What Child is This? (Matrix [d20-ish]) {IC}

[Erasmas]

The Matrix
What Child is This?

It was raining again... hard rain, the kind that seems to only ever come at night or to bring darkness with it. Rain (and water in general, really) was one of the hardest things to get used to - the idea that you weren't actually getting wet, that the chills and the bumps on your skin where all fake responses... as fake as everything else around you. As Athos hot-wired the '69 Fastback behind you, you looked down from the fifth floor of the parking garage, watching the scurrying tops of umbrellas moving like cockroaches running from the light. You pitied them, in part; or perhaps it was envy. It didn't matter.

Holding out your hand, the digital drops pelted your skin and ran off of you exactly like you expected them to. Cupping your palm, the water pooled there. It would be clear... it should be clear... if it weren't for the same green color that tinted everything in this place. You had never noticed it before you were woken, but now it persisted everywhere. It was like everything had been dyed in various shades of green, not enough to get rid of other colors, just enough to taint them... to make its presence known. Dyed like it had fallen from the sky and saturated its way down to the very bones of the coppertops that still droned on here - you tipped your hand, releasing the gathered water to fall once more.

Whoom, whoom

The engine of the Mustang finally roared to life and as you looked back over your shoulder, Athos smiled his lopsided smile back.

"Let's ride."

[Lentrax]

Lynn was perched on the concrete barrier, overlooking the city below. The rain soaked through her fatigues. Well what she thought of as rain anyway.

All this time, and the place can still trick the free mind. She readjusted the katana strapped to her back as she hear the car start.

Her braids flowing behind, she hops down and gets in the car.

"We off then?"

[4th number]

Jacko ponders his hands as he leans against a shiny new minivan. O-P-E-N, right pinkie to to right index. M-I-N-D, left index to left pinkie. MIND OPEN, his knuckles tell him as he turns them toward himself. As he moves his fingers, slotting each letter of his tattoos into place, they leave trails in the air visible only to him. Just edge effects-- the diluted chemical under his tongue back on the Mjolnir wasn't enough to induce more than that in someone with his tolerance-- but he found the Matrix too confining, too rigid, if he couldn't impose just a little bit of his own reality onto his viewpoint.

All of the times that he'd tripped before he'd been awakened-- had they pumped the drug into his bloodstream in the pod, or merely adjusted his perceptions in their simulation? He'd thought about this before, and had never been able to decide whether or not it mattered.

He squeezes into the other backseat beside Lynn, the guns under his jacket digging into his torso uncomfortably and his head sitting at an angle to fit.

"You coulda stolen a Winnebago, boss." Jacko grins, revealing yellowed teeth.

[Hazuki]

Bree
~

A sigh escaped Bree's lips as the vehicle grumbled into life; an old, beaten up car driven by on old, beaten up man, and she was loathe to enter it. She longed for a motorcycle, but they couldn't afford to drive up to the hospital on exotic vehicles, not that a Mustang was particularly inconspicuous. She supposed by the armaments everybody else had displayed clearly, this was going to be a charge through the sterilized halls.

"So," Bree began, shrugging off her rain-slick coat as she slipped into the Mustang beside Athos and placed a briefcase between her legs. "Is there a plan, Captain?" She asked with a smirk in the man's direction, while she clipped on her seatbelt and rested against the leather seat. "Shooting everyone doesn't count." She added, after a short pause.

The woman's eyes passed over the mirror, spotting the two of her teammates that sat in the confined backseats. Lynn, with her rainbow of hair and a samurai sword that would only rarely see use, while giving the benefit of making everyone ten times more noticeable. And Jacko with those disgusting teeth that made bile rise up in her throat; why the man hadn't chosen a prettier Residual Self Image, she would never know.

It wasn't all bad thoughts. She loved the crew, but the Matrix itself always had a way of making her feel bitter. Perhaps it was the perpetual rain that dragged feelings of unease from deep within her stomach, or the vulnerability to the machines. A smooth mission would cheer her up, hopefully, if she assumed that the Agents weren't keeping track of a major hacker. Which they almost certainly were.

[Lentrax]

The young woman in the backseat crosses her legs as the Mustang protested being shifted into neutral. "We ever have a run that goes smooth?"

Smooth jumps or not, the One will come.

[DaedalusMkV]

Back on the Mjolnir, Targe watches the scene from the safety of the Operator's chair, one eye on the team as they prepare to move and the other roving through the region looking for any sign of disturbance. Well, not literally of course, but you get the idea. Noting a change in the mission parameters, and having been fed an unbelievably straight line, he can't help but butt in. He sounds cheerful as his voice emerges in the ears of the others, though it's more an act for everyone else's sake than anything given the danger they're heading into. "On that note, Lynn, it looks like we've got a complication here. If I'm reading this right, and I don't usually get it wrong, our target's just gone into labour. What do we do, Captain?"
Even as he speaks, the Operator watches the Matrix move, a grand pattern constantly shifting as the humans trapped inside make decisions. Still, at least for the moment, the team seems to be safe. No Agents battering down doors, no drone assault teams stalking them. He wonders how long it can last. Taking advantage of the lull time, Targe shifts his weight in the Operator's chair and picks out a few lines of code, opening up a file on the Mjolnir's mainframe. "I wonder what happens if we pull out a pregnant woman..."


Targe is currently investigating just what happens when a pregnant woman is pulled out of the Matrix. Does the child come with her? If we catch her after she's given birth, is the child still physically in her pod or has it already been moved? Hell, will there be Sentinels all over the place to move the child if we do it while she's giving birth, dooming the mission from the start?

[Erasmas]

"I could've... true"

Athos revved the engine and the Fastback roared like a steel dragon trapped in a lair made of concrete. Further down the row, another car's alarm went off. The captain then pulls out and begins making the looping decent down to the exit and the street. While he had Targe on the line, Athos asked him.

"Targe, get me a garage ticket and a hundred dollar bill, if you please."

Continuing on, down-shifting and slightly drifting around a corner on the slick pavement and narrowly missing a pick-up truck that was sticking out too far.

"The plan, Bree, is to go in as discreetly as possible and get this coppertop before the Devil knows we're here. And that does, in point of fact, mean no going in 'guns blazing'."

Athos looks in the rearview mirror at Jacko's face and catches the younger man's gaze, raising an eyebrow above the rim of his mirrored sunglasses to drive home his point.

[DaedalusMkV]

Targe turns away from his research for a moment, processing the Captain's request. His fingers begin flying across the array of keyboards, beginning the protocols necessary to insert a cache into the Matrix. "Garage ticket and a C-note, confirmed. I'll add a standard cash-pack, a thousand in varying bills, just in case. Check the glove-box in sixty seconds, Captain." Targe focuses his full attention on the task, rewriting the code of the Matrix to provide the necessary goods.


I should be able to Take 10 on Coding tests outside of combat to deliver the Cache. One minute to Code it in, then activating the Hack immediately. Heh. A cash cache. Anyways, for those watching, it's always going to be at least one minute between a request for items and delivery. Three Rounds to deliver a Knowledge Upload. Plan for that, if you need those sorts of things from me.

[4th number]

Jacko raises his voice to be picked up by Athos' phone. "Hey Targe, could you add a bottle of Aristocrat, too?"

He looks back at the captain. "I've got an idea, that's all."

[Hazuki]

Bree
~
"Just so all of us aren't hiding our plans," Bree begins, shooting a glance at both Athos and Jacko. "I've brought my rifle in my suitcase, and a False FBI ID, so I should be able to get me most places in the hospital without much grief. If we can meet up on the rooftop after gathering some info, we could decide what to do from there." She wasn't the leader of the group, by any means, but actually planning what to do in advance was something of a fondness for her.

There were complications with the run itself, such as getting Sim to choose between pills while she was on labor-drugs and likely exhausted from giving birth, but those were apparently to be decided on at a later date.

[Lentrax]

"I'm not the 'plan' kind of girl. We'll see wht we can find when we get there."

She really isn't. Lynn did a stint in juvie for a string of really bad decisions revolving around a rather amusing story involving, a cat, a broken leg, and a post office.

[4th number]

"I was thinkin' that a drunk, belligerent punk rocker type might harass the cops for a bit while you all get the girl out. Make it take as long as we can before they know it's a snatch. Course, we still need to find out how secure that floor is."

Jacko likes the idea of beating the **** out of some cops.

[Erasmas]

"How about a drunk, belligerent punk rocker type harass the nurses long enough for them to then call the cops down there? Lynn and I will go in and get the girl. And then Bree can sweep in with her FBI performance, collect this hypothetical punk and we can all get out of here?"

Athos slowed as he rounded the last corner and approached the booth located at the exit of the garage. Inside, lit by the barely-noticeably pulsing fluorescent lighting of the guard booth, was a older black man. He had grey in his goatee and thinning hair and his eyes were tired and sad. Athos indicated the glove box and then held out his hand.

"Bree, if you would."

He took the ticket and the meaningless paper bill with the picture of a dead man's face and the number 100 in the corners... printed, once more, in multi-toned green. As you approached, the guard certainly seemed to take interest in your appearances. He stood and exited the shack, where something played on the television, all but lost in the static snowstorm of a crappy reception. Athos rolled down the window and came to a stop just before the flimsy bar; the only thing blocking your path.

"Evenin'. You folks got a ticket?", he asked incredulously.

When Athos handed the man the ticket, with the bill folded up behind it, he stared down at it. The wrinkles on his forehead deepened with a lack of understanding and he started to speak.

"Hold on a second; this isn't one of..."

And then his fingers fanned out what was behind the slip of paper and the wrinkles lessened once more. He looked around a moment, tucked both into his breast pocket, reached inside and hit the button to raise the bar, and smiled.

"You folks have a nice night, now. Careful in all the nasty weather!"

As you drove out from the garage, you could hear the man whistling some tune or another to himself. Suddenly, as you almost entered the street, a homeless man appeared in your path. He stares at all of you through watery eyes as he stumbles past the front of your car. Soon, you pulled out onto the street and were on your way to your destination - St. Lucy's Hospital.

[Erasmas]

Meanwhile... back on "The Hammer"

Splice had snuck up behind you and used his wrench to goose you in your lower side. As he did so, he made a noise with his mouth that sounded a lot like your lightning rifle.

He laughed at how high you jumped, no matter how many times he did that. "Sorry, Targe. You're just too damn jumpy. So, how's it going?"

He stepped up beside you, a greasy rag in his hands as he cleaned them with it. He bright white smile still broad from his "jest", he looks down at the streaming lines of code on your monitors. Even though you knew he couldn't read what was going on, it seems like he still tried to figure it all out.

[Lentrax]

"Smash and grab, eh? My favorite kind of plan." Any specific way we getting her out? Or are we just doing this as we go?"

[4th number]

"That hobo-- Guys, I've got déjà vu, and I'm 90% sure it's not the drugs." Jacko reaches into his jacket and pulls out one of his machine pistols.

[Lentrax]

"Deja... ****."

Lynn grabs a custom 1911 colt from a quick draw thigh holster.

[Erasmas]

"Dammit..."

Athos nervously checked his sideview mirrors and moved himself forward in his seat. Deja vu was never a good sign. However, after nearly a minute, there was nothing else out of place. It could've been just a fluke... it could've just been Jacko's imagination.

You continued on, eventually turning a corner and pulling into the drive way of St. Lucy's Hospital.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Erasmas/Matrix/Hospital_zps035bc86a.jpg

[DaedalusMkV]

Targe jumps out of his seat, headset clattering to the ground, then curses loudly at the mechanic. "Dammit, Splice, don't do that! What if the Captain and the rest need me while I'm out of my chair, eh? It's not like we're on vacation or something like that, you know..." He brushes himself off, sighs, then returns himself to his chair and picks up the fallen communication device, replacing it on his head, then begins grumbling to himself as he tries to get back into the mission. "It's going about as well as can be expected so far, I guess. Wonder how long that can last. They're just about at the target point now, just gotta get in and get our girl out. Fingers crossed, eh?"

[Lentrax]

Lynn pulls her phone out and it slides open, dialing speed dial number one.

When the line is picked up, she hears Targe answer.

"Operator."

"Pull up the guide for the hospital. It should list the Maternity ward on it. Also, I have an idea, but I need a little help..."

[DaedalusMkV]

Targe refocuses on Lynn's request. "Alright, working on it. Would you like that floor plan in your brain, or just directions? As always, anything I can do to help out, just ask. What do you need?"


Pull up the floor plans and start Coding a Knowledge Upload, just in case.

[Lentrax]

"Just directions. Also, could you get a fake belly in the trunk? I have an idea."

Lynn describes her idea of infiltrating the hospital as a woman going into labor. It will hopefully buy them the time to find Sim and avoid drawing attention to themselves.

[Hazuki]

Bree
~
Bree sat with her head pushed against the window for the remainder of the ride, simply waiting for instructions on what to do next at this point. She mostly mulled of the Captain's supposed plan, which was enough for her to speak up. "How is one guy going to serve as a distraction for the entire hospital? Sim has extra security, Captain; he'll just be handled by the regular hospital guards, and that will put Sim's guards on high alert."

[4th number]

"Don't need to distract the whole hospital, just one hallway. If they're the only ones close enough to stop the punk with a knife..."

[Erasmas]

Athos pulls into a parking spot near a fire exit and kills the engine, with the front of the car facing out of the lot.

"Let's see what Targe can do and then we'll see what our next step is going to be. This could be a cake walk... but with that glitch that Jacko may have seen... I want to be sure before we walk through the door that we aren't walking into a trap."

[DaedalusMkV]

Targe considers the request for a moment. "You know, using one of those fat suits to pose pregnant in a room full of doctors isn't likely to last too long, Lynn. I'll admit, I don't have one stored in my template sets. Lemme see what I can do." Back in reality, fingers begin flying across keyboards as he scans archival data to find an image of an appropriate item, then begins copying and rendering it for insertion into the Matrix. About two minutes later he chimes in again. "Alright, got it for you. Check the trunk. Got your directions too, for when you need them. Be careful, Lynn. You're going to be putting yourself in the limelight, here, and if the Drones are watching they'll be on you right quick."

[Lentrax]

"Doesn't need to last long, just enough to get us inside and into the maternity ward."

Lynn smiles, more than a little wolfishly, at Athos.

"Well, Cap, looks like you're going to be a daddy. Congratulations."

The car pulls in, and Lynn gets out to access the trunk. Seeing if anyone is watching, Lynn yanks her twin Colts from their holsters and sets them in the trunk. Next comes the katana.

Then looking to make sure no one is watching, and motioning to Jacko and Athos to turn around, her shirt goes in next.

A slight pause, as Lynn toys with the idea of stuffing her lace bra with a pair of 1911 Colt .45s, then decides that would look a little odd.

Instead, she puts on the fat suit, pulls on the new shirt in the rain, then grabs her pistols. With a twirling motion she brings them around to hand them grips first to Athos.

Lynn takes on a honeyed, mocking tone. "You ready to bring a new child into our world, honey?"

[4th number]

Jacko idly juggles his knife, and cooperatively turns around for the sake of Lynn's dignity. "So, who gets to be the godfather? It's me, right?" He grins.

"But seriously, we need eyes on Sim's security. Lynn can do a walk-by, she'll blend-- actually, Targe: whatcha see from out there?"

[Erasmas]

Athos turns back around once he is addressed and takes the guns from Lynn, rolling his eyes at her joke. He tucked her Colts into the rear waistband of his jeans and pulled the bottom of his jacket over the grips to cover them.

"Once we get inside, chances are they are going to want to check you in right away. They'll want to get you into a room in the Maternity Ward before they will even check you."

The captain's eyes fell out of focus for a second, his mind drifting away to a different moment in time... a different reality, a different life.

"Once they get us there, things are going to start going downhill very fast. We'll have to subdue whatever nurse they send in and then go on walkabout. And when they find the nurse, we need to have already found Sim."

[DaedalusMkV]

Targe takes a moment to check his displays, cycling through code-streams. "I see our girl. She's all alone in Room 22, two armed guards outside. You'll need to deal with them somehow to get to her. Only one door in or out, and I don't think there's any reasonable way to get her out the window. About fourty other civvies hanging around the building, all told. Doesn't look like any major Drone presence just yet, but don't count on that. Once you're in, I can give you directions to where you need to go." He looks around one last time. "I've got a bad feeling about this, folks. Make sure you memorize the route out while you're going in. It looks too easy right now, and these things never go smoothly."

[Erasmas]

"One can hope..."

Athos takes Lynn's hand and moves forward, around the side of the hospital to the front entrance and passes through the sliding glass doors. One of the nurses at the front station looks up, boredom exuding from her expression and her voice.

"Can I help you?"

[Lentrax]

"Ahhh!" Lynn starts doing a breathing exercise she saw on tv before she woke up.

[4th number]

Jacko walks through the lobby without a glance at the pregnant couple, heading for the waiting area nearest to Sim's room. He plans to sit, read a magazine, and greet anyone who speaks to him with a (closed-mouth) smile and "Oh, I'm just waiting for someone."

[Hazuki]

Bree
~

Bree began her scouting of the building by wandering around the outside, leaving a trail of wet steps and trailing drops behind her. She wished there had been a better plan to get the girl out, but the presence of Agents could never be accounted properly for, except making sure there was a good way to run. The potential presence of a program that wasn't with the Machines only made her anxiety worse, for fear of being sold out or their unforeseeable abilities.

The businesswoman entered the building proper next, drying off her coat in the air conditioning briefly before she planned out routes in the halls themselves. The elevators would be their best bet, but she'd need to find a vacant carriage to prepare for a swift escape. So that was what she did, looking especially for one near room 22.

[Erasmas]

Suddenly, the nurses in the entrance area around you explode into action. Two of them wheel over a gurney and help Lynn get into it. The nurse who first spoke to you, her expression changed but only just.

"How far along is she?", she asks Athos.

"Uhh... term... full-term. She's... uhh... she's due, right now!"

It was obvious that this kind of charade was not one of the captain's fortes.

With all of the commotion, no one gives Jacko more than a look as he enters and passes signs that lead him to the Waiting Room (room 18, which Targe could see). Positioning himself just right, opposite the entrance to the room, he could just see the door to Room 22. And there were the two guards, sitting just outside of Sim's room, on the other side of the nursing station. One of them casts a casual glance in Jacko's direction as he settles into his chair, but quickly goes back to being bored.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Erasmas/Matrix/NPC-Guard1_zpsf6b5d538.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Erasmas/Matrix/NPC-Guard2_zps9ad70683.jpg

Bree sees four additional exits beyond what Lynn, Athos, and Jacko used (including the one that the captain had parked the Mustang nearest). However, walking around the entire hospital would take more time than your team intended on being here. The nearest elevator bank was outside of the ward and down the hall (Targe would recognize these as the squares with X's).

[Hazuki]

Bree
~

With her brief scouting period, not nearly long enough for her tastes, over with, Bree decided it would be best to make the move on Sim and allow Jacko the chance to slow down the guards further down the hall, once she gained access to the room where their target slept. She kept her rainslick coat on for the time being, given that it implied authority to most, and a federal agent with just a blouse would look rather silly indeed; there would be no place to hide her gun.

Bree approached the two guards with a firm stature, her steps sure and confident, as she came to stand before the both of them with a briefcase firmly in her left hand, just in case she needed to use her right for fighting. "Good evening, Officers. I'm Agent Brenson, FBI," She greets, flashing them her ID briefly before continuing her shtick. "I'm here to take Miss Patterson off your hands for a few moments, so feel free to cool your heels while we have ourselves a chat." She said with a cordial smile at the two Officers, using colloquial slang in an attempt to lower their guard.

[Erasmas]

The second guard, a middle-aged black man raises his eyebrow as Bree gives her spiel. He stands and asks to she her ID again, inspecting it closely as she flips open the leather folding case once more. After what seems like an agonizingly long moment, he reaches for his radio.

Suddenly, the first guard elbows him in the thigh. "C'mon... let the Agent do her business, Branson. We can go get some real coffee, instead of that decaf **** the Sergeant brought us."

The Caucasian female officer stands and stretches, taking a few steps away. The second policeman doesn't look like he's buying... at first.

"Jesus, Branson... she ain't going anywhere! We'll be back in less than three minutes."

With that, he finally seems to let it go with a scowl. He walks away with the first guard, casting one last glance over his shoulder at Bree as he does so.

[Lentrax]

Lynn groans as she is helped onto the gurney. Breathing heavily, she keeps an eye on the nurses, hoping the deception woorks long enough to get her to a room.

[Erasmas]

The nurses wheel the gurney quickly into a room, where Athos follows... the look of concern on his face not that much of a performance. All of the nurses, save one, leave the room. This nurse drags a vitals cart from the corner and removes the blood pressure cuff.

"Alright, sweetie... I'm going to need you to take off the long-sleeved shirt so I can get to your arm."

The captain deftly slides up behind the woman and presses the barrel of his Beretta into her temple while covering her mouth with his free hand. The nurse mumbles a scream and then is silent and wide-eyed.

"Now listen, and listen closely. We aren't looking to hurt you, but we don't want any trouble either."

The nurse nods furiously.

[Lentrax]

As soon as Athos grabs the nurse, Lynn hops up, pulling off her shirt and the fat suit. Slipping the shirt back on, she grabs her pistols from under Athos's coat.

Lynn moves to the door and peeks out, trying to see what she can without attracting attention to herself.

[4th number]

When Jacko sees the guards move off, he gets up and heads down the hallway at a brisk walk, so as to be between the guards and the room upon their return. He doesn't turn his head as he passes Room 22, but he does stop just after the hallway turns, retaining a view of the doorway if he peeks around the corner.

He resists the urge to check his firearms. They're all already cocked and loaded.

[Hazuki]

Bree
~

With the freedom to explore now gifted to her, Bree usherd herself into Sim's room and closes it firmly behind her. The guards would very likely serve as a problem in the near future, if somebody else wasn't causing massively unnecessary fuss already and ruining her chance at subterfuge. Regardless, Bree looked over Sim's room as soon as she stepped in, with her wrist prepared to draw one pistol at a moment's notice.

[Erasmas]

Lynn peeks out of the room and sees several nurses bustling around the nursing station. There is no sign of the guards that were outside of Sim's room... and you can see Bree beginning to open the door.

Jacko posts up just across the way from the room where Lynn and Athos were to be admitted. He knew that the cops were close-by somewhere, as he saw them duck around a corner... he just wasn't sure exactly how close.

Athos speaks to Lynn in a hurried whisper.

"Lynn. Get the pillow case.", he says as he takes the blood pressure cuff from the nurse.

Bree found Sim's room nearly empty, with the exception of the overly large hospital bed. There, lying on it was the woman that you assumed was your target... Simone Patterson.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Erasmas/Matrix/SimoneSimPatterson.jpg

She was a pretty young woman, probably no more than eighteen or nineteen, of mixed ethnicity. She appeared to be sleeping, with an IV tower beside her bed and attached to the back of her right hand by a long clear hose. Her left wrist was handcuffed to the railing of the bed. The television was quietly playing some kind of Game Show in the background.

[Hazuki]

Bree
~

Bree thanked her luck that the target was asleep; pulling somebody conscious out of a hospital was likely to be far harder. She set to work quickly, however, not wanting to waste any more time than necessary for fear of the chops arriving. After a brief scan of the room, she spirited away some medical supplies to use on young Simone, before she began to remove the IVs.

With each of them, she raised the limbs slightly above Simone's heart to slow down the flow of blood, while keeping the skin even. As she removed them, she firmly applied a dry dressing to the area and held it tight to lower the bleednig, before using her free hand to tighten the dressing around the wounds. She figured that it was best to sort out those first, as the bed could serve as a makeshift transport should she not be able to undo the handcuffs in time.

With that done, Bree got to work on the handcuffs, using the set of lockpicks she carried with her to do the deed.

Lockpicking: [roll0] +The modifier for having an actual lockpicking set.

[Erasmas]

Athos ripped the inflatable cuff from the blood pressure device and stuffed a fold of it into the nurse's mouth. Tears were now streaming down the poor woman's face, but the captain paid it no attention... he moved with a cool determination and deliberateness. He then tore the sleeve off of her scrub shirt and fastened it around her head, holding the cuff in place as a gag.

[Lentrax]

Lynn takes the pillow case off the bed and hands it over to Athos.

"Bree must have got the cops off her room for a minute. Just hope its long enough."

[4th number]

Jacko creeps forward and waits until he either the cops finish pouring their coffee, or he reckons enough time has passed for Bree to get the girl out of bed, into a wheelchair, and out the door.* Then, he stumbles forward into the little room.

"So, thish where the coffee is?" He deliberately bumps into both of them, intending to "accidentally" spill both their beverages. "Aw, ****, I'm so sor-- oh, f--, I, uh, didn't see you were cops!" He looks alarmed. "Aw shoot, I'm real sorry." He puts as much sincerity in his voice as he can, but he also makes sure that they can see that his hands are tattooed, which he's found tends to put the police on their guard.

*Could I roll a check to see if I know her style and competence well enough to estimate that accurately? Here's 1d20+level [roll0] and add either 2 for Int or 3 for Wis.

Here are two Dex+lvl checks to spill each coffee, ideally in a way that doesn't make it seem deliberate. [roll1] [roll2] EDIT: Those should both be +13.

Here's a Cha+lvl check to see if I successfully come across as somewhat drunk and sincerely sorry for bumping into them: [roll3]

[Erasmas]

Bree successfully picks the the lock on the handcuffs; but as she begins removing the IVs, Simone wakes up. The young woman starts, looking startled and unsure of what was going on.

"Who the hell are you?!"


¥ ¶ Ħ 3 § Ə Ψ Д ∑ ‡

Jacko runs into both of the officers as they are still pouring the second cup, spilling the dark liquid everywhere.

"What the..."

They both appear peeved, and roll their eyes and then exchange a glance. The female steps forward.

"Nice, pal. Look... I dunno what you're doing here, but public intoxication is a misdemeanor. How's about I call you a cab that can get you home, huh?"

She grabs you, somewhat roughly, by the arm and spins you around back towards the door leading out of the room. The second cop grabs a handful of napkins and starts to clean himself up.


¥ ¶ Ħ 3 § Ə Ψ Д ∑ ‡

Athos then takes the rubber hosing from the blood pressure cuff and ties the nurses hands behind her back, leading her into the bathroom. Once there, he puts the pillowcase over the top of her head and shoulders and lowers her into the shower stall. The captain then closes the door and nods to Lynn.

[4th number]

"No, hey, listen, I took a cab here. My sister's havin' a baby, and I got the call when I'd had a couple. I was just hopin' to have a cuppa coffee, I don't want any trouble."

He looks at her pleadingly.

"Look, I'm real sorry-- you guys can get yours first, I'll come back."

I'm just charmin' the pants off of 'em, I bet. Here's a Charisma+level roll: [roll0]

[Lentrax]

Lynn peeks out the door again, then hoping the coast stays clear, she starts heading down to Sim's room.

[DaedalusMkV]

Targe follows the action with growing nervousness, switching his attention between Lynn and the Captain, Bree and her work with the Drones and Jacko in the waiting room. He takes a moment to examine their objective, quickly noting that the child has already been born, then rejecting the idea of contacting the team. "No, no point bothering them for this. They'll figure it out soon enough. Damn it, I hate this part..." Taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes for a second, he begins readying a code-spike, more to have something to do than anything.


Targe will begin Coding a Stopgap Program, just in case we need to keep a door closed at some point here. Maybe cut those cops off from Sim's room. Otherwise, I don't think there's a lot for me to be doing just now.

[Hazuki]

Bree
~

A thousand curses go through Bree's mind as Sim begins to startle, but she continues her work and uses a firm grip on Simone's arm to stop her from potentially ruining the process of IV-removal. There were a few ways to handle the situation, but she wasn't particularly fond of many of them, and they all had a chance to ruin her process. Humor normally worked, though it was a crapshoot at best.

"You ever seen the Terminator?" Bree asked, flashing Simone her pretty face and a smile in the hopes that it would calm her down slightly. People always trusted the beautiful, and a smile would help Sim recognize her as a human through basic empathy. The joke would help as well, given the common preconception that robots didn't make jokes. "Imagine I'm telling you that you have to come with me, if you want to live; because it's true. I can't do the accent though," She said, as she finished wrapping one of Sim's arms. "Sorry."

[Erasmas]

Lynn & Athos

You make your way down the hall, passing several nurses and doctors along the way. Moving as quickly as you can without drawing too much attention to yourselves, you are thankful that they all seem far to preoccupied to notice that you are the same woman that was brought in only moments before... and are no longer pregnant. That is, until...

Passing one of the doctors, who may have been on his way to your room, does notice you walking by him. As he do so, his forehead creases and he calls out, "Excuse me... Miss?"

Athos, you know, is only steps behind you.


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Bree

A weak smile cracks at the corner of Sim's groggy mouth. "You're pretty funny... for a cop.", the young woman says, eying the badge on your belt as you move about.

"Shouldn't I stay hooked up to all this?"

She moves to sit up and stops about halfway, wincing in pain and propping herself up on her elbows.


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Jacko

The male cop seemed completely focused on trying to get the coffee absorbed out of his uniform using napkins. However, the female now seemed to be less enthralled than before... she hesitated for just a second, and then smiled.

"What was your name, again sir?"


¥ ¶ Ħ 3 § Ə Ψ Д ∑ ‡
Targe (Back on the Hammer)

Splice was still poking around the broadcast room, tinkering with something back in a corner. Ether came in, from somewhere in the front of the ship, sipping on an aluminum cup with dings in it. The sleeves of her ragged sweater were pulled down over her hands, barely allowing her fingertips to be usable. She sat down in the chair beside you and spun on its swivel in two full rotations before letting it come to a stop on its own... somewhat facing the monitors.

"D'they find her yet? Is she pretty?"

[Hazuki]

Bree
~

"'Fraid not." Bree says, giving Sim an apologetic look before she finishes wrapping up the woman's other arm in dressing, using the same method as she had before to prevent bleeding. Though she doesn't take pleasure in the pain it's causing her 'patient', Bree knows she has to move quickly as she moves over to the foot of the bed and grabs the frame, beginning to pull it towards the door. "We've got to keep moving, but don't be afraid to ask me questions along the way. It'll probably keep your mind off of things." She explained, using the tips of her fingers to open the door a crack and peek down the hall for a sign of the Cops.

The plan was to dash across the hall, and move along the adjacent one to where the cops had walked down, then to make a dash for the elevator. If worst came to worse and she had to abandon the bed, she'd need to carry their temporarily disabled target. A glance back at her told Bree that it would not be fun.

[4th number]

"Jackson Smif," declares Jacko. "Don't think I've got ID, I jus' brought cash to the bar. Don' worry, the guy knows me, he doesn't serve underage or anything."

[DaedalusMkV]

Targe doesn't look up from his monitor to address Ether, the mission being in a critical stage right now (plus, he's in the middle of something, here). "Found here, yep. Bree's with her now, we might even get her out of there before a bunch of Drones show up and shoot up the place. If we're lucky. I... I dunno if she's pretty. Long hair and asiatic, brown eyes, not particularly athletic. It's not like a picture, though." He struggles for a moment, thinking about how best to describe it. "It's like I'm reading about the Matrix, not looking at it, only all those helpful little narrative bits get left out. I can get all the details, but I've really just gotta imagine the full picture. Kind of like a technical manual, I guess. You'd have to ask one of the people on the inside what things really look like in there..."

[Lentrax]

Lynn decides the only thing to do would be to just keep going. So she keeps going and walks into Sim's room. She does ready herself in case she needs to grab the doctor.

[Erasmas]

Lynn & Athos

"Miss?! Hey... you can't go in there!"

The doctor raises his voice down the hall after you, as he begins to follow. Athos, right behind the doctor, tries to trip the man... but misses and stumbles against the wall. The doctor seems to pay it no attention... that is, until he seems to recognize Athos. He stops in his tracks and looks at the captain and then at Lynn's colorful braids and back at the captain.

He then turns his attention to the nurse's station.

"Nurse Bell... where are the guards that are supposed to be outside of Room 22?! Please call security... immediately!"

Lynn reaches the door just in time to see it begin to open. She gets a glimpse of Bree's eyes looking back through at her, with a look of mild surprise.


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Bree

"Oww... sh!t!"

Sim cries out as he jostle the bed after releasing the wheel brakes and pushing it nearer the door. As soon as you open it, however, you see Lynn hurriedly approaching the room.

"Wait a minute... what are you lookin' for?", the girl asks incredulously. "You ain't no damn cop! What the hell are you?!"


¥ ¶ Ħ 3 § Ə Ψ Д ∑ ‡
Jacko

You heard the raised voice of a doctor echo from down the hall.

"Miss?! Hey... you can't go in there!"

You see both of the cops hear it too, and react. The female gently begins to move you away from the door, though she definitely appears to be dismissing you entirely in favor of the commotion outside.

"Stand aside, sir."

They both move to leave the small break room, their hands already drifting to their sidearms in a readied fashion.


¥ ¶ Ħ 3 § Ə Ψ Д ∑ ‡
Targe (Back on the Hammer)

"Oh..."

Ether replied in a somewhat dejected tone. The girl was young, that much was true, but sometimes she seemed little better than a child, really. She was naive, overly curious, optimistic, wore her emotions on her sleeve, but was also unconditional in her affections, and endearing.

She absentmindedly figited with a large washer that Splice had left lying around, flicking it with her finger and causing it to spin in place as she watched it with all the enthusiasm of an illiterate person handling a copy of War & Peace.

[Lentrax]

Why can't things ever go smooth?

Lynn curses. A very long stream of some very angry sounding Japanese escapes the young woman. Donning her sunglasses, Lynn bolts for the fire stairs. As she takes off, you can hear her yell, "Plan B!"

Running down the hall, Lynn pulls out her cell phone, hitting speed dial.

"I need to Hotwire a car."

A shot rings out as she puts a round in the ceiling trying to draw the cops away from Sim and the others.

[Hazuki]

Bree
~

"Lovely." Bree mutters beneath her breath, as Sim begins to freak out and yelling comes from down the hall. "I'm sorry. So, so sorry." She says, meeting Sim's eyes briefly before she pulls the door open entirely and grasps the end of the rolling bed, pulling it out along with her as a barrier between the guards and herself; she knew the agenda of Police well enough, and they wouldn't shoot unless they were damn sure the hostage wouldn't get hurt; in this case, it was Sim, as Bree horizontally moved into the hallway with Sim pointed in the direction of the cops, and swiftly moved into the opposite hallway before she began to sprint with the rickety bed; her destination the hallway that would lead to the elevator.

The one marked as 33 on the map, good Sir!

[4th number]

Jacko stands up straight, unconsciously abandoning the "drunk" pretense. He snakes out both hands, aiming to lift both of their sidearms before they can figure out what's going on. He stays planted in the doorway of the break room.

"I've got a bomb!" he blurts out, which is something that always seemed to alarm authority figures when he still paid attention to them back in high school.

Gun-swiping, lady:[roll0] and dude: [roll1]

Er, I'm pretty sure that wouldn't fly in an actual d20 game, trying 2 Sleight of Hand rolls in one turn, but I figured since they're both adjacent and I've got a Dex of 31...

[Erasmas]

Lynn & Athos

As Lynn's shot rings out, it elicits screams and panic throughout the maternity ward. All of the nurses and doctors hit the floor, trying to get free from the "mad woman's" killing spree.

"Sh!t", Athos cursed. The captain begins running towards Room 22 and reaches for the door, just in time to see Bree throwing it open.


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Bree

Sim's eyes widen as Lynn's gunshot sounds with a resonant bang in the hallway outside. Her expression doesn't change much when you move behind the bed and begin to push it like a grocery cart in a shopping spree.

"Oh, sweet Jesus...", she calls out in a mixture of pain and fright.

Just as you push open the door, Athos is standing there, his Beretta drawn and at the ready. Sim... let's out a shrill scream.

The captain grabs the foot end of the bed and starts helping you move faster.


¥ ¶ Ħ 3 § Ə Ψ Д ∑ ‡
Jacko

You easily grab the gun from the holster of the male officer just as a shot is fired in the hallway outside, possibly giving you the distraction you needed. However the female's instincts were just a little too sharp and you don't manage to get ahold of hers before she is too far from you. You pull the gun and can see that his partner draws her own, moving out of the room and into a covered position against you. Her partner simply drops to the ground and tucks into the corner of the room, holding his hands up in a futile defense.

"P... please... don't shoot! I have a family!"

As you loudly proclaim, "I've got a bomb!", the man simply fall to pieces, sobbing uncontrollably.


¥ ¶ Ħ 3 § Ə Ψ Д ∑ ‡
Targe (Back on the Hammer)

A call comes in, interrupting all else. Answering with the traditional, "Operator.", you are all but cut off by the breathy voice of Lynn, laboring only slightly amid the action now unfolding.

"I need to hot-wire a car."

[Hazuki]

Bree
~

A noise of distaste came from Bree's mouth as a gunshot was fired further down the hollow hospital halls, followed by screams and yells, and then Athos decided to show up at her room with a gun pointed at the recently-pregnant target. "Become a rebel, they said. See the world, they said." She bemoaned, mostly to Sim because she knew that Athos wouldn't have much of a comment on it either way. "Would you like to give the speech, Captain, or should we wait until we're somewhere a little more luxurious? Wine, smooth jazz, and less people yelling about bombs?"

[4th number]

Jacko swears as the lady cop escapes into the hallway and trains a gun on him. At least she wasn't facing the other way, watching Bree wheel Sim's bed around the corner.

He ducks left for a second, keeping the stolen gun trained on the cop in the hallway. He hauls the other cop up by his collar and plants the poor guy between him and the other officer.

"Don't **** with me, lady-- I can dodge bullets!"

Uh, can I?

Anyway, here's a Strength+lvl roll for manhandling the cop: [roll0]

[Lentrax]

Is anyone even chasing me? Did Jacko do that good a job at holding the cops down? Do they not even have backup?

Lynn decides it doesn't matter and keeps running. She slams through the doors to the stairs and starts heading down to ground level. She also decides to tuck her gun back into her pants as she goes running down the stairwell. She also realizes she is still holding her phone.

"Is anyone chasing me? Backup, anyone?"

[Erasmas]

Lynn

You pose your question and Targe answers quickly, "No, no one is chasing you. Jacko has the two cops... preoccupied, for the moment. Although, wait... yup, there it is... they have radioed for back-up and it sounds like it's already on its way. And... there's a lot of them."

As you near the ground-floor exit, you can already hear the distant echoes of sirens through the concrete maze of the urban sprawl. You reach for the door and slam both hands hard into the steel bar... but it doesn't go anywhere! Suddenly, the door opens inward, knocking you someways back. There, standing with his hand on the doorknob, is a man.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Erasmas/Matrix/TheCourier.jpg


The odd thing is that through the doorway, behind him, is not the dark and rainy parking lot that you expected... but instead is a brightly-lit hallway. He says, with urgency to his voice, "Come with me; quickly!"


¥ ¶ Ħ 3 § Ə Ψ Д ∑ ‡
Bree & Athos

"Not now, Bree.", is all that Athos replies. The two of you hurdle your way through the hallway as quickly as you can with this damn bed. All the while, Sim is on the verge of crying, caught somewhere between her drug-induced fogginess and the utter fear caused by a total lack of understanding.


¥ ¶ Ħ 3 § Ə Ψ Д ∑ ‡
Jacko

You struggle getting the cop to his feet, and his partner sends a bullet ripping through the sheetrock walls beside the door as you make a sudden movement. As you get your "meat-shield" situated, his blubbering and tear-soaked murmurs becoming a part of the noise that you simply shut out, she yells at the top of her voice.

"Alright now, buddy... come back out here where I can see you! Nice and slow, and slide the piece on the floor over towards me! Back-up is already in route and you're completely trapped!"

[Hazuki]

Bree
~

"I'm sorry, Captain; why don't I fetch another patient for you to point your gun at? No? Alright then." Bree quipped, only growing more aware of Sim's trauma with each passing moment. Acting like a terrorist was going to make the poor woman think she was being kidnapped by some, and it wouldn't have surprised Bree to learn that such an audacious hacker could piss off some terrorists. Not to mention the fact that she was just about to lose her child; something that was true regardless of whether they successfully extracted her or not.

[4th number]

"Listen, lady-- I gotta leave pretty soon, and you're in the way. I don't wanna break your buddy's neck, but I will. So here's how it's gonna go--"

Jacko tightens his left arm around his hostage's chest, lifting all of the cop's weight off the ground as his feet dangle in front of him. He charges forward, aiming the stolen gun at the other officer just in case she starts to shoot.

When he's 5 or 10 feet away, Jacko releases his hostage and shoves him at his partner. He drops the pistol and jumps up and over the two of them, reaching into his jacket for some more substantial firepower.

That cop should be a light load (<400lbs). If the lady cop fires when Jacko charges, he shoots her.

Here's a Str+level check if the dude-cop fights me on this: [roll0]

Here's me shooting the stolen pistol if the lady-cop opens fire: [roll1] [roll2]

Here's me shoving the dude-cop at the lady-cop (I'm gonna say Str): [roll3]

Here's me jumping over the both of them (and maybe doing a flip, I dunno) while pulling out my assault rifle: [roll4]

[Lentrax]

"Who are you?"

[Erasmas]

Lynn

You hear Targe's voice through your phone, absentmindedly still being held to your ear. "Uhh... Lynn; what the hell is going on around you?! I am seeing some seriously weird code strings and they aren't making any sense..."

The man standing in front of you answers plainly. "I am known as The Courier. We need to hurry... please." He motions once more for you to step through the threshold.


¥ ¶ Ħ 3 § Ə Ψ Д ∑ ‡
Bree & Athos

"Not now, Bree.", Athos repeats himself, this time shooting you his trademark look that he used when he ran out of patience. You continue to wheel the panicking Sim down the hall and into the entrance the to ward... where several people are running for the exits screaming. You hear Jacko's voice ringing out somewhere to your left. Athos points his gun at the ceiling and let's out two shots.

"Get out of the way!"

Civilians scatter and divide, opening up a clear path through the check-in station and to the double glass doors to the main hallway. The automatic sensor blinks red and the doors slide open just as Athos gets to them.

Sim, meanwhile, begins an almost pleading moan to the nearby people, "Please... somebody... help me!", she whines. She then looks at Athos and screams at the top of her lungs while tears stream down her cheeks, "Where are you crazy people taking me?!"


¥ ¶ Ħ 3 § Ə Ψ Д ∑ ‡
Jacko

"Holy sh!t!", you hear the cop exclaim as you hold her partner off of the ground with one arm. She barely sees it coming as you hurl the one called Officer Branson at her, jumping backwards to get out of the way as instinct takes over. She readies herself to take a shot but is shocked into non-action as you pull a standing flip over the both of them and land it on the other side of her. You are already over twenty feet away before she has time to react. Ahead of you, through the door being held open by a cowering civilian (who is in the fetal position on the ground, like a door stop), you see Athos and Bree wheeling a hospital bed towards the main entrance.

Suddenly, you sense the female cop come up to the corner behind you.

"Stop!"

She then fires her gun, missing Jacko by a longshot and further inducing screams and panic among the civilians. As Jacko glances over his shoulder, he sees that the cop notices Sim's bed.

[Hazuki]

Bree
~

"I don't think the answer is 'more gun'." Bree commented, ignoring Athos' look in favor of making light of the situation and pointing out the flaws in their plan so far. It escalated far too quickly for her to be able to finish her job properly, which was the only non-violent part of the entire plan in the first place. Again, Sim was panicking, which would not be good for getting trust from her even once she was safe. They would have had a better chance in a prison anyway.

Bree hopped one foot on to the edge of the bed, hauling herself over it so she was crouched above Sim with one leg, while the other was prepared to hit the floor to aid Athos in turning corners. Somebody was going to have to calm her, though the gunshots were probably a larger concern than a fleeing patient. She placed one hand on Sim's cheek in a caring gesture reminiscent of a guardian, and used the other to restrain her shoulder in case she lashed out.

"Please," Bree begged her. "Think about this. Nobody would go to this much trouble to take revenge on you; you couldn't hurt them from prison, and, ****, you wouldn't be able to meet any collaborators anyway. I promise you that I have nothing less than your well-being in mind; I won't even pull out a weapon if I can help it. Despite my colleagues', let's call it passion, they don't want you hurt, either." As she spoke, she hoped that the face of another women would engender some trust in Sim, even if it was only from the passion in her words. She had somebody to get back to, as well, and she didn't plan to fail her. "Trust me?"

[Lentrax]

"Give me one good reason I should."

[Erasmas]

Lynn
"I was sent by The Oracle."

The man answers simply, almost as if he were speaking to a child. His urgency is painfully evident in his body language.

[Lentrax]

The smell of cigarette smoke and baking cookies fills Lynn's nostrils as she remembers the old woman's kitchen. All hesitation gone, she steps through the door.

"Lead the way."

[4th number]

Jacko turns to face the cop and squeezes the trigger on his little Israeli rifle. A three-round burst, so fast that you can't distinguish the sound of one shot from the next. He'd tried to not have to kill the officer, but the mission came first.

A small part of him is appalled at his military attitude-- oh, the mission? why don't we ask Judy if a woman's life if worth your mission? Another part of him gets a sick little thrill out of shooting authority figures, and doesn't care what his old commune buddies might think.

Three attack rolls at Dex+level. If it should only be one roll for a burst, I'll use the first one:
[roll0] [roll1]
[roll2] [roll3]
[roll4] [roll5]

[Erasmas]

Lynn

Stepping through the doorway, the chattering of Targe in your ear fades into a digital scramble of audible code static. Suddenly, the phone powers off entirely. The program that introduced himself as The Courier shuts and locks the door behind you, using his key... despite that fact that it shouldn't fit into the lock you see on the door.

"This way. We have to hurry."

He retrieves his bike and hurries it down the hallway, along a series of doors without even giving them a second glance. He appears to be in such a rush that he barely even gives you another look.


¥ ¶ Ħ 3 § Ə Ψ Д ∑ ‡
Bree & Athos

"Oh, don't worry... I got the bed. It's not like the situation is plummeting into dire chaos or anything.", Athos blurts, dripping with sarcasm. Even still, the captain has no trouble wheeling the bed by himself, his virtually augmented strength hardly being tested by the task.

As you whip through the waiting room, you see Jacko stop to engage someone in a firefight... no doubt the police that were behind him. You hear a woman scream and a loud thud immediately following the near-deafening shout of his assault rifle.

But all of that are distractions, things you push aside and try to make fade into the background. Looking into the young woman's eyes, you watch as the fear drains from them as you speak. You see confusion welling up, but it appears to be pushed back and replaced with determination and gusto.

"It still doesn't explain what you want with me, but for now... yes, I'll trust you."


¥ ¶ Ħ 3 § Ə Ψ Д ∑ ‡
Jacko

Your burst spits out of the end of your Tavor, all three bullets hitting the female cop directly in the left chest... where her heart is. Having leaned around the corner to fire her shot at you, it left just enough of her exposed to tag her where it counted. The first shot sent her arms up and f^cked with her aim, the second knocked her center of balance backwards of her heels and started her to toppling, but the third... the third and final bullet sent he flying backwards across the hallway and into the opposite wall. She hit it and slid to the ground, limp. You could hear the second cop, the one called Branson yelling out.

"No! Sarah! Sh!t... hold on, just hold on!"

[Hazuki]

Bree
~

"Thank you." Bree tells Sim, taking a brief glance at the surrounding area and noticing Jacko coming towards them from another hallway; yes, what they needed was more guns being fired around the patient she'd only just calmed. Perhaps he could bring a tank in their direction, next. Regardless of her crazy teammate, she swung her body back around so one foot was on the side of the bed, and the other was helping to push it along, as well as to turn the upcoming corner. "Now is hardly the time for jokes, Captain." She admonished the middle-aged man, smirking inwardly at her hypocritical humor.

If they could make it to the elevator unharmed, assuming there wasn't a nasty surprise in the upcoming hallway, it would just be another dash to the lot, where they could make their escape. If not, she feared she might have to get involved in combat. Blocking off people from following them would be easy enough, but it would also stop her teammates from coming along to give aid. If worst came to worse, she could climb aboard the bed again and set up the rifle hidden in her briefcase, which sat tucked beneath the bed itself.

[Erasmas]

Athos shook his head as he shuffled along, pulling the bed after him.

"This... coming from you. You know, Bree... sometimes, you're just too much."

As you approach the elevator bank, gliding under an arrowed yellow sign that says as much, Sim suddenly jolts upright once more.

"My baby. What about my baby?!"

[Hazuki]

Bree
~

"Your baby is safe, with the nurses and other infants." Bree promised, having been thinking about the issue of the child since she stepped foot in the pearly walls of this hospital. They were meant to be sterile, of course, but they were just as much of a ticking time bomb as any other; not the safest place for children. She placed a firm, but tender, hand on Sim's shoulder and attempted to make her lie down again. "We are not touching it, neither is anybody else. I promise that we'll be able to check up on its status as soon as we're out of here." She said, maneuvering about the elevator bank. "Is it a boy or a girl?"

Though it probably wasn't best to increase her attachment to the child, it would help prevent further panic attacks if she could talk about it. Living through nine months with such baggage was no way to live, but she'd have to get over it eventually...they all did.

[Lentrax]

As the Courier closes the door, Lynn's apprehension rises again.

"Why can't we take everyone else with us?"

As he starts off down the hall, Lynn jogs to catch up.

"So, where are we going?"

[Erasmas]

Lynn

Continuing on, oblivious to your anxiety, the Courier responds simply, as most programs tended to.

"Who is 'everyone else'?""


¥ ¶ Ħ 3 § Ə Ψ Д ∑ ‡
Bree & Athos

Sim nods and chokes back the tears that threaten to overtake her once more. You can tell that she must have already made peace with the idea of not leaving this hospital with her child. When she speaks, she does so downward into the front of her hospital gown.

"A boy. I... I hadn't even given him a name, yet."

[Lentrax]

"The rest of my crew? You know, the other people trying to get Sim out of the hospital?"

[Erasmas]

"Sorry, but the success of your mission is not something that I am to concern myself with. I was sent to retrieve you..."

The Courier lingers his statement as he pauses ever so briefly at an intersection of hallways, before decidedly choosing the one on your left and wheeling his bicycle quickly down it.

"... as well as the rest of your team; so don't worry, Pretty. Now we just have to find them..."

You can see that the program is now carefully looking at the door numbers as he passes them.

[4th number]

Jacko feels a pang of guilt as the cop slumps to the ground. His hand strays to his left pocket where he keeps his cell-- he could call Targe; Targe could save her if she wasn't gone already. She-- Sarah, the man said, Sarah didn't have to die just for--

But that was how things were. Sarah was a slave, a tool of the machines. She was as good as dead before they'd even heard about this mission.

By the time he got to the hallway door, Jacko's left hand was back on the foregrip of his rifle. Priorities.

As he catches up with Bree and the captain, running backwards to keep an eye behind them, he says, "We've got maybe a minute ... Where's Lynn?"

[Erasmas]

Lynn

You continue on for what seems like an eternity, the quiet calm of the seemingly endless hallways standing in stark contrast to the chaos that was the hospital right before you entered the stairwell.

"Almost there...", was all the Courier kept saying. Despite the quickness of his gait, his voice didn't seem to convey the same level of dire urgency... an oversight, you guessed, in his programming.


¥ ¶ Ħ 3 § Ə Ψ Д ∑ ‡
Bree, Athos, & Jacko

"Not sure. She decided to get everyone's attention right around the same time you did. She knows that we're meeting at the car; hopefully she's there. Somebody call Targe and find us the nearest extraction point... now."

At long last, you arrived at the elevator lobby, and Athos begin hurriedly punching the down button repeatedly. Just as Bree and Jacko were about to follow the head end of the bed into the lobby, they saw something that caught their eye...

One of the doctors that was fleeing towards the exit at the far end of the building suddenly stops, dead in his tracks. His entire demeanor changes and Bree swears that the man's labcoat changes as well. However, when the man turns around... there is no doubt that it is an entirely different person. Still dressed in all white, this man has the cold look of an assassin... the look of an agent.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Erasmas/Matrix/AgentFrost.jpg


Indeed, he reaches for a holster tucked beneath his arm and pulls out an automatic pistol and opens fire. The glass of the doors halfway down the hall between you immediately shatter as a hail of lead streaks towards you. And then, he appears as if he is going to start running after you.

[Hazuki]

Bree
~

"Agent. Fantastic." Bree remarks to Athos upon sight of the shifting Agent, though she's already begun moving as she leaps atop Sim's bed to serve as a shield against any bullets that would harm their target. Along with her leaping movement, she swipes one of the grenades from her pocket and slides it against her mouth, pulling the pin out from between her teeth and hurling it just in front of the agent. White phosphorous; if it didn't hit the bastard directly, it would melt the area around him and provide some time, at least. She didn't plan to leave Sim alone any time soon, and Athos was a more experienced combatant than she.

But she wasn't the one giving orders; she was merely the one hurtling a grenade towards the Agent and shielding Sim from his bullets. Jacko would probably want to wrangle with the Agent, if only for a few minutes while they made their getaway, while Athos would give orders regardless of what she thought. If he got to the elevator before those doors closed, though...she'd just have to kick this Agent in the teeth.

[Lentrax]

Lynn sags in relief as the Courier finishes his sentence.

"Good," she says as they keep going through the maze of identical corridors.

Good thing he's a program. I don't think a human, even with a Map download could navigate half as well.

[4th number]

Jacko stops in place, sighting in on the agent with his rifle. He flicks the fire selector to full-auto on an impulse and squeezes off a burst at the white-clad program.

He just hopes that after he dies, someone finds his blotter and makes good use of it.

[roll0] [roll1]
[roll2] [roll3]
[roll4] [roll5]
[roll6] [roll7]
[roll8] [roll9]

[DaedalusMkV]

Targe is operating in a state of confusion, seeing Lynn vanish from his readouts in the blink of an eye as he prepares to send her the Upload she requested, but in an instant he snaps to attention as he notices a discrepancy around Jacko, moments before the bullets start flying. "Oh no... They got here fast. Damn." With one hand he begins keying in his standard defensive Hack to try, however futilely, to keep Jacko from being harmed by the Agent's inevitable counterattack while the other hand dials in a call to the Captain. "Captain, Captain, this is the Operator. You've got an Agent in the building, currently after Jacko. Get out now!"


Initiating the Defensive program on Jacko, giving him a +4 Armour bonus to AC. I can't provide any further defensive buffs to anyone I'm not on the phone with.

[Erasmas]

Lynn

Finally, the program seems to arrive at the door he has been looking for; though you can see no difference between it and the dozens (if not hundreds) of others you have passed already. The number upon it reads 682 and there is the same green plastic placard that you saw on the door where entered this strange place, denoting a business... this one called "Bialystock & Bloom Enterprises", apparently.

"Here we go.", the Courier said evenly as he leaned his back against the far wall. He retrieved the odd-looking, antique key from his pocket; looking at the thing, it was obvious that this ancient key would never fit into this very modern lock. And yet, he reached for the doorknob all the same.


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Bree, Athos, & Jacko

Athos went white as a ghost, his fearful expression apparent even behind his mirrored sunglasses.

As Jacko opened fire with his rifle, the agent barely even flinched, merely bending his body around the trajectories so quickly that it caused motion-blurs with your vision. He levels his pistol once more to return fire at poor Jacko as he continues to run down the hallway. Suddenly, Bree's grenade tumbles out in front of the agent's path, rolling to a stop just at the aluminum frame of the doors with the now-missing glass. Bree grabs Jacko and flings them both into the lobby and clear of the explosion that soon tears through the hallway.

As the light and noise fade back into their normal state for all of you, your captain dusts himself off and pulls out the Thumper. Breaking it open, to check that it was loaded, he moved to the doorway of the elevator lobby. Removing his cell from his jacket pocket, he glances at the screen and tosses it onto the hospital bed at Sim's feet.

"That's Targe, talk to him. And get to the elevator. The moment it opens, get Sim inside it and go! That is not a suggestion or a good idea, it's an order."

With that, he stacks up against the door frame to the lobby, takes one peek around the corner, and presses forward out of your field of vision.


¥ ¶ Ħ 3 § Ə Ψ Д ∑ ‡
Targe

The phone is still ringing, and no one has answered it yet. Splice and Ether have picked up on your tension and are both now watching intently as you frantically work your magic. The pilot chewed her fingernails nervously as she held onto her knees, pulled up into her chair and against her chest. The engineer's brow was a deeply-furrowed work of art in the harsh lighting of the ship's broadcasting bay.

[Lentrax]

"Bialystock and Bloom Enterprises? I thought we were saving my crew, not going to some corporate building."

Lynn looks at the key the program pulls out. "No way that works in that door, Courier. It's too old."

[Hazuki]

Bree
~

"Aye aye." Bree agrees, as she snatches the phone and pushes it to her ear, holding it there with her shoulder as she uses both hands to take control of the hospital bed and stare at the elevator panel, waiting for its arrival so she can immediately push Sim and her bed into the elevator, as soon as its doors open. "Jacko, keep your gun trained on the doors; I don't want to be shot at, and neither does Sim." She told the gun-nut, as she flipped round to the foot of the bed and stood facing it too; she had no hands free, but a good kick or two would be enough.

[Erasmas]

Lynn

"You are freed from this place; and yet, you allow your mind to still hold back your acceptance of true reality. Hmm...", the Courier muses as he inserts the key into the doorknob.

The knob pixelates around the key and you watch in amazement as the key meets with the resistance you'd expect from it being inserted into a lock. The program then turns the key and opens the door. On the other side, you see an elevator lobby, filled with smoke. You hear screams in the distance and a fire alarm is ringing somewhere. Dominating the lobby is a hospital bed with a woman in it, looking more than a little surprised by your arrival. Standing nearby, are a very worried-looking Bree and Jacko.


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Bree, Athos, & Jacko

You hear Athos' Thumper report and there is another explosion shortly afterwards. You next hear the unmistakable sound of concrete and metal screeching and colliding.

Suddenly, the elevator door swings open... instead of sliding open like you would expect. And instead of the interior of an elevator car, like you would expect to find, you see a brightly lit hallway. And there, standing in the open doorway, is a man and... Lynn.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Erasmas/Matrix/TheCourier.jpg


The man looks at you and states, "Come with me... quickly."

Athos comes running around the corner in a huff, "I caved in part of the hallway, I think that will..." The captain falls short of the scene that had unfolded in the elevator. "Huh."


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Targe

You see the same strange code stream crop up again, this time near Jacko, Bree, and Sim. And you aren't positive, but you think that you see traces of Lynn's signature mixed in with it this time.

[Hazuki]

Bree
Αγεντ Κιλλα
~

"Now is not the time to be making boyfriends, Lynn." Bree comments, after the elevator doors swing past her face and leave her facing the hallway, whose pearl glare makes her eyes squint ever so briefly. But, not one to waste an opportunity and knowing their exist is blocked regardless, she immediately begins to pull Sim into the hallway. Though her mind begged for the opportunity to race, she didn't allow it, nor did she allow initial suspicions when there was an Agent chasing them. Whoever the man that could create passages through the Matrix was, he couldn't be tougher to defeat than Agent right behind them; or the swarm that would follow her and Athos' destruction of property.

[Lentrax]

"Hey, my love life is none of your business. Anyways, I think it would be out of the question with him anyway. You comin' Cap?"

[DaedalusMkV]

Targe squints at the code for a moment, taking note of the now-inactive Agent and the distortion in the Code. "Well. Um. Call me when you show up in a real place again, Captain. I'm not gonna be able to see you if you go with Lynn."

[4th number]

Jacko slips through the door and flattens himself to one wall, letting the team through while still having a vantage point on the "real" hallway.

This sort of thing no longer surprises him-- Jacko has been walking down imaginary hallways in his mind long before he knew about the Matrix.

[Erasmas]

Bree pushes the bed through the open portal, with Athos coming up to help near the end. Jacko holds back long enough to see the Agent coming through the debris and rubble, moving chucks of concrete the size of CPUs as if they were made of paper-mache.

"Jacko... now, let's go!"

Once clear, the Agent levels his gun once more and Jacko ducks backs towards the elevator just in time as his barrage tears apart the door frame where the Jumper was standing only moments before. As the Courier begins to close the door, you all catch one last glimpse of the Agent as he approaches the elevator doors, reloading his clip. His head turns slightly to the side as he spots both the Courier and the odd hallway that you all now stood in. You had just enough time to witness him processing the situation before the door shut and he was gone.

And with that, the program tucked the key back into his pocket and grabbed his bicycle. He headed off in a decided direction, called back, "This way."

[Hazuki]

Bree
~

Bree followed the Courier with one hand on Sim's bed, pulling her along in pace with the curious program and his bicycle. Though she wondered just what purpose the vehicle would serve, perhaps doing bicycle stunts along rooftops if he could figure out a way to compensate for the friction, the fact that Sim was panicking mere moments ago, many weapons had been shot since, and they were occupying a physically impossible space, lent itself to the idea of making sure their adopted Bluepill wasn't about to pass out.

Slipping back to the head of the bed, Bree clasped her fingers around it and looked down at Sim. The shadow of her hair loomed over Sim in a manner more befitting a mad scientist about to experiment than a carer. "Still holding up?"

[Erasmas]

Sim looks from the Courier, to the strange hallway, to Bree... all with a look of dumbfounded numbness. "I... umm... yeah." It was obvious that her mind was whirling now that the immediate threat seemed to be over with and she appeared to be sobering up from the drugs as well. It was clear that she was still in pain, but the young woman seemed to be doing her best to ignore it.

"Is this... the Matrix? It's real, isn't it?"

The Courier shoots the woman a curious expression - one of near amusement. He then comes to a stop outside of yet another door, this one apparently belonging to an "Reeves & Fishburne, Attorneys at Law" and is numbered 1999. He removes the key once more and face all of you.

"We are here."

He then opens the door to reveal a quaint little apartment that you are all instantly familiar with. The program then moves to Sim and offers his hand, placing his other on the hospital bed.

"You won't be needing this anymore; I'll take it."

[4th number]

Jacko looks at Sim and grins. "Yeah, this is the Matrix. It's not real, though."

[Erasmas]

Targe is virtually blind to the party for several long, long minutes. Ether seems to be able to read the look of concern on your face.

"What is it? What's wrong?! Why do you have that look on your face, Targe?!"

Suddenly, you are able to see that same strange code pop up quite some distance away. After honing in on it, you also instantly recognize where you found it. It was interlaced with, no... interacting with... another code that you knew - one that was continually being modified to appear normal, in-line with the rest of the Matrix's protocols and algorithms. However, you knew it because it was almost too normal... too perfect. It was the Oracle.

[Lentrax]

"Well, it kinda is, Jacko."

Lynn looks back to Sim as they arrive in the Oracle's apartment. For a rogue program, she sure had a chintzy style.

"I'm Lynn, by the way. That," the woman points to the Captain. "Is Athos. You've met Bree. And the man with the tats is Jacko."

As Lynn flops down onto a couch in the living room, Lynn looks around.

No hopefuls today? Or are they with the Oracle?

Ah, well. We will find the One.

"Aww, man. I left my katana in the 'Stang."

After sulking for a moment, she faces the Courier. "When will the Oracle return?"

[Erasmas]

Sim just simply nods slowly at the introductions. She is busy looking around and taking it all in. The Courier helps Sim off of the bed and Athos comes over and puts his head and shoulders under her right arm, supporting her weight.

He looks at the program still in the hallway, "What are we doing here?"

The Courier smiles. "She said you would want to know that. Sadly, I only know that I was sent for you lot. What she wants is her own business."

With that, he points through the open doorway, through the empty living room filled with out-dated but comfortable furnishings, and through an opening that you knew led to the kitchen. The smell of cinnamon and ginger wafted out and into the living room, where Lynn was sitting down, and it gave the whole place even more of a warm and inviting atmosphere.

"Come on in and have a seat. Be out in a shake."

[Hazuki]

Bree
~

Bree's nose twitched as she entered the Oracle's domain, Athos aiding Sim hopefully towards one of the seats while the experience Rebel expressed her discomfort in the area with a slight twist of her lips. Everything was meant to lull them into a sense of security, something that would be needed for anyone still going through their first revelations of a dystopian new world, and it would certainly serve Sim well. Furniture just old enough to have endearing kinks, but not yet old enough to creak, and laced with the scents of the Oracle's cooking. It was almost perfectly cozy.

But, as Bree put her briefcase down and leaned uncomfortably against a wall, it reminded her of only one thing; disappointment. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a fine cigar, lighting it up and keeping the zippo out just in case the Oracle wanted to borrow it. She probably knew Bree was going to offer, after all.

"Anyone want one?" She offered, holding out the cigar case to her comrades.

[Erasmas]

"Smoke 'em if you got 'em."


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Erasmas/Matrix/TheOracle.jpg


As you all entered the living room and made yourself comfortable, or in Bree's case acquired a good vantage point to remain vigilant, the program you all knew as the Oracle entered. She was carrying a porcelain plate with scalloped edges and a simple floral pattern painted underneath its chipping glaze; and stacked high upon it were homemade gingersnaps and one single peanut butter cookie. She smiled at all of you and set them on the coffee table, right on top of the Reader's Digest and the TV Guide. She then fixes her eyes on Sim and moves over to her, taking her chin in her hand and beaming down at her.

"You're prettier than I thought you'd be. Have a cookie, you'll feel better."

She straightened up and, as Athos reached for the one peanut butter cookie, she gently slapped his hand.

"That one's for her.", the Oracle said, indicating Sim with a well-worn and wrinkled hand. "Excuse me just a minute."

She then moved out into the hallway with the Courier, who had not crossed the threshold. The two of them talk quietly amongst themselves for a moment, the Oracle placing her hand gingerly upon the taller man's upper arm in a warm and motherly gesture. When they have finished, the Courier smiles and gives a small wave to you as a collective group and then wheels his bicycle out of sight. The Oracle closes the door behind him and, without locking it at all, crosses the room and enters the kitchen.

She calls back as she does so, "Simone, dear... why don't you grab that cookie and come have a little chat with me."

Sim, curious but uncertain, looks to Athos and then to Bree.

[Lentrax]

Lynn snags one of the gingersnaps as she sees the Oracle slap at Athos. Taking a bite, she smiles. True to her word, the cookie leaves her with a feeling of comfort. Just like the last time she was here. Of course, that was a long time ago.

"It's okay. We all trust her. And you can too." Lynn pulls one of her guns out from under her shirt, and with a little twirl, sets it on the table, grip facing Sim.

"Me? I recommend the cookie, but if you'd rather..." She lets the sentence hang as she takes another bite from her own cookie.

Maybe I've changed so much it just seems like a long time ago?

Either way, she likes the cookie.

[Erasmas]

After not hearing anything to the contrary, you can see that Sim makes up her mind and tries to stand. Luckily, Athos is nearby and gets to her before she truly hurts herself. The young woman takes the peanut butter cookie and takes a bite as the two hobble across the living room. As they begin to reach the entryway into the kitchen, Sim waves the captain off.

"I got it... thanks.", she says quietly as she finishes the rest of the short journey on her own, disappearing from your view. Though you could not hear the conversation taking place, you knew what was being said - there would be some cryptic message of destiny and designed fate.

For the moment, it seemed, you were left alone with you crew and no one else.

[Lentrax]

Lynn tucks her gun back behind her belt.

"I like her. We in position to pull her from the Generator, right?"

One willing, that goes better than getting her from the hospital.

[4th number]

Jacko puffs one one of Bree's cigars and munches a cookie. With his mouth full, he remarks, "Anyone ever hear about this before? The Courier, the Oracle acting like this?"

[Erasmas]

Athos recovers his cell phone from whoever still had it and dials up Targe. Once the phone is ringing, he returns to the couch and sits, awaiting his answer.

[DaedalusMkV]

Targe looks up at Splice. "They're gone. Just gone, off the map. Some Program must have pulled them into a hidey-hole or a buffer program or something. I guess we just have to... Oh, wait, there they are." He lets out a huge sigh of relief. "They're with the Oracle. Thank goodness. I bet in five minutes they'll be on the phone asking me for directions to the nearest landline." He smiles. "Well, that went pretty well all things considered. Assuming the Oracle's appartment doesn't explode, we should be alright now."

A few moments later, the phone begins ringing and Targe picks it up. "Operator. The landline's a couple of blocks to the west, if that's what you're needing."

[Erasmas]

"Good, thank you. I also want you to get the Tracing Protocol on Sim queued up. Splice should prep the retracting claw and tell Ether to start her way to the Dumping Pool. Once we give her the choice... I want out of here ASAP."

[Hazuki]

Bree
~

Upon hearing Captain Athos' instructions to Targe, Bree cleared her throat and momentarily stopped puffing on her cigar. "Don't you think a few of us should return to the ship right away, just in case?" She suggested, leaving the decision up to the man himself so it didn't feel like she was attempting to steer command away from the man. He would probably have to stay, 'cause his muscles in the real world weren't what they used to be, and she was the only one that had gathered a lot of Sim's trust to calm her down when the choice came.

[Lentrax]

Lynn turned so she was laying on the couch, feet dangling off the side as she ate another cookie."I think there will be more than enough time to get back to the Mjolnir before she gets fished out."

Lynn remembered how long it took for her to get pulled out of the pool. She almost drowned, and she was so confused.

'We have time."

[Erasmas]

"To what end, Bree? Once an exit in used, you know that it stands a chance of becoming watched. I think it's better if we keep the crew together for now, especially with them knowing that we're inside."

After several minutes, Sim slowly walks back out into the living room. She wears a look of dumbfounded contemplation... a turbulent mixture of confusion and understanding... a look you all instantly recognize. The thing that you all notice above all else, is that she is walking without trouble and without any apparent pain. She crosses the room and sits, her eyes fixed somewhere far, far away from here.

A few seconds later, you all hear the Oracle's voice float in from the kitchen.

"Lynn, honey... why don't you come and see if you can't give me a hand?"

[Lentrax]

"Me? Okay..."

Lynn rolls, rather unceremoniously from the couch, but lands on her feet. Walking toward the kitchen, she still has half a cookie in her mouth. She gives Sim another look as she walks into the kitchen.

"Yes, Oracle?"

[Lentrax]

Lynn looks up at the wooden plaque hanging above the door.

Temet nosce. Know thyself.

"Thank you, Oracle."

Lynn goes to a window, overlooking the park outside. Children are playing, cars drive by, and people walk the streets. But none of them know thier lives are just pieces in a machine.

Know thyself.

Lynn, takes a deep breath, and turns back into the room. Holding her head up, she walks over to Sim and kneels before her, bowing her head.

"The One has led us to you. And it is to him that our path leads. Wherever you go, I will follow. My life is yours."

[DaedalusMkV]

Targe follows orders quickly, beginning to set up the protocols for pulling Sim out of the Matrix. "Alright, folks, get ready to move. Splice, make sure we're in good shape to head for an extraction, Ether, plot up a course for the dumping pool. Let's be ready to move as soon as the Jumpers get back."


Remember, we can't actually move from the hardline we're connected to while we've got people in the Matrix. We can get the ship ready to go, but we need to be physically connected to the hardline or all of the Jumpers immediately die.

[Erasmas]

Sim seems jerked back to the here and now when Lynn approaches her. She blinks her eyes rapidly, as if she had already been fighting back tears. Her lips visibly quiver and her forehead creases when the woman kneels in front of her. She looks up at Bree, clearly unsure of what to do or even think.

Sim stammers, "I... I don't understand. Who is the One?"

Athos also looks to Bree, putting his sunglasses back on and moving towards the door.

"It's time to go.", he said. Finishing up his phone call with Targe, "Targe... I need the pills."


Right... got it!
Thank you, Daedalus!

[Lentrax]

"It's complicated. I promise I will answer all your questions as soon as we are safe."

Standing up, Lynn holds out her hand to Sim.

"Shall we?"

[DaedalusMkV]

Targe chuckles for a moment. "Right pocket, Captain. Been there since you showed up at the Oracle's appartment. I figured you'd be wanting those, not that the pills themselves actually mean anything..."

[Erasmas]

Sim takes the hand offered to her and stands, again without any of the pain that might be expected for a woman in her condition... for a woman that was feeling extreme amounts mere minutes before. After she stood, she seemed content to follow... though you knew that where she would soon be going, there was no preparing her for.

Athos hangups the phone and checks his pocket, removing the small silver case and opening it briefly. Satisfied, he replaces it and opens the door to the Oracle's apartment and, drawing his pistol once more, he looks up and down the hallway before entering it.

[Hazuki]

Bree
~

Bree nods as Athos gives the order to move out, more eager to be out of this awkward Hell than anything else, but steps aside to one of the tables inside first. Her briefcase opens with a swift unclasp, revealing the contents and components that were soon assembled back into the Winchester it would have been before, if she actually had an assembled version beforehand. She held it with the butt against her shoulder, hand clasped around the barrel, and the other carrying her empty briefcase to be dropped if they saw combat; didn't want to clutter up the Oracle's home, after all.

"Try not to worry about the tension." Bree offered Sim, having been unable to offer any helpful advice so far, and shot her a comforting smile. "We've done this once or twice before."

[4th number]

Jacko reloads and ***** his firearms, smiling to himself as Sim's time of decision grows near. "It's gonna blow your mind," he says to Sim conspiratorially. His own awakening was a revelation for him, a confirmation of his views on life and reality. Now that he's adjusted over the years, he's grown suspicious of even the "real." Why would there not be another veil to peek behind?

He follows Athos down the hallway, one machine pistol concealed in each pocket.

[Erasmas]

You all exit the Oracle's apartment and make it safely back out onto the streets. The rain has slackened to a miserable drizzle now, just enough to keep the city's surfaces slick and shiny. Even where the rain couldn't reach, in the outdoors at least, there were puddles gathered everywhere you turned it seemed. Following Athos down the stairs to a subway access terminal, you found it abandoned and shabby.

Down a ways on your side of the platform, you spotted your exit.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Erasmas/Matrix/article-new-ehow-images-a06-94-6f-make-payphone-ring-800x800_zpsf1bc8433.jpg


When you reached the phone banks, Athos turned to Sim.

"Before we go any further... there is something that you need to know. You need to know exactly what the Matrix is, in order to accept the reality of truth."

"But, wasn't the Matrix that weird hallway complex place... with the doors and the guy with the key?"

"Not exactly, no. We are still in the Matrix; you have been inside of it your entire life... without even realizing it."

Athos looked to the rest of you, apparently searching for a little help. He had never been very good at this part.

[Lentrax]

"Everything you know. Everything you have ever loved, and wanted, and held, has all been one big program. This world isn't real."

Lynn sighs as she looks for the words to explain it. "Think of it like a fairy tale. The origanl Grimm version of fairy tales. Nothing is what it seems. And now you have to wake up from the fairy tale of your life into a cold hard reality. I need you to trust me on this, Sim. This is Wonderland."

She points to the phone.

"And here is your rabbit hole. And now just to sound extra cliche, we are running late."

[Erasmas]

Sim cradles herself with her arms folded across her chest as she takes in what she is being told.

"And my son? Where does he fit into all of this, crazy sh!t?!"

Athos removes his sunglasses and exhales. "He isn't really your son, Simone. Your mind has been tricked into thinking the whole thing was real - the pregnancy, the birth... even the emotional connection that you feel for him."

"This is bullsh!t. You're trying to tell me that none of this is real?!", she raises her voice as she picks up a discarded newspaper off of a nearby bench. "Then why can I see it, hear it, taste it, feel it? Why have I never seen anything that could explain it before?"

[Lentrax]

"Because they have a hold of you by the one thing none of us can protect. Your mind. Do you wish to be free? Do you want the freedom you need to find your son? Then you have to come with us, Sim. I promise you, I will help you find him anyway I can, but you have to come with us. This is so confusing right now, believe me, we all know. We were all blind, our minds slaves to the Matrix. But we are free, now."

Lynn pauses for a moment. "I swore my life to you, Sim. Trust me, just a bit longer."

[Hazuki]

Bree
~

"Classy as ever, Captain." Bree wryly comments to Athos with a roll of her eyes, as she shoulders her rifle once again and tries to step before the panicking Simone's shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze. "What we see, what we all see, is just a rationalization of the chemicals that shift and react in our bodies, our minds. Her feelings for her son are no more artificial than my own, but they took place in a different world. Those chemical reactions were still felt, and she suffered through the pregnancy the same as any mother on Zion. However, it is something that she needs to let go of," She looks Sim in the eye. "Because, like the rest of us, you've been fortunate, or unfortunate, enough to be chosen for the world beyond. And whether you choose to follow us or not, you won't be able to see him again, because the enemy knows your face."

She shot a look to Lynn that disapproved of the promises she was making, things that they probably couldn't follow through, before meeting Sim's eyes again. She'd likely react violently or hatefully towards the group once she was out, but it was better than sowing distrust. It would pass, in time.

[4th number]

"Christ, these guys are all of full of ****. Love 'em, I really do, but man, up to here." He gestures to somewhere around his forehead. "Sim, this world's in a computer, but it's real like a dream is real, and you're real and almost everyone in it is a real person. When you get out of here, out of the Matrix, there's another world, where we can show you what's actually going on. If there's a world where Lynn can help, and I'm not sayin' there is, it's out there."

He glances at the captain. "You've got the pills, right? I really liked the part with the pills."

[Erasmas]

"You know what I meant, Bree..."

Sim finally succumbs to the emotional roller coaster of the last several hours and bawls uncontrollably, sitting down on the same bench. She crumples the newspaper in anger and throws it a short distance away.

After several long moments, Athos removes the container and approaches her, squatting down on his haunches in front of her and opening the small metal box. This box was immediately recognizable to each of you... and you vividly remember the first time that you saw it.

"Listen. Right now, it seems like the world is over. But once you see that this world for what it really is... you will realize that this is merely the dream and that the real world is somewhere else out there. But it isn't something that I would force on anyone, even if I could. And so, instead, I present a choice to you - take the red pill and we will show you the truth behind this farce; take the blue bill and you wake up without any memory of meeting any of us, without knowing any of this."

Sim looks into your captain's eyes, searching for any shore she could find amid her tumultuous and emotional sea.

"I warn you, however... once you make this very difficult choice, there is no turning back."

"I take the red pill and I find out what the Matrix is... what all of you are talking about?"

"Yes. The truth... I can promise you nothing more than that."

"And if I take the blue one? When I wake up, do I go back to prison?"

Athos cast his eyes to the ground, before raising them to meet her hardened stare once more. "Yes."

Sim took the red pill so fast that most of you almost missed her do so. She swallowed it and stared, almost defiantly, at Athos. The captain smiled and stood, never taking his eyes off of the girl, until his sunglasses were back in position.

"Alright, everybody... start making the jump out.", he then addressed Sim again. "Be ready. This can be a little... strange."

Suddenly, Sim begins to dart her eyes across the room, like someone tripping on hard psychotropic drugs. "What in the...? What did you give me?"

There was no anger or fear in her voice, just an unabashed curiosity. Athos takes her hands in his own as he tries to keep her attention.

"Sim... Sim... look at me. This is your mind letting go... don't fight it, okay? We're coming to get you... try not to be afraid."

[Lentrax]

Lynn pulls the pay phone from the receiver. Holding it up, she gives sim one last look before holding it up to her ear. In the blink of an eye, she is gone.

Lynn opens her eyes to reveal the lit bay on the Mjolnir.
I hate this jack in my head.

"Someone want to get this out of my head?"

[4th number]

Jacko always wished he'd tried this when he was in Sim's place. With a smile, he says, "Sim, why don't you jump up and touch the ceiling?" It would be nothing for one of them, but a half-awakened hacker?

[DaedalusMkV]

As the final pieces of the drama unfold within the Matrix, Targe finishes the last of his preparations, initiating the Trace on Sim and finalizing the code strings that will eject her from the Matrix, sending them on as the young woman makes her choice. "Hey, Splice, head over and give Lynn a hand. I've gotta extract the rest of 'em and keep this trace program running so we can find Sim before the Machines do." The final stages of a mission are always the most work, especially an extraction like this one. Targe continues focusing on working three separate strings of code at once, holding all of the necessary operations together to make sure that everyone returns from the Matrix safely and the ship is ready to go as soon as everyone's safely aboard.

[Erasmas]

Splice moved over to Lynn and gently pulled the long spike from the back of her head, and helped her out of the seat. As always, the lights were just this side of too bright and your eyes have difficulty adjusting to put things completely in focus.

Ether came over and gave Bree's still form a quick kiss before bounding off towards the bridge. As she does so, she calls back, "Hey, somebody send Sunshine my way when she snaps to, huh?"

[Hazuki]

Bree
~

Pale fingers twitched on the metal rack that held Bree's body, signalling the return of her mind just before her eyes snapped open and she immediately patted herself down. Her hands found the pistols that accompanied her everywhere, moments before Splice pulled the spike from her head and freed the woman from the Matrix. Always had to make sure she was in the real world, with her weapons, just in case. Although they fought the machines, the people of Zion and the Jumpers they hired didn't really understand them. That was something Bree feared.

Bree slid her legs off of the rack next, until her boots hit the floor and she pulled herself off with slightly groggy eyes. They created the Matrix, after all, and there were all kinds of horrors they could inflict. Worse fates than a quick death from an explosion within the Matrix, or being prematurely jacked, if they chose to. And if Mjolnir was found, they sure as hell wouldn't be able to put up much of a fight. She ran a hand down her face before finally beginning to walk again, those thoughts brushed aside for the more important matter of their mission not being finished yet.

"Have we got any water?" Bree mumbled out loud.

[Lentrax]

"'Course we do," Lynn says, grabbing a cupful of clear liquid. "Here."

Lynn walks over to where Targe is sitting. "How's everyone else coming along? We have a lock on Sim?"

[Erasmas]

One by one, you each exit the Matrix... coming back to the stark contrast of the interior of the Hammer. It takes a few moments to acclimate, but soon you are all back to normal, for better or for worse.

Targe had already succeeded in finding the tracing signal, having pulled up a completely different monitor, and was now working on sending the coordinates for what 'chute' she would be coming out of the Fields from. Somewhere, right now, that poor woman was waking up for the first time... to find herself plugged in in a hundred different locations, her muscles atrophied, her sight and hearing next to worthless... alone, frightened, confused.

Ether, having gotten clearance with everyone "back" onboard, has already lifted the large ship from its landing gear and was piloting your way through the endless network of bleak tunnels and passageways that riddled the world just below the surface. You had chosen a spot to broadcast that was a close to the Dump Pool as you dared to get for that long of a time. However, it would still take you almost two minutes to get there... hopefully that was enough time to get to Sim.

[Hazuki]

Bree
~

"Thank you." Bree nodded at Lynn, as she pushed the cool liquid to her lips and drank deeply as she wandered over to Captain Athos with a brief flex of her muscles. Not to intimidate, but to make sure they were still in working order and ready for some heavy lifting. Besides Splice, she was the strongest member of the crew, and in desperate need for the mission to end. "Two minutes." She muttered, placing the cup to the side and turning her gaze to watch Targe's monitor. "Do you suppose we'll need to prepare for the Machines, Captain?"

[Erasmas]

"We might be able to get in and out of there without them noticing, but I'm not going to put money on that. Lynn... Jacko... I want you two on turret duty. Bree... you help Splice operate the Claw and bring Sim onboard; take the stretcher with you. Targe... you keep doing what you do best, when we find her, go prep the acupuncture table."

When Athos was onboard the ship, he was almost an entirely different person - a confident leader, a consummate tactician, and matter-of-fact delegator of duties.

[Lentrax]

"Turrets. Aye, Cap."

Heading out of the bay, she turns to Jacko.

"Top or bottom?"

[4th number]

Jacko stumbles to his feet in his customary fashion and pats his pockets intently until he finds a cigarette and a tiny laser lighter. He inhales deeply.

"Top. Please."

He directs the cloud of smoke upwards as he exhales, and then he heads toward the turret, stopping to snag his shotgun from its wall mount.

[Hazuki]

Bree
~

"I'll get to it." Bree nodded at Captain Athos' directions, as she strolled over to the stretcher and lifted it under one arm, leaving the Jumper room with a stray glance at Targe and a brief smile. "Thanks for doing a good job, Targe." She said, for if he didn't do his job, they'd all be at the Machine's mercy. With that, she left for Splice's operating station to aid him with pulling their assuredly distraught recruit onto the ship. She'd be all gross and sticky, but Bree supposed that was better than dead. Slightly.

[DaedalusMkV]

Targe nods in recognition of the Captain's orders, then smiles at Bree for the compliment. "Hey, far as I'm concerned any mission where everyone gets out alive is a good mission. I've got a solid trace on Sim, I think I can say pretty well where she'll be turning up. Head along route Gamma-52, should get us to the Fields pretty close to her exit point." Having relayed this simple information, Targe closes down his Operator's equipment as the Mjolnir disconnects from the Hardline and begins rising from the ground with the distinct whine of mag-lev pads, maintaining the trace on Sim's location.

[Erasmas]

The hovercraft whirrs through the path laid out by Targe. Ether, over the comms, replies to the Operator's declaration.

"You got it, Targe. Appreciate the heads-up on the route."

You are all in-place long before you finally breech the tunnel system and enter the surface world. Gliding along the cliffs and valleys made of nothing more than intertwined metal and wires, it's hard to imagine where on Earth you even were located. Was New York City buried somewhere far beneath these unrecognizable features, or was it the Grand Canyon, or the Indian Ocean, or the Great Wall of China? The truth was, it hardly mattered... because whatever lay beneath it all was dead and gone... all except Zion, that is. Home; your thoughts each drift back to the place momentarily, and then it's back to the task-at-hand.

"We're here." Athos' voice broadcasts through the ship. Lynn and Jacko can see the honeycomb of openings in the nearby cliffside sweeping by, with the murky waters below. The Hammer slows tremendously, eventually coming to a standstill. The captain begins sweeping the choppy surface of the brown waves with the spotlight, eventually settling on a pale, hairless human form flailing miserably to keep from drowning. With a few minor adjustments from Ether, the Mjolnir finally slides into the correct position.

"Now, Splice! Get her out of there!"

In the belly of the ship, off to one side of the Cargo Bay, the engineer looks over to Bree and nods his head in signal. Standing near the door release mechanism, the female Jumper hits the button and the bay is filled with the whooshing air from outside as the cabin adjusts to the slight difference in pressure. It brings with it the smell of the nearby Fields, the smell of the machines and their dirty work - oil, heat, synthetic amniotic fluid, hot metal.

Splice lowered the claw down, moving it a little here and a little there to hit his mark. "Keep her steady, Ether!" Finally, the device splashes down and gingerly closes around the naked body of Sim.

"Got her!", the engineer whoops as the cable slowly begins to retract and wind itself back around the wench in the ceiling above the opening. Soon, she is inside and once the bay doors are closed, the Hammer turns and begins making the journey back to relative safety.

Bree and Splice get Sim transferred to the stretcher and move her into the Infirmary. The woman is barely conscious, and soon she is hooked up with the thousands of needles that will electrically rebuild her muscles and, for the first time, give her control over her own body.

[DaedalusMkV]

With Sim retrieved, Targe abandons his habitual post at the ship's Operator's chair and heads for the medical bay to initiate the first steps of her rehabilitation and start her along the path of getting rid of the damage being stuck in the Matrix for her entire life has caused to her real body. "Man, I hate this part..." He whispers to himself as he sets to work. "By the way, Sim, my name's Targe. I'm the ship's Operator; it's my job to keep an eye on the computers and what have you. If you've got any questions about the real world, I can probably answer them better than anyone else on the ship." He fiddles with the controls for a moment, adjusting the machine to more closely match Sim's situation. "Er, once you can talk again. You haven't had to actually use, well, any of those muscles before. It's gonna be hard for a while, getting used to your real body." The Operator wouldn't know for himself, but he's been present for this more than once before.

[Hazuki]

Bree
~

With Sim safely in the medical bay, Bree decides to allow Targe some time to do his job without interruptions, and to allow herself some relaxation time before she begins training again. There would be time to talk to the woman later, though she suspects that Captain Athos would want to talk to Sim first, so he can begin the training process, though she'd likely be the one that has to train Sim for the physical world. The man was a good leader, but he couldn't beat up a paper cup.

She heads to the bridge, that nobody told her to go to after waking up, and knocks briefly on the door before walking just over the threshold and into the domain of their pilot. "Ether?" She didn't know how much the woman saw, whenever she was in the Matrix, but she predicted that she would probably get in trouble if she didn't do things carefully. And throwing around White Phosphorous grenades was anything but that.

[Lentrax]

Lynn sits in the seat for the turret. She doesn't hate turret duty, per se... She just didn't really care for it either. But the silence. That was what gets to her. She hit her intercom button.

"We have her? What's going on?"

[Erasmas]

Targe

Sim simply laid there, minutely twitching from time to time as the electrodes did their work. She was sleeping, which is how she would spend the majority of the next 24-36 hours or so. Once you set up the process, however, you were free to leave the Infirmary. Any change in her vitals would alert the ship.


¥ ¶ Ħ 3 § Ə Ψ Д ∑ ‡
Lynn & Jacko

Once you had retreated back underground, you both knew that the immediate threat was over. You were free to go about your other duties and simply relax for the time being. It was going to be a long few days before you finally arrived back at Zion.


¥ ¶ Ħ 3 § Ə Ψ Д ∑ ‡
Bree

The young woman at the controls turns and beams at you as you enter the bridge.

"Hi, Bree! I'm so glad that you guys are okay... from the look of Targe, you woulda thought that you weren't coming back. Come in; sit down. We're almost to an open space where I can let go of the sticks for a minute."

[Hazuki]

Bree
~

Bree nods at Ether's words as she slips in to whatever seat's available, choosing not to look at the console for the moment and allowing her spine to flex in the leather seats. If the people of Zion really cared about the Jumpers, they'd get some nice leather padding for the slabs they had to lie on while inside. "We didn't get a scratch. This time." She runs her thumbs across her fingers, flicking each one at the air and shaking her head. She knew her words weren't the slightest bit comforting, but she hoped that Ether would see the value in knowing what potential dangers were always around. She'd be less likely to get a few teeth knocked out by an Agent's fist, that way. "Make sure we're safe before you let go, m'kay?"

[Erasmas]

Bree

Ether visibly relaxed at your report of not being harmed; her smile becoming much more genuine. As the Hammer passed into an expansive cavern, the pilot pointed the ship in a decided direction and flipped a nearby switch. The controls took on a life of their own, gently moving back and forth with minor corrections. Ether swiveled in her chair and bounded out of it, landing in your lap and throwing her arms around your neck. She embraced you, warmly, and gave you a lengthy kiss... allowing the concern that she had been harboring to drain away. As always, you couldn't help but notice her smell; ever so faintly, but there they were - herbs. It was because of her "garden" that she kept here on the ship, which comprised of tiny little plants that she grew in a small tray inside a spare room, complete with a UV light that she had convinced Athos to let her have. It was a cute little quirk... but it certainly was nice to be able to add a little bit of flavor to the gruel that you were all forced to eat.

[Erasmas]

You all spend the next several hours relaxing and getting caught up on your "lighter" duties aboard the Hammer. You talk amongst one another and take it fairly easy as you steadily made your way back to Zion.

Suddenly, however, the alarms from the Infirmary start going off. When you arrive, you find that Sim is going into cardiac arrest!

[Lentrax]

Sitting in her quarters, Lynn is meditating, a holdback to her old self.

Focused on her inner self, she drifts along thought like water, flowing from one idea and into the next. But as the alarms sound, she rises to her feet and dashes out, hearing the alert from the medbay.

Looking at the monitors, Lynn frantically starts CPR, trying to just keep Sim alive until someone with any idea of what to do comes in.

"Sim! Stay with me! Athos, Bree! In here! Damnit, I'm a programmer, not a Doctor!"

[Hazuki]

Bree
~

Bree was in training at the time Sim's alarms radiated through the halls like a guest of the most unwelcome kind, taking her away from something valuable to save something that should never have happened to begin with. As she sprinted through the halls, only the worst possible scenarios came to her mind, and drove her to move just a little bit faster. Had she ran into anyone, they both likely would have went hurtling a few feet, but her path was unhindered as she ran into the infirmary and Lynn attempting to keep their sudden-patient alive with CPR.

The jumper practically leaped across the room, placing a firm hand on Lynn's shoulder and pulling her away, more urgently than violently, before she began to do similar. Her studies showed that breathing did next to nothing for anything but infants, so it would only increase the likelihood of Sim's death, and the compressions needed to be done just so. She carefully tore off whatever was covering the woman's chest and placed both palms between Sim's bosoms and began to compress twice per second. There was little else she could do, besides proper CPR, without proper medicine or equipment around.

"Lynn, get Splice. Ask him if there's anything on board we could use as a defibrillator," She shot a narrowed glance back at her fellow crewmate. "And no, just electricity won't work."

[Erasmas]

The remainder of the crew arrived, in various states somewhere between rested and disheveled. Athos moved to stand over the other side of Sim's bed and lifted her eyelids for the briefest of moments while Bree worked. Lynn and Splice began a frantic search for anything that could be used should the need arise.

And then... the heart monitor gives a beep as a spike rolls across its readout screen, followed by a second, and then a third... Sim had a pulse and seemed to be stabilizing. However, though her vitals were leveled out, they were not looking good. And they were certainly not as healthy as they should be for a woman her age.

[Hazuki]

Bree
~

A frown crossed Bree's face, as, despite Sim's return to normality, the patient was not looking good at all; though she hadn't taken a look at Sim's information beforehand, which had probably been a mistake on her part. Leaving the recently-redpill'd woman to continue supporting herself for a moment, Bree turned to look at Athos in particular. "Without performing a proper exam, there's not much I can tell, and I don't think we have the equipment for that here. There's a chance that it could have been caused by the cold of that gunk we all get dumped in, but it couldn't just be that. There's likely something wrong with her genetics, or something to do with having been pregnant in the Matrix. Has anyone ever redpill'd a pregnant or recently-pregnant person before?" The woman shook her head regardless, as she turned to look back at Sim's vital signs.

"I think we need to get to Zion. Unless any of you want to try to jack the Machines' data network, which would probably not be a good idea."

[Erasmas]

Athos listened with a stoic grimace on his face, as his arms remained folded across his chest. He nodded at Bree's assessment and exhaled as he cast his eyes up to the monitor that displayed the numerical analogs of Sim's condition.

"We're still several hours away from Zion and won't reach it until tomorrow... How bad off is she?"

Although Bree wasn't a doctor, she was fairly certain that without one, the girl was likely to die. Apparently, Athos read this in Bree's face, because he half-turned on his heels and called out.

"Ether... where's Ether?"

The young blonde woman emerged from out of the doorway to the Infirmary, clearly uncomfortable with the situation inside the room. Though she spoke to the captain, her eyes never left Sim's form.

"Right here, Captain."

"I want you to put everything the Hammer's got into getting us to Zion as soon as possible, can you do that?"

"Well, I could reroute the... yes. Yes sir."

"Alright; we fly through the night. Get started."

Everyone began to break up and leave the room. Athos called after Ether as she turned to go.

"Ether... call me when you get tired, I'll come take over."

[DaedalusMkV]

Targe stands at the side of the room, looking stunned. "I don't understand. Did the machine do this? I followed the procedure..." He sits down. "Damn it... Is there anything I can do to help, Captain?" He looks up at Athos, fear written all over his face. "If she dies, and it was my fault..." The Operator trails off, unwilling to finish the thought.

[Erasmas]

Athos places his hand on the Operator's shoulder and meets his eyes with conviction.

"Targe, this isn't your fault. We don't know for sure what the problem is yet... but I'm pretty sure that the machine isn't causing it."

The captain looked up at Sim and her screen read-outs before continuing.

"But let's go ahead and unhook her from everything except the vital monitors, just to be safe."

[Erasmas]

Your crew flies all throughout the night, Ether and Athos switching off and even taking turns sleeping in the c0ckpit while the other one piloted. It was not a restful night for most of you, the worry of Sim weighing heavily on your minds. Those that would check on the newly-reborn woman would find no change in her condition... no closer yet no further from death. She spiked a minor fever off and on as well, and remained unconscious for the rest of the journey.

Finally, Athos came over the PA system with good news.

"We're coming up on Zion. Should be at the gates inside of... five minutes. Targe - contact the gatekeepers and give them our clearance code; make sure to inform them about Sim's condition as well, please. Splice and Bree - get her ready to transfer offship; I want her to medical ASAP. Lynn and Jacko - you guys are going to help me and Ether finish docking the Hammer and shutting her down."

[Lentrax]

It is a restless night for Lynn. Unmoving from the side of the woman she swore her life to, Lynn only hopes they reach Zion in time. As they approach the gates of Zion and Athos's orders come down, Lynn sullenly moves to the bridge, to assist in the docking procedures.

[DaedalusMkV]

Targe walks calmly to the ship's control interface, calmer now that he's got something to do, and quickly sets up a communications line with Zion's control centre. "Zion control, this is the Mjolnir on approach, requesting access to Gate 2. Transmitting access codes now. Be advised, we have a critical medical emergency taking place on board. Requesting medical personelle on-arrival to take over custody of the patient. I say again..." Targe repeats the message, hoping that the doctors at Zion will be able to do something about Sim's condition.

[Erasmas]

One of the gatekeepers responded to Targe in kind.

"Copy that, Mjolnir; please hold outside of Gate 2 and await acceptance of clearance codes."

After a few brief moments, she returns to say, "You are clear to enter through Gate 2 and dock on Platform 7; medical crew is standing by. Welcome home, Hammer."

The multi-layered door click and clunk as their locking mechanisms release and you see the exterior turrets swivel into position to guard the open portal as you make your way through it. Soon, the doors are closing behind you and Ether brings you home-away-from-home down safely, once again. Outside the landing ramp, two medics are already waiting with a stretcher. They both appear just as eager to catch of glimpse of any of you as they are to do what they came here for.

[Hazuki]

Throughout the trip, Bree had been making frequent visits to Sim's bed just to double-check that she hadn't yet slipped into another cardiac arrest. Though it was stressful in itself, the worst came to her in the form of depression and surrender to what she saw as a very possible fate for their patient and passenger. It was almost inevitable, but she resolved to continue for everyone else's sake. When they finally touched down on Zion, she was one of the first to head to Athos for guidance on what to do.

[Erasmas]

Athos was gathering his bags and shutting down the minor systems on the Mjolnir when Bree found him. He slung his largest bag over his shoulder with a grunt; a black duffel that was more beat-up and worn around the edges than the captain was himself.

He began walking towards the elevators that would lead down to his modest apartment elsewhere in the many levels of Zion. When the junior crew member posed her question to him, he turned to her with a slightly-raised eyebrow.

"About what, Bree?"

[DaedalusMkV]

Targe heads out of the vessel to meet with the medical team. "She's still in our medical bay, folks. Please, come with me and pick her up." He still sounds decidedly worried, but at least it seems like things will work out after all. He explains the situation as he leads the team deeper into the ship to where Sim is. "She's a fresh Bluepill, freed less than 24 hours ago, but she's been unconscious pretty much the whole time. She suffered some sort of heart failure after we started the muscle restoration procedures, and she's been out of it since. We've got no idea what the cause of the whole thing is..." He sighs. "It might have something to do with the fact that she gave birth only an hour or two before we freed her... I don't know, man. If there's anything else I can do to help, just tell me."

[Erasmas]

After listening to your story of the events, the two medics simply nodded as one of them added.

"Understood. We'll get her to the docs and they'll do everything they can for her."

The two men gingerly lifted Sim onto their stretcher and carted her off. As they passed Athos, the captain watched them go with a furrowed brow.

[Erasmas]

You spend the day attending to business that needs taking care of now that you are back in Zion. You return to your apartments, checking on the things that you left behind when you last departed. The hours fly by, as they often seem to do when you're "off duty" and soon, there is a knock at each of your doors. It is a council messenger, summoning you to their meeting in one hour.

You gather in the council's chambers, finding Athos sitting near the front, with his arms folded across his chest. He was engaged in a casual-looking conversation with a middle-aged woman who you recognized from the laundry house. The two finished up as you all arrived and took a seat near your captain. You saw several of the other crews that happened to be back in Zion at the moment, though most were still out on mission. After several minutes, the council members finally came in and called order to the meeting. You sat through nearly an hour of official business that did not pertain directly to any of you, more bureaucratic drivel than anything else.

And then they said something that caught your collective attention.

"As to the matter of the newly-awakened member of our city, the woman named "Sim". Where is Captain Athos and the crew of the Mjolnir?"

Athos stood up, "Here, Council."

"You are the ones who granted this woman rebirth, correct?"

"Yes, Council. My crew and I just returned."

"Captain, I do not know how to tell you this, so I will simply be blunt. The girl is dying. The doctors cannot figure out what is causing her deterioration, but it seems to be some kind of traumatic stress. In addition, she continues to insist that she wants her child and that it is indeed hers, despite being constantly assured otherwise."

Athos looked down at the ground and shifted his weight in a helpless gesture. He looked back up and tensed his jaw before replying.

"I understand, Council. Thank you for letting..."

"Hold on, Captain... I'm not finished. The topic of you and your crew going back into the Matrix and freeing the child has been suggested."

At this, the room erupts into a murmur of elevated conversation. Though awakening a child was not unheard of, awakening an infant was most certainly - the option of choice, at the very least, would be taken out of the equation. Although no one had ever really brought it up before, the thought was borderline unethical. The councilman that had been speaking cast his eyes in the direction of Cleric Circe. A very devout believer of the Prophecy of the One, she had many of the spiritual citizens of Zion that looked to her for guidance... and thus she held no small amount of sway with the Council. No doubt, this indicated that Circe had something to do with this "suggestion".


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Erasmas/Matrix/NPC-ClericCirce_zps5527f910.jpg


Finally, the Council regained order and composure through the chambers and the speaker continued.

"We have taken the matter under consideration. We have considered both the ramifications of such an act and the potential impact that it may or may not have upon Sim's condi..."

"The Chimera will go!"

Another ship's captain, a man by the name of Zistor had jumped to his feet. He too was a very devout follower of the Prophecy (and was even widely rumored to be the lover of Circe). He was young, and somewhat fanatical, but he was a strong leader and his crew respected him. At this, the room threatened to be overcome with chatter once more.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Erasmas/Matrix/NPCChimera-Zistor_zps022885da.jpg


"Captain Zistor, your zealotry is commendable. However, the Council will have the final say on anything regarding this, as in all matters of Zion." He then turned to his fellow council members and righted himself in a dignified manner. "Now. All of those in favor of awakening the child?"

Eight of the twelve councilors eventually raised their hands in 'yays', outnumbering the three 'nays' and the one vote for neutrality. It was decided... the child would be forced into the real world and brought back to Zion. The only question that remained was... who was going to have to do it.

"Very well. So the Chimera will be sent out..."

"Council... while I do not pretend to understand this decision, or what the hopeful outcome is, this mission was given to my crew. We brought back Sim and have formed no small attachment to the woman. If there is something that we can do that could help her in her condition... then I would have the Hammer do so."

Cleric Circe glided forward, "Councilors, if I may speak?"

The speaker sighed and then motioned for the cleric to have the floor. She continued, grace hanging on her every action and every word.

"The Expanded Prophecy tells us that we will come to a crossroads in our journey to finding the One - a dark intersection that would spell doom if we chose the wrong path. At this crossroads, there are to be two warrior clans, each powerful and magnificent in their own right. To choose the wrong path could spell disaster for one or the other, or both clans. And to fight each other would accomplish nothing in their journeys to the truth. And so, they must join their forces, one to the other, and travel along the correct path together."

"Cleric Circe, as... enlightening as that was, could you please put that in terms for us laymen?"

Circe smiled, as if having been told something accidentally anecdotal by a small child. "Of course, Council. I was merely recommending that both the Mjolnir and the Chimera go to retrieve the child."

The room roared to life once more.

[Lentrax]

"I must go. Whether it is with my captain and the Mjolnir, or not. I have sworn my life to Sim. I promised her to find her child. I may not have expected the timing, but my life is sworn to this."

[DaedalusMkV]

Targe simply stays seated, looking shell-shocked. Go find the child? What? Sure, he'd like to help Sim. He really never likes seeing another person die, if he can do something about it, but this is just too much. Don't they realize the difficulties involved? The near impossibility of finding an anonymous child in the vast mass of the Matrix? One of millions, his information no doubt already falsified by the machines to guarantee that something like this could not happen?

After a minute or so of sitting quietly, stewing over the possibilities as he replays the argument a dozen times inside his head, he speaks up quietly, just loud enough that his crew might hear. "Do you know what this means? It's completely counter to every established protocol, every doctrine we've made. If we start freeing one child, why not just free them all? It's a dangerous precedent, not to mention the danger we'll all be facing." He swallows, looking grim. "We could all die doing this, assuming that it's even possible at all. If the Machines wanted to, they could make sure we never have a hope of finding the kid. Are we really gonna put so much on the line for one kid?"

[Lentrax]

"I will."

Lynn strides down to the center of the chamber, and turns to face the gatheered crews.

"Not all of you believe in the One. Not all of you believe in what the Oracle has prophesied. I do. And I know that many of you do believe in the Oracle, and the prophecy of the One.

"Listen to what she says. These were the words of the Oracle. She will lead us to Him. This is as it was spoken to me. And if I have to scour Machine City itself. I will go to Battery Field and search every pod one at a time until I find the child if I must. I stand before you, a woman. I am afraid. Afraid of what I will find. Of what will be. But I have my faith to guide my path. Faith shall open the door that stands locked before us all. After all, was it not our faith that opened our minds to begin with?

"Was it not faith that freed the first of us? Faith that led us to the Oracle? That led us to Zion? That taught us the truth?

"Faith will not leave us now. We must stand tall, believe in our cause."

Lynn looked across the room.

"For without faith, we are machines."

[Erasmas]

The crew of the Chimera, along with half of the room, began cheering as they got to their feet. The councilman tried to regain order but it was several long moments before he was able to do so. Athos had stood during the ruckus and approached Lynn.

"You're really sure that you want to do this?"

At Lynn's confirmation, the captain simply nodded his head with his mouth caught in a half-smile. You all could tell that he was worried about what lie ahead, but that he was willing to go the distance and find out. After the roar died back down, Athos stood up and waited for the council to address him.

"Captain Athos, you may speak... though, let's keep the remainder of the rousing speeches for later, one is enough for today."

"Council. I cannot speak for all of my crew, but the Hammer and I are ready to do our part."

Captain Zistor approaches Athos with a wide smile and shakes his hand adamantly. Your captain's eyes fall onto Targe, the question apparently in his gaze, 'Are you coming along?'.

[DaedalusMkV]

Targe follows Lynn's speech with a hint of trepidation. As rousing as her confidence and faith are, Targe himself never really could bring himself to believe in all those superstitions about the One. Whether there's some sort of divine force out there helping out or not, he's always felt that it's better to rely on good plans, good training and caution rather than blind faith. Clearly, though, she's dead-set on the venture, and so is Athos. Which means that this particular ship's Operator is just going to have to suck it up, swallow his reservations and do the best damn job he can of keeping them alive through it. "Don't worry about me, Captain. I'll follow you to the ends of the Earth, if that's where you decide we need to go. I just wanted to point out what we're getting ourselves into. Just... Promise me, you won't risk anyone's lives unless you absolutely have to? Nobody's ever done this sort of thing before; I'm not even sure it can be done." He scratches his head, turning to the practical matter of where to begin the search now that the question of whether it will happen at all has been resolved. "I guess our best bet is to get a hold of the hospital records, see if they've left any clues. If that doesn't work, we're probably going to have to raid a drone command centre, hope that the Machines haven't messed with their records too..."

[Erasmas]

Athos looked Targe directly in the eyes and spoke in an aside to the operator, "I never have risked any of your lives any more than the mission absolutely demanded. As for whether or not this can be done, I'm not even sure myself. But we'll try, and if it turns out that we can't... then we come home and tell them so."

The council meeting eventually broke up and the captains each told their crews to be ready to depart by the end of tomorrow. You spent the majority of your short time back in Zion resting and preparing yourself mentally for the coming task. Finally, the moment came and you loaded back up onto the Mjolnir, finding her just he way you left her... minus the presence of Sim, of course. You saw the entire crew of the Chimera likewise arrive - Captain Zistor, Volt (the operator), Exe (the engineer as well as a jumper), Pandora, Upload, and Seraphim.

You already knew the plan, at least as far as it stood so far. The two ships would reach broadcasting depth and jack into the Matrix. Jumpers would sync up at a nearby safe-house inside and head back to St. Lucy's. From there, it was going to have to be on-the-fly decisions.


Volt
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Erasmas/Matrix/NPCChimera-Volt_zpsc3862185.gif

Exe
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Erasmas/Matrix/NPCChimera-Exe_zps1e6b75f2.jpg


Pandora
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Erasmas/Matrix/NPCChimera-Pandora_zpsbebebff6.jpg


Upload
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Erasmas/Matrix/NPCChimera-Upload_zps31063a58.jpg


Seraphim
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Erasmas/Matrix/NPCChimera-Seraphim_zps702b5843.jpg

[DaedalusMkV]

Targe settles back onto his seat in the Mjolnir with an air of grim determination. A few hours with his parents in Zion is usually enough to put him in a melancholy mood, but if they're going to take on the mission to find Sim's child then he's going to put everything he's got into it. "Right, Captain, gotta say I never really expected to be working with another team on a Jump, 'least not on purpose. Gonna have to get into contact with their Operator when we get the chance, assuming we're ever in shortwave range. You want me to set up anything special before we get out there, I'll be happy to get started on it. Otherwise..." He shrugs. "I dunno, sir. I guess we're all kind of flying by the seat of our pants right now, eh? Not just Ether, like normal." As usual when nobody's life is on the line, Targe is quick to poke fun at the rest of the team.

[Hazuki]

Bree
~


A series of events that passed past Bree like an unsettling breeze, something she would be unable to touch or affect in any way, yet something that carried her along with it regardless of any objections. It shaped itself, from the spirituality of both the detestable speeches of faith and the trauma of a woman that she'd brought out of the world. Now, she was to compete in a mission that would surely endanger her more than any of her past Jumps. The recklessness of the Captain of blue eyes and the attention two ships in tandem would draw were her concerns, rather than her own skills that would be useless if their entire ship fell. Such was her life so far, such as it would be, and it was something she would have to mull over in the cockpit, looking dour as Ether piloted the Mjolnir.

And, like always, there wasn't a plan. There was never a plan.

[Lentrax]

Lynn spends the night next to Sim in the Med ward, hoping she would awaken long enough to pass on any message.

After a sleepless night, she reports to the Hammer and catches a nap before departing Zion.

"How long to broadcast depth?"

[Erasmas]

When the time had come to leave, Jacko was nowhere to be found. A runner was sent to his apartment and came back with the news that he was gravely sick. Apparently, he had overdosed on his usual amount of daily acid intake and had to immediately be put into detox. It looked like he was going to have to sit this one out... and it put the captain in a pretty foul mood.

Athos answered Lynn, "Two days, at least. Our broadcast point still puts us as close as we can get to the Dump Pool. That way, once we... free the child, we waste no time getting to him. This is going to be different than it normally is; someone is going to have to go swimming in that filth. I want a volunteer by the time we get there after the Jump."

The crew settled in and prepared for the journey to the broadcast depth. While you head that way, Athos had given Targe a task to queue up ahead of time.

"Yeah, the blind leading the blind; and missing a crewman is like missing an arm. As for what to prep... I want whatever you can give me to protect that baby. Once we finally do find him, there's likely to be all kinds of chaos flying around us and I'd rather make it out with him in one piece... since we're going to all the trouble in the first place."


¥ ¶ Ħ 3 § Ə Ψ Д ∑ ‡
Bree

Ether sat for a long time in silence, tracing her way with ease out of Zion and starting the navigation path through the tunnels. Out of the corner of your eye, you could see her uneasily glance in your direction several times as she squirmed in her seat uncomfortably. Finally, she spoke, attempting to sound nonchalant, "So... somethin' on your mind, sweetheart?"

Seeing the reaction on your face, she quickly dropped the act and went with sincerity, "Wanna talk about it?"

[Hazuki]

Bree
~

Bree's brown eyes blinked under the shadow cast by her hair, taking in the image of Ether for a few long moments. There were lots of ways to answer the question, including just what she was pondering, and how she could have answered the question. A part of her wanted to shrug off the issue, lying to Ether so she'd be able to shoulder the burden herself, but the last time she tried hiding herself away from the pilot, it went sour. Relationships were meant to make people stronger, forging connections that could support greater weights until there was a large enough web to support whatever the world threw at them. If distress was to be the way she communicated with Ether, she was to let it be, and make their partnership something more than sweet-nothings whispered in the night.

The woman ran a hand through her hair and put her foot up against the wall, relaxing in the embrace of her chair so she could stare at the wall. "I don't like the other crew; moving in larger groups is more likely to point the Machines in our direction. The least we could do is plan a strike elsewhere, plant some white noise for when we jump. Maybe we could download some really nasty porn to their servers; that ought to ruffle their tentacles." Despite the pathetic attempt at humor, Bree's lips didn't hold a smile, as she rolled her head to her shoulder and gazed at the blonde before her. "I love you."

[Erasmas]

Bree

"Whoa... did I walk in on the wrong part of that conversation; all I heard was something about 'nasty porn' and 'tentacles'.", both of you turn to see Splice standing halfway through the door to the bridge, his eyes wide. You can see his next thought crossing his find and written all over the smile that spread on his face as it does so. "Or maybe I walked in on the right part of that conversation?"

Ether rolled her eyes and went back to paying attention to her flying. "Gross, Splice. Grow up!"

"Take it easy; I know when three's a crowd. I just came up to tell you guys that lunch is ready."

The engineer left, but not before returning briefly for a second peek into the bridge, probably in the hopes that he would catch you two... oh, who knows what he was hoping to see. You'd really rather not think about his depravity for any longer than was necessary. Once he was gone, Ether checked over her shoulder to be certain before she took the conversation back to the topic you had broached.

"I'm sure that they've taken that into consideration. You guys are supposed to meet at the safe house, right?" Upon your affirmation, she continues, "From what Targe was telling me before is that they only set those up in areas where an anomaly already exists inside the Matrix. That should cover your presence there long enough for you guys to put a solid plan together. I know how you love to have a plan."

After a contemplative pause, the petite pilot adds an emotional response as a period to her thoughts.

"I love you too, Bree. I'd... I'd die if anything happened to you."

[Lentrax]

Two days.

To prepare for an extended run into the Matrix.

Oh what fun this will be.

Lynn goes off to the main bay.

"Targe? Wanna load me up? Urban combat, maybe?"

[DaedalusMkV]

Targe sighs. "So, the usual then. Trick the code into thinking the kid's hard to hit and pray that the Machines don't notice. Par for the course, I suppose. I just wish there was something more productive to do. Sitting on my ass waiting for things to happen isn't my idea of a good..." He looks up as Lynn enters the room. "Ah, Lynn, great timing. Yeah, I can do that for you. Hell, better than sitting around moping about how I don't know what to do, eh?" He stands up, crossing the room to his proper seat, then sits down and stretches his hands. "What're you thinking? Concealed carry or assault loadout? I'll load in a practice shell, model it on a Drone office, maybe." He sounds excited. "Oh yeah, you're gonna want some grenades. Here, c'mon and pick out some options..."

[Hazuki]

Bree
~Bree's reaction to Splice's interruption could have been summed up in the word exasperation, the fellow having a good deal less wit than she did and not being nearly as classy. Though Ether's flustered reaction was something she could enjoy pulling out of the blonde, the kind of innocence or naivete that had the luck not to be weathered by the more lewd aspects of life. The man probably knew he couldn't hope to pull out much of a similar reaction from Bree, at least, and it was a blank stare that followed his trail out of the room, as she slipped her foot from the wall and stood to lean against the doorway, slouched ever so slightly.


"Hrrm." Was her only response to Ether's comforting words, although she knew the pilot was right. She just didn't want to admit it. She couldn't help but smile at Ether's last words, reaching over and planting a kiss on her forehead. "I know." Although logic dictated that, if she were to die, it would be in the same fiery crash as Ether, which made Ether's words right in all the wrong ways. "Now, lunch time..."

[Lentrax]

"Assault. Office sounds good. Jack the difficulty up though, yeah? Last time was too easy."

Lynn hops into her seat and rests back, waiting to be jacked in.

[DaedalusMkV]

"Roger that, Lynn. I'll see if I can't ratchet things up a few notches. Don't blame me if you get killed." He spends a few moments typing furiously, fiddling with the simulation's parameters until the artificial soldiers are both better organized and more capable. "Alright, that oughta do it. Here, I'll load you into an armoury shell first. You can pick out whatever gear you like. I'm simulating the Chicago FBI building. You need directions, you go ahead and call in." The last of his preparations complete, he walks over to Lynn's seat and straps her in. "Man, if only I had half the control over the Matrix I did in the shell program, you guys would never be in any danger at all. Here we go." As always, the last step in the process is to insert the connection jack into Lynn's cortex port.

[Erasmas]

Ether pulls the ship over and lowers it until it is "landed", hovering mere feet above the debris-strewn tunnels. Everyone, besides Lynn and Targe had gathered in the mess hall and were already eating. Hunched over their bowls of protein and engaging in bits of small talk here and there.

Athos brought a bowl into the Broadcast Bay and put it down next to Targe without a word. He had only brought one for the operator; he knew better than to even offer one to Lynn before she went in for a training program.

[Erasmas]

After about half-an-hour or so, Lynn is disconnected from the training simulation, sweaty and sore. Targe had put her through her paces, but she made it out unscathed... mostly. A .38 had ricocheted off of a steel elevator panel and hit her in the left shoulder. However, although the pain was very real... there was no wound and thus, she required no medical attention. In all, Lynn took down close to 40 targets with training algorithms set to the standards of government copper tops - not a bad session.

The rest of the crew was finishing up the midday meal about the same time, and Ether was headed back to bridge. She took one of her "popsicles" with her... which was little more than watered-down protein and artificial sweetener that she kept in the bottom of the ship's freezer. She had convinced Splice to make her some molds out of some extra bits of pipe with caps on the end and plastic sticks put into them. At one time or another you had all tried a bite of one (usually at the behest of the persistent pilot) and did not see the appeal.

[Lentrax]

Seeing the crew departing the mess, Lynn, still feeling an intense pain in her shoulder that she had to continually tell herself wasn't real, she staggered in to grab a bowl of protein herself.

Eating quietly alone, Lynn sat, pondering the events of the last few days.

Retrieving Sim, the Oracles words, religion and prophecy...

The One. Could he be.... Is this my destiny?

[Erasmas]

The next several days went by rather the same, with a few differences here and there. The time seemed to have droned on and finally, you hear Ether radio over the ship's PA system, "We're here."

Quickly, the crew began to gather in the Broadcast Bay, where Athos was already speaking with Targe.

"Alright Targe, get us a hardline up and running. Splice... you've got the ship. Bree and Lynn, jack in."

[DaedalusMkV]

"Roger that, Captain. If you don't mind, I'm going to route the line through a few extra channels this time. We're gonna be grabbing a lot of attention on this job, so I'll take every precaution I can get." He stetches, working the knots out of his muscles before what he is quite certain will be a long session in front of the computer and keyboard. "It'll be about fifteen minutes before I can set up a connection this way, so you guys might as well do a couple laps of the ship while I get things set up. Cut down on cramps when you finish with the Jump." He sits down, settling into a familiar typist's posture and getting to work as soon as the ship is fully settled down and Splice has connected to the line. "Entry point is going to be... Looks like I can set you up in an empty appartment off 67th. Third floor."


Targe is routing the connection through a couple of dummy ports for this mission. While I doubt this has any practical in-game effect, I thought it would be in-character for him to want to take a bit of extra time to make things even a tiny bit safer for everyone else.

No, I'm not even sure if this is actually possible in the system architecture of the Matrix. Shut up... :smallredface:

[Lentrax]

"You wanna load us into the armory first? I think we may need some guns for this one..."

Lynn jumps into her chair. This is the first real interaction she has had with the crew since they left Zion. She has spent a great deal of time watching the world that was pass by as the Hammer made for thier target position.

Lynn has lost track of the number of times she has been jacked in.

She has lost track of the number of times she wished she didn't have to anymore.

She wished it again.

Maybe this time...

[Hazuki]

Bree
~

Bree hung her jacket on the back of her chair in the cockpit before heading down to the broadcast bay, looking slightly dour as ever about climbing onto the slab to have a metal spike jammed into her head. At the least, she could look forward to being in an environment where she could use her prowess for something worthwhile. With a few wriggles of her spine, she was laid out and looking pristine on the table.

[Erasmas]

Athos nods along in agreement with everything that Targe has to say. And when Lynn makes her request, the captain adds, "Route us through two buffer ports, the Armory hack, and then a third buffer on the other side. That ought to give us enough cushion."

Once everything was ready, the captain also lowered himself into one of the chairs and awaited the insertion of his own cortex spike. One at a time, they all made the jump: Lynn, Bree, and Athos.

The jump was always an uncomfortable experience... not unlike jumping into a body of water on the brink of freezing, an extreme ice cream headache, and chewing on foil all wrapped into one (thankfully) ultra brief moment. It was over as quickly as it began.

The three of you now found yourself in the endless white expanse, with rows upon rows of weapons surrounding you... the epitome of minimalist programming.

[Hazuki]

Bree
~

Finally something that she could get used to, Bree immediately went about choosing her weaponry for the job at hand. Going into the hospital guns blazing was still something that made her stomach twist, and was a far more likely result for this jump, but her regular set would serve well enough again. Removing her rifle briefcase from one of the floating stands, she set it on the ground of her feet before attaching the bandolier of grenades around her waist with a satisfying click. It was almost like clockwork for her, greeting these old weapons with a handshake.

"How are we going to transport the child?" She asked her comrades aloud. Their abilities within the Matrix would give them more than enough ability for balance and suspension to keep the child from getting tossed around too much for their jumps and rolls, but the danger of any opponent would be multiplied immensely.

[Lentrax]

"There are harnesses for holding a baby to your chest. We would probably each do well to have one."

Lynn started strapping her weapons to her body. Katana over her shoulder, colt 1911s in their thigh holsters. Throwing caution to the wind, Lynn grabs an M16 off a rack and slips it into a sheath in her trench coat. She also pulls down four Mac-10s and harnesses them to her coat as well.

Another pair of 1911s tucked behind her belt, and four Kabar knives, are tucked away, two in her boots and one more in forearm sheathes.

Finally, she grabs a duffel bag and stuffs it with grenades and more Mac-10s.

Lynn looks up at Athos who watched her arming herself with a look of pure incredulity.

"What?" Her tone is sweet and innocent.

[DaedalusMkV]

Targe watches the team load up, grimacing slightly as he watches Lynn's antics. "Hey, Lynn, I know we just went through an assault drill, but we're infiltrating a hospital, not storming an army base. Kinda hard not to notice a duffel bag filled with guns, you know?" The last thing Targe wants to see is a shootout in the hospital so soon after the last op; they got lucky with that Agent last time, but if another one shows up there's a very real chance people will die, and there's no way storming that hospital with guns blazing won't attract the Machines' attention.

[Lentrax]

"I'm planning on leaving these in the car. Kinda hard for you to get me ammo in the middle of a firefight."

Lynn finishes her loadout, easily lifting the bag up, despite its heavy weight.

"Besides. Do you really think the machines are going to let us walk out of here again with another mind? I'm more concerned with defending the Hammer than I am with myself."

[Erasmas]

"Nothing... nothing at all...", was Athos' response to Lynn.

As you each continued to gather the gear you deemed appropriate, the captain then replied, "Yes, I think that a baby carrier is going to be the best way. It keeps him close to one of us and provides him with the most cover possible. Targe, see if you can't program one of those lined with kevlar and get it to us while inside, okay?

Finally, you were all ready. Moving away from the rows of weapons, you awaited your Operator to port you into the Matrix. And one by one... you made the shift.

1

You found yourself in a low-income level apartment that seemed, for all intents and purposes, to have been abandoned. It was clear of any immediate threats and you could hear the blaring sound of a television set in the next apartment over. The last one through, Athos set down the receiver of an old 1950's-styled phone, which stood in stark contrast to the "decor" of the rest of the place... clearly an addition by a previous Operator. And there it was... the green tint - you were back inside.

[DaedalusMkV]

Targe blinks, parsing that suggestion. "You want a... What? You must be joking! That's..." He chuckles to himself for a good four seconds. "Oh man, you're serious, aren't you? Okay, alright. Just lemmee..." He coughs as he feels another burst of laughter coming on in response to the image of Athos with a baby carrier strapped to his chest and a pistol in either hand. "Okay, it's not a bad concept, but it's gonna need work. Kevlar just stops penetration, wouldn't stop bullets from crushing a baby's bones. They're really fragile, I hear. So we're gonna need some sort of solid insert too. Plus, unless you like the idea of using the kid as a meat-shield, it's prob'ly better to set it up like a backpack." He pulls out a piece of paper and a pencil, both minor luxuries on board a Hovercraft, and begins sketching. "It's gonna take a while, Captain. I don't wanna half-ass this particular job. I'll get on it, though." Severing the connection to give himself room to work, a thought strikes the Operator and he turns to shout over his shoulder, "Hey Splice, Ether, either of you ever done design work? Captain's got a funky request he wants put together."


Okay, so Targe can handle a bit of black humour once in a while.

Designing a combat baby-backpack. Oh yes. These words should never, ever go together.

[Lentrax]

Lynn hefts her duffel bag onto her shoulder. She goes over to the door and peeks out. When its clear, she heads downstairs to try and find a car.

[Erasmas]

Lynn, Bree, & Athos

All three of the jumpers make their way downstairs, following Lynn... some more quietly than others. Once they made sure that the coast was clear, they made their way out onto the street. There was no shortage of cars to choose from and, after a look from the other two as the captain made his way for a brand-new-looking Camaro... Athos resigned, "Maybe you should choose, Lynn."

Lynn was able to find a modest, four door that was fairly nondescript. Within a few seconds, the thing was hot-wired and the three of you were loaded in. Athos begin giving directions on how to get to the meeting place.


¥ ¶ Ħ 3 § Ə Ψ Д ∑ ‡
Targe

Splice comes over as you beckon, "Yeah, yeah... I did a little when I was studying engineering. It was mostly mechanical stuff, but I might be able to help out. Whatcha got?"

The mechanic came to stand near Targe and looked over his shoulder.

[DaedalusMkV]

Targe laughs. "Check it out. Captain wants a combat-capable baby packpack. So start sketching it out while I work on coding it into the Matrix. It's a lot easier to build something from scrath if you've got a good, reasonable blue-print."

[Erasmas]

Lynn, Bree, & Athos

You arrive at a decrepit-looking warehouse near the river; a building made of crumbling bricks and exposed steel struts. It looked as though there was little more holding the whole thing together than simply the refusal to collapse. As you pull up, your headlights fall on the steel door that would permit entrance through the loading docks. The concrete and asphalt ground was wet, water gathered into small pools where the lot's many potholes existed. But it wasn't raining now... at least, not yet.

Lynn killed the engine and Athos climbed out of the car, pulling his pistol from its holster and chambering a round.

"Let's go."


¥ ¶ Ħ 3 § Ə Ψ Д ∑ ‡
Targe

"Okay...", Splice chuckles as he shakes his head. "... well, I guess he's the captain; whatever he says goes."

The engineer moves a short distance away and sits himself at an empty flat surface. He grabs a piece of paper and a pencil and, after scratching his head for a few moments, he begins sketching.


¥ ¶ Ħ 3 § Ə Ψ Д ∑ ‡
Leggit, Spoof, Zistor, Upload, Exe, & Seraphim

You made the Jump in via the hardline the backroom of the basement in the Public Records building. Upload put down the receiver as the last one in and nodded to Zistor. He looked to each of you before moving to the backdoor and pushing it open, leading you to a small tucked-away staircase that led right up onto the sidewalk outside. The city's streets were slick with recent rain and the cars that drove by made small splashes beneath their tires. A black & white cruiser slowed as it passed you, the two beat cops inside giving your group the stink-eye before rolling onward. Exe pulled her hand from the SMG that was slung under her long trench coat... they weren't going to be a problem.

You walked less than a block before Seraphim found a black Suburban and jimmied the lock. In short order, the SUV was hot-wired and all six of you were inside and off down the road.

[PrivateJunior]

The Matrix. The one place that still really confuses Leggit. Of course it isn't a real place, he knows that, but knowing that he can warp it and bend it to make the world do what he wants, even only in small ways, scares the life out of him.
The confusion comes from his feelings about the 'place'. On one hand, he grew up linked to this world and became quite successful running endurance events - even going to the Olympics one year. He had a home here, and found peace in himself while running here.
On the other hand, nothing here is real, anything could try to kill him. Look at those cops, one moment content to stick their noses out at you, the next they're Agents following you in a chase, matching you stride for stride.

These thoughts tumble through Leggit's head as he watches the false world roll by through one window. Every time he considers the second thought, he nervously checks his belt for the two .45 Automatics and the dagger he was always uploaded with.

[DaedalusMkV]

Targe shrugs. "Eh, not like this is the weirdest request I've ever got. You should hear about that time where Lynn was in the..." He coughs. "Er, never mind that. I kind of like having all my pieces attached." Typing as he talks, the Operator quickly changes the subject. "What do you think about this whole Prophecy business, Splice? I mean, I trust the Captain, but sometimes I wonder if we're doing the right thing..."

[Lentrax]

Lynn doesn't talk much on the way to the rendezvous. Her thoughts are entirely on the problem of pulling a child out of the Matrix. She knew this would be more dangerous than anything she had ever done before.

Especially if this child turned out to be the One.

When they arrive at the warehouse, Lynn exits the car, readjusting her katana on her back for easy access.

Then she starts looking for a way in. Not the door, too easy. A window on the second floor, maybe?

[RdMarquis]

Old habits die hard. Spoof keeps a wary eye on the police as they pass by. It had been almost two years since he abandoned his old life in favor of Zion. In a matter of speaking. This was still a case of unlawful entry. Only the purpose and tools were different. Especially the former. Rather than short term profit, he was motivated by a chance at starting over with a clean slate.

"So," Spoof attempts to break the tense silence. "What's the plan?"

[Erasmas]

Lynn, Bree, & Athos

Lynn had seen a window at the top of the fire escape, on the side of the building that appeared to have a pane busted out of it. As she went for it, Athos and Bree stacked up on the front door and awaited her signal.

The metal staircase was rusted and in disrepair, but climbing it with your enhanced physicality was next to child's play. You scaled to the third floor and, peeking inside the hole in the grime-coated glass. There was a large open space that had some kind of tanker truck parked near the back, where there were several other areas walled off. You could see the other side of the front door from where you were and it seemed to be all clear. The window you were at was also quite obviously unlocked, as the latch seemed to be missing entirely.


Tanker Truck
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Erasmas/Matrix/Truck_zps9a657356.jpg


¥ ¶ Ħ 3 § Ə Ψ Д ∑ ‡
Targe

Splice half-turns at the beginning of Targe relaying a tale about Lynn, his eyebrow raised. "Sounds like a story that I'll have to coax outta you sometime."

But when the Operator starts in talking about the Prophecy and the Captain, he puts down his pencil and swivels around fully on his stool.

"Now, I don't know anything about some Prophecy being true or not; some 'One' that is going to come and dig us all outta this mess and beat the Machines back once and for-all. I just don't see how one man could even hope to do all that. But what I do know... is that the Captain ain't never led me astray. I ever tell you about the time Athos saved the Hammer; saved me?"

You knew that before you (and most of the rest of the crew) came onboard, that the Captain and Splice had served together on the ship. But you had never heard the specifics.


¥ ¶ Ħ 3 § Ə Ψ Д ∑ ‡
Leggit, Spoof, Zistor, Upload, Exe, & Seraphim

Zistor stared out of the windshield from the passenger seat through his dark sunglasses, despite the night. He had an air of anxious calm about him... like a pilgrim finally approaching his Mecca. When he replied, his voice was almost trance-like, which wasn't wholly uncommon for the Captain.

"We meet with the Hammer's crew and get details on where the child is and hash out how to get him home."

[Lentrax]

Too easy.

Lynn checks the window for alarms, and when she is confident there are none, she will open the window.

[RdMarquis]

"Understood." Which was to say, their objective, and the fact that no one was in the mood to talk. The man lets out a low whistle as he considers the enormity of their task. It could be argued that he was wrong in comparing the group to thieves. He'd stolen valuables, sure, but this was (as far as he knew) the fate of humanity. Not to mention a helpless little human being. "Noooo pressure." Spoof utters the cliche slowly and carefully. He felt it was a requirement for an undertaking like theirs.

[PrivateJunior]

Leggit grins across the vehicle at Spoof's vocation, his nerves eased with the familiarity of that statement.
He suffered a momentary flashback to the warmup for a race when he had given voice to those same words before his run, then, grin still plastered on his face he gave Exe a friendly nudge.
"Pullin' a kid out of the fields, huh? This is gonna be fun. I mean, not every day you go jumpin' for a kid this small.

[Erasmas]

Lynn, Bree, & Athos

Seeing no sign of any kind of alarm system, Lynn opens the window with ease, shaking some of the dust off and down to the floor below. An industrial steel catwalk awaited you just on the other side, which you are able to lower yourself down onto without making much of a sound. It is quiet in side, the sound of the wind a howling whistle through some rusted hole or another somewhere in the half-light. In the distance, you heard the faint rumble of thunder.


¥ ¶ Ħ 3 § Ə Ψ Д ∑ ‡
Targe

Splice comes over to you and places the sketch down next to you. Glancing down, you see what looks like... an armored baby carrier, with a badly-drawn (and rather frightening-looking) infant situated in it.

"People were never my strong suit."


¥ ¶ Ħ 3 § Ə Ψ Д ∑ ‡
Leggit, Spoof, Zistor, Upload, Exe, & Seraphim

Zistor spoke, calmly once again, "The hands of the Prophecy guide us through this and all things, Spoof. We have nothing to fear... so long as our faith holds."

You could all see the storm clouds that had gathered at the edge of the city, some distance away from you. Suddenly, a bright flash of blue-white lightning streaks across the sky in stark contrast to the dark backdrop. The wind picked up and seemed to shift direction slightly. Some moments later, you heard the rumbling report of the bolt.

"'Fun' isn't really how I'd put it, Leggit.", Exe debates as she peers over her sunglasses at the man. "Certainly does seem like a lot of fuss over a baby; just to stop one woman from crying... especially one that has yet to do anything for Zion. But... Zistor says we go; so we go."

[Lentrax]

Crounching on the catwalk, Lynn stalks along the steel. Being as silent as posible, looking for any sign of activity inside the warehouse. Then deciding better safe than sorry, she slowly draws her katana from its sheath.

[RdMarquis]

"No offense, Boss. But I'm not the spiritual or religious type." Case in point, he wasn't worried about the weather, as far as omens went. Though Spoof give a little thought to stories about people dying after being struck by lighting. Did it happen by the Machines' design (to save the Agents some trouble every now and again), or was it some random hazard they had thrown in to give the Matrix a little more unpredictability?

"I'd rather put my faith in people." He glanced at the others. Spoof wouldn't call them friends just yet, but they were capable and willing to work with him. As any further talk would have involved his dislike for screaming children, he said no more.

[DaedalusMkV]

Targe looks at the drawing for a moment, checking to make sure it fits with what the Captain requested. "Eh, no problem. The kid's the Captain's problem, not ours. Looks good, thanks." Using the drawing as a reference, he begins coding the rather strange invention into the Matrix, to be ready for when the Jumpers need it. "Alright, should be ready by the time they call for it. I'll update the Captain next time they ring me up."

[PrivateJunior]

"Come on, Exe," lighten up, he almost added but swallowed before they left his mouth. That wouldn't be very productive to his health at this point in time. Therefore, he continued without the exclamation, "what we're about to do is special. If we can show that a team like us can just jump in, grab a kid and jump right out again without gettin' much hurt, well, Zion might let us do that more. We could pull lots of poor kiddies out of that place and let 'em grow up and live in reality.
What we do ain't easy, I just think its exciting. If we get his thing right, we'll be celebrating in Zion for so long... That's what I call fun."

Lost in his speech, Leggit takes very little notice of the clouds and their accompaning lightning, at least until the resultant thunder washes over his words, wiping them from the air.

[Erasmas]

Lynn, Bree, & Athos

Drawing the blade brings you no small amount of comfort as you move down the catwalk. Walking the entire length of the building, you see no signs of there being anyone or anything else here. The only places that you aren't able to see into, thanks to your vantage point, are the two two-storied room-like areas near the back.


¥ ¶ Ħ 3 § Ə Ψ Д ∑ ‡
Targe

Targe has the hack coded within seconds and gets it ready and queued up for the upload.


¥ ¶ Ħ 3 § Ə Ψ Д ∑ ‡
Leggit, Spoof, Zistor, Upload, Exe, & Seraphim

"And you think that the One with not be a person? He will be one that commands our faith without even having to ask it of us. He will be the port through which all the faith Zion has to offer will flow. When the time comes, you will see Spoof."

Zistor pointed to a building near the river as your SUV exited the freeway ramp and descended down into the Warehouse District - a slum of tattered brick blocks and long-forgotten silos... like ghosts from another era.

"You're 'special', Leggit. Listen to yourself... we're going in to grab a baby. The way you tell it - we're gonna take down the machines and liberate the whole freakin' world all in time to get back to Zion for some cake!" Exe chuckled while Upload and Seraphim stifled ones of their own.

"Give him a break, Exe. Who knows... maybe he's the One. Maybe he will liberate all of us. And then you'll just be the girl that railed on the Prophecy."

You get the distinct impression that Upload's interjection was also at your expense, but it was all in light fun. Exe looks at you as if contemplating the thought; before shaking her head in disbelief. "Nah.", she concludes, slugging you playfully in the shoulder.

[Lentrax]

Lynn drops down to the first floor. Her understanding of the Matrix allowing her to absorb the small impact. She walks over to the door her companions are waiting outside of and opens the door enough for them to enter. Motioning for silence, she points to the far end of the warehouse where she hasn't checked and shrugs, as if to say, "No idea what's there."

[RdMarquis]

"Sure, but he (or she, for all they knew) isn't just a person." Spoof felt as if he were preaching to the choir. "You've explained before that The One has this whole prophecy behind him. He may be a person, but he represents all people." He shrugs and puts his hands up in a conciliatory gesture. "But fair enough. After knowing what's out there," the former thief flicks the window with a finger. "I find myself a little more open minded, these days." He looks at the derelict buildings. "We here?"

[PrivateJunior]

"If we get back to Zion for anything better than our normal gruel, I'd count that a pretty good day. Cake'd be brilliant." Leggit responds to Exe with a semi-restrained laugh of his own. He is quite aware of his absurdity, but after lightening the mood, is quite pleased with himself.
Even the lightning outside, accompanied by the shabby, distraught-looking buildings couldn't dampen his joy.
He was back doing what he loved, with friends he could trust, in one of the most dangerous places known to mankind. Who wouldn't be happy?

[Erasmas]

Lynn, Bree, & Athos

Bree and Athos enter the room and perform a cursory sweep from where they stand, trusting Lynn entirely... as a crew does. Athos indicates the back area of the warehouse and heads to the right, pointing at the two of you, followed by the leftmost room.

In the near distance, you heard the sound of a car engine and the approach of tires on wet concrete.


¥ ¶ Ħ 3 § Ə Ψ Д ∑ ‡
Targe

You see the codestream in the area around your crew begin to show signs of other anomalies - six, to be exact. It isn't but a fleeting thought before you realize that it must be the crew of the Chimera approaching.


¥ ¶ Ħ 3 § Ə Ψ Д ∑ ‡
Leggit, Spoof, Zistor, Upload, Exe, & Seraphim

"I'm glad that we can agree.", your captain adds enigmatically. He removes his cellphone and opens it, placing it against his head.

Volt's voice picked up after a single ring, "Operator."

"We're in the district. Which building is it?"

"Uhh... says here it's the old Dreamshapes Textile Mill. Turn left on the next street." Zistor looks to Seraphim, who was already starting the turn. As you turn onto this new street, you see that it dead ends at a rusted chainlink gate that hadn't been closed in a long time, judging by the vines that had grown all over it.

"There she is, dead ahead."

Seraphim pulled through the gate without really having to slow down much, since the lot that the building sat on had so much empty space. You saw a silvery-blue four-door sedan parked near the loading dock and a single metal door.

The car pulled to a stop.

"I say that we should find some cake while we're here, cause it's gonna taste better than anything we could scrape together back in Zion.", Exe added and you all begin to exit the car.

"Just like everything else here, Exe... that cake would be nothing more than a lie."

[DaedalusMkV]

Six anomolies? Yeah, probably the crew of the other ship incoming as expected, but better to be safe than sorry. They might be rogue Programs, after all, or... Well, if it's six Agents, probably nobody's making it out of that building alive no matter what he does, but a warning might give them a fighting chance. Ringing up the Captain's link, he kills two birds with one stone. "Captain, you've got six anomolies inbound. They're looking human, but be on the lookout for Programs just in case. Also, I've got your special order ready, just give the word when you want it delivered."

[Lentrax]

Lynn makes a sweep of the room before turning back to the main door.

Looking at her captain, the purple haired girl nods once then makes a series of jumps up the corner until she is back on the catwalk. She then runs over to the wall and waits for whoever is coming in to make their move.

[PrivateJunior]

Stepping up out of the confines of the vehicle, Leggit furtively checks his surroundings. Not seeing gun barrels and agents, he sighs with relief; you only needed that sprung on you once in your life before you made a check getting out of every car you were ever in.

Confident of his reflexes and speed in any situation, Leggit relaxes and allows instincts to take control of his movements. "Anyone in that hellhole, Cap'n?"
He then spends a moment examining the other vehicle, knowing that it could easily mean encountering other people, and therefore potential agents, if it doesn't belong to the crew of the Hammer.

Leggit prepares to fan out with the rest of the crew, watching the entrance to the lot in case of other vehicles.

[Erasmas]

Lynn, Bree, & Athos

Lynn and Bree finish sweeping their back room and find it clear; nothing more than a gathering of steel barrels and empty wooden pallets. You climb-jump your way back up to the catwalk as Athos comes back out of the room he was looking into and gives the all-clear. Just then, his cell rings and picking it up, he listens for a moment before replying.

"Thanks, Targe. Go ahead and put it in the backseat."

Your captain moves towards the door with his pistol still drawn and puts his back against the wall nearest the handle. Bree stacks up behind a large cable spool turned on its side and double checks her Ingram M10s and trains them on the door.

There are two knocks.

"Who is it?"

"The crew of the Chimera."

"What's the name of the woman who decided that two ships should come?"

"Cleric Circe, in her infinite wisdom."

Athos sighed with relief and then opened the door, revealing the crew of the Chimera. They swiftly move inside, closing and bolting the door behind them. Finally, it seemed, it was safe to relax... for the moment.


¥ ¶ Ħ 3 § Ə Ψ Д ∑ ‡
Targe

The captain picks up without a word and, after you tell him that you have the carrier ready, he responds, "Thanks, Targe. Go ahead and put it in the backseat."

And with that, he hangs up. The anomalies had arrived.


¥ ¶ Ħ 3 § Ə Ψ Д ∑ ‡
Leggit, Spoof, Zistor, Upload, Exe, & Seraphim

You all pile out of the vehicle and the crew moves to establish a rough perimeter, making sure that there was no one else here. As you all did so, Zistor moved directly up the concrete staircase that lead to the small landing outside the metal door.

"Let's see, shall we?"

Once there, he gives two solid knocks. A voice replied, muffled a little from the other side.

"Who is it?"

"The crew of the Chimera."

"What's the name of the woman who decided that two ships should come?"

"Cleric Circe, in her infinite wisdom."

The door opened to reveal Captain Athos. You see the one called Bree in a defensible position behind a large cable spool and, after a moment, notice the once called Lynn on a catwalk, high above your heads. As you all quickly move inside, Upload closes and bolts the door behind you. Finally, it seemed, it was safe to relax... for the moment.

[RdMarquis]

Spoof raises an eyebrow at the little exchange. Was it improvised, or was there some book on Zion codes and etiquette he should be studying? Whatever it took to get them inside. He gives the closed door a second glance. Wonder how long it would keep out anything that could be following us? "Hey." He greets the others, and leans against the wall. The car ride hadn't actually happened, but he still felt like he needed a quick break. Spoof could accept that fact, but he just couldn't wrap his head around it.

[Lentrax]

As the Chimera crew enters, and Lynn is sure it is safe, she drops down from the catwalk, making a soft thump as she hits the ground.

"Captain. May the One ever guide your path."

[PrivateJunior]

The last of Chimera's crew into the room, Leggit backs through the doorway, watching for pusuit even as the door closes. Only when he can see outside no more does he spin on his heel and greet the others.
Trust would make this work, and he trusted the others of the Chimera with his life. He wasn't sure about the crew of the Hammer, though he doesn't speak that aloud.

Nodding to each jumper in turn, he greets them with their names, before speaking to the gathered group.
"Every moment that we sit here, the chances stack against us that the machines will notice our presence. We all know that. I'd like to suggest that we begin our planning before all goes to hell, if that isn't overstepping my rank." Looking around, he adds, "Does anyone have a map?"

[Lentrax]

"Of what? The City? The county? Battery Fields?"

[DaedalusMkV]

Targe halfheartedly begins the programs to insert the strange combat backpack as a Cache in the Matrix, observing the opening stages of the meeting intently. This is his first time working with the crew of another ship; it would have been good to get to know their Operator a bit before the mission...

At mention of a map he begins bringing up his database of maps of the City, just in case someone calls for one.

[PrivateJunior]

Let's start with maps of the city, and the areas around the kid. We're pickin' him up from a hospital, right? Let's gather some maps of the building and its surroundings, and we'll work from there.

Leggit unconsciously begins to work out what the group needs out-loud, not looking at anyone in particular as he organises his thoughts. The group needs to be quick and, Leggit has found, silence is not conductive to speed.

[Erasmas]

Lynn, Bree, Athos, Leggit, Spoof, Zistor, Upload, Exe, & Seraphim

"And yours, Lynn.", Captain Zistor replied in kind. Once the niceties were out of the way and the talked turned to maps, everyone began to congregate around the overlarge cable spool. Athos picked up his phone and pressed 0.

"Targe? Targe? Can you get us a map for the hospital wing?"


¥ ¶ Ħ 3 § Ə Ψ Д ∑ ‡
Targe

You begin searching through the data, finding the map of the hospital rather quickly, since you used it not that long ago. But right away... you noticed some differences. And the more you looked, the more noticeably major you realized that they were. The wing where your crew had taken Sim out of, had been heavily renovated and a large portion of the secondary entrances and exits were closed off due to the work being done. In addition, it definitely appeared that several "choke points" were present that were not before. Just as you are beginning to really study the thing closely, you are startled by an incoming call.

"Targe? Targe? Can you get us a map for the hospital wing?"

[DaedalusMkV]

Targe swears under his breath as he works through the new schematics. This is going to make things much, much more difficult. Last time the subtle approach worked just fine; this time, it's looking like nothing short of an all-out assault is going to accomplish all that much. When the Captain calls in, Targe's response is quick and to-the-point. "Yeah, Captain, I've got all the plans you could want. You're not gonna like it, though. They've changed the hospital into a fortress; all secondary entry points are closed off, only one way in or out. Looks like they've set up a couple of choke-points on the way in, so there's no sneaking around whatever defense they've got set up, either." He sighs. "If they're watching, there's no way in there that doesn't start looking like Lynn's assault sims. Only with Agents on standby, I'm guessing. They're expecting you."

[Lentrax]

Lynn listens to Targes explanation of the hospital.

"What about a system hack? Take info from the hospital mainframe?"

[Erasmas]

Lynn, Bree, Athos, Leggit, Spoof, Zistor, Upload, Exe, & Seraphim

Athos sat listening for a moment, his face describing it all. He looked at all of you gathered there as your conversations all dropped off and the gathered group's full attention came to rest upon him.

"Understood. Send it to me."

He then proceeded to hang up the cell and describe everything he had just heard to you. When Lynn spoke up, it was Zistor that replied.

"To what end?"


¥ ¶ Ħ 3 § Ə Ψ Д ∑ ‡
Targe

Once you were finished, the Captain simply said, "Understood. Send it to me." and hung up. As you began to work up the code for the map, you wondered how this was going to work at all.

[Lentrax]

Lynn looks up at the other captain.

"We get the data on where the kid is, we could do a surgical strike. Get in, get out. Since a frontal assault is out, and subterfuge will not work if the machines have Agents in play, this could be our best bet."

[PrivateJunior]

"It seems to me that we want to take the agents off the map. Could we stage a diversion elsewhere in the city? If we make it big enough, we could give the team here an extra minute or two to grab the kid."

It isn't the safest plan, but it could work.

[Lentrax]

Still need to figure out where the child is before we can do anything.

Lynn looks up at her captain.

Athos. We may even be able to use rifling the hospital as our diversion. The machines will detect our hacking and send the agents to the source of the program. It will be a hard run, but one of us may be able to escape the agents if we have an exit preplanned. The runner will have to wait until the last second to leave, to pass on the stolen information, but it could work.

[DaedalusMkV]

Targe continues inspecting the schematics as the Jumpers debate amongst themselves, tapping lightly on the arm of his chair as he thinks, when an idea strikes him and he gets back on the line. "Ah, yeah, I think I've got a plan, maybe a bit less risky. They've fortified the main way in, but there's still the windows. If we go in the dark, you can climb the side of the building and get in that way. I can hack you in some quiet glass-cutting tools, and after that it's just a matter of being sneaky." He pauses for a moment, working out the details. "Get me line-of-sight to their computer system and open up the comm-link and I can have their entire database in two minutes. Get in, get out with the data and you guys can jack out while we go over it looking for the kid."

[Erasmas]

Two Live Crews

Athos took the call from Targe and sat motionless for a moment, only his eyes darting around aimlessly as he turned something over in his head.

Exe spoke up in the interim, "So, somebody's going on a suicide run? Count me in."

"Me too. I told Sim that I would do everything that I could.", Bree added.

Athos finally chimed in, "Alright then, we go with Targe's plan with some possible tweaks. Bree and Exe will get to the roof and rappel down to the second floor; go in through the window. The rest of us raise hell at the front door as a distraction. Any objections?"


¥ ¶ Ħ 3 § Ə Ψ Д ∑ ‡
Targe

The captain had listened to your suggestion and sounded contemplative before he let you go to address the crews. Suddenly, a secondary hack you had running in the background dinged for your attention. It had been trying to search for any signatures matching the exact perimeters of Sim's baby, and it finally came back with results... two results to be precise. Doing a little bit of digging, you found that the first was in China. After some more digging, you managed to trace the second signature and discover that it was, in fact, in St. Lucy's Hospital. Apparently this baby had suffered from Jaundice and was being kept until he recovered.

[RdMarquis]

Spoof shakes his head. "I'll handle the window." He was experienced with break in tools. A replica of his old lockpick set was part of his equipment. "Any chance of info on what's going on in each room? Something not in use would be our best bet." Spoof's mouth turns up in a smirk. "The last thing we need is to wind up in some quarantined room full of guys in hazmat gear."

[DaedalusMkV]

Targe stares at the results on his monitor for the better part of ten seconds, absorbing the information on it and considering the situation, before he replies. "Um. I've been doing some digging in the background while you were moving around in there. Managed to break into the national med records; turns out the kid's still in there, suffering from some sort of health problem; I can't say I really understand the details. Point is, whoever's going in had best be prepared to get the kid out, and if things are worse than the data says, you might need to be ready to deal with health issues." He begins typing furiously at his monitor, brow moistening at the early sign of exertion and stress. "I'm prepping relevent uploads now. And, I probably don't have to say this, but nobody point your guns in the vague direction of the maternity ward until we've got confirmation of the kid's location."

[PrivateJunior]

Looking around the group, Leggit follows the unspoken words; if agents are in there then some of us, maybe all of us, aren't going back to Zion alive.
At the conclusion of Athos' speech, Leggit made a minor tweak.

If we're gonna pull this kid out, then I sure as hell ain't gonna be twiddling my thumbs back here. I'm prepared to make some noise out the front, but I been runnin' all my life. I reckon if the kid needs carrying, I can get him out and away from them agents.
Put me outside a window, lower the kid down and I'll run him out of there like nothin' else.

He'd become the main target, but if he could run long enough and hard enough, the child would come out safe and the job would be a success.

[Erasmas]

Two Live Crews

With all of the input from both crews plus Targe, Athos nodded his head.

"Alright then - Exe and Spoof go down the wall then. Spoof... you take care of the window and Exe will move in and lock down the room. Once Spoof is inside, then locate the child and secure him, in the protective carrier, to the line and lower him down. Leggit will be waiting outside with myself and Lynn protecting him from the parking lot, with the car ready and waiting. Bree, Zistor, Upload, and Seraphim are in charge of the distraction at the front of the ward. Everybody clear?"


¥ ¶ Ħ 3 § Ə Ψ Д ∑ ‡
Targe

Through your research, you find out that Jaundice is a commonly-occurring thing is many newborn babies. They are usually put under special lamps that reverse the condition, typically within a day or two. When treated promptly, there does not seem to be any long-term effects.

[Lentrax]

"Covering fire, got it."

Lynn's training has covered many types of combat from the most difficult type of assassination, all the way down to the easiest.

Here's a hint. Knives are hard.

Lynn steps back from the gathered operatives and pulls out her phone. Hitting dial, it rings a couple of times before getting picked up.

"Operator, I need a connection..."

[RdMarquis]

"Crystal." Spoof had his equipment ready, save for one thing. "By the way." He indicates the handgun in his shoulder holster. "I'm not going to say things will go south, but in case they do, I'll need something a little heavier than this." The former thief wasn't one to use weapons. For obvious reasons, Spoof was more than willing to contribute to the war effort. Fighting it was another matter. On the other hand, they were going to be right in the thick of it, and there was no reason to be caught defenseless. Especially with combat expertise the click of a button away.

[Lentrax]

"Here." Lynn pulls out one pair of the 1911s she tucked away. As she pulls her coat back into position, you note a seriously dangerous arsenal hanging underneath it. "These babies are custom. Real nail drivers. I have some more stuff in the car."

[PrivateJunior]

"I can manage that," Leggit responds to the refined plan. "but I'll be runnin' light. I'll stick with my forty-fiver, and knife. And we'll," he points out Lynn "need some way to carry the kid so he don't bounce 'round lots."

[RdMarquis]

"Appreciate it." Spoof adds the guns to his equipment, raising an eyebrow at the collection from which they came. "Though I doubt I should take any more. I need to be traveling light, too. Speaking of which." He tried to be tactful with his suggestion. "I know it's a kid and not a piece of equipment, but why don't you just improvise some insulation for this armored harness? Roll up a coat. You're trying to protect something and keep it from bumping around, either way."