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[5e IC] Storm Force Whisper [2076 Game Thread]

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Mercy Merchant

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« Reply #60 on: <03-07-17/0035:04> »
[Friday September 11th, 2076;  New York Metroplex]


Robyn and Rick deplaned at the terminal and were met by some very apologetic and efficient staffers for British Airways who expedited them through customs.  They were told that the airline would comp them their room and a breakfast at the hotel plus lunch at the VIP lounge here on Saturday.  After all the luggage was gathered, they were whisked off to the hotel by private limousine, arriving at the Waldorf Astoria at just after midnight.  During the ride over, Robyn had sent out a message.  >>Team [Robyn]:  Rick and I are delayed in New York due to aircraft problems.  Current departure time is 1715, about fifteen hours later than originally planned.  We will keep you updated if things change.<<

They are welcomed at the hotel and given keys to the room.  Robyn had tipped the limo driver and the hotel doorman as they arrived and not the bellman as he rides the lift to their floor with them.  The bellman opens the door and graciously stands aside to allow Rick and Robyn to enter the room then follows in to point out the amenities before departing.  Robyn hangs her garment bag in the closet and stretches out on the single king size bed in the room.  "Rick, do you take the right side or the left side?"  She removes the grey jacket and begins unbuttoning the blouse, revealing that she is not wearing any sort of a bra as she takes it off and lays it across one of the chairs.  She is unzipping her skirt when she notices that Rick is still dressed. "I may be blind, Rick, but I can tell that you are still dressed.  I do hope that you are not planning on coming to bed like that."
"Speech"  *Thought*  <Matrix>

adamu

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« Reply #61 on: <03-07-17/0749:13> »
[Thursday September 10th, 2076; Hat Island, Salish waters, of coast of Snohomish, Seattle Metroplex]
 
Putting people together with aircraft was what Winslow Flannery did every day; once they had agreed everything, then the cred was transferred and the registrations and other formalities were handled within minutes. By mid-Thursday afternoon Al had already had the man express-order some components for some quick work he wanted to do, given Mordecai a kiss and a tender embrace goodbye (well, more like a quick handshake and a "Don't ever change, amigo"), and was lying on the spartan cot in the sea-hangar's small apartment.

He texted the team. <<Bird's ours. Babysitting it in a private compound, north side of Hat Island. Guy here's cool, but his family's here and he won't appreciate his home being our staging area. So best come out all together right before you're ready to take off. Give me a heads up on when that'll be and she'll be ready. Ferry service is pedestrian only, and just once a day. But this guys' got his own marina, so just let me know if you decide to all come out by boat, I'll set it up. It'll be a long flight, so bring food and beer.>>

obidancer

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« Reply #62 on: <03-07-17/1211:35> »
Deckard started to get suspicious when the Bellman led the couple to the one room. But it's only when he saw the king size bed, that Robyn's words flashed back in his memory... where sentences made a bit more sense. Curse him for not paying attention.

But the woman had all his attention now, he embarrassingly couldn't stop starring at Robyn undressing. The fact the Keeb had a body to die for didn't help. 

Quote
"Rick, do you take the right side or the left side?"
No words came out of his opened mouth. It had been more than 5 months since a woman slept by his side, left or right mattered very little.

Quote
  "I may be blind, Rick, but I can tell that you are still dressed.  I do hope that you are not planning on coming to bed like that."
Again, no words came out of his mouth; he was pointing at different part of the room, trying to make sense of his clouded train of thoughts. ...Right... I .... euh.... I'm ... .... I'm gonna take off my contacts, probably jump in the shower for a bit... (cold, cold, he thought) ... heard New York Water is great... That didn't make sense, but not much in his head did at this  moment.
He stepped in the luxurious bathroom that only virtual reality was able to offer, though it was real here. He proceeded to indeed take off his contacts, jump out of his clothes and into the shower. Instinct decided against making it cold, and the hot water pouring down his neck and body felt good. But he had trouble clearing his mind. His wife, his love, his sadness, but also the lust, the lack of sex and the intimidating confidence of Robyn's sexuality and the sight of her quasi naked body, all meddled in his mind; as clouded as the bathroom was getting by the hot steam of the shower.

He pressed his hands on his neck and lifted his head to let the water splash his face. 
« Last Edit: <03-07-17/1325:16> by obidancer »
Rick Deckard - Circles of Fate
Kachina - Shaking the Shadows

Jack_Spade

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« Reply #63 on: <03-07-17/1703:16> »
Isaint was just in the process of setting up shop when Al's message reached him:
<<That's good news. I'll take care to organize a boat and supplies - I hope you all like SotA foodprocessor food.
I'll hang around in the harbor area - a really charming part of Seattle just now three punks tried to rob me.
By the way, do you know a good dry cleaner in town?>>


#542
talk think matrix

To strive, to seek, to find and not to yield
Revenant Kynos Isaint Rex

adamu

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« Reply #64 on: <03-07-17/1734:03> »
[Thursday September 10th, 2076; Hat Island, Salish waters, of coast of Snohomish, Seattle Metroplex]

Al voice-to-texted back. <<A dry cleaner? I have honestly never even figured out what the holy hell that even means. How are ya s'posed ta git yer kit clean without even gittin' it wet? One more hippie invention meant ta circumvent the natural order o' things. Jist make sure your food contraption can make beer.>>

He tossed the link down in disgust. Then he picked it up again and shot off one more message. <<If it's yer armor yer lookin' ta take care of, Victor's Vintage & Venlar in Seattle Center. They's a mite metrosexual fer ol' Al's taste, but you tell 'em I sent ya, they know they shit.>>

Mercy Merchant

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« Reply #65 on: <03-07-17/2305:33> »
[Saturday September 12th, 2076;  Waldorf Astoria Hotel  New York Metroplex]


Robyn listens to Rick as he goes to the bathroom and gets into the shower, smiling when she does not hear him lock the door.  She finishes stripping her own clothes off and walks quietly into the bathroom, greeted by a growing fog of steam.  The man in the shower is standing near the shower head with his face upturned into the water, deep in concentration and does not even realize that he is not alone until Robyn puts her arms about his waist and presses close to him.  She feels his body stiffen and she leans her head closer to his ear and whispers to him.  "Shhhhh.  It is OK, Rick.  It is OK to want this.  Just let it all go and let me be your therapy tonight.  She loved you, Rick, and she would not want you to grieve alone like this for the rest of your life.  Grieve, but live your life."

She holds her breath, hoping that he will turn and take her in his arms and make love to her
« Last Edit: <03-08-17/0156:47> by Mercy Merchant »
"Speech"  *Thought*  <Matrix>

adamu

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« Reply #66 on: <03-08-17/0242:04> »
[Thursday September 10th, 2076; Hat Island, Salish waters, of coast of Snohomish, Seattle Metroplex]

Text sent, Al popped off the cot. The components he'd ordered - radar-absorbing panels, thermal-dampening materials, aural baffles - wouldn't be here until the next morning, but half the work was pre-installation so he'd best get started.

Anyway, it would give him a chance to spend some real quality time with his new girl.

Jack_Spade

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« Reply #67 on: <03-08-17/0519:19> »
Isaint was about to reply with an explanation about non-water based solvents and their better evaporation but thought better of it. He was rewarded with a second message that actually solved his problem.
<<Thanks Al, I'll make sure to stock up for flight and return trip.>>

His high fashion armor was durable and chemical resistant, but blood and bile left a smell even if you cleaned them with water. That wouldn't do.
So he braved the Seattle traffic once more to get to Seattle Center.
It had been somewhat invigorating to get into such a relatively harmless fight - the thugs were only armed with knives and a lead pipe - but Isaint still felt bad about it. They lived, albeit with broken bones and teeth. Isaint knew perfectly well, that easy recourse to violence only led to more problems and yet its siren song was stronger than ever in his ear.
It was sobering to think that he now was a SINless who shouldn't and couldn't involve the legal authorities anymore to actually take care of such problems. He had broken the compact of society wherein he was entitled to shelter under the law and in turn gave up his own primacy of violence.

Those pseudo-philosophic thoughts went through his head while he waited for his coat to be cleaned. He also started the tutor soft to get his first flight lessons. As usual he planned to rely on instinct and quick reflexes more than actually rote learning.
When his coat came back he already had mastered the first ten lessons and decided to return to his hotel room so he could switch over to true VR training.
But first he had to make good on his promise. So he steered the car towards a small import market that according to their matrix site provided its customers with real Bavarian bear, although with a horrendous mark up. No matter - he certainly wouldn't brave the Pacific with what Stuffer Shack had to offer...
talk think matrix

To strive, to seek, to find and not to yield
Revenant Kynos Isaint Rex

adamu

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« Reply #68 on: <03-08-17/0935:46> »
[Friday September 11th, 2076; Hat Island, Salish waters, of coast of Snohomish, Seattle Metroplex]

Al had returned to his cot late with a beer, and now was up with the dawn delivery. Four outhouse-sized rolls of what was basically radar-defeating cling wrap would be the first step. The thermal dampeners and aural baffles would arrive later today, and their installation was internal, so he could get started on the wrapping now.

It was great stuff - instead of affixing multiple layers of cumbersome plates, usually metal alternated with ferrite-rubber mixtures, he just had to apply the film. Sure, doing it correctly was harder than it sounded, and he needed to reprogram a couple of the hangar's loading drones to manhandle the huge rolls around for him. But it was still a huge time saver - polyvinyl chloride dip-coated in a uniform mixture of rare earth lanthanum nitrate-doped amorphous carbon nanotubes. If that sounded expensive, well, it was. But all the best hobbies were expensive at some point in the process.
« Last Edit: <03-08-17/0937:47> by adamu »

Aria

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« Reply #69 on: <03-09-17/0834:16> »
[Friday September 11th, 2076; University District, Downtown Seattle]

Silk wandered through the crowds of students out enjoying a rare burst of early autumnal sunshine.  There was little she could do now other than wait for the runners to arrive in Seattle so that they could begin.  Her gear was packed and Gossamer would monitor her information network if for some reason Silk was unable to for the next week or so, being underwater for example. 

She had nagging doubts about this whole misadventure…it was one thing to trust her Gift to give her insight into the future, but here she was going to try and manipulate that future and the course of events.  There was a certain amount of hubris in that but then what was the point in just being a passive observer?  This test would be the last one before the Choir accepted her as one of their own and she knew that her misgivings were mostly about her own fears rather than real doubts in this course.  The threads were woven… Aria had long ago persuaded her along the path that lead here…she was a master manipulator under that benign child persona that she wore…but this was also what Silk wanted.  The truth, finally, about the death of her mother and the attacks on Stillwater.  She owed so many…

***
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Jack_Spade

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« Reply #70 on: <03-09-17/0859:07> »
[Saturday September 11th, 2076; Harbor District, Seattle]

The morning mist drifted across the water as Isaint unloaded the second pallet from the back of the Gopher into the hold of the small boat. The fiberglass body had seen better days and if it hadn't been for the discreet and cheap conditions, he would have passed on it. As it was, it would only have to endure one trip. He made sure to tie up everything into one large bundle - just in case he had to levitate it from a sinking ship.
If it wasn't such a relatively slow movement, he would have been tempted to ferry the pallets by themselves through the air.
As it was, he had made sure everything was waterproof wrapped up and sealed.

He closed the hold and locked up. As an added measure he threw the old tarp back over the even older boat.

Satisfied, he mentally opened a chat window: <<@Silk, Rick and Robyn: I've rented a boat to get us to the plane. Do you want me to fetch you from the airport/where ever you are or are you making your own way to the plane?>>


#544
talk think matrix

To strive, to seek, to find and not to yield
Revenant Kynos Isaint Rex

obidancer

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« Reply #71 on: <03-10-17/0022:58> »
[Saturday September 12th, 2076;  Waldorf Astoria Hotel  New York Metroplex]


Robyn listens to Rick as he goes to the bathroom and gets into the shower, smiling when she does not hear him lock the door.  She finishes stripping her own clothes off and walks quietly into the bathroom, greeted by a growing fog of steam.  The man in the shower is standing near the shower head with his face upturned into the water, deep in concentration and does not even realize that he is not alone until Robyn puts her arms about his waist and presses close to him.  She feels his body stiffen and she leans her head closer to his ear and whispers to him.  "Shhhhh.  It is OK, Rick.  It is OK to want this.  Just let it all go and let me be your therapy tonight.  She loved you, Rick, and she would not want you to grieve alone like this for the rest of your life.  Grieve, but live your life."

She holds her breath, hoping that he will turn and take her in his arms and make love to her
Deckard felt the soft touch of Robyn's breast against his back her arms on his waist . He exhaled whatever air he had left. He turned.

Water was pouring over the two bodies. He looked at her and with a gentle gesture, moved some hair strands around her pointy ear and away from her face. He smiled at her, not too sure what she could see and make of it. He kissed her forehead very gently, oblivious to what was happening to him below his waist.

I admire your determination. And you speak the truth. She loved me and would want me to live my life to the fullest.

Robyn was certainly waiting for the embrace now. But Deckard simply asked her: Turn around.

A towel was floating in the air as if held opened by two invisible hands. With a touch of a button the shower stopped, and the towel came wrapping the elf's gorgeous body. The Magician wasn't missing a bit, staring unashamed at her magnificent backside curves. As the "hands" were drying her he grabbed a fluffy bathrobe and wrapped her inside this time.

I need you. You will be my therapy indeed, we may just save the sexual fulfillment for later...

Part of him knew he was just an idiot for wasting the opportunity, but another, the one that felt right, knew that it would make the whole run much easier if feelings didn't interfere, including purely physical ones.   

He grabbed a towel too to cover himself, and led Robyn back into the bedroom as he carried her onto the bed. He snuggled next to her, making sure both were comfortable.
He extended his hand and from the coat on the chair came flying his commlink, stopping neatly in his palm... He pulled out a datacable that he offered to Robyn.

Here, plug yourself in. I want to show you something.

While Rick going through his file swiping on the tactile screen of the commlink seem old aged and slow for a Decker like Robyn, it didn't tale too long to reach the data he wanted.

His face changed at the sight. Here. This is Cara.

Deckard started going through pictures and stories about his defunct wife. He was brief on how they met, but that was still too long. He managed to get Robyn's attention back when he started to talk about who she was... her street name was Noelle. She was a Technomancer.
Noelle had been a notorious name on the London Matrix scene. Robyn didn't know -though could easily suspect- that Noelle was a Technomancer, but the name was indeed very familiar to her.

As he continued his story, he mentioned how she suddenly got really sick. How no Magic was able to cure her, nor traditional medicine. How he had been forced to borrow big money with the Russian Vory, and how, when all hope was lost, EVO stepped in, locked themselves in for four days and when came out she was dead. No even a chance to say goodbye. 
He also mentioned his suspicion about the link between EVO and the Vory. Sasha, his creditor, always had bragged about having info on what happened to Cara. But it could just be a ruse to keep Deckard on the leash. The fact that they were now headed to an EVO complex, on the other side of the world...  well, a coincidence that seemed to only happen in novels.

Deckard fell asleep swiping through images of his wife, with a hot half naked keeb in his arm next to him...
Rick Deckard - Circles of Fate
Kachina - Shaking the Shadows

Mercy Merchant

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« Reply #72 on: <03-10-17/0144:52> »
In the shower, Robyn's mind flashed.  **Another failed seduction. Might be time to retire.  All of the men I am really interested in are interested in me, but not enough to sleep with me.  This is not an ego boost.**  It is different to have the magic hands dry her off and Her heart patters a bit when Rick picks her up and carries her to the bed.  By this time, she has already resigned herself to not getting laid tonight.  **Why is it that Rick and Al both share the idea that sex with team members is taboo.  Frag, I bet ISaint feels the same way.  I just need to get all three of them in a room after this is over and shag all of them.**

Still, she appreciates that Rick is willing to open up about his wife and settles with him on the bed as he goes all stoneage on her with a swipe device.  Then her heart stops beating.  She has to force herself to breathe as Rick moves through the pictures and tells stories about his wife.  **Noelle.  Why the frag did it have to be her?  Poor Rick.** He did not appear to notice anything amiss and kept talking about her.  Robyn is pretty sure by the tone of his voice and the the way his pulse and breathing were going that this was something he had not done much since his wife died.  She closes her eyes for a few moments when he discusses his suspicions about EVO and the Vory.  When Rick fell asleep, Robyn takes the device and continues swiping, looking at every image he has of her, and there were many.  It is obvious that they were very much in love.  When she is done, she scrolls back up to the one he had paused the longest on and places the 'link beside him on the bed as she quietly slips out of it.

Robyn dresses swiftly and sits in the chair across from the bed, dropping into her real world.  On the matrix, she flits back to London as fast as thought and burrows into several hosts for which she has special privileges.  She uses her access rights to gather information not normally available.  When her presence is ultimately detected by the spiders, her avatar flashes one security badge or another and is left alone.  One file is kept behind a door even she does not have direct access to and she wastes no time waking up the man who does have it, dragging him to the data banks and coercing the file from him.  All is done and she is back in her meat body in less than an hour.

She leaves the room and goes down to the main floor lobby to sit in the lounge, taking coffee from the pretty waitress, barely noticing the look of desire the woman gives her.  Her mind is gathering the information she had gathered and putting it into what she hopes in a cogent form.  Once it is all together, she hesitates at the trigger point then hits the internal transmit button, sending a text message to Rick.

>>Rick [Robyn]:  I am down in the lounge.  I have arranged for you to be awakened in a bit and for our cases to be brought down by the porter staff.  Please read all of the below message and look at the attachments, especially the second one, before coming down.  I hope that you will still want to travel with me, but I will understand if the pain is too great.

Rick, I knew your wife.  I was with her when she died.  I am a skilled surgeon and have assisted in many operations that have saved lives.  And a handful where I was unable to do just that.  The first attachment is the official death certificate for Noelle, for Cara.  You can see that the presiding physician was Dr. Carl Greenway, one of the greatest doctors I have ever had the privilege of working beside.  I signed as the attending neurosurgeon.  Rick, EVO brought both of us in to see if we could save your wife.  I am not sure why they went to the expense of having Dr. Greenway and myself drawn from where we were.  Carl was in Berlin at the time.  We did everything we could, but everything failed.  I failed your wife and I failed you.  Whatever disease she had was already claiming her by the time we arrived.  We did stabilize her for a bit and even had some hope that we could reverse the effects, but that was in vain.  I did the very best I could, but............fuck..........but it was not enough.  It was just not enough.  However, she was stable and conscious for about an hour.  In that time she made a short video for you.  You did not mention receiving it so I went looking for it while you were sleeping.  The video file had been lost in a box and never delivered.  The way it was stored implied to me that it was there by accident, not design.  I convinced the man who controls the files now to let you have this.  The second attachment to this message is that video.  The third attachment is the video in a format that I modified to last much longer than the original.  Please download both and hear your wife tell you how much she loved you and see the truth of that in her eyes.

I have a couple more comments that might help explain why I left the room.  You saw me naked, yet did not comment on the tattoos I have that circle my upper arms.  Rick, these are Vory tats and are given out only to members held in high esteem.  I have been Vory since shortly after I was born.  I swore a loyalty oath to the Vory and recite the words on my arms every day of my life.  There are indeed some very bad men in the Vory, hard and cruel men.  But not everyone is hard and cruel.  It gets worse, well, worse depending on your point of view, I guess.  I am also EVO and have been since I was born.  My father worked for the company that eventually became EVO and I have been the recipient of the love, protection, and guidance provided by EVO over the years.  I could tell that your opinion of both EVO and the Vory is not high and wanted to give you a chance to digest this information about me before you come down.  I hope that you can still see me as a partner and team member, despite my shortcomings.  It might be silly of me, but I also hope that I can collect on that raincheck you gave me earlier.  Your friend, Robyn Lysander.<<
"Speech"  *Thought*  <Matrix>

adamu

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« Reply #73 on: <03-10-17/1715:59> »
[Friday September 11th, 2076; Hat Island, Salish waters, of coast of Snohomish, Seattle Metroplex]

Al had finished wrapping the plane in radar-absorbing film, installing the aural baffles, and calibrating the thermal dampers. It was a bit after eight. Waves were lapping gently at the rocks below the picnic table that sat on a slab of concrete outside the giant hangar he was borrowing. All around was dark, and the Amerinds took their air quality seriously, so the stars were bright and plentiful in ways most Seattleites went their whole lives never dreaming of. In front of him was a huge pile of Alaskan king crab legs his host had flown in fresh from corp-protected waters off the Tsimshian coast. Reminded Al not to generalize regarding the natives' love for the land, which in turn gave him  the opportunity to congratulate himself on his own enlightened understanding of human nature. He cracked a shell and eased the white meat out, dipped it in the dish of butter sauce held in a metal frame above a candle to keep it warm. Thought about what he could still do with his new toy if he had more time when, as if the Good Lord had heard his thoughts, his comm chirped. Alyce would be another day, held up in New York.

He supposed he'd better acknowledge the message, just to be professional. Big mistake. Seemed someone was worried about surviving in the ocean if they crashed. First of all, they woudn't crash. Second, if they did, they wouldn't have much cause to worry about maritime survival. All of which arguments were met with inarguable common sense. Yeah, they should have something in place in case they got shot down by the Papua New Guinea Air Force or some shit. But it was just so boring. And here he'd been thinking about beefing up the ECM or souping up the engines.

He ended the brief exchange with a final <<You sure you should even be on this job?>>

Then he got his brain back on task, and by the time he'd finished mentally complimenting Ducky's chef, he was texting his host with another rush parts order.

obidancer

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« Reply #74 on: <03-11-17/0157:27> »
Deckard came down to the Lounge  of the Waldorf. He was wearing his black turtleneck and his coat, just like Robyn had last saw him two months ago, on their last run together. The glasses he was wearing did gave him a more sophisticated look now that the lenses were clear. He approached Robyn typing on his commlink and as it happened, his lenses were darkening. It was to hide the redness of his eyes, sign he had been crying not long ago.

He rubbed Robyn's shoulder to notify her of his presence, and let himself fall in the comfortable looking lounging chair left in front of the Blind Keeb. He was looking away, taking in the decor, the mood, the moment. In his hand, he was flipping a silver coin in between his fingers, maybe a sign of anxiousness.

Though I usually bash luxurious living, I must say I slept quite well and deeply. That bed was good! He said casually.  He finally turned to look at her. Morning was a little rougher emotionally, but I can't thank you enough for the recording. He leaned over the small table to get closer to Robyn and, as he lowered his voice, continued: As for your personal message, I apologize for not recognizing the Tattoo, I guess my eyes were directed at different part of your body, and I need to look at perfecting my underworld knowledge. But look we all got our baggage and demons. We wouldn't be doing what we do without them. But let's get this straight. Under other circumstances, you could have been dead by now. Most of us runners ain't fans of Corp SINners, even less those embracing it. But don't worry, I've seen you in action, I know what you are capable of and where you loyalty lies in the Team. Let's just pretend I know nothing about it ok?

He stopped a second to order an espresso.

New York has always been special. It's is funny what destiny does when it has something in mind for you...  That layover was a turning point in my life, I thank you for being a part of it. Now, forgive me if your connections wont change my doubts about EVO and the Vories, but rest assured you, Robyn Lysander, have my full confidence and approval.    He gave her his most sincere smile and welcomed the arrival of his order.
Rick Deckard - Circles of Fate
Kachina - Shaking the Shadows