Ten-thousand Golden Paths [IC]

[Space Lawyer]

Hong Kong
1900, 1 June 2075

Night falls in the golden city. The oppressive blanket of the day's humid heat withdraws to be replaced the cool night. The winds rush off of Victoria Peak into the harbor, carrying the sounds of Saturday's celebration.

Saito

The old ork cracks open his eyes and rolls out of the cardboard box that had shielded him the sun. It seems the spirits had favored him today; he had found an out-of-way alley in Mong Kok, and nobody had thought to bother him. Not all that common in the most densely populated area of the city. Still, this area gave the best chance of work, the best chance of just finding something to do.

Judge

This job was the absolute worst. Dr. Ling had needed someone to stand outside and look scary, something to do with chopping the wrong implant off the wrong corpse. Unfortunately, Judge had owned the good doctor a substantial favor, and that debt had been called in. The end result was that Judge had spent the bast 12 hours on his feet, in the miserable sun, just trying to look as professionally menacing as he could. It would have been better if something had actually happened, but precisely nothing of interest had occurred. His shift was over, and he had the run of the run of the sprawl.

Zero-day

As it would turn out, a technomancer experiencing a Matrix dead zone is like your average person living without light. Sure, it can be done for a time, but something critical is clearly missing. It is even worse when the critical component comes and goes at the whims of the local techno-tribe that may or may not be competent and energetic enough on any given day to maintain their node. Today apparently wasn't a good day.

Jagdhund

A shadow in the night, a quick flash of the blade; Jagdhund could be all of these. At the moment though, she was just another bar patron, slinging back a shot. Well, bar might be a bit of a generous description for the plastic stools arranged around a wheeled cart manned by an ork pouring unidentifiable alcohols out of plastic bottles. Still, nobody was keeling over dead, and organleggers weren't coming for the ones who had keeled over drunk, so it couldn't be all bad.

[TheJudicator]

After checking out and saying his goodbyes to Dr. Ling, Judge stepped out into the sunset-lit sprawls, adjusting to the dimming luminescence as the various street lights flickered on in fits and spurts, illuminating the massive crowd milling about the streets. Taking a moment to stretch his aching limbs, the young man adjusted his sunglasses, shifting his suit jacket over his shoulders to make it more comfortable. The heat of the day made his clothes stick awkwardly to his lithe frame, the cool of the twilight finally granting him much-needed relief.

"Ahhh....favors to avoid falling out of favor...I really should avoid accruing these debts, hnn..." Letting out a yawn, he strode confidently among the masses, eyes lazily scanning his surroundings as his stomach reminded him of his first objective of the evening: food. Pulling up his AR display from his comm, it didn't take long to locate and acquire simple soy-based cup of noodles, sustenance to ward off the hunger.

Crouching down against a building wall, Judge ate his meal in quiet appreciation, his free hand idly flicking through AR windows between bites as he passed the time the way he prefers: trawling through the Matrix, looking for stories and objects of interest, potential leads on work befitting his own 'specialized' skillset, and reports of unusual activity warranting his interest. Were he not someplace so crowded, he may kill his time on the Matrix with a game or two, or even dare to go VR if things weren't so crowded with...meatsuits.

Sigh...what I wouldn't give for something cool to happen tonight. After these last few days, another day of dry security and I may lose my fraggin' touch, chip truth that. Come on, give me something....

Current SIN: Craig Bryanhall, Public
Current effects: None
Physical damage: 0/10
Stun damage: 0/10
Initiative: 1d6+6 (not needed?)
Armor: 8 (Actioneer Business Clothes)
Cyberdeck: Configuration: Atk 4, Slz 5, DP 4(6)*, FW 2(6)*. Programs Running: Agent (rating 4), Signal Scrubber. Currently running silent.
*Commlink is master of PAN, hence the higher DP and FW
Other: tl/dr: Browsing in AR.

Hope this is the kind of post acceptable for this story ^^; let's have some fun

[The Blue Guard]

Jana

Sitting in her combination living room and dining room, lounging in one of her comfortable chairs or on her settee, Jana (known to her building, its owners, and the government of Hong Kong as Brunhilde Brant) could have decided to go anywhere this evening. She had a standing reservation at Charlie Chan's, a swanky little restaurant and bar where she could have tried to meet some international business types looking for local talent. It would have been a five minute taxi drive from Moreton Terrace, but only if she couldn't be bothered to walk. She could have even headed to Dante's Inferno is she wanted to. There was also the Nakatomi Opera House, but after her first visit, which had left her utterly confused, she hadn't bothered to think about going back since. She could have done any of that, but, for some reason, she couldn't stomach the idea of an evening in Downtown tonight.

Instead she'd decided to head into Yau Tsim Mong and spend her evening there. It was a bizarre choice, and certainly not one any of the people around her (some drinking, some passed out, but all drunk) could understand even if they were sober. Specifically she'd chosen to cram herself into the crush of Mong Kok, and she'd dressed appropriately, for the most part - while they didn't quite stand out, were nicer than you'd expect. Her thick legs were covered by a pair of trousers in one primary colours while her bottom-heavy torso was covered by a shirt in a complimentary primary colour. They both hugged her, but they were well-made and were the right size for her so they weren't uncomfortable. Over her shirt she wore a large, heavy jacket to keep the cold out, and to hide her small taser and knife just because. Her feet, which were gently kicking the side of the cart out of boredom made a thunking noise as the heavy military-style boots hit.

Gently she put the shot of spirits know what back onto the cart and made a motion to the guy to refill it. It was awful regardless of what it was. Synthetic, probably, she thought to herself. Or stolen, she added to herself as she looked at him. It wasn't a nice thought to think, but it was a fair one. If you were selling stuff off a cart chances were whatever it was had to either be stolen or a knock-off. Either way, real or phony the stuff was doing what she wanted it to do so she wasn't going to kick up a fuss. Probably get my head caved in by whoever he pays protection to if I did, she considered glumly. They'd be the one stealing it, or making it. She didn't know Hong Kong that well, but as she stared at her next shot, her third since nightfall barely half-an-hour ago, she began trying to figure out which gang ran this stretch of sprawl. It was probably a wasted effort, but she didn't have any job to pull tonight... unless somebody came up at the last minute.

[Jade_Tarem]

Zero-day - Zero or Zee to the laziest of her new "friends," felt her eye twitch as she recognized the node fault. Unfortunately, despite trying for the better part of an afternoon, it was not one that she could fix on her end. Sighing, she made her way to the nearest public transit hub, wondering what it would take to actually activate and maintain her own node in terms of time and nuyen. Until she had a secure way to feed herself, it was a depressingly distant goal.

The bus was cheap, if you had a steady income, and fast enough regardless. It didn't take long for her to reach a more stable portion of the city and for the comforting sensation of plunging into a live zone to suffuse her once again. She had business to take care of, such as it was, and she'd wasted enough time on that stupid node that it was reaching the end of polite business hours.

Better to start with the organic entities, then. Her first contact of the evening was Jana. Jana was a bit of a puzzle - personal files on her were very well protected, to the point that the only things she had been able to dig up about the other runner so far were the first name, a few almost certainly fake SINs, and some curiously named and highly classified European programs. Still, the faintly terrifying woman had managed to get her from the Tir Nations to Hong Kong with a minimum of trouble and bodies, and clearly knew what she was about. Sidney just wished she had more to pay with than favors and metaphorical fairy dust.

Fortunately, finding the Jagdhund in the Matrix wasn't nearly as difficult as finding out about her past. Zee sent out the matrix call, and constructed her sprite avatar - a representation of her, with longer hair, dressed up (http://img-cache.cdn.gaiaonline.com/dede004158aadac86f95d16ee3079147/http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc132/SesshomaruDogDemon/animeelfboy.jpg) like Puck from a recent remake of A Midsummer Night's Dream, and waited for her opposite to answer...

[SlyJohnny]

Saito rises, and experiences, as ever, a brief moment of disorientation. Where the hell is he? What has gone so badly wrong that he's lying in a cardboard box? He realises he's come to enjoy that moment, that flash of belief before he fully awakens that this isn't his life, he's simply been the victim of a temporary accident or inconvenience.

He removes his commlink from inside his jacket pocket, but doesn't turn it on, instead using the reflective glass to perform a cursory inspection of his teeth and tusks. The fabirc of his neo japanese armored business suit is designed to prevent creases, which helps, when one is sleeping rough, but he hasn't been eating well and hasn't had time to groom himself. It makes him ashamed.

Deciding he's as clean as he's going to get without a long shower, he digs around in his pockets for some worn gohei ribbons and other bits of detritus he has left. Perhaps making some alchemy preparations will distract him from mundane things. After all, he has the time: it's early, and he hasn't much to do today. This thought deepens his scowl further, and he focuses himself to concentrate on murmuring prayers and wrapping ribbons around small bits of wood.

Current SIN: Hachi Tsao
Current effects: Increase Charisma, Force 4
Physical damage: 0/10
Stun damage: 0/11
Initiative: 1d6+6
Armor: 8 (Actioneer Business Clothes)

[The Blue Guard]

Jana

Having thrown back her third shot Jana was about to motion for her fourth when she felt a vibration coming from her jacket. Reaching into her jacket pocket she fumbled with her commlink for a moment before she found the right button to press to wake it up. In seconds her vision was filled with its GUI, and several AR advertisements that had managed to slip past her auto-filter. Grumbling with annoyance she pulled on one of her AR gloves and added the adverts to her filter list. Once the bright distractions were out of her face the source of the vibration made itself obvious by the inoffensively large green letters that spelled INCOMING CALL in capital letters. The name beneath told her who it was and since it wasn't anyone she wanted to avoid she put one of her 'links buds into her ear and accepted the call. "Hey, kleine," she drawled through the small speaker that dangled from the wire that trailed from the earbud that she should have clipped to her shirt - the other earbud dangling from the separator. Her voice, which, when she spoke English, usually only had traces of German, was thick with her native accent, and a little coarse from the rotgut she'd doused her vocal chords with. "I'm in public," she added as a way to explain any odd turns of phrase she'd have to use.

[Jade_Tarem]

Zero-day

"I'll alert the media." The graphic representation of Jana in front of Zero-day was only a GUI window with AUDIO ONLY splashed on it, done in the style of some positively ancient Anime. Sidney rolled her virtual eyes, only slightly annoyed. German wasn't one of her four languages, so she'd had to look up what kleine meant - 'little girl' - and she wasn't that much younger than Jana. She'd had that dynamic with everyone at the Oberon office too. "Sorry, long day. What I really wanted to ask you about was a potential employer. I've been job hunting for a while now, and someone is finally showing an interest." There were no suspicious pauses in her speech - her old job had involved enough double speak, even as a mostly legitimate legal agency, that she could talk in code with relative fluidity, and unlike Jana, she was keeping her accent to a minimum. Then again, it sounded like her opposite on the call had been drinking, which honestly was starting to sound like a good idea. "A Mr. Chang... operates out of the Jing Li over on my end of town. And yes, I know you've heard of Wu and Johnson. Um, I was wondering if you'd heard anything about him. I know he's well-connected, but beyond that..."

Example:
Current SIN: Alexis Murphy, Public
Current effects: Hot Sim VR (Technomancer Trance)
Physical damage: 0/10
Stun damage: 0/11
Initiative: 1d6+8
Matrix Initiative: 4d6+8
Biofeedback Resist: 13 (6 Device Rating (Resonance) + 6 Firewall (Willpower) +1 (Natural Hardening)
Other: Sidney is in her technomancer trance on the bus, but her commlink is visible for anyone really looking for it. She is monitoring the bus's route through the city so that she doesn't miss her stop.

[Space Lawyer]

Hong Kong
1905, 1-6-75

Saito

Your commlink makes an irritating chirp (one of the unfortunate consequences of not buying the Ultra-Deluxe Premium software package), letting you know that there is a message waiting for you.

Zero

The lump of plastic and wires you have to use when not experiencing the pure Matrix starts buzzing. It is the signal for an awaiting message.

Jana

A blinking icon of a scroll appears in your AR, just off to the side. A message is waiting.

Judge

A cheery but morphologically-distressing idoru appears in your AR, dressed in what appears to be the robes of ancient court and carrying a scroll. "A message for you, master!"

All
This is a job offer. Meet at Quan's Famous Noodles at 2100.

A small map appears below the message, with a helpful offer to download the directions directly to your 'link.

[TheJudicator]

Judge

Pausing for a brief moment, the man's eye twitched at the use of that idoru to relay his message, silver eyes narrowing as he viewed the contents. A job...this should be fun. I could do with some leg-stretching...the scratch won't hurt too... Getting up, he dusted off his suit, adjusting the tie as he made for the nearest bus station. It took minimal effort to find his own directions to the place, no assistance required. He had a little time before the rendezvous, and he rather disliked using his own vehicle to get around the sprawls in most cases, hence the bus.

Once aboard a bus, Judge settled back into his seat, glancing briefly at the streets as they passed by, and all the people occupying them. Crowded, kind of dirty, gritty with hard lives...not much different from Seattle, when he thinks about it.. Heaving a sigh, he let his smile flicker as he reached into his coat, pressing a couple buttons on his commlink, calmly slipping into VR, adopting his usual persona: a man in a lightly armored nondescript security uniform, a visored helmet covering his eyes and nose, like something out of an old trid..maybe even a vid.

Zooming off ahead, it didn't take long to find the cafe's location, his icon touching down at its entrance. Glancing around, Judge seemed to wander casually about, but in reality he was scoping the place out, hoping to find evidence of a trap if there was one, this mysterious benefactor, or perhaps any other personae who may have picked up the same message. His grin returned as she checked over everything, the work reminding him of times long since past. "Heh. Well, let's see what's here..."

Current SIN: Craig Bryanhall, Public
Current effects: none
Physical damage: 0/10
Stun damage: 0/10
Initiative: 1d6+6, Matrix 10+3d6
Armor: 8
Other: in VR cold-sim on local grid. Using Matrix Perception on the way to destination to examine Quan's (assuming noise rating of 1 for distance):
[roll0] (Limit: 6)
...one hit and a glitch. What a WONDERFUL first impression!

[The Blue Guard]

Jana

Jana grimaced at the mention of alerting the media, but since she was fairly certain it was intended to be humorous she decided not to interrupt her. Instead she motioned to the man to pour and listened. Once Zero-day had finished speaking Jana made a long exhaling noise that sounded suspiciously like an irritated sigh. Staring at the shot she'd ordered she decided against drinking it since it was unlikely she was going to find the answer to Zero-day's question at the bottom of it. "I don't," she began before cutting herself off. I liked her better when she was just a client, she moaned privately to herself. "Not off the top of my head, no," she finally said, trying to wrack her brain for what little she did know about the shadows of Hong Kong. Sadly she didn't know much about the shadows in general and so she didn't really have any extra information she could contribute right away. "I could ask a buddy of mine, if you like. He knows Hong Kong better than I do."

[Jade_Tarem]

Zero-day

"No, that's okay." It wasn't impossible for Sidney to pick up verbal cues, just rare. Apparently she'd already overstayed her welcome in Jana's life. "Sorry to bother you."

A check of her waiting message revealed a new opportunity, though... and a potential trap. Even a goddamn baby knew better than to let strange programs from mysterious sources download things to your machine, and that was before factoring in that Zero-day's machine was, at the moment, her brain. Instead, she checked with the Wuxing-sponsored public map service, their mass-produced malware already well-known and easily countered advertisement stuff, and got the directions from that. She was happy to note that her bus line was going in the right general direction, but she had other things to take care of before she got there...

Things that I'll need to look up the rules for, natch.
Example:
Current SIN: Alexis Murphy, Public
Current effects: Hot Sim VR (Technomancer Trance)
Physical damage: 0/10
Stun damage: 0/11
Initiative: 1d6+8
Matrix Initiative: 4d6+8
Biofeedback Resist: 13 (6 Device Rating (Resonance) + 6 Firewall (Willpower) +1 (Natural Hardening)
Other: Sidney is in her technomancer trance on the bus, but her commlink is visible for anyone really looking for it. She is monitoring the bus's route through the city so that she doesn't miss her stop.

[The Blue Guard]

Jana - Somewhere in Mong Kok

Jana was about to tell Zero-day that she wasn't being a bother when the call ended. Rolling her head back she looked up through the crush of Mong Kok's tall buildings and into the sky above. The light from the city washed out all but the brightest stars, and even then they seemed dim. It reminded her of the view from her apartment when she was in university. The Hong Kong sprawl was nothing compared to the Rhine-Ruhr megasprawl (nine million compared to thirty-five million), but this, at least, was the same. Feeling a little nostalgic for those days and a little annoyed at herself for unintentionally brushing Zero-day off she fired off a quick text message to her: "Didn't mean to be brusque." After that she was about to take her AR glove off and put her 'link back to sleep so she could get back to her drinking when she realized she had a message waiting for her.

Tapping the NEW MESSAGE icon on her display with her gloved hand the contents of it were displayed for her to read. Immediately she scoffed. Eleven years in the business of espionage and counter-espionage had left her suspicious of everything, and this message looked like it was trying to be suspicious. It hardly required any thought at all to dismiss the idea of downloading the directions and instead pulls up her 'links own map and searches for the place, and gets some directions, using that. It didn't take long, and it wouldn't take very long to get there. I need to change though, she thought to herself. And sober up a little. With that settled in her mind she paid the guy with the cart however he preferred, either wiring the funds in her (Brunhilde Brant's) bank account to him electronically or handling it the old fashioned way with a credstick and a credstick reader.

Jana - Bay View Mansion

The original Bay View Mansion building was built during the seventies of the last century, but it had been demolished, along with the ground floor arcade, and replacedn. The result was that the building (which had kept the name) looked no different than any of the other modern apartment complexes that sat in the eastern portion of Downtown. The ground floor arcade had been emptied of all its prior businesses, mostly small shops with a few franchises and chains thrown in, and had been filled back up by whichever business could compete for the new space. The result was that the arcade was filled with clothing shops and places to eat and/or drink. There was a few smaller businesses that had popped up that didn't try to sell you clothing or consumables, but you needed to look for them since they could only bob along where the bigger fish didn't bother swimming. The apartments above, once simplex apartments, were all turned into duplex apartments with a large open-space living room/dining room combination that featured floor to ceiling windows - only a few of those windows actually showed the view outside since only one side of the building looked out over anything you'd want to look at.

Jana lived in one of the higher floors, deliberately making sure she picked an apartment on the open side with the view of the Causeway Bay Sports Ground (though not for the view itself, but rather as a defensive precaution against intrusion). The moment she entered she unlaced her boots and tossed them into the pile of shoes near her entrance and headed upstairs to change. She wasn't sure what sort of place this'd be, or if this'd be an ambush of some variety, so she decided to go with something nondescript, but professional. Gently she fitted her knife and taser into their proper places in this outfit and smoothed her hands over her jacket to check she'd put them in properly - nothing worse than carrying a supposedly concealed weapon only to realize too late it's making itself obvious by ruining the line of your suit. She selected a pair of lace-up shoes, good for being nondescript, professional, and easy to run in.

Briefly she considered the need for her other work suit, her chameleon suit, and its counterpart, the magic sword she'd bought from Cercylas. If it was an ambush, or even just a job that needed a solution yesterday, she'd need them, but if it wasn't she'd be lugging them around in a somewhat suspicious bag all night for no reason. Grumbling to herself she made herself some coffee, with real beans, to help her concentrate. With the coffee soon gone she decided it was better to lug the bag around and not need it than otherwise. Besides, she reasoned, she had made sure to register Brunhilde as magically Awakened, and she had the proper license for owning a weapon focus, so unless something went terribly wrong she'd be fine.

[SlyJohnny]

Saito scrutinizes the message that pops up on his commlink, with neither hope nor enthusiasm. If it's not another scam, it'll be some poorly-paid courier run, or some ignorant mundane who requires him to magic up a love potion or enchant a katana, or some similar drekheadedness.

He sighs, even as the objections form. The thought that "beggers can't be choosers" springs unbidden into his mind. His last job was weak tea, but maybe this one will be more promising; he needs it to be, certainly.

Unwilling to enter into a meeting without preparations, Saito removes some gohei ribbons and wood and a couple of nuyen coins from inside his pockets, and tries to focus himself on some simple prayers and preparations. He find it difficult to find his center today, however, and what he produces is far from his finest work.

He takes a nap between the strenuous expenditure of energy, and then sets off, heading towards the noodle bar. He find himself hoping that his erstwhile employer intends to feed him, and then immediately hates himself for the thought. This dependency is no way for a man to live. When did things go so wrong, that he is now dependent on the charity of others? He still has some nuyen. Perhaps he'll buy everyone dinner, just to to prove that he can.

Current SIN: Hachi Tsao
Current effects: Increase Charisma, Force 4, sustained through focused concentration
Increase Willpower preparation, Force 6, potency 3, 1 hr 45 remaining
Increase Reflexes preparation, Force 5, Potency 2, 50 minutes remaining
Armor preparation, Force 5, Potency 5, 4 hr 55 remaining
Increase Reflexes preparation, Force 5, Potency 1, 1 hr remaining
Physical damage: 0/10
Stun damage: 4/11
Initiative: 1d6+6
Armor: 8 (Actioneer Business Clothes)

[Space Lawyer]

Quan's Famous Noodles
Kwun Tong, Hong Kong
2045, 1-6-75

Quan's looks to be a large canteen-style place, serving all sorts of quick noodles for the low-to-mid-end workers of Kwun Tong's factories and warehouses. The place isn't designed for privacy, but the low-wattage lighting, fludity of the crowd, and the hum of conversation make it unlikely that anyone will be remembered. The smell is a curious combination of metahuman odors, industrial cleaners, and some remarkably excellent noodles. Despite the low cost and terrible location, Quan's wasn't famous for nothing. The temperature is significantly higher than comfortable, with ancient air conditioners and fans straining to keep the air moving.

The crowd moves to the various stations lining the outer wall, grabbing steaming plates of various items. They take their dinners to off-white plastic tables bolted to the floor, sliding across benches of the same material. They look to be generally organized by employer, though a few mingling groups indicate that this isn't a requirement, but merely a function of how social groups develop.

The most cursory examination of the node reveals that it isn't particularly well-protected, but has the capacity to handle a lot of traffic; basically, the run-of-the-mill cheap public access node. Numerous icons go about, mostly just using the node as a jumping off point to visit various sites of greater interest.

[TheJudicator]

Judge - Kwun Tong

A little annoyed, Judge shifted back into reality after only a few moments. It must have been the security work bugging him, because his game was WAY off so far tonight. Taking a breath, he eased back into his seat, idly counting the streets as they passed by to his destination...


After what seemed like a small, dreary eternity, the bus finally arrived in Kwun Tong. Paying his fare, Judge hopped out the bus door, shoes landing with a thud as he glanced around the dusty corner he had arrived at. To him, every sprawl looked about the same, so it took a moment before he got his bearing. Stretching his shoulders, he deftly pulled up his AR map, walking the last few blocks before arriving at Quan's Famous Noodles. Raising a brow, he paused before actually entering the place, steeling himself for what was ahead, and mentally checking over all he was carrying. Coming off his security job, he still had all of his weapons on his person: shock gloves, taser, and both Ares pistols, each cleverly concealed underneath his protective business suit, not to mention his trusty deck slipped onto the inside of his jacket.

"Well...I could think of worse places to conduct business...not off the top of my head, mind me..." Readjusting his sunglasses, he strode into the establishment, hands casually in his pockets. The first thing that struck him was the smell, that distinctive admixture of scents assaulting his nostrils none-too-subtly and almost making him gag from the shock factor alone. Grimacing a little, he paused as he discerned the smell of the food, choosing to focus on that lest he feel truly sickened. Smirking a little, he adjusted his glasses, taking a good look around as he stepped away from the entrance, his eyes momentarily calibrating to the low-light conditions. He was a little early, so it would be surprising if this mysterious employer were already here, but surprises tended to happen in Hong-Kong, didn't they?

Acting casual, Judge milled about the restaurant, moving with the flow of the crowd without settling on a single place, waiting for some indication of what he needed to be looking for. As added measure, he flicked on his AR, pulling up his Agent, the idoru appearing beside him. "Busy place..." He muttered under his breath. "Keep an eye out, eh? Someone's likely hiding something.." With a wink, he dismissed her, resuming his perusing of Quan's, waiting for his sign.

Current SIN: Craig Bryanhall, Public
Current effects: low-light vision mode active as needed
Physical damage: 0/10
Stun damage: 0/10
Initiative: 1d6+6
Armor: 8 (Actioneer Business Clothes)
Cyberdeck: Configuration: Atk 4, Slz 5, DP 4(6), FW 2(6). Programs Running: Agent (rating 4), Signal Scrubber. Currently running silent.
Other:Self: Observing area in detail: (Per+Int) +3 (glasses): [roll0] (Limit: 6)
2 hits.
Agent: Matrix Perceiving the area, checking for icons/personae running silent: [roll1] (Limit: 6)
...Also 2 hits. Huh.
Posts are getting longer, what a relief XD hehe.

[Jade_Tarem]

Zero-day

Sidney stopped a block away from Quan's. The place was a hive of Matrix activity, but not moreso than could reasonably be expected of a popular restaurant. Her real purpose, however, was to check on the preparations she'd made - the one thing she'd learned from the Jagdhund and her limited solo work had been that no level of paranoia was excessive.

Placeholder for a more involved post. The previous two afternoons were busy, but tomorrow I finally win free!

[Space Lawyer]

Judge and Jagdhund

Despite the crowd of the place, there seems to be one unusually empty table. An ork sits by himself, off in a corner table. Hi suit is a bit ill-fitting, but there is only so much that can be done with shoulders that look like they could double as a couch. He seems largely uninterested in the action going on around him, contentedly slurping down a big bowl of soup.

Judge

There are a few running silent, but none are particularly well-hidden. Likely just some folks that want some privacy.

[The Blue Guard]

Jana, 20:45 - Quan's Famous Noodles, Kwun Tong

Blue-collar Kwun Tong wasn't the best place to wear a tailored suit, but the solitary atmosphere of Quan's Famous Noodles - mostly generated by the tired workers who just wanted to get something to eat - meant that Jana wasn't too concerned with sticking out. The choice of meeting place was also improving her mood. Simple, safe, and secure, it was a good spot, and that meant that whoever had sent her that message knew how to pick a good place to meet. Of course, that also means that if this really is a trap they're smart, she mentally grumbled to herself. Still, it also meant that her bag, crammed with her essentials (just in case), wouldn't stand out as much as it might have at another venue, so Jana was feeling cautiously optimistic about things as she scanned the crowd. Quickly noting who she pegged as the asset... No, no, no, the contact, she chided herself as she felt herself quietly assign the man the wrong status. It was an important distinction when your relationship with a contact was meant to be symbiotic while your relationship with an asset was, more often than not, parasitic.

Acting on years of years of training and experience Jana let herself dissolve into the crowd and let the flow of people and events take her where she needed to go to act like just another customer. Soon, with a bowl of some sort of soup in her hands (she ordered whatever the guy in front of her had), she began to make her way over to the man in the ill-fitting suit. She took her time, however, because now she had an idea of who she was here to meet she also wanted to get a look at his aura. Closing her eyes for a moment she made a connection between the physical and the astral with herself as a conduit. The act of closing her eyes wasn't important though, except as a means to help her concentrate. Opening her eyes she could now see the astral plane overlaid with the physical. It was slightly distracting (the visual effect for her was like taking a whole bunch of primary colours and splashing them on her eyeballs), and once she'd gotten a look at this guys aura she planned to sever the connection, but for now she struggled through.

Broadcasted SIN: Brunhilde Brant

Armor: street clothes
Current Effects: dual-natured, –2 dice pool penalty to actions on the physical plane
Other Details: Astral Perception; 4 hits (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4656786/).

Overflow: 0/3
Physical: 0/10
Stun: 0/11

[Jade_Tarem]

Zero-day

Sidney marked her hesitation down to nerves. She needed for this deal to work out, and she needed for that not to show just as much. Unfortunately, her appearance had rapidly gone downhill due to spotty access to laundromats and the funds that would let her acquire replacement clothing, to say nothing of her having spent the day in a sub-par hole looking for some sort of matrix drek. She was running out of time to make the meeting, though, so her Explorer suit would have to suffice - and to be honest, she might have worn it anyway. Quan's Famous Noodles didn't look like a good place for an ambush, but then, good ambush points never did. More important was the fact that her potential employers had nothing to gain by attacking her out of the blue, at least not until after she'd done whatever it is they wanted. Nothing, that was, except her.

That was the question she struggled with every time she went to one of these little pow-wows. Sooner or later, she needed to find a team - an expert runner she was not, but even she knew that the solo act would get even the most talented shadow-dweller killed eventually. That meant that sooner or later, she had to find a group of beings willing to work with her more than once. That meant increased odds of them discovering what she was, and that, in turn, led to higher odds of getting sold out to a megacorp for fun and profit. Not bringing her A-game to a run could get the whole team killed - the various groups that worked with and against the runners were no joke, that was for sure - but her most useful asset could get her killed, and for that reason there was always one more trace of hesitation before she walked to a meeting with opportunistic mercenaries.

On the other hand, starvation was a sure thing, and betrayal was not. So as she always did, Sidney walked in, and ordered the real noodles - soyless, and thank you mom-and-dad for those genetics - with as few price-hiking additives as possible, and sought out the seat with the best view of the room.

Current SIN: Alexis Murphy, Public
Current effects: AR (Technomancer Version)
Physical damage: 0/10
Stun damage: 0/11
Initiative: 1d6+8
Matrix Initiative (Only in Hot-Sim): 4d6+8
Armor: Urban Explorer Jumpsuit
Sprites: None Compiled or Registered
Complex Forms: None Running
Biofeedback Resist: 13 (6 Device Rating (Resonance) + 6 Firewall (Willpower) +1 (Natural Hardening)
Other: None

[TheJudicator]

Judge - Quan's Famous Noodles, Kwun Tong

Judge paused for a brief moment of recognition, his eyebrow raising as he identified the less-than-populated table with the ork being the sole occupant. A brief cursory glance confirmed that this guy looked neither imposing enough nor menacing enough to warrant being left alone in a place this busy and popular. Definitely off, definitely worth checking out. Besides that, what's the worst that could happen? He thought with a smirk on his face. Heaving a sigh, he glanced around, planning his approach for a brief moment before going to work. Slipping into a line for food, he quietly ordered a bowl of noodles for himself, remarking bemusedly in his head how rare an occasion is to eat dinner twice. Ah well.

Selecting a few additives for show, the human paid for his meal and drifted towards the lone table. Perhaps it was a misstep, focusing on the job at hand, or maybe just carelessness, but Judge found himself inadvertantly bumping into someone: a rather waifish looking elfette, from what a cursory glance offered. "Oh, beg your pardon." He muttered out in his best Cantonese, grown accustomed to that being the most prevalent language around the sprawl. Tipping his head in respect, he checked to make sure he hadn't caused damage, and then moved on.

Finally, he made his way through the throng to the lone table bearing the ork. With a small nod of his head, Judge took a seat at the table with confidence, giving the ork a respectable amount of space as he set his bowl down on the table. Bowing his head to the ork, he muttered a quick greeting before taking a few slow, appreciate bites, eyes widening a bit at the taste. "Wiz...good noodles.." He muttered again, surprised at the high quality of the cheap food.

Current SIN: Craig Bryanhall, Public
Current effects: low-light vision mode active as needed
Physical damage: 0/10
Stun damage: 0/10
Initiative: 1d6+6
Armor: 8 (Actioneer Business Clothes)
Cyberdeck: Configuration: Atk 4, Slz 5, DP 4(6), FW 2(6). Programs Running: Agent (rating 4), Signal Scrubber. Currently running silent.
Other: AR is on, but only casually being observed. Agent is defaulting to running security

[SlyJohnny]

Saito sidles into the restaurant behind a couple of office workers. He allows his recent lack of proper rest to show on his face, hoping he'll blend into the crowd of wageslaves just getting off shift and getting some food before they shuffle home to do it all again tomorrow. Sure, his suit is nicer than most of those on display, but this is the kind of place where noone's likely to care.

He's passingly familiar with the place as one of the few places nearby where he can actually eat well on his dwindling nuyen, and as he gets in line and starts to fill a plate, he reflects on the contrast of the quality of the noodles with how half-assed and unwelcoming the rest of the place is. Perhaps there's a lesson to be learned from that, how sometimes appearances can be deceptive and that there's hidden gems even beneath the ugliest of exteriors. Certainly, it's something he should meditate on. Mostly it just makes him hope that this job will pay well enough that he'll be able to eat in places that have working air conditioning and nice tables. Materialism is a hell of a thing to try and shake.

He checks his commlink for further instructions and casually cases the joint, figuring the Johnson will make themselves known soon enough.

[Jade_Tarem]

Sidney mumbled an "It's Okay" in her mediocre Cantonese, noting briefly that the man bumping her looked to be from out of the country - but then, in Hong Kong that didn't mean as much. What she did pay more attention to was that the bump had turned her the right direction to spot Jana - the blonde with the curly hair, in a suit, was just easy enough to pick out that she actually registered to the distracted Technomancer. No way.

A deluge of branching possibilities flashed through Sidney's mind. She wasn't sure exactly where she placed on the grand bell curve of metahuman intellect, other than 'somewhere in the upper shallow end' - she'd coasted through primary school and blown through the technical aspects of her Oberon training, though, as her instructors were quick to point out, that did not necessarily make her an ace field agent. Nonetheless, if - and that was the big question - she noticed a problem, a pattern, or an inconsistency, she could generally work it out pretty quickly. From somewhere in the part of her brain that had been forcibly taken over by pop culture, her internal thoughts took on the voice of Rick Blaine. Of all the noodle joints in all the districts of Hong Kong...

Coincidence, while a statistical certainty, were more rare than people liked to think. She remembered a old quote from Sherlock Holmes, or one of its many remakes. The universe is seldom so lazy. And there was a simple solution to how they'd run into each other so quickly. Two runners, maybe more, drawn to the same place, likely to meet the same Mr. Wu. That was good news and bad news. The good news was that it drastically lowered the odds that this was a trap to catch her, specifically. The bad news was that it meant that their employer knew a lot more about them than they knew even about each other, which was a good way to get metaphorically slotted on the negotiations.

The way to rectify that, then, was to see if the team could get together before Mr. Wu managed to find them. She noted that Jana had paused to check out Quan's other suit-wearing denizen, and decided to meet her there. "See anything interesting?" She deliberately made her voice perky, partly to make up for ending the matrix call on a down note, and partly because playing up the cute factor had worked wonders for her before.

Current SIN: Alexis Murphy, Public
Current effects: AR (Technomancer Version)
Physical damage: 0/10
Stun damage: 0/11
Initiative: 1d6+8
Matrix Initiative (Only in Hot-Sim): 4d6+10
Armor: Urban Explorer Jumpsuit
Sprites: None Compiled or Registered
Complex Forms: None Running
Biofeedback Resist: 13 (6 Device Rating (Resonance) + 6 Firewall (Willpower) +1 (Natural Hardening)
Other: None

[The Blue Guard]

Jana - Quan's Famous Noodles, Kwun Tong

Quickly, moving on the balls of her feet, Jana turned around. In one hand was a bowl of hot soup she angled to keep the scalding liquid inside, and in the other was a large black bag that swung out as she spun. Unfortunately, Jana's immediate reaction to surprises was to lash out. Fortunately, by the time she'd spun around her brain had stopped simply reacting and started thinking. "Oh," she said, moving the bowl upright again since she wasn't going to hurl it in Sidney's face. "It's you." Standing there she tried to look innocent, as though she hadn't just been about to scald Sidney. Keeping her eyes politely attentive, and already open to the astral plane, it was almost second-nature to examine the aura in front of her.

Broadcasted SIN: Brunhilde Brant

Armor: street clothes
Current Effects: dual-natured, –2 dice pool penalty to actions on the physical plane
Other Details: Astral Perception; 3 hits (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4660032/).

Overflow: 0/3
Physical: 0/10
Stun: 0/11

[Space Lawyer]

Judge

A few of the surrounding lookers give Judge an odd stare as he sits at the table. Their behavior is like a school of fish swimming around a shark; let the predator pass, and be ready to flee if the teeth start snapping. Meanwhile, Judge had clearly gone to sit right in the shark's mouth.

The ork looks up and gives a grunted reply in a rough, guttural Cantonese. "Yeah, s'pose you could say that." He looks to be middle-aged, though what that meant for an ork could vary considerably. Two small metallic openings peek out from under his graying hair on his right temple. His suit was obviously meant to accentuate a still-solid musculature. He was sweating a bit, though from the smell of the bowl in front of him, it was most likely due to the stomach-melting spiciness of his dinner than anything else.

The idoru's cheery voice pops lets Judge know that a coded message had been sent from the local node as soon as Judge had sat down at the table. From there, it had quickly disappeared to nodes unknown.

Another message appears unbidden in Judge's AR. Sit down and eat your noodles. We'll discuss business as soon as your compatriots choose to join us.

Jana

The ork's aura gives only a bit more about his attitude than his face and body language does. He seems to be vigilant and cautious, yet not overly excited. He seems healthy, and is certainly mundane. He has a few small cyberware implants in his head, including the eyes. The more interesting bit is his body; large portions of his spine and nervous system have been replaced by cyberware.

As for Sidney, take a look at the character sheet.

Out of the corner of her eye, Jana notices a human male sit down at the same table as the suited ork. They don't seem too particularly friendly with one another.

Saito

The commlink does not disappoint. A message blips on to the screen. Sit with the middle-aged ork in a suit. Should be like looking in a mirror for you.

A cursory glance around the crowded establishment easily locates the ork in question. His table is devoid of others, even in this crowd, except for a human male who appears far too fashionable for this locale.

Sidney

Despite almost being souped by Jana, Sidney notices the man who bumped into her sitting down with the suited ork. A few grumbled words are exchanged.

[Jade_Tarem]

Zero-day

"It is?" Sidney joked as she eyed the bowl of soup - she suspected that she'd almost ended up wearing it, and resolved to never sneak up on Jana when the older woman was holding an actual weapon. "But seriously, I'm sure you know what this means. If you can't see anything too strange, we should have a seat." The elf suited action to words, swooping in on the table and pulling up a chair.

Current SIN: Alexis Murphy, Public
Current effects: AR (Technomancer Version)
Physical damage: 0/10
Stun damage: 0/11
Initiative: 1d6+8
Matrix Initiative (Only in Hot-Sim): 4d6+10
Armor: Urban Explorer Jumpsuit
Sprites: None Compiled or Registered
Complex Forms: None Running
Biofeedback Resist: 13 (6 Device Rating (Resonance) + 6 Firewall (Willpower) +1 (Natural Hardening)
Other: None

[The Blue Guard]

Jana - Quan's Famous Noodles, Kwun Tong

Jana nods at that, grateful that Sidney wasn't talking about the soup. "Yes," she adds. Closing her eyes for a moment, focusing, and then opening them again she severs the connection she'd made to the astral plane. Immediately her sight cleared, and every living around her stopped blinding and distracting her. With her sight cleared she turned back around and headed for the table without another word.

Broadcasted SIN: Brunhilde Brant

Armor: street clothes
Current Effects: n/a
Other Details: n/a

Overflow: 0/3
Physical: 0/10
Stun: 0/11

[TheJudicator]

Judge - Quan's Famous Noodles

Offering a polite, almost friendly smile to the ork, the human gave a little nod before returning to his own meal, assuming the social role of respecting someone who has no interests in talking. Behind the sunglasses, though, those silver eyes of his were hard at work, acknowledging the report of the sent message, followed quickly by the message to him. Raising a brow slightly, he slurped up another bite of noodles as he processed the implications. That message was likely for me...though if it were coded, and whoever sent it knew my skills enough to contact me for this job..we-hell, guess I'm about to make some friends...

As if on cue, he paused in mid-bite as the table promptly doubled in population as two women sat down on the table: an older blonde human, and the same elf he bumped into earlier. Now there's a surprise...huh. Giving a nod their way, he muttered a quick "Good evening" in his rough Cantonese before allowing a smirk to befall his features as he took a guess that they both spoke some English...

"Now if I didn't know better, I'd say I was being followed...but if that were the case, you shall not hear complaints escape my lips.." Sunglasses or no, the wink that immediately followed that crass sentence was all too obvious as he took another bite of food.

Current SIN: Craig Bryanhall, Public
Current effects: low-light vision mode active as needed
Physical damage: 0/10
Stun damage: 0/10
Initiative: 1d6+6
Armor: 8 (Actioneer Business Clothes)
Cyberdeck: Configuration: Atk 4, Slz 5, DP 4(6), FW 2(6). Programs Running: Agent (rating 4), Signal Scrubber. Currently running silent.
Other:Using AR passively. Agent is running security.

[Jade_Tarem]

Quan's Famous Noodles - Jagdhund and Zero-day

Sidney snorted and dropped out of AR, a somewhat indelicate reaction to his flowery line, but didn't lose her cheery demeanor. "If we shadows have offended, think but this and all is mended-"

"You are mistaken," came Jana's sharp interruption. "Now, I suggest you zip yourself back up before I reach down there and confiscate it." Jana lifts her head up and stares right at him with cold, uninterested eyes. "We're going to be working together. It's better to keep sexual tension out of the equation." She pauses, and then adds: "Any attempt to defend yourself by saying you were just 'complimenting' us will also result in me confiscating it."

Behind her, Sidney mimicked her counterpart's mask of an expression and pantomimed doing 'The Robot,' only to snap back to a picture of innocence as she started to attract attention, but failed to conceal a smirk. "The lady doth protest too much. I'm Zero-day! Nice to meet you..?" She extended a hand across the table.

Joint post brought to you by external collaboration!
Broadcasted SIN: Brunhilde Brant

Armor: street clothes
Current Effects: n/a
Other Details: Sick Burn

Overflow: 0/3
Physical: 0/10
Stun: 0/11
Current SIN: Alexis Murphy, Public
Current effects: none
Physical damage: 0/10
Stun damage: 0/11
Initiative: 1d6+8
Matrix Initiative (Only in Hot-Sim): 4d6+10
Armor: Urban Explorer Jumpsuit
Sprites: None Compiled or Registered
Complex Forms: None Running
Biofeedback Resist: 13 (6 Device Rating (Resonance) + 6 Firewall (Willpower) +1 (Natural Hardening)
Other: Opportunistic damage control.

[TheJudicator]

Judge - Quan's Famous Noodles

Without a show of fear or regret for his decision, Judge lifted his hands up and flashed a disarming smile. "Now now, madam, no need to be terse with my simple show of appreciation. Relax, for I speak in earnest truth that I mean little disrespect! My fly will remain high on the wall here~" In the back of his head, the man tensed up in mild apprehension as his suspicions were rather easily confirmed: this was a team job, and this agent was unused to working in a group. Great...at least the company won't be so bad..right?

Noticing the outstretched hand before him, he tilted his head to the side, setting down his utensils atop his bowl as he reached for her hand, grasping it confidently but gently, being sure not to betray her childish antics. "Ah, so callsigns is it, then? Very well, you may call me Judge, though I -dread- to explain why. A pleasure, miss Zero-Day~" He flashed another grin, clicking his tongue at the same time as he squeezed her hand gently before releasing it, offering his hand to the older woman. "And what may I have the pleasure of calling you, soon-to-be-partner madame? Something fierce, no doubt, befitting your almost-Euro demeanor that would bend men to your beck and will?"

During this exuberant dialogue, Judge would glance briefly over at the ork, though his lack of piping in would denote he cared little for the conversation...at least at this time. During this while, however, Judge mentally instructed his idoru to do a little digging on the name Zero-Day...followed by the human lady's name if she shared it so. He was quite curious now, and almost certain they would tell him little to his face.

I WAS ABOUT TO SAY! Haha, well played you too, I was getting confused there for a bit :)
Current SIN: Craig Bryanhall, Public
Current effects: low-light vision mode active as needed
Physical damage: 0/10
Stun damage: 0/10
Initiative: 1d6+6
Armor: 8 (Actioneer Business Clothes)
Cyberdeck: Configuration: Atk 4, Slz 5, DP 4(6), FW 2(6). Programs Running: Agent (rating 4), Signal Scrubber. Currently running silent.
Other:Using AR passively. Agent is performing a Matrix search on Zero-Day and possibly Jagdhund if she shares the name. 3 hits (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4661875/)

[The Blue Guard]

Jana - Quan's Famous Noodles, Kwun Tong

Jana stared at the man and said nothing. Technically, he had defended himself in the exact same way she'd told him not to. Before she lost her job and her life that would have been enough. Back then she'd have already started on the paperwork to get him reassigned. It wasn't 'back then' though, and even if she could get him dropped from the team she didn't know if she could replace him quickly enough. Quietly she unpacked a portion of herself from over twelve years ago; all the way back to when she was a security force sergeant in the air force. Just ignore him, she told herself. Ignore him, and if he pushes it too far, kill him. Still staring, still saying nothing, she smiled. Without the thoughts in her head, or enough personal experience with her to guess what she was thinking, it seemed like a pleasant smile. "Jagdhund, kleiner."

Broadcasted SIN: Brunhilde Brant

Armor: street clothes
Current Effects: n/a
Other Details: n/a

Overflow: 0/3
Physical: 0/10
Stun: 0/11

[Space Lawyer]

Quan's Famous Noodles
Kwun Tong, Hong Kong
20:50, 1-6-75

As Saito locates the group and takes a seat, the suited ork finishes up his last slurp of noodles and takes a greater interest in the group arrayed around him. He pushes the bowl to the side and folds his hands in front of himself on the table. He settles cool grey eyes on each member of the group in turn, and speaks in a clipped, efficient tone, much different from the rough tone he initially took with Judge.

"Evening. You can all call me Mr. Hei. No, I'm not Ms. Wu. Thank you for joining me here on such short notice. I realize the invitation was rather terse, but my employer is not given to explaining herself, and it is not my place to alter her words. My employer has a number of tasks to be completed that require discretion, thoroughness, and efficiency. This is where you come in. You will be well-compensated, and should you complete all tasks to satisfaction, the compensation will be commensurately greater. If this is something you are interested in, we will leave here for somewhere more private. If not, please enjoy your night and farewell. If you have any questions, I will do my best to answer them, but I cannot answer any questions as to the exact nature of your job, at least not here."

[Jade_Tarem]

Zero-day

Sidney leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. Her cheery demeanor had drained away during Mr. Hei's talk, to be replaced by her usual paranoia - and not without cause. "I think I'd like to hear more about this private location, first." Among other things, she also wanted to remind Jana that, despite having never been turned into some kind of martial arts death-on-legs, Sidney had worked for a national crime fighting agency herself and was hardly a stranger to bad news and bad people. "More than one bunraku chip-slave got their start by following a man to a strange place on the promise of a job. I doon't suppose yer van is full of candy?" A bit of her accent slipped out in the last line, but it was still clear enough. "That was hyperbole, but this is shady even by the standards of Johnsons. You've more than implied that if we go with you, we've already agreed to a job we know nothing about. And if that isn't the case, why didn't we just meet there?"

[TheJudicator]

Judge - Quan's Famous Noodles

Judge allowed his smirk to linger upon hearing the woman's codename, mentally feeding the info to his Agent working the searches. He was about to respond in kind when their table was greeted by one more face: a male ork, looking quite a bit older than the rest of them, wearing a somewhat disheveled business suit. One quick glance affirmed him that this ork meant to sit there; he was here for the same reasons the three of them were...or four, in this case, as Mr. Hei introduced himself.

He remained silent, listening to his spiel about their job, his smirk half-fading as his sunglasses shielded his eyes. He even suppressed a small chuckle of appreciation at Zero's retort, his mind already working out the possible answers.

To pick this location was smart, actually...this Ms. Wu is protecting her identity so we can't learn anything about her that she doesn't want to hear, and sending this mook to act as her tongue...I'll wager his chrome allows her full view of us and that the messages I saw were between them. If we had started at someplace private, it is just as likely we could have geeked this pawn and be none the wiser..no, the public meet was the smartest option. Well played, Ms. Wu..

The elf's accent caught him offguard a little as well; he had dealings with Tir Taingre elves while in UCAS, but this would be the first Tir Na Nog'ian. Combine with the German woman and the notably Far Eastern ork, they truly were a melting-pot team. Oh joy. "Candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker~" he muttered under his breath before finally speaking up. "Agreed, knowing where we're going would help. A little assurance that we aren't winding up ARO epitaphs on the wall of a certain host I know of might go a long way towards our cooperation, you hear?"

Heaving a sigh, Judge leaned forward, reaching up and pulling off his glasses with one flick, his white-silver irises adjusting to the shift in lighting. "Let's look at it this way. You found us and contacted us directly. That means you know what we do, and that we are good at what we do. That means you know we can do what it is you want us to do, and want this meet to work out. Plus, I have a feeling that your beloved Ms. Wu would agree with me on this: you would have a hard time finding replacements for us." Lifting his hands up, he heaved a small sigh. "Surely we can see eye to eye on this?"

back-up Face-ing go! Hoping I did this right, please ping me if I didn't
Current SIN: Craig Bryanhall, Public
Current effects: low-light vision mode active as needed
Physical damage: 0/10
Stun damage: 0/10
Initiative: 1d6+6
Armor: 8 (Actioneer Business Clothes)
Cyberdeck: Configuration: Atk 4, Slz 5, DP 4(6), FW 2(6). Programs Running: Agent (rating 4), Signal Scrubber. Currently running silent.
Other:Smooth-talking to Mr. Hei. I believe this calls for Negotiation, but feel free to ignore if not. Judge's base pool lacking modifiers is 6d6

[The Blue Guard]

Jana - Quan's Famous Noodles, Kwun Tong

Jana, once again, stared, and said nothing while the others spoke. Whoever it is thinks they're very clever, she mentally mumbled. But whoever it is isn't as smart as they think they are, she continued. A paranoid employer that thinks too much of their own intelligence. "Merde," she involuntarily mumbled under her breath as made a bad decision. Jana wanted to leave, but she'd decided to stay. Part of it was the guilt she'd feel if Sidney or the old ork became headlines, but most of it was the promise of steady work. She had enough money that she could take one or two jobs this month and have enough to cover next month's bills, but there was always the month after that (and the month after that, and so on, and so forth). For steady work she was willing to walk the tightrope that was working for somebody who thought they were a genius.

Inclining her head she looked at Sidney, and then back to the ork, waiting for him to reply to her question.

Broadcasted SIN: Brunhilde Brant

Armor: street clothes
Current Effects: n/a
Other Details: n/a

Overflow: 0/3
Physical: 0/10
Stun: 0/11

[Space Lawyer]

Quan's Famous Noodles
Kwun Tong, Hong Kong
20:51, 1-6-75

Mr. Hei gives a long, stony look at Zero-day, then shifts his gaze over to Judge. He lays his hands down on the table, ever so carefully . . . then cracks a slight smile. "Excellent. We knew you were competent based on the accumulated data, but we wanted to make sure you had good instincts too. A runner that is so desperate or so trusting to follow anyone, even a potential employer, somewhere without knowing more beforehand isn't someone we qould be interested in dealing with."

He re-focuses on Judge. "However, you have made two mistakes. First, I can assure you that there is nothing "beloved" about Ms. Wu. Second, you should not assume that you are irreplaceable, because you most certainly are not."

He pulls out a gray metal hemisphere, places it on the table, then presses a button on the side. A momentary humming is heard, but it quickly fades into the background. "Now we run little risk of being overheard by anyone who happens to be listening surreptitiously. For your first task, we have something rather easy, but it needs to be done quickly. There is a certain factory that we need taken off-line in a most spectacular way, but not permanently decommissioned. The base pay is 5000 nuyen each. Should you manage to make a show of it, or otherwise go above and beyond merely stopping production, a bonus is not out of the question."

[SlyJohnny]

Saito nods in greeting to the others as he sits down. He greets the other ork solemnly, but briefly, sensing that false obsequiousness isn't the way to go with this character, and that he's keen to crack on. The others are already in conversation, so he doesn't announce himself immediately, merely watches the interaction.

The man who calls himself Judge has a cocky, crass kind of social bravado, and the slick look to match it. Saito is uncertain at this early stage how much of that is insecurity versus genuine confidence in himself, and whether either would translate to overconfidence in the field. His pass at the westerner woman... was it as simple as it appeared to be, or was he testing her in some way?

The foreigner with the Germanic accent was clearly tough. Physically she was smaller than Saito himself, but both the way she didn't hesitate for a moment to directly confront Judge, and the way she moves so slowly and deliberately and yet holds herself as if her entire body was made of taut springs, both combined to set Saito's fangs on edge. There was a certain hardness to her eyes, too. She was the dangerous one here, and he must be watchful. And strike first and hard, if it came to that.

Her elf friend seemed more carefree, more spontaneous in her motions and choice of words. He was inclined to dismiss her as foolish, but the way she switched so quickly to guarded reluctance made him doubt that initial impression. The intensity and speed at which she switched from task to task came off as more "natural, gifted multitasker" more than "distractable and ditzy". Plus, there was something in her eyes, too. Possibly he's projecting himself onto her, but he could swear there's a similar kind of hunger in her eyes. She's not here solely because she thinks it sounds like fun, she's down on her luck as well. Not terribly desperate, perhaps, but getting there. That's bad news. Desperation is entirely understandable, even relatable, but it's a liability in a team mate.

He turns away from his inspection of his potential new allies to listen to Mr. Hei.

"This thing you ask is... not out of the question, but whether your offer is reasonable depends on how secured and how prominent a target this 'certain factory' is, among many other factors. The desire to be public and the need to inflict decisive, but not irreparable damage, that also complicates things. This 'show' your mistress desires, it is to accentuate her power? Instil fear? Humiliate a rival?"

He leans away imperceptibly, his voice and his posture making it seem as if the details of the job have made him extremely reluctant, but that he could be talked around.


Rolls:
Etiquette (first impression) [roll0]
Negotiation [roll1]

Current SIN: Hachi Tsao
Current effects: Increase Charisma, Force 4
Physical damage: 0/10
Stun damage: 4/11
Initiative: 1d6+6
Armor: 8 (Actioneer Business Clothes)

[TheJudicator]

Judge - Quan's Famous Noodles

His smile wavered only slightly, lingering in that half-smirk of his as Judge eased back into his chair as Mr. Hei rebuked. Mentally, the man scoffed at these so-called 'mistakes' he supposed committed with his choice of words. Clearly this ork knows little of casual sarcasm. Great. No humor among Johnsons, I guess, no matter the name~. Clearly, the human man lacked little in confidence, and why should he? Confidence is what Johnsons looked for, made the runner look more competent and desirable for their work. Letting his breath out with a smirk, he shook his head a couple of times as he processed it, opening his mouth to speak but pausing as the older ork began his rebuttal.

This gave Judge pause as he listened, settling back in his seat. He recognized that accent all too easily, his own grandfather having had the same. As the ork spoke, Judge mentally blew a low whistle of appreciation: this guy was full of tact, and he knew it. Respecting the employer whilst putting himself (and the rest of the group) into a more advantageous negotiating position with a few key sentences made the human subtly nod in appreciation of clearly superior talent. Well, I'll be damned, he speaks. Welcome to the group, Rōjin

Seeing that the ork had a better foothold than himself, Judge allowed himself to cool off, settling back and waiting on Hei's counter to this response, though he would admit his thoughts wandered to one of the weapons hidden in his suit. Tempting, but too soon to consider just yet, and as a plus he was certain at least the German woman would snap him in two for botching this job before it began. Just a hunch...

Current SIN: Craig Bryanhall, Public
Current effects: low-light vision mode active as needed
Physical damage: 0/10
Stun damage: 0/10
Initiative: 1d6+6
Armor: 8 (Actioneer Business Clothes)
Cyberdeck: Configuration: Atk 4, Slz 5, DP 4(6), FW 2(6). Programs Running: Agent (rating 4) Performing Matrix Search, Signal Scrubber. Currently running silent.
Other:N/A

[The Blue Guard]

Jana

Jana stares, impolitely, at the ancient ork, goggling at him. Du verdammter Arschficker. "Keep the questions about the client to yourself, alter," she snapped at the ancient ork. It wasn't that Jana cared about the client's privacy, but the client did, and she believed in providing the client the illusion that their privacy was safe. It was, in her experience, a simple precaution that kept clients from doing things like trying to kill her to protect their privacy. Experience also gave her the framework of several plans that could work (and had worked). Her favourite, which had the benefit of being easy and safe as well as having a good chance of working, was to release a contagion in the factory while tipping off local journalists. It didn't, however, have the benefit of being something she'd tried before. She had done something similar, but rather than release an actual contagion her team had faked one instead.

Broadcasted SIN: Brunhilde Brant

Armor: street clothes
Current Effects: n/a
Other Details: n/a

Overflow: 0/3
Physical: 0/10
Stun: 0/11

[Jade_Tarem]

Zero-day

Sidney took the opportunity to fall back from the conversation, not bothering to hide her shift to AR, her eyes dancing as she started rapidly extrapolating notes.

She wanted to immediately start working on her own plan, but restrained herself from doing so. There were too many variables, too many locations, and not enough data. However, the one thing that wasn't worrying to her was the precision damage required - it would be a function of money, of course. To meet Mr. Hei's requirements, what they had to do was keep a running tally of how much whatever they did to the plant would cost. As long as fixing it was cheaper than building a new plant, whatever corp owned it would opt to repair instead of demolish, and the plant would survive after being shut down for a while. That would solve the problem of doing too much damage, though she would have her homework cut out for her in figuring out what the magic price ceiling was - it would either be a collation and calculation based on a huge trawl of publicly available data, or a dive into a corporate DCC, and neither would be fun.

Doing toolittle damage was a different concern. That would be a function of time, which meant that there was at least one question they had to ask before leaving the table. The elf popped out of AR, having missed the previous exchange, but it had sounded like more of the same, so she spoke up anyway. "Sorry to be a bit more blunt, but just how long does the plant need to be shut down? A day? A week? Six months?"

Current SIN: Alexis Murphy, Public
Current effects: none
Physical damage: 0/10
Stun damage: 0/11
Initiative: 1d6+8
Matrix Initiative (Only in Hot-Sim): 4d6+10
Armor: Urban Explorer Jumpsuit
Sprites: None Compiled or Registered
Complex Forms: None Running
Biofeedback Resist: 13 (6 Device Rating (Resonance) + 6 Firewall (Willpower) +1 (Natural Hardening)
Other: Opportunistic damage control.

[SlyJohnny]

Saito regards the blonde woman cooly as she snaps at him. Damn. Arguing amongst ourselves in front of the client weakens our bargaining position. Is this woman a fool? She is going to be a problem. he muses to himself.

Saito gently pushes his plate of noodles to one side, puts both his hands on the table, and links his fingers together. He doesn't respond for a few moments, trying to forestall an argument before it begins by not quickening the pace of the conversation, and also so he can consider his reply carefully. "Jagdhund. I admit, I do not speak enough German to know what the equivalent word to that is, in Mandarin. My name is Saito. Jagdhund, your concern for our client's privacy is laudable. It bespeaks a sense of professionalism. That, in turn, makes me look forward to working with you!"

He smiles warmly, then turns back to the other ork. "Perhaps I misspoke, Mr. Hei. I certainly have no wish to pry into our client's affairs. They are private. Let me rephrase the question. Your client wants 'a show'. What kind?"

He turns back to Jaghund, and leans forward a little, meeting her gaze. "If we know what kind of show... what the client wishes to achieve... we could be sure we put on the right kind of show, and so could earn the full bonus which is being offered to us. That is my interest."

[Space Lawyer]

Quan's Famous Noodles
Kwun Tong, Hong Kong
20:52, 1-6-75

Mr. Hei's gaze is cold and level. "Yes, thank you for reminding Mr. Saito of the courtesies of this profession, Ms. Jana. While I applaud your desire to fulfill this task as well as can be done, there are certain protocols that must still be followed. Even though I suspect it will be mere formality, as you undoubtedly attempt to pierce whatever veil we erect to maintain our privacy."

He smooths out his suit and glances off to the left, clearly the look of a man consulting an ARO. "As to how long the factory must be off-line, we require no less than two weeks, but certainly not as long as six months. Obviously, this means we would not care to see the plant thoroughly destroyed. As for how, it would be most preferable if this could shutdown could appear to be the result of incompetence or poor management. If this is unobtainable, then making it clear to a exceptionally thorough investigation that this was the result of your actions. In no way should this seem to just be an unfortunate accident."

[TheJudicator]

Judge

Ah, the intricate weaving dance that is the battle of wits and tongues...yep. Definitely dealing with a corp-type. Glad to see we have people that know this dance too. This run may just prove to be fun yet.

Grinning, he flipped up on ARO..a notepad, to which he idly traced a few rough images as his head whirled with ideas about how to pull this off. A simple formatting of their database would work..nah, too clean, to quick to fix. Type of factory pending, maybe an explosion? Eh...could be too much damage, plus collatoral chance is way too high for his taste. Hmm...incompetence or poor management. Perhaps an infrastructure failure, pointing too incompetence..or if automated, reprogram the machines to make the wrong product...a competitor's product, even more costly. Ooh, the ideas, the ideas.

With all being said, though, there were far too many variables to be had before a conclusive plan could be made. Firstly, Judge took a glance around at his new teammates. Saito he definitely made to be some social engineer, as he looked too old to be a professional at much else. Jagdhund--that was German, right? he'd have to look it up--had all the makings of ex-military with her serious and stubborn attitude, so most probably gonna be muscle on the plan's execution. Zero-Day...that much interaction with ARO's denotes a Matrix expert, which made him pause. Odd...two technicals on one team? Very unusual... Mentally, he made a note to expect a meetup with just the four of them later...too many questions. Which reminded him, as he piped up, his voice smooth and calculating.

"You've given us the nature and expectations of this goal, that is for certain, but there is one detail missing, isn't there?" He leveled his silver-white gaze at Mr. Hei, his smirk lifting just a little bit more as he took a breath. "The name of this factory...what do you want shut down, hm?"

Current SIN: Craig Bryanhall, Public
Current effects: low-light vision mode active as needed
Physical damage: 0/10
Stun damage: 0/10
Initiative: 1d6+6
Armor: 8 (Actioneer Business Clothes)
Cyberdeck: Configuration: Atk 4, Slz 5, DP 4(6), FW 2(6). Programs Running: Agent (rating 4) Performing Matrix Search, Signal Scrubber. Currently running silent.
Other:Bold statements are bold

[Space Lawyer]

Quan's Famous Noodles
Kwun Tong, Hong Kong
20:52, 1-6-75

Mr. Hei cracks a slight smile and just perceptibly gives a nod. "Yes, I will agree, that is a critical component. However, such information could be rather disastrous in the wrong hands. I am afraid I must ask that you agree to undertake this task beforehand. I assure you that, while certainly not risk-free, this target is not one of the more secure locations even within its district. You will not even have to leave this city to complete this task."

[Jade_Tarem]

Zero-day

Sidney looked around the table at the silent forms of her companions. Bystander effect, or are they just mulling it over?

She, personally, did not have a lot of choice. "I'm down," she quipped, as casually as she could, "but I'm not going to solo it."

[TheJudicator]

Judge

It was several moments before Judge spoke up, his trademark grin the only break to his otherwise stony expression. There was risk involved with this job, every instinct told him that. He was mulling over the nature of the work and weighing it against his impressions of his potential team. Would there be too much friction over personal opinions and matters. Or are they going to mesh like the consummate professionals runners were supposed to be?

So many variables, so many unknowns. Danger in that, naturally, but he couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement about the challenge of it. And then he heard Zero agree. So it's happening, and if she WAS a hacker like him, he couldn't let himself be one-upped like that.

"Eh, what the hell. You shall not be alone then. I'm in, Hei. Tch, what's the worst that could happen, right?". Relaxing, he took another bite of his noodles, his foot tapping on the ground in eager anticipation.

don't you love it when mobile devices don't submit your posts? Haha, apologies chummers! I'll try to be more on top of it in the future.

[The Blue Guard]

Jana

Jana, quite capable of geological patience, remained silent. She waited until the tipping point; that moment when half the prospective team had weighed in with a positive response to the job. "I'm in too."

Broadcasted SIN: Brunhilde Brant

Armor: street clothes
Current Effects: n/a
Other Details: n/a

Overflow: 0/3
Physical: 0/10
Stun: 0/11

[Space Lawyer]

Quan's Famous Noodles
Kwun Tong, Hong Kong
20:57, 1-6-75

Saito acquiesces with a solemn nod.

"Very good," says Mr. Hei. "The target is a plant in northeastern Kwun Tong, out in the manufacturing areas, owned by Tie Shan Manufacturing and Assembly. I'll provide you with the exact location, and a method to contact us once you job is complete, though we should be able to ascertain that occurrence for ourselves easily. The payment will be placed in whatever account you provide us. We expect to hear from you quite soon. Now, I believe our business is complete. Is there anything else?"

[TheJudicator]

Judge

>>>OBJECTIVE UPDATED
>>
>>PRIMARY MISSION
>>>Cause a significant, but temporary shutdown of the Tie Shan Manufacturing and Assembly plant in Northeast Kwun Tong
>>SECONDARY MISSION
>>>Make the cause of the shutdown a spectacle, pointed towards a failure of their upper management

Judge punched in his notes quickly into his AR display for later, leaving a space for a catchy title for the operation. Finishing off his plate of noodles, the man stood up around when Mr. Hei ended his spiel. "Nothing that the professional strictures of this meeting would require, I should think." He gave a small, wry wink to the rest of his team as he held out his hand, palm up, towards the ork. "I'll take the credentials and contact you when the job is done. Peace of soycake~"

While he spoke, the sunglasses were back out with a flip of his hand, returning to his face to give him that slick, almost overconfident look he enjoyed so much. He kept an eye on his teammates and the other on Mr. Hei, seeing who would leave first. If Hei did, then they had a perfect op to discuss the plan..or a meetup for the plan. Otherwise, a brief, insconspicous exit may be in order...

Current SIN: Craig Bryanhall, Public
Current effects: low-light vision mode active as needed
Physical damage: 0/10
Stun damage: 0/10
Initiative: 1d6+6
Armor: 8 (Actioneer Business Clothes)
Cyberdeck: Configuration: Atk 4, Slz 5, DP 4(6), FW 2(6). Programs Running: Agent (rating 4) Performing Matrix Search on Zero, Jagdhund, Saito, Signal Scrubber. Currently running silent.
Other:Bold statements are bold

[Jade_Tarem]

Zero-day

Sidney's appetite dimmed a bit at the soy comment, and she was tempted to say something, but bit down on it -expressions featuring soy worked for most people; it wasn't her job to ruin it just because a piece of soycake, for her, was an ill-advised and unsatisfying acquisition that she would regret later.

On second thought, soycake might be the perfect metaphor for this job.

Nonetheless, she put on her cheery face again and took her time with the meal, but indicated through nonspecific, nonverbal pantomime and indelicate elven grunting that she had nothing further for Mr. Hei and now viewed her noodles as the most important thing at the table. These she attacked with a deliberate intensity as she sorted out her own notes on her next meal ticket.

[The Blue Guard]

Jana

Jana, once again, stared contemptuously at Judge. It was a reflex she already realized she'd need to curb; that and the urge to hurt him for whatever reason she was glaring at him for. Turning back to the client she shook her head to indicate that she required nothing more.

Broadcasted SIN: Brunhilde Brant

Armor: street clothes
Current Effects: n/a
Other Details: n/a

Overflow: 0/3
Physical: 0/10
Stun: 0/11

[Space Lawyer]

Quan's Famous Noodles
Kwun Tong, Hong Kong
28:00, 1-6-75

Mr. Hei fishes a small, black plastic stick out of his jacket pocket, and hands it to Judge. "Everything you'll need to get in contact with us and get paid is on there, along with the exact location of the factory. We look forward to seeing your work." With that, Mr. Hei slurps up the last remaining broth in his bowl, and shuffles out. As he leaves, it is evident that he has terrible posture, and that if he actually stood up straight he would be a very large man indeed.

If any of the group were to look into AR or VR, they would notice the appearance of a black pebble in their PANs, obviously the virtual representation of the info-stick.

[TheJudicator]

Judge

The man remained standing whilst Mr. Hei left, eyes locked upon the old ork's lumbering profile as he departed from the noodle shop. Flipping the datastick over in his hands, he gave a small chuckle and sat back down, tossing and catching the stick as he flipped open his AR to examine it, and possibly a glimpse of his teammates' personae icons if applicable. "Well...I'd say that went rather well, no?" He flicked off his sunglasses to make eye contact with them fully, easing back into his chair. He ran a scan on the stick as he held it up, checking it for malware...or worse, that insidious beasty known as a data bomb that could wreck anybody's link or deck if tripped, before opening it.

"But before we dig into this, I think some ice-breaking is in order, hm? I'd bring ice, but it gets kinda wet...will peanuts work?" He dug out a couple peanuts leftover from an earlier snack and set them on the table within easy reach. Glancing at each of them in turn--Saito, Zero, Jagdhund--he kept his smile as he spoke in a cool, even tone. "After this brief gives us some intel, it might be a good idea if we knew what each other can do. I think it's safe to confess that for the most part we do not know each other, hoi?" he gave a wink, before finally glancing towards Jagdhund. "Regardless, you have my chip word I'm in this job, no plans to screw anyone over. Where's the fun in that?"

Current SIN: Craig Bryanhall, Public
Current effects: low-light vision mode active as needed
Physical damage: 0/10
Stun damage: 0/10
Initiative: 1d6+6
Armor: 8 (Actioneer Business Clothes)
Cyberdeck: Configuration: Atk 4, Slz 5, DP 4(6), FW 2(6). Programs Running: Agent (rating 4) Performing Matrix Search on Zero, Jagdhund, Saito, Signal Scrubber. Currently running silent.
Other:Matrix Perception to check for malware/data bombs on datastick, now dubbed "Black Pebble". 3 hits (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4695040/)

[The Blue Guard]

Jana

Jana looked at the table and suppressed an urge to slam her head into it as Judge spoke. The urge to reach into her bag and do something that'd require her to buy a new SIN and lay low for a few weeks was higher than ever. It seemed to her that he was calibrating his words to annoy her. What if he is? The thought emerged from her mind without prompting; the storehouse of duplicity held within finally pressing this evaluation through her annoyance. It is possible he is just this annoying, she reminded herself. But to discount it just because he appears stupid would be foolish, she finished.

Feeling oddly renewed by this potential, by the possible duplicity, and by possible intelligence behind it, Jana raised her head. "Just shut up," she replied with an exasperated tone. Grabbing her bag she stood, leaving her bowl, and its attendant cutlery, on the table for somebody else to deal with. "Either of you have somewhere we can use to talk in private?" If neither has such a place, we will have to procure one, Jana mentally mumbled to herself, planning ahead. In the meantime though, my apartment would have to do. It wasn't something she wanted to do, but if necessity demanded it she would open that door.

Broadcasted SIN: Brunhilde Brant

Armor: street clothes
Current Effects: n/a
Other Details: n/a

Overflow: 0/3
Physical: 0/10
Stun: 0/11

[TheJudicator]

Judge

The man was momentarily taken aback by the rather brusk response to his quips and attempts to get communication going. True, he was intentionally being a jovial spirit--admittedly a rare thing in this day and age--, but he saw little hope in this business relationship (be it long or short) succeeding if they at least didn't start the communication ball rolling. Nontheless, he emotionally let the restrained hostility roll off of his back like water off a stone, letting his grin remain.

"As you wish, madam." He stood up after she did, making a shrug to readjust his suit coat about his shoulders. He mulled the question over in his head, weighing the options and risks, but settling on the best idea in his head. "I have a place that'll work. It's no landmark of luxury, but it's private enough. We can all meet up independently if that's your prerogative. Commcodes and I'll send the location~" He flipped out his commlink, a sleek Transys Avalon, punching a few buttons to accept and log in the codes to transmit the info to them upon receipt.

[The Blue Guard]

Jana

"No," Jana replied. She was calmer now that Judge had quit playing the fool, less agitated, and more pleasant because of it. "We'll just head there together," she finished. Reaching into her pocket she pull out, and then pulled on her AR glove before waking her commlink to grab the address. "I'll get us a cab. My treat," she added.

Turning to Zero she looks at her expectantly. "Have you got a suggestion?"

Broadcasted SIN: Brunhilde Brant

Armor: street clothes
Current Effects: n/a
Other Details: n/a

Overflow: 0/3
Physical: 0/10
Stun: 0/11

[Jade_Tarem]

Zero-day

"Don't buy stock in Tie Shan." Sidney said around last of her noodles. "Aye, um, I have a few ideas for the plant, but you don't want to know where I've been staying. I'll take the cab."

[The Blue Guard]

Jana

Jana sighs. "Zero, we're not all going home, we're going somewhere else. To talk. Now that we're in a public space without precautions."

Broadcasted SIN: Brunhilde Brant

Armor: street clothes
Current Effects: n/a
Other Details: n/a

Overflow: 0/3
Physical: 0/10
Stun: 0/11

[TheJudicator]

Judge

"Well, someone's home, at least.." he muttered as they got up to depart once everyone was finished with their meal. He smiled appreciatively at the German. "Appreciate the cab though. Public transit route's total drek to get to where we're headed." He punched in his address to transmit to Jagdhund...he can monitor for Matrix eavesdropping easy enough, it's the verbal kind to watch for. The number would pop up with a blip, a stylized Scales of Justice providing a cheesy background for the details. Any search or use of Gridguide points it to one of those towering residential apartment complexes in the outskirts of Kowloon City, a location befitting any corp wageslave or what have you. "Well, shall we?" He smiled broadly as they departed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2247 Bù'ān St, Apt 13-7
SE Kowloon City
Evening, 1-6-75

The cab ride was quiet and fairly uneventful, if not a bit snug. Judge did his utmost to remain respectful and to deliberately show no...forward intentions. Given the previous remarks on his quip to Zero, he was sure Jagdhund would have ejected him from the cab, stopped or not. Upon arrival, he took a deep breath and led the way into the complex. Given Kowloon City's relative higher-class style, this building was certainly among its lower end, a few lights flickering here and there, paint chipped occasionaly, and other signs of neglect dotting the place. Using the elevator, Judge hummed to himself as he punched in the 13th floor, the wires holding the metal box groaning momentarily before starting to move. Finally, they arrived, and he led them down the hallway to his door. Punching a quick number into the lock, a solid click was heard as the door opened.

Inside, it was clear that this bachelor was just that: alone. The single-bedroom apartment, though clean, was lacking in any frivolous decoration. With a flick of the lights, it would seem the only furniture he had was a couple tables, a couch next to a trid viewer, some chairs, and a desk. The kitchen was sparse, a few empty food containers stacked on the counter out of the way, but it was clear Judge didn't take to cooking all that much. Keeping his coat on, he stepped out of the doorway and allowed the others in. "Please, make yourselves at home. Kangei" Shutting the door behind them, he locked it as a precaution before rearranging some furniture, pulling a couple chairs around to the other side of the couch and offering they take a seat. "Drinks, anyone? Water, soycaf, tea?"

Current SIN: Craig Bryanhall, Public
Current effects: low-light vision mode active as needed
Physical damage: 0/10
Stun damage: 0/10
Initiative: 1d6+6
Armor: 8 (Actioneer Business Clothes)
Cyberdeck: Configuration: Atk 4, Slz 5, DP 4(6), FW 2(6). Programs Running: Agent (rating 4) Performing Matrix Search on Zero, Jagdhund, Saito. Signal Scrubber. Currently running silent.
Other: World-building go!

[The Blue Guard]

Jana

Looking around disdainfully Jana almost decides not to ask the critical questions. "Got any beer?" Picking the least unclean thing she can see to sit on (regardless of whether it was meant to be sat on) she makes herself as comfortable as she expects to get. She drops her bag next to her, feeling a little foolish for dragging it around with her but comforted by her original reasoning. "I'd settle for anything with an alcohol content."

Broadcasted SIN: Brunhilde Brant

Armor: street clothes
Current Effects: n/a
Other Details: n/a

Overflow: 0/3
Physical: 0/10
Stun: 0/11

[TheJudicator]

Judge

Pausing for a moment, Judge let his grin falter a bit as she saw the German's look of disapproval. It wasn't the nicest place, that was for sure, but it actually was quite tidy, with merely smatterings of clutter here and there. The couch itself looked hardly used. Nodding, he stepped over to his fridge and pulled out a brown bottle with some cantonese cartoonishly printed on the label. Holding it in his left hand, he lined up the cap against the counter's corner, and flicked his right palm heel onto it, popping the cap off with an audible "thwunk" sound.

"Beer it is. Local stuff, but it's always available, hah~" passing it off to her, he went back to the kitchen for some water, glancing back to the elf. "Zero, nothing for you?" He glanced over at Jagdhund's bag, surmising that it was likely an equipment bag...and given her militaristic attitude, he could only imagine what it contained. Sighing, he shrugged off his suit jacket and loosened his tie, revealing the holster wrapped around his shoulders, the sleek grip of an Ares under his left arm. "So I dunno about you, ladies, but this job seems a little off..too simple, too easy for us to trace motives to pick out our Ms. Wu..."

[The Blue Guard]

Jana

Drawing a gulp from the bottle Jana lets it sit in her mouth for a moment, tasting it, before she swallowed. "Awful," she declared, making a face as she looked at the label. "Thank you." She raises the bottle up in a salute-like manner before taking another gulp.

Drinking and listening Jana waits for Judge to be done with his lip-flapping before she spoke again. "If whoever it is directly and obviously benefits, then yeah, it'd be fairly easy to do." Another gulp. "But that covers only a small number of the ways to benefit from a job like this. For example, shorting the stock could cover the cost of a team our size without drawing too much attention. Depending on the amount of trading that goes on you could make a lot." Gulp, gulp. "Of course, they could just eat the cost, if this really is just an extended interview." Gulp. "Not likely though. Still, possible."

Drinking with alarming speed Jana doesn't seem much worse because of it. Drinking another gulp she puts her bottle to one side and straightens up. "Not much to say tonight besides handing out assignments." Jana stood as she spoke, and claimed a leadership role as she did. "Well, that and putting together a plan in case one of us goes missing." Clapping her hands together she turns to face Zero. "My girl Friday, you'll be running recon. The priority will be the target, but use your own discretion." Letting her hands fall apart she then turns to Judge. "You I've never worked with before. I'm guessing... gigolo fallen on hard times?"

Broadcasted SIN: Brunhilde Brant

Armor: street clothes
Current Effects: n/a
Other Details: n/a

Overflow: 0/3
Physical: 0/10
Stun: 0/11

[TheJudicator]

Judge

Draping his jacket over a chair, he took a seat across from the two of them, glass of water in his left hand as he listened to the older woman explain herself and take the lead. For once, it seemed like he actually dropped the jovial act, listening intently while sipping his beverage. Truly, the underlying current behind the motions driving them to do this task was deeper than he initially deduced..how exciting! This will definitely prove to be an interesting term of employment, and the man nods in agreement. It was a surprise for him to learn the two women worked together..that might cause trust issues later on, but he will have to see what unfolds.

When it came down to the assignments though, Judge busted out in a bout of laughter at her guess to his work. "Hah! Oh man, is that what you want me to be, madam? I do hope not, for I would sorely disappoint you then." Setting his glass down, he reached back inside his jacket to pull out the tool of his trade: a cyberdeck, Hermes model by the looks of the design, in a custom pocket lining perfectly out of the way. "I know you will call drek, but I'm actually a pretty decent decker. Specialty is infiltration, extraction, sabotage, you name it. Picked up a few infil tricks in meatspace too working in Hong Kong." His grin returned as he tapped on the deck a couple of times, checking on his Agent's progress before replacing it in his coat.

"My view is that employers see you as less of a threat when you don't look like one, hah~" Leaning back, he picked up his glass and raised it as if in a toast, looking between the two of them. "Alright, I showed you mine. Would you like to tell me what kind of runners I have the utmost pleasure of working with for the days to come?"

Current SIN: Craig Bryanhall, Public
Current effects: low-light vision mode active as needed
Physical damage: 0/10
Stun damage: 0/10
Initiative: 1d6+6
Armor: 8 (Actioneer Business Clothes)
Cyberdeck: Configuration: Atk 4, Slz 5, DP 4(6), FW 2(6). Programs Running: Agent (rating 4) Performing Matrix Search on Zero, Jagdhund, (3 hits). Signal Scrubber. Currently running silent.
Other:

[Jade_Tarem]

"We're the famous Mechler Sisters. We've done shows from New York to Nepal - I sing and juggle, and Jag here tells dirty jokes and researches new material." Sidney pulled herself out of a brief reverie long enough to join the conversation. Turning, she gave Jana the arched eyebrow. Spock would be proud. "And I hope you meant cyber recon."

[TheJudicator]

Judge

Frag, I knew it. Another hacker. That makes no sense, what Johnson, Wu, whatever, in their right mind hires two hackers for a job? Taking a swig of water, Judge snickered at the glib retort to his query. Is it his lucky day, or are most deckers quick on the wit? Shrugging the deflective comment, he raised his own eyebrow, keeping his cool for the most part until the cyber recon part. Setting the glass down, he quickly did an AR-scan of her icons, looking for her deck...only finding the cheap commlink. Either she's a better decker than me, or she's lying. Hmm.

Coming out of his pensiveness, and since his Agent is still busy and unavailable, he cleared his throat, looking towards the elf, cracking a smile. "Oh? Well, this is certainly an interesting turn...two deckers and a spec-agent--correct me if I'm off--walk into an apartment, I know I've heard that one somewhere..." He trailed off with a chuckle, letting his breath out. "And our ork friend should have been here by now...might have to assume we're down a fourth for this one. But nevermind that...forgive me for feeling like a defensive third-wheel, but I didn't expect to ever work with another decker, hah~"

Current SIN: Craig Bryanhall, Public
Current effects: low-light vision mode active as needed
Physical damage: 0/10
Stun damage: 0/10
Initiative: 1d6+6
Armor: 8 (Actioneer Business Clothes)
Cyberdeck: Configuration: Atk 4, Slz 5, DP 4(6), FW 2(6). Programs Running: Agent (rating 4) Performing Matrix Search on Zero, Jagdhund, (3 hits). Signal Scrubber. Currently running silent.
Other: Performed Matrix Perception to identify icons on Zero-Day. I didn't bother rolling, OOC meta would show little to nothing. Playing as appropriate, please tell me if I stepped over the line with this one ^^;

[Space Lawyer]

Zero

Zero evidently hasn't been in Hong Kong for very long. While the SIN is pretty good, if one looks at the associated history pretty closely with a suspicious eye, there a few anomalies. The history gets a lot more consistent a few months back, so it is a good bet that SIN is a newer one.

Jagdhund

A bit shows up regarding former service in the AGS, though exactly what she did there isn't available. A few publicly available pictures show that she prefers to hang out in the high-end areas. She evidently has a good deal more money available to her than most runners.

[The Blue Guard]

Jana

Jana stood, listening politely to Jude, and then Zero, and then Judge again. By the time it was Judge speaking again Jana had picked up her half-finished beer and was draining it while he finished.

"It does changes things a little," she said almost to herself as she put down the empty bottle. "Having two deckers, that is. Well, since Zero has some experience working with me I think we should swap your assignments. Judge, you'll be running recon..." She paused. "And could I have another beer, please? And that means Zero," Jana turns to face her. "I'd like you to look for a quiet space we can use that isn't any of our private space. Nothing fancy, but if the promise of future work is solid then we'll be using it again in the future, so keep that in mind."

Broadcasted SIN: Brunhilde Brant

Armor: street clothes
Current Effects: n/a
Other Details: n/a

Overflow: 0/3
Physical: 0/10
Stun: 0/11

[TheJudicator]

Judge

Still getting over the surprise of knowing he has to share his cyberspace with a teammate, Judge took a moment before responding, hopping up to return to the fridge. Grabbing a second bottle of the same stuff, he did the same action to pop off the top, a swift flick of his palm against the lid. "Yeah, sure. Here ya go." Unable to help a wink, he sighed a little before sitting back down, grabbing his deck.

"Recon, eh? So ka, I see how it is. Any specific info you're looking for on Tie Shan, or should I just look up everything I can?" Before booting up and going to work, though, there was a small detail that needed to be covered first. Grabbing the datastick, the "black pebble" that Mr. Hei gave them, he plugged it in to his link, transmitting the information to his trid projector for everyone to view. "Okay, time to see what we're getting into..."

[Space Lawyer]

There are only two icons on the stick. The first is a series of maps and images. Hong Kong overall, then a zoomed in map of the relevant district, both with a small red dot. A third zoomed in map makes it clear that this dot is actually an area, delineating the confines of a manufacturing plant. There are a few street-level images; the quality isn't great, certainly not enough to make a run on alone, but you can see that the place looks mostly run-down, inhabited only by the occasional worker, and surrounded by nothing more than a chain-link fence with a barbed-wire top.

The second icon is just a data file, giving the contact info for a commlink. It was undoubtedly a burner link, to be used only for a single call then disposed of.

[The Blue Guard]

Jagdhund

Jana drinks a few gulps from her beer and then sets it down. Standing she lets out a long sigh-like breath. "Recon is more an art than a science," she answers as she picks up her bag and dumps it on the settee. "It's half instinct and half blind luck. In general though? Focus on ways to get in and out. Try to find levers we can pull, too, even if they don't seem relevant." Unzipping her bag she pulls out a thin, five-foot long rectangle. "I'm not a Matrix specialist though, so I can't exactly tell you how I'd go about doing that." Picking up the rectangle, and zipping her bag back up, she smiles a slightly too toothy smile. "This is my specialty though." She shakes the rectangle for emphasis. "This and covert infiltration and social engineering. And astral overwatch. Though... that technically is involved with this," she shakes the rectangle again. "Which isn't a rain stick."

Broadcasted SIN: Brunhilde Brant

Armor: street clothes
Current Effects: n/a
Other Details: n/a

Overflow: 0/3
Physical: 0/10
Stun: 0/11

[TheJudicator]

Judge

For once, the bravado in Judge's expression dropped, if only for a few minutes. He drank in the advice, mentally thanking her for the tip on recon. Fair enough. Can't blame me for being used to the targets coming to me, hah~[/i] Eyeing the German's grin and her thin box warily, he cracked a little smile in return, starting to understand where she's getting at. "Awakened. Shoulda guessed it. And I'll imagine that is quite a pointy rain stick, huh" He mused in his own mind, the two ladies' talents slowly uncovering and allowing him to predict how the run will go down...both he and the Jagdhund were covert...likely they both will be onsite when it goes down, but he will just have to see.

Processing the info from the datastick, he sighed a little and slumped back against one of the walls, legs crossing into a more meditative stance as he took a few breaths. "Access points, things of weakness, things of that nature. So ka. I know I'm new to you ladies, so I won't object to miss Zero supervising me~" He winked, before growing serious and closing his eyes, his deck booting up, his icon and idoru materializing in the Matrix. "There's more beer and other stuff in the fridge. Help yourself. Otherwise, sit tight. I'll be bahck..." And with that, he slumped into VR.

Addressing his Agent, he gave a nod. <You did good work today, thank you. Dismissed> With a wave, he unloaded the Agent program, swapping it for a good ole' Exploit program he cooked up in his school days. Double-checking his configuration and that he was running silent, he went to work, using the info from the datastick to zoom through the Matrix at the speed of thought, arriving roughly near the Tie Shan factory. Let's see what we have here... Mentally punching in a few commands, he gathered as much information as he could. Did the factory have its own host? What grid did it fall on? Are there significant focal node points within? Was the security center easily noticed?

Current SIN: Craig Bryanhall, Public
Current effects: Matrix VR, cold sim
Physical damage: 0/10
Stun damage: 0/10
Initiative: 3d6+8
Armor: 8 (Actioneer Business Clothes)
Cyberdeck: Configuration: Atk 4, Slz 5, DP 4(6), FW 2(6). Programs Running: Exploit, Signal Scrubber. Currently running silent.
Other: Performing Matrix Perception to identify Tie Shan factory and for information asked above. 2 hits (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4712951/)

[The Blue Guard]

Jagdhund

At the mention of 'help yourself' Jana nodded. She was grateful she wouldn't need to keep asking; it made drinking somebody dry a lot easier. Not what you should be thinking about, she thought, scolding herself as she gently put the rectangle on top of her bag. "Zero. While he's out, and before you step out, I just wanted to sort out another extra thing: what to do if we lose contact. Nothing drastic," she quickly adds as she picks up and drinks some more of her beer. "Just knowing where we all live so we can check it out for signs something's gone very wrong." She pauses for a moment and drinks another few gulps; her second bottle was now just about half-way gone. "Since I'm the one making the suggestion it's only fair I volunteer first: Wanchai-Causeway, 11-33 Moreton Terrace, Bay View Mansion, apartment four-three."

Broadcasted SIN: Brunhilde Brant

Armor: street clothes
Current Effects: n/a
Other Details: n/a

Overflow: 0/3
Physical: 0/10
Stun: 0/11

[Space Lawyer]

The factory has its own host. There is nothing particularly special or interesting about it; it seems to be primarily for integrating the various devices in the factory into a seamless whole. It looks like an old-fashioned factory with the Tie Shan logo (a black mountain surrounded by clouds with the characters for the company on either side) stamped on the wall.

What is interesting though is the grid it is on. This thing hooked in on the Mitsuhama corporate grid. It looks like Tie Shan is a local subsidiary.

Still, a quick look doesn't reveal any particularly heavy security. What kind of person would want to hack a factory in the slums?

[TheJudicator]

Judge - The Matrix, Tie Shan Factory, Kwun Tong

After his initial scan, Judge gave some pause, mulling over this little revelation he discovered. Mitsuhama...well drek. Local subsidiary or not, Ms. Wu isn't playing around, local subsidiary or no. Taking a moment to compose himself, he punched in a quick message to Jagdhund and Zero.

<Hoi. Whatever plan we got brewing, I'd rather pin this drek on someone NOT us. Stories I heard, Mitsuhama doesn't take kindly to runners.>

With that out of the way, it was time to go to work. Clapping his hands together, his icon drew his weapon: a comically overdesigned pistol with a classic screen on the back showing what a smartgun's UI would. "Tracer", he mouthed with a grin as he pulled the trigger, a tiny blip zooming at the host.

Once successfully tagged, Judge would then phase into the factory's host, now recognized as with permissions. Once inside, he set out onward, looking for a few key bits of info: factory layout, processes, personnel files, production planning, primarily. Shouldn't be too hard: if this factory was so small, who would attempt espionage?

Current SIN: Craig Bryanhall, Public
Current effects: Matrix VR, cold sim
Physical damage: 0/10
Stun damage: 0/10
Initiative: 3d6+8
Armor: N/A
Cyberdeck: Configuration: Atk 4, Slz 5, DP 4(6), FW 2(6). Programs Running: Exploit, Signal Scrubber. Currently running silent.
Other: Hack-on-the-Fly to gain a mark on Host (vs Int+Firewall). 5 hits (limit) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4715129/). Net hits count as Perception hits

[Jade_Tarem]

Zero-day

Sidney declined the invitation to drink, instead spending the time that Jag and Judge discussed the mission wondering how much she was willing to reveal.

By the time they seemed ready to part, she'd reached the decision 'not much.' It would be better if Judge found out about the technomancer thing later, having it presented as fait accompli. It wouldn't do to present cashing in on one of the lucrative finder's fees out there for people like her as a better alternative to her services, and Judge already seemed shaky on the double hacker thing.

That said, she tossed back a message in response. [No one takes kindly to runners, but the big ten understand that we're part of the game, now. As long as we don't make ourselves too much of a pain, they'll see it as more effective to employ us than hunt us down.]

It felt strange to refer to herself and runners as a 'we,' but she wasted no time in sending a second message. [Also, I've been wondering about the doubled role as well, but in this case there is enough work for two deckers. While you figure out the factory, I'll be looking up the information we need to come up with the right kind of sabotage to meet Ms. Wu's specifications.]

She popped out of her trance to catch the last part of Jana's statement. "Oh, wow. Are you looking for a roommate?"

[The Blue Guard]

Jana

"Not particularly." Jana sticks her free hand in her pocket and pulls out an earbud she quickly sticks in her ear. "Why? Do you need a place to stay?"

Broadcasted SIN: Brunhilde Brant

Armor: street clothes
Current Effects: n/a
Other Details: n/a

Overflow: 0/3
Physical: 0/10
Stun: 0/11

[Jade_Tarem]

Zero-day

"Yes. Actually." Sidney shrugs. "I... didn't settle in as smoothly as you did, and didn't want to risk my job-worthy SIN on apartment referrals, but if you don't need one, that's fine. I'm staying somewhere in Kowloon. If you need to get in touch, use the Matrix; my address keeps changing."

[The Blue Guard]

Jana

"You..." Even though Sidney hadn't quite come out and said it the sub-text might as well have been in big, block capital letters that read: I AM HOMELESS. Jana narrowed her eyes at Sidney and suppressed an urge to smack her, open-handed, in the head. "Why didn't you say something sooner?" Jana said, gesticulating wildly; the sort of stories that came out of Kowloon City made you feel bad for the slots living there you don't know, so when it was somebody you did... "Merde! Kleine, why didn't you say something sooner? Homeless in Kowloon City? I know I come across as a very lizard brain kind'f hoop, but..." Jana stopped mid-sentence and took in a deep breath, held it for a second or two, and then let it out.

"You can crash at my place. I have a spare bedroom I'm not using for anything important that you can sleep in." Jana was obviously annoyed, and a little bit angry, at the revelation, but what didn't show was that she was a little bit hurt. She had the training and moral flexibility to kill somebody in the course of a job if she needed to, or even as the purpose of a job, but that didn't make her cold - hard, certainly, but not cold. "I'm just using it as spillover for clothes that don't fit in my wardrobe," she elaborated, as if explaining what unimportant thing the room was presently being used for was required.

Broadcasted SIN: Brunhilde Brant

Armor: street clothes
Current Effects: n/a
Other Details: n/a

Overflow: 0/3
Physical: 0/10
Stun: 0/11

[TheJudicator]

Judge - The Matrix: Tie Shan Host

A brief blip on the screen of his weapon confirmed his mark, giving him access. With a grin and a nod, he stood up slowly, reaching out and touching his wrist. His vision shifted as his icon phased, entering the host in moments.

Getting his bearings, he was about to go to work seeking his info when a window popped up to his side, displaying a message from Zero's icon. Huh...definitely a decker. Or an artist, that detail. Pausing, he listened to both messages:


Zero-day

[No one takes kindly to runners, but the big ten understand that we're part of the game, now. As long as we don't make ourselves too much of a pain, they'll see it as more effective to employ us than hunt us down.]

[Also, I've been wondering about the doubled role as well, but in this case there is enough work for two deckers. While you figure out the factory, I'll be looking up the information we need to come up with the right kind of sabotage to meet Ms. Wu's specifications.]
]

He allowed himself a grin, quickly punching in a reply, using his icon to relay it.

<<Addressee: Zero-Day
<<Begin Message:
<<Hoi, you have a point. I'll leave my paranoia at the door, heh. So I pull the info and you do the ideas? Hell of a first date, that. What ever happened to dinner and a trid? Hehe, I'll compile what I find and forward it to you and your big sister to look through. Look forward to seeing your ideas for the second date. Feel free to stick around if you want or go, I should only be a few minutes anyhow. Just uh...no marker on the face? Please?>>

He laughed as he pressed the send button, watching the message stream away in a flash before he went back to work.

[Jade_Tarem]

Zero-day

"I...I...I..." Sidney stammered at first, leaning away as though Jag had just burst into flames - this was the biggest reaction she'd ever seen from Jana, including the time the other woman had killed a man right in front of her. Pride warred with logic momentarily - but Jana's offer was such that the hacker would have to be a fool to pass on it. "I'll get my stuff and be there tonight."

Fortunately, she still had the decker's message to distract her. She willed open another reply window and took way too long deciding what to send. {Zero: Thanks, we won't be long.}

[The Blue Guard]

Jana

Still calm Jana nodded at the answer from the young elf. "Good," she said with a 'headsman's block'-like finality. Out of habit she took a swig from her beer. At least, that's what she would have done if she hadn't dropped her beer. During her wild gesticulations she'd let the bottle drop out of her hand without noticing; the quarter-full bottle had emptied its contents on the floor, and the bottle now pointed accusingly at Jana. Three beers, drunk quickly enough, turned out to be just enough for the tightly wound ex-spy to do something mildly... mildly something. Jana was embarrassed by it, but that didn't make it an inherently embarrassing thing. Acting casually, almost aloof, as if somebody else had dropped the bottle, she bent over and picked up the bottle, and just as casually she got rid of it.

Trying to pretend like nothing strange had happened she pulled a fourth beer out. With a firm grip, and a slightly cavalier attitude toward her hands, she yanked the top off. This time, however, she intended to nurse the beer. Watching Sidney do... something... Jana began running through the list of things she needed to do to accomodate a house guest. One of top five, right beneath bedding, was food. "Hey, Zero. Can you hear me? Do you have any special dietary requirements? Like, are you a vegetarian, or allergic to nuts?"

Broadcasted SIN: Brunhilde Brant

Armor: street clothes
Current Effects: n/a
Other Details: n/a

Overflow: 0/3
Physical: 0/10
Stun: 0/11