Shadowrun
Shadowrun Play => Play-by-Post => Topic started by: Csjarrat on <03-24-14/0601:21>
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Manchester Rain, In-Character thread
Elspeth Penzer (decker)
[spoiler]Player: Chris
Character:
Name/Alias: Elspeth Penzer / Spark
Priorities:
A) Resources 450k
B) Skills 36/5
C) Attributes 16
D) Metatype Elf
E) Mage/Resonance N/A
Metatype: Human
Attributes: Karma Final
BOD 2 2
AGI 3 3 (4 with right arm)
STR 1 +10 2
REA 4 4
WIL 4 4
LOG 5 5
INT 4 4
CHA 1 +10 2
EDG 5
INI 8
Qualities: Karma
Analytical mind -5
Codeslinger (Hack on the Fly) -10
Juryrigger -10
Allergy (Common/Mild - Sunlight)+10
Code of Honor (Warriors Code) +15
SINNer (National UK) +5
Karma
Start: 25
+5 net from qualities = 30 Total
10 spent on STR+1
10 spent on CHA+1
7 spent on Hacking(Crack File)
3 Spent on Contact points
Skills:
Group - Cracking 5/5 (see *)
Unarmed (Shock hand) 5(7)
Pistols (Yamaha Pulsar) 7(9)
Gymnastics 7
Perception 9
Etiquette (Street) 5(7)
Cybertechnology 6
First Aid 9
Cybercombat 11 *
Electronic Warfare 11 *
Hacking (Crack File) 11(13) *
Computer (Matrix Per) 10(12)
Hardware 10
Software(Data Bombs) 7(9)
Pilot Ground Craft 5
English N
Manchester Locales 6
London Locales 6
Street Life 6
Mat'x Security Protocol 10
Club Music 6
Cannibalising Elect's 10
Manc. Dance Clubs 5
Manc. Street Gangs 5
Gear: Stats/Rating Monies
-Weapons & Armour
Yamaha Pulsar nY180
External Smartgun system nY200
Taser Darts x20 nY100
Ares Light Fire 70 nY200
Internal Smartlink nY200
Spare Clip + 64 rounds nY133
Smoke Grenades x 3 nY120
Lined Coat nY900
+ Non-conductivity nY500
+ Electrochromatic mod nY500
+ insulation nY500
-Electronics
Cyberdeck Renraku Tsurugi 6,5,5,3(Prog3) nY214125
All standard programs 7x80nY nY560
Hacking Programs
Armour, Baby Monitor, Biofeedback Filter, Blackout,Decryption, Defuse, Exploit, Fork, Guard, Lockdown, Shell, Sneak, Stealth, Track, Wrapper
nY3750
Agent Rating 2 nY2000
Datasoft nY120
Mapsoft nY100
Shopsoft nY150
Spare Commlink Sony Emperor nY500
Directional Jammer 3 nY600
Area Jammer 4 nY800
Tag Eraser nY450
Data Tap nY300
Bug Scanner 4 nY400
RFID Datachips x10 nY5
RFID Sensor Tags x10 nY40
RFID Stealth Tags x10 nY10
Autopicker 3 nY1500
Toolkit (Cybertech) nY500
Toolkit (Hardware) nY500
Clothing x 3sets nY900
Yamaha Growler nY5000
Fake SIN 3 nY7500
Fake License (Cyberdeck) 3 nY600
Fake License (Cyberware) 3 nY600
Fake License (Bike) 3 nY600
Lifestyle (Low, Obscure, work area) x2mths nY5400
TOTAL nY250103
Augmentation (Alphaware unless stated)
Obvious Cyberarm (Lower, right) (CAP+10) nY12000
+Enhancement (AGI+1) CAP-1 nY7800
+Cyberarm Slide (Standard) CAP-3 nY3000
+Shock Hand CAP-5 nY6000
Implanted Commlink (Transys Avalon) nY2400+5000
DataJack nY1200
DataLock Rat 3 nY3600
SkillJack(Standard) Rat 2 nY40000
Ultrasound Sensor Rat 1 nY14400
Cybereyes Rat 3 nY12000
+Imagelink & Camera
+Smartlink nY4800
+Thermographic Vision nY1800
+Flare Compensation nY1200
Cyberears Rat 2 nY5400
+Spatial Recogniser nY4800
+Select Sound Filter Rat 2 nY8400
Cerebral Booster Rat 1 nY37800
Mnemonic Enhancer Rat 1 nY10800
Sleep Regulator nY1200
TOTAL: nY196800
TOTAL Spent: 250103+196800 = 446903 (nY3097 Left)
Contacts: Loy Conn Notes
Electronics Shop Owner 2 1
Corrupt Gov Spider 3 3[/spoiler]
This is a private game and is already full, please do not submit applications to play.
thanks!
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Chapter 1
A chill breeze blew through the gaps in the old windows, the sleety rain hammering into the pane of mucky glass made it feel less like mid-spring and more like the depths of winter.
The Soy-Processor beeped to alert you that your breakfast was ready, pulling you away from your revery; staring out over the mosside slums.
Your "work" 'link vibrated loudly, skipping across the surface of the kitchen worktop as a message came through.
::Incoming message:: <<Anon>>//Your services come highly recommended. I have work for you, lets meet for lunch to discuss.
By the way, you'll need to pass the test first.//
[spoiler]Attached to the message is an invite to a Matrix Host, valid from 11.55 to 12:00 today.[/spoiler]
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Spark rolled off the old sofa bed, batted the cheerily glowing green text out of her field of view. Shrugging on an her old dressing gown, she shuffled the short distance to the kitchen to retrieve the promised soy-caf. It always took a moment to ready herself for a new morning in hell, even if it was already the afternoon.
She climbed onto the only good stool by the worktop, lit the other half of her breakfast, and touched the AR phantom dancing around the worktop. Her implanted commlink awoke, and a gleaming over-real facade dropped over the frayed furniture and the wallpaper that flapped in the draft.
command: output time.current()
11:53. 2 minutes to go.
She pulls her deck from its wireless charging pad, pulls a thin fibre optic from behind her ear and connects it to a port on the side. It's an odd affectation in a wireless world, but it comforts her. The device awakens and she readies the device.
Firewall 6, Data Proc 5, Sleaze 5, Attack 3, Baby Monitor running, Full VR (cold-sim). Spark flits to the host, and pauses outside it's firewall to view its icon, waiting the last few seconds before entering.
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The warm wash of simsense flows over you as you hit VR.
The public grid expands before you, a sea of emerald blue littered with the warm orange hue of the hundreds of visible icons. The Euromart around the corner fought for your attention with its flashy icon and the dizzying number of personas nearby showed you'd definitely slept in. The whole neighbourhood was apparently up and about by now, nearly halfway through their day.
It takes a milisecond to locate the host from the invite's addressing system, in fact if you had wanted to find it yourself it would have been much more of a mission.
It was barely visible, a weak signal was all that was present on the Manchester Local Grid where the host broadcast from.
The host's icon pulses with a deep red, rapidly altering from a pulsing red circle to a deep red triangle, way "above" the grid.
As you try and enter the host, you realise its defences are up. It requires user authentication.
After double checking and triple checking the invite, you realise there was no user authentication sent to you. This must have been the test.
[spoiler]time to get your hacking on;
Matrix perception test (INT + COM) followed by Hacking (LOG + HACKING) please[/spoiler]
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[spoiler]Struggling to understand how to refer to things in the matrix - is an icon just that, an abstract shape with another dimension of encoded meta-information, or is it something with a more tangible form, like a building or an obelisk or something? Is VR just like inhabiting a 3D windows desktop, rather than a virtual city? The SR5 rulebook is a little inconsistent, and I'm not exactly well versed in this kind of cyberpunk world. :S Erm, let me try to bodge something of a response...[/spoiler]
Spark felt the all too familiar rush as her mind began to work, relishing the unexpected challenge. She peered closer at the pulsing icon, (Matrix Perc. : 16d6.hits(5)=9 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4446227/)) searching for a chink in its defences, or a back door left intentionally ajar for her to find. Hacking: 16d6.hits(5)=4 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4446234/)
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[spoiler]Think of VR as being analogous to Secondlife (3d world) in this setting.
A host can be tied to a physical location, the rulebook says that dante's inferno nightclub is physically tied to a building and is sculpted to look as such, but many are just free floating servers accessible from the grids. an icon can be anything from a persona to n RFID tag. most will show up as analogous to what they are (a music file will have a music file icon for example) but hosts and personas can be weird and wonderful icons. you can design your own with the wrapper program.[/spoiler]
Your investigation into the icon shows it is a pretty low level host; it looks like the product of an off-the-shelf Host builder. Everything checks out as you'd think it would. Standard firewall, standard access control and such.
The analyse suite glows a pulsing orange as it engages, scanning the Host for information.
As the results stream in, it shows it is currently not in an alert state and has only a tiny number or Marks currently active on it (3), of which you don't recognize any.
Moving to force an entry, you close down the analyse suite and prep for a subtle entrance. A shimmering holo-tool forms on your right arm, scrolling feeds of decryption algorithms, keyloggers and heuristic passkey breakers distort its outline, waiting for your input.
The Sleaze suite swiftly identifies a backdoor in the low grade firewall; subtly forcing a subroutine in the Mark verification process to grant you a mark on the host.
You'd punched the hole you needed, and a quick glance at the time in your HUD showed you had only a minute before the invite expired. A minute was an Aeon in the hyper vamped VR world, but still, you couldn't fuck about.
[spoiler]some good rolling there and poor rolling on my behalf. you now have one mark on the host, granting you access to it.
Entering the host is a complex action and as you've performed an illegal action, you'll start accruing overwatch as time goes on. you dont want to be still online in 45 mins, and that time will shorten with all further illegal actions.
Patrol IC are likely to be inside the host, looking for unauthorised users. if you go into "running silent mode" this makes their job harder but imposes a -2 to your actions in the matrix.
either way, hop in to the host and take a look around (matrix perception)[/spoiler]
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Spark, grinning like a chiphead, brought up her sneak package, and closed down all unneccessary signal traffic with a flick of her mind. It was best to run silent. She sidestepped into the host. This was almost too easy...
Matrix Perception.: 14d6.hits(5)=2 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4449141/)
...or had she thought that a little too soon...
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The port accepts your connection details and initialises the transfer. Your deck takes a fraction of a milisecond to render the sculpting data, dumping you into an all-too-familiar scene.
The host was sculpted like a pretty barebones greasy spoon cafe, you were pretty sure you'd been either here before or maybe its real-world equivalent at some point.
A row of cheap formica tables lined the right hand side and a kitchen/servery dominated the left hand side. A door ahead of you was the only thing punctuating the flat bare white wall at the end of the room.
The wall felt out of place, like it was missing something. Some pictures or advertising or something..
The wall behind you had been sculpted to resemble a window out onto a busy street, but as you focussed on it, the less detail the sculpting gave up. It was just a static looped animation of traffic.
Looking behind you, you see that the port you entered by was now closed, subsumed into the traffic-scape on the far side of the "filthy" windows.
The smell of bacon and egg sizzling through the serving hatch smelt almost too real as did the sound of out of tune singing to the 'trix cast coming from the kitchen.
You weren't alone in the node.
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Intrigued, Spark padded toward the servery. I think it's best to play along for now, see where this ride is going, she thought. She made a note of the blank far wall, it's strangeness wasn't lost on her, but the voice from the kitchen seemed a more pressing issue. Spark approached the counter, and tapped the small bell half hidden under an avalanche of cheap paper napkins. She leaned with her chin in cupped hands, affecting nonchalance as she waited.
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The audible stream of singing stops as you ring the bell, leaving only the feed of sizzling bacon. A face appears around the threshold of the servery door
//Aha, I see you made it then? Please, take a seat; I'll be over in a second.//
He gestures over to the nearest table, coffee stains and crumbs lovingly rendered onto it's surface for realism.
The man appears from the kitchen holding a tray with two breakfasts and two steaming mugs of "tea", placing it down on the table and taking a seat opposite you.
//Please, help yourself. Thanks for turning up, I almost thought you weren't going to make it in time.
Your skillset comes recommended and appears to be suitable for a job I have in mind. In theory it should be a milk run for someone of your calibre, but I'm sure you're aware that real life has its...complications from time to time. The pay is 5 grand, which is more than generous for what I need you to do.
Essentially I need some data off a very old system. I am assured you have skills with electronics of all colours and creeds so this should be simple enough. Questions?//
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Spark lent back, picking up a piece of crispy bacon and munching on it thoughtfully to buy time to study the figure in front of her.(Mat Perc 16d6.hits(5)=3 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4455519/)). It tasted good, to her surprise - a good approximation of quality bacon, not the soy faux-bacon she was used to.
//OK, you've got a bite here. Just the basic questions first. I don't need to know what the data is, that's your biz, mate. I do need to know if this older system is matrix connected, and, if so, it's icon. If it's not, I need to know where to find it.
We can get to what you know about it's security and the like afterwards, ya get me?.
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[spoiler]The icon you spoke with was clearly a high level persona, running on equipment that far outranked that of the current host. He has a high rating firewall, with extra security running to enhance it. (rating 7)
The Icon's trace appears to originate in the public grid.[/spoiler]
The man smiled at you, swigging heavily from his tea.
<<Aha, If only it were that easy eh?
No I'm afraid the data is not on the 'Trix. If it were, I wouldn't need your assistance now would I?
The data may or may not still exist. Now, the system it was running on has been lost since the crash, but I have reason to believe that the optical disks on-site at the very least will have the old backups in-tact, even if there is no-way to revive the old server hubs in-situ. Ideally, I want the live-copy, straight off the server. Take what tools you need to get power to the system and get it running. If you cannot, then search the security archives for the back-ups.
Now you may be thinking " where am I going to find this mythical data in a pre-crash system in the civilised world?" and in truth, you aren't.
I can't disclose the location until you accept the job, you understand...
So, Have we a deal?>>
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Spark laughed, a single bark of mirth. //Secrets within mysteries, eh? You know how to get a girls juices flowing, fella!//
Suddenly, she leaned forward, easy smile morphing into hard thin line.
//Count me the fuck in, on one condition. You make me some smoked salmon as good as that bacon. I had some from a can out of a crashed lorry years ago, and I've not found the real stuff since.//
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<<Excellent! {he shakes the digital representation of your hand to seal the deal and walks off to the kitchen, draining the last of the tea from his lovingly rendered "best dad in the world" mug.}>>
The sound of clattering pans and sizzling food is contrasted by the nagging gnawing of your consciousness. No matter how good a replication this was, your brain still knew it was a replication.
Still, if the bacon tasted that good, then there was no reason to think that his salmon wouldn't either.
You allowed your mind to wander in the few minutes he was busy, mere-seconds out in the real world, before being jolted back to the cafe as he strutted in holding a plate of scrambled eggs, smoked salmon and toast.
It smelled divine.
As I said, the pay is 5 grand. The site is on the outskirts of the old Sellafield exclusion zone. You'll need to get a geiger or some protective equipment, last I heard the NDM haven't managed to clean it all down yet.
Obviously, don't be dickhead; stay out of the hotzones.
The firm is an old research and development hub, {a terminal inviting you to accept the transfer breaks the reality of the rendered cafe scene}
<<GPS co-ordinates attached>> brought here by the promise of cheap phd class labour once the 'chinks got too pricey. Parent company got subsumed by Mitsuhama and sold for scrap, but as far as I know, none of the big players have been to the old offices. Doesn't help that the whole area got sanctioned as a dead zone mind {he chuckles}. Anywho, as I said, NDM has been working to clean up the shit the old nuke plant left lying about and If the Lord Protector's office is to be believed, which it isn't, then the whole area will be ready for resettlement in the next decade.
In other words, its safe enough to get someone like yourself in {he lets the pause hang in the air, as if to imply " but not so safe that everyone has been there already"} provided you take in the right kit of course.
My client wants the contents of their RnD servers. The plants' been closed for nearly 20 years, so their shit's gonna be archaic. Plus side is their automated security will be offline.
NDM have their guys out their too, and they'll be curious as to why someone wants to be poking around in an old factory.
Its gonna go like this; You get in, find the server hub. get it powered up, jack it to a link and beam it to me. If its totally dead, or been stripped out, you get on the blower to me right away and go for the backups.
I'll need the backups decrypting or running through a compatibility protocol in person.
Payment on completion via wired transfer.
The contact sat back in the uncomfy chair, stroked his short beard and smiled at you.
He'd designed his persona to resemble that of a late forties human male, dressed in a plain check shirt and khaki coloured trousers, his sleeves rolles up his arms slightly.
His salt and pepper haircut was thinning up top and had been trimmed short on the sides to keep it manageable.
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//Sounds like we have a deal, fella.// Spark said, her avatar's voice unimpeded by the mouthfuls of salmon. It was as good as she remembered - this middle-man was a skilled simsense architect, that much was clear. A useful and interesting snippet of information; you never knew when it might come in handy. //I'm going to need about 5 days, assuming I can lay my hands on the equipment I need. I trust that this is ok? You get my guarantee; I'll do the job if its possible, and sometimes even if it's not. And i'm discreet.//
With that, she swallowed, reverentially placed the cutlery on the plate with clicks, an audible full stop to the conversation.
//I'll be in touch.// <leave host> <jack out>
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He looks a bit annoyed and fidgety at the prospect of having to wait that long.
//5 days is the absolute limit, there's an extra 500 in it for you if you get it done in 3. <<commcode attached>> call me once you are online and in the RnD labs//
He gestures as if controlling a device and logs out of the host.
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Spark sat back, took a sip of soy-caf and thought. She'd need a few things for this job, and she'd need to do a little research. Her stomach rumbled. Despite still being able to taste it, a digital illusion of salmon didn't provide the needed calories. She had better get this job finished, in 3 days if she could. Food wasn't free, and the kitchen cupboards were as hollow as her account.
She set to work locating the rad-suit, mask and filters she'd need, as well as a geiger counter and batteries. She had a suitable bag for all her extant gear, and her own transport, but some of the more unusual electronics might need a little more work to acquire.
She searched for information on 50 year old hardware standards and software protocols which might become useful; she'd likely have to make some kind of interface board so that her deck could talk to the old mainframe.
The caf sat cooling as the sun slowly drifted down the window, spidery cracks splashing sparks of gold across the back wall and the tranquil figure of a girl who's eyes darted unceasing beneath their lids.
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1)Matrix search for shopping list (INT + computer) limit = data processing rating
Feel free to tap up your contacts for help on this if needed
2)Matrix search for 50 year old kit (INT + computer) limit = data processing rating.
Feel free to roll an appropriate knowledge skill here too.
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Matrix search for gear: 14d6.hits(5)=5 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4477626/)
Matrix search for old computer equipment: 14d6.hits(5)=4 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4477629/)
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The soycaf simmers on the side as you paw through reams and reams of suitable gear providers.
It seemed that there were a couple of expeditionary stores in greater lancashire, one in the remnants of Blackburn and two in Manchester that looked like they'd stock the stuff you'd need.
The Blackburn store replied to your enquiry almost instantly.
//<<From: @Adventures inc>>//Thanks for your enquiry. We stock a range of protective clothing suitable for ventures out into the wilds, as well as a "lightly worn" selection of second hand goods. Feel free to visit our Matrix store for virtual fittings and an up-to-the-second stock availability check + reservations. {node invite attached} Kinds Regards, Dan//
The geiger counter should be easy enough, they were ten-a-penny in the RadioShack sensor dept in the market district, and you could soon wire up a universal charger to one if you needed to.
Searching for info on pre-crash electronics was much harder going. Between conflicting thesis on the cause of the crash and the repercussions of it plus the endless and useless model-specific user manuals for varying old devices, you soon realised it wasn't going to be as easy as you thought.
The old-style universal connectors were slightly larger and had the power pins located on the opposite side to the newer styles. You'd need to wire up a converter cable for the data, but at least the power should be easy enough. You had a spare power brick that should hold enough juice to keep a server rack running for about 20 minutes, which should be ample.
The biggest concern you had would be the actual interface. If the rack booted up, it'd probably have some kind of backup storage; most likely optical. If it was jiggered, you'd need to code up a compatibility layer or an emulator of some kind. That would take some more digging and really, you'd need to get your hands on some pre-crash code or hardware first...
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With a flick of a finger, Spark brought up the custom dialler program and established an encrypted connection to one of her old friends. 'Old' in that they had been friends a long time, before she'd sold him out. It had been for a good reason, but even though he knew that, trust was hard to rebuild. She continued to try though, starting as a customer who always paid on time.
//MESSAGE<Ubik, how are you keeping? I need something unusual from you, and fast. I have the creds to pay for it. I need some information on pre-crash server interfaces, and some old parts with which to build an interface card. I need them by tonight.>>//
OOC: Ubik, aka Lucas Koch, electronics shop owner, Loy1, Con2. Same age as Spark, grew up in the same neighbourhood. Also insists on calling Spark by her real name rather than her handle, mainly cos he knows it annoys her.
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//Shit, you going grave robbing eh?
I've got an old bin of pre-crash junk in the basement, occasionally comes in handy. I'm open till 7 tonight, maybe later if you make it worth my while. Price depends on how much you need, talk about it when you get here.
You'll be buying something tonight, I'm not having my time wasted.//