TOPHAT: Mostly Work with Some Play

[Morkskittar]

Aeos//Null

Danika grinned slyly. "Oh, we're full of mysteries."

Daniel rolled his eyes. "Have fun; I'm off to the 'cade to do something fun." He strolled off, and Danika beckoned Surya and Aeos after her. After a moment of indecision, Null followed, if only to keep the biologicals from doing something foolish.

Danika led the trio down one of the corridor branching off the cafeteria, and they walked for about five minutes through increasingly run-down corridors. As they walked, Danika talked, and Surya visibly became more enamored by her, while Aeos fought the urge to act the same. By the time they arrived at their destination, Surya was practically clinging to Danika's arm. They stopped in front of an unlabeled door, and Danika punched in a numeric code on a very old-style keypad. The door popped open, revealing a corridor hewn out of the stone of Mephisto. "Don't worry, there's air; we smuggled and pumped it in through the air shaft. It's not like that in all the proper mines, though; organics usually need to rent suits." She gestured them in, and Surya followed immediately, followed by Aeos and Null. Danika closed the door behind them.

After another short walk along the downsloping corridor in near-darkness, Surya gave a little shriek and vanished from sight. Immediately, Aeos and Null went on high alert, only to find that she had 'fallen' down a wide open mineshaft, lined with rusted metal, and was now floating slowly down it. Danika laughed.

"The gravity in the shaft is different," Danika explained. "Lighter than the rest of the colony. No one's sure why. I'm sure the higherups know, but they won't tell us."

After a further moment of hesitation, the rest of them also stepped into the mineshaft. Danika whistled a short tune, and lights popped on up and down it, revealing that it went down very far indeed; farther than the lights reached. It also went up a little ways.

Though the gravity was weak, it was still present; however, occasional pushes against the side of the shaft, or against the rods and beams hammered across its width, would be enough to keep you almost constantly floating. Aeos and Null noticed several speaker setups scattered down the shaft, as well as a few projectors. There were also planters filled with bright green plants, algae, and mosses, and even a few larger solid platforms with tables welded to the sides of the shaft; one of them looked like it had a bar, complete with locked cabinet behind it. All in all, it seemed like a nice illicit little party area, even if it was a bit dirty. As they looked around it, Aeos and Null got a ping from Six, letting them know that their illicit gear was safe in the suite.

The top of the shaft had what looked like a jury-rigged ventilation system, and the bottom eventually faded into complete darkness. Just before the lights went out down below, Aeos and Null could see that the metal lining gave way to proper rock, and some kind of metal down there in the walls glinted faintly.

"So, what do you think?"

---

Six//T.Z.

The case responded to Six in a flat, emotionless voice, in traditional Mandarin. "Zǒng shì yǒu lǐyóu dānxīn.There is always cause for concern." Their head then swiveled slightly to take in T.Z., and their tone lightened, suddenly seeming interested. "You know the game? It has a solid base, but needs mods to be playable. If you're a pro, I could always use the help; I have a party of four others, but they're all... well, not great. Give me your game info and I'll send you an invite; it'd be greatHe says, oblivious to the pain he is bringing on himself. to have the full six in the group." When/if T.Z. sent him an account to contact, the case immediately sent an invite link to him, for T.Z. to do with what he will; this also opened a private communications channel between him and the case, whose game username was "Prince_of_Shadows111401" and whose real name, after some quick mesh snooping, was revealed to be Archibald Wagner.

The pair then took their leave of Archibald, Custodial Officer, and headed back to their room with their loot. Six pinged the other two in their group to let them know that the goods were safe, and then considered what to do next. T.Z. had the link to the serve invite open, showing in a corner of his vision, waiting to be clicked... or ignored.

Using TacNet to check up on the other two, Six found with some surprise that they seemed to already have located a mineshaft, having already made some progress toward their goal. As the two of them continued to think, the door to their suite opened, and their savant roommate, Maria, stepped inside, holding a piece of electronics clearly ripped from a wall somewhere, wires still; dangling off of it. She froze when she saw T.Z. and Six standing in the suite's common room. T.Z. recognized it as a mesh hardwired access point.

"Shouldn't you two be off exploring or something? This is awkward." Six and T.Z. noted, with some interest, that the hand not holding the ripped electronics had reconfigured itself into a hand laser. Six's experienced eye noted that it was a good laser. His eyes flicked up to the security cameras he was reasonably sure where embedded in the common room ceiling. "Those have been spoofed, don't worry. We'll have our conversation in private." The door behind her hissed closed.

"So, will it be death or a bribe to buy your silence?"

OOC

As a quick note, your TacNet means that both groups will always be able to check in on what the other is doing, and you can send DMs/IMs on it to each other.

Edited December 21, 2023 by Morkskittar (see edit history)

[Dr Jackal]

T.Z.
Properly Paranoid Infolife Survivalist
Savant Morph

 

T.Z. rubs the side of its head-analog. For an infomorph, it's a surprisingly human gesture. "I choose a third option. I am going to retire to my quarters, because I cannot bring myself to care about the nefarious deeds you appear to be committing. Whatever your secret is, you may trust that it will be safe within the fortress of my most profound indifference," T.Z. says with obvious exasperation. "That said, if you point a weapon in my direction again, I assure you that there will be severe consequences. Now - good day."

It stalks off in the direction of its personal room.

 

 

On the group chat, it posts:

Maria Bates is acting suspiciously and has access to weapons and some level of nanotech. They may be your target, and if the briefing is in any way reliable, I shall remind you that that means they may be using a distributed consciousness. I would add more details, but frankly I don't care and it's not my problem to sort out. Have at it.

Edited December 23, 2023 by Dr Jackal (see edit history)

[Serge Skunk]

Null

---

Null had felt momentarily paralyzed by what had occurred but given that they were essentially supposed to be working in a team, they eventually concluded that the smarter and safer option would be to not split up and instead stick close by in case an accident occurred, or something blew their cover on the very first day. Once they followed Aeos and the other two, Null pretty much kept to themselves. Which it seemed like was fine for the rest of them. Instead, they just kept silently taking pictures into their memory banks and recorded the path they had taken to get here as well as the various tidbits of information Danika opted to give freely. The slow fall down the mineshaft however had sparked something within Null's memory, a faint familiarity of information about Habitats and the construction of them. As they slowly descended down the shaft, their Synthmorph seemingly went offline as they tried to recall what it was that they knew about Habitat Operations, especially in regard to mining operations like this.

 

When they landed and Danika asked the group what everyone thought of it, they came back online, seemingly automatically. Though, they remained silent and opted to let Aeos and Surya respond, since it was far more likely that those two were who the question was directed towards. Then as they tried to process over their thoughts, Null noticed the message in the TacNet and wondered if maybe perhaps they should've kept on eye on their other roommate.

[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

---

 

"Wow, this is really cool," Aeos say, admiring the converted mine shaft. "We'll absolutely have to join you for this party later."

Noting the sudden message on the TacNet, they almost start. Maria had been with them only a few moments ago... and she's also as new to the base as the rest of them. What is she up to?

"So, uh, can you get from here into any of the other shafts, or it is all closed off to keep the air in?" They ask. Maria will have to wait - they can't have Danika getting suspicious.

[Morkskittar]

Aeos//Null

Null floated slowly in the mineshaft, drifting down, and thought back to their extensive experience. Their first thought was that mineshafts typically weren't lined completely with metal; how were you supposed to get the minerals being mined if there was steel and titanium in the way? They thus concluded that this initial metal tube was the access shaft above the mineshaft proper (which was where the rock began below), likely lined for structural integrity or maybe to house elevators to haul vehicles and material. They looked around and spotted a tell-tale vertical track on one side of the shaft, indicating that an elevator likely once ran up and down it. There was no elevator visible from their position to the top of the shaft, so if there was an elevator, it would be far below. Out of curiosity, they kicked off a side of the tunnel and let the momentum carry them up and over, and zig-zagged up to the top of the shaft, where they found a small metal box near the track; likely the elevator control panel. It looked untouched, save that the latch to open the box had been welded shut.

Danika tilted her head slightly as she thought. "I don't think this is connected to the other mineshafts. I can't see them being this lax about security for the lower levels; they're pretty strict about not bringing things in or out of the mines. It's a drag; you can't bring anything to while away the boring hours directing machines and finessing out ore. And you can't bring any shinies home with you. Actually, they don't even like us to talk much about what we do down there, which is weird, because all we do is use robots and nanites to take out rocks, and write notes about how good they are at doing that."

She smiled mischievously. "Though no one's been down to the bottom of the shaft. We dare people to drop down past where the metal walls end, but only a few have done it. Daniel has, for one. I've gone ten meters down, but it gets dark real fast, and the air gets kind of... thick. Makes you feel funny. I think there's some kind of chemical fumes or something in the dark, and not the fun kind."

 

---

Six//T.Z.

Maria continued leveling her handblaster at Six while T.Z. stalked off after delivering their message. They stepped into their private room and closed the door behind them. It hissed shut with a satisfying finality. A moment later, T.Z.'s message pinged out to both groups.

Maria, being a synth, did not show any reaction to T.Z.'s pronouncement, but Six was somewhat startled. He continued to stare at Maria's (literal) handgun, unused to having the drop be on him. She eyed his bulging duffel, full of illicit goods.

"Or maybe we can help each other. You didn't have that duffel when you when you arrived... care to share what you picked up, and from whom? I suspect we may both be up to no good."

OOC

Any responses from Six or any actions from T.Z. now that he's locked himself away?

[Dr Jackal]

T.Z.
Properly Paranoid Infolife Survivalist
Savant Morph

 

Inside its room, T.Z. checks the heavy pistol in its central compartment. While it has no intention of using the weapon, it seems prudent to make sure it's loaded in case a firefight breaks out in the central room.

If the silence holds, it begins downloading schematics of the base, paying special attention to places that seem to be drawing additional power or that might support nanotech safety measures. "Of course, a secret lab won't be on the blueprints themselves," T.Z. mutters to itself. "It will be in the spaces in between. Now, where is the gap that I'm looking for?"

 

[Morkskittar]

  T.Z.

T.Z. only half paid attention to what was going on outside, and instead dove into an initial scan of the likely layout of the base. The public mesh security was a joke, but he did run into hints of much deeper layers behind heavy firewalls that would require mesh hardpoint access. On the map, he flagged those sites most likely to have them; the main psychiatric ward, security headquarters, the VIP quarters, and probably somewhere up in the shuttleport above them. At least, those would be the access points in the residential area and processing center; there would almost certainly be several in the other layers of the colony.

The maps of the other areas of the colony were not readily available to newcomers such as himself, but T.Z. was able to spoof and bully himself into gaining access to the "public" blueprints of the other areas; these were maps that they would be granted access to tomorrow, or in a few days, once they had proven themselves suitable employees.

The primary mining operations map was mostly tunnels and shafts, forming a grid spanning a significant chunk of the asteroid. There were break rooms marked and a few "supervisor" areas, but not much room for a secret lab. However, there would be ample power flow through that area to power mining machinery, and there were several generators marked on it, so if power was going to a secret lab, diverting it through the primary mining operations layer would be a good way to hide it. However, there were gaps in the map for this area; substantial ones, and definitely ones able to hold a secret lab. T.Z. just did not think that they were a good place for one, especially given how trafficked that region would be.

The research center was too obvious; it was a cluster of not-so-secret labs set a little ways below the residential area, connected only to the residential area and to the experimental mining area by a single tunnel. Easily isolatable, and very dense. T.Z. did note with interest that it did have its own generator, as well as a private server room and archive. The actual research being conducted in the individual labs was not marked.

The experimental mining operations were shrouded in secrecy, and there were no blueprints of them accessible to the public at all. They were linked to the research center and primary mining operations by a single access point each, and there were big digital signs over these points saying DO NOT ENTER. T.Z. was absolutely certain that there would be secret labs there; hell, the whole region essentially screamed out secret lab. Their intel also suggested that Titanbreaker was likely located in here, though data on it might be available in the research center.

The hives, which stored and produced nanobots, sandwiched between the research center, experimental mining area, and primary mining area, were ostensibly only connected to the primary mining area, but T.Z. was confident there were links to the research center and experimental mining area as well.

But the real question was where was the central server system located? It was not marked on any map, and it would be far from the residential area. T.Z. bet that it would be found in the experimental mining operations or in the hives.

---

Outside, Six responded to Maria. "I might be. What no good are you up to?"

"I ask the questions, I've got the gun."

"But I've got the backup," Six replied.

"Doesn't look like it to me."

OOC

If T.Z. wants they are welcome to spend a Flex or Insight to swap the digits on the SysAdmin test to get the maximum possible highest result (67, which would be a success with two superior successes; if you do, I'll update with more information.

Waiting on Aeos and Null as well in the party tunnel; anything left to do before leaving and turning in for the night/attending a party? :P

[Serge Skunk]

Null

---

Once Null was no longer lost in their thoughts, they made sure to silently take pictures of the shaft and the notable parts of it, including the elevator control panel that had been left untouched, except for the latch which had been welded shut. With this in mind, they packaged all the relevant information they knew about mineshafts and sent the information over the TacNet to the rest of their party. Though they didn't dare linger longer looking at anything than they should lest they draw the attention of the other employees they had snuck away with. Overall, it gave them an idea of how they might proceed further into the mineshaft, though if they opted to go down that route, then they would need to it at a later point when they were all gathered and prepared.

[Morkskittar]

  T.Z.

T.Z. continued to think, only briefly distracted by a message over their TacNet with photos of an abandoned mine access shaft and a message about elevators and control boxes from Null. They filed that away and reformulated the power and networking problem in their mind. Instead of thinking physically, like his recent morphs had forced him to, he thought digitally, and called up all of the information he could access and charted it.

All of the available information he could find so far were limited to several clusters of information:

• Daily Life Information: Information about facilities, events, company leave and sick policies, and other things relevant to living on the habitat.
• Personnel Information: T.Z. only had access to names and "addresses," but there was more information available only to authorized accounts, including psychiatric profiles.
• Habitat Operations: Emergency protocols, maps, and org charts.
• Mining Data: Very basic, and likely doctored, public data about what was being mined and how much of it (lots of rare heavy metal ores and a small flow of rare crystalline minerals), as well as lists/maps of opened and closed mineshafts in the Primary Mining Operations area. More sophisticated data were available to accounts with higher access privileges.
• Company Propaganda: Self-explanatory.
• Community Resources: Markets, message board, and other social media run by members of the station, including the Union page managed by one Marcus Sykes.
• Shuttle Arrival and Departure Times: Notably, there seemed to be notably more people going in than out, and most of those going out were VIPs.

T.Z. also, on a hunch, poked around the server protocols for accessing information not contained on the local habitat mesh, and checked exactly where he would put it to find a thin firewall that logged and checked outgoing and incoming traffic. Most local traffic would also be logged somewhere. This was not unusual for a company-run colony, but this meant that any outgoing/incoming communications could be censored.

T.Z. then checked the personnel records, and found no mention of any cybersecurity or network engineers. At all. This was a very large hole; he knew, more than most, that mesh networks did not maintain themselves. Either there was an entire department of employees there were not publicly listed, or something strange was going on. Who was monitoring the firewall? Logic dictated the former, but T.Z. could not help but entertain the idea that the mesh network itself might be self-aware and self-regulating. Or perhaps there was an entire caste of enslaved infomorphs, who officially did not exist, who constantly maintained and guarded the network. Given a few hours, T.Z. could test that theory, at least, by a deep dive into the edges of the mesh network's security system, poking it to see what would come out. This would risk drawing attention, of course.

Nor were there any spaces dedicated to mesh maintenance, and there were no mesh broadcast points marked anywhere on the schematics; typically, habitat schematics had these marked so you knew where to stand for the best connection, and if there were outages, you could go to somewhere that still had access. T.Z. knew that there had to be access points with different clearance levels, probably located in the locations he had deduced, but where were the broadcast points? He could guess where he would put them, and if needed, he could walk around the area and test it himself, making a digital map of access speeds and signal strength.

Going on that logic, T.Z. made requests for several innocuous, locally stored documents, and used a very accurate timer to track slight changes in access speeds as a way to gauge the distance between himself and the physical storage locations of documents. Usually, very tiny differences would be marked that would would help one be able to approximately map the data structure of the place... but all of the documents had the exact same recall times, with not even the smallest difference. To T.Z., this either indicated that all of the habitat's public data was stored in exactly one place, meaning there was a central server room somewhere (and thus, the departments did not physically store their data in different places for maximum security), or that the data was stored everywhere all at once, which was, of course, ridiculous.

On a whim, he requested access to data he knew existed, but would not have access to, reasoning that the request would take longer to ping back to him and that the return time would be different, as surely the top-secret data would not be stored alongside the public data. Accounting for the time the system needed to confirm that he was not authorized, the times were the exact same again. So, either all of the station's data that he could see was stored in the same place... or it was everywhere. That second idea did not seem as crazy as before, now.

Regardless, he was sure now that the answers lay in the Experimental Mining Area. That was the area they would need to access to get to the Titanbreaker program, and where they would complete their mission. As a final hypothetical experiment, he tried to determine where a hypothetical server room would be; if it was all in once place, it would have to be accessible to more than just top-level employees. He guessed he would find the servers in the Research Center, and based on what he knew about secret development (of games and other things), that there was a second, much more tightly broadcast and smaller, very local mesh just for the experimental research station. That was the only explanation for why he could not find even traces of it in the mesh accessible from where he was.

T.Z. briefly summarized his thoughts and pushed them out onto the TacNet.

Outside his room, T.Z. heard Six speak in a louder voice. "Of course I have backup."

Then there was a message on the TacNet sent to everyone.

Maria's response came back after a short pause. "No, it doesn't look like it. Tell you what, we'll start by putting the bag down."

The TacNet feed showed Six doing exactly that.

Maria then spoke again. "And I'll just see what's inside..."

TacNet

Six: I need some help here; our crazy roommate Maria is holding a gun to me and trying to blackmail me into giving up secrets. Any suggestions?

  Null//Aeos

Null carefully documented the mineshaft, being as surreptitious as possible to avoid calling attention to their behavior. Surya, meanwhile while chatting animatedly with Danika, and Aeos merely looked thoughtful. After they snapped their last picture, they got a message over TacNet from T.Z., in the form of a very long and complex set of deductions about how the mesh network was not right. Then, a second one came from Six, but there was nothing they could do about it now.

As Null, job done, floated back down, they sent their photos, along with a brief note that the box likely called an elevator down to where the real mining occurred, to the entire team. They floated down just in time to hear Danika ask, "So, think you'll wanna see this place full of people tonight?"

Surya agreed immediately that they would come to the party that night. Aeos and Null were more hesitant.

OOC

Absolutely no GM pressure to attend the party if you want to get to the meatier substance of the workday sooner. :P It is merely one option. Either way, moving forward this weekend. :)

A few possibilities for T.Z. to explore, but something is definitely very not normal about how the mesh is structured here.

Edited January 19 by Morkskittar (see edit history)

[Dr Jackal]

T.Z.
Properly Paranoid Infolife Survivalist
Savant Morph

 

T.Z.'s eyes flare red with annoyance and it picks up the pistol. "Six ... you have failed me for the last ti--" it hisses, then stops itself with some effort. "No. No! Interrupt subroutine 8051! Abort!"

It realizes that the tensors in its forward manipulator are all red-lined, and consciously relaxes the grip on its pistol. "Subroutine 8051," T.Z. growls, "when I finally locate all of your instances, I am going to download you onto magnetic tape. And then I am going to launch the tape into low Jovian orbit. And when the magnetosphere has erased every last bit of you from existence, I am going to stomp on the tapes until they are dust. And then I am going to fire the dust into the SUN!"

It takes a moment to compose itself, drumming its fingers on the desk. "Very well. If she wants to be a villain, then I am going to show her what a real villain can do," it says to no one in particular.

It brings up Total Impact Carnage Arena II, a popular but slightly outdated first-person shooter, on the external viewer. A few quick menu selections queue up a free-for-all deathmatch with a half dozen bots. T.Z. bypasses the volume limiter, and the immediately recognizable opening chords ring out at 95 decibels.

"There can be only one!" the game announces gleefully. "BEGIN!"

The door opens. T.Z. steps out and fires a burst of gunfire.

"E-e-e-epic failure!"

Edited January 21 by Dr Jackal (see edit history)

[Morkskittar]

  T.Z.

T.Z. stepped out into the common room in a blast of music and gunfire, and all hell broke loose. The common room was a simple rectangle with a table, some chairs, two couches, a pair of large monitors, and a data terminal, and thus offered little cover. Despite this, none of its shots connected directly with the target, and the slugs ricocheted about the room. T.Z. itself was forced to duck as one of the slugs whizzed just past its morph's head. The same slug ended its journey in the data terminal, causing something in it to short-circuit, and it soon began to smoke. T.Z. wondered if Maria had also bypassed any smoke detector or sprinkler systems when she spoofed the common room security camera.

Maria was more startled by the music than then the gunfire, reflexively entering a defensive position at the first notes of the theme. The instant T.Z. began firing, however, she leapt into action, returning fire herself with her hand laser. Her first shot was not for T.Z., though; they were for Six. Two quick shots, one through his head and one through his heart, and the enforcer crumpled like a paper crane.

The third shot was intended for T.Z., but thankfully he had already ducked behind the couch nearest to him, for whatever that cover would be worth.

T.Z.'s music continued blaring, loud enough to mask the sound of its gunfire, and also loud enough to drown out anything Maria might be shouting at it. Not that T.Z. was obligated to listen. From its hiding place behind the couch, T.Z. pondered its next move as the sprinklers in the room turned on.

Then TacNet sent it an automated message.

TacNet Server Automated Security Alert: USER FATALITY

TacNet user <<Dark6CHamp>> has been logged out of TacNet server due to death.

Cause of death: Laser-induced cerebral hemorrhage.

Tactical Recommendation: Retrieve cortical stack.

Closest user: hk_47.

 

OOC

Six has been taken out of action by Maria's understandable reaction to T.Z.'s missed shot, which damaged the room's data terminal (potentially alerting authorities to its loss, though they may not think much of it). Six's cortical stack remains undamaged should anyone wish to retrieve it. Maria was standing by the door, far from any substantial cover. The couch will probably not be much cover should Maria be able to see through it, or fire her laser blindly.

The music remains loud, probably audible from the hallway, but the actual fight's sounds are drowned out. :)

Null//Aeos

In the party mineshaft, Null and Aeos' TacNet sent them an automatic high priority message:

TacNet Server Automated Security Alert: USER FATALITY

TacNet user <<Dark6CHamp>> has been logged out of TacNet server due to death.

Cause of death: Laser-induced cerebral hemorrhage.

Tactical Recommendation: Retrieve cortical stack.

Closest user: hk_47.

 

[Dr Jackal]

T.Z.
Properly Paranoid Infolife Survivalist
Savant Morph

 

T.Z. rolls into better cover -- as well as a flanking position. It doesn't bother to speak, and instead hums along with the music. The loss of its minion was unfortunate, but not particularly upsetting. Missing the opening salvo -- that was upsetting.

It will aim better this time.

"Duck and cover!"

OOC: Burning a Dexterity-type Vigor point for a target number +20 prior to the roll. I'm not sure if it's the right choice, but I want to try different stuff until I get the hang of the system. Burst fire for +damage.

Edited February 2 by Dr Jackal (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

---

 

"Oh, of course!" Aeos reply, smirking back at Danika. "What a great way to start the job! We..."

TacNet

Aeos: What on earth is going on up there?

"...can't wait! Should we bring anything? Any dress code?"

[Dr Jackal]

T.Z.
Properly Paranoid Infolife Survivalist
Savant Morph

 

TacNet

T.Z.: Our roommate Maria has a competing agenda. She is also in possession of a disassembled hardpoint that would be rather convenient for our investigations.

T.Z.: Remain calm. I'll be finished murdering her in a few moments.

 

[Morkskittar]

  T.Z.

T.Z. did, in fact, aim better this time. Much better. Their shot, still drowned out by the music blasting from his speakers, impacted Maria directly this time, no ricochets included. The force of the slug as it hit her chest slid her backwards into the door, and by T.Z.'s estimation, he hit an important wiring cluster, as her synthmorph's movements became much less smooth.

Alas, her weapon was built into her hand, so she did not drop it. She raised a sputtering arm and firedRoll: 91 vs. 70 Guns (-20 due to wounds and -10 due to T.Z. being behind a couch for a total of 40), then use Vigor to swap digits to 19 for a hit. at T.Z.'s last location Her own weapon was a laser, and the brief burst grazedFray/2 roll: 88.

Damage Roll (1d10+1d6) = 5+3 = 8. T.Z.'s morph has 4 armour, so that's 4 damage; not enough to do much of anything. T.Z.'s left shoulder, exposing a little bit of the wiring beneath. However, the damage was largely cosmetic, if irritating.

"We don't have to fight," Maria said. "We can work something out. Work together. We both have secrets; maybe we can help each other out? I can put in a good word for you with Ironwing, spare you wh- if he comes by."

T.Z. wondered if she was baiting him or telling him the truth, or if it mattered.

OOC For T.Z.

That's not a bad way to use a Vigor Point, especially as they'll be refreshed fairly frequently. You had a decent chance of hitting, but spending it ensured that it was almost impossible for you to miss. The biggest mistake I see in Eclipse Phase is people "saving" their Pools for later, and thus not using them at all. Never be afraid to use a pool point!

Fortunately, T.Z. rolled high enough that they got two Superior Successes (the test succeeded and was over 66), which add an extra d6 each; in this case, a 2 and a 6, adding an additional 8 damage, for a total damage roll of 19. With Maria's built-in armor of 4, that's 15 points of damage, inflicting 2 wounds on her, meaning that she suffers -20 to all rolls until she gets those looked at.

Assuming she lives long enough for that to be an option. :P

 

Null//Aeos

Danika grinned. "Just your big-girl pants! We don't like to judge. It'll be a good way to start your first day. Just don't drink too much." Had Aeos been paying her full attention to the in-person conversation, she would have thought it an odd thing for this particular person to say, but Aeos was focused instead on the news that one of their teammates was dead. She was not sure T.Z.'s reassurance was... reassuring.

"The med techs and shrinks don't like to let you go when they get their hands on you, and alcoholism is apparently a 'mental disease' requiring treatment." She laughed, somewhat uneasily.

OOC

Unsure if T.Z. will opt to try and finish his job or listen to her. Maria's a liability either way. ;) Aeos, at least, looks like she'll be attending the party.

 

Edited February 4 by Morkskittar (see edit history)