Limit of Infinity: A Shadowrun RP (Game thread)

[JokerboyJordan]

Edge had been in a sorry state for the last half of the conversation, his eyes glazed over as he listened to everybody's incessant and pointless conversations. He had even let his attention fade so much that he had been unaware at a direct attempt by someone to introduce themselves to him. Everybody had been going over their plans for the attack on NeoNet for gods knows how long now, talking over infiltration, consolidation and destruction of the facility; Edge just wasn't that kind of guy.
He proceeded to dig the dirt from underneath his fingernails with his balisong again, preferring to be occupied with at least something practical. His chewing gum was turning bland again, and so he replaced it with a fresh stick from the pack in his pocket, before returning to his grooming.

Edge watched as a petty squabble arose on whether to demolish the data banks entire building, or just to sabotage their internal infrastructure with a matrix virus. If it meant he was going to get paid more, he was going to make sure that the damn building didn't end up as rubble, even if that meant silencing the opposition who may attempt to rig any explosives, after all, that cowboy didn't take well to following orders, he couldn't blame him of course, the guy was a bit of a dick. He still was right though, although Edge didn't back him up of course, best to let others resolve their differences on their own, whether that meant a fatality or not didn't matter, more money in the pot to go around, which meant a bigger cut for him.

It was then that Edge observed something as he was vaguely listening to the conversation that shook him to his very core.

"...I recommend the former option, mainly because we have an insect shaman who I am sure can spread some form of poison or another.... "

Wait... what did he say?!

"...we have an insect shaman..."

"Insect Shaman"

She's a fucking BUG?! And these guys knew about it and brought her here?! Are they fucking mental?!

Edge took another good look at the girl. She seemed too pure, too innocent to control such a destructive and downright evil force. Why did it have to be a bug? She could have been any other thing, she could have been a blood mage and it wouldn't have mattered, but a damn Insect is the worst thing short of a Dragon. She still looks so damn beautiful though...although knowing that she could at any moment turn into a ravenous, mandibled monster is still unnerving as hell.

"Okay, first things first. The Bugs. Are. Evil. This ain't a personal opinion, it's a fact. Their entire existence is based around consuming life and possessing everything they can get their feelers on. I wish that was hyperbole. Rodrigo, call me a killer if you want. I won't hide from that. But this a force you don't have a frame of reference for. Bad News with capital letters. I've got nothin' against Miss Taylor, but knowing what I know I can't help but feel wary. The last time we twigged the Bugs were around we lost a city. So I'm hopin' you can see why I feel justified in asking her why exactly she's in the city."

"...All I see, are a bunch of murderers picking on someone who seems to have hardly done anything. If I thought there was a risk to an adolescent insect shaman, I would have said I thought there was a risk. I simply said she was one because she could be useful. If you and Wulf intend to bully her more about things she can not change, this will not get anywhere. Nobody ever forced you guys to become assassins and murder people for money."



Edge didn't know where to stand on this matter. On one hand, he knew just how dangerous insects could be, there was a reason Chicago is called Bug City after all; on the other hand, he just couldn't imagine Taylor to be that nefarious, there was a look about her that suggested something deeper, something that came through when she spoke.
Or maybe he was just smitten.

He looked to Taylor anxiously, hoping that he could catch her eye and get her to at least exonerate herself of any of the things the group had her pegged for, because her overall silence at the matters being discussed only served to heighten the tension.

"Listen..." he said as he put his feet down from the table and leaned in to address the group as a whole.
"Maybe we all should just lay all our cards on the table,, so that nobody has any reason to mistrust anybody else. I'm not saying that anybody has to or nothing... Just that it'd make these procedures go a hella lot quicker if we at least knew what everybody was capable of."

He leaned back in his chair again, and blew a large bubble with his gum, before it exploded with a loud pop.

"Of course if nobody wants tp I really couldn't give two shits, as long as we crack on"

 

[Asclepion]

"Okay, first things first. The Bugs. Are. Evil. This ain't a personal opinion, it's a fact. Their entire existence is based around consuming life and possessing everything they can get their feelers on. I wish that was hyperbole. Rodrigo, call me a killer if you want. I won't hide from that. But this a force you don't have a frame of reference for. Bad News with capital letters. I've got nothin' against Miss Taylor, but knowing what I know I can't help but feel wary. The last time we twigged the Bugs were around we lost a city. So I'm hopin' you can see why I feel justified in asking her why exactly she's in the city."

"Why? Is it in the fact that something dies at the mouth of another, instead of living forever, or only dying of an accident or some ecological force or internal failure? Does dying of starvation because some other animal group ate all the grass count as evil? Is it "wrong" for my cells to attack and devour bacteria that is harmful to me?

How would we decide that the suffering of a human for 3-5 minutes at the fangs of an Insect Spirit outweighed the previous decades of growing, experience and community life? It is little compared to the years/decades of enjoyment and pleasure experienced in your lives. Predation itself is to be expected, in order to create the largest possible number of lives/individuals. With recycling of the nutrients, the biosphere can support an endless number of individual lives and experiences, as well as maximum biodiversity. No single individual in the system would have the 'right' to hog a patch of resources for eternity, depriving the next generation of individuals of even existence.

In a universe of physical forces and genetic replication, some people are going to get hurt, other people are going to get lucky, and you won't find any rhyme or reason in it. The biosphere that we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is no evil and no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference.

But there is an objective purpose of all life. Survival and ultimately, evolution. That's the foundation of life; therefore, it's hard to say that it's not the case. If your purpose in life is to remain unchanging, then I'd suggest you aren't really "alive."

So rejoice. Wherever you came from in the past, whether you are gunned down during the mission or your world succumbs to the Insect Spirits; you are a piece of the universe come awake. You are alive right now."

---

 

[Redryhno]

"You are alive right now."

Wulf sighed and shook his head, angry that this child truly believed what she was saying,"Kid, you have no idea of the powers you meddle in. The bugs do not attempt to survive, they attempt - and do a damned good job of - killing anything that's in front of them. They don't try to survive, that would mean they are hunted and have to adapt, when it is the other way around. Anyone that's faced a bug and somehow survived will tell you exactly the same thing. And don't give me that watered down Native piss, because I've heard better and believed it more than I'm believing the drek you're spewing right now. And I repeat once again, and I won't warn you ever again, after this job is over, I see you in this city again, and a hunt will commence, and it will either end in your death, or being forced from the city. We don't take kindly to Insects, spirit or shaman, walking around our city and knowing about it. You took a part of the world already, now go back to it and stay there when we're done."

He hmmphd to himself and began formulating a plan for the Archives, the guards for the most part wouldn't be a problem, the chrome arm though, he was a wild card, no telling what implants and augments he'd have other than that. Though he wasn't about to underestimate the regular guards too much, this was Corp sec-teams they were talking about, but again, they were Corp sec-teams, most of them full of themselves and overpaid for the work they did.

 

[Floris2123]

Finwe had remained silent as he usual he was still thinking about saving his contact, and seeing as he already made 1 enemy at their last gathering he didn't want to make another one. Of course hearing the ignorant people scream about their usual crap that mages were evil and such was still amusing to Finwe. He had met many people that treated him like an monster for knowing a few spells but, when push came to shove they would scream the loudest for him to use his magic to save them. Even if he was a monster in their eyes. Finwe grabbed a small vial and looked into it. The liquid inside was purple like it had been from this morning when he made it.

Finwe grinned and looked at the vial. It seems like my new mix is finished now only to name it. How about K-11? I did use K-10 as an starting point so it only seems fair. He sent a message to a few of his clients remembering them of their payment that he had not yet received. After the mission is seemed like he had a few house calls to make. Looking around the group they had started about Taylor being a insect shaman. He didn't care in the slightest he had already decided that he did not like her at all, not because of the whole shaman thing he didn't like her on a personal level and he had already known what she was. He then looked back at his new invention. He knew the ingredients he had put into it, and it was the perfect fight and flight cocktail. It made you move faster, feel less pain , react faster, and be stronger physically. Of course you run the risk of quick addiction, death if you take it too often, or an anger attack. But the new K-11 was less addictive not to mention that Finwe was the only one who could make it. It was something he had been working on for the last year. He knew that he wouldn't fill his suit with it though. Even though he liked creating it he wouldn't use it seeing as he hated drugs of this kind.

He looked around looking a bit bored though as usual people screamed against each other, he just sat there waiting for something useful to happen. He grabbed his backpack and started re organizing it making space for the new drug to fit into the bag. He then looked back up to the others which weren't really paying attention to him as far as he could tell. He was a bit shocked about how many people hadn't shown up. Maybe they were just too scared? Well it didn't matter anyway in a firefight you don't want to have such an coward by your side. He remained quite an waited for the time to leave, or the time for some more planning in which he needed to give his opinion.

 

[Terratina.]

Christ, what an argument. And he was the one who had to work directly with the insect shaman. Not the upset cop or the angry Wulf, him. In a few minutes, they had gone AWOL and started spewing flak on poor Taylor. Screw all the things Marlow thought on the team's current level of teamwork, this team was being ripped apart from the seams; especially with the amount of seething going on. In the whole heated discussion, another secret burst out: Rodrigo was an AI. This was getting interesting, first an insect shaman, then an AI, whatever next?

"Whatever next indeed, set up the confessional and the truth will set you free!" Marlowe thought to himself, he was in a sarcastic mood.

Charlie watched the fight go on as a surprised and shocked bystander, hoping to keep his own secrets, secret. In a strange way, this reminded him how secret things were in a habit of being let out during pillow talk. Two for the price of one, the pleasure of sex and knowledge of things he shouldn't know. But, he put those thoughts to one side. The faint smile on his face would raise suspicions and maybe tempers. Marlowe didn't see what the other guys were so worried about, from her words, this kid was a proper star child. He sighed. At least they had graduated from nursery to primary school, from physical fights to verbal ones, but this argument had to come to an end.

"Hold on for a second, people." Charlie said, leaning into the centre of the table, "I'm the one who has to work directly with Ms. Taylor over there. I have no problem with it.

Edge was fiddling about with his gum again, it made a loud pop that interrupted his speech. Marlowe glared at him, the gum when back inside his mouth. He continued on.

"Seems to me this 'run will fail because of all of us can't decide whether hack the place with a Matrix virus, or perform a routine that'll delete all the data. Or whether we're all going to get along. If we don't pull it together, this is going to fail and nobody won't get paid anything. Look, let's just move on with the job. It's best if you guys can get this over with quickly so you don't have to work with Ms. Taylor for a long time. In return, she doesn't have to take any more flak from you, we all get paid for a job well done and we get on will our lives. So let's get on with this."

Hopefully that will stop this...

 

[Evrant-Knight]

"In return, she doesn't have to take any more flak from you, we all get paid for a job well done and we get on will our lives. So let's get on will this." Charlie Marlowe said, hoping that would stop the arguments between the party, and focus on the mission at hand. Sebastian decided to say his final piece on the matter.

"Can I just correct you on one detail Mr. Marlowe, I wasn't saying anything bad about Miss Taylor; I for one don't have a problem with her. In fact, I've been mostly neutral leaning towards trying to be nice towards Miss Taylor. But your right, we should just drop this argument, and focus on whats important, getting this mission done, and get paid for doing it."

"I'll make the additions to the NeoNet compound security registers, then I'll work on gaining access to the maintenance systems and reroute the ventilation to wherever we need it so the toxin that Taylor will provide can go to the correct locations."

 

[Terratina.]

"Can I just correct you on one detail Mr. Marlowe, I wasn't saying anything bad about Miss Taylor; I for one don't have a problem with her. In fact, I've been mostly neutral leaning towards trying to be nice towards Miss Taylor. But your right, we should just drop this argument, and focus on whats important, getting this mission done, and get paid for doing it."

The assassin was quick to assume that there was a target that Marlowe's rant was directed at. Assassins tend to think that way and Charlie didn't blame him for it. Contract, contractor, target - those were the terms that contracted killer lived by, no wonder Sebastian was, in terms of though, stuck in those terms. Time to correct him, for once the assassin had dropped the ball.

"I apologise, if I caused you to assume that little speech was directed at you." Charlie replied, "It was directed at those certain individuals who were calling her every name under the sun. I appreciate the fact that you see things the same way I do with this little mess."

He tipped his hat as a gesture to reinforce the apology, it doesn't pay to be on the bad side of assassins, mercenaries, contract killer and their ilk. A decade of hiding from those sorts taught him that.

"I'll make the additions to the NeoNet compound security registers, then I'll work on gaining access to the maintenance systems and reroute the ventilation to wherever we need it so the toxin that Taylor will provide can go to the correct locations."

"Very well, let's just hope that the others are done with fighting." Charlie sighed, "There seems to be a new fight with every meeting, whether it be physical or verbal."

 

[3quency]

"Very well, let's just hope that the others are done with fighting." Charlie sighed, "There seems to be a new fight with every meeting, whether it be physical or verbal."

Christ, no kidding omae. Nik thought. He remembered a couple of nights back complaining to Kodiak that everyone on the team seemed intent on chewing each other out. Now he was part of the process. Funny that. Marlowe tried to deliver an ultimatum (probably a very wise one) about dropping the subject and moving on. But Nik's eyes drifted to Wulf.

This was a subject you couldn't let go easily. And from past experience this Wulf was stubborn as hell. And to be honest Nik couldn't really blame him.

Nik held his hands up in a peace gesture and looked around the table.
"Okay, I kinda agree with Charlie here. This has gotten out of hand, and mostly that's on me. Now we're kinda going in circles here. So if nobody objects, I got a suggestion. It's pretty clear that neither me nor Wulf nor Miss Taylor are likely to agree with each other, but can we all agree that given Miss Taylor's people's past you can understand why we're on edge? I'm willing to drop the subject, but I think both myself and any others concerned would probably feel a lot more reassured if Miss Taylor would be willing to tell us her reasons for being in the city. We stop arguing, the place feels calmer and we can concentrate on the job. Sound fair?"

Nik stopped and sat back, he'd tried his calmest voice, so he hoped his argument seemed reasonable. Sure it was still pretty horrifying that a Bug Shaman was in their midst, but that was clearly another problem for another time.

 

[Tortilla the Hun]

"Sound fair?"

"S'ere an echo in here or somethin'?" Clay asked casually, looking around the room as if he were actually trying to pinpoint an acoustic anomaly. "I coulda swore I said the same fuckin' thing two minutes ago before you guys started up with this shit again. But maybe it's just my imagination, I tend to hear things from time to time..."

 

[Redryhno]

"Sound fair?"

"I don't much care why she's here, just that as soon as this is over, she gets out of the city."

"I tend to hear things from time to time..."

"Quit with the saracasm, cowboy, you can complain about our ways later. Right now, shut it or tell me who can handle the Archives. We've got it pretty much settled that we're not dropping it, so all Rodrigo and I need is at least one person that can handle the guards and keep hidden. The extra guy's just in case it all goes to hell and we have to fight our way out of it. My bike can only hold two, so if it does, they'll be on their own in that respect."

 

[drmigit2]

Venaticus looked at Wulf. He had already figured that he would do both jobs, seeing as how he could pretty easily walk in to NeoNET. The public floors were free access and he still had his guard uniform.

"I will actually be bringing my own car for this. It is really flashy, but I will be sure to park it somewhat away from the archive. I intend to come for the other mission as well, a few things I should secure. I have a guard uniform so just don't shoot me okay guys? Whoever comes with Wulf and I for Kilmer should be able to disable a simple magical barrier because I can't and I don't think Wulf can either."

 

[Terratina.]

There was one detail that Charlie was holding back from the group, from the sound of they wouldn't use it anyway. Jason Hill was an alright guy, as far as personality was concerned and Marlowe didn't want to wake him up in the middle of the night again. But this was an opportunity for easy access. Sure, Mr. Hill had told him to wait a week before picking up a shipment, but with Nik getting the Lonestar mercs out of the picture, the time was ripe.

"Before we go off about flashy cars." He began, giving a slight nod to Rodrigo, "I get easy access to the Novatech compound, namely the storage facilitates. But break a leg, you'll have to play the parts."

Sure, that plan was pretty much redundant right now. Nevertheless, the Kilmer Data Archives sounded like a tough nut to crack and this would ease up the Novatech job. Still, the offer was there. Marlowe took a deep breath and continued on.

"I'm not too sure that I can arrange the meeting to be in the Kilmer Archives." Charlie said, "But if you rather have easy access there, it's worth a shot. Your call."

The offer was now on the table. Any takers? Charlie felt a twinge of guilt; this should have been mentioned first. Still, sometimes he could play his cards too close to his chest.

 

[Asclepion]

On the night of the run, Charlie Marlowe had readied himself and had made his way to the determined point for pickup. At the arranged time, Taylor arrived.

But not an adolescent girl.

She was perhaps six feet long and twice that across. Each of her legs was as thick as a man's wrist. The eyes were fractal spheres, dark and sheening. Her body was covered with soft fur, and from the head two fluffy, feathered antennae protruded.

And the wings- two sets of great wings, a pair on each side. They were made up of millions of tiny scales, almost like the skin of a reptile, but smooth and flexible. These scales glimmered with patterns of color.

The moth- Taylor- was settled on the wall, and Charlie became quite sure he was hearing words she made- a young, feminine though-speak. Telepathic, he thought.

Taylor could see again. Colors. Like some lunatic artist run nuts, spraying everything in brilliant, iridescent, glowing, insane colors. Compound eyes. And antennae that tasted and smelled all the delicious smells of the world.

 

[Gabanuka]

Spoiler: Well that was fun. Kinda feel back for anyone who has to read through it all.

Roberts slipped out of the meeting as everyone spoke; his part was done and it was up to them to fill in the specifics, besides he needed to sort out Vougner. As he walked out he sent a quick message to Nik
"Fill me in on everything I miss, that place was giving me a migraine"
He pressed send, hailed a cab and went home to bed.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

As normal Robert woke to a beeping in his ear; Nix had sent a brief summary of everything he'd missed.
"Insect shaman!?"
He screamed, loud enough for the apartment above him to bang on the floor. No wonder he'd mistrusted the girl when they'd met; bugs were bad enough but when you met people who could talk to them you were into some freaky shit. The rest of the information was as expected; plans, documents and schemes, he'd look over it later, now was the time for action.

Over the night someone had given him a list of companies Vougner worked with and as luck would have it one was based in Asia. During his snooping Roberts had obtained Vougners business number, he quickly glanced at the time; 10 am, perfect time for a phone call. He dialled the number

"Hello Mr Vougners office" a female voice answered "Stacy speaking, how many I help you?"

Roberts voice modulator did its magic, his voice coming out as a woman with a thick Chinese accent

"Hello, I represent one of Mr Vougners business associates; Baosteel. We have a meeting scheduled in couple weeks time, however one of our CEO?s in in the area earlier than anticipated. Might we be able to reschedule to a closer date?"

"Um I?m not sure" the secretary replied, clearly she hadnt been hired for brains "Let me check" Roberts heard a brief taping of keys "He has an opening tomorrow at 1pm, I could make an appointment if you want"
"Its that easy" he thought "anyone can call up and make an appointment? Christ if the rest of the security is as lax as this we?re going to have no problems breaking in"

Rembering himself he spoke again

"Oh yes that would be lovely, he will be meeting Mr Yiren. Would the Ash Dragon be a suitable location?..."

Ten minutes later Roberts was sitting in front of a mirror perfecting his face

"This is going to be a cake walk" he said aloud with a smug smile.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

It was 12:57. Mr Yiren was sat in a private booth in the Ash Dragon; a small restaurant in the back corner of Seattle's vast Chinatown. It wasn't the fanciest of places; the decor was cliche as they come, the usual mix of dragon, Buddha and painting. What set the Dragon apart was its food; there were thousands of Chinese places in the city, but the Ash Dragon was renowned for its authentic style and flavours; it was said that you would never find an empty seat at the Ash Dragon. It helped that the whole place was a front for the local Triad. The Dragons less than legitimate reputation coupled with its shabby attire made it perfect for Roberts plan, Yiren's company was meant to be going under, so he wouldn't be in one of the more respectable establishments and the Dragon's links with the Triad would make his story all the more beliving. Also it was very easy to hide a body in a area controlled by a gang.

Yiren glanced at the mirror next to his table and admired his handy work. The face he wore was perfect; its features generic yet still realistic. Whenever he had the choice Roberts opted for Asian cover; despite living in a time when Trolls walked the streets and you could buy dwarven crafts in a market, westerners still had trouble telling one Asian man for another. Perfect for remaining incognito. It was 1:15 when Vougner arrived leving two very large goons at the door. He was a slim man despite his years of indulgence, with the wisp of a beard on his face and an altogether seedy look in his eye. Vougner stood out look a sore thumb as the only white man in the restaurant, he looked around nervously looking for a friendly face. Yiren raised his cup in a greeting and beaconed to his table.

"Mr Yiren I presume?" he spoke with a thick east coast accent. Yiren lightly tugged on his ear activating a recording device.

"You presume correct, come, sit. We have much to discuss. Care for some tea? Its quite lovely"

"You seem rather relaxed for a man about to lose everything Mr Yiren" Vougners tone was sharp and cruel, clearly he was not the sort to mince words. After a few minutes of false pleasantries and business chatter Vougner ordered a glass of water and spoke.

"Frankly Mr Yiren I'm surprised you haven't cashed everything in and flown to some remote island"

Yiren chuckles softly
"Funny you should mention that Mr Vougner, I must admit that there is a, shall we say, alternative agenda behind this meeting. A proposal if you will, not strictly legal I might add"

This got him interested, Vounger lent forward in his chair, Yiren held his gaze.

"I have heard from the grape vine that you are a man of the finer things, wine, women, art, the usual"

"I know what's good in life" Vounger replied in a sly tone.

Yiren chuckled once more "Indeed. I have also heard that you are willing to bend a few rules in order to gain these finer things, is that so?"

Vougners voice lowered to a conspiratorial hush and became threatening as he whispered
"What do you know? Better yet, what are you offering?"

"Nothing more than a business venture my friend. You get something of great worth and I get enough money to, what did you say? 'fly to some remote island'?"

"I might be interested" Vougner spoke, again in a calm tone. The man knew how to play this game."So what have you got for me?"

"White jade. A dragon from some time in the Shang Dynasty, one of a kind I assure you" At this Vougners interest became apparent. Though the look on his face showed he clearly knew nothing of Oriental art, people often got interesting at the word "one of a kind"

"Why not sell it legitimately?"

At this Yiren's face back sad and he opted for the same hushed tone as Vougner
"I did not acquire it legitimately. I was gifted it by the local Triad" The look of surprise on Vougners face was a picture. Yiren went on "As I'm sure you know he local government has been cracking down on Triad activity in the area pretty soon they're going to go after smuggled goods. A man with your contacts will be able to keep the dragon safe while a man in my position will be hunted down like a dog." Yiren paused to let his words sink in, he reached to his cup with a trembling hand and took a sip of tea to calm his nerves "He is what I suggest, you come with me to were I keep the dragon, have a look at it, gauge its price, then we talk business"

Vougner knew an opportunity when he saw it, the man was clearly desperate and he could get the dragon for a fraction of its price. Working hard to conceal his glee he spoke.

"That sounds fair. Lead the way" Vougner stood from the table and looked expectingly at the man oposite him "I assume dinner is on you"

Yiren's smile was the pinnacle of polite
"But of course"
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

The pair walked into a warehouse a few blocks from the Ash Dragon, at Yirins request Vougners goons had remained at the restaurant.
"There is no need for them" He had said "I have none of my own"

The building was dark and empty aside from the light of a single bulb shinning down on a creamy white statue. Anyone who knew what they were talking about would be able to spot the fake from a mile off but to Vougner it seemed to shine with the light of all Asia.

"beautiful" He said in a awe as he began to step towards it, he felt a small jab in the back of his next, probably just a mosquito or something, it didn't matter. That was his thought as he collapsed to the floor.

Yirin smiled as he face reverted back to Roberts, he walked forward a searched through Vougners wallet. Everything was there: SIN, money, house keys and even a few pictures (all of Vougner). Roberts walked towards the door, changing his face as he went. He'd had plenty of time to learn what his target looked and sounded like, assuming his identity was easy. Roberts dragged the heap of a body off the floor and into a small crate at the back of the warehouse, before picking up the stature and walking out.

He began a gentle stroll back towards the Ash Dragon, as he went he threw the statue into a puddle by the side of the road; a few minutes later nothing remained. It was only soap.

 

[hiei82]

Spoiler: OOC

Okay everyone. I'm going to give a quick primer for how this is going to run.

First: I'm not going to pull any punches. If you get caught, expect lots of highly lethal bullets to be set your way, followed closely by giant drones, magic spells, and if you're really unlucky - spirits... or worse (yes, there are worse) How different groups of people react depend on what happens (e.g. if you get caught trying to break in a door with a gun, expect bullets, but if you get caught wandering a hallway you aren't supposed to be in dressed as a delivery man and make enough of a "I'm lost" bluff, just an escort back to somewhere inconvenient is probable)

Second: Bullets hurt - remember that.

Third: I'm very loose with the design of the building. If you come up with some crazy plan to, for instance, cut an elevator cable to rocket up to the roof, I'm all for it - see (sorry Ascelpion) "Rule of Cool" for an explanation of why. That said, please keep it slightly reasonable - If you don't have a grenade launcher, you can't use it. As similar as Shadowrun is to Deus Ex, no Deus Ex Machinas please.

Forth: I have a long list of where every important NPC is, guard details, security details, etc that I will not be deviating from until you are caught. This is a double edged sword - It's possible to escape this mission without killing anyone, and without anyone even knowing you've been there until it's too late, but it also means that if you do something stupid, see first note.

Fifth: Bullets REALLY hurt - they cause bleeding, and broken bones, and brain damage, and rapid on-set lead poisoning (read: death). I cannot say this enough - remember that.

One last note: I am assuming that Nik contacted the former-lonestar people, despite my lack of PM from him as of yet.

Now; let the mayhem... begin!

[HEADING=2]Kilmer Data Archive, 7:23 A.M.[/HEADING]

[img/]http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2010/09/29/automobiles/wheels-The-Cube-Birmingham/wheels-The-Cube-Birmingham-blogSpan.jpg[/img]
The block of cement that posed as a building, stood there - dark as could be. It would have seemed imposing, were it not for the dozens of other, similar, buildings surrounding it. A large white van was parked at the building, NeoNET logos covering its side, moving crates of material to and from the building - their purpose unknown. A handful of guards covered the building, each a powerful specimen of meta-humanity, dressed in the latest and greatest of armors, weapon gleaming from their sides and back. A large fence surrounded the complex, with but a single hole in the front for entrance, protected by a guard house of significant size. Beyond the van lay their one entrance - a pair of sliding, plasti-steel doors, currently propped open for the benefit of the movers - currently inside with one of their many boxes.

Spoiler: Wulf

There are fewer guards then your informant suggested. None of the guards you see look like they would be "former-lonestar"

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

[HEADING=2]Novatech - Roof, 7:23 A.M.[/HEADING]

[img/]http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/communications/ntpaw/PhotoGallery/images/Seattle_skyline_800.jpg[/img]
As Charlie and Taylor landed, the sun was just beginning to rise over the industrial landscape beyond. For this height, the sun reflected off the water below, creating a beautiful, all be it blinding, array of colors. The sun appeared red in the sky - a sure sign the clear skies the weatherman had promised would turn dark and gloomy again soon.

The roof was empty, save for a small VTOL on the landing pad, unoccupied. The roof, unlike the rest of the blue-concrete and steel structure, was grey and worn with use. The roof was a place for business and emergency use, not a place to take customers - it didn't need to look good. A handful of birds rose into the air in protest to your landing, viciously guarding their nests from the unwanted invaders. Aside from the landing pad - raised slightly from the roof proper - the roof was empty; save two items of interest. The first was a doorway. The door was made of thick metal, clean of dibris unlike the rest of the roof, and bolted shut with powerful magnets.

The second item of interest was what they had came for - the ventilation system. The vent lay beneath the helipad, a massive hole nearly six feet across, covered in metal plates and spewing hot air to keep the building inside at a comfortable temperature. a series of metal gratings kept the many wild creatures free of the system - acting as a sort of filter for the more annoying residence of the roof. around the grate however, was the evidence of a more difficult problem - the chard remains of a number of birds, who had tried to roost on the grating. Contrary to the plans Rodrigo had supplied, the roof was well protected now, by a fence with significant electric charge.

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[HEADING=2]Novatech - Shipping Dock, 7:23 A.M.[/HEADING]

Already, the shipping dock was hard at work, trying to keep the building well stocked with all the supplies it would need. a large queue stood in wait before the building, trying to get their shipment in early so they could make other deliveries. From here, it was easy to see the large, modern-industrial park that made up the buildings grounds and the bay beyond it. Despite it's beauty, the park was vacant - a result of the early-day state. In a few hours, it would likely be filled with tourists here to see the sights and business men and women here to make some deal.

The number of guards at the dock seemed strangely low and particularly disorganized - more so then their reconnaissance would have suggested. The lack of former-lonestar goons seemed the most apparent - Nik's little warning seemed to have done the trick. Unfortunately, the action had also slowed down the guards ability to get trucks through - hence the significant delay in deliveries. What more, the guards were clearly on edge - desperate to make no mistakes while their colleges were out "sick." They were searching every truck they could, but for every truck they searched, four more slipped into line, and another two slipped into the docks without "authorization" - it was chaos for the guards - and perfect for the runners.

Or so it seemed, until one guard - a particularly large Troll with a mustache - waved their truck over.

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[HEADING=2]Novatech - Lobby, 7:23 A.M.[/HEADING]

The lobby was sparse, even by NeoNET standards. The walls shown of polished chrome, with AR advertisements and programming covering the walls. A large VR clock hung over a desk, as the men and women behind it directed traffic in all manner of directions. Said front desk was overflowing with people and as a result the attendants were rushing around, desperately trying to keep pace. Of course, this was only expected when half the guards were out with "the flu." However, all of this was secondary to the rather troubling new detail. With half their security forces out, NeoNET seemed to be supplementing their force with shadowrunners.

Hundreds of shadowrunners. Hundreds of shadowrunners who were currently flooding the front desk with questions of where they were supposed to go. Hundreds of shadowrunners who were currently flooding the front desk with questions of where they were supposed to go, wearing more guns of more types then they could count and wearing armor no shadowrunner should rightly be able to afford.

Spoiler: OOC

the 7:23 A.M. thing is an arbitrary time as no one stated a start time I just picked one - the time I started writing this. If anyone has a better time, post it in the chat. the details won't change much so it doesn't really matter.

 

[drmigit2]

Venaticus stared at the gleaming oasis surrounded by dull, plain buildings. Venaticus was in his NeoNET guard's uniform and assumed the most plain, boring face he could find. Wulf already knew he was an AI and Nik figuring it out by now, assuming he never caught on to Wulf's constant hinting, would not matter. Venaticus figured that the best way to enter the highly guarded compound would be as a guard. Simply, he would walk in, jam their communications, lights and anything else that would give them some form of an edge. By the time Venatcius was done, the place would be a hollow glass and metal shell with worthless terminals.

Venaticus had seen Wulf and Nik near the compound and met up with them to fill them in. They both looked alarmed and were about to kill him before Venaticus said, "It is Rodrigo guys, don't shoot. The place is heavily guarded, but they won't be able to override my authority if I get in. My SIN is probably expired so I am not sure if that would work. Simply, if you all add a distraction, I will be able to slip in undetected, move quickly, inspect one of the terminals and if I just get a couple seconds alone, I will be able to easily destroy their little building's interior. Did it to NeoNET, Kilmer should be doable. Any objections?"

 

[Redryhno]

Wulf barely stopped himself in time to not shoot Rodrigo, his hand only grasping the handle of his flechette Predator, on account of it being quieter.

The streets were relatively empty despite the hour, a fact that surprised him as well as the lack of Stars on the guard. Sure some of them could be rookies moonlighting, but the lack of that walk and strut down there he didn't like. He still didn't trust the cop beside him and the lack of Stars only served to heighten his suspicion.

"It is Rodrigo guys, don't shoot. The place is heavily guarded, but they won't be able to override my authority if I get in."

"You have anything in particular in mind on that, Rod? Distraction's a pretty vague descriptor. You want it loud,messy, a combination of the two, or something else entirely?"

 

[drmigit2]

"You have anything in particular in mind on that, Rod? Distraction's a pretty vague descriptor. You want it loud,messy, a combination of the two, or something else entirely?"

"Since NeoNET won't hire AIs as guards, I just have to slip in undetected and the SIN will carry me the rest of the way. I would prefer that the whole confrontation remain bloodless, but if you guys have to kill, I just never heard it. Wulf, you make a loud noise far to my left, Nik will disable the magical barrier and let me pass through. After that, he will aid you in removing anyone who follows you. With that distraction, I can easily run through and get inside. Once inside, I will work as quickly as I can and get to a security terminal. Once I have a security terminal, I will get our information and cause a mass system wide wipe of every single file in the archive. After that I will disable all lights and electric systems, as well as their communications and automated drones. This will buy me time to overload their systems. Once overloaded, the whole computer network will be down long enough for me to escape and begin heading to NeoNET. I have something important to do while the others do their job."

The speech was long winded and he hoped that there would be no interrogation as to why he needed to actually go to NeoNET. However, he was comfortable divulging a small bit of secrets to those two. Neither were friendly with gangs, and if he did try to bring Nik back to the right side, he would have to tell him everything anyway.

 

[Asclepion]

Spoiler: hiei82

Nothing to apologize for

His mask secure, Charlie held on to her back with his arms wrapped around her. His equipment pack dangled behind. Taylor began scaling the vertical wall. Minutes later she was flying. She opened her wings, flapped them up and down, tucked the legs up beneath her and lifted away. She was no longer tied to the ground.

They flew between high rises. She rose to a hundred feet, high enough to escape the notice of early commuters. Carrying a man on her back, Taylor reached the structure exterior just as the sun was rising.

The Helipad was unoccupied. She could see- literally see, like a glow- the heat coming off the vent. It mixed with the cool morning air.

She touched down, letting Charlie slip off the fuzzy abdomen so her could draw his gear and secure the VTOL. As she was drawn to the aperture, Taylor could sense the magnetism of a live current somewhere before her- a barrier to the entrance.

Does silk conduct electricity? No. I'm pretty sure it doesn't. [http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Does_silk_conduct_electricity]

She needn't have worried. Marlowe had drawn a set of thick gloves and pried apart the wire. The current left darkened lines across them, and Taylor could taste an acrid smell of burning polymers. But the man was undaunted. With that, she tucked her wings behind her and began the hazardous process of climbing inside.

 

[hiei82]

[HEADING=2]Novatech - Roof, 7:31 A.M.[/HEADING]

Taylor and Charlie crawled through the hole in the electrified grating, hot wind in their face being spewed from the air system. It was slow going - trying to avoid the electrical conduits designed to keep animals and thieves out - but it was going; a positive if nothing else. Eventually, through their diligent efforts, they reached their first goal: the vent.

Time had corroded the metal within in ways animals could not have. Hot air, water, and time had discolored the steel pipe into a mix of reds and yellows, unbecoming of such a modern building. Looking down, the drop in the piping ended at a grating some 40ft down, then split off into a dozen other directions to reach the rest of the building.

As they stared into the abyss, a sound graced their ears. A light clicking from behind them - in the direction of the doorway to the roof. A second later, the door opened and through it walked a pair of feet, the rest of their forms hidden by the helipad.