[Sichr]

Zach notices Stake's inquisitive glance and let it pass, he has nothing to hide in this company.  Crossed slings of his guns and survival knife on his belt would be difficult to hide anyway. Long lined coat had seen better days, as well as worse. Considering the camouflage armor under it, ork wasn`t  too excited about big city life, as he fits better to the wilderness or barrens. Off road modification of his chopper supports this theory, and lean tenacious figure also does.

[Thermo]

Storm notices when Zach gives her a sideways glance, obviously picking up on the fact that she just snorted a huge line of Psyche.

Whatever, what the hell does he know. This is a magical aid, nothing more. I don't need to use it, it's not like I have a problem with it or anything, so he can.. hey, look! My bike needs to be washed. It's getting dirty. STOP, it's almost time to go and the backpack.. Ok Zach just picked it up like it was nothing, it was really heavy when I loaded it, he must be like that "ork strong", I don't think I could lift it while riding the bike, but.. STOP IT time to focus, could be dangerous..

She shakes her head a little, trying to keep focus on the mission and not get overwhelmed in the ADD-like hyper-awareness that she's been getting lately from the Psyche.

Addition(2) Test: Wil(5)+Log(2) (7d6.hits(5)=2) whoa, that was close..

Storm makes a note that she may want to lay off the drugs for a while.

Yeah, right. Maybe when I'm on my next vacation.

She climbs on the back of Zach's bike and they head to the meet. Along the way, she keeps her eyes out for trouble, waiting to blast anything mechanical that looks at them funny. She damn near wastes a rotodrone on traffic duty.

Once they arrive at the warehouse, Storm sees the door open and immediately small electrical snapping noises can be heard from the vicinity of her left hand. She was prepared to launch a huge lightning attack, and small static discharges were arcing between her fingertips.

"Hoi, chummer. You our friend?"

She gets close enough to smell him and tries to get a read on his emotions. Hope he's not too nervous or there could be trouble.

Perception(Smell) test, [Social Limit: 8]: Perception(1)+Specialization(2)+Int(6)+Olfactory Boosters(6)-Sustaining(3) (12d6.hits(5)=4)

[Ren]

Stake's smell suggested that he used products with neutral odors. His breath, however, smelled of bear, he probably downed one or two before arriving.

[Sichr]

Whike letting the two others to exchange formalities, Zach looks around the shop. Not going too far, he just looks for any possible entry/exit points, scans the equipement, judging its purpose with his limited knowledge of hardware and electronic warfare. Seems like they are in some kind of underground facility designed as independence workshops for rent. This place definitely is interresting and He marks its location in his memory. Maybe even people around here would be able to give him some advices on propper security settings andf countermeasures with his commlink, he got quite used to AR overlay and feels a bit uncomfortable in current state. Not that his life depends on wifi access, but it makes life easier a bit...

[inca1980]

@Storm:
You don't smell nervousness on him and his general demeanor points more towards an intense curiosity into what you want him to look at. 

@Stake:
The ork and the elf look plain spooked and that doesn't make you feel any easier but the prospect of digging into some tech and doing a little problem solving whets your appetite enough to keep a cool demeanor.  The ork is packing pretty heavy and the short flash of electrical arcs between the elf's finger tips make it quite clear that she slings some powerful mojo. 

[spoiler]OOC: buying hits with your Intuition + Computer [Data processing], you find the following.[/spoiler]

You're deck almost immediately alerts you to the fact that there's some unaccounted for local matrix traffic in the vicinity sending widely spaced pings, the tell-tail sign of a potential device running silently within 100 meters and you suspect it's located in the bag the two runners have brought with them.  It's just a matter of finding it.  The only piece of information you can glean from the transient traffic is that it's definitely originating from something running off a NeoNET grid.   

[spoiler]OOC: Roll a Intuition + Computer [Data Processing] with a -2 for it running on a separate grid from the device you're rolling against.  I'll assume you're currently running off the Public Grid, so that will give you an additional -2.  I'll say you have access to the local Emerald City grid but not the NeoNET grid.[/spoiler]

[Ren]

Stake’s casual amicability disappeared suddenly, as he furrowed his brow. Drek, didn’t they take the batteries out? Amateurs. ”Put the thing on the table, quicly!” he snapped, and pulled his tools from a pocket. At the same time, he fired up his senses , still in AR.
[spoiler=matrix actions]Deck settings: Attack 3, Sleaze 5, Data processing 5(6), Firewall 6(7); programs running: Encrypt, Toolbox, Defuse
Matrix perception: INT(6) + Computer(5) – separate grid(2) – public grid(2) [data processing(6)] (7d6.hits(5)=4) Wow![/spoiler]

[Thermo]

Storm sees the dwarf's reaction to whatever he saw on his AR display and immediately responds to his words. Her heightened reactions let her move with blinding reaction time. She grabs the top of the backpack, still on the ork's back, and yanks it open. She wrenches the drone from the pack and puts it not-so-gently onto the workbench.

She looks at Stake and says briskly, "People call me Storm. Nice to meet you. What is going on with the drone?"

[Sichr]

I`m Zach. If I understand you correctly in this matter, I`ll better find some place around to keep an eye for visitors. Would you be able to set some private communications network, it would be fine, I still hadn`t time to familiarize with this new GRID settings, things had been pretty rush lately...

Zach pulls assault riffle and some spare clips from compartment on his bike. Just looking at it he racalls Brick giving him the gun for Salish run. Hey hey big bro, what kind of shit had you get yourself into. Grip on the cold steel returns him into reality quickly and he turns back to dwarf for instructions.

[inca1980]

@Stake:
Strewn over the workstation, the torn up remnants of a rather standard military rotodrone is something you'd find a good rigger controlling on the streets. 

[spoiler]OOC: Logic + Sleaze = (9d6.hits(5)=3).  You got one net hit so you spotted it but that's all the info you get.  If you want more, make another matrix perception test now that you can see the icon. [/spoiler]

You start triangulating the strange cross grid traffic and even though you're on the damn public grid, you manage to find it through all the spam and suddenly the device icon of a shiny black little spider appears in the AR overlay of the matrix floating nearby  If you want to know the exact location of the device corresponding to the icon you would need to get a mark on it and run a trace.   The device is something that definitely has a decent sleaze firmware programmed by a very capable individual or organization because it tried damn hard to hide and you're quietly proud of your own skillz. 

[Thermo]

Storm doesn't wait for a reply from Stake before she realizes that something is seriously wrong. Drek, they're completely in the open here. She decides to call in a spirit of air to help level the playing field.

[spoiler]

Storm summons a F6 air spirit, optional powers: energy aura (cold); elemental attack (electricity)

Summon F6 Air Elemental [force limit:6]: summoning(7)+magic(4)+power focus(4)-sustaining(3) (12d6.hits(5)=8) capped at 6 hits

Summon resist(force:6) (6d6.hits(5)=1) 5 net services

Drain(2) resist: wil(9)+cha(11) (20d6.hits(5)=7) no drain

[/spoiler]
She strikes a good bargain with the spirit, who requires very little sacrifice in order to finalize the contract. Merely a breath of air is needed to convince the spirit. Her first task is to have the spirit use Concealment on all three team members and itself, as well as the drone. She can only hope it will help conceal the drone's location from anything seeking to track the blasted device. She wills the spirit to remain overhead just out of range where it's cold aura would harm the team.

[Ren]

Stake opened a scrambled communication channel to the other two. He put the toolkit on the table. ”If I send the message, take the power source from the drone immediately, or deal with it in a final way.” With that, he sank back in the chair and switched his senses fully to the matrix. He then hopped to the NeoNet grid, and ran some routines that hid his persona in case the drone’s icon, or whatever persona possessed it, was already aware of his presence.
[Spoiler=matrix actions]Switch interface mode, simple: switch to hot sim VR, running silent; no test
Hack on the fly, to hop onto the NeoNet grid, complex: LOG(7) + Hacking(6) + hot sim(2) – public grid(2) – silent(2) [Sleaze(6)] (11d6.hits(5)=6); Opposed test: grid defends with 4 dice if local, 6 dice if global
Hide, complex: INT(6) + Electronic warfare(6) + hot sim(2) – silent(2) [Sleaze(6)] (12d6.hits(5)=3); Opposed test: INT + Data Processing[/spoiler]

[inca1980]

@Stake:
[spoiler]OOC: You succeed....[/spoiler]
You dive into the electron sea and your senses explode with pleasure as your adrenal and pineal glands squirt more and more hormone into your system to compensate for the spikes in hot sim signal shooting in between your deck and your brain.  Now to focus.  Time to get to doing something illegal.  The new Matrix was easy to get used to since in look and flavor it's a bit of a high-res throwback to prior decades, save one big difference.  GOD.  The Grid Overwatch Division.  The unprecedented ability they had to read the ripples that subverted protocols tend to send out has changed the game completely.  Not even changed the game, they ARE the game now.  Deckers, or hackers as they were for a small while fashionably referred to, used to be ninjas.  Now they're little furry rodents scurrying around for a piece of cheese in a deadly dance of cat and mouse.  But goddammit, ninja or mouse, you still needed to make that cheese and if it took a little new specialized gear and a whole lot of caution, then you were gonna do what it takes.  Time to get some more practice.

 Your nervousness over the present situation almost completely fades as you turn cartwheels, summersaults and flips like superman zipping through the electric-night sky looking for overlooked holes in the NeoNET grid.  There always is a hole and it's only a matter of nano-seconds before you find it.  As soon as you hop, the public low-res icons fade a little and the NeoNET subscriber icons light up as far as the eye can see from horizon to horizon.  Sculpting changed a little too....stars now line the the night sky and the dim glow of a perpetual sunrise give the grid a little more character.  Sure enough, the small device icon lights up as well and you can finally deck in peace.  The icon does not look like that of a drone.

@Storm:
Your spirit hovers on top of the team, cold mist slowly falling over you.

@Zach:
The dwarf is already out cold like a light, his eyelids fluttering a little.  You see the air spirit materialize overhead and already know it must be shrouding your presence so that others have a difficult time seeing you but for it to work you remember that the being needs to have a line of sight on you. 

[Sichr]

Reading the message and watching the dwarf diving into the matrix, Zach decides to trust his new commrade about being able to keep their conversation priveate. Not that there was too much to talk about, Zach looks above to the roof construction to see if there is a place from which he can observe the doors and the whole inside of the building. It would be wise to have some eyes outside also, but he dont want to stay on the watch alone, at least not before he gets some better image of surroundings. Leaving his coat on the bike, Zach climbs the supports and finds a place on a traverse under the ceiling. As soon as he reaches the place, he gets the Sylwia out of his pocket and sends her around, trying to find a hole big enought to get the minidrone outside of the warehouse.

[Ren]

The unusual icon bothered Stake. He suspected that the drone hid a persona, and if that was true, they were in trouble. If the controller was lucky, the sensors were intact and the one inside could have heard every word in the drone's vicinity. But the drone's communication might have been the best shot at discerning where the drone belonged to, so better not to say anything to his new companions yet.
Hiding among the almost-constant streams of data, Stake took a peek at the icon. He tried to discern what it was, and how hard it would be to follow the data trail it left by pinging something else. The streams hindered his sight as well but that was a small price for being there, undetected, and watching the icon.
[spoiler=Matrix actions]Matrix perception, complex: INT(6) + Computer(5) + hot sim(2) - hidden(2) [Data processing(5)] (11d6.hits(5)=2); Simple test, i'd like to know the following information: Type of icon, The last matrix action it performed
Matrix perception, complex: INT(6) + Computer(5) + hot sim(2) - hidden(2) [Data processing(5)] (11d6.hits(5)=2); Simple test, i'd like to know the following information: if it is a device - Device rating, Firewall rating; if it is a file - is there a data bomb on it, what is its protection rating

Note: didn't post further tests, a lot depends on results so far.[/spoiler]

[inca1980]

@Stake:
You scan the little black spider and your first look shows that it is the icon for a very novel mix between a stealth RFID tag and a security RFID tag that must have survived the attack.  Since it has characteristics of a security tag you doubt a normal tag eraser could knock it out, and that must explain how it survived so well while the drone itself got toasted.  You haven't really seen this type of hybrid tag and it must be homemade.  The last matrix action it took was to send a message and it was sent so close in time to your scan that it's obvious it is continuously streaming data out into the matrix.  On your second look you gather that it has a has a typical firmware, nothing out of this world but you do see a well protected file folder attached to it in the form of a little white spider egg. 

[spoiler]OOC: Since you're "trying again" for each successive Matrix perception test i'll subtract two each time.  So subtracting 2 from your second roll still gives you 2 hits. 
Your first roll shows you that it's RFID stealth tag and it's last matrix action was to send a message.  Your second roll showed you a device rating of 3 (which is the same as the firewall so i'll count that as one piece of info) and for the second hit you see an attached file folder.  Take a -2 for further matrix perception rolls on the RFID icon but the file is a separate icon and you can start fresh on it.[/spoiler]