Ghost in the Shell;Whispers in the Wind; 1st Gig

[Moral Wiz]

Ghost in the Shell, Whispers in the Wind

We pass through a rain swept city, lit by neon above all... we jet through it, moving faster than a normal human could. The song begins (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=4w9TtK7NPow)

Angely i demony kruzhili nado mnoj
Rassekali ternii i mlechnye puti

Now, we fly through the city, two other helicopters along with us. Below, in the rain, a single figure is running, and jumping.

Ne znaet schast'ya ot togo,
Kto ego zova ponyat' ne smog...

A white room, with sunlight streaming in. A young woman is suspended within the frame of a machine, with computer leads connecting the back of her neck to a terminal above her

Nalyubuites', nalyubuites'
Aeria Gloris, Aeria Gloris

She opens her eyes, slowly. There are no iris’

Nalyubuites', nalyubuites'
Aeria Gloris, Aeria Gloris

Soldiers, in black body armour, ride their helicopters over desert. A fortification of some kind comes into sight, as the fire of guns begins...

I am Calling Calling now, Spirits rise and falling
Soboj ostat'sya dol'she...

Some dark room, within the net... data streams alone illuminate it. By their light do we see the shadow figure standing behind them, looking out at something

Calling Calling, in the depth of longing
Soboj ostat'sya dol'she...

A red comet streaks across the starry sky, fire and exposions follow in it’s wake as the song comes to an end

Nalyubuites', nalyubuites'
Aeria Gloris, Aeria Gloris



One final, jubilant explosion. A small side screen appears, complete with a cheer

And the sound behind me is deafening as the new year is finally here. Yes, say hello to two thousand and thirty five. A new beginning, and behalf of all of us at Datascape, I would like to be the first to wish you all, the world over, a happy new year.

Around the virtual globe, even as the majority of users focus on the orbital celebrations, small red points appear, as news is added. They painted a varying picture

In Tokyo

...bringing the entire building to a complete halt. Judging by the sign in question, Infamous Veritas hacker, the Red Comet, is believed to be responsible. Whilst no official statement has yet been made by the authorities, it is believed that Public Security Section Nine, the country's top cybercrime unit, has been assigned to the case...

In the USA

An armed raid was launched today by the Department of Internal Security against a Human Liberation Front cell located on the top floors of the Nathen Brathis building, Pheonix, Arizona. The department's security force, known colloquially as “Wolf Packs", have been accused of heavy handedness in the past... There have been reports of civilian casualties, which have not been confirmed... Department of Internal Security Director, Richard Greystone, was unavailable for comment...

In Berlin

The dangerous Cyborg criminal, Willhiem Franz, known as Ravager, was today killed in Berlin, after a long gun battle with local security team. Forge Industries, the company that provided the equipment used by the authorities free of charge, declined to comment on popular speculation that they were somehow connected to Ravager.

In London

...looks probable that now the entire criminal organization is set to crumble, and London may soon no longer be living in fear. Smith and Partners, the renowned freelance espionage agency who rumour had it were co-operating with the Police over the matter, declined to comment.

In Hong Kong

Breaking news! Triad recruits attempted to launch an attack on a facility belonging to the New Edison corporation. The facility, which has been granted extraterritoriality by the Hong Kong government, contained military level equipment, and trained personnel... The violence that ensued is not suited for all viewers. New Edison has not yet been available for comment


PlayersVeritas

Veritas is an underground terrorist organization dedicated to the promotion of global anarchy. It appears to have cells scattered across the globe, though it seems to be primarily concerned with North America and Japan.

A mysterious figure known only by the pseudonym "Kropotkin" serves as the closest thing Veritas has to a leader or a public face.

A number of hackers support Veritas. The greatest of these are the so-called "TV Crew": B.A. Baracus, Robin Hood, The Lone Ranger, Walker: Texas Ranger, Agent 86, and The Red Comet.

Stats
Morale III
World Opinion I

Technology IIII
Economy II

Military I
Espionage IIIII

New Edison

New Edison is a relatively new Mega-Corp, having been formed by the merger of a military supply company and a team of aerospace engineers. The resultant company has quickly come to be a major player in the aerospace program.

The company specializes in military vehicles of all sort, as well as civilian air and space transport. They are also a major supplier of satellites and space equipment, an have recently announced plans to build a self-sustaining colony at one of the Lagrange points.

New Edison has facilities located all over the globe, with a major presence in Hong Kong, New York, San Fransisco, Kiev, Tokyo, London, Tel Aviv, and Panama City.

New Edison has a tendency to not play nice with others, and intruders have a disturbing tendency to either disappear completely or turn up dead.

The current head of New Edison is Thomas Carstead.

Current Stats:

Morale III
WO I

Technology IIIII
Economy II

Military III
Espionage II (double on defensive)


Forge Industries

The secretive Forge Industries is, like New Edison, a relatively young megacorporation, lead by the mysterious Matthias Rowe. It started out a decade ago, as a minor cybernetics business, before economically swallowing most of it's competitors with a combination of series of high-quality cybernetic limbs and cunning, ruthless business actions.

Forge Industries specializes in cybernetics, and high-quality research institutes, from which they develop their products. They are a dependable supplier to police forces in many countries, especially in Europe.

Forge Industries has facilities and offices all over the globe, especially, again, in Europe. Their major facilities include Chicago, Moscow, Warsaw, Madrid, Beijing, Tallin (Estonia), and a few that have been announced are offices in Zurich and Berlin, with plans for an office in Dublin.

The first (and current) head of Forge Industries is Matthias Rowe. Rowe updates the Forge Industries website (Forgeind.com) weekly, with a few details about some of the products that have been made.

Other then this, little is known about Forge Industries, who tend to keep things quiet.

Stats

Morale III
WO I (The existence of this conspiracy is unknown to the outside world, in spite of some knowledge being available on the Forge Agency. Were it to become so... conspiracies don't tend to go down too well.)

Economy III
Tech IIIII

Esp IIII
Military I


Department of Internal Security-

Right before WWIII the patriot act was escalated and fused with the FBI once The US split up. This created the Department of Internal Security. What began as a primarily covert group has escalated in a para-military task force with the sole purpose of defending the American people from External and Internal threats.

The group is split into three main branches, The Crows, Wolves, and Eagles.

The Crows are the espionage element, the wolves are the large military group and the Eagles are the Elite. They are skilled in all areas and are seen as America's biggest heros, often immortalized in movies and such.

DIS HQ is in Denver, though it has other outposts across the country.

Stats
Morale III
World Opinion III

Technology IIII
Economy II (Reliant on government funding to some degree)

Military IIII
Espionage III

Smith and Partners

A quite secretive organisation, Smith and Partners has been operating as private investigators for at least a century now, that much is known.
They are easy enough to find on the net, a small website hosted in the UK, which is, however, not very informative, only informing visitors that they should leave an adress of some kind, where the firm can contact them.

Smith and Partners is estimated to have around five hundred agents world-wide, all of them skilled investigators. They have worked with half the world's governments and many large corporations in the past, almost always successfull, bringing down weapon smugglers, terrorists or smaller criminals.

It is rumoured that they are involved in other activities as well, espionage, both military and industrial, but such claims have never been proven.

Whether this is the case or not, Smith and Partners have always stated the same thing: "We do not want to know your ideology. We do our job and do it well, but do not ask us to follow your ideas as well."

StatsMorale III
World Opinion III

Technology IIII
Economy III

Military I
Espionage IIII

[Greystone]

Denver Colorodo, HQ for DIS

Director Greystone chuckled and turned off the television. The media were so ridiculous. Of course they couldn't find him, it was company policy. Instead he turned to the video streamed directly from the Wolf Pack squad in Question.

Nathon Branthis Building, Top Floor

Sheila VanGoh, 1st Lieutenant in Wolf Pack Colorado cursed as she ran up the stairs. The elevators had been cut and they had to go the long way. Through the glowing red eyes of her black armor, the world looked blood red, the only moving things her fellow squadmates, about six in total.

The crows had made contact about an hour ago, when an undercover agent suddenly came under fire from the HLF. The enemy had four agents pinned and another two down, probably KIA.

She focused on the door leading to the top floor. It was locked, of course, and probably guarded on the inside.

She looked around the masked faces of her squad and barked "Are you ready to kick ass?"

"Rah!"

"Good Hunting" she smirked and her team set up door breaking procedures. Sergent Jossen, a Siege Breaker in heavier black armor brought down his modified Riot shield and had his Combat Shotgun out.

Sheila switched to Infra-red. She looked through the door.

Is there a baddie directly behind the door?

[RationalGoblin]

Tallin, Estonia, HQ for Forge Industries

Matthias Rowe, CEO of Forge Industries smiled at the news of the Ravagers death, and chuckled a bit at the speculations that the Forge was connected to him. Was it that obvious? The Forge must be more subtle next time. Ah, well. It didn't matter. He needed to get to Zurich, anyway, in time for the fun to begin.

Berlin, site of the Ravager's death

Gunter Brandt, leader of the cybernetics division of Forge Industries oversees the removal of the Ravager's body to a Forge-owned warehouse where it can be disposed of covertly by the megacorporation.

Looking over the criminal's body sadly, Gunter poked Franz's cybernetic limbs.

"You could have been so much more, Wilheim. You could have been an shining pillar of the perfection of technology, or you could have been a holy warrior of steel."

Gunter sighed and motioned his assistants to take the cybernetic limbs of the Ravager off of the murderer, and give the shattered body to the police.

Elsewhere in Berlin, Germany

Johann Greenburg, head of the Forge's PR office, addresses the public in German.

"Forge Industries is proud to announce our new plan to provide Berlin's police force with cybernetic limbs, at a major discount. Now, those officers that have been disabled or wounded by their service in law and order can work again, while officer who are afraid of the same happening to them will have no fear, with their new metal limbs. We hope that this will lead to a new and lasting friendship with Berlin's police force. Any questions?"

Zurich, Switzerland

Arriving at the Swiss capital, Matthias Rowe immediately starts the press conference he has there.

"Forge Industries are proud to announce a new office here in Zurich. The Swiss have had a long history of invention, and we hope to utilize that. Our new office and research facility will have state of the art technology being developed within it, and will employ promising students and masters of many varied scientific fields alike. We hope to have a technologically progressive environment in Zurich. Does the press have any questions about this newest development?"

[Krrth]

Hong Kong, New Edison Compound

What's the status of that last attack by the Triad?

Well Mr Carstead, as you've seen on the security footage, it was...bloody. They tried coming over the perimeter on the southern quadrant. They managed to hit one of our security squads, and did significant damage. Four members of the squad were killed, and the fifth was critically injured. We're not sure if he will survive or not. Fortunately, he was able to sound the alarm and hold them off long enough for our on site tactical squadrons to arrive. That turned into a nasty firefight, with light casualties on our side: One killed, three badly wounded. The fight ended when one of our Pteradon class Helicopters arrived on scene.

How many attackers were there?

We're not sure yet sir. 12mm rounds don't leave bodies intact. On the bright side, the first field test of our new High Explosive Armor Piercing ammunition (HEAP) was an incredible success.

Right. I imagine the news crews are screaming for a press release.


Thomas Carstead, President of New Edison Corporation, Press Release.


I'd like to start this release with a statement. Here at New Edison, we take the security of our personnel seriously. The attack on our Hong Kong Headquarters was unprovoked, and I stand by our response. We will not allow threats or intimidation to harm our people, and we will take every step necessary to insure the safety of our people.

Coughs

Having said that, an unknown number of assailants tentatively identified as belonging to the Triad attacked earlier this evening. Our tacticle Response teams were alerted due to the quick action and bravery on one of our security officers, one Daniel Thompson. Mr. Thompson sounded the alarm and successfully held off the attackers, even though he had been critically injured in the first moments of the attack. Mr. Thompson is currently in Critical Care, and is unavailable for comments at this time.

Three of our Tactical Response Units arrived on the scene, and inflicted severe losses on the attackers. The remaining attackers were killed when one of our new Pteradon Combat Helicopters arrived on scene.

Our forensic teams are still trying to determine the number of attackers, as our prototype ammunition proved to be more effective than expected.


I now open the floor for questions.

Feel free to play the part of reporters and ask questions

[Greystone]

President of New Edison Corporation, Press Release

Bob Crowlit raised his hand "Excuse me sir, But just exactly how BIG is this ammunition? You can't even tell how many attackers there were?"

Moral
Bob is an undercover crow

[Moral Wiz]

Greyno, no one directly behind the door.

[Greystone]

Nathon Branthis Building, Top Floor

Sheila brought up her hand "Alright, open the door....quietly"

Two more Wolves jumped forward and applieda vial of green liquied on the hinges. The door creaked and then began to fall. They catched the door and the other covered the now open door.

Sergent Jossen, Sheild lowered moved in, followed by Sheila herself.

Gunfire could be heard down the corridor, though how far away....it was hard to tell.

[Krrth]

President of New Edison Corporation, Press Release

The helicopter in question used 12mm rounds. That rips the target up rather well. The prototype ammunition used was something we call H.E.A.P. That stands for High Explosive Armor Piercing. It was originally designed to be used on heavily armored targets, such as vehicles and combat cyborgs. The effect on relatively unarmored humans was....extreme.

[Greystone]

Press Release

"Well, don't you think it was wrong to try out prototype ammo on these guys, without simply waiting for the authorities to round them up?"

[Krrth]

Press Release

Considering that we have an extraterritoriality agreement with the government, we could hardly ask them to send police into another country, could we? Not to mention that several of our personnel has already been killed or wounded by the attackers.

No, we stand by our actions. That ammunition was scheduled for a test in the morning, but we felt it was better to use it than get the tanks involved.

[Moral Wiz]

Nathon Branthis Building, Top Floor

Daniel Grant snarled at the terrified office workers, his gun smoking as he fired it at the ceiling

None of you do anything, clear?

The workers are terrified, but most nod. They're trying to get down, out of the line of fire, but so were the Liberation Front soldiers. Grant looks around. They hadn't expected DIS so quickly, but they were ready to fight now.

McNeil, their one technician, looked up from the metalic cylinder he is bent over, and out from the side office it was in

We're good to go.

Grant smiled, grimly, before speaking over their encrypted radio. It was new, only used in utter emergencies, and the encryption was unique to the cell. DIS wouldn't be able to access it right away, after some time with decryptors, perhaps. But not quickly enough.

All right, this is where we stand. Everyone, open fire on whatever comes through that opening.

All men, ready!

[Greystone]

Nathon Branthis Building, Top Floor

The Hallway was dark and Sheila quickly scanned adjacent rooms for heat signatures. She found a room full of them and called a halt.

"Contacts, hard to tell how many, but some of them have got to be civilians"

The Pack stood quietly and waited.

"Alright Flash bomb in, then take 'em out with close range fighting, can't let the civvies get hit"

"Yessir"

Shona primed a grenade and threw it threw the doors window pane. The flash of light that followed caused several people to gasp in pain or surprise. Jessen slammed into the door with his Sheild, causing it to fall.

The pack was in the room just as the light began to fade, and Sheila slammed a Terroist into a wall with a kick. The rest attempted to close the gap between themselves and their enemy...

[Eldan]

Smith and Partner


Either I get better at this as I get older, or the criminals just get worse..., he thought.
Well, probably both.
Campbell sighed and unplugged the net connection from his neck, the only augmentation that he had allowed himself, apart from the Cyberbrain. Necessary to play the part of a businessman.
So far, all was going well. The Argos had informed him of suspicious movements on the net, he had followed their lead. A message to the police and voilà, Scotland Yard had their hands on another handful of smugglers.
They should just learn to either stop using the net for everything or at least use a little more than store-bought security systems.
He wondered how they had managed to get the weapons delivery into the country. Well, not his problem.
Standing up, he pulled his coat around him. His bones ached from the wet weather here in London. At least his next asignment would be in Italy, he had asked for that. Let the recruits handle this case, he had better things to do.
He showed the airport security his passport.
"Have a nice flight, Mr. Adams", the stewardess said, and he nodded, a friendly old man in an old-fashioned, heavy coat.

http://www.smith.co.uk/

An empty room, slightly off-white, with a small sign on the wall, explaining the origin of the name smith. After just a few seconds, the sign changes, accompanied by the tiniest of neon-blue flashes, to

Smith and Partners, Private Investigators

Aliena nobis, nostra plus aliis placent

Then, another scenery change, the sign flickering bright green for a split-second.

To contact Smith and Partners, just leave a cyberphone number, cybernet adress or realspace contact information and we will contact you immediately.

[Moral Wiz]

Nathen Branthis Building, Top Floor

Bastards!

Grant screamed as the flash. An old war vet though, he knew to shield his eyes. Several of the Front did the same, though the nosie did shock their guns away from their primed positions

Fire straight at the door! He screamed. Some of his men heard him, and remembered where their weapons had been trained a few seconds earlier. One or two of the WolfPack take hits. One gets hit in the shoulder, but the Liberation Front's attack doesn't slow the Wolves down quickly enough.

The group fires desperately at point blank, trying to hit the DIS team through more number of bullets at anything...

They're mooks, feel free to kill 'em all. Just not Grant and McNeil, at least not yet

[Greystone]

Nathen Branthis Building, Top Floor

The man hit in the shoulder let his momentum carry him as he slammed into the nearest terrorist, ramming the bad guy with his uninjured shoulder.

Jessen was like a Juggernaut, his shot gun rang out once, twice and two of the HLF goons exploded in a pink mist.

With the guns on the wolves, the crows moved as well. Though not as good in a fight as the wolves they were willing to try. One took a bullet in the gut but two more managed to tackle a enemy to the ground and took his weapon.

Sheila spun into the next target and with a *snick* a long blade came from above her closed fist and she stabbed the next guy through the chest then pulled him close to act like a shield. Several bullets pumped into the terroist as his mates tried to get her.

She threw him, and moving with him as cover engaged two more of the scum.

Into her headset she spoke "This is Wolf Pack Colorado calling for immediate copter support"

"Alrighty Wolf, Chopter 3 on its way" a easy going voice sounded over her comm.

[Moral Wiz]

Nathen Branthis Building, Top Floor

Grant cursed as his men fell about him, even vetrans he'd known for years loosing their lives at the hands of the Pack

Just a little longer...

With a shot, Sheila finds her combat knife span away, landing some distance from her. The impact makes her drop the terrorist, there's blood on her hand... in the frenzy of combat she can't tell where it's coming from

She sees one of the Front's men, with short blond hair, no helmet and a smoking pistol in hand. Grant smiles

Hey, Wolf bitch. Wanna play?

His hand went not to his pistol, but to a knife of his own.

[Greystone]

Nathen Branthis Building, Top Floor

Sheila growled and smirked "Sure, but I'll show you whose the Bitch"

She jumped at him with a combanation attack, a kick aimed at the the stomach followed by by two powerful jabs to the face.

Whether or not these connect she ducks and draws a veritable shortsword from a back sheath.

[Moral Wiz]

Nathen Branthis Building, Top Floor

Could be doing better, Wolfie.

Grant smiles, as without apparent effort, he dodges the kicks. The blows to the face are met by his knife, which rises to meet them... Shelia departs with bloodied hands

Grant laughs as she draws the blade, though his own is not quite as long.

Come on. Is that the best you cam do, little cyber wolfie?

[Greystone]

Nathen Branthis Building, Top Floor

"I don't have a single cybernetic implant" she said with some pride.

The armor on her hands protected them to a point but she attacked deftly with the blade. She danced around him, keeping his focus on the blade. Again and again, blow after blow attacked and parried.

Then out of no where her foot shot out and impacted with his knee.

[Moral Wiz]

Nathen Branthis Building, Top Floor

One... last...

As he falls, instead of tumbling, Grant throws all his weight forward Shelia, in one, final attack, blade aimed straight at her, with all the fighter's weight behind it

[Greystone]

Nathen Branthis Building, Top Floor

Sheila rolls back and the blade in her hand plunges deep in his Gut. She felt his blood spilling from the wound. His own blade had buried deep in her calf.

By now, elsewhere the combat had died down and the Wolves were gathering the civvies. She could hear the Copter outside, getting closer.

[Moral Wiz]

Nathen Branthis Building, Top Floor

There is a laugh from the fading terrorist, as he can just hear the sound of the copter showing up

Stupid little wolfie. Live by technology...

McNeil stands stock still, in the side office, just out of sight. The counter, on the large cylinder beside him, that none of the Wolves had noticed, was almost done

4... 3... 2...

[Moral Wiz]

Grey.... sigh. I noted that the Wolves, including Shelia, hadn't seen the bomb. Leaving the option to post was supposed to give you the chance to react to Grant, not play hero and control everything. Leaving aside the fact that even for a cyborg, that's a MAJOR stretch, let alone an all nat.

I'd been working on how this was going to go. Can you take the above down?

And it's not going to be so pretty.

[Greystone]

(Why does everyone have to die?)
Nathen Branthis Building, Top Floor

Sheila's eyes opened wide at the veiled threat. She turned a practically screamed "everyone get out!" she pointed at the door.

The men and civilians began to move...

[Ascension]

Were I actually publishing this I would like to revise and expand it further, but I think this will do for a game...

Late one Sunday night a message was posted (anonymously, naturally) to several high-profile sites across the net. Shortly afterward it began to appear on a host of smaller pages, and several websites with poor security found its text involuntarily emblazoned upon their homepages. The next morning printouts of the manifesto began to appear in the mail... by Wednesday it became clear that every major national government and every major corporation had been sent a copy.

The text read as follows...

Internet and Anarchy
The Pointlessness of Government in the Digital Age

ANARCHY.

Ever reviled, accursed, ne'er understood,
Thou art the grisly terror of our age.
"Wreck of all order," cry the multitude,
"Art thou, and war and murder's endless rage."
O, let them cry. To them that ne'er have striven
The truth that lies behind a word to find,
To them the word's right meaning was not given.
They shall continue blind among the blind.
But thou, O word, so clear, so strong, so pure,
Thou sayest all which I for goal have taken.
I give thee to the future! Thine secure
When each at least unto himself shall waken.
Comes it in sunshine? In the tempest's thrill?
I cannot tell--but it the earth shall see!
I am an Anarchist! Wherefore I will
Not rule, and also ruled I will not be!

John Henry Mackay.

Mackay's future has come. The age of government has passed. It is time for the world to submit to Anarchy, and, through that final submission, to be freed from ever having to submit again.

Some will, of course, try to resist this inevitable change. Some are so used to their prisons they will give their lives for their captors. This is to be expected... man naturally hates and fears change. But is the abandonment of government really as unfeasible as so many would suggest? My purpose is to convince you that it is a perfectly reasonable course of action. Please, consider my words carefully. I speak of nothing less than the future of mankind.

In her essay "Anarchism: What it Really Stands For", Emma Goldman addressed two primary objections to Anarchism: its impracticality and its (thoroughly undeserved) association with violence and destruction. I shall deal with the same two concerns, though primarily with the former.

Now, more than ever, we have actual proof of the feasibility of anarchy, and of the inability of petty tyrants to forever suppress the souls of their subjects. What is this proof, you ask? The Internet. It is a construct larger than any nation, greater than any government, beyond the reach of any power. No one body can control the internet... governments may leave a few small marks on it here and there, but they control nothing but a thimbleful of water in the midst of a great ocean.

If one accepts the internet as an ungoverned entity (And how can one not?), then the bulk of one's objections to anarchy must be immediately washed away. The net is hardly the chaotic cesspool the naysayers expect from an anarchist community. Freed from the expectations of God, Country, and all that Rot, the denizens of the net have formed their own stable communities. Standards of decency can be maintained without black-clad stormtroopers watching over their sheep with fully automatic shepherd's staves. One does not require a government or a police force to settle disputes and deal with turmoil. The people are perfectly capable of taking care of themselves. Besides, the cloak of anonymity hardly turns men into monsters. Rather it frees them to be what they have always dreamed of being, what they could have been all along had they not been forced to conform to society's terrible mold.

There may be chaos in the early days, I grant you, but as the weeks turn into months you will find that a world without governments is far more ordered than a world with government. Modern society creates crime. Our rulers would keep us weak, ignorant, wretched, dependent... is it no wonder that we lash out violently against their social order?

And war... war... The petty squabbling of princes and potentates has claimed more lives than any other force on Earth. We shall see the last of war only when we see the last of our warmongering leaders. A society free from government is a society free from the greatest of all murderers.

Let borders be erased, let nations be cast down, let us become One Earth, One Earth without rulers or subjects, kings or peasants, poor or rich, weak or strong, One Earth comprised of billions of sovereign individuals united through the force of their unified-will-given-form, bound together only by the liberating chains of the internet. Let all express their true selves, without fear of being rejected by an artificially constructed society designed to exclude those who differ from some arbitrarily chosen "norm."

The Truth is that Anarchy already lives among us. It has always lived in the heart of man. It is man's natural state, long kept silent by oppression, given voice in this era by the rise of the internet. We must only embrace this Truth, embrace the Anarchy within us, and we will be liberated. The Truth shall set us free.

The Truth shall set us free.


VERITAS

[Moral Wiz]

Nathen Branthis Building, Top Floor

The explosion rang out before they'd taken two steps.

It was big. The Liberation Front had prepared a powerful blast, to make sure that their records, and killers, were taken with them. As would a large number of other traitors to humanity, as a large chunk of the building was consumed by their final act of destruction

The civilians and Crows are killed instantly. The Wolves, however, have their armor... they are hurt by it, but not killed

No, it is their descent, the debris and the impact, which will end them.

Shelia is falling, falling... she sees the helicopter through the smoke, in it's turn crashing through the skies, heading for the ground even faster than her, side blown open, smoking....

[Greystone]

Nathen Branthis Building, Top Floor

Ron, the pilot of the bird cursed as it began to go down. Beeping filled his ears and he cursed as he tried to pull up, and agin.

The ground was coming closer, but with a exclamation he finally managed to make it over the roofs of some nearby buildings and into the relatively open park. The crash for him wasn't too bad, he survived with a scratch. His co-pilot was also more or less fine but the bird was out of action.

Sheila and her squad? Not so lucky. Jessen hit the ground first with an audible crack, but took less damage then the squad due to his heavier armor.

Others weren't as lucky and as they hit bones fractured and skulls smashed. The rest of the squad was dieing around him. Sheila closed her eyes and sirens were the last thing she heard.

[Moral Wiz]

Why do you always try to wreck the tragic mood? :smalltongue:

Jessen tries to rise, but somehow his legs won't obey. As he strugles, like his leader, the world slowly turns to black.

No WAY he's survivng that with less than a broken spine, armor or no. He fell out of the TOP FLOOR OF A SKYSCRAPER!

Also, do you want to RP the doctors, and Shelia's awakening, or shall I do the docs?

[Greystone]

Hospital

Sheila's eyes opened blearly. Was she in Hell? No it was to bright...perhaps heaven?

She sighed, she doubted if Heaven smelt like a sterilized room.

You be Doctor, you know more about what has happened to her

[Krrth]

Thomas Carstead, after reading the Manifesto

What is this crap? The internet is free, from control and cost? The sheer amount of work and capital required to keep that monstrocity running is staggering. No, release this as a general memo to all employees.


To all Employees of New Edison:

As I'm sure you are all well aware of the recent influx of anarchist propeganda, I feel I need to make a statement. I know it sounds good, but humanity has never managed to through off the bonds of strength and tyranny, and I doubt this is the time to try now. At best, this will cause disruption of food and medical supply shipments, leading to the death of uncounted numbers.

No, we need to stay the course, and continue with out stated goals. Perhaps a better society can be founded, but we need to advance, not regress, before that can be done. I urge you to redouble your efforts, as our plans for colonies will help alleviate the worst this world has to offer.

[Moral Wiz]

Hospital

Was... that smell? It... sort of fades...

There was no one else in the room. Shelia seemed to be standing up, but as she tries to move her head... there seems to be some sort of resistance. As though there were iron blocks holding her in place...

[Greystone]

Hospital

Sheila's eyes dart around. She tries to move but can't. She feels like she is weighed down. The light....oh god the light was blinding.

She tried to scream, get help....something.

[Moral Wiz]

Hospital

No sound came, though as Shelia tried to scream, she saw a small red light illuminate on the wall

Then came the blackness. Slow, creeping blackness...

...

She awoke again. This time, the light was not quite so blinding. Almost asthough someone had drawn a curtain. No one seemed to be there though.

As she tries, at least now, Shelia can move her head. But it... feels odd. There appears to be some kind of restraint on her even now, something seems to tie her head to... something behind her, and the rest of her body seems immobile...

[Greystone]

Hospital

Sheila began to panic again, but she calmed down. She looked around, careful not to pull what was on her neck.

"Hello?" she called caustiously "Where am I?"

[Moral Wiz]

Hospital

No one appears to be here yet. Shelia can hear sounds in the distance

She appears, not to be lieing down, but to still be standing. She can't move her legs though.

She doesn't seem to be able to move most of her body. But... there aren't any restraints she can see, or even feel, except for the thing on her head. It's... more like her body's simply non-responcive.

[Krrth]

New Edison R&D lab


Ok, after that little incident with the Triad, people are simply scared of us. We need to do something that will raise our standing in the world. So...here's the plan. We need a non-lethal alternative to simply shooting someone.


How about a chemical tranquilizer round. If we designed the rounds correctly, they can have the agent in the round. When the round hits, it breaks and released the agent, which can be absorbed by skin contact.

I like it. Get busy, and get me those rounds ASAP.

[Greystone]

Hospital

Sheila looks around and calls twice more. Then she got pissed, she wasn't a patient person and the lack of help was disturbing at best.

So she calmly drew in a breath and screamed "WHERE THE FU@K AM I" ANSWER ME DAMN YOU!!"

Investigations redoubled

DIS focuses much of its time on locating, identifying, and eliminating groups of HLF...

For safety Wolf Packs are drilled to find explosive devices and such before or during a firefight with the terroists.

[Moral Wiz]

Hospital

No answer. But as she tried to breath, that was when it dawned on her

She didn't seem to be able to breath. She simply can't feel her lungs, or be able to draw the air into her body. In fact, she couldn't even feel her heart...

A cyberbrain can function outside a human body. Thus, whilst Cyborgs eat, I'm going to rule that neither do they breath, or possess hearts. They are maintained by neutriant package, so some food is needed, but energy is more important.

[Greystone]

Hospital

Sheila began to panic, which to her means she began to struggle, no matter how fruitlessly. She refused to let herself cry, but she could feel a sob coming on.

What was she supposed to do? What was she??

[Moral Wiz]

Ok... now, I feel cruel:( I was mostly trying to play for time, to work out how to play this.

Now, I've more or less got it.

As she struggles, Shelia can just hear, in the distance... a frenzied buzzing

Oh.. ****, SORRY, SORRY....

The frenzzied voice of a young man can be heard, far off, and coming closer. His footsteps rise in volume until Shelia can tell he's practically on top of her.

Sorry, sorry, didn't disengage...

He's mumbling. Presumably he's some sort of doctor. Shelia can hear the sound of needles sliding out of something metalic, then, what ever's holding her slowly draws away from the base of her neck

Her whole body tenses slightly. She seems able to walk

And then falls over, ignobly landing on the floor. The Doc curses again

Takes a while to get used to, apparently. Here, come on.

He moves to help her up.

It'll be hard for Shelia to move. Not impossible, but her entire nervous system is essentially re-routed. It'll take her some time to ajust.

[Greystone]

"Get away from me!" she snaps.

She attempts to get up, falls. This process repeats, but eventually holding onto a nearby metal outcropping she stands on wobbily legs. She felt all wrong, different.

"Who the hell are you and what did you do to me?"

[Moral Wiz]

You mean...

He pales

Sorry. I was left in charge, whilst the surgeon talks with this visitor, some big-wig from DIS. We've been in chaos ever since the bombing. Guess no one had a chance to talk to you in the admin mess.

He quickly grabs a mirror from a table, and hands it to her

I'm afraid I haven't read your file, but first things first. Do you look right?

Yes, she does look like herself. They did well. Doc just doesn't know it

[Greystone]

Sheila nods slowly, then her eyes wien "What do you mean...LOOKS RIGHT!"

She takes what was supposed to be a threatening step but stumbles a bit.

[Moral Wiz]

It has the same general effect.

I mean, you... you look like you're supposed to. That's... what I said, wasn't it?

[Greystone]

"Why would I need to LOOK the same? Aren't I me" Sheila glared at the young docter.

[Moral Wiz]

Oh, you're you. Don't worry, you're fine.

He doesn't look reassuring though, and knows it

Look, I'm not qualified for this. I should go.

He moves to do so...

[Greystone]

Sheila lunged forward with a snarl "No you don't"

She grabbed his collar and picked him off the floor. He was almost immediatly dropped as she looked in horror at her hands. He began to crawl away and she grabbed the scruff of his neck.

Before she could do anything and clear voice rang out.

"Agent VanGoh, please calm down" flanked by the docter, Director Greystone walked into the room. His reddish hair, flecked with grey was mid length, past his ears. A carefully trimmed beard around his mouth and on his chin was obvious.

[Moral Wiz]

A certian old looking doctor follows, fuming

Director, I know you like to do whatever the hell you want, but I must protest. This premature awakening is highly medically unsound, and the after affects could be...

Then he notices Shelia. And shuts up.

[Greystone]

"It appears that she is fine" stated Greystone calmly "Though a bit distressed."

Sheila had taken on the attitude of a wounded and cornered wolf. She backed away "What the hell have you people done to me?"

[Moral Wiz]

How she appears is not the point. She hasn't been briefed yet. That's a bloody complex delicate procedure. Why do you think Psychologists get such bloody big pay-checks?

He sighs

If you think she's so fine. you tell her what happened. I wash my hands of it.

[Greystone]

"Fine" The director snapped, he turned to Sheila and put his hands up "Agent VanGoh...Sheila"

"What the hell happened to me" uncaring of her disrespectful tone.

"You were blown out of The Nathan Branthis Building" he said "You were in critical condition and I-"

"You what?"

"I gave the order to give you a full cybernetic body..."

Sheila's mouth fell open and she pressed herself against the wall "no..."

"I'm afraid it was the only way to save your life" the Director said sadly.

She looked at him, then at the doctor "D-did anyone else survive?"

[Moral Wiz]

The Helicopter pilots were fine. They were about the only ones

The Doctor looks away

One guy, an Agent Jessen, also survived. He too was bloody lucky. In fact, he lucked out more than you, sort of. We were able to keep him in an essentially normal body, with some major prosthetic work on his sipne

He looked to the Director

He won't be fit for Agency work though. I'm afraid this counts as a "permanent crippling injury" You can't force someone to go cybreized, not if they're concious. He was, just about and refused.

[Greystone]

Sheila suddenly chuckled, though the sound was hollow "Stubborn bastard....Well good for Jessen" she turned to look at the Director "So I'm a cyborg"

"Well, you're a very special cyborg, one of a kind model if you will" the director nodded sagely "Your body is the best we had to offer"

Sheila looked at the doctor as if asking for a translation into non-enigmatic speech.

[Moral Wiz]

He nods.

Your chassis is superior; reaction time boosted, energy conversion ratios ironed out, strength and manoeuvrability at far, far above stranded human.. Highest specs I've ever seen. Tops military issue. Why the good director felt it should be given to a newly cyberized, I don't know, asking for trouble

He continued

It's a prototype. In fact, as of three hours ago it's a discontinued prototype, cost far too much for wide usage. But it works.

Chassis=Cyborg body

[Greystone]

Sheila opened her mouth, closed it, then sat on the bed "So I'm freak, a one of a kind freak...whopee"

she looked up "What happens to me now?"

"Well Sheila" the Director began "First you learn how to use that body, then you use it"

"Still for DIS?"

"If you'll have us"

"As a Wolf?"

"Naw" the director turned to leave "As an Eagle..."

Timeshift! and btw, where is everyone else?

[RationalGoblin]

Well, I was waiting for Moral Wiz to finish with your stuff so he can post the reactions to our stuff.

[Ascension]

And I've been trying to decide whether to launch my graffiti campaign this turn or next turn.

[Krrth]

I'm just waiting to see what the results of this turn are.

[Eldan]

Well, contact me if you need any spywork done, otherwise, I don't have much to do.