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[5e IC] Sunt Venatores Venationem

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Poindexter

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« Reply #240 on: <01-06-16/2103:44> »
"Tell me truly, Sister, is this Marcus a Pharisee? A man who would tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but he himself is not willing to lift a finger to move them? A man who would shut the door of the kingdom of Heaven in people's faces? A man who would remove the speck in your eye without removing the log in his own?"

The little killer is clearly uncomfortable with the line of questioning. After a few moments spent searching for the proper phrasing, she finally settles on, "It's one thing to speak openly and factually about things that are, and quite another to suppose the weight of other men's souls." She finally makes eye contact with him again. "But I won't dodge your question. Some of those things you said are true. Some not. Some are true of all of us. "
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Tecumseh

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« Reply #241 on: <01-06-16/2114:47> »
Achak stares at Sister Rebecca while he grinds his teeth.

<<@Mercer [Achak] What do you think? She's an asset and a liability. I'm not sure which side of the scale is heavier.>>

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« Reply #242 on: <01-06-16/2310:06> »
As Sister Rebecca finishes her confession, Mercer mulls over the words. In all the time he'd been with the little firebrand, he'd never gotten a bad "vibe". She seemed like one of the good ones, and her coming clean like this served to consolidate his opinion. The church, on the other hand, seemed to have placed her in a position that ran counter to her nature.


<<@Mercer [Achak] What do you think? She's an asset and a liability. I'm not sure which side of the scale is heavier.>>


Mercer ignores the question for the moment - people shouldn't be told how to feel. But they could be guided, and there were some questions that needed answering. If the answers swung the way he suspected, it might be the guidance the young man needed.


"It's brave of you to share this with us. Noble that you would risk your neck to do right by your instincts." He screwed up his face as if processing a troubling thought, though it was more for show than actual concern. "Mind if I ask what exactly the church means by 'with them'? 'Cause I ain't got no inclination to read scripture and sprinkle Holy water at these abominations."
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« Reply #243 on: <01-07-16/2140:55> »
"Mind if I ask what exactly the church means by 'with them'? 'Cause I ain't got no inclination to read scripture and sprinkle Holy water at these abominations."

The good sister takes a moment to think about her response. Good question from the heathen. What exactly is meant by "with them" anyway? Sometimes, I even wonder if I'm "with them" anymore. After a short pause, she finds the words. "I don't imagine the church is looking to alter anyone's techniques or methods or anything like that. Their motivation seems to be more worldly. If I had to guess, which I don't like doing, I'd say they're more interested in who is and is not willing to tithe." She looks back and forth between the pair of killers she shares close quarters with before adding, "But consider, I've been with the church my entire life, and their motives have never been shared with me. I am..."

She gazes at her holy blade across the room, half in awe and half in resignation. This weapon had been her salvation and her burden since the day she arrived at the monastery. She expects it will remain so until the day she goes to meet her lord. With a tiny sigh and a slight twinge of fanaticism lurking near the back of her thick throat, she completes her sentence.

"I am but one meager soldier for our almighty God and I but do his will."
« Last Edit: <01-07-16/2216:12> by Poindexter »
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« Reply #244 on: <01-08-16/1354:34> »
4 DEC, 2074 1900

It's been an eventful day for Sister Rebecca, Achak, and Mercer.  The latter two have declined to shed blood in Achak's apartment, and the former is torn between loyalty to the Church, and this rag-tag group of hunters, one who could be called unorthodox at best, and the other a committed apostate.  It's a dangerous game she's playing, vampires on one hand, and internal power struggles on the other, but while trust in the Lord may not save her flesh, it could at least save her soul.

And then there's this new information to consider.  The trio has spent the last few hours discussing their next plan of action and keeping close tabs on how the shock wave rippling through Grotto1 has developed.  Despite assurances from the moderators -- led by fAlcon8 -- that they are doing everything possible to plug any leaks and investigate all allegation of TOS violations and other misconduct, a sizable number of users are vowing to abandon the site and go back to hunting the old-fashioned way.  The more moderate crowd suggests sticking with established runners who bear little chance of being compromised, which makes sense as those making the suggestion inevitably tend to be older, seasoned, and high rated users.  One thing at least that they can count on, after Mercer coming above-ground, is that their own reputation remains strong, even with the inclusion of the relatively untested Sister Rebecca.

Thinking that it may be prudent to do so, Achak and Mercer take turns scanning hunters in Seattle and Manhattan who could prove useful.  They limit the pool only to names they've seen for a long time, or those they've worked with in the past.  Luckily, Mercer recognizes a few names in Manhattan from his Denver days.

<<SN: Cleric
<<Location: Manhattan
<<User Rating: 78%
<<Specialization: Combat Medic
<<Secondary Skill Sets: Infiltration, Small Arms, Magical Support
<<Magically Active: Yes

<<SN: Pils
<<Location: Manhattan
<<User Rating: 72%
<<Specialization: Matrix
<<Secondary Skill Sets: Surveillance, Counter-Intelligence, 
<<Magically Active: No

<<SN: Flechette
<<Location: Seattle
<<User Rating: 80%
<<Specialization: Infiltration
<<Secondary skill sets: Small Arms, Hand-to-Hand Combat, Physical Security
<<Magically Active: No

<<SN: Mirana
<<Location: Seattle
<<User Rating: 77%
<<Specialization: Matrix
<<Secondary Skill Sets: Combat Medic, Drone Surveillance
<<Magically Active: No


It's taken Noiri Koizumi all afternoon and a good part of the evening, but her reply to Mercer seems worth the wait.

<<Unread Message
<<Sender: n.koizumi@Write4.neo
<<Subject: Re: Hoi Chummer
<<Message: 
<<Mercer,
<<Holy fragging drek-balls, chummer, that's gold.  Many thanks.  Keep your eye on the scream sheets for my next one; it's gonna hit like an Ares Arcon.
<<Alright, so the Sunrise office in Auburn is in the Sumner district, so I took a bet that the cameras may be working in the area.  Ding! Ding! Unfortunately, I was only able to stream, but a little after 1300 today, the 5 cars that were in the parking lot were joined by 8 more, including two Roadmasters.  They've been busy as fuck in there all day.  As I'm writing this (1900) they're still there.  I'm also including an invitation for MARKs for the link I've got watching the place, should it be useful to you.  I also pulled the blueprints, which are attached below.  Now, to be fair, their office is only one of 8 in the building, but I seriously doubt all those vehicles are there for the local KMG audit.
<<If you want, I can grab blueprints for their other offices. With what you gave me, I'm happy to provide them.  Just let me know.
<<I was also able to dig up a location for another Sunrise holding in Tacoma.  This one is solidly in Yak turf on the south side, which I thought was interesting.  It seems to be the shipping headquarters.  Blueprints there have been a total slitch to find, so I can't be much help at the moment.
<<So, how about proposition number 2, chummer?  I doubt you want this info for your interest in architecture.  So, you may be heading in, eh?  Why don't you take a member of the press with you?  I'm wiz in the 'trix, can keep my head down, and a story like this, from the frontlines, would be fraggin' nova.  Let me know, doll.
<<xoxo
<<Nori
<<Attachments:
<<Invitation for 1 MARK: Device: Renraku Sensei//774-K8-996B: Accept? Y/N
[spoiler][/spoiler]
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Tecumseh

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« Reply #245 on: <01-08-16/1534:56> »
Achak continues to study Sister Rebecca. She seems incapable of lying. Let's see where that leads us.

"A soldier of God's will. Tell us, Sister, how does God inform you of His will?" Achak bites back what he wants to say next. It's the problem with you Papists: you put men between yourselves and God. Luther absolved us of that silliness. Yet you still look to men when you ought to look to God.

"You have taken a vow of obedience, yes? As Christ was obedient even unto death, you are are obedient to your superiors who stand in the place of God, no? So, what then would you do if you were ordered to kill us?"



Achak accepts the MARK from Nori and checks out the stream. "So we have two Roadmasters and a bunch of other vehicles. Are they closing up shop? They can't afford to just abandon an office every time an op goes sideways, can they? Or is that part of the low-cost thing that Nori was talking about earlier?

"I think we should go put some ears on the ground to go with the eyes. We better motor though: it's a 45 minute drive. I suppose we can get dressed on the way.

"I had no idea Nori was any good in the Matrix. Seems strange: you'd think there would be more nuyen in slicing IC than there would be writing new stories. Or maybe a girl needs a cover story.

"We should let her tag along."


Edit: your/you're, God help me
« Last Edit: <01-08-16/2054:34> by Tecumseh »

Poindexter

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« Reply #246 on: <01-08-16/2020:04> »
"A soldier of God's will. Tell us, Sister, how does God inform you of His will?"

"I am guided by prayer, the scripture, and orders from those above me in the church."

"You have taken a vow of obedience, yes?"

She nods. "I have."

"As Christ was obedient even unto death, your are obedient to your superiors who stand in the place of God, no? So, what then would you do if you were ordered to kill us?"

"Any order that goes directly against the scriptures need not be obeyed. The law of God stands higher than the law of man. Thou shalt not kill." She looks the large native in the eye, locking gaze with him and setting her jaw firmly. "I have never taken a life not undeniably and admittedly in league with Lucifer. Even in self defense." She wants to add, "Can you say the same?!" but Achak, though newly converted, is still a christian male, and must not be questioned. Perhaps he can read it in the firmness of her countenance. Perhaps not.



"I had no idea Nori was any good in the Matrix. Seems strange: you'd think there would be more nuyen in slicing IC than there would be writing new stories. Or maybe a girl needs a cover story.

"We should let her tag along."[/color]

This is the first time the tough little blonde has heard one of her partners mention their source by name. She squints her eyes and cocks her head to the side a bit."Nori? Have we been talking about Nori Koizumi this whole time?"

"Then I agree. She should come. Miss Koizumi is indeed quite skilled, perceptive as well as exceedingly intelligent. Wow." She leans back and crosses her fingers behind her head with a nostalgic look on her face. "You know, It's probably been close to three years since we've seen one another."
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Tecumseh

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« Reply #247 on: <01-08-16/2058:01> »
Achak nods curtly, satisfied with Sister Rebecca's answers.

<<@Mercer [Achak] She may be a mole, but at least she's not a backstabber.>>

He stands to go, hoping Mercer agrees with him on the need to investigate Sunrise in person.

Malevolence

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« Reply #248 on: <01-11-16/1849:35> »
Mercer listens to the Sister as she provides her best guess as to the Church's criteria for a license to Hunt. He finds he's not terribly surprised that is comes down to money. Everybody wants their cut. "So it's a protection racket? Or will the Church be providing resources - medical care, equipment and discounts, administrative support, extraction when things go sideways, and so on? Because if there's good value for my 10%, I can pretend there's an invisible man upstairs that, despite all evidence to the contrary," he fights back the cracking in his voice as memories of his family re-surface, "is claimed to love the whole lot of us. Otherwise, all I can promise is the same as I've done so far - slay the evil things, no matter whose vestments they wear. God and I have gotten along dandily for decades by staying out of each other's hair and by nominally being on the same side. If I'm going to wear His team colors, He's gotta promise more than just some intangible 'Eternal Afterlife'. Ain't never heard anyone come back to verify the accommodations." Again, he felt a twinge as he was reminded of all the ones he wished had checked back to say they were truly in a "Better Place."


<<@Mercer [Achak] She may be a mole, but at least she's not a backstabber.>>


Mercer agrees. Despite what differences he and the Church may have, Rebecca seemed to be a good person forced into an uncomfortable place. He sighs. "But you are not here to give the recruitment pitch, and despite what other motives you may have had forced on you, you are here to help solve the vamp problem. So long as we are agreed on that purpose, I think we can move forward and leave the rest of this nastiness behind us for now."


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


When the reply comes in from Nori, he relays the message and offer to the others. He ponders her offer himself, remembering the last time she had asked to join him. He'd said "no," of course - while she was undeniably talented with the Matrix, she was un-cautious and he was quite concerned that while she was great at digging up dirt, she would be in more danger than she expected should she face any real opposition. Turns out the word "no" means something entirely different in Reporterese than in most other languages he had heard because she went along anyway - virtually, of course so he couldn't really do anything about it, and didn't even know she was there until she sent him a panicked message saying she was link-locked and was concerned the decker that had done it would have her location in seconds. And when he layed into her later - after ventilating the responsible decker and saving her bacon - for disobeying his orders and tagging along against his advice, she calmly pointed out at least three points during the operation where she had - silently, of course - kept his team from meeting an unfortunate end. He wasn't sure if she was making it up or not - reporters tended to be great actors and thus great liars in order to get people to open up to them when they normally would not - but decided to let the matter lie.


Quote
Seems strange: you'd think there would be more nuyen in slicing IC than there would be writing new stories. Or maybe a girl needs a cover story.


Mercer chuckles internally before replying, "you'll have to meet her to grok it, kid, but the girl ain't in it for the nuyen."


The others were more than happy to accept her offer of help, and so after looking through video link, he sent the following reply.


<<@Nori [Mercer] Since it wouldn't do me any good to say "no" anyway, we'd be happy to have you along.>> At the very least, he'd be able to keep an eye on her to try to minimize the amount of trouble she could get in to. After sending some details on when and where to meet up, he follows Achak's lead and heads for his van.



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Poindexter

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« Reply #249 on: <01-11-16/2027:04> »
He sighs. "But you are not here to give the recruitment pitch, and despite what other motives you may have had forced on you, you are here to help solve the vamp problem. So long as we are agreed on that purpose, I think we can move forward and leave the rest of this nastiness behind us for now."

She's in no mood to speak the gospel right now, but there is indeed, no rest for the weary as they say. With a stern, but regretful look on her face, she responds where no response is needed. "In all fairness, I am here for the slaying. But don't believe I'm not also here for the 'recruitment pitch' as you call it. I am. A man such as yourself deserves to walk next to our Lord in the afterlife and were I to spend eternity there in your absence, you would be missed."
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« Reply #250 on: <01-13-16/1124:10> »
With the theological discussion in a firm stalemate, the team suits up and piles into Mercer's Roadmaster for the trip down to Auburn.  They cross over from northern Puyallup into the Sumner district of Auburn amidst light traffic and likewise light rain.  Valley Ave. is dominated by factories still hard at belching smoke, but crossing over onto Parker shows them where the first shift workers are spending their meager time before hitting the slats they call beds.

Nori Koizumi sends a text to Mercer requesting that they meet in the Kon-Walmart parking lot, so he does a drive-by the Sunrise offices before meeting up with her.  Ms. Koizumi is waiting in the driver's seat of her Toyota Gazelle when Mercer pulls in, and she gives him a quick wave before putting the link she's been fiddling with in her pocket, and joining the crew.  She's short, plump, with her hair closely shaved on the left side, and a few tight braids tucked behind her left ear.  She has a muffler pulled up high around her neck, and a good pair of running shoes.  It looks like she came to party, should it turn to that.

Before heading over to the parking lot proper, Mercer finds a McHugh's roughly catty-corner from the office complex,and puts the Roadmaster in park.  In the Sunrise parking lot, three individuals, all males, one an ork, stand by a GMC Bulldog, trying to keep their cigarettes dry.  Their positioning is careful.  The team immediately recognizes that while they are trying to maintain an air of aloofness and appear to be just thee guys out on a smoke break, they've triangulated themselves to watch the road and sidewalk.  No doubt about it, these guys are the physical security.

Within five minutes of the team arriving, a Eurocar Westwind pulls into the parking lot.  The ork approaches the passenger side, and uses his umbrella to cover the woman who exits.  Through the rain it's hard to make out her features, but she seems olive-complected, with dark, shiny, oil-colored hair.  She assesses the men standing outside for a moment before turning to the car and saying something.  The driver then emerges, a beast of a man with a blond ponytail that hangs between his shoulder blades.  He joins the two men, while the ork escorts the woman to the door.
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Poindexter

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« Reply #251 on: <01-13-16/2023:12> »
"The ork and the ponytail are awakened. Everyone else is chromed but the woman. Tail's got some headware, too."
« Last Edit: <01-13-16/2112:42> by Poindexter »
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« Reply #252 on: <01-19-16/1500:12> »
Achak scans the blueprints provided by Nori. He asks Mercer to send his Fly Spy drones from some additional fact-finding.

"Sunrise is on the second floor. The front entrance doesn't have a welcome mat so we should try another route. The roof won't do unless we want to be going through the ventilation ducts.

"Actually, speaking of ducts, Mercer do you have any of those little Crawler drones? No, wait, those are the bigger ones. What about a Kanmushi, the tiny four-legged bug? No?

"Well we have a couple options anyway, depending on what our goal is and what we think we're going to find. In my mind I'm thinking this is basic recon, at least until we identify something that requires our presence in person.

"To that end, we could try to send the drones in first. If they can't get through that grate on their own then maybe we can trim a hole for them. That depends on getting to the roof though. I've got gecko gloves but in this rain they'll work less than a crippled troll on workman's comp. Other options include Sister Rebecca sending a small fire spirit to melt a hole, although the spirit will probably be none-too-pleased about getting summoned in the rain.

"If the Fly Spys won't fly then the fire exits are our best bet. We've got one camera that looks inoperative. I think I could press myself against the wall and get in a position to get through the door. I can jimmy it open or maybe Nori can open sesame. Either way, we'll probably need Nori on overwatch making sure that doing so doesn't trip alarms. She should probably get cozy in the Roadmaster just so her Toyota doesn't get burnt if things go sideways. Sister Rebecca can either come with me or stay here and provide astral oversight. Maybe cook up a spirit to help smooth my path for me though? Something to move faster, and stealthier. Mercer, maybe you want to keep tags on our amigos out front?  Keep the engine running in case we have to ˇÁndale! ˇÁndale! ˇArriba! ˇArriba!

"Once inside... we'll improvise. Again, I'm just thinking of getting some eyes and ears on the ground in there to see what the party is about. Some of these grunts out front look like they have their knickers in a twist. Maybe they're worked up by their boss paying a visit, or maybe there's something going down that has them sweating like strippers under stage lights."


Achak stops himself too late and glances at Sister Rebecca to see how she reacts. He's only been working with men for the last couple years, which is long enough to develop some habits that might not go over well. He's got nothing against women professionally, even if his colorful vocabulary might hint at a misogynistic streak. Note to self: check current company before scratching yourself, or belching.

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« Reply #253 on: <01-21-16/0347:51> »
The older man listened to the rookie's tactical assessment, and found it sound. Stake had taught him well, or perhaps he'd picked it up before Stake took him under his wing. The relationship between the kid and that gang had been niggling at him some.


But this wasn't really Mercer's area - sneak and peek was something that Shadowrunners did, not Hunters. Sure, you might sneak up on a nest, but if you were going in, you were going in heavy. Responding to his question about the smaller Kanmushi drone and/or running his Fly-Spys through the ducts, he replies in the negative.


"Sorry, son. I ain't kitted out for spookin'. The flyin' drones are for tactical awareness, not intelligence gatherin'. They can spot a tick on a neutered hound's testicles, but they ain't much for fittin' inta tight spaces - 'tain't got the software for it. They can be sneaky as black cat on a moonless night, though, if'n we can find a more suitable route to follow or if the ducts you mention are wide enough to maneuver easy." The southern color was more for Nori's sake - it made her giggle, and often eased the nerves of the troops, especially when the news was less than positive.


As for Achak heading in solo, he's wary of any member going into danger alone. He runs through scenarios in his mind should Achak be discovered. He'd be on the second floor, so getting to him, even if the front door weren't guarded, would be risky and take at least 30 seconds, probably more like a minute. That's a long time for a man to be alone against hard targets. Maybe a distraction in the front would allow him to escape, but he expected the opposition was disciplined enough to fight effectively on two fronts. No, if Achak were discovered, it'd be bad.


"If they see you after you enter the building, you'll have to stay breathin' for a minute or more all on your own - we got no evac plan shorter than that. Standing your ground would be suicide if they got more than a couple men on the inside." Mercer popped the smuggling compartment and retrieved a couple small black canisters about the size of an elongated old style C cell battery. He handed them to Achak. "This one's thermal smoke, and this one's knock-out gas. Throw them both over your shoulder as you haul ass, then either get the hell out of the building or find a defensible hidey hole. It'll improve your odds dramatically. If you still think this is a good idea, that is."


He thought about it for a moment. "'course, if you're reasonable sure they ain't got ultrasound or that astral sight, the thermal smoke mixed with your spooky-vision could even some pretty uneven odds, but I still say a dive out the second story window'd probably be safer. Now, I ain't the quietest type, but I'd prefer we find a way for at least two of us to enter the building so if things go sideways, help is a double-tap away instead of across a busy street, through a guarded door, then up a flight of stairs. Hell, if the Sister or I could at least get as far as the back door, that'd go a long way toward making me feel heaps better about sending you in alone."
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« Reply #254 on: <01-21-16/1859:24> »
Achak nods and accepts the canisters from Mercer. He's not surprised that Mercer doesn't have a lot of sneak in his game. The man seems to fit the mold of men from the CAS: loud and proud, especially the ones from the Republic of Texas. And, in Mercer's defense, it was so hard to sneak up on vampires that sometimes it was reasonable not to even bother. It was a different story with their thralls and whips though. The proper application of stealth could undermine a vampire and unbalance it, making it vulnerable. After all, what really kills the condemned: the noose or the trapdoor?

Achak looks to Sister Rebecca, who has been silent about planning. He can feel himself getting frustrated with the Sister's reluctance to contribute. Achak was used to multiple voices and perspectives, and if the Sister was only going to defer to the men then that was a potential liability. Would she correct the men if they were wrong? Achak wasn't so sure.

"Maybe I can carry an Fly-Spy inside with me, so that we don't to wander the halls in person."

Per Nori's suggestion, Achak turns off the wireless on his Ares Crusader, then sets his commlink to Run Silent.

"Alright, Sister, it sounds like you're with me then. Would you ask an angel to guide our way? Perhaps St. George would be willing to watch over us."