Run 1: We're on a boat!

[saithor]

It's approaching midday in Miami when the message arrives on your comn. It's not from any number you recognize, and attempts to contact the number do not get a reply.

>>>Interested in work? I have it on good authority you are very skilled at illicit activities. I have a target in need of liberating from someone else's hands. If you are interested, meet me at the following dock this evening at 4 PM local time. Payment will be fifteen thousand nyuen for the job.

 

As this message comes in for each of you, who are you and what are you doing as this comns message comes in?

[Sapphic Reiver]

Nyx

---

Phys [ ][ ][-1][ ][ ][-2][ ][ ][-3] { Bod 1 Agi 3 Rea 2 Str 3 Wil 6 Log 4 Int 2 Cha 6 Edg 1 Mag 5 } Stun [ ][ ][-1][ ][ ][-2][ ][ ][-3][ ][ ]

---

Bookshelves lined either side of Nyx's suite, lined with rows upon rows of books and some things that weren't books that were made to specifically look like books. Each spine real or fake, housing braille in the Sperethiel language. Opening up into a open-plan space was a lounge area in the centre, furnished around a large circular window. Like all other Nocturna, Nyx's skin couldn't handle the gracious graces of the sunlight, its UV lights causing irritation and rashes. Luckily for Nyx, however, the window had been given some generous layers of UV protection, allowing her to enjoy the natural lighting in all its beauty.

 

If she wasn't blind, that is. No, instead of admiring the view from her window, Nyx was sat cross-legged on a sofa, one hand trailing over the braille in a tome she balanced on her knee and the other arm perched upon the armrest besides her. As per usual her morning routine had consisted of checking her commlink to see if any information about her quarry had come back and then casting two spells for her every day utility. Everybody around Nyx could see the world around her, the book shelves, the window, the furniture, even the doors and utilities. Nyx had to sense them. Nyx didn't know what colour any of it was, nor how it looked different under different hues of light. Instead Nyx simply knew it was all there. This spell was bound to her foci, a blindfold that crossed from over and under her ears.

 

One would be forgiven for missing the fact that Nyx wore a blindfold entirely due to the obscene length of her fringe, coming down just above her pantherine-like nose. Nyx despite what her name may imply, was white all over. Not the kind of white you'd see in medieval Europe, but rather the kind of white you'd find on the ground during and after a blizzard: snow white; her soft fur-like hair coating everything bar her lips and the palms of both her hands and feet. The colouration was odd, but broken up with the light blue under-dye of her hair.

[Incoming. Message. From. Unknown-number.]

"Play message." Nyx said, her gaze fastened towards the window as the contents of the message was played out over the sound system of her apartment. The Nocturna licked her lips as she processed the words, slowing the movement of her hands and fingers to a stop. A proposition. An interesting and financially beneficial proposition, yet it was from a number she did not know. A slow inhale followed by a gradual exhale and Nyx slammed the book shut between her fingers, placing it carefully on the cushion besides her before rising to her feet.

"Commlink, open contacts."

[You are currently viewing: contacts. Repeat. You are currently viewing: contacts.]

"Select message recipient: Talkative One." Nyx spoke clearly, approaching one of the bookshelves and trailing her fingertip down the spine of one. Pulling the book out when she identified it as the one she wanted, opening it up to retrieve the Remington Suppressor kept inside. The book was shut and returned to the bookshelf on its original spot.

[Contact selected: Talkative One]

"Record: Did you receive a message from a private number? I am thinking of following up on it. I do not desire to go alone. Send message." Nyx further instructed as she retrieved another book a few shelves down, pulling out another book and carefully retrieving the magazine from inside the hollowed out book. It was loaded with Subsonic ammunition for the Remington Suppressor, which she loaded and cocked before returning that book, too.

[Message sent. Do you require any additional functions?]

"No." spoke the blind woman as she grabbed her cloak and carefully wrapped it over her shoulders, it was a strange mix of a poncho and cloak with an attached hood which covered her eyes. It was a light blue that matched her underdye's blue, and thankfully, it had space for the concealable quick-draw holster she kept the Remington stored in. Nyx quickly traced her steps back to the sofa and walked past it, grabbing her Pulsewave Commlink, hooking it around her ear then headed for the front door and out into the hallway. Locking the door behind her, Nyx made her way down the stairs while her spatial sense spell shifted and reinformed her of the space ahead and around, carefully stepping past any other inhabitants she came across.

 

---

Rollin'

With 3 Hits, this is what Detect Life and Spatial Sense can detect:

Quote

Major and minor details, with some minor details obscured or missing.

Detect life example: A group of metahumans. A dwarf, a troll, and an ork walk into a bar. Stop me if you heard this one. The three individuals listed above are all armed, and their weapons are out. The troll is leading.

---

Rolling to cast Spatial Sense, Extended. Force 4

Roll

3 Hits, bound to Sustaining Focus (Detection) Rating 4.

 

 

Rolling to cast Detect Life, Extended. Force 4.

Roll

3 Hits, Bound to Focused Concentration 4.

---

Drain Resist: Force - 1 = Hits required: 3

 

roll

 

3 hits, 0 Drain.

 

roll

Edited April 24 by Sapphic Reiver (see edit history)

[Niblooey]

Catherine LagosMiami Sidestreets, Midday
Status: Satiated. Messy. Kinda suspicious in a nervous kind of way she won't admit is nerves.

Cathy's busily sitting on a bench, chowing down on a freshly bought set of arepas. Steaming with each bite, they're hefty things, making a small mess out of her hands as the orc futilely fails to wrangle them back into form. She probably shouldn't have asked them to stuff them extra full when she saw how small they did them, meal would've gone way smoother if she got five.

A faint chime rings by her head, commlink alerting her to a message from some unhelpfully unlabeled number. She sits up in her bench and starts a mental command to bring it up. She listens as the message reads itself aloud in her head, electronic words taking on an odd texture compared to all the noise she's hearing from her spot by the streets.

Evening? At four? Where is this guy from, the artic? Cathy chews slowly, raising a brow at the wording. 'On good authority', 'illicit', 'liberating', drek reeks of a guy who likes to hear himself talk. Aren't you supposed to be vague about this kind of thing? She doesn't really get it.

But wow that's a solid chunk of nuyen. Maybe she's being a bit judgy. She vaguely remembers Sandra telling her she was forwarding her portfolio around to various folk, the messenger's probably following up on that.

She takes a moment to come up with a reply, not knowing the person on the other side won't respond, or perhaps even read it.

Cathy glances down at her hands. Maybe she should wash up a bit? Not just the hands, but the all of it. She should probably get her things ready too. It's not too far a trip, but it'd really suck if the job-offerer expected her to go all go-time right then and there when she doesn't even have a spare clip on her.

The orc swallows her last bit of dough and stands up, idly wiping herself clean with a napkin. Break's over. She grabs her bike from its spot leaning by her side, and kicks it off, moving to get herself prepped. Might need to kill some time before she heads to the meet, hopefully she'll figure out something productive.

 

Show this

Physical				Stun
		-1				-1
		-2				-2
		-3				-3
		-4				-4
		-5				-5

Edge 4/4, StatsBod 5
Agl 6
Rea 6
Str 5
Edge 4Cha 3
Log 2
Int 5
Will 4
Magic 1

Physical 8
Mental 5 (6 Percep, 11 hearing)
Social 5
Astral 5, Conditions• None of note.

Drugs / BTLs
• None, GearWorn/Carried Gear
Clothing: Urban Explorer (9), Forearm Guards (+1)
• Mask (+2, Flare Compensation)
Weapon: Remington Roomsweeper (8/8r)
• 2 clips (8 regular, 8 fletchette)
Misc.
• Shiawase Jishi
• Microcamera, Earplugs (Select Sound III)
• BTLs, Credsticks, Datachips, Slap Patches

Duffle Bag
• Crowbar, Microwelder, Gecko-Tape Gloves
• Smoke Grenades
• Meta-Link, Medkit (III), Towel

Bicycle, Active EffectsGonna cram the details or last known status of anything persistent that needs keeping track of in here. Sometimes ephemeral, othertimes it's the location of her dropped commlink. This a tad generic, cause Cathy doesn't need much; if you're copying this you should probably have a dedicated section more specific to your character like 'Active Spells' or 'RCC'.

• Astral Perception: Inactive.
• Skimmers: Off.

PAN - Online (Rating 3)
• Shiawase Jishi [Master]

Actions (Init: XX)
• Misc: Grabbing her things, then going down to the location at the dock.

Hands: Empty

Edited April 24 by Niblooey (see edit history)

[Inquisitor D]

Lady Tonight gets the call in the Matrix. She's standing on a virtual boat, surrounded by pillars of light that display moving datafeeds. She's been browsing the CarribNet for interesting stories, flicking through amateur trid recordings for something interesting to work with for her next show. It's not too encouraging. Terrible shots, uninteresting fights, vague objectives. Some days, you just get bad material. You just have to try and make it work.

That's when, amidst the field of screens, a bird chirps. It's technically an alarm. A comm message from an unknown sender is... concerning. But Tonight's eyes narrow as she reads it over. A payday is a payday. Even a fraction of fifteen thousand nyuen would be useful. It's why she'd been looking into it as a sideline.

She pulls up an image of the dockside. Not the ideal location for a meeting. Lots of spots to hide people, a fair distance to get away. She'd have preferred a nice public spot, hide in the crowd, but odds are good this is an outsider. UCAS folk have all sorts of strange ideas about how shadow business is supposed to work.

The second message takes her aback, but only for a second. Tonight's digital self chuckles at the barn owl icon she'd assigned the Tir-born traveller. ["You too, huh Nyx?"] She watches in a side view as her camera drone starts buzzing its way towards the pier, ready for a preliminary scan. ["I'm about to start digging up detail on it. If you know anything, it'd really help. Nothing obvious to go with for now. But I can still make the meat meet after pulling that, and I'll send Badda-Boom ahead. If you're showing in person, least I can do is have your back."]

The heavier combat drone starts to whir, slowly following its lighter cousin towards the pier. It'll hang back, not wanting to worry civilian traffic, but it's better to have it at a higher altitude ahead of time than right with her going through the streets. For now, Tonight turns her attention to a search bar.

It's a guess, but if we're going to the docks, this is probably water work and the message mentions liberation. Any targets of note going to be on the waves tonight?If I can work out the target, I could maybe backwork to identify potential employers.

[Sapphic Reiver]

 

Nyx

---

Phys [ ][ ][-1][ ][ ][-2][ ][ ][-3] { Bod 1 Agi 3 Rea 2 Str 3 Wil 6 Log 4 Int 2 Cha 6 Edg 1 Mag 5 } Stun [ ][ ][-1][ ][ ][-2][ ][ ][-3][ ][ ]

---

"Record: Are you sure sending the b--" Nyx was talking but stopped mid message to declare something in Sperethiel, backing up from the windows in the lobby. It certainly attracted some attention. "Sorry. I forgot my anti-allergens, that's all. Please carry on with your day." the message continued recording her voice as she pushed her way past some wary blobs of life. When the blobs stopped moving and turned towards you, you knew they were looking. "Just let me know if anything seems strange. I can feel the eyes on me from all these diurnal's. You'd think they'd never seen someone with a coat of fur before. Send." Nyx finished the voice recording. A brief shake of her head at her own outburst was allowed to herself before resuming the quiet and stoic appearance she tried to keep in public environs.

 

Nyx was small by human standards, let alone an elf, so she tried to do all she could to make herself look as... Mystique as possible. The everyday mugger wasn't likely to try his luck with someone so blatantly magically able. Even if her magical abilities started and stopped at the most basic of combat spells. Still, Nyx carried on, passing over the strange, unnatural feeling of sidewalk and road alike. The solitary elf had wandered her way to a (thankfully sheltered) station, awaiting one of the many trains. Surrounded by the blurry sensations of others. "Record: Do you know if there are others? Sounds like a big get together. Something you would need catering for more than two people. Send." That was about the extent of her questions for Lady Tonight, for the most part Nyx preferred to remain quiet, she had the nasty habit of drawing attention. Though that was the downside about peacocking: Scare off smaller problems, attract larger, more social ones.

---

 

[TheBard101]

So I've been trying to write this program to estimate when I should change my kid before I need to change him right?

Oh btw, I got someone from your way looking to hire some matrix muscle. I sent it to you right now. No way Cat is gonna let me go that far to avoid babysitting.

-Slamm-o!

Good timing, was just about to look for work. I distinctly remember Clockwork posting something about a new Genescaping product from Renaku coming online in about six weeks. I'm sure there's a code variance there you could tweek into something close to what you're looking for.

Happy wife, etc etc etc. I'll look into it. I'm sure you've fully vetted them and everything. Thanks Chum.

-Spirit

So, Slamm-o! had something for me? That was interesting. I've been a member for nearly a year and this is the first job sent my way. I guess I'm coming up in the Matrix world. Spirit chuckled to himself.

As he woke up to his annoying alarm, he got down to business. Closing his eyes, he did a quick diagnostic of his cyber systems. Long ago, the first thing he would do would be a long, long stretch in the mornings. Now, he first had to make sure his limbs were working properly, articulation, senses, weapon systems. Then he had to run a diagnostic of his deck and outlying accouterments like his satellite linkup, and offline data bases. Next came the checking of each module. One at a time he would pull the connector out of the back of his head and slip in another. Each time running diagnostics and filters.

Harding Module: check (get through this you black IC jacknugget)
Vectored Signal Filter: check (no more fighting for signal in the clubs for me)

and his baby.

Multidimensional Coprocessor (he loved saying that word out loud): Very Check

People used to rub the sleep out of their eyes, now we spray Windex on it. He thought to himself as he reached for the Windex bottle by his bed.

Eyes now.
Thermographic: (he watched as his left arm and bed glowed softly but his right arm hung dull and lifeless except for pockets of electrical buzzing) check
Low Light: check
Vision Magnification: 1 check 2 check 3 check (at three he realized he really really needed to vacuum)
Vision Enhancement: check
Flare Compensation: (he watched his vision dull tremendously and then come back) check
Smart Link: (he took the holdout from under his pillow, mentally clicked it to smartlink, then watched the red dot on his vision as he scanned the room. Boom, dead camera, boom, dead trideo player, boom dead Roomba) "damned roomba should be dead for letting this floor get so messy" Check

One by one his cyber systems and computer controllers were checked. It didn't take long as he was used to it. But sometimes they downloaded updates which tended to carry more bugs than fixes and he'd know he'd be spending the first couple of hours each day "fixing" their fixes. Things never change and SOTA can kiss his hoop.

Next, messages:

"Ah, Jeremy Stonecrow has another consulting job at that plant. Strange how they seem to ignore his advice and are then willing to pay him another 5k just to tell them the same thing again.

Seems like JackPoint! is updating again, hmmm apparently it was last night. Wow that sleep regulator helps me get work done! I guess I'll update my account with them and upload my latest Lone Star Vehicle Registration work around. People always get a kick out of those.

Melissa got home safely. There's a reason I pay the I-fivers to watch her home. I guess I owe them another ATM crashing chip. Maybe I'll do a United Oil one this time.

Spam, Spam, Publisher's Clearing House? Time to reset my filters again."

As Spirit switched to cold sim, an icon of a ghostly owl slowly made itself seen. As it lightly landed on his Cherokee Warrior Icon's wrist, he stroked its feathers and lightly scratched under its beak. "Bubo, report."
The owl fluffed a little and said in a kid's voice, "Dude! We had a wanna-be hacker loser from one of the no-name matrix gangs sniffing around your perimeter. I fed him some advertisements for Jeremy and asked him to become a subscriber and he bolted!" The owl's eyes squinted in mirth. "Also, I got a few more hits on the keywords you were looking for, I uploaded them to your offline storage. Groceries are due to be delivered today, the auto receiver is set to distribute them to the fridge, freezer, and cabinet as usual. You should really cut down on the caffeine you know, not good for you." Bubo admonished his master. Spirit rolled his virtual eyes. Why he thought it would be fun to put a kid's voice and slang on his agent he had no idea, but it did seem to fit. As they walked around his jungle home system, he went through his mental log.

• recheck the MAD scanner on his home cameras.
• run another diagnostic on his new programs to get the last of the tracer code out of it.
• spend more time on his pet project (the same one all deckers have, upgrading their decks)

"Oh, and put the Roomba on double shifts until this floor is clean. Someone has been slacking. Also," he thought to himself, " do a check on Slamm-o!'s contact and see what this job is about. Upload the details and location to my online storage so I can grab it later. One last thing: check out that sniffer. If he looks promising, keep tabs on him. Maybe we can help him out if he has skills." Petting his owl again, he prepared to switch back to his system. "Yessire, No prob bro. I'll keep you jumping!" And with this, his teenage ghost owl vanished.

He then looked through the trees to see if he could spot his Panther. Yep, barely though, just the eyes. Maybe he could do something about that. Noticing that it was noticed, the panther shot down from the branch and landed at his feet.

Absently stroking its neck, he said "Kitana, report." In a sultry feminine voice, she said, "I am almost done re-calibrating your commlink protocols and have put your attack programs through your testing regimen. Why you do that so often, I have no idea. The home security is still at optimal levels. Lone Star drones were seen about three blocks northwest, they coordinated with a suspected BTL ring that was hit not from from there last week. I checked with dispatch and they are just combing the area in case more buyers show up late. It should be nothing but I'm keeping an eye on them. It has been nearly a month since we had to fry a console cowboy and my claws are getting dull." She looked accusingly at him as she cleaned her paws for a second.
He took a knee and hugged her for a second. As she began to purr, he said "I have a contact who needs something done. I am going there tonight to find out what. Most likely, my little Kit will get her claws dirty." She smiled and sauntered off into his jungle. He smiled. Things were going well.

Popping out the sim, he started towards the shower. Unlike a lot of deckers, Spirit reveled in the feelings of a physical body. While not the most muscular of specimen, he was solid and virtually hairless. Of course, the fire had had a lot to do with that. They can grow you new skin, but often they have no follicles as it's considered pointless. Still, he did the typical male thing of flexing for a moment in the mirror before going in. Some things are expected.

---

Now that he was fully aware, Spirit started looking at his spam folders...
 

  

On 4/23/2024 at 11:52 PM, saithor said:

>>>Interested in work? I have it on good authority you are very skilled at illicit activities. I have a target in need of liberating from someone else's hands. If you are interested, meet me at the following dock this evening at 4 PM local time. Payment will be fifteen thousand nyuen for the job.

How did this get passed my filters? Popping back into cold sim, Spirit started a trace. Then, he contacted his agents.

Bubo, report. : Sorry boss. Didn't catch this one till it was unfiltered, HAH! I'll try to track it down. But, if you want the job, looks like you gotta have a little faith. He sped off into the matrix to do what he did best.

Kit? Yes? Go over our firewall again please. I don't like uninvited guests. It will be as you say. Logging out, Spirit said to himself, "It may be time to wake up Ursa." Looking at his time display, he noted it was early afternoon. I decided that he'd eat something and go ahead and scope out this meeting. You never knew, and 15k¥ was 15k¥.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[saithor]

Searching through the matrix for information, Lady Tonight isn't able to find too much pertinent about the dock itself, although she's able to find a small piece of news related to a dock nearby. Some low-level executive from Ares is in town and has brought his private yacht with him, currently docked at that nearby pier. Going to the dock indicated in the message, each of the four of you arrive at a corner cafe still open for business. No one else is there, but the two people on duty are clearly eager for any customers to seat themselves. A new message arrives from this potential employer, stating he will be there in ten minutes and to get yourselves seated. Dinner will be on him.

Edited April 27 by saithor (see edit history)

[Sapphic Reiver]

 

Nyx

---

Phys [ ][ ][-1][ ][ ][-2][ ][ ][-3] { Bod 1 Agi 3 Rea 2 Str 3 Wil 6 Log 4 Int 2 Cha 6 Edg 1 Mag 5 } Stun [ ][ ][-1][ ][ ][-2][ ][ ][-3][ ][ ]

---

Nyx stepped off from the blob-filled train, foot coming into contact with the platform beneath first. Nyx was able to avoid the gap thanks to the complete lack of resonance between the metallic ringing sensations of the train to the smothering silence of the plascrete beneath her shoe. Another pulse of the spatial sense around her and amongst the blurred blobs of variously sized metahumans (and a surprising number of rats in even more surprising places), Nyx was clearly informed of the world around her in that dark, abyssal void. Navigating the maze of metahumanity and infrastructure was just as easy... Though once she reached the exit into the sun once again, she found herself tucking her arms in as tightly as possible beneath her cloak, head shrivelled back into the hood of her cloak. It certainly would look suspicious for anyone unaware of the Nocturna's standard allergies.

 

Once outside the café, Nyx found a spot outside beneath some shade. The café was empty, save for the two workers in the front. Nyx wasn't sure if there were more in the back, or anyone in the back. So outside she remained, standing beneath both shade and cloak, hand raised up to her Commlink as it recited the message from the employer into her ear.

"Contacts. The Talkative One. Message. Record: Outside now. I'll hang about until you arrive. Better to have an extra pair of eyes. Not gonna to fish around in the astral." she said, taking an extra moment to process the detected signs of life around her. "Seems pretty quiet. I might be the first one here? I can't detect any weapons, but, I also didn't do as good a job as I'd have liked with my bindings today. Send."

---

 

Edited April 28 by Sapphic Reiver (see edit history)

[Niblooey]

Catherine LagosCafe by the Dock, Late Afternoon
Status: Relaxed. Music's playing. Ready to sit on her bum and wait for whatever decides to roll her way.

A tall blob shows up a short ways away, taking a long, casual stride along the sidewalk, her chrome hooves not making much sound against the plascrete thanks to her sandals. Not that they usually would, Cathy's pretty quiet. To those with eyes and three-dimensional spatial senses, the satyr's not wearing anything special, a jacket loosely hung over an obviously sleeveless jumpsuit, the latter made out of a protective weave. Just because she's not being loud with her outfit doesn't make her discreet, however. Kinda hard to try, really, with her sweeping ram's horns curling up around her head like a wreath, or her cybernetic ears, pointed more like an animal's than a metahuman's.

Cathy stops in front of the café, giving the much, much shorter person a once-over. She couldn't help but overhear the elf talking on her comms (which would be rude if Cathy wasn't like 20 meters away at the time), and given her general appearance (Definitely a mage or mysticism-fangirl), the blindfolded woman is probably here for the same reasons Cathy is. Probably.

"'Lo. So, you're here for the 'four in the evening' meeting too?" the blob asks Nyx. She glances up at the sun, light still clearly felt at this time of day, and adjusts the dufflebag slung over her shoulder. Up close, it's apparent Cathy's got a weapon, a rather chunky pistol by her hip, but she probably can't draw it without fixing her bag first. It's kinda in the way.

 

Actions & OoC

Physical				Stun
		-1				-1
		-2				-2
		-3				-3
		-4				-4
		-5				-5

Edge 4/4, StatsBod 5
Agl 6
Rea 6
Str 5
Edge 4Cha 3
Log 2
Int 5
Will 4
Magic 1

Physical 8
Mental 5 (6 Percep, 11 hearing)
Social 5
Astral 5, Conditions• None of note.

Drugs / BTLs
• None, GearWorn/Carried Gear
Clothing: Urban Explorer (9), Forearm Guards (+1)
• Mask (+2, Flare Compensation)
Weapon: Remington Roomsweeper (8/8r)
• 2 clips (8 regular, 8 fletchette)
Misc.
• Shiawase Jishi (Commlink)
• Microcamera, Earplugs (Select Sound III)
• BTLs, Credsticks, Datachips, Slap Patches

Duffle Bag
• Crowbar, Microwelder, Gecko-Tape Gloves
• Smoke Grenades
• Meta-Link, Medkit (III), Towel

Bicycle, Active Effects• Astral Perception: Inactive.
• Skimmers: Off.

PAN - Online (Rating III)
• Shiawase Jishi [Master]

Actions (Init: XX)
• Misc: Checking out Nyx.

Hands: Empty

[Sapphic Reiver]

 

Nyx

---

Phys [ ][ ][-1][ ][ ][-2][ ][ ][-3] { Bod 1 Agi 3 Rea 2 Str 3 Wil 6 Log 4 Int 2 Cha 6 Edg 1 Mag 5 } Stun [ ][ ][-1][ ][ ][-2][ ][ ][-3][ ][ ]

---

The much shorter woman would have blinked at the blob if she weren't wearing a blindfold beneath bangs that came down to hover just above her nose. Most everything about her face was obscured by some manner or another. Yet Nyx didn't dare extend her hand out into the glaringly uncomfortable gaze of the sun, happy to stand there awkwardly in her little spot of shade for the now. It was difficult for Nyx to really focus on Cathy, she could always try and get a sense on the taller woman's aura, but that might prove to be a touchy subject.

 

At first she murmured something in Sperethiel to herself, then awkwardly adjusted her cloak a little more from inside. Though her adjustments were really a distraction from the fact that she'd now rested her hand against the Remington Suppressor's grip. It was nothing personal, nor was it a threat, but being blind often led bad elements to take chances they wouldn't normally. "That would appear to be the case. There is at-least one other person coming, I am expecting their arrival soon." was Nyx's chosen response, attempting to gauge the stranger's temperament and stature. "I can't tell if that's concealed or not... And there's a lack of essence in your feet... Plus the horns. Nothing organic resonates quite like keratin does. It's soothing. But you're not tall enough to be a troll. You're not in a wheelchair, you're not a troll, you have synthetic... Feet? Legs? How odd." Nyx continued on her analysis of Cathy, as if piecing her together bit by bit. Physically she was talking to herself.

 

Mentally the Nocturna was standing in a library that couldn't possibly exist tucked inside of a large tree. Roots, vines, and naturally formed alcoves acting as the architecture. The whole thing was in Nyx's head, but the details of this person were all being recorded in a book, one to be retrieved upon the demand of her mental faculties at a later date. It even had little horns etched into the cover. "Nyx." Nyx introduced herself, still just... Standing in the shade. And still as awkward as before. "If you have any questions, you might as well ask them now. Though I'd prefer you gave me your name first."

---

 

[TheBard101]

 

So, a meat meeting. God this makes me feel old. Spirit had once thought he was beyond those. New city, new rules was something that he'd been in Miami long enough to know. But, new tricks and old dogs. He brought his Ford Americar (Just a car, don't laugh) to park in the back of the place and walked around. He'd had Bubo scouting ahead for an hour already. He'd noted the armed presence in the lot and a couple of dealers doing business across the street. But, all in all, it wasn't as bad as many places on the dock were. He did feel a little naked without his Ingrams with him, but he knew he wouldn't have gotten them passed security. It was enough to have his pistols close by though. He looked inside and said, "Bubo, I'm walking up now, keep an eye out." "Sure thing boss! I've hacked the cameras across the street and I'm reading the crowd!" It was always good to have back up. Ursa was in his car and Kit was manning his deck. Things were going smooth until something happened. His enhanced hearing caught the conversation going on at the door even as he filtered out half a dozen others. Mentioning a meet time for all the world to hear isn't very professional, he thought. Saying nothing, he slipped inside the door.
 

Attributes

 

Body: 2
Agility: 4 (5, Right Arm 9)
Reaction: 4 (6)
Strength: 2 (3)
Willpower: 2
Logic: 5 (6)
Intuition: 6
Charisma: 3

Edge: 3
Essence: 1.96

---

Skills

Language Skills (totals include attributes)

English (Native)
Sious (Cherokee) 8(10)
Japanese 7

Active Skills (totals include attributes)

AGILITY

Automatics (submachine guns): 9(11)

Gymnastics: 6

Pistols (Semi Automatics): 6(8)
 
BODY

REACTION

Pilot Ground Craft: 7
 
STRENGTH

CHARISMA

Etiquette(Corporate): 6(8)

Negotiation: 6
 
INTUITION

Perception: 8
 
LOGIC

Cracking Skill group (Cybercombat, Electronic Warfare, Hacking): 11

Computer(Matrix Perception): 12(14)

Cybertechnology: 7

First Aid: 7

Hardware(cyberdecks): 10(12)

Software: 11
 
WILLPOWER

 

Knowledge Skills (totals include attributes)

Street

Street Gangs, Seattle: 7

Organized Crime, Miami: 8

Gangs(Caribbean League): 9(11)

Data Havens(Matrix): 10(12)

Area Knowledge, Miami: 8

Academic

History: 7

Professional

Matrix: 12

Security Procedures(Physical): 11(13)

Security Procedures(Matrix): 11(13)

Interest

Matrix Games: 7

Current Weapons/Equipment carried

 

Weapons

Ares Predator V:

• Accuracy 7 , DV-8P, AP -1, Mode: SA, RC-2, Ammo-15 (c)
• Internal Smartlink
• Silencer
• 2 Spare Clips
• Concealed holster (-4 total conceal with lined coat)

Streetline Special:

• Accuracy 6, DV-6P, AP 0, Mode: SA, RC-2, Ammo-6 (c), Conceal -4 (-6 total with coat)
• Internal Smartlink
• Silencer
• 2 Spare Clips
• In cyberarm slide

Armor
Armored Jacket (Lined-coat AR 9): AR-12, Capacity-12, Conceal -2

Equipment

Subvocal mic, White noise generator (R6), multiple credsticks, AR Gloves, Fake Cyberdeck (Ericka MCD-1), Stim Patch.

 

[Inquisitor D]

Lady Tonight permits herself a thin smile at the news story about the Ares Executive. It could be a coincidence, but the timing and location both lining up makes her hopeful. With one thought, her faithful camera-drone zooms toward the yacht's dock. Getting too close would be a major risk, but she can get some initial shots ready for the meeting. Now she's got a starting point, she can also dive for details on this Ares executive. He's probably not a local player, but someone that public usually leaves a data trail

---

"Nyx! Cat!"

The third woman to join the group calls out their names from the far end of the street, obviously surprised at what she's seeing. Once she reaches the doorway, she has to pause: a little out of breath. Running isn't Tonight's forte. Still, she manages to maintain a sense of style even now: wearing her regular coat and shades, and with a hefty looking bag slung over her shoulder. She looks between the two tougher looking women with a grin, raising a fist.

"Heh. This is my kind of team! People are gonna figure I hired you both at this rate. Great to see you both."

Now she's got her breath back, Tonight beckons to the doorway. "If you're okay, I'm gonna catch up on some business in VR. No pranks while I'm out! We can still talk via comm."

It's the easiest way to show trust in people. At a meeting like this, it'd be pretty easy to get your pocket picked at best. Tonight shares a smile with both women. Unless anyone has any objections, she steps into the cafe, falling into a corner seat with a relieved sigh.

In the Matrix space, an almost exact replica of Tonight materializes. It's time to see just what sort of setup this local area has.

OOC

Doing a few things. Listing it all here to make it a bit neater

1: Moving my cameradrone to the dock to get a better look at the yacht. It's sticking to a legally permissible distance and has a perception autosoft, .so she can review that footage later
2: Doing a Matrix search on the Ares Execuitve who owns this yacht for a name and more personal details.
3: Matrix Perception test to spot icons running silently in the area of the cafe

 

[Niblooey]

The Three-Horned Bat Cat?Cafe by the Dock, Late Afternoon
Status: Floating on her hooves, apparently. Looks like a Cat. Peeking into the Astral.

The not-troll nods at Nyx's hypothesizing, letting her talk herself out, only moving when she steps aside momentarily to let the guy pass. He didn't give off the vibe of a guy stopping for coffee. Cathy figured he was the person Nyx was waiting for, but he just walked on by with barely an acknowledgement. Some other recruit? A watcher? Eh. Should probably ask Nyx about it. And correc

"Sure thing. My name's-" "Nyx! Cat!" "...Three-horned Bat if we're doing this with gimmicky names. Don't need to say the whole thing, it's always been a fancy title."

Huh, figures she's here too. Weird. Cathy gives Tonight a casual wave as the lady tires herself out, glancing over at Nyx. She shrugs and follows the reporter inside, taking in the weirdly empty cafe. She pulls aside a couple of chairs for herself, using one to prop her feet up and let her hooves dangle.

"Nice to see you too. Really didn't expect this." She says, opening up a call for Tonight to pick up whenever she feels ready. "But before we get into things, uh, do either of you know that guy?"

She rudely jams a thumb at the guy. You know, the guy. Black hair, middle-aged in the way that makes it hard to tell how old he really is, with a big jacket. Only guy in the room if you discount the waitstaff.

Huh. Waitstaff. Place has some odd vibes. Maybe she should check, just in case...

Half the world falls away, a thin veneer sticking to her senses as all things material washes out of reality. There's vibrant spots in the room, vibrating, her own aura oscillating up more brightly than the rest with how she's peeking into the astral. Nothing here?

 

Actions & OoC

Physical				Stun
		-1				-1
		-2				-2
		-3				-3
		-4				-4
		-5				-5

Edge 4/4, StatsBod 5
Agl 6
Rea 6
Str 5
Edge 4Cha 3
Log 2
Int 5
Will 4
Magic 1

Physical 8
Mental 5 (6 Percep, 11 hearing)
Social 5
Astral 5, Conditions• Astral Perception: -2 on pools for actions dealing with the physical world.

Drugs / BTLs
• None, GearWorn/Carried Gear
Clothing: Urban Explorer (9), Forearm Guards (+1)
• Mask (+2, Flare Compensation)
Weapon: Remington Roomsweeper (8/8r)
• 2 clips (8 regular, 8 fletchette)
Misc.
• Shiawase Jishi (Commlink)
• Microcamera, Earplugs (Select Sound III)
• BTLs, Credsticks, Datachips, Slap Patches

Duffle Bag
• Crowbar, Microwelder, Gecko-Tape Gloves
• Smoke Grenades
• Meta-Link, Medkit (III), Towel

Bicycle, Active Effects• Astral Perception: Active.
• Skimmers: Off.

PAN - Online (Rating III)
• Shiawase Jishi [Master]

Actions (Init: XX)
• Misc: Astral Perception, looking for things in the Astral.

Hands: Empty

Edited April 28 by Niblooey (see edit history)

[Sapphic Reiver]

 

Nyx

---

Phys [ ][ ][-1][ ][ ][-2][ ][ ][-3] { Bod 1 Agi 3 Rea 2 Str 3 Wil 6 Log 4 Int 2 Cha 6 Edg 1 Mag 5 } Stun [ ][ ][-1][ ][ ][-2][ ][ ][-3][ ][ ]

---

"I'll stick to Bat." Nyx said after hearing Tonight calling out to the two of them. Nyx didn't move her head to look, it seemed almost silly to do so somehow. Instead she just remained forward-facing. Still basked in the safety of the shade. "It's good to see you, Tonight." the Nocturna responded, slowly removing her hand from the Remington Suppressor tucked away in her cloak's concealed pocket. It seems as though it wasn't needed.

 

Nyx had taken a seat nearest the exit at their table, sitting and staring blankly forwards once more. "I cannot say I am familiar with the gentleman in question." Nyx simply stated, sitting upright and keeping a formal posture about herself, both snow-white fur-coated hands resting upon one another on the tabletop. "I presume the menu here is not in braille. They rarely are here, it seems." the woman murmured, mostly to herself. Never really dropping her shoulders or loosing her formal way of sitting.

---

 

[saithor]

Looking through the astral, there's very little that seems out of the ordinary. Some vermin, none of them in the cafe itself, a few people along the docks most of whom seem to be here to sightsee, fish, or something else. There's many auras by the yacht itself, easily two dozen people currently on the ship. Meanwhile the cafe does actually have a menu in braile that they have for Nyx to read. Looking through the matrix, Lady Tonight is unable to find any hidden matrix icons in the proximity of the Cafe, and a search for the Ares Executive shows that he is Carl Bellweather, Head of Ares Southeastern Marketing department and recently appointed to the post. There will be a party hosted tonight for his arrival, very suit and tie affair involving other corp executives, mostly Ares ones.