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Kaworu
2020-04-14, 01:00 PM
Acrimony

You find yourself in a virtual-reality conference room. There are no windows, just white walls. There is no single source of light, yet everything is bathed in it – not too much, not too less. There is a light-wooded, round table with chair all around it. At one of those, there’s your Firewall proxy, named Eludere.

Eludere looks like he is in in his late-20’s or early-30’s. He is wearing glasses, has close haircut of black hair and his virtual self wears a simple, white shirt with a collar and blue jeans. His whole appearance seems trustworthy.

There is one single detail in the room which grabs your attention – a 3D model of a black rock hanging above the center of the round table, turning around its own center slowly.

- Alright all, this is an emergency investigation – said Eludere - Ten days ago, Chi was delivering a payoff to a contact, a triad boss by the name of Mariposa Chen. She was instrumental on Operation Earwig. Mariposa knows of Firewall, but is not a trusted asset. She currently resides on a mid-sized asteroid called Kongyùn. We know Chi arrived on the station, but then disappeared. For what it’s worth, Mariposa reports they never made contact. Chi of course, is back here with us, resleeved from the backup they left before departing.

- Kongyùn used to be a Fa Jing mine. It’s mostly abandoned, except for a Fa Jing outpost called Lion at one end, and scavengers and miners pulling off old Fa Jing equipment at the other. The Lion project doesn’t seem dangerous to Firewall, but it’s well protected so probably best to give it space. It’s possible Mariposa knows something she isn’t revealing so you might want to start there. Whatever the cause, we need to determine what happened to our sentinel, while continuing to protect Firewall operations and secrecy. Firewall has no other assets or stakes in the habitat, so you are authorized to act as you see fit.

- I have arranged transit on board the fast supply shuttle, the Red Coronet, leaving in two hours. At Kongyùn you’ll be at the BestRest motel. Sorry, all the five-star rooms were booked. You’ll notice on your maps, we’ve marked a hidden scratch space of gear you can access in an emergency. Kongyùn has tight security checks, so no weapons, fabbers, or combat morphs will be permitted past immigration. Pack appropriately. That also means we will not be smuggling in a new payment to Mariposa. If she never got it, we’ll arrange something in a month. Don’t let her distract you from your mission.

It seemed like a good time to ask some questions.


Hi :-)

For the new players of the system, you are currently in a virtual reality. Please, explain how do you look. This has nothing to do with your morph - a body you are currently inhabiting - and is like, hm, choosing an forum avatar? :-)

Tycho42
2020-04-14, 01:43 PM
To manifest for this meeting, Njal has materialized as a dark, grim figure with one eye socket empty. His long, unkempt gray hair flows in an imagined wind, gently undulating like the sea. He looks more like a grizzled viking captain holding firm to the prow of a ship.

“Did Chi transmit anything from the asteroid before being restored from the backup?”

jolinaxas
2020-04-14, 09:42 PM
Flexibility when it came to instances of oneself had been one of the first things cultivated by an extensive forking habit, to say nothing of professional expertise and experience.

That said, as Chi instanced in, digitally clad in what passed for their consistent self-image (an androgynous Martian sylph sleeve of asian ancestry, similar to the body they used in their twenties, with some residual features from their birth sleeve) they couldn't help but be a little unsettled that the previous Chi had possibly been murdered.

"That's a fair question. I'm still getting various processes back up, I can check my logs when my muse has caught up to the present. And I might have sent it through channels I'm now unaware of."

Tycho42
2020-04-14, 10:40 PM
The one eyed figure turned towards Chi and nodded. “I can check as well. I’d love to know if you were able to get any information out.”

Kaworu
2020-04-15, 03:30 PM
- No channel that we are aware of - confessed Eludere - All we know is that the contact has been lost. Original Chi can be dead or captured, we do not know. We are in the dark. That's why we are sending you to get a closer look.

jolinaxas
2020-04-17, 07:36 PM
"I'll admit that I'm curious as well. I think the setup you've laid out explains itself, we need ears on the ground. I have some more questions, but they're mostly for me. And my muse."

Chi called up the major rep networks, looking to see if he'd publicly used any favors during the lack. At the same time, he sent his muse to get any basic groundwork the proxy's brief didn't mention - major rep networks used there, local news and media, et cetera.


I'm not sure if Know: Rep Nets is needed to just see recent favors used, but just in case:
TN 60: [roll0]

Research
TN 75 (Research 65 + Assisted by Muse): [roll1]

ShadowImmor
2020-04-18, 07:07 AM
Svafa's avatar pops up, and essentially looks like a humanoid form made entirely of static.

It listens silently, to the instructions and the questions before a voice that sounds like a cheese grater going through a blender speaks.

"What do we know about where the meeting was supposed to take place?"

Tycho42
2020-04-18, 10:03 AM
“What is Mariposa’s rep like? Is there any chance she was just trying to get a ‘freebie’? Kill Chi 1.0, take the payment, play dumb, and get another? I’m just asking.”

Kaworu
2020-04-19, 12:34 AM
- Maripisa? Killed Chi and wanted another payment? – asked Eludere – Hm… according to our psychological profile, this seems unlikely. I mean, people change and nowadays you can always do some psychosurgery, but… I am of the impression that there is going something else. Something under the skin and fishy. But yes, we should weight up all possibilities.

At the same time, Chi look up the asteroid. Kongyun was about 9 kilometers in every direction and there was basically nothing to tell about that. Small, 2 000 community. Mostly hipercorps leftover workers. Not rich in anything, living in an ex-mine faculities. Long, peripheral orbit that’s gonna get farther and farther from the Sun. Some scientific experiment being set by hipercorps in order to reach deep into space with plates. Really, not much info. It did not seemed like a place to kill somebody, especially a trained Firewall agent. Maybe the original Chi was really just kidnapped for some reason?

Where Svafa asked about the meeting, Eludere glanced at the asteroid 3D map that was flying above the table. A red point appeared inside, along the line joining the space port with it – Here, your muses will get it. According to our agents, there should be no danger there. Of course, according to our agents, Chi should already be back…

The muse of Njal had shown them the reps of Mariposa. Nothing out of ordinary, at least for a criminal. G-rep, c-rep, stuff like that. She seemed honest – for a person of her repute.

The last member of the team was sitting silently. Amal was using a VR avatar of unspecified gender, with medium-long hair of gold and bright blue eyes. Their muse was taking notes of all that was being said and published the notes for him in real time. They were before him, on a yellow paper with hand-written font. Their apparently had no questions, but that’s right, their were always the silent type.

jolinaxas
2020-04-22, 06:05 AM
Chi's avatar raised an eyebrow as it manipulated windows.

"Not exactly a bustling metropolis. Ex-mining outpost, about to head into deep orbit. I have no other questions; most of my unanswered questions will have to be dealt with on-site. Which will be more than a little confusing, given that I've already been. I assume I used my fake identity..."