TOPHAT: Mostly Work with Some Play

[Morkskittar]

  

Operation: Mephisto

Taskforce: TOPHAT (Theft Of Potentially Hazardous ArtifacT)

Operatives:

• Aeos, Psy Ops Specialist – Freelance Operative
• Six, Combat Specialist – Freelance Operative
• Null #6432, Rigger Ops Specialist – Freelance Operative
• T.Z., Technical Specialist – Freelance Operative

 

 

---

EUROPA

The day before Jovian Shuttle MXI-272 Charon departed for the remote mining colony of MXI-12A, known formally as "Saint Aster" and crudely as "Satan's Ass," eightOr ten, depending on if one counted the inhabited ghostrider modules accompanying some members of the team. individuals arrived on the closest large habitat: Europa, the shining star of Jupiter. The Egocrasher facility on the moon was squirreled away far from the moon's active oceanic research centers, at the far side of a labyrinth of tunnels and corridors inhabited by less-than-savory elements of the otherwise prim and proper colony. The facility had no publicly accessible connections to Europa's main mesh, so there was no egocasting directly into their new morphs; they all had to rent sub-par pods and make their way through Europa's very own hive of scum and villainy to get to where their morphs and gear were being held for them, which was an adventure on its own. Fortunately the eightOr ten. of them had some experience in warding off unwanted attention, and in their pods they did not look like good targets.

The facility itself was accessed through a large garage door emblazoned with a stylized, oddly angular jellyfish that was the Egocrasher mark. A biometric scan opened a small sub-door within the larger door, and the pods could slip through into the main facility itself, where they were greeted by an open room filled with machines and other toys of all shapes and sizes, all under the shadow of a towering computing device that hummed eerily. There were at least a dozen sealed doors, both at ground level and at the tops of catwalks, with glowing indicator lights.

Each arriving pod was greeted by a pivo, floating in Europa's low-g, who directed them to the appropriate morphs, lying in a row of stasis pods on one wall of the room, and transferred their cortical stacks. One by one they each woke up, in various states of preparedness. The pivo fluttered around them, checking vitals and running scans, and then pronounced them all fit enough.

"Going on the big Mephisto mission, eh? Good luck. Boss Spectre was here yesterday; you just missed him. Dropping off your stuff personally. Took some trouble to get it." The pivo clicked. "If you'll follow me, I will lead you to your gear." The team followed him across the room, around three other Egocrasher employees watched them warily. A series of tables were set up in the middle of the room, covered in gear of all sorts. The pivo directed everyone to their proper gear, and everyone suited up.

"If you have any further questions, I have no answers for you. Need to know, and all that. We'll return your rented pods so you won't be charged. Your shuttle leaves at 0800. That's four hours, so get ready." The pivo shooed them all towards the exit. "Once on that shuttle, you go no-contact. Good luck!"

The doors to the facility closed, and the two taskforces, meeting in person for the first time, nodded to each other and then headed off to make final preparations.

 

---

CHARON

The MXI shuttle Charon was not comfortable, but it was not precisely uncomfortable, either. It was minimalist, with the passenger deck having cots, a small gym, heads and a cafeteria. A bored security guard scanned their nanotats as they boarded, and let them all on without incident. Taskforce TOPHAT headed in without any restricted gear on them, but with plans to pick it up from Six's triad contact on the station. The guard could not scan taskforce ROVER for blueprints, and while they scanned Mei's and the Red Queen's fabbers several times, they went through with only a warning to not use the fabbers for anything illegal, or they would be fired and potentially charged.

After settling in, none of them quite familiar with each other yet, the shuttle got under way. There were 32 new employees, including the Egocrasher agents, on board, and everyone mostly kept to themselves. The journey took two and a half days, and there was little to do but browse the delayed and censored Europan mesh feeds, stare sullenly at each other, eat, and read the standard require orientation materials.

Mu-Xian Investments Mining Colony MXI-12A New Employee Orientation

Welcome to MXI Mining, a subsidiary of Mu-Xian Investments!

Congratulations on your successful application to our employment program. Please find attached a copy of your contract, including pay schedule, restricted items, and shift schedule. Miners can expect minimum 10-hour shifts, technicians and security personnel 8-hour shifts, and researchers and support staff 6-hour shifts. Extra time will be paid as overtime. MXI-12A operates on a standard 24-hour clock, and all employees have 4 days on, 2 days off. Please see your attached contacts for information on who to report to upon arrival.

MXI Mining would like to extend its formal welcome to Colony MXI-12A, named "Saint Aster." This colony will have a population of [3208] after your arrival, all of whom are employees of MXI Mining. The colony operates under a modified Europan constitution [attached here]. Important personnel are as follows:

• Colony Administrator: Judith Reeves, PhD Political Science
• Head of Mining Operations: Sarai Egonu, MS Planetary Engineering [Miners Report Here]
• Head of Maintenance: Casey Galloway [General Technicians Report Here]
• Head of Research and Development: Maxwell Skylark, PhD Nanoengineering, PhD Mechanical Engineering
• Head of Security: Captain Benji Adamos [Security Personnel Report Here]
• Chief Psych Officer: Colonel Mir-Hossein Hoftada, PsyD [Therapists Report Here]

Please take a moment to review company policy about acceptable behavior. Remember, the people around you are not only your coworkers, but your fellow colonial citizens!

MXI Mining is a groundbreaking operation that uses nanotechnology to mine and refine better, and is expected to become an economic powerhouse in the Jovian system in the next three years. Welcome aboard!

There was, unfortunately, a test on the orientation materials.

 

---

SAINT ASTERSATAN'S ASS

After two and a half boring and uneventful days, during which the members of each time got to know each other slightly better via the TacNet AppsThis app gives you all the ability to share real-time information and chat securely digitally with each other, with little chance of the signal being tapped. that at least one member of each team had, the shuttle docked on the colony, and the 32 new employees walked out into a rather dull and boring hangar. They were given instructions on how to log onto the colony's mesh network, and then were led to a small auditorium, where Judith Reevers, Colony Administrator, gave an eerily upbeat welcoming speech full of empty platitudes. She was in a humanoid morph, and moved around in the low gravity with ease. The gravity was, surprisingly, heavier than Europa's (but not by much), which was somewhat puzzling given Mephisto's much smaller mass.

After Judith ("Judy" to her friends, which all employees were!) gave her speech, everyone received AR directions to their respective orients, where they met their department heads briefly:

• Those designated as Miners (Null) met Sarai Egonu, who met them inhabiting a hulking humanoid daitya. It was hard to get a read on her, but she seemed brusque and no-nonsense, and dismissed them after only ten minutes of an explanation of how not to get yourself killed before giving them their group assignments and dismissing them.
• Those designated as General Technicians (T.Z.) met Casey Galloway, head of both structural maintenance and mesh maintenance. Casey inhabited a octopoidal pivo morph, and bounced about the room in the low gravity as everyone filed in. Casey sent the newcomers a file with written orientation information before leaving only two minutes later, leaving them all to fend for themselves and find their new quarters.
• Those designated as Security Personnel (Six) met Benji Adamos, who inhabited an older, handsome male humanoid morph with a very stylized cybernetic arm. He waxed poetic about the virtues of discipline and responsibility for twenty minutes, gave everyone their shift schedules for the next day only after being reminded by another new employee, and then talked about what he did during the Fall for another ten minutes before dismissing them.
• Those designated as Therapists (Alanna/Aeos) met Colonel Hoftada, who inhabited a young, dark-skinned male morph and was very soft-spoken, running his twenty-minute orientation as a Socratic seminar. Despite their efforts to remain closed, Hoftada's gaze seemed to pierce through the new employees, who came away wondering if perhaps their secret was blown. In addition to assigning them training shifts, he also set up individual appointments to meet with the them all after two days of working.

That done, the new employees had the rest of the day off to make friends, explore the accessible areas of the residential area (they were not permitted to go elsewhere in the colony if they were not clocked in, and indeed could not pass through the doors to the other parts of the colony without clocking in). All of the new employees' first shifts would begin at 0800 the following morning, local time, leaving them the rest of the afternoon and evening to adjust.

An AR path led them all to their dormitories, which were suites of six private rooms and a shared bathroom and living room, all off of a hallway off of one of the public cafeterias. All of Taskforce TOPHAT was in the same suite, alongside two other new employees: security tech Surya Amalfi, a bubbly and outgoing security analyst in an off-market fury, and the more reserved data analyst Maria Bates, in a savant. After settling in, the two of them left the suite to go explore together, and invited the others along with them. Those of the taskforce who took them up on their offer (if any) headed out with them, while the others stayed behind in the suite to make the most of their free time, Aeos in their sylph, Six in their security pod, Null in their synth, and T.Z. in their savant.

Welcome to Satan's Ass.

Integration and Stress Tests

Welcome all to the game proper! The first thing everyone has to do is take a WIL check (a resleeving stress test) to see how well your mind handles the new body. If failed, your will immediately suffer 1d6 stress. Because the shuttle ride will take more than a day, I'm waiving your integration tests this time, as you will be able to adjust on the ride over to the colony.

As a reminder, all of you have full fake ego IDs as employees of the company. The first name of these IDs is the same as whatever your character normally goes by for simplicity's sake (your given name for most of you).

You have the rest of the day to make initial moves; scope out the mesh, go for walks, scheme, set up future drops, infiltrate any security systems, fab gear, or what have you. Generally, most of the game will be played in your downtime, with abbreviated play during your work shifts when you're, you know, working.

Feel free to also ask any clarifying questions about your trip over, the Egocrasher facility, or the orientations through the form of memory or recordings.

Any Restricted items you have (mostly weapons) are currently inaccessible; you (or someone) will need to head to Six's contact's rendezvous point.

Edited March 4 by Morkskittar (see edit history)

[TheFred]

Changing morphs is never a straightforward experience but, after the clunky pod, Aeos had found that their new body was more like a sigh of relief than an uncomfortable new reality. They'd inspected the details before resleeving - an attractive female sylph with several upgrades, exactly the sort of thing they enjoy... though perhaps they wouldn't have chosen blonde. Even so, the look of the thing and the feel are very different, so they are pleased to wake and, after a little adjustment, find themselves enjoying their new body. Far more important than the appearance are the augmentations; it's no menton, but the mental upgrades are nothing to sneeze. After the pod, it feels like a fog has been lifted, and Aeos can finally enjoy their full potential again.

As they're getting ready to set off, they check the fake ID that the egocrashers have given them, too: Marcelina Stanek, from the inner system. It'll do.

Unfortunately, all that mental speed also serves to make the ride over and the induction excruciatingly boring - particularly Judy's positive mental attitude, something which some of Aeos might have found endearing at one point. Now, though, they spend most of the induction pondering their research rather than paying much attention to the corporate shills. Hoftada is the only one who gives them pause; he seems far more perceptive than the rest of them, and even a disarming smile doesn't seem to get them very far.

Once back at the suite, Aeos want nothing more than to have some time to themselves and perhaps get back to their work... but they realise that they're on a mission. When the other new joiners suggest going exploring, therefore, they decide that perhaps this is a way to make some new friends and build their cover whilst also having an excuse to recce the location.

"We'd love to," they say, smiling warmly. Perhaps they should channel a little Judy? Fortunately, with this morph's endocrine control, Aeos are perfectly capable of being genuinely bubby when necessary. "It'll give us a chance to get to know each other, too!"

Edited November 12, 2023 by TheFred (see edit history)

[Dr Jackal]

T.Z.
Properly Paranoid Infolife Survivalist
Savant Morph

 

T.Z. looks at the sylph morph in disgust. "Are you high on some sort of organic hormones or something?" it growls in its strangely expressive baritone voice. "Hard pass."

It opens the compartment in its midsection, checks the action on the pistol, and stows the weapon securely once more. "I will go to the drop point. I would appreciate an escort, but I can manage without, I suppose."

[JagrHunter]

Six flexes his hands as he runs thru the diagnostics on his new sleeve. "The sooner I get plugged into local Security the better I can see what we are up against." He mentally sends his secure comms to each of the team members. "Contact me with any issues. I'll work what I can to get any issues resolved and I suggest we keep any new interactions with each other to a minimum. Just to be safe." Before stepping out he opens a secure anonymous message denoting a location of a special package that he needed to retrieve prior to checking in. "Thanks Santa, " he muttered as he stepped from the room.

Edited November 18, 2023 by JagrHunter (see edit history)

[Serge Skunk]

Null

---

On the trip there, Null had been mostly quiet. It had been literal years since they had had an actual physical presence in the material reality that they had been born into at some point in some place. When asked a question they had answered as best as they could with what limited information they had to share. Though for the most part it looked as though the other new Hires had almost little to no interest in small talk or conversation, which, Null assumed they wouldn't have been equipped to provide. Admittedly, they were still trying to get used to having a body again even though they had had enough time to integrate into it. It still felt strange but not in the standard sense. It was like being awake after sleeping even though one had been awake while they slept.

The particular Synth morph they had chosen was a rather bare basic one. It was completely nonbinary in its presentation and by the time they were in the suite had been dressed in their employee uniform, fitting with their tools and other gear that would be required for the job, as well as any other gear they had been able to bring in on loan from their real employers. When Surya and Maria offered to go exploring with them, Null waited for the other to respond before answering. It looked as though two of them would be doing anything else, while Aeos would join. So Null moved to step closer and join the Slyph Morph.

"If it is no trouble, I would like to join you and the others to explore our new station and get to know each other as well," they said, their voice coming out from their morph as a slightly monotone masculine voice.

Edited November 18, 2023 by Serge Skunk (see edit history)

[TheFred]

---

Aeos, Psychosurgeon
DUR: 0/30, LUC: 0/30, Wounds: 0, Traumas: 0
Pools: Insight 4/4, Moxie 6/6, Vigour 1/1, Flex 2/2

---

 

 

Aeos spare T.Z. a distasteful glance, clearly perturbed by its rudeness - or, at least, appearing to be. They're supposed to know each other even less than they really do, and a little apparent animosity doesn't hurt their cover. What Aeos actually think of the infolife is hard to say.

"Looks like it's the four of us, then," they say, eyeing Null's bog-standard synth appraisingly. They turn back to Surya and Maria. "Lead the way!"

Edited November 18, 2023 by TheFred (see edit history)

[Morkskittar]

With an encrypted channel between the four operatives established, they split into two groups: T.Z. and Six left to go locate the weapons cache Six's contacts set up for them, while Aeos and Null took the friendlier approach and headed out with their other two roommates. T.Z. and Aeos eyed each other with some distaste, but they soon parted ways; at least for now.

---

Aeos//Null

Aeos and Null left the suite with Surya and Maria. Surya never stopped talking the whole time she walked with them, turning right down the corridor and walking into a large cafeteria-style area. Maria, meanwhile, remained quiet, eyes darting around, taking in everything. Between exiting their suite and stepping into the cafeteria, the two operatives had exchanged names, (edited) histories, and favorite foods with Surya, and had learned that Maria was fond of tapioca (Surya was a fan of anything spicy, and was a five-time zero-G MMA champion and artist from Europa). The cafeteria, which they had walked through on their way to the suite, was still mostly empty. It clearly catered to both synths and organics, with power-charging and maintenance stations set up right next to a series of food fabbers.

Surya waltzed over to one of them and put in an order. She sighed. "Vindaloo isn't programmed in." After a moment of pouting, she spun around. "Well then, new friends, before we have to break our backs for the Man, where do you want to see?"

Maria shrugged. "Maybe we should familiarize ourselves with the general layout of the residential area? So we don't get lost."

Surya flopped her hand. "That's what maps are for. And they've got some sophisticated AR guides. We'll never need to figure out where we are on our own. Shame we can't leave the rez area yet."

She turned to the operatives. "Where do you two want to go explore?"

Aeos and Null took a moment to consult the public map of the residential area. It was rather labyrinthine, but ordered; a series of four cafeterias stacked on top of each other, linked by stairs and elevators, and a fractal spiderweb of corridors spiraling out from each of the cafeterias, lined with suites. On the first and fourth levels, larger corridors marked RESTRICTED led to the residential areas of higher-level administrators and VIP employees. Scattered among the spiraling corridors were recreation areas, meeting rooms, and other common areas, as well as security offices. The four of them were on the third level down; access to the rest of the colony was through a large chamber below the bottom cafeteria.

A few areas looked interesting; there was a large arcade off the cafeteria, a gym, a nearby medical facility, a maintenance/custodial area, a security office, and a meeting room currently reserved by the "Cinema Enthusiasts Club." If nothing else, it looked like Mu-Xian took care of its employees.

As the four of them decided on where to go, a pair of hulking organic humanoids, one female and one male, made no secret that they were eyeing both Aeos and Surya. The woman got up and headed towards them, and the man followed afterwards. "Hello, ladies... and bots. New here? Need someone to show you around?" Her attention was fixated on Aeos and Surya, and she almost completely ignored Null and Maria. "Need to know the best party spots? The bosses to avoid? Just ask and we can help."

---

Six//T.Z.

After the more sociable pair had left, Six headed out to pick up his smuggled gear; he wouldn't really feel safe without it. To his consternation, T.Z.'s hulking synth followed him. Once he realized his companion had no intention of leaving, Six resigned himself to his fate and checked the location his contact had given him. Their suite was on the same level as the drop, fortunately, but was a ten-minute walk down a series of increasingly twisting corridors. It seemed odd to the pair of them that the corridors were almost never straight; they almost always curved, usually to the left.

The corridors were brightly lit for the first half of their journey, and they noted regularly spaced cameras in all the common areas they passed. A few small lounges were mostly empty, but they did pass a small bar, operated by an actual human, just as the lights started dimming. The pair walked past it, and the proprietor watched them suspiciously as they did so.

Six eventually stopped in front of a door marked 3JA CUSTODIAL OFFICE, both in paint and AR. He pressed his hand into the pad to open it, and it bleeped at him.

<ERROR: ACCESS NOT AUTHORIZED>

A moment later, the door opened, and a cheap case peered out. "One of you Arcturus? You're early; you don't need to report for duty 'til tomorrow morning. Go back to your room." They stepped back and the sliding door began to hiss closed.

OOC

Nice job all passing your tests. :)

 

[JagrHunter]

"I have some gear that left in my locker. I just need to retrieve it. I want to get a quick start tomorrow." He carefully didn't say he was or wasn't Arcturus. But hoped the case was a simple menial drone with not much in the way of programming.

 

OOC: Deceive roll if needed.

 

Edited November 30, 2023 by JagrHunter (see edit history)

[TheFred]

---

Aeos, Psychosurgeon
DUR: 0/30, LUC: 0/30, Wounds: 0, Traumas: 0
Pools: Insight 4/4, Moxie 6/6, Vigour 1/1, Flex 2/2

---

 

Aeos arch a sceptical eyebrow at the newcomers... they don't have to have the memories of many to see what is going on here. On the other hand...

"Sounds great!" they say, smirking knowingly. "Surya here was just saying, it's a shame we can't explore the rest of the station yet - it'd be cool to see some of what actually goes on around here."

They manage to hold back a sly glance and look at the duo innocently as they muse: "Hey, we don't suppose you know any way to get a peek at main complex? The facilities here seem really nice, but our curiosity is getting the better of us."

[Dr Jackal]

T.Z.
Properly Paranoid Infolife Survivalist
Savant Morph

 

"They clearly have already stolen anything of value, Six, which is why they're being unhelpful," T.Z. says. "We should just report them for theft, and then the auditors can sort it out. You'll get your gear later. Let's just go."

[Serge Skunk]

Null

---

It seemed like Maria was at least socially similar to Null, though it was far more likely because she was shy and nervous rather than simply out of sorts like they were. As they walked and made their way to the cafeteria, Null spoke when spoken too and gave the fabricated backstory that had been constructed for them. It had been simple things enough. When Surya had asked them where they would like to go, Null took a moment to familiarize themselves with the map, effectively snapping a screenshot of the map with their vision and storing the information away for later use. "If possible, I think I would enjoy getting to just tour the areas we are allowed to be in for the time, do a little sightseeing and see how everyone is doing here." they had told her. It was almost a non-committal answer, but they figured at least visiting every basic area would give them a good sense of what was where in regard to the map. After all, it would be more helpful if they had a general understanding of basic inventory of other staff and equipment as well as to try and fit in before anything possibly got to rough.

 

Though, before it seemed like Surya could answer or reply, two new individuals made their way to their little group. Almost immediately Null noticed how both they and Maria were ignored as the attention focused on Surya and Aeos. Which was fine itself. The less anyone paid attention to Null, the more they could easily fit in when the time to strike came. As Aeos spoke with them, Null focused their attention on Maria to wait and see how they reacted.

[Morkskittar]

 

Aeos//Null

The female morph smiled sunnily, and Aeos found herself smiling back, almost giddily, before her endocrine control flooded her system and brought her back to herself. Aeos realized that the female morph was trying to seduce her chemically; she reeked of pheromones. Aeos' smile grew more fixed, but she was in control now. Surya, on the other hand, did not seem to have the same advantage; at least, her fluttering eyelashes, tilted head, and slightly parted lips certainly gave that impression.

"Yeah, it'd be neat to see more of this place; they do some pretty neat stuff! Nanomining and all that. I mean, we'll get to see all of that soon I suppose... but maybe we could see it sooner?" There was more eyelash fluttering. The male rolled his eyes as he came up behind his female counterpart, but she grinned more widely.

"Well then, honey, I think we can show you something... name's Danika. The brooding hulk over there is my brother, Daniel. Our parents didn't have much imagination."

Maria, in contrast to Surya (and Aeos), looked completely uninterested in the newcomers. "I must agree with our more sensible friend here." She nodded to Null. "There is no need to go looking for trouble on our first day here. We'll just wait for our proper authorization."

Danika shrugged. "You could do that the boring way. But..." she leaned in conspiratorially, and Surya leaned in eagerly to listen. "There's a back way into the main mines, and one of the old shafts has the best acoustics, and its great for playing low-g... ah, games. There's a party there tonight... or maybe you'd like a private showing?"

SMaria declined immediately. "I will go on and see what the medical facilities here are like, and if they include adequate repair." Maria stalked off towards one of the exits of the cafeteria with nothing more than a brief wave to Null.

"Well, that's one bore down," Danika said. "What about you three?"

Surya began to nod, then glanced over at the other two. "Wanna go see the mines early?"

Daniel spoke in a soft bass rumble. "It's not really the mines, just an abandoned branch. Probably sealed off by the boss-men; they prolly know all 'bouttit."

In the distance, Maria turned and began walking up a short flight of stairs.

 

---

Six//T.Z.

The case's cheap synthetic voice managed to sound annoyed. "Take better care of your things, then. You can survive a night without them." The door came nearly closed as Six protested, and then T.Z.'s icy, measured threat wound through the gap in the door just before it hissed closed.

It immediately began opening again, and then the case gestured them in. Six was impressed by how much emotion the case exhibited purely through body language. In this case, it was annoyance tinged with a hint of fear. It seemed that T.Z. has struck a nerve. Six and T.Z. both got the impression that this case was somehow implicated in whatever passed for an underworld on this habitat.

"Alright, grab your stuff then go." The pod gestured them through again, and Six led the way into the office, which was more of a glorified closet than anything else; three rows of lockers, with a desk just beside the door. The case hurriedly closed several windows projected above the desk, but Six caught sight of several spreadsheets dealing with very large amounts of inner-system credits and "MXI scrip."

T.Z. caught site of a window that he immediately recognized as a bootlegged, pirated, heavily-modded version of CYBERNECROTIC; it seemed that the case had just participated in a raid to defeat Kingpin Bel'zor, an early-stage boss that seemed to have been visually modified almost beyond recognition.

The case sat down behind the desk and told them to hurry it up. The pair of them idly wondered what the case had stolen from lockers; otherwise T.Z.'s threat may not have swayed it. Six turned down the far side of the row farthest from the case, and found the locker in question. He tapped a numeric code into it and it popped open to reveal a simple, unmarked duffel. Surreptitiously, he checked it out, and confirmed that everything was in there. Score.

He hefted the bag over his shoulder, closed the locker, and headed back out. The case stared at them openly as they made their way back to the door. "Big bag of stuff there. Hope that's all legal." The door hissed open again next to the case. "Now get out. I'll see you tomorrow. And don't breathe a word, huh? Don't want the Black Adder breathing across all our necks."

The case waited for them to leave, tapping their synthetic foot in impatience.

 

OOC

Aeos/Null can follow Maria on a mundane inspection of the residential area to see what they find, or follow Surya and the others to the party mineshaft.

Six and T.Z. can keep harassing the case, or they can head back to the suite and drop off their stuff and potentially run into another lead.

Edited December 10, 2023 by Morkskittar (see edit history)

[TheFred]

---

Aeos, Psychosurgeon
DUR: 0/30, LUC: 0/30, Wounds: 0, Traumas: 0
Pools: Insight 4/4, Moxie 6/6, Vigour 1/1, Flex 2/2

---

Aeos are - as is not uncommon for them - a little conflicted. Pheromones or no, Danika is attractive and parts of them enjoy the flirtation... even as parts of them are repulsed by it. On the whole, though, they find the whole thing a little juvenile... they haven't spent all this time delving into the inner workings of the transhuman psyche just to have their own influenced so easily by a chick with a seductive smirk.

A back way into the restricted areas, though? That piques their interest.

"A party?" They make a show of eyeing the other woman up... releasing a few pheromones of their own as they do. They pause to tuck a strand of blonde hair behind one ear, just to make sure to send a good waft of them her way. "Oh, you have to show us the way now! A secret back-passage? Sounds really cloak-and-dagger... very mysterious."

They smirk at Danika, batting their own long lashes.

"We do like mysterious."

[JagrHunter]

"Méi guān xi." added Six, not caring if he was understood or not. He had no use for wannabe Triad straphangers. He nodded to T.Z. he was ready to go.

 

OOC"Méi guān xi." = "No worries"

Edited December 12, 2023 by JagrHunter (see edit history)

[Dr Jackal]

T.Z.
Properly Paranoid Infolife Survivalist
Savant Morph

 

"CYBERNECROTIC!?" T.Z. growls, its hand reaching for the hidden compartment that holds his heavy pistol. With effort, it stills itself.

"Yes. CYBERNECROTIC. Which is an MMORPG. And you are a janitor." It pauses, and its vocoder emulates clearing its throat. "You know, pre-Fall, I probably spent more time in that game than anyone alive, but I haven't played for ... quite a while. If you would DM me a server invite, I could really help your guild get exactly what it deserves."

Edited December 15, 2023 by Dr Jackal (see edit history)