[Jayde Moon]

[Sunday, 207506021422L]

The afternoon is the warmest part of the day and everyone seems to be taking the opportunity to enjoy it.  So are you, except then you get a buzz on your commlink.  Someone is setting up a meet and of course, it's virtual.  Well... hopefully it won't take too long.

@ Divilian
<<Div [Manny] hey, Chummer.  Got a job for you, if you're interested.  It's a virtual meet.  Log into the following following cafe in about thirty minutes: xxx-x.needlenet_mramp_xx.mcr

Good luck.>>

@ Ice

<<Ice [Red Rose] Something wiz for ya, in 30 minutes hit up xxx-x.needlenet_mramp_xx.mcr>>

@ Pennies

<<Pennies [XXXXX] Heard you are looking for something to do with your time?  I've got something you can do with it and it pays.  30 minutes, join this cafe and see if you are interested: xxx-x.needlenet_mramp_xx.mcr>>

@ Requiem

<<Requiem [Silk] Hey, glad you are doing ok these days.  I got a request from a friend to put someone who knows what he's doing onto a job.  Can you meet her at this site: xxx-x.needlenet_mramp_xx.mcr  The meet is in half an hour.  Thanks!>>

@ Tiger Eye

<<Tiger Eye [Red Rose] Hey dummy.  You still looking for something to shoot at?  xxx-x.needlenet_mramp_xx.mcr  <-- go to that matrix address in half an hour and see what the lady has to say.  Maybe you'll get to pull that trigger, finally.>>

@ Xipe

<<Xipe [Silk] OK, hun.  This is your ticket into the big time.  I've pulled a few strings to put you here, so don't frag it up.  This matrix cafe: xxx-x.needlenet_mramp_xx.mcr in 30 minutes.  You'll do fine.>>

[Hardy]

Xipe stood back and enjoyed the image of the children playing in the water from the fire hydrant. He rested the large wrench on his shoulder that he had just used to provide the “Barrens waterpark” for the screaming throng. A small orc girl, pigtails flailing as she squealed from the cold water ran at him and slid up short.

“Tank joo Mista!” She called, her eyes squinting from the water pouring down across her face.

Xipe tossed her a wink from above his respirator, “Dats wiz kid, have fun” and slid back into the apartment building. He made his way through the entryway to the handyman’s supply closet and dropped the wrench there on the floor. To call it a supply closet was a stretch at best as the only tool that was kept there and could be relied upon not to disappear was that wrench.
Closing the door to the closet he took the stairs two at a time back to the roof where he was enjoying the day. At the top of the stairs he dodged two teens checking out bad porn trids on a portable comp and climbed the ladder the last few meters to the roof. “Couple more years those two will be running with the Spiders,” he mused as he passed.

 A quick nudge from a shoulder gave him access to the pinnacle of the five story structure. Climbing out onto the roof he dodged the maze of hanging laundry and made his way back to his seat, an old rickety lawn chair overlooking the mayhem he had started in the street.

Xipe sat down heavily in the chair and watched the mass of metahumanity below as they frolicked in the water. After a few moments something started to buzz on his left hip. Then a quick shock, much like sticking a finger in a light socket caused him to yelp in pain and jab a hand into his pocket. He pulled out his comlink and dropped onto the roof as if it was a snake. “I fragging hate that drek” he thought as he rubbed one hand along his side where he had been shocked.

After a moment he noticed that the light was blinking with an unread message. With two fingers he reached down and picked up the comlink and placed it on the edge of the chair. Carefully he took a clothespin and tapped a button to display the message. “Take that fragger, shock dis” he said to himself as the message faded out and then reappeared on the screen. The com code made Xipe lean in close and take another look around on the roof to make sure no one was looking over his shoulder.

The message was from Silk, “<<[Silk] OK, hun.  This is your ticket into the big time.  I've pulled a few strings to put you here, so don't frag it up.  This matrix cafe: xxx-x.needlenet_mramp_xx.mcr in 30 minutes.  You'll do fine.>>

Xipe quickly pulled out a pen and scrawled the address down on a quickly stolen pair of Mr. Grank’s undershorts and tucked them into a pocket. In his hurry he almost forgot the com link, turning back he grabbed it with the boxer shorts and stuffed the whole wad back into a pocket on his hoodie. Yanking the roof access back he scared the bejezzsus out of the kids watching porn and took the stairs three at a time heading out of the building.

“Work at last, maybe I even get to eat more den once this week.” A slow grin appeared under the mask as he wound his way towards a coffee shop with private virtual setups. If he hurried he might just have time for a cup of soycaf to settle his stomach before the sure sickness of going virtual.

[MathBlade]

It was a rare warm, non rainy day in Seattle and Pennies stood above an apartment complex nearby and pointed her rifle again at the Stuffer Shack sign, looking to get out some of her aggression towards the company at it. For close to 10 minutes she stared at the advertisement wishing hellfire to rain on it and stared through her scope wanting to hit the small cans she set up in front of the sign. Right about as she was about to take her first shot of many that perfect evening, a chirp comes into her ear warning her of a message.

<<Pennies [XXXXX] Heard you are looking for something to do with your time?  I've got something you can do with it and it pays.  30 minutes, join this cafe and see if you are interested: xxx-x.needlenet_mramp_xx.mcr>>

For a moment she thought it was her father Ray, so she ignored it for the first few minutes and fired the shot across the way attempting to hit the small green bean can. "Rats!" she whispered to herself as she was off by a few inches. Her commlink went off a second time for unchecked messages, so she quickly crawled off of her hiding spot and checked it. Usually messages from her father didn't ring, she set it up like that. Anxiously she got out of her comfortable set up as fast as she could and checked the message on her deck. By that time a good minute or so had passed.

Woo hoo! Sending a message out to the boards got a hit!

The bad news soon dawned upon the stocky dwarf. She got a hit. And she was nowhere near her secure deck. Shit! Sprinting downstairs as fast as she could, she sprinted back to her apartment. Of course, it had to be when people were crowding the streets to and fro. Trying to squeeze her way between inconsiderate people soon became more trouble than it was worth at points as a couple made a point of intentionally elbowing the decker and trying to knock her over.

Eventually after a few almost miscues, Tasda makes it to her apartment and fumbles with her keyring..."Cmon damn it... Tasda finally finds the proper key and shuts the door behind her quickly. Ten minutes left until the meet.

Ahhhh sweet timing... No longer worried about the meet, Tasda slumped down into her brown genuine leather Lazyboy. Looking at her computer system one might think she was a rich noble, but clearly the rest of the apartment told a different story. Wallpaper was falling off the walls beyond any attempt to repair it. Her idea of furniture for company was quite literally 4 fake would legs supporting a fake wood of obviously a different material, patch worked together with some tape. "It works" Tasda frequently told herself as she never had company over. But her Matrix life was pimped out.

Stepping into the Matrix world she felt like a million bucks in her goggles and stepped out in to the virtual street. "Home sweet home" Brushing her short, formal pant legs off, she sauntered up to the meet location and looked around for some of the other chummers. In reality what she thought was a million bucks barely passed for clothed for most chummers. She didn't have a clue what the heck "formal" chummers wore so she just made sure her armor looked well...in one piece.

My first run!!! I can't believe it!!! She ran her hand through her hair, trying to "look cool", but on the inside, she could explode into nervous technobabble at any moment.

[Hardy]

Xipe slid past an ork that decided to use the doorway to the Stop Caf Café at the same time he did. With a mumbled apology he stepped from the heat of the street into the cool interior of the coffee shop. A quick look around confirmed that the regulars were all in place and nothing seemed amiss.

“Hoi Xipe!” called a voice from behind the counter. Heidi stood there and at the sight of her Xipe felt his cheeks flush. Heidi was all ork in the right places, just the right junk in the trunk one might say. For not the first time since laying eyes on her Xipe mused, “An girl like her and a guy like me….nah.”   Xipe had had a crush on Heidi ever since he had first lain eyes on her. Thus far he had never felt he could ask her out. “Who wants to date nobody?”   he mused.

Broken from his reverie Xipe returned the greeting and waved clumsily. “Hoi Heidi, what’s biz?” The attractive female behind the counter kept wiping the synthwood with a towel as she answered, “Null chummer, quiet as the grave.”  

Xipe frowned at the reference and she quickly tried to cover, “You gonna hab da usual?” Xipe nodded and held up two slim fingers, “A double shot, got ta fill my stomach.” Heidi frowned, “You gonna go virtual again?”   At his nod she added, “Take da bucket dis time, an when you hurl, you are cleanin dat up.”
 
Xipe nodded and waved off her protestations as he started towards the private virtual rooms in the back. He did pause to grab his soycaf and, at her insistence, a bucket to hold whatever was in his stomach after the session. “I fragging hate dis part. But, an elf’s got ta eat”   he thought, heading back into the maze of small rooms sipping from his styrofoam cup.
 

[ScytheKnight]

Ice was pacing around her room, nerves and fear gnawing at her as it had been since she'd asked Red Rose to keep an eye out for work. It went against all her instincts, but then where had those instincts lead her? Sure she was safe, at least from being discovered, but by every other measure she wasn't. Suddenly she heard her comlink chirping.

<<Ice [Red Rose] Something wiz for ya, in 30 minutes hit up xxx-x.needlenet_mramp_xx.mcr>>

Ice felt herself covered in cold sweat, almost shaking, She stopped her pacing and closed her eyes, her whirling mind going back to the training Overwatch had given her years ago. Gradually her breathing slowed, the tremors stopped, her mind focused.

It's alright... I can do this.

She crawls into her nest of a bed and relaxes, her mind slipping from her body, away from meatspace and its immutable laws, into the Matrix. Here she felt free, natural. It was something strange to her, she had never asked for her abilities, but here in VR she felt at home. She took a moment to examine her avatar, her albino features complemented by white and pale blue clothing, the type that makes one thing of a frost mage in many fantasy games... although the clothing was far more decent then many games such give their female characters.

Ice makes sure to take time to compose herself before entering the address provided.

[Jayde Moon]

A few minutes before the meet and there is a formation of the meet room in question.  Needle Net is sculpted to appear as the Space Needle, but with additional accoutrements that serve to give it a 'futuristic' look.  At least futuristic as imagined by one of the best trog deckers in the Sprawl.

Entering the host is a cinch for those who have the right credentials.  But it takes those credentials to even find the place, unless you are a wiz-bang decker who knows what he's looking for.

Three personas note the formation of room mramp_xx.mcr and notice each other as they make their way to it.  One of the personas seems to wobble unsteadily but soon all three are in the room, sizing each other up and wondering if one of them is the host of this meeting.

[schenn]

Divillian was nearly finished blessing his new sacred space when the message came in. Good. Another gig. Amazing how they just seem to roll in once you start getting your name back out there. Stamping his foot at the edge of the circle on the floor, he stepped away from his lodge and shut the door, trapping the clouds of incense and sage.

Stepping into the climate controlled living room, he slipped his specs on over his eyes and sent the request to enter the Cafe.

[Aria]

Requiem was stripped to the waist, going through the kata with practised ease, the sweet sheening on the spare whipcord frame and the mass of scar tissue...his state of undress was mostly on the off chance that Silk dropped in to the dojo as she had been promising to for the last week, but the admiring looks on some of the other students didn't hurt either if he was honest with himself.  Silk has been improving, she wasn't as fast as him but it was getting to the point where she was reading him and predicting the flow of combat without thought.  He knew her gift was partly at work but she was also a credit to his training.  Maybe Lady Tanya would also take the time to stop in...

His link buzzing dragged his mind off unattainable women...ah...

<<Requiem [Silk] Hey, glad you are doing ok these days.  I got a request from a friend to put someone who knows what he's doing onto a job.  Can you meet her at this site: xxx-x.needlenet_mramp_xx.mcr  The meet is in half an hour.  Thanks!>>

Well it looked like training would have to take a rest, it would seem that work beaconed once more.  A swift and slightly chilly shower later and Requiem was heading out for one of the pre-arranged safe zones for VR communications.  He trusted the work of Silk and Escapade on this one, this was a secure a location as server redirects and whatever tech trickery they could cobble together...he'd given up listening to the explanation years ago!

His persona materialised in the host once his 'link had gone through the relevant 'handshakes'...it was a tall figure clad in a billowing black longcoat buttoned high to the throat.  The face was hidden behind a half skull visage that left his 'mouth' a black void...time to sing the hymns to the dead...

[Hardy]

The usual nausea greeted Xipe as he put on the headset and closed his meat eyes to enter the virtual world. Leaning quickly to one side he turned his head towards the trash can but only dry heaved for a moment before catching himself. “There has got to be a better way to do this drek” he thought.

The virtual world swirled again and after a moment where he turned the inside of the trash can a light soycaf brown, he was in the host set for the meet. His persona was the generic smiling face “everyman” that the generic hosts favored for their cheap price tag and anonymity.

Looking down at himself for a moment he smoothed the front of the pixelated suit and walked into the meeting room. Standing in the doorway for a moment he scanned the room, his persona flickering in and out due to his technological cooties. Noting each persona as best he could while keeping his breakfast down, he made his way to a seat. 

[ScytheKnight]

Jumping through the various digital hoops needed to access the host Ice finally managed to gain access and enters the host. Once inside she loks around, her avatar moving with the fluid grace of someone highly experienced with VR.

She takes note of the others in the room, but hangs back a little, unsure of who they are and what their intentions might be.

[Jayde Moon]

[Sunday, 207506021500L]

The room is comfortable, with an elongated table and three seats on each side.  The door through which you 'entered' is at the foot and at the head is some space and then a mirror.  The walls are threaded with lines of pulsing blue, bringing to mind images of a ancient cult flatvid about what folks from a century ago imagined the matrix might be.

Right as the milliseconds push over into 1500 hours on the nose, there is a flicker in the center of the mirror which expands until it appears to be a portal.  Through it steps a feminine form with a faceless mask.  It appears to be dressed in a form fitting body suit and she has shoulder length blonde hair .

As she notes five of you in the room, she clucks her tongue (a nice touch, that bit of software) and then fashions a seat from code at the head of the table and sits in it, inviting the rest of the occupants to do the same, once they have, she speaks.

<Good afternoon.  I am glad you could make it.  It seems that not all could.>  She indicates the empty seat.  <I do not believe that will be an issue.  Now, the five of you are probably wondering why I called you here.  I am Michelle Rampling and I have been tasked with fixing a situation that I find intriguing.  I am inclined to entrust this task to you and hope you will be willing to accept it.  Of course there will be payment, in the sum of 10,000 nuyen.  All you have to do is retrieve a prototype device and its accompanying data from an R&D facility.  Before we negotiate and you accept, I consider it fair to warn that the R&D facility is a Big Ten location.  I hope this will not be an issue?>

With that, she pauses, allowing each of you time to gather your thoughts and speak.

[schenn]

Divillian looks at the empty seat and listens to the Johnson speak. Five out of six. Suddenly, this job looks a little more dangerous. Why did our associate bug out or are they dead already?

So, if you were planning on one more, than you have the funds to pay for that extra person. I see a job that's now a little more difficult to complete and a little more dangerous for those that remain. I do believe we could each use a little more in our personal compensation.

[MathBlade]

Looking on silently Tasda begins to twitch nervously like she has a bit of a caffeine addiction and music in her head. Yayayayayayayayay!

Tasda's thoughts continue with how excited she is and she does all she can to not just start dancing.  Five of us are here to paaaaaaaarty!!!

She barely heard the last bit from the Johnson when she finally calmed down after rubbing her gloved fingers together. Hitting a major corporation sure sounded hard but she had no clue how much money would be expected so she just looked around the room for others to speak.

I hope someone here is a wordsmith. I deck and shoot not much else.

[ScytheKnight]

There where a lot of times Ice disliked being an albino, this was one time she was glad for it. Dreck, my first job is against a AAA?! If I wasn't already white as a sheet I would be now! What the frag has Red Rose gotten me into?!

She takes a couple of moments to keep her composure and remember the training she'd gotten years ago.

Alright, keep calm Ice, you're not on your own, and looks like you're not the only hacker here. No need for you to take point, just act as backup.

Her eyes flick over to their member who spoke up Right... negotiating a price, this will be different than my usual haggling. Think Ice, think.

There's also the issue of security, triple As mean elite security, both in meatspace and Matrix. The Matrix especially has a high chance of Black IC, something that should definitely count as hazard pay.

[Jayde Moon]

<Honestly, I had taken into account the absence of the sixth member and added that portion to the amount I am paying each of you.  However, what I am willing to do is offer an up front payment of, say, two thousand nuyen apiece?  And then another 8000 upon completion.>