[Ryo]

A dim light flashing in the cabin of the van is the only illumination you see as consciousness returns to you, the frigid air stabbing at your exposed skin and coaxing you back into the land of the living. Confusion is the first thing that crosses your mind as you come to, trying to get your bearings in unfamiliar surroundings. You see the interior of a van, partially crushed, with broken windows that are allowing the snow to seep in. You notice the other people in the van with you around the same time you notice that you're upside down. You don't remember getting in an accident. You don't know who these people are, either. The last thing you remember, you...you...you can't remember anything. Anything at all.

@The Crumpled Man: You wake up to a flashing in your Image Link, synchronized to the flashing coming from your cyberarm that's lighting up the cabin of the van. You groggily regain consciousness and instantly regret it, feeling an intense pain in your body, but luckily the cold snow you're lying in is helping to numb it. You finally focus on the display in your eyes and try to piece together what's going on.

>> Biomonitor
>> [X][X][X][X][X][X][X][X][X][X][ ]
>> Warning: Critical wounds detected. Attempting to stabilize. Please seek immediate attention at your nearest medical facility.

You note from the readout on your HUD that the armor you're wearing seems to have a medkit built into it. You experience a bit of relief as the autodoc takes over and starts stabilizing your wounds.

@The Masked Woman: Your eyes snap open and you find yourself strapped into a 5 point harness, upside down, across from a troll. You feel the chill from the snow and cold air now blowing through the van, and your thermographic vision easily picks up the heat from the bodies of those around you. You don't feel any pain. An errant thought to the trodes you didn't realize you were wearing activates a commlink that seems to be built into your mask, and the OS boot screen for a Hermes Ikon appears in your vision, thanks to the Direct Neural Interface.

@The Ork: You wake up hanging upside down in the driver's seat, an ache in your chest that sends a slight stabbing pain up your neck if you bend wrong. You've had worse, but you can't remember when. Your head is resting on a pile of snow pooling in through the broken window next to you, and the badly cracked windshield makes it difficult to see what's ahead, though you can tell the headlights are still on. A pair of shattered and useless smart glasses are dangling from your ears.

@The Dwarf: You inhale sharply as you come around and begin coughing as pain burns inside your chest. You notice blood on the snow pile coming in through the windows, and feel some of it dripping down your face. You blink a few times, aware of some contacts in your eyes that are projecting an image into your field of vision.

>> Biomonitor
>> [X][X][X][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]
>> Warning: Internal injuries detected. Please seek medical attention at your soonest convenience.

@The Human: You wake up slowly, hanging heavily in your seat between the two women. You notice a bit of discomfort from the cold, and some pain, but doubt you have any serious injuries. You become immediately aware of the feeling of the empty holsters on your body, as well as the hidden arm slide on your right arm, also without a weapon. As you move in your seat, a commlink falls out of your pocket and sinks slightly in the snow below you.

@The Elf: You regain consciousness and grunt in pain, shivering from the cold and feeling like someone has stabbed you in the ribs with icy knives. Your PAN comes back online, and your DNI places the icons of your gear in your field of vision. Your missing gun, labeled as a Nitama Sporter, appears to be in a duffel bag laying near the back of the van, where you notice an assorted pile of gear that clearly got tossed around in the crash.

@The Troll: You wake up and immediately take stock of yourself, using the limited medical training you forgot you knew until just now to determine that you are uninjured. You proceed to glance down at the assault rifle hanging from your body and pull it up to you, examining it closely. You become aware that you are intimately familiar with this gun, with each scratch on its surface and the patterns of wear from constant use. You recognize it as an HK XM30, currently configured in Assault Rifle mode with an underbarrel grenade launcher. You know it has a built in smartgun system, and become aware of a pair of goggles clinging to your forehead that likely have the other half of the smartlink. You check both clips, and note that the rifle is loaded with APDS rounds, and that 6 bullets are missing. The grenade launcher is loaded with a full clip of flashbangs.

You can tell that the weapon has been modified and personalized, as it has a built in Gas Vent that isn't stock. You are also aware that the XM30 has spare parts that allow it to be converted into other weapons, as well as an underbarrel shotgun attachment to replace the grenade launcher. It is not immediately obvious whether you have these parts.

You undo your seatbelt and expertly twist in midair to land on your feet. As soon as you release yourself from your harness, the entire van tips upward and the bags of gear in the back of the van slide forward, but your impact with the ceiling tips it back to a horizontal position. You immediately realize that the van is on the edge of a hill or cliff, and your considerable body weight in the back of the vehicle is acting as a counterweight.

[Ryo]

@The Masked Woman

The Masked Woman
1 - inspect self for injuries
2 - if not unduly injured, release the 5-point harness and fall to the roof-floor as gracefully as possible
3 - inspect The Crumpled Man for injuries
4 - check the pockets of my lined coat and my jumpsuit (if jumpsuits have pockets)
5 - see if this ballistic mask has any vision mods ... can we tell if it is day or night?

1: You quickly inspect yourself for injuries. Logic (5) + Defaulting (-1): 4d6t5 2

You feel like you have to be hurt, after a crash like that, but you feel no pain.

2: Seeing the way the troll threw off the balance of the entire vehicle, you release the harness carefully and try not to disturb the weight distribution. Agility (6) + Gymnastics (2): 8d6t5 4

You easily land on your feet, and your weight seems inconsequential to the balance of the vehicle.

3: You attempt to check the Crumpled Man for injuries, and instinctively Assense him. Intuition (6) + Assensing (4): 10d6t5 3

He's in obvious pain, and is suffering from multiple severe injuries. You also note that his Essence is lower than yours, and see the presence of dead spots in his aura that you recognize as signs of cyberware. These include his entire right arm, his eyes, parts of his head, and three small spots on his left wrist, the side of his head and the back of his neck. His emotional state is confused and disoriented.

4: You search yourself and note that your lined coat has a plethora of hidden pockets, all of which appear to contain knives. You count twelve in total. You also find a number of reagents scattered about your jumpsuit's pockets and a long sheath integrated in the inner lining of the back of your lined coat, with a hole in the outside to accommodate what you assume is a sword. You easily spot the sword in question lying in the snow among the jumbled gear, and can tell from the aura it has that it is a weapon foci bound to you.

5: You send a mental command to your mask for a list of functions. You also send a mental command to your comm to display the date and time.


>>Integrated Systems
>> Vision Enhancement (3)
>> Integrated Trodes
>> Integrated Commlink
>> Integrated Cyberware Scanner (8)
>> Internal Air Reservoir (1 hour oxygen supply remaining)
>> Identity Saver™ locking mechanism (rating 6)

12:01 AM Friday, February 1st, 2075


@The Ork

Is the vehicle still apparently functional at all? Am I getting any obvious signs of DNI or Augmented Reality? Can I feel anything other than scalp / hair when checking my head?

My first actions after getting out of the harness and feeling for any major pain will probably relate to that, if not our immediate surroundings.

You examine the vehicle, wondering if it's still functional. Logic (4) + Automotive Engineer (3): 7d6t5 4

From what you can see from the driver's seat, you immediately come to the conclusion that this vehicle is slag. It'd take a lot of repair work to get it running again, assuming the frame isn't bent.

You think real hard in the direction of a DNI you assume doesn't exist, as nothing happens. You're pretty sure the broken glasses on your face were your source of AR, but they're now useless. You notice no augmentations from a cursory inspection of your skull, though your muscles are huge and look unnaturally bulky and toned.

You are about to undo your harness when you feel the entire vehicle lurch when the troll moves around in the back. Successfully unhooking yourself without dislodging the van will require a Gymnastics test with a threshold of 3.

@The Dwarf

'Dwarf' will:
1. check self for injuries
2. Attempt to free himself from harness without incurring (further) injury
3. crawl out shattered windshield
4. have a look 'round to try and get bearings.

1: You check yourself for injuries. Logic (3) + Defaulting (-1) - 1 Wound: 1d6t5 1
You've suffered a wound, but you don't think you're still bleeding. Your biomonitor seems to be giving an accurate reading. (You have 3 boxes of Physical Damage.)

2: You undo the harness and try to land gracefully. Agility (5) + Gymnastics (3) - 1 Wound: 7d6t5 3
You dislodge yourself and stand up in the front of the van. You hear the metal groan as you move around, but you're careful and your weight doesn't seem to have too significant of an impact.

4: You try to get your bearings. Intuition (4) + Perception (3) - 1 Wound: 6d6t5 1
You take full stock of the van, seeing a number of people you don't recognize now trying to right themselves and get situated. There's a bag of gear towards the middle of the van, lying near the troll's feet, an unsheathed sword lying not far from that, boxes of ammo half buried in snow that have spilled out everywhere, and another duffel bag of gear shoved up under the driver's seat. You also notice a large wooden crate, cracked and splintered from the apparent crash, jammed up against the headrest of the passenger seat. It looks quite heavy. It's too dark to see very far out the windows, and so cold that your thermographic vision can barely make out anything.

@The Human

1. Getting his bearings, look at the immediate surroundings.
2. After realizing several people are moving around, checking if they seem to be hostile.
3. After that, checking himself, if there are any particular pains or deformities that suggest injuries.
4. As the bottom (i mean top) of the van starts to get quite crowded, checking what he has on/with him.
5. After his mind clears somewhat, thinking about where the hell he is and why, and who the hell all those people are.

1. You examine your immediate surroundings. Intuition (3) + Perception (4): 7d6t5 3
You see the same things as above. You also see another bag of gear resting on top of the seat the Troll just dislodged himself from, and a large medkit under your own seat. You notice that the walls of the van have telltale signs of dents and divots from bullets, and even a few holes where they penetrated completely. You can't see out of any of the windows while upside down.

2. You judge the intentions of the people in the vehicle. Charisma (4) + Intuition (3): 7d6t5 3
None of them seem hostile, at least not yet.

3. You check yourself for injuries. Logic (4) + Defaulting (-1): 3d6t5 2
You realize you have zero medical training, but you feel minimum pain. (You have 1 box of Physical damage.)

4. You check your possessions, and come up largely empty. Aside from the commlink that fell out of your pocket, the two holsters and arm slide that lack weapons, and a biomonitor on your wrist that appears to be broken, you have nothing on you.

@The Elf

1. Look around herself for whatever is missing from her holster and a way out of the car, as well as listen for sirens or other cars approaching (perception?)
2. Check herself for injuries; specifically, head and neck for potential trauma, and limbs for broken bones and the like (first aid?)
3. Tell someone (hey, you!) to help her get down safely (leadership?)
   a. If no one steps up, try to break her fall when releasing the harness (gymnastics?)
4. Try to force open a door (STR + BOD?)
5. Once outside, try to figure out how long she can survive in the current (I saw mention of snow; cold?) environment before freezing to death (survival)
6. Check if the commlink is on, and if not if it's damaged (hardware?)
   a. If the commlink is on, try to get some information out of it (computer?)

1. You perceive your surroundings. Intuition (5) + Perception (3) - 1 Wound: 7d6t5 1
You see as much as the Dwarf did. You don't see your gun, but you can tell from the subscription on your PAN that it's in the duffel bag laying at the feet of the troll.

2. You check yourself for injuries. Logic (5) + First Aid (2) - 1 Wound: 6d6t5 2
You come to the conclusion that you're suffering from some internal injuries, and you're hurt pretty bad, but it doesn't seem like you're bleeding, so at least it isn't getting worse. (You have 4 boxes of Physical Damage.)

3. You attempt to command the Masked Woman, as she's standing closest to you. Charisma (7) + Defaulting (-1) - 1 Wound: 5d6t5 3

Masked Woman opposed roll. Willpower (6) + Defaulting (-1): 5d6t5 2

6. You check if your commlink is on. It is. You note its a Hermes Ikon. You make sure it's not damaged. Logic (5) + Hardware (6) - 1 Wound: 10d6t5 2
The commlink is fine.

6a. You get the time and date, as well as the current temperature from weather data, and your GPS coordinates. it is currently -4 F°, and your GPS puts you in the mountains of Colorado.

[Ren]

Hearing no gunshots, the human in the seats decided he was in no immediate danger. He took a breath to speak when, form the recesses of his mind, came an advice to be polite. "Hey, Mr. Troll down there, could you help me down please? I'm a bit dizzy and i don't want to land on you when i get out of this seat."

[Ravensoracle]

The Crumpled Man sits up enough to lean on one of his elbows wincing as he does. He immediately starts rummaging through his medkit so that he can stabilize himself and begin patching up the injuries.

"Anyone else hurt, cause I'm kinda FUBAR right now."

[GrimWulf]

Pain is the first thing he registers, his head is on fire and feels like it's going to explode. He breathe's deeply and momentarily forgets his head as his chest erupts on even more pain.  He involuntarily coughs and watch's as the blood speckled phlegm falls... up?  He blinks hard and his world turns upside down. 

It takes him a moment to realize, that no, it's him that's upside down and he's hanging from the passenger seat of a van. He notes others in the van beside him and goes to call out to the driver when he realizes he doesn't know who the driver is.  Instead he looks 'up' at his waist, and releases the clasps on his belt, falling to the roof of the van with a crunch.  A moment later the van heaves suddenly as the troll in the back does the same and the dwarf curses loudly in Lakotish at the troll.

Looking further around the van he takes stock of the gear laying about, the duffel near the back, the loose sword on the roof, another duffel, a box smashed up against the back of his chair, and... he looks out the windshield for the first time and realizes that he can't see ground in front of it, which can only mean that the van is suspended over something. He starts scrabbling towards the back of the van, flailing away with his limbs in sudden primal fear of falling.

[martinchaen]

"Ungh..."

That's about the only sound I find myself able to make as icy cold fingers rakes across my consciousness.

Talking is difficult with the metallic taste of blood filling my mouth, but I'm finally able to spit out a few more intelligent words. "What. The. Frag..." Ok, so maybe intelligent wasn't the right term.

Looking around, I see other shapes. Other people! Where the hell am I. Wait. We. I'm in a seat... Strapped in. Looks like a car seat. Yeah, that's...

"Woah!" It's all I can do not to shriek like a little girl when the whole damned vehicle suddenly rocks back and forth before settling down. Looking behind me I see a big troll. Fragger must have released himself from his seat to make that kind of ruckus. "Easy there big guy; no more sudden moves, wiz?" I tell him, hoping he'll listen despite the heavy sarcasm present in my tone.

All of a sudden I notice that my PAN is still active. Yes! Link, check. Matrix connectivity. Check. Huh, that's got to be where the gun that's missing from my holster is. Check, I guess. Holy shit, four degrees Fahrenheit below? Jeez...

Nearby is a masked woman, and *thud*. Yep, there goes the dwarf, head first. No way I can make that landing, and my side's really fraggin hurting. Wait a minute...

"Hey, you! In the mask. Help me the frag down, will you? I'm hurt..."

I impart some weakness in my voice, some voluntary, most of it not, and from the looks of things we must have been in this whole thing together. "By the way, anyone else here a little foggy on the details?" I manage while waiting for the masked woman to come help me down. Colorado. Februaruy. 2075. All of a sudden, the dwarf goes nuts.

Well, drek. This is going to majorly suck...

[Poindexter]

You undo your seatbelt and expertly twist in midair to land on your feet. As soon as you release yourself from your harness, the entire van tips upward and the bags of gear in the back of the van slide forward, but your impact with the ceiling tips it back to a horizontal position. You immediately realize that the van is on the edge of a hill or cliff, and your considerable body weight in the back of the vehicle is acting as a counterweight.

"Uhhhhhhhhhhhh..." is the only sound the giant behemoth makes, crouching cautiously on the roof of the van, his eyes wider than picnic plates. He looks over at the crumpled man and pokes him with his rifle barrel, whispering, "Hey squish. You ok?"

"Easy there big guy; no more sudden moves, wiz?" I tell him, hoping he'll listen despite the heavy sarcasm present in my tone.

"Yeah, you said it."

You dislodge yourself and stand up in the front of the van. You hear the metal groan as you move around, but you're careful and your weight doesn't seem to have too significant of an impact.

He whips his head around to face the little guy and snaps, "Careful people! We're on the edge of something!"

"Hey, Mr. Troll down there, could you help me down please? I'm a bit dizzy and i don't want to land on you when i get out of this seat."

MR TROLL?!
"I got a frakkin name, breeder. It's..." The look on his face changes from offended to confused as the giant realizes he has no idea what his name is. "Oh..." He reaches up and unhooks the little man from his seat, careful to set him down near the rear of the vehicle.

The Crumpled Man sits up enough to lean on one of his elbows wincing as he does. He immediately starts rummaging through his medkit so that he can stabilize himself and begin patching up the injuries.

"Anyone else hurt, cause I'm kinda FUBAR right now."

The giant almost jumps when the man he assumed was a corpse begins speaking. "I'm good enough to carry you, but this probably aint the time for an extended stay, wiz? This frakkin van crashed for a REASON."

[Ren]

"Foggy doesn't even begin to cover it," the lightly-dressed human grumbled. "Thanks, man," he nodded to the troll when he helped him down from the seat. "Seems like we are in the same drek, and its deep." He reached down and took the commlink he dropped earlier. "Uhh, let's see..." Prodding the thing to life, he queried for GPS coordinates and a public map of the area.

"By the way, does any of you have the faintest idea why someone shot at us earlier? This van is more holey than a rat warren." Scratching his head, he noticed the UDC holes. His mind got clearer by the second now. Everyone was throwing around slang, so he decided to switch speech style. "Ugh, scratch that. We have time enough later for the quiz, i think. Yo, big man in the front, do you need help getting out? I think he should be first to move, that would help the balance of the van. Also, mind checking the glove compartment? I get the feeling we shouldn't leave anything."

[Poindexter]

"Foggy doesn't even begin to cover it," the lightly-dressed human grumbled. "Thanks, man," he nodded to the troll when he helped him down from the seat. "Seems like we are in the same drek, and its deep." He reached down and took the commlink he dropped earlier. "Uhh, let's see..." Prodding the thing to life, he queried for GPS coordinates and a public map of the area.

"By the way, does any of you have the faintest idea why someone shot at us earlier? This van is more holey than a rat warren."

The giant motions with his rifle. "I dunno, but we sure as shit fired back at em. Whatever escape plan we were using, obviously failed. We need to grab up our shit and get outta here FAST. I'm the heaviest, so I'll get out last, but you'd better hurry!"

[Tecumseh]

The Masked Woman opens her eyes and sees the heat and the mana of the world around her. Most of it is cold and metallic, but there are others who look as dazed and confused as she feels. There's an ancient voice in her head, an old connection that hasn't abandoned her even if all of her memories have. She can't place it right now but she will.

She undoes the buckle on her harness, unconsciously confident that she can twist in midair and not land on her head. The dwarf goes rushing by in a panic. She raises a hand to calm him but can't think of anything to say that would be of any comfort. Looking around the van, she sees something that belongs to her. A quick snap of the wrist and the claymore is in her hand, and then in its sheath a fraction of a second later. The weight is snug and comforting on her back.

The elf asks for help and the Masked Woman doesn't have any reason to say no. Getting into position, she tries to steady her footing to ease the fall of the unaugmented, mundane elf. The Masked Woman reaches up to undo the harness but her foot slips in the snow that's pushed its way into the van. She tumbles over as the elf makes the fall gracefully without her help. The Masked Woman stands, sees that the elf is moving forward to grab of gear under the driver's seat. She places a hand gently on the elf's shoulder to suggest that going forward might be unwise. The Masked Woman stretches out her arm toward the front of the van and mimes a pulling motion. The bag of gear clumsily yanks itself free and cartwheels toward the back of the van. She repeats the process with the medkit and the gear that's above the troll.

The woman doesn't know what to make of herself, physically. Isn't this sword a little big for her? Maybe the magic makes the sword do the work for her. She's aware that she's the only one wearing a mask but now's not the time to take it off. No sense in taking off something protecting your face when the whole van could dislodge itself at any moment. She remains silent as she inspects the interior of the van and the one crate that's too heavy for her to move without casting a stronger spell.

[Ravensoracle]

The Crumpled Man is pulling lengths of gauze, bandages and tape out of the medkit as all of this is going down. He doesn't even take time to think about anything to do with his situation. Got to get the blood loss under control or I am going to pass out again. The voice of one of his vaguely remembered professors, really nothing more than a voice in his head, begins to regale him with the symptoms of traumatic brain injury.

He dodges over, still wrapping up his chest as the dwarf comes back-pedaling by. "Hey, watch it."

He then takes a syringe out of the kit and shoots something into his arm.

"No time to think.Trying to save a life here. Namely my own ass."

[Poindexter]

Crouched low and aiming his rifle out the shattered read doors, he squints his eyes to see what kind of environment they're in. As he does, he mentally gives the order to his commlink to display the last 3 messages sent and the last three recieved, hoping for some clue as to what's going on. He's visibly impatient as he mutters, "C'mon people, move it!" into his subvocal mic. "No one wants to die in this can."

[Novocrane]

Spitting out what turns out to be grit and a fang chip, Ork has about enough time to realise the situation is fragged up before everyone starts moving around, and the vehicle lurches. One hand comes away from his head with a twisted pair of smart-glasses in tow. For a moment, between the crash and the unnatural bulk of his arms, he wonders which broke them. Another moment passes, wasted on trying think the car heater on, or find a switch, before being given up as a lost cause. Maybe a hidden compartment? Glove box?

This might not even be my car. Drek if it is, and twice drek'd if it isn't ...

"Fraggit, chummers, hold onto something while I get out of this."

[Ryo]

Crouched low and aiming his rifle out the shattered read doors, he squints his eyes to see what kind of environment they're in. As he does, he mentally gives the order to his commlink to display the last 3 messages sent and the last three recieved, hoping for some clue as to what's going on. He's visibly impatient as he mutters, "C'mon people, move it!" into his subvocal mic. "No one wants to die in this can."

You try to get a clear view out the rear window, the only real illumination you have being the dim light provided by the crumpled man's cyberdeck screen, and the headlights that are pointed in the wrong direction. Intuition (3) + Perception (2) + Wireless Vision (2) - Dim Light (3): 4d6t5 1

You see mostly darkness, barely able to make out more than a few meters from the back of the van. You can tell you're in pretty deep snow, and that the vehicle you're in dug an impressive trench to get to its current position. The wind is strong enough that the snow is shifting, and starting to cover the trench. You're pretty sure you see impacts in the snow that suggest the van did a lot of rolling.

You speak subvocally. Only the Dwarf, the Crumpled Man and the Ork have their radios set to the right channel. Charisma (2) + Intimidation (3) + Physically Imposing (3) + wielding obvious weapon (2): 10d6t5 5

As you do this, you scroll through your messages. You see your comm has two accounts, and two commcodes, assigned to two different SINs.


>>Frank J. Muntz
>>UCAS National SIN
>>Age: 34
>>Sex: Male
>>Metatype: Troll
>>Race: Caucasian
>>>Registered Bounty Hunter
>>>αTitanium Bone Lacing License
>>>αWired Reflexes 1 License
>>>αMuscle Toner 4 License

<Start Russian>
>> Retrieving message log. . .
>> TO: Mom
>> FROM: Frank
>> SENT: January 11th, 3:05PM
>> Did you receive the flowers?

>> FROM: Mom
>> TO: Frank
>> SENT: January 11th, 3:10PM
>> They're beautiful. I made your favorite. Should arrive tomorrow.

>> TO: Mom
>> FROM: Frank
>> SENT: January 18th, 3:05PM
>> Did you receive my invitation?

>> FROM: Mom
>> TO: Frank
>> SENT: January 18th, 3:10PM
>> It was in the mail this morning.

>> TO: Mom
>> FROM: Frank
>> SENT: January 25th, 3:05PM
>> Am I coming to visit?

>> FROM: Mom
>> TO: Frank
>> SENT: January 25th, 3:15PM
>> Dad wants to see you.
<End Russian>



You check the Contact list for "Frank."


<Start Russian>
>> Mom
>> Dad
>> Gift Shop
<End Russian>


You decide to switch over and check the other SIN.


>>Ralph Hendricks
>>Pueblo Corporate Council National SIN
>>Age: 30
>>Sex: Male
>>Metatype: Troll
>>Race: Caucasian
>>>Registered Bodyguard
>>>Concealed Carry License
>>>Medical Release: Patient's muscular, skeletal and nervous systems contain medically necessary augmentations.

>>Retrieving Message Log. . .

>> FROM: Ralph
>> TO: Johnson
>> SENT: January 31st, 10:00PM
>> Change of plans. Everything has gone to hell. You pay me now.

>> FROM: Johnson
>> TO: Ralph
>> SENT: January 31st, 10:01PM
>> You don't get to change the plans. We had a deal, and I expect you to honor it; payment on delivery, as agreed.

>> FROM: Ralph
>> TO: Johnson
>> SENT: January 31st, 10:03PM
>> I have the stupid thing, so I'm holding all the cards. You screwed me. Nobody screws with me. Pay me now, or I end this.

>> FROM: Johnson
>> TO: Ralph
>> SENT: January 31st, 10:10PM
>> You'll be dead before the night is over.

>>FROM: Ralph
>>TO: Johnson
>>SENT: January 31st, 10:11PM
>>Go fuck yourself.



You check the contact list. The only contact is the Johnson.

The van groans and shifts a little. The headlights go out. It seems you've been out here long enough to kill the battery.

[martinchaen]

As the human fumbles around with his link I quietly tell him not to bother. "We're in the middle of nowhere, omae; Colorado mountains by my count. I'm trying to locate a map as we speak". My voice was surprisingly cool, and I didn't feel nervous; odd. I must be used to high-stress situations.

The masked woman approaches silently, and I smile in what I hope is a reassuring manner to her. She reaches for the belt release and then slips on the snow just as her fingers reach it, and before I can even utter a strangled yelp the ground is rushing towards me. I feel my body move by itself more than I consciously choose to move it on my own behalf, and before I know it I've managed to slide my legs up against my chest and curl my spine. Miraculously, I land in a semi-crouch. I laugh mirthlessly when I address my would-be helper. "Hah. Well, I'll be damned... Jeeze, next time, just give me a three-count, neh?"

Ignoring the jabbering of the others, I look around for other signals, trying to push through the incessant noise that seems to degrade my signal. The Matrix almost calls to me, inviting me into it's embrace. When the ork up front starts moving I decide to get the hell out of dodge and I grab my bag on the way past the others, elbowing my way through despite my small size and almost stepping on the guy on the ground. "Hey! How about letting a woman have some space, you great big oafs". I'm slightly annoyed that I can't come up with more intelligent banter, but my mind is still slightly hazy. Then I remember that I should probably be a little nicer to these people; I might need to rely on them later, after all. But I've always been a survivor. If there's one thing I know, it's that I'm not gonna die out here.