Midstop6b (Eclipse Phase) [IC]

[Sentinel85]

OOC Thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=316279)
Dice Thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=316280)

[Sentinel85]

February 12, 10 years AF, 0913 MST (Local time)
Midstop-6B Servers
------------
The work shift. How Laura just hated the work shift, more so after spending the last 26 hours working non-stop.

20 hours ago, a huge explosion affected the station. Around 50 people were just gone, currently drifting in near space after the violent explosion and subsequent decompression, waiting for stack retrieval. More than a dozen ‘lucky ones’ from security were killed afterwards during the initial habitat response and now they were in stasis, missing most of the body and waiting for a functional healing vat. Just two vats were online, power shortage and all that. Nobody on the small clinic really knew how much damage was done to the habitat, they were too busy (and maybe too afraid) to ask. Moreover, part of the station was still in the anarchist’s control, with the ComEx security department waiting for reinforcements before pushing back.

Meanwhile, Laura, the station´s doctor, was operating an older remote surgery machine, with smaller energy consumption, through the mesh. An Exalt morph was unconscious over it.

<<It takes a severe security breach to inflict so much havoc>> - said her assistant, in a synth morph, moving things, injecting substances and pulling some cables to redirect power. The doctor, on the other hand, lived in an infomorph and could never do it herself.

<< Nah… They would need that, but only to make a tea party during the afternoon. This was something else. How could anyone blow more than a quarter of the station? How could they let everything so f*** up after it? >> - she told him, without losing focus - << Do you think that it was inside work or… >> - she was interrupted, mid sentence.

[[Claira, the psychologist, is arriving through egocast now. We are detecting an unusual Ego transmission, though. The AI downloading it is requesting transhuman intervention.]] – said John, her Muse.

[[What? Show me that…]] – a pause - [[Yeah, it´s really weird. Ok, I will do both things. ]]

Still teleoperating, Laura was very surprised when, even thought the remote connection was perfect, she had to activate specialized programs and stimulate certain mental processes. The Ego was completely anomalous. She got even more surprised when, after receiving the transmission, and starting the normal routines, the Eidolon running it “just crashed”.

[[What the f*** was that? Ok, John, run some scans... Is Claira ok?]]

[[Yeah, we have the transmission backup and everything seems to be fine. Before you ask, I´ve checked the ComEx Recruitment Statement, the Ego ID matches. It´s really her. ]]

[[Was she corrupted by a virus or something like that? I´ll try to fix whatever crashed the Eidolon. Let me check this Ego again… ]]

[[Laura, I´m afraid we won´t have time. I was able to keep Mr. Tower´s muse at bay, but she is asking me for constant updates on Claira’s situation. They need her for something urgent. ]]

[[I´ll take my time. If she complains, give her the computer logs. The Eidolon just crashed, for god´s sake… AND I´ll interrogate Claira. I won´t risk it. ]] – said the doctor, finishing the operation on the Exalt at the same time.

[[Ok. I´ll take care of Mr. Tower´s muse.]] – said John.

[Sentinel85]

February 12, 10 years AF, 1015 MST (Local time)
Midstop-6B Servers
------------
<<GERAD, darling, I have just finished with Claira´s Ego here. Can you activate her in our little interrogatory VR room with no external access and just me in there?>> - said Laura

<<Yes.>> - answered the AI

Ten seconds passed.

<<So?>>

<< I didn´t understand that question. >>

<<It meant: ‘Active the interrogatory room.’>>

<<Acknowledged. Initiating program.>>

February 12, 10 years AF, 1016 MST (Local time)
Midstop-6B Servers - Restricted VR world: Interrogatory room
------------
The small but well lit 8' x 10' room had a rectangular wooden table in the center surrounded by 3 metal chairs. A short fiber carpet covered the floor. The walls were painted a light blue color, with no art-work nor decorations. On the left wall, there was a wooden door bellow an “Exit” sign.

Laura Dias avatar, a woman in her forties wearing casual clothes, sat in a chair side-to-side with Claire. She had a notepad on the table at their left, open in a blank page.

With a calm and firm voice, she said:

“Welcome to MidStation-6B. I´m Laura Dias and I´m going to be your boss. I spent the last hour trying to put your anomalous Ego online. Can you explain why?”

[Saidoro]

February 12, 10 years AF, 1016 MST (Local time)
Midstop-6B Servers - Restricted VR world: Interrogatory room
------------
A younger looking woman by several years sat opposite, dressed conservatively in clothing that looked professional, but not to the point of discomfort. For the very barest of instants, so brief that even the most perceptive would be hard pressed to say it had ever happened, she did nothing. Then it was realized that that would be odd. Claria slumped ever so slightly, relaxing the merest bit into her seat before restraightening as she realized she was in the presence of authority. She blinked. A rather useless gesture in VR, but transhumans had been watched shortly after resleeving and it was and incredibly common gesture. The symptoms were familiar, ads had been run on a Easy-Sleeve Derm. It had not been terribly effective as a drug, but monumentally successful as a placebo. Her eyelids had almost finished reopening. She blinked again. Which might have been overdoing it slightly. A response to the question began to be scripted. Claria leaned forward and focused on Laura, she began to piece together what question had been asked. Confusion began to show on her face. She shrunk slightly at the accusatory tone. A slight stammer was queued and speech began.
"I... Putting together my what? I thought starting up was only supposed to take ten minutes why were you spending... Which is what you're asking. Uh."
A brief pause was initiated, Claria went through a brief series of physical tells commonly related to cognition, none of which served any particular purpose in a VR body. Her voice was initiated with less of a quaver this time and a slight inquisitive tone as though she was uncertain of her answers.
"I might have had something put on me that messed with the process. I remember I had to remove a few plug-ins before I could transmit at all. I missed one, I guess?"

[Sentinel85]

February 12, 10 years AF, 1017 MST (Local time)
Midstop-6B Servers - Restricted VR world: Interrogatory room
------------
Laura raised an eyebrown.

"Never heard of a missing plugin doing this... But I don´t know..."

She was interrupted. As if by magic, a few handscript letters began to appear in the notepad nearby.

Mr. Tower´s muse. Again.
- John

"Ok, the outside world is calling. We have to go. Whatever it was, I´m convinced and, anyway, you can talk with the CEO latter. GERAD, unlock the door for us, please. "

A loud click was heard on the door.

"Welcome aboard, Claira. When your avatar step through the door, you will be granted external access, crew privileges and receive the status briefing for whatever the CEO want you. Good luck."

[The Grue]

Resleeving rolls. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16504903&postcount=9)

February 12, 10 AF, 0945 MST (Local time)
Midstop-6B Resleeving bay
------------

[[Egocast upload complete. Compiling ego...]]

[[Done. Initializing morph cyberbrain...]]

[[Done. Installing ego...]]

-----------
1016 MST (Local time)
------------

[]

[[Checksum verified. Patching...]]

[[Done. Launching ego...]]

Raymond's eyes snapped open as he bolted upright on the slab. For a few moments he did nothing but sit perfectly still, stark naked. Tranquil. Carefree.

Then it all came rushing back.

[[Good morning, Sir.]] Jeeves flickered to life off to the side of Raymond's field of view, a familiar cel-rendered caricature of a twentieth-century butler. [[Sir has been successfully instanced within a modified 'Skywalker' pod. I am presently running a diagnostic check and inventory of the morph's installed systems.]]

Raymond swung his legs out over the side of the sleeving rack and planted his feet on the cold metal floor. He stared down at his feet, their odd hand-like shape and opposable digits. It was a little disconserting; his last morph didn't have those.

Jeeves threw a short list of implants and enhancements onto Raymond's entoptic display; Ray skimmed through it, nodding in approval. He held up his right arm, flexed it, made a fist. He extruded a handful of simple tools and manipulators from the strip around the wrist, tested them, then folded them back in.

[[Something feels off.]]

[[No significant physical abnormalities detected. Peak synaptic signal delay is less than five-point-eight microseconds; well within specifications of the synthetic nerve fibers. All biomechanical processes are operating within normal tolerances. Cognative diagnostic indicates no impairments or copying errors, and a somatic interface efficiency of nintey-nine-point-six percent. However...]] Jeeves' avatar shifted its gaze down to the floor. [[...I [I]am detecting abnormal neurochemical levels in the pod-brain's organic components, consistent with overexposure to nootropic compounds from the implanted drug glands.]]

[[Wonderful. Because what I really need is to get hooked on Drive my first day on the job. Probably part of some corporate-level loyalty plan.]]

[[Charming indeed. Allocating system resource towards a background anti-addiction therapy reigime; I will notify Sir when it is ready.]]

Raymond hopped down off the slab and crossed the room to a set of cabinets on the far wall, hoping to find some kind of clothing. The air was cold, though to Ray's vacuum-resistent body not unpleasantly so.

He found a pair of coveralls, neatly pressed and folded. As he put them on, an AR chime notified him of an incoming mesh message.

[[A Mister Towers requests to speak with Sir,]] said Jeeves. Raymond nodded indicating assent, and routed the transmission through an entoptic window in the center of his HUD. The words AUDIO ONLY filled the center of the window as the transmission began:

<< Mr. West, I´m the station CEO. I´ll go straight to the point. Part of the station has been taken by anarchists. They are currently controlling a very delicate machinery in laboratory 12, besides laboratory 11, at the north torus ring section. It supports a containment field that must be kept intact at all costs. The north section is currently on the terrorist control and the local mesh has been isolated. Moreover, an explosion has affected the northeast sector and it is completely sealed. I won´t give you more details of the explosion now, that´s not relevant to your task, but you will have to pass through the central axis to reach the north sector and ensure that the containment field is kept intact. You will also have to negotiate access to the terrorist controlled territory and probably become a hostage. An especialist negotiator, named Claire, has just arrived. As you won´t have mesh communication with us, I suggest that you ghostride her with you. GERAD, the station AI, will answer your questions and give you the necessary data. Towers out. >>

Before Ray could get a word in, the text in the window changed: CONNECTION TERMINATED

[[Well that was rude...]]

[]

[[Well...]] Raymond called up a schematic of the station. [[I don't know, it wouldn't be that hard. The torus sections are designed to seal off in the event of a breach, [I]here and here.. If you could spoof the monitoring system into thinking-]]

[[I am certain that is true Sir,]] Jeeves interjected, [[but I mean to suggest only caution. ComEx would not be the first corporation to...mislead its employees for its own interest, and Sir would be wise to keep this in mind going forward.]]

Raymond thought on this for a moment. [[I appreciate the advice, Jeeves.]], he said at last. [[Wouldn't be the first time an employer's screwed me. I'll be careful.]]

Once he'd finished zipping up the coveralls, Raymond attempted to log into the station's mesh network and broadcast a short message over the Maintinence channel.

<<Ho there, this is Raymond West fresh out of egocast. Requesting a secure connection with the station AI.>>

[Saidoro]

February 12, 10 years AF, 1017 MST (Local time)
Midstop-6B Servers - Restricted VR world: Interrogatory room
------------
An exit could now be made at any time. Claria would not of course, she would stand and exit through the door. How tiresome. It wouldn't do to behave irregularly, though. Claria stood. She smiled.
"Thank you. And I'm sorry to have been so much trouble, I do appreciate the opportunity I've been given."
That wasn't even a lie. Claria walked to the door. She did not hurry, she did not rush to her freedom. How very tiresome, how very slow. Psychological profiles on Laura where started to pass the time. Claria opened the door. Finally.
The world opened. A message was received and processed.
A number of responses were made very quickly, starting with several subroutine calls and continuing with direct messages the station's main servers where GERAD most likely resided.
[[Retrieve and store station maps]]
[[Retrieve station alerts within last two weeks, report beginning with first indication of abnormal activity]]
[[Retrieve and store accessible personnel files]]
<<GERAD, please report on location, status and Mesh ID of Mr West.>>
<<GERAD, also summarize anarchist situation and upload a full report of known information to my Muse.>>
Claria was again brought to the fore and a brief message was composed to the unknown Mr West, to be sent as soon as GERAD returned his address. Other parts of the mind began analyzing the various reports as they came in and still others began to probe at the extent of the station's Mesh Network.
<<Hello Mr West, this is Claria Song. It seems we chose an exciting time to arrive. May I begin transfer to your ghostrider?>>

[Sentinel85]

February 12, 10 years AF, 1016 MST (Local time)
Midstop-6B Servers
------------

GERAD received an incoming connection from Raymond:

<<Ho there, this is Raymond West fresh out of egocast. Requesting a secure connection with the station AI.>>

<< Welcome aboard, Mr. West. I´m now transmitting ComEx Crypto, Tactical Network and Facial/Image Recognition softwares. I´m also transmitting Claire Mesh ID. Please acknowledge. >>

At about the same time, he also received a series of commands from Claire´s muse and a transmission:

[[Retrieve and store station maps]]
[[Granted.]]

[[Retrieve station alerts within last two weeks, report beginning with first indication of abnormal activity]]
[[Access denied. Station logs are under restricted access since the incident.]]

[[Retrieve and store accessible personnel files]]
[[Access granted for all station personnel files, including Mesh ID access.]]

<<GERAD, please report on location, status and Mesh ID of Mr West. Also summarize anarchist situation and upload a full report of known information to my Muse.>>

<< Hello, Mrs Song. Please wait. I´m now transmitting ComEx Crypto, Tactical Network and Facial/Image Recognition softwares for you. I´ll grant you the status report on a secure channel. >>

As soon as both software package transmissions were finished, GERAD opened a secure transmission with both of them and told:


<<Status report from sensor alerts: On 11st of February, at 13:00:00.0432, the station began to lost all external input. At 13:00:00.0457, some sensors on the hull reported an energy spike consistent with a star going nova, within a few hundred meters. A low-level monitoring AI stored this data and reported a sensor failure instead. At 13:00:00.0458, we lost contact with those sensors. At 13:00:00.8352, we lost all external contact.

Meanwhile, at 13:00:00.0459, structural sensors near the northeast sector reported failure. At 13:00:01 we analysed the structural failures and they were consistent with an off-the-scale explosion near the hull, followed by a violent rupture and depressurization. At 13:00:01.0050 the automated section sealing began.

At 13:00:06 we regained contact by neutrino with nearby habitats on the Main Belt.

From 13:00 onwards we had several power and machinery problems on the remaining sectors.

From 13:01 to 13:09, I launched all available drones and robots, and scanned the local vicinity, looking for more data. 'The Bega', a ComEx Anti-Matter Courier previously on orbit of Midstation-6B, was missing. Communication with stations and ships on the Main Belt asserted that a huge explosion occurred on or near Midstop and lots of debris were floating around us. Both the northeast section of the torus ring and the ship were presumed lost.

At 13:08, heat sensors near the north section reported laser fire. At 13:10, we lost all mesh contact with the north torus sector. At 13:10:28 the blast doors between the north and northwest section where closed.

At 13:12 the northeast sector and ComEx ship destruction were confirmed by third-parties.>>

He paused.

<<Well... Maybe I gave too much or too little data... What are you looking for?>>

The occasional weird time notation is because he is including milliseconds. As you can see, he is not very good at investigating/explaining things. You´ll have to ask a few specific questions.

[The Grue]

<< Welcome aboard, Mr. West. I´m now transmitting ComEx Crypto, Tactical Network and Facial/Image Recognition softwares. I´m also transmitting Claire Mesh ID. Please acknowledge. >>

Raymond acknowledged by returning a mesh ping.

[[Software appears to be in order, Sir. Uncompressing and installing...complete. ComEx crypto key loaded into active memory.]]

[[Good. Now, get me in touch with-]]


<<Hello Mr West, this is Claria Song. It seems we chose an exciting time to arrive. May I begin transfer to your ghostrider?>>

[[...nevermind, seems she found us first.]]

[[I shall prepare a Ghostrider partition for Miss Song. Would Sir care to state any configuration preferences?]]

[[Give her public Mesh access and sensory input, but require authorization for PAN access and block out my cognitive feed entirely. Inter-ego communication solely through mesh protocols.]]

[[I presume Sir desires a littany of countermeasures preventing access to the puppet sock.]]

[[I do. But set up a protected access channel in case we need to give her direct control for some reason. Full motor control, one-time crypto key, 300 second window. In fact...let me do that]]

[[Very good, sir.]]

<<Hi there Miss Song. I'm forwarding you an access port for secure connection; go ahead and upload, your ego will be routed directly to the Ghostrider partition.>>

Dice (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16518670&postcount=11)

[Saidoro]

Access was acquired. The ego was transferred to the ghostrider, though connections to the mesh were left intact to maintain full processing power. Claria spoke while other processes continued interrogating GERAD.
<<Uploading now.>>
<<GERAD, is there any information at all available about the identities of the anarchists or their reasons for attacking the station?>>
A few exploratory nudges were made upon finishing the transfer, but as expected little access to core systems was given. Attempting to increase access would be seen as suspicious and carried a high risk of discovery given the carrier's technical background, such actions were deemed unwise at this time. A simple AR image was created of Claria's standard avatar and sent along with voice using standard mesh protocols, the avatar being set at a reasonable conversational distance in a non-confrontational stance, the specifics of what constituted both being extrapolated from West's history as reported by his personnel file.
<<All settled in, Mr West, I'm ready to plunge blindly into unknown perils whenever you are.>>

[Sentinel85]

<<GERAD, is there any information at all available about the identities of the anarchists or their reasons for attacking the station?>>

<<Unfortunately, no. The 5 security officers that were dispatched to the north sector have not returned. It´s a presumed anarchist threat, based on the Belt political tensions and modus operandi.>>

You will have to investigate it =) Either before, during or after the battle on the north sector

[Sentinel85]

February 11, 10 AF, 15:14 MST
Skineasthesia's resleeving facility, Ceres
-------

Memories from the Fall´s resleevings plagued Johnson´s mind. Battles, death by the thousands, his combat unit on danger.

No, no, the Fall is over. He´s not a soldier, nor an officer, just a hypercorp executive on Midstop-6B, going to the station annual review meeting. With the only slight little problem that he surely was not on Midstop anymore. On a hard frigid metal slab, wearing a crisp white synth-clothing, he tried to snag some data from his mesh inserts, looking for dates, facts, information. No luck.

"Where am I?"

"Hello, Mr Towers. You are on Ceres. This is Skineasthesia's main resleeving facility on the Main Belt and you have been resleeved from your daily morning backup to a special Exalt Morph, as contracted.”

Comet Express emergency procedure. Something bad happened.

The body bank employee continues through a metal checklist when several entopic displays appear in Johnson´s field of vision, cycling through diagnostic routines, as his mesh inserts finally come online. The multi-tasking computer also comes back and suddenly he has two more consciousness, short-term forks for simultaneous mental and online activities.

In less than a minute, still in the body bank, Mr. Towers had already received GERAD status report, hired a docked Direct Action ship and started to plan his station´s recovery from hostile hands.

Whoever did it, you should start to pray. After fighting the TITANs, everything else is going to be a piece of cake. – he thought

February 11, 10 AF, 16:14 MST
‘The Horse’ - Direct Action disguised military transport
Leaving Ceres orbit
---------

It was a 'simple' matter of redirecting the new station security personnel to board the station through the Direct Action transport. At the same time, he arranged for an expert negotiator and technician to arrive though egocast, gave then some partial information and direct orders and hoped that they would be on position when the north sector invasion began.

Invasion. How weird it was, to plan your own station invasion.

Anyway, as soon as they left Ceres orbit, Towers went to the bridge and requested that the ship captain cut all public mesh access to the Interplanetary Network. From now on, his crew would be effectively isolated. He could give them some secret information, hopping that there won´t be any leaks.

Going back to the passenger room, he explained to the assembled ComEx personnel:

“You all probably realized that we just lost communications. I´m sorry, but I´m about to give you some secret information and had to take some extra, and probably unnecessary, security measures.”

A little murmur.

"Anyway..." – he quickly continued – “Midstop-6B is not well. I´ve just resleeved from my memory banks, after a security breach and subsequent explosion. Hostiles, presumed anarchists, have taken the north sector and killed security personnel on sight. They further isolated it, both though the mesh and with sealed blast doors. There were no questions, no talking and no demands.”

He paused, letting them absorb it.

“I have a plan to retake the station. We will begin a coordinated assault on laboratory 12 docking bay at D day, H hour. “ – he gave them the crypto package, station maps, the secret lab 12 map and tactical network software - “Laboratory 12 is a secret anti-matter cargo bay and docking station. Small refuel spacecraft leave the lab and replenish Courier ships nearby.”

“The plan is that Simon here will arrive at ‘H’-15 minutes, in a Standard Vacsuit, with mesh infiltration and communication jamming equipment. He will stick himself to the station hull over laboratory 11 and will have 15 minutes to infiltrate the rebel´s mesh and prepare for your arrival. At the H hour, a small shuttle, with Nevil on the controls and Ziggy and Androzeus onboard, will arrive at the lab 12, docking bay. As soon as possible, Ziggy and Androzeus will leave the cargo bay, firing with electromagnetic rail machine guns at all hostiles. Already infiltrated on the lab, we will have a technician in a vacuum worker pod, ready to protect the anti-matter containment field and provide any support. He is not aware the he is going to be on a battlefield, but he has received our tacnet software and it will become operational as soon as Nevil´s shuttle approach.”

He paused again.

“All the equipment and the shuttle is already on board, but we still have to flesh out the details...” - he said, with weird, big, grin - “Questions? Any suggestions?”

Everybody can post now! Let the adventure begin!

[Deathkeeper]

"Uh," says Ziggy, raising a wing-hand.
"How big are these machine guns we're talking about? 'cause as you can see while I'm all for run-and-gun, it's a lot harder to run when holding a firearm sized for someone two feet taller."

[Sentinel85]

"How big are these machine guns we're talking about? 'cause as you can see while I'm all for run-and-gun, it's a lot harder to run when holding a firearm sized for someone two feet taller."

"Your´s have been specially taken care of, Mr. Ezekiel. It´s a Nassau Machine Gun. Although with a slightly lower punch, it´s also smaller and more precise."

AP -10, DV 2d10 + 6, Ammo 30, smaller, can be used by Neo-avians and other morphs, Modes: BF, FA

[Deathkeeper]

"Aw, you've been thinking of me. Thanks Boss. Now, I'll need to take a look at the map of it all and take to my apparent fire-squad partner, but it sounds like a pretty solid plan overalll."

[DukeGod]

"How much enemy intel do we have? Their armaments? How much initiative are we allowed? Can we start or perform negotiation if it comes to that? Do youi want them all dead, or should we try to capture some?"

[Halna LeGavilk]

"Boss, that's just fantastic, but two things: Firstly, I am not good getting shot at, and secondly, I don't have any spoofing or hacking software on me. I can try to whip something up in what little time we have, but, uh, it'd work better with premade stuff, more than likely."

[Sentinel85]

"Boss, that's just fantastic, but two things: Firstly, I am not good getting shot at, and secondly, I don't have any spoofing or hacking software on me. I can try to whip something up in what little time we have, but, uh, it'd work better with premade stuff, more than likely."

"The necessary software is stored on the vacsuit and you can download it to your mesh inserts. Regarding being shot at... You will have to take care then."

[Sentinel85]

"How much enemy intel do we have? Their armaments? How much initiative are we allowed? Can we start or perform negotiation if it comes to that? Do youi want them all dead, or should we try to capture some?"

"No intel. Kill them all, we interrogate their cortical stacks latter. You can deceive them, if you want."

[The Grue]

<<All settled in, Mr West, I'm ready to plunge blindly into unknown perils whenever you are.>>

"Right," he said aloud. "Let's go convince some terrorists to let us tamper with the sensitive equipment they've captured. Good thing I backed up before taking this job."

[[GERAD, point me to the nearest gear locker would you?]]

[Hawkfrost000]

February 11, 10 AF, 16:14 MST
‘The Horse’ - Direct Action disguised military transport
Leaving Ceres orbit
------------------

Dimitri exhales a cloud of smoke. He mutters several choice curses, in Finnish and Russian, that probably blistered the hull plating. Then takes another long drag on the cigarette. He exhales once more, eyes flickering from face to face. [[Fracking hell Rem. We should've stayed on Locus and taken the contract Teilhard offered us.]] [] Dimitri nods in ascent. [[Yah, the [I]Govnosos would probably declare my contract void or some thing. I'd never work for a hypercorp again.]]

Dimitri reaches forward to examine the station maps. When he speaks his voice is crisp, with hardly even a hint of his Russian origin. "What kind of explosion are we talking about here? War against a nuclear/antimatter power is not something that should be undertaken lightly." He continues studying the map. "I would like to see the shuttle i will be piloting, I would also like a detailed map of the circum-midstop6b area." He takes a third drag on the cigarette in his mouth, his implants barely ticking over as they calculate approach vectors using well worn formulas.

"Have you considered that they almost certainly have a ship as well? We'll need to find and neutralize it or it will be just as much of a problem as Insurgents themselves."

[DukeGod]

"We can set explosives if we have some. Grenades would work too.

"I don't suppose we have a Gamma ray emitter? I think those could pierce the shielding, and I could get a better look inside. I suppose we can't see the feed of the cameras?"

[Hawkfrost000]

"I have a T-Ray emitter and i can sense nearly all forms of particles, as well as having full spectrum vision." He looks smug for a moment, then winces. "Though i don't actually have anything to produce high frequency radiation with." He looks thoughtful. Antimatter is an excellent source of gamma rays though... The decay of any large isotopes would be safer, but only marginally. He grins at his companions. You guys have cancer proof morphs right? A little ionizing radiation never hurt anyone.

[Halna LeGavilk]

"That's not a bad idea. Does the mesh from there still extend into here?" Simon began producing four forks from his multitasking unit. [[Bao, see if there is a mesh that connects to the part of the station where the anarchists are.]] He felt a smile through the mesh. [[Okay Simon. Anything else while I'm at it?]] [[Nah, I'm good for now. Thanks.]]

[The Grue]

In the interest of moving things along, going to assume GERAD complied with Ray's query.

[[Updating local map now, Sir.]] Raymond's HUD drew a map of the hab section, side-on, marking the location of a gear locker with an orange blob and sketching a path to it from the sleeving bay. Raymond grabbed the map and dragged it into centre view, a gesture that prompted his mesh inserts to mark the correct doorways and corridor paths through an entoptic overlay. He set off immidiately.

"So what's your story, Miss Song?" he said aloud. "I hear you're some kind of negotiator. Been with the company long?"

[Saidoro]

The AR image walked alongside Raymond, it was predicted that that would be more comfortable for him than floating. Subroutines began analyzing the mechanic's body language and speech patterns and adding that data to the files.
"It's my first day, actually. I fear they may have a slightly different view of what being a psychologist means than I did."
Further exposition of Claria's backstory was considered and put on hold for the moment. It was also decided that Claria likely would not have retrieved personnel files yet.
"How about, you? Long history?"

[Sentinel85]

Darius, I will put you on Navy, so you won´t be with the same color as the CEO

February 11, 10 AF, 16:16 MST
‘The Horse’ - Direct Action disguised military transport
Somewhere on the Main Belt
------------------

Dmitri was the next to talk:

"I would like to see the shuttle i will be piloting, I would also like a detailed map of the circum-midstop6b area." He takes a third drag on the cigarette in his mouth, his implants barely ticking over as they calculate approach vectors using well worn formulas. "Have you considered that they almost certainly have a ship as well? We'll need to find and neutralize it or it will be just as much of a problem as Insurgents themselves."

"The shuttle is on the hangar, that way. " - the CEO´s MUSE gave him the direction - "Regarding the map, I´m afraid it won´t be necessary. We will take care of the surrounding area. This ship will be searching and hopefully recovering some debris from the nearby space. In fact, I strongly suggest that you don´t interfere with the operation, even if there are other ships nearby, and go straight to Midstop. The shuttle has the necessary sensors to help you navigate the region."

"We can set explosives if we have some. Grenades would work too. "

"I would take extreme care with that. If you disturb the anti-matter containment field, the whole station will be vaporized and turn into Gamma rays. Also remember that we will have some ComEx personnel in the region"

The Grue, somebody (from your own team) is trying to kill you with grenades. haha

"I don't suppose we have a Gamma ray emitter? I think those could pierce the shielding, and I could get a better look inside. I suppose we can't see the feed of the cameras?"

"That's not a bad idea. Does the mesh from there still extend into here?"

"I don´t have this equipment, previous intel was not our priority. You are also going to be the scouting party and Dmitri may have the necessary equipment. Regarding the mesh, no. To access the north sector station mesh, you will have either to be inside the station, in the north sector, or physically connect with the north sector hull. We are thousands of miles away now. D day, H hour is tomorrow, February 12, at 12:00"

[Deathkeeper]

Ziggy stays quiet, waiting on the others' conversations.
[[Nothing's ever easy, ain't it, Boss?]] says Edgar, his muse, sensing Ziggy's tension. He brings to mind his usual image, an odd little caricature of an anthropomorphic crow wearing an old Film Noire style trench-coat and fedora.
[[You said it. Make sure all the new eps of my vids are downloaded by the time all this is over]]
[[sure thing, Boss.]]

[Hawkfrost000]

Dimitri nods at his boss's answer, lights another cigarette of the stub of his last one, and begins walking in the direction indicated by the muse. He pauses as he gets to the door. "One more thing, I assume we have space suits on this ship. Where can i find them? Heavier is better of course, I would prefer hardsuits for everyone, especially in a combat situation."

[Sentinel85]

Dimitri nods at his boss's answer, lights another cigarette of the stub of his last one, and begins walking in the direction indicated by the muse. He pauses as he gets to the door. "One more thing, I assume we have space suits on this ship. Where can i find them? Heavier is better of course, I would prefer hardsuits for everyone, especially in a combat situation."

"Well... Unfortunately, we can only spare three standard vacsuites and one of them will be used by Simon. As I said, the 'Horse' will be performing SAR operations near Midstop."

[DukeGod]

"I don't exactly need a vacsuit to withstand the vacuum, and my morph can make it's own armor. If it comes to that, he can keep mine"

[[Logos?]]

[[Yes?]] the muse had a soft woman's voice. Androzeus sighs internally

[[Assume your Mission Control protocols. And start guiding me through the map, start with our landing location]]

Now with a more robotic, voice, the muse starts

[[Acknowledged. The landing location is...]]

[Sentinel85]

February 12, 10 years AF, 1028 MST (Local time)
Midstop 6B, ascending corridors over the eastern section torus ring
--------------

Raymond talked a few more minutes with Claria before he arrived at the station´s emergency locker 34-East.

Approaching the locker, an entopic display appeared in his vision, showing 4 tridimensional objects, translated by his muse as the Midstop 6B department logos. Tentatively, he touches the Operations/Engineering logo and the locker opens.

Inside, there were micrograv shoes (for an average male human), a portable sensor, a smart vac clothing, nanodetectors, disassembly tools, a fabber and a spindle. Moreover, around 3 Kg of materials were stored in a superior compartment.

<< Sir, please keep moving to the north sector blastdoor nearer to the central axis. >> - interrupted GERAD - << According to conflicting and ambiguous instructions that I received, I now believe that you where not supposed to detour inside the station. I guess. Please stop and stand by. Please resume movement. Nevermind, I´ll contact you if you arrive at the north sector and regain mesh contact with the rest of the station. Or I won´t. >>

[Halna LeGavilk]

[[No luck on the mesh, Simon.]] He sighed, stood up and nodded to the others who remained. "I'm gonna go check out my suit, see what programs it has in it." He meandered through the base for a bit, looking around, checking out rooms as he saw them. [[Need a map of the base?]] A window popped up at the top of his entopics, he opened it. A 3D map of the cylinder appeared, a bright red line moving away from his location. [[I'm assuming that's where the lockers are?]] A quick mental nod, and he was on his way.

[Hawkfrost000]

Dimitri sighs. I'll take it. Everyone who needs to breathe should wear one, even if you have vacuum sealing.

Grabs a suit and shrugs it on over smart clothing that has compressed into boxers. Revealing for a moment the complex nanotats that cover his chest and back. They move in a complex and subtly disturbing manner, mimicking complex quantum machinery. Then the suit is on, leads connected, oxygen in the green, and Dimitri strides down the hallway looking like he's worn that suit all his life.

He finds the shuttle without too much trouble, [[At least they gave us weapons.]] he murmurs to himself in Russian as he examines the ship with the quick efficiency of someone who has done this many times before. He starts prepping the ship, dumping information directly into his implants and sifting though it. [[I've seen better and I've seen worse]] Remontoire chuckles I think that might be the theme for this whole expedition. Hopefully you wont have to start throwing around nanoviruses this time.

[Sentinel85]

February 11, 10 years AF, 1638 MST (Local time)
‘The Horse’ - Direct Action disguised military transport
Somewhere on the Main Belt
------------------

Simon arrived on the indicated locker near the meeting room. Inside it, he found a standard vacsuite and a thruster pack. Stored on the vacsuite ecto, were both sniffer and spoofing software.

[Sentinel85]

February 12, 10 years AF, 11:18 MST (Local time)
Vacsuit
Deep space, in collision route to Midstop-6B
------------------

In deep space, Simon saw Dmitri and the transport shuttle reducing speed to give him enough time to hack the terrorists mesh. After a couple of minutes, the laser link connection with the shuttle was lost and the ship slowly disappeared. He felt completely alone.

Looking forward, he could see nothing but a small white dot in his present course. The vacsuit navigation system promptly labeled it 'Midstop-6B'.

February 12, 10 years AF, 11:28 MST (Local time)
Vacsuit
Deep space, approaching the station
------------------

Slowly, Simon began to recognize some forms near his target, not yet registered in the vacsuit navigation chart. Hundreds of debris, with sizes ranging from a micrometer dust to a 50 meter long ship section, were near his course, in the final station approach region. All sensors still on passive mode, and without any communication at all, the vacsuite onboard systems began to prioritize collisions and plot estimated course corrections, helped in no small measure by Simon and his muse.

With incredible precision, the Menton made minor corrections on his trajectory, evaded all debris, saw the antennae array near the north sector that indicated a nearby maintenance port and, in the last possible minute, engaged all thrusters.

February 12, 10 years AF, 11:45 MST (Local time)
Vacsuit
A few centimeters over the Midstop-6B hull
------------------

Matching the station speed and rotation, floating a few centimeters over the north sector hull, Simon disengaged the thrusters and looked around. Incredibly, he could not not see anything alive, nor active, outside the station. Nothing from the terrorists, nor from any nearby vessels.

Weird - he though.

His current position near the station hull, on the other hand, was no mean feat. Still worried to the bones, and frantically checking the navigation chart trying to detect anything in a collision course to his position, the 15 minute countdown for the transport shuttle arrival appeared in his entoptic display.

Without time lost, but also without time to lose, he extended his arm and connected the vacsuit fiber optic cable to the maintenance port.

Halna, for rules on hacking the station mesh, see EP Core p. 254-256

[Halna LeGavilk]

Oh, man. That was close. Simon resisted the urge to wipe his brow - he didn't even sweat, it really wouldn't have helped. He willed muscles into action, pumping Kick into his system. He felt his perspective switch into high gear as his neurachem pumped stim into his system. [[Bao Chen, keep an eye on the surroundings, I got a lot of stuff to do.]] He felt a mental nod, and then dived into the Mesh.

As his perception began to sped up, he plunged directly into the mesh. He began to ping all over the local mesh, brutely hacking at the firewall. At the same time, he began a slower, more subtle attack on critical systems, masked by an unrelenting torrent of quick and unsubtle hacks.

He immediately felt pressure back on his less subtle hacks, and he smiled at that. As the pushback began to overwhelm his brute force hacks, he sped up the backdooring, and just as the last of his brute hacks were shut it, the lock clicked and he was in the system.

He knew he'd have to work fast. Five minutes, alright. Damn eternity in this day in age. He started to spin out an alpha fork in the system, as a guardian. As that began to emerge, he began to look through security cams, attempting to find positions of the anarchists.

He worked as fast as he could, he knew his admin status wouldn't last long. He began to program in a backdoor for himself, while at the same time locking out all other users from mesh. He could make specific exceptions for his companions, if that was needed.

As that was going on, he spent the last of his attention gaining control of the life support, shunting atmosphere to rooms where the rebels weren't located. He also began an emergency lockdown procedure, attempting to shut all blast doors on the station, divide the rebels. He knew his companions would be here soon, and he planned to hand over the rebels on a silver plate.

[Sentinel85]

February 12, 10 AF, 11:55 MST
Laboratory 12 - Secret Anti-Matter Storage Area
Midstop-6B, North sector
------------------
Near the main anti-matter containment field, and without a clear sight of the docking bays, two light armored neo-gorillas and one synth morph surrounded a worker pod, sitting on the ground. The synth and the first gorilla were talking, while the pod was visibly scared, shaking and crying. The second gorilla was looking around, with a paranoid look on his face and a hand over his pistol butt. He stared directly into the hidden camera, just as Simon continued his search.

February 12, 10 AF, 11:56 MST
Corridor 47-N
Midstop-6B, North sector
------------------
Simon could see a neo gorilla, with a silver patch on his head, escorting a vacuum pod worker towards lab 12. The ape was armed with a plasma rifle and using heavy armor.

February 12, 10 AF, 11:56 MST
North sector, main connection to central hub
Midstop-6B, North sector
------------------
Simon could see another neo gorilla, near a radar emitter, guarding the entrance with a railgun sniper rifle and light armor.

February 12, 10 AF, 11:57 MST
Vacsuit
A few centimeters over the Midstop-6B hull
------------------
Using the installed backdoor, Simon began to systematically remove all accounts from the north sector servers, trying to take over the machine. He was able to wipe out 2 of the 6 logins, before a complete server reboot was initiated.

February 12, 10 AF, 11:58 MST
Vacsuit
A few centimeters over the Midstop-6B hull
------------------
T minus 2 minutes.

After the reboot, everything got harder. Somebody was actively opposing his actions and most of his commands were being cancelled, milliseconds after Simon gave them. Even with the backdoor, somebody knew he was there, as there were only 6 registered accounts, now 4, most of them doing nothing, in the north sector servers.

He failed to remove the third account from the servers and soon exposed himself trying to wipe the forth one. With that, he lost his account removal capability.

Meanwhile, his guardian beta fork was failing miserably, trying to locate his opponent and delete Simon´s actions from the logs. After tampering too much with the server security subsystems, the infomorph was automatically shutdown by a security routine.

February 12, 10 AF, 11:59 MST
Vacsuit
A few centimeters over the Midstop-6B hull
------------------

1 minute to go.

Just as the shuttle was approaching Lab 12 hangar doors, Simon tried to isolate the terrorists, messing with the life support systems. Unfortunately, he couldn´t do it before somebody was able to remove Simon´s admin privileges and block his account.

Still with the backdoor, albeit more limited and with smaller privileges, the Menton prepared himself for another round. At the same time, his coworkers arrived at the station.

Your backdoor can only grant you an user login (not administrator) now. But it is still working ;)

[DukeGod]

*beep* A small sound alerts Androzeus. A small clock is in his eyes, counting down in red, showing down to the miliseconds. One minute

He stands up as much as he can and approaches the shuttle doors with a quick check of his weapon. Fabricated by Aresborn. He didn't like the brand but it'd do.

"Hey, Nevermore crow, ready to peck out the eyes of the fallen much as old Morrigan did?"

[[Very Clever.]]

[[We don't have time for this.]]

[[Oh, but you do have time for random bad lines? Maybe we should start recording for XPs.]]

[[No. That's a direct command by the way.]]

[[I'm going back to operational. 20 seconds by the way.]]