [Katsina] I got a hit on my spell. Someone looking for us. At the outside of the range, maybe 150 meters. Not getting closer. I don't think they know where we are but they're looking.>> She puts an AR tag on a shared map, marking a spot two blocks away. Luckily, it's in the opposite direction from the next store they want to visit. <<Keep your face turned toward me and away from the windows.>> She touches his face, directing it towards hers, then leans in for softly murmured nothings.

[Tecumseh]

Ohanzee casts again, subconsciously leaning forward as if that might improve his connection. Try as he might, separating out the voices is a fiendishly difficult task. It's like trying a room full of 30, 40, 50 people all speaking at the same time. And it's not just the voices, it's the flashes of images, like watching dozens of trids at once, and a flood of emoting. There's fear, there's excitement, there's utter confusion, there's unparalleled joy. He struggles forward through the mishmash, trying to listen for a voice that might be uniquely his. The languages are varied. He catches a word or two of Lakota, or was that Eastern or Western Dakota? But his people have been in this country for millennia - who's to say that the voice in this ancient artifact is his? There are other voices too - many English, some Russian or another Eastern European language, maybe Or'zet, even Sperethiel. Male, female, it's impossible to tell them apart. He can't pick out one; all he can say is that there isn't just one.

[Zweiblumen]

Hovering over downtown Aspen Doc spots Ace's person as it starts darting out of the building, quickly being followed by three other personae.  Sneaking through the matrix, he zips from persona to persona using his scalple to make percise inscions.  On the first target he slips and cuts himself, cursing as he see's its mark land on him.  Despite this he moves on to the other two for good measure and easily inserts his caduceus on each of them.  Moving back to the first persona, and with his second attempt is easily able to inscribe the medical symbol on him.  He then brushes away the mark that he was sloppy enough to allow on.  Luckilly, the owner was too distracted to notice any of this.

Now that he could see more of what was going on, he stopped hiding and looked carefully at each of them, searching for any vehicle devices slaved to any of them.  Turns out the first persona, the one that gave him trouble, happened to have a Toyota Gopher slaved to his comm.  Spotting that, he incises his caduceus on the device three times in quick succession.  With that accomplished, he simply tells it to drive off to Carbondale.

<<<@Team [Doc] Ace, you're friends car is headed off to Carbondale, you want me to keep an eye on them?>>>

[rednblack]

<<<@Team [Doc] Ace, you're friends car is headed off to Carbondale, you want me to keep an eye on them?>>>

<<@Doc [Ace] It sounds to me like you've got plenty to do today, Doc.  Good work chummer.  We're finishing up here, so we should see you soon.>>

In the car, it's much nicer to be tied in with Katsina, even if she doesn't really look like herself, than to be playing his role for the driver.  Cheek to cheek with her he whispers, "Did you get a hit on our friends from the apartment building, or is this a new threat?"  After hearing her reply, Ace adds, "I'd like to take a look at rifles when we hit up the sporting goods store.  If we find trouble on the run again, my machine pistol isn't going to cut it.  It seems I was our up close man, but the situation has changed."

When they're dropped off at Hamilton Sports, ace tells Calvin to sit tight, while he and Katsina join the throngs of other shoppers picking up supplies for their nice vacations in Aspen.  The store is bright, and Ace notices that the AROs are well-made and expansive.  He's particularly drawn to the one of snow bunnies hawking the newest snowboards, but he has work to do.  Still,he wonders if that was a hobby of his.  The terminology seems familiar.  He dutifully leads Katsina around by the small of her back as the two pick up supplies for the team.

[Poindexter]

>>But, I see your point. Raven, in all his forms, is a trickster, and the information was freely given. It is suspect, but the only other explanation I can see for the bomb that Sam made is to hold the artifact hostage from whoever hired us to steal it. But that doesn't track because the bomb, once attached, is not removable - you wouldn't attach the bomb unless you intended to use it. That's a poor negotiating tactic, unless there is a way for us to remove it safely and reliably that no one has mentioned. In which case, why not attach it immediately?

<<@Team [Sam] The bomb IS removable, but it would be very difficult for anyone but me to do so. As for not attaching it right away, its on an hour timer, max. Thank the ghost we DIDN'T attach it right away, or it would have blown while we were unconscious in that van. >>

[Zweiblumen]

<<<@Ace [Doc] Sounds good to me.  Happy hunting, and send pics of my new clothes when you get a chance eh omae?>>>
Doc then slips a tracer icon onto the Gopher as it sends itself happily down the road.  With that done, he quickly reconfigures his 'deck so that he can keep track of how long he has before GOD comes knocking on his door.

Musing on the happening of the past 24 hours and some of the thoughts other have had, Doc pipes up:
<<<@Team [Doc] Just a thought guys, I'm pretty sure Sam could have built that bomb in the same timeframe that I was re-owner-izing (yeah, I made up a word, sue me!) this schnazzy 'deck.  That would have put it in the middle of the run.  That's not to rule out that he could have pre-built it and brought it along, or planned to build it mid-run the whole time.  I know some folks have been noodling on it, and thought I'd throw that out there.  I'm going back to search on our good Dr. Winters.  Holler if anyone needs anything.>>>

And with that he gets back to his previous investigations.

[Tecumseh]

Katsina leans into Ace to whisper her response. She glances to see if Calvin is watching. He is, the cheeky bugger - his eyes dart away from the rear-view mirror - but he's not a threat. He's just living vicariously through the corper with the eye candy in the backseat.

"Someone new," she whispers. "Not the blue-collar guys." She decides to comm the team to fill them in, and to avoid exposing Calvin to things it would be best not to know.

<<@Team [Katsina] We have people looking for us in town. Or, more precisely, people hostile to me in town. Picked them up with a spell but the details are hazy. I'm guessing there are at least eight. No indication that they know where we are or where we're going, but be on your game.>>

They arrive at Hamilton Sports. The store is bright and airy and attractive to tourists. At this time of year it is heavily oriented toward winter sports. The hunting gear has been relegated to a small section in the back. Katsina goes to get the the binoculars, balaclava, and medkit supplies.

"Remember," she says to Ace as he heads for the small selection of hunting rifles, "we have the rifle back at the house. Not sure if there are any complications with using it, but it's there."

Katsina remembers Ace shooting down the Nissan Hound with one well-placed shot from the hunter's rifle. She barely knows a shotgun from a sniper rifle but she's reasonably confident that Ace could expertly use either.

She thinks about what Doc is saying while she does he shopping.

<<@Team [Katsina] I think Doc is right, but doesn't it seem strange that you had that much time available in the middle of a run? I would say "we" but I don't know when Red Team entered the picture. But Doc changing ownership - that takes hours, right? How often do you get hours where there's no backup to contend with and nobody contesting your position? Maybe it really was a milk run. You know, except for all those bullet holes in the van when we woke up and the HTR team following us in a half-mil helicopter.>>

[Malevolence]

Be wary of favors freely given. Doubly so for spirits. Ohanzee cursed himself. He'd been running on empty for so long that he hadn't even realized that any information acquired yesterday might be suspect.


"Cursed Raven" he said aloud. Celestial Raven was silent.


>>@Team [Ohanzee] I'm sorry, I must have been out of it more than I thought yesterday. I'm surprised we made it this far alive considering the trust you placed in me.


He tossed what he knew - or, thought he knew - around in his head, supplemented with the newly clarified information.


>>@Team [Ohanzee] Ok, based on the information I have available to me, here's how it appears  to have gone down. Late last night something happened to make us suspect our Johnson - I'm talking about Red team here as I'm still not sure how Blue team fit in - and we, um, burned some bridges. I'd guess that the bomb might have been constructed after this point, but Katsina makes a good point - we seemed to have had a good amount of time between the actual run to acquire the artifact and the time we woke up. So our late night disagreement with the Johnson likely took place after we'd had the artifact  in our possession for a while. Sometime after 10pm, but before midnight, we triggered the artifact and that led to the amnesia - most likely. It's still possible that the artifact isn't responsible, but I'd put that possibility as remote, especially considering what I have discovered.


>> In my attempt to communicate with the artifact, I was overwhelmed by countless "voices" - speaking in different languages, some quite possibly old. I don't now if the artifact itself is intelligent, but it certainly seems to contain a large number of, for lack of a better understanding, minds. I suspect that ours - the old us, of course - are among them. Destroying the artifact could free them, or ensure that they are lost forever.


>>In any case, it appears that destroying the artifact was NOT our original intent, but at some point after acquiring it we decided to do so. This may have been because of some knowledge our previous selves had about the artifact, or it may have been a simple negotiation tactic, or retribution, against the Johnson. In either case, if we decide to go ahead with the artifact's destruction, we'd best pick a remote area devoid of metahumans and be very far away before the bomb detonates because if it does destroy the artifact, the energy released will be titanic. I'm guessing anything within kilometers would be affected, though not necessarily lethally so. I can't exactly predict what the damage would be as I have no reference - destruction of vessels with this much stored power is nearly unheard of.


>>I wish I had more for us to use to base our decision off of, but I don't. If it helps, I strongly suspect that our infection is not related to the artifact, simply because the infection does not carry the artifact's aura. But, unless we can find any evidence from our old lives that indicates that the infection predates the acquisition of the artifact - medical records, anything - we can't know for sure. Perhaps if we can get to a properly equipped medical facility, Doc can give us better answers. But that is unlikely to happen before our vote tonight.


Ohanzee searched his memories, as suspect as they had proven to be, trying to remember if anyone had shared any info with him about where they might have lived before. Perhaps, if they had been infected, he could search their residence and neighbors for other infected in proximity. But, no, all of the identities that had been shared appeared to be fakes, so no one seemed to have a good candidate for a previous residence.


>>Listen, if we can find out where any of us had stayed prior to the "artifact job", maybe I can scout it from the astral and look for signs of the infection. If we had it for any amount of time, and it is communicable, our neighbors should also have it. Or maybe I'll get lucky and find medical equipment that might indicate that we were at least actively attempting to treat it. That would be a strong indicator that the artifact is not involved in the illness.


------------------------------------------------


At Katsina's announcement that enemies had been spotted, Ohanzee replied.


>>@Team [Ohanzee] Can you give us an approximate location? I might be able to take a discrete peek.

[Tecumseh]

<<@Team [Katsina] I think Ohanzee has the basic outline of last night correct. As for the infection, we all saw that Team Blue was the most affected but Team Red hardly at all. This would suggest to me that the infection originated with you and is trying to spread to us, but has had less than a day to do so. I don't know what would explain the differing levels of infection in Team Blue though, unless it indicates how long you have been together.>>

She then responds to Ohanzee's question.

<<@Team [Katsina] When they were last in range they were in front of St. Mary's Catholic Church, right where Highway 82 passes through town. On the corner of Hunter Street, probably scanning traffic as it passes.>> She sends an ARO that points out the location on a map. <<I'm out of range now so I can't tell if they've moved. I'm not sure if I'd recommend taking a peek though. Might as well leave well-enough alone, and it seems Raven is in a prankish mood today. But I can't stop you, and I suppose it could tell us more about who is after us. Besides the Johnson, Knight Errant, the people we stole it from, and anyone else interested in a fat payday.>>

[Zweiblumen]

<<<@Team [Doc] I can also try and sneak a look over there and see what's going on Matrix.  An anonymous icon walking by is probably less suspisious than and astral examination, especially if they are in a busy-ish location.  I'll not go cowboy on you guys though and wait for team consensus.>>>

[Malevolence]

>>@Doc, Team [Ohanzee] Sounds like a good idea to me. See if you can get eyes on at least. I'd stay away from their devices shy of a casual looksie - nothing that risks their attention. Depending on what you see, we can decide if it's safe to attempt an Astral visit.

[Tecumseh]

Ace talks shop with the rifle salesman on duty in Hamilton Sports. The salesman, an older gentleman with a distinguished silver mustache, grabs a futuristic-looking sporting rifle down off the wall.

"This here is the Ruger 101. Gas-operated, built-in imaging scope, rigid stock with a shock pad. Very popular with hobbyists and weekend warriors. But I can already tell that a life-long enthusiast such as yourself" (Ace can see the upsell from a kilometer away) "would be happier with the Remington 950. Bolt-action for a higher power and better accuracy. Classic wooden finishes. Been in style for decades, will be in style for decades. Appropriate for the discriminating marksman." He leans in with a conspiratorial nod to convey a fake sense of camaraderie. Ace doesn't miss the fact that the Remington 950 costs 50% more than the Ruger 101.

"Or, for the true collector, check out this lovely girl," the salesman continues, displaying the feminization common among firearm fetishists. He gestures toward a Springfield 2003 that he had been cleaning before Ace's arrival. "Beautiful, vintage, a true collector's piece." He sticks a long, thick, oily pipe-cleaner 14 inches up an Springfield's awaiting barrel. "Ain't she a beaut?" he says, inserting a pair of blank rounds snugly into the magazine before thrusting the gun's bolt smoothly into the action, cocking it firmly.  "This gun will blow a man straight to heaven."

Katsina appears suddenly on Ace's shoulder, clingy and coquettish. "Did you find anything you like?" she asks, interrupting the firearm-to-phallus transference currently in progress. She leans in Ace mischievously, "I have a secret to show you back at home. I found it in my wardrobe." She gives a naughty smile to the older gentlemen, who keeps his eyes locked firmly on Ace.

[Poindexter]

Sam, Doc, Ohanzee, and Chino sit together at the kitchen table, throwing around ideas for a few minutes without really coming up with much. Chino's memory of preparing guns for shipment makes the three of them fairly certain that "flowers" are "guns", but none of the other code jumps out at them from just that. Eventually, Sam notices that the time of the last message from "Mom" is five minutes later than it should have been. Does this mean something? Is it part of the code? Doc brings up the point that all Sam's messages to "Mom" have been in the form of a question. They decide that to not do so today or to do so at the wrong time would signal something was wrong, but they can't decide whether it's a better idea to act like everything is ok, or to try and give the impression that something has gone wrong to whoever this "Mom" is. All four of them are starting to realize the limits of their information and Sam is starting to get quite frustrated, especially considering the torrrent of new information that keeps coming through the comm.

<<@Team [Katsina] We have people looking for us in town. Or, more precisely, people hostile to me in town. Picked them up with a spell but the details are hazy. I'm guessing there are at least eight. No indication that they know where we are or where we're going, but be on your game.>>

This new excites Sam a great deal. Someone who actually KNOWS one of us?" He sends a responds quickly.

<<@Team [Sam] These are people who know you personally? Can one of them be questioned?>>

>> In my attempt to communicate with the artifact, I was overwhelmed by countless "voices" - speaking in different languages, some quite possibly old. I don't now if the artifact itself is intelligent, but it certainly seems to contain a large number of, for lack of a better understanding, minds. I suspect that ours - the old us, of course - are among them. Destroying the artifact could free them, or ensure that they are lost forever.

This news chills Sam to the bone. He'd felt like something was missing this whole time and the dwarfs new info only confirmed it and made the feeling worse. I've got to blow that damn thing up and get my soul out.

>>If we decide to go ahead with the artifact's destruction, we'd best pick a remote area devoid of metahumans and be very far away before the bomb detonates because if it does destroy the artifact, the energy released will be titanic. I'm guessing anything within kilometers would be affected, though not necessarily lethally so. I can't exactly predict what the damage would be as I have no reference - destruction of vessels with this much stored power is nearly unheard of.

Oh. So, not as simple as just blowing it up, then. Hmmmmmm.... I wonder if I know how to fly a plane...

>>I wish I had more for us to use to base our decision off of, but I don't. If it helps, I strongly suspect that our infection is not related to the artifact, simply because the infection does not carry the artifact's aura. But, unless we can find any evidence from our old lives that indicates that the infection predates the acquisition of the artifact - medical records, anything - we can't know for sure. Perhaps if we can get to a properly equipped medical facility, Doc can give us better answers. But that is unlikely to happen before our vote tonight.

Sam can't tell if this information makes him feel better or worse. So, whatever horror is inside me is a completely separate story from the horrors being inflicted on my soul inside that magical obelisk. I hate this more and more every few minutes.

>>Listen, if we can find out where any of us had stayed prior to the "artifact job", maybe I can scout it from the astral and look for signs of the infection. If we had it for any amount of time, and it is communicable, our neighbors should also have it. Or maybe I'll get lucky and find medical equipment that might indicate that we were at least actively attempting to treat it. That would be a strong indicator that the artifact is not involved in the illness.

Responding to Ohanzee, Sam pipes up. "One of my SINs has a place in Boulder. I'll forward you the appropriate info.

<<@Ohanzee [Sam] ResidentDetails.file>>

<<@Team [Katsina] I think Ohanzee has the basic outline of last night correct. As for the infection, we all saw that Team Blue was the most affected but Team Red hardly at all. This would suggest to me that the infection originated with you and is trying to spread to us, but has had less than a day to do so. I don't know what would explain the differing levels of infection in Team Blue though, unless it indicates how long you have been together.>>

It's interesting information, but largely useless for now, at least until everyone knew a little bit more. Before long, 3:05 is only two minutes away and the group at the kitchen table still hasn't come up with anything useful. In a fit of frustration, Sam finally slams down his commlink flat on the table face down with a loud THWAK!

"Fuck this!" he announces loudly as he stands up from the table. "We don't have enough information. Any message we may send carries just as much risk of mis-step as sending no message at all does, but sending one risks exposing information to unknown parties and putting ourselves at potential disadvantage." He looks briefly around the room with his jaw set. "We do nothing."

[Tecumseh]

This news excites Sam a great deal. Someone who actually KNOWS one of us?" He sends a responds quickly.

<<@Team [Sam] These are people who know you personally? Can one of them be questioned?>>

<<@Team [Katsina] The spell detects people who have hostile intent toward me personally. I would imagine it is our friends from last night, but it is possible that this is unconnected and is just a remarkable coincidence. I'm sure that we could question one of them although that wasn't terribly productive last night. The problem is that there are at least eight of them, possibly more if any of them beat my spell. If they are anything like yesterday's opposition then they are formidable and won't come quietly. We would have to be careful not to draw the wrath of SecForce.>>