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[PILOT] Chapter 2: Edgar's Party [ALL]
The landing in Atlantica was pretty smooth, considering it's a landing at sea... It was mid-day when you touched down, and Ludo brought you all to his private penthouse in the outer district. The room he gave you all was on the 57th floor of the hotel with a beautiful view of the ocean. You all got a few hours sleep and prepared for the party, and the heist.
Utseo, Tank messaged you with the details for the submarine extraction while you slept. How long do you have from the start of the party until the extraction?
Alex, You were tasked with obtaining the layout of the lower levels, which you did masterfully. What was the first thing you did?
Emily, It's a huge party. The bass is thumping, the lights are flashing, people are popping vintage champagne bottles left and right... Even Edgar Hoefler himself is chatting up some VIPs at the center of the party. Edgar knows a great deal about the data in his memory cloud, and he could be a loose end.
All, and so you have it... You find yourself in the middle of a raging party, guards watching most of the major exits down into the lower levels of Edgar's facility, and a clock ticking down towards the Sub's departure — and your hopeful extraction.
Things you should know about the party (Environmental tags):
+Random Party Guest, +Corks Popping, +Swaying Crowd, +Thumping Bass, +Pulsing Lights, +Silvery Mirrored Tray
What do you do?
Utseo, Tank messaged you with the details for the submarine extraction while you slept. How long do you have from the start of the party until the extraction?
Alex, You were tasked with obtaining the layout of the lower levels, which you did masterfully. What was the first thing you did?
Emily, It's a huge party. The bass is thumping, the lights are flashing, people are popping vintage champagne bottles left and right... Even Edgar Hoefler himself is chatting up some VIPs at the center of the party. Edgar knows a great deal about the data in his memory cloud, and he could be a loose end.
All, and so you have it... You find yourself in the middle of a raging party, guards watching most of the major exits down into the lower levels of Edgar's facility, and a clock ticking down towards the Sub's departure — and your hopeful extraction.
Things you should know about the party (Environmental tags):
+Random Party Guest, +Corks Popping, +Swaying Crowd, +Thumping Bass, +Pulsing Lights, +Silvery Mirrored Tray
What do you do?
Comments
Tank said it was sixty minutes, but I know her, we have about fifteen minutes of flex time, really. She's too cautious.
I'll try to work my way around to the guards, get a solid read on their weapons, any cyberware, blind spots, obvious personal attributes about them (do they have a roving eye, anything outside the normal uniform, anything I can use to strike up a conversation).
I've also got my video crew logged in, trying to access any feeds streaming out from party-goers in case they can be useful. Never hurts to think outside the box.
I immediately begin casing Edgar. I've encountered him before, but people can change so quickly. He's cleaned up, some, wearing more conservative clothing, and-
My thought is cut short as the music trips over itself. I frown slightly, continue observing. He still carries his palmPC, even the same model, which means he's unwilling to sacrifice the comfort of it for the luxury of-
The music interrupts my mind again, almost making me physically ill. What in the world is going on? Are the speakers having a seizure? I turn my head and see that no, there is a DJ on deck. My blood begins to heat. DJ Dead Presidents. That power-damned, no talent- I cut myself short. The mission. I've made an obligation. I take an inverted glass of something fizzy from a server. If Edgar is still carrying the same palmPC, that means he likely has all kinds of lovely data and access on it for the convenience of it, which means-
Fucking piece of dreg. I can't do this. This is not okay. I turn to Alex.
"Sexyness." I point to Edgar. "Get his palmPC. Disable the GPS and alarms within five minutes of wrapping your hands around it. It may help us immensely."
I stalk off, finding a reclusive corner. I quickly apply makeup, using lighting effects to narrow my nose, widen my eyes, recess my chin - making me look like a ferret. With a few tugs and twists, my dress is more form fitting, making my look more lithe. DJ Synth can't show her up, but an unknown Kostumer can. I look around for an overriding MC mic to snag.
And just like that, Em was off again in the masses of the crowd. There was a tone to her voice, something different. Normally I'd just blow off her comments as being in character, but not this time.
I make a note to ask her about it later.
Getting the palmPC was pretty impossible, at least the physical device. Slaving the thing and downloading the entire unit into a nested hard space on my own rig was far safer. A flash copy could be detected, of course, but it would provide me the opportunity to plant a little trojan in there.
I walk over to Edgar with a smile on my face. I advance with a slight stumble, rumpling my appearance and stagger just enough to make it believable. I snag a drink from a server on my way over.
I stay and wait for Edgar to pull the palmPC out. When he does I stumble into him. I toss the drink up towards his face and extend the interface jack on my spider harness to connect to the palmPC. I fall over into it and make the drapery of my coat cover the entire operation.
Emily, DJ Dead Presidents had it coming anyway... Why don't you give me a roll (Targeted difficulty 3) to see if you can get the job done without people figuring out who you are.
Alex, Edgar is being particularly stingy, spewing nonsense about Parties like this costing money, and wanting to get out of the data business. He's got a lot of personal guards surrounding him... I'm going to call it difficulty 5 just to get near him. Stealing the PalmPC would be child's play if you could get there, though.
Of course, Edgar is also feeling particularly talkative right now. While you're waiting for him to pull out the PalmPC, you overhear him chatting with one of the party-goers, "Yup. I'm getting a good sum for my shares too — Nanotech’s been in the Mainframe to do their due diligence. I imagine the Technocrats have, too, since my idiot brother’s selling his half of the company to them. Better those two keep fighting than either of them get an edge, anyway, I guess. They were only interested in one client though... I wish I had the creds to dump on a single object of my curiosity."
What do you do?
I am a Scenester+, using my wealthy, posh connections and Educated knowledge of the social scene to creatively and charismatically stomp all over this bee while staying in disguise.
I'm also throwing in my remaining stunt die.
(Rolled: 8d6. Rolls: 4, 2, 6, 2, 4, 2, 5, 1. Total: 26)
I'll blend in now. I'm going to break off from Ludo and prowl the room, find a few folks to strike up banal conversations with and generally be a neutral figure.
Once I feel invisible, I'm going to start wheedling away at these guards, working at the edges and taking them down by ones and twos. Easy stuff, non-lethal, knocking them out, hiding them in closets, or shoving them over long balconies (ok, maybe a little lethal, alas).
Since I'm a Gutter Shogun, I sometimes frequent parties like this. I'll use my Charm to strike up a conversation with a Random Party Guest, then being Resourceful, I'll mix in and out of the Pulsing Lights to distract the guards from my threat. I think this plan is chock full of clever Insight, if I do say so myself. I'll throw in a Stunt Die, just to make sure.
Blending in: (Rolled: 8d6. Rolls: 3, 1, 3, 4, 2, 1, 2, 3. Total: 19)
+Corks Popping, +Swaying Crowd, +Thumping Bass, +Silvery Mirrored Tray
Emily, you step up onto the stage between sets thanks to an old friend, and start spinning something for the crowd — is this completely improvised, or is it something you've been working on a while?
Either way, the crowd goes insane when they hear you drop the beat. People crowd up around the DJ booth, and you can hear people talking about you. You put on such a masterful show that DJ Dead Presidents, who's back at the bar, looks outright infuriated that somebody is showing her up. Are you playing some new things you're working on, or just riffing it?
Utseo, Emily's distraction is proving particularly helpful at helping you slip into the crowd and disappear. So much so, that a few of the guards at the entrance to the lower levels are leaving their post to help keep the crowd in line. There are now only two guards per entrance, rather than four.
What do you do?
Two guards per entrance? I'll use my subvocal mic to reach out to Alex and Em, "Hey, you two, I'm going to reduce our exposure here. The southern wind will be the cleanest once I'm done."
Translation - going to take out the guards to the south entrance. Keep your eyes peeled in case there's trouble.
Taking out these guards is relatively easy for a Street Samurai like me. I'll use the Thumping Bass to cover my approach. Once I'm right on them, I'll use my ability to Tumble right between them, then attack with a combination of my Martial Arts kicks with my powerful Metal Legs and strike the other with my electric knife, skillfully using my training with Weaponry. I have to move Quick to get them both. Also, I'm not going to be delicate, I will maim and if needed, kill them, so I'm being quite Rough. I won't seek their deaths, but this is for Josine. I'll spend a stunt die to bring it to 10 dice.
(Rolled: 10d6. Rolls: 2, 6, 1, 2, 1, 5, 4, 5, 5, 5. Total: 36)
Assign two to guard one and two to guard two. I just manage to take both down!
Once they're down, I'll comm to both, "Al, south wind blows free. Come enjoy the breeze."
Translation: I took out the guards, come down here.
[Alex]
Making a face, I shook my head and start moving towards Edgar. I should listen to Utseo and head down the south entrance. I'll get there eventually, but not before I gain a little edge in all this. Sometimes you just have to prove your superiority.
Preparing to be a Burglar I wait until I hear [b]Corks Popping[/b] and move with the Swaying Crowd to close the distance to Edgar. I go to be Stealthy and reduce the distance without them noticing. My Cable Harness sends a tiny tendril out in preparation to Hotwire the palmPC once I can get close enough. I move Quickly and keep a Perceptive eye open. I know that the moment I Tumble into Edgar, I have only a half a second to stall before the guards are on me. I'll also throw in two stunt dice for the attempt.
(Rolled: 11d6. Rolls: 2, 3, 4, 2, 1, 6, 5, 3, 5, 5, 2. Total: 38)
+Swaying Crowd, +Thumping Bass, +Silvery Mirrored Tray.
Utseo, the guards don't even see you coming. You sneak under the cover of the crowd, and unload on them. They're down on the ground before anyone else can even notice. These doors require a key card which the guards here have.
Alex, everything works in concert here — Emily's distraction, the rush of the crowd, your impeccable skill — you manage to sneak up to Edgar just as he utters, "I dunno... Some guy named Josine apparently. They were adamant that they get his files. I'd never heard of him before then — must have been a whistleblower or something." Then you bump into him, just enough to knock off his balance and slip his palmPC out of his pocket.
Then before he can even turn to see who bumped him, you're gone — heading straight for the south entrance.
OOC: Take a stunt die for that magnificent feat!
Emily, Alex, you look over to the south entrance to the lower levels and notice Utseo's freshly punched hole in security.
What do you do?
I nick the key card and prepare for their arrival. I'm guessing there is a second layer of security, so I don't want to barge in, have to close the door to fight them, and leave my team out here twiddling their thumbs. So I'll wait.
I pull up a young man that I halfway recognize - in spirit, anyway, if not in flesh - and set him on deck. I blend into the crowd, wiping off my makeup as I duck behind a 3D digital display that morphs between erotic statues, and tug my dress back into place. I grab a promising looking flute of something shiny, and throw my arm over Alex's shoulders and match his pace.
"Sexyness! I'm so happy to have found you." I take a large mouthful of my beverage - ohmygosh this is good - and sway a little. I stage whisper, "Let's go somewhere a little more private." for those around us.
OOC: Oops! Sorry. I completely missed that you disappeared with Alex.
All, you make your way over to Utseo, who is just swiping the key card so you can slip into the secured section of the city. The other side of the door leads you into a hallway that forks in two directions: Left leads to the city's security station, and right to the elevators taking you down into the mainframe rooms/business offices.
You slip into the elevator, and go down, down, down below into the sea. In just an instant, you're 100 meters below sea level, and the elevator doors swing open into a small lab area that looks like this:
There are four techie type people working at the consoles in the middle of the room, and eight guards standing easy at each of the exits in the middle of the four walls lining the square room. Two of which of course are standing just to the side of the elevator doors, and have just turned to look at you.
They look shocked to see you.
Just so you're aware, these are the environmental tags you have to play with down in here: +Open Porthole, +Ricochet, +Burst Pipe.
I quickly reprogram my tattoo so it disappears inside my dress, and straighten my hair, passing off my drink to Alex. My face morphs into the polite, but stern, expression of a high-level executive assistant.
"Good evening, gentlemen. I've come at Mr. Hoefler's request. I've brought with me security and a special independent tech agent. Please step aside."
Take a stunt die for help. I've got your well-formed back, my dear. I'm dropping into my bodyguard stance.
I am a CultureJammer+ Cleverly and Artfully Hotwiring our situation to Persuade these men into allowing my Subterfuge.
Also, using Utseo's stunt die.
(Rolled: 7d6. Rolls: 4, 4, 2, 6, 4, 2, 3. Total: 25)
The guard on the left looks over to his partner, and they exchange glances. Gradually, they remove their hands from their weapons and nod. "Apologies, miss. We weren't notified of your arrival," the man on the left says, "do you know where you're going? Or will you be needing an escort?"
"An escort would be appreciated. I apologize for the sudden arrival, but Mr. Hoefler has received a sudden and generous offer from Mr. Johnson for some of his data. Tri- I mean, Christopher, is here to ensure the data is removed after being acquired. It's an implacable part of the contract." I start to drop the tag Trine, a flashy data head that exists mostly in urban legend. He's infamous for helping whoever is paying. His scale is illogical, he doesn't always go for the highest bidder, and I've even heard that he worked for a song before - I mean literally, a song. A vintage Compact Disc that held music. Even I don't know what he looks like, but if I don't, that means these men certainly do not, and if they've heard his name before it will help set our story.
I smile as Em puts her arm around me. I know it's just the role she's playing, but hey, it's nice to pretend for just a moment. As she leads me, I activate my arm computer to start the routines. In addition, the moment that I got the PalmPC I stripped its GPS and security. The algorithm I created decrypts the data and purges it of any trojans and viruses.
"Absolutely ma'am," Qing continues, "if you'll follow me, I can set you all up at a guest terminal."
You all know right away that a guest terminal won't have the access levels you'll need to get the job done, but you also know exactly where the mainframe is... It was on the subnet's info site — which you have access to thanks to Edgar's palmPC. It would seem Edgar doesn't spend too much time below the cityscape. I suppose you might expect that of an heir that loves to party.
What do you do?
A dumb terminal is not going to cut it. I'll wait until he leads us away from his friends, then I'm going to drop him. Nothing personal, of course. I believe a spike to the base of his skull might work. But I'm not opposed to pulling him into a lock and choking him out if that is a better solution to our problem.
Alas, I can see that it isn't. This man, Qing, he has to die to stay silent. Mark one up for Josine. The list has grown long, my old friend.
As a Street Samurai +, I know I can clear the path. I want until we walk near an Open Porthole, then move Quick up behind him, pull him into a Martial Arts lock, pulling tight and choking him out.
I'll spend a Stunt Die to make it happen just right.
(Rolled: 6d6. Rolls: 1, 6, 4, 6, 6, 2. Total: 25)
Utseo, how long did you hit him for? How often do you use spikes?
Alex is able to guide you down the winding halls, stealthily avoiding any onlookers to the Hoefler mainframe room. You've got three layers of security to worry about here: The first is a biometric lock on the main door. It's set to unlock for Edgar or any of his lieutenants, and it's pretty advanced retinal scan tech (Difficulty 3 to bypass).
The second — which you only know about because Alex stole Edgar's palmPC — are top-of-the-line opto-scan cameras from Nanotech staring down the narrow hallway leading into the server room. These crummy little cameras require an RFID sensor implanted in authorized users. Anyone without the tag has a fully automatic M2 Browning unload on them as they approach. It's pretty close quarters in there too — you'll have to enter one person at a time, and the air ducts are too small to even consider passing through.
The third security measure is one of logistics — there's only the one way in or out of that room, and if any of the alarms are triggered, you'll be cornered.
Remaining Environmental Tags: +Ricochet, +Burst Pipe.
I did the full drain. We are working here. Spikes aren't something I use often. I've brain-killed fifteen people now. It isn't something I'm proud of.
I'm pretty sure the shock only showed on my face for an instant. It's hard to tell - time stood still as I watched Utseo destroy a man who had offered nothing but courtesy. I feel vaguely sick. This isn't how I want to change the world, this isn't the person I've been fighting to become. I don't remember Utseo's methods affecting me this intensely in previous missions - but that was before...well. Before.
I follow numbly, my face a mask of focus and purpose.
My back was turned when I heard the jolt and insertion of the spike. I caught Em's reaction as I swiveled around to see what happened. I approached just as the man fell to the ground.
I don't have time for this.The PalmPC illustrated several security measures that weren't anticipated. Not impossible to circumvent, obviously, be a challenge worthy of me. We have to start with the biometric door of course. I shoot Utseo a dirty look as I get the edge of the cool bronze panel for the scanner. My harness comes to life, as well as my arm computer. Three spines from my harness inject themselves in key points within the biometric scanning device as I begin to work.
This is from my Burglar days. I move Stealthly, keeping my movements Quick and my eyes Perceptive. The Cable Harness allows me to Climbing my way to the security panel, and I'll toss in a Stunt Die as well.
(Rolled: 7d6. Rolls: 4, 6, 5, 3, 5, 3, 2. Total: 28)
How do you intend to get by them?
By the way: Here's a map of the Hoefler Cloud Mainframe facility you're in.
"Alex," I say casually. Yes, Alex, I caught your look, I felt your judgment. "If we dig out the RFID from the guard back there, you think you can spoof it or maybe we , ah , install it and get you in there?"
I roll my eyes. "Let the dead rest, man. Seriously." I walk over to the dead man and scan the RFID I/O signal with a subtle masked current." I copy the transmission frequency and mount a duplicate RFID transmitter on my forearm.
I walk forward towards the guns. Let's do this.
I reach for Em's arm, take it with my off-hand, "One chip, one entrant. Let's watch his back from here." Alex is a big boy, this is his job.
I glance down at his hand on my arm, and nod. "No problem".
User ID: Josine.
Last access: ::1/128
Memory backups: 0.
Operations:
UTC 5918214889875 ~7 years ago
josine > mkdir /data/backup/01924/.../josine
josine > mkdir /data/backup/00002/.../josine
josine > mkdir /data/backup/02247/.../josine
josine > mkdir /data/backup/00891/.../josine
josine > cp /dev/nj09/001/* /data/backup/01924/.../josine
josine > cp /dev/nj09/002/* /data/backup/00002/.../josine
josine > cp /dev/nj09/003/* /data/backup/02247/.../josine
josine > cp /dev/nj09/004/* /data/backup/00891/.../josine
... this command repeats several times across several folders ...
UTC 6136979689255 2 days ago
IP: ::/128
root > . /dev/nj07/pull */josine/*
root > . /dev/nj07/scramber */josine/*
root > rm -RF */josine/*
UTC 6136994089680 about 1 day ago
IP: fd5e:e2e7:11a9:bdeb:1a30:bbf2:100:1 Somewhere in China
josine > ls /data/backup/01924
UTC 6137030089671 about 18 hours ago
IP: fd4f:3e0a:a1b0:7419:1a30:bbf2:100:1 Somewhere in Nigeria
josine > ls /data/backup/00002
UTC 6137062489423 about 9 hours ago
IP: fd8e:bf23:29c:eaef:1a30:bbf2:100:1 Somewhere in the USA
josine > ls /data/backup/02247
UTC 6137066089888 about 2 hours ago
IP: fdd1:4ae1:3bde:1f2a:1a30:bbf2:100:1 Somewhere in Australia
josine > ls /data/backup/00891
Someone has accessed Josine’s data from the outside. It’s a masterful bit of data manipulation, writing over existing files hundreds of times with junk data, and leaving no trace to pursue. Josine’s data hasn’t merely been accessed, it has been downloaded and deleted from the cloud, removed from storage altogether.
The data in Edgar’s half of the cloud is gone.
Access logs, however, reveal that Josine’s personal login information was used to access and search the Hoefler services from outside, since the deletion. Logins have occurred from sites throughout the globe. It could be someone's broken the encryption on Josine's memories and is using account information from them — Or is Josine still out there?
You could pull much more detailed information from those access points with a difficulty 3 roll — you have the impression someone is still scouring the Hoefler cloud for something, and you're looking at the main access hub to the information they want...
What do you do?
Utseo and Emily, just as Alex jacks in, you hear the door to the room you're in slide open, and a middle-aged lady with brown hair and glasses appears in the door frame. She was looking at the floor, but is shocked when she sees two people standing between her and the mainframe... She jumps, nervously inhaling and raising a hand to calm herself.
"Good lord, you people scared me." She looks you both over, and notices you're not wearing badges. She looks like a civilian, and isn't armed. "What are you doing here? This is a restricted area." She hasn't spotted Alex yet, but she's about to look down the corridor, and she'll certainly spot him then...
What do you do?
I glance down at my forearm, where I have my digital tattoo display the time.
"Twelve minutes. Tsk." I raise my eyes to meet hers, as if over a pair of glasses that I might otherwise habitually wear. "This will not reflect well on the report."
This is the woman's ID badge by the way.
OOC: apologies for playing revisionist, but this woman is more middle-aged than young. Her picture sold me on it.
I purse my lips into a thin white line. "It is my calling, Mizz Blattloch, to advise clients on crisis management. An important part of my job is finding the flaws in the current crisis management plan, and the security flaws in an organization." I walk towards her briskly, still talking to keep her attention on me, hoping that Alex continues to move. "Did you know that I was able to get access without showing any identification?" I shake my head in mock sadness. "Now, while my associate determines the security of the server, I'll need to ask you a few questions for the analysis." I change the display on my forearm to that of a basic text document, which begins to record words as I hear or say them.
It's getting somewhat stressful to herd her. Give me a difficulty 3 roll not to get too frustrated.
I am a Scenester+, Charismatically and Creatively using my Education, Wealth and natural talent at Savoir Faire to own this thing.
(Rolled: 6d6. Rolls: 3, 6, 3, 1, 2, 6. Total: 21)
"And what, Mrs. Blattloch, is to be done if that isolation is breached? There is inadequate protocol in place, and we are here to do a test scenario so that we might best remedy this."
In the meantime, she's at a loss. "Miss... Whoever you are, protocol demands that I remove you all from the room — regardless of whether you were hired by Mr. Hoefler himself. Surely as someone whose job it is to test these things you can appreciate that, right?"
Then she shakes her head, like she just remembered something important, and in a huff says, "I need to start the nightly diagnostics, and I'm going to have to call security to escort you around — because this isn't my job; and if this really is a drill, I'm not going to be the one who didn't call security." She pulls up a rather posh arm computer and is digging around in her contacts for someone — in a few seconds, she'll have security on the line.
What do you do?
I give Em a raised eyebrow. She knows I could kill this woman in a heartbeat. Which is exactly what I will do if Em even nods in the slightest. I've angled myself in profile, I have a spike in my right hand, the one away from her.
We are backed into a corner, and I do not drekking like it. How did I let this happen? I always have a way out. Always.
I forgot how it feels when the stakes are a lot more dangerous than offending an art critic.
I find myself reaching out, placing a hand on her arm. "No need." I jander to an emergency panel in the wall. I raise my hand to the fingerprint pad, where I let it rest while my digital tattoo flickers through randomly generated fingerprints until it can find a match. I raise my voice so that Alex can hear. "Remember Ankara, boys?" My voice is cool, slightly amused, even though I know what Utseo will do next. I sure as hell hope that Alex had enough time to finish what was needed.
Ankara. That was forever ago. I was a kid back then, still walking on two legs, all full of bravado and a twenty pound chip on my shoulder. I was always in competition with Yoshi. We were both Josine's lapdogs then. I had a major crush on Emily then, too. We all did, to be honest.
Of course, Em is referring to that op where she "accidentally" ripped her dress in a very strategic way to show a bit of extra cleavage so I could get the drop on George Orson III. He was my first hit. I never told Em that. I had killed two guys in street fights, before Josine recruited me, but that was all just part of gang life. We both had weapons, we both knew it was coming, only one of us would live. George was a straight up assassination.
Like I'm about to do right now.
That look of reproach she gave me a minute ago of Qing. Where is that now, Em?
I'm a Street Samurai trained in Martial Arts. I will move Quick to roughly harm this IT manager, using my spike weaponry. I'm going for 5 seconds of spike.
I'll put in two Stunt Dice as well for 8
(Rolled: 8d6. Rolls: 1, 3, 2, 3, 1, 3, 1, 2. Total: 16)
The roll was unnecessary — you're a trained killer, and she's senior manager of the IT department here. She barely has time to throw her hands up in surprise before your spike makes contact. She seizes for the brief contact your spike makes with her skin, and then falls to the ground limp.
If she goes down that easy, then I'll just drop her (not kill her, just knock her out). She won't remember much. But I glance up at Em when I catch the woman mid-fall, give her a tight smile.
My pulse quickens, my eyes locked with Utseo's. He has always been so much of what I wanted to leave behind me - and so god damned useful in this messy work. In the end, more so than I ever was. Sneaking secrets isn't very useful if you're dead or brain jacked by a corp.
I don't smile back, I allow myself that much honesty, but I keep my mask on. Fond memories be damned, I can never let myself forget that these people are killers. That loving them makes me one, too.
We need that detailed information. I only have a few moments so I'm going to hack the thing and get that information.
As a Burgular I set upon my work. I leverage my Cable Harness for multiple access points, and use my Perceptive to remain in Steath. I Hotwire the device and throw in a stunt die as well.
(Rolled: 6d6. Rolls: 2, 5, 1, 3, 5, 5. Total: 21)
(Rolled: 8d6. Rolls: 6, 4, 3, 1, 2, 2, 6, 1. Total: 25)
Alex, you manage to narrow down the location of these access hubs with more data from the Hoefler mainframe logs. The offending parties have logged in here from:
• A high-security high-rise in Laos, Nigeria.
• A massive, derelict underground criminal complex in Dezhou, China.
• A personal computer, in a run down apartment building in Seatle, USA
• A satelite link-up from a boat somewhere near Sydney, Australia.
What do you do?
"Alex," I say loudly, but without any worry, I know he can do this job. "In a few minutes, this IT manager will wake back up. Hurry up if you don't want to scold me for killing her, alright?"
"The data isn't here," I say as I rise, "but I know where to look next." I close up and run a cleaning utility to mask my access to the system. "We're out, my amigos. Time to bounce."
• You can attempt to hack and sneak your way through the powerplant (which requires heightened security codes to enter).
or:
• You can go back the way you came; but as soon as people spot you without an escort, they're going to get suspicious...
Which way do you want to go?
"I'm running low on spikes," I lie, to save their on. "Alex, can you splice us into the powerplant? It should get us direct to the docking bay."
"I can help." My hand is still pressed to the pad, looking for a match. From there, if we can copy the individual's badge resonance, we should have an easier time moving through.
I roll my eyes and smirk. "Can I? Please." I turn over to Em. "Come on Em, let's do the scanning, synchronization thing and get us out of here." I place my hand over hers and start running multiple resonance routines. The scanner whirled to life and started to shift through the different badge pathways.
I'll be assisting Alex using +Hacker Maven, as already narratively established.
(Rolled: 1d6. Rolls: 6. Total: 6)
(Rolled: 6d6. Rolls: 2, 1, 5, 6, 6, 6. Total: 26)
With Alex's codes, you make it through the facility's power plant without incident. You notice a few civvies give you funny looks in the halls through the office space, but there was no resistance. You enter the docking bay, and spot the two pressurized contacts on the floor. Tank's people have the coordinates, and all you need to do is open them when they latch on...
They're standing by for your order, and you're making your way over to the control panel when two guards walk in and spot you — they both reach for their sidearms reflexively, and come rushing up to you, "Hey!" one of them shouts, "Hey! You can't be here!"
What do you do?
I'm not the actor Emily is, but I'll try to pull off a slightly tipsy walk as I turn to them, "Oh hey! We're. We're lost!" One-two steps closer.
Then, as they start to move towards me, I'll launch myself forward, pushing off my right foot and leaping into a sidekick, then tumbling past to strike the other guard.
I'm attacking them to knock them out, no need to kill here if I can avoid it. I'm a Street Samurai + and I'll strike with my incredibly hard Metal Legs in a Martial Arts combination, moving Quick and then Tumbling between them. Spending two Stunt Dice.
(Rolled: 8d6. Rolls: 4, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 3, 4. Total: 31)
You rush over to the console, and pull up the protocols to open the docking bay. There's no nice way to put this, so I'll just say it: There's an alarm hard-wired into the opening sequence — it's designed to keep people away from the hatches as they open, but this is going to draw some attention. There's going to be a loud horn going off, and lights flashing in here while the compartment depressurizes... It would be faster to just put up with it and bolt, than to try and deactivate it.
You set it up so everything's ready to go before you flip the switch, and then you bolt for the sub as soon as the alarms start ringing. Once you're all in, you meet the helmsman: a young gentleman with the nametag "G. Whitman" who seems rather green... "Hold on!" He calls out as you blast off the docking bay at full speed.
You proceed under water for quite some ways, before you emerge on the surface of the Atlantic ocean. The sub doubles as a speedboat, and when he removes the canopy to get a better view, you notice you're being pursued by 3 speedboats from the direction of Atlantica. You hear bullets falling just short of the boat, and Whitman isn't doing enough to lose them...
What do you do?
This sub-speedboat combination is quite clever. I wish Whitman were equally as impressive. I need to have a talk with Tank about this guy.
"If you don't mind speeding up, Whitman, I'd like to get out of here in one piece." I say calmly as I reach into a compartment and draw out a H&K 97 and take aim on the lead speedboat.
I'm a Street Samurai +, so I've been in many firefights. I'll snap off a few Quick shots before the speedboat driver... pilot? whatever, is able to take cover. I'm skilled at using this Weaponry, too. I'll blow my three stunt dice on this (prep a refresh scene soon!)
(Rolled: 7d6. Rolls: 1, 5, 2, 6, 6, 6, 4. Total: 30)
I'm not great at covering fire, but I am good at creating distractions. I quickly find a flare gun in the emergency kit, and tinker with it, packing in a bit of gunpowder from a few dissected bullets. I add a few multi-purpose minerals that I keep in hidden compartments under the gemstones in my bracelet, and I have one hell of a chaotic firework.
"Don't look up!" I aim straight above us, and fire.
(Rolled: 1d6. Rolls: 5. Total: 5)
During the commotion, I set a shrill whine to fire off my armlet, thus creating a secondary distraction.
(Rolled: 1d6. Rolls: 3. Total: 3)
You've got two speedboats converging on you, a leaky fuel tank, and quite the distance to cover until you'll be under the safety of the Sub's defenses.
What do you do?
"I've got the fuel tank!" I start tearing at the siding at the back of the boat to gain access to it.
I slide over and grab the wheel. I send my cable harness out to form a barrier between Em and the oncoming bullets.
I am a Hacker Maven+, Hacking a Repair on this fuel tank with Tools.
(Rolled: 4d6. Rolls: 3, 2, 5, 6. Total: 16)
One of the last set of upgrades put into the harness was a repulsor. It lets me levitate slightly off the ground or to cushion my fall from a great height. I activate the harness to enshroud Emily and activate the repulsor.
(Rolled: 1d6. Rolls: 6. Total: 6)
Emily, You work quickly, and patch up the tank in no time flat. The boats are almost on you.
All, If you want to out-run them, it will be a targeted roll difficulty 4. If you want to gun them down, it will be difficulty 3 per boat — so an untargeted roll of difficulty 6.
What do you do?
"I don't know about you boys," I say through a grateful, if shaky, smile to Alex. "But I would like to get the fuck out of here."
I weave my way to the front of the boat, and pull out my Nano. I'm going to hotwire this monster and remove the engine choke so we can outrun these assholes.
I'm going to trigger my Versatility Edge.
I am an Infiltrator+ and a Culture Jammer+, Quickly and Cleverly Plugging In to Precisely Hotwire some sweet Subterfuge so we can Agilely escape.
(Rolled: 8d6. Rolls: 3, 4, 6, 2, 3, 6, 1, 1. Total: 26)
The other security boat turns off when it saw the raw firepower of your new friend.
== END SCENE ==