Game 1

Aeris-Last Thursday at 7:18 PM

[For players in Firewall]

Message incoming

Firewall access code detected

Crosschecking against database

Firewall access code confirmed:

Proxy Pyrrhos

"Sentinel, I require your help"

"The Nine Lives Cartel has aquired a new psychosurgery tool of unknown origin, yet clearly not transhuman."

"Firewall's sleeper agent on Legba has gone AWOL 26 hours ago, Amaru Timoti. Your mission is to recover and debrief Timoti, find out what Nine Lives is up to and stop them if it is required."

"You will meet with other agents and private contractors on the STS Arrow Flight, a shuttle I have rented for this purpose and travel to Legba. Extropia docking bay G23, port 7. A QE comm unit is on board currently. Other equipment will not be provided."

Communication closed

Firewall safety protocols disingaged

[For players not in Firewall]

Message incoming

Sender identity unknown

Attachments: [5000 credits or a high favor of your highest rep network]

"Travel to Extropia docking bay G23, port 7, STS Arrow Flight. Agents will fill you in at the destination. Additional rewards will be provided post-work."

Communication closed

Artur-Last Thursday at 7:41 PM

As soon as the message ends, Nathan starts looking up info on the sleeper agent on the mesh. "Well, Timoti, let's find out what you were up to..."

AurumDude-Last Thursday at 7:47 PM
Hmm. Duncan doesn't like saying no to easy cash, and his latest gig is drying up...after a minute or two of deliberation, he snags his gear - cut down to the clothes on his back and a satchel bag, hoiseted on his left hip.

Aeris-Last Thursday at 7:54 PM
Nathan and Sarah both search the mesh for matches to Amaru Timoti. The big engines return a few results: an old networking profile not updated in the last 5 years, accounts on vid sharing sites, a few hundred posts on drug and neurosurgery forums, but nothing really concrete.

Amaru Timoti seems to have dissapeared from the mesh around 5-6 years ago, probably when he entered Legba as a sleeper agent.

Pwnage_Incarnate-Last Thursday at 7:57 PM
Ok, but nobody can live in Extropia without some leaving some kind of trail with one of the various hypercorps. He had to have bought something in that time. I'm going to call in some favors with corporate contacts.

Try and dig something up on this guy

Aeris-Last Thursday at 8:02 PM
"What did you say the guys name was again? Timoten? No... Timoti, yeah that's it!

Well... no man, I couldn't find anything of interest. Guy doesn't seem to be very active in hypercorp territory.:

Pwnage_Incarnate-Last Thursday at 8:04 PM
With nothing showing up in cyberspace, Sarah has no choice but to do things in meatspace. She packs up her stuff, and heads to bay G23, port 7

Aeris-Last Thursday at 8:04 PM
Duncan arrives first at bay G23

It's oddly empty of the usual hussle of cargo moving in zero g, workers in case morphs working on maintenance and ships docking and leaving.

A guy in a fury morph stands guard at the other end of the docking bay, but doesnt seem to notice you as he takes a long drag from a replica cuban cigar.

He presses his hand on the fingerprint scanner of port 7's personel airlock.

The door slides sideways exposing the umbilical cord connecting to the shuttle's interior.

Inside he finds a rather spartan interior: the shuttle clearly has seen better days, but it seems structurally sound. Most of the crew cabin has been ripped from it's anchors to make space for cargo modules. Yet all of them are currently empty.

AurumDude-Last Thursday at 8:14 PM
Does the smoking man say anything, or does it look like he's just a door/body guard?

Aeris-Last Thursday at 8:17 PM
He quickly glances in your direction when you enter docking bay G23, but returns to his own business when you don't go in his direction. He's hooked in to the railing around port 15's airlock, about 50 meters away.

AurumDude-Last Thursday at 8:18 PM
hmm

Well it's not my business, he's 8 locks away from my point of interest. Can I check out if there's anyone else in the area while I walk up to port 7?

Aeris-Last Thursday at 8:21 PM
Duncan slowly scans the area, looking for anyone else. Thankfully the docking bay is a long cylinder without much cover apart from the occasional cargo module and even those slowly rotate, giving a view of all sides.

The fury morph seems to be the only other living soul in the bay.

AurumDude-Last Thursday at 8:22 PM
Well lets give the obvious gunman a decent berth and keep our heads down on this one

Duncan subconsciously pats the messenger bag on his side, doing his best to powerwalk to port 7. Fingertips feel over the bulges underneath, feeling for where his weapon's grip slid to inside. Juuust in case.

Aeris-Last Thursday at 8:26 PM
The gunman doesnt react to the airlock's opening. Duncan is now inside the STS Arrow Flight

(shuttle interior is as described above) The engines are off, as are most systems apart from basic comms and life support. The shuttle is simply docked there, ready for a flight plan.

Nothing seems out of the ordinary: it's a regular pre-fall shuttle repurposed for short range cargo transit.

AurumDude-Last Thursday at 8:32 PM
After a few seconds of...silence, Duncan might as well try to make himself home. If there's a dining area or a simple place to sit down at, he'd relax there. Still on alert, but in wait mode.

Pwnage_Incarnate-Last Thursday at 8:37 PM
Sarah heads straight to the shuttle, pausing only to give a friendly wave to the Fury down the hall

Aeris-Last Thursday at 8:38 PM
The gunman seems confused and gives a small wave back as you enter the airlock.

Duncan hears the airlock cycle, someone is coming. Is that one of the other "agents"?

AurumDude-Last Thursday at 8:42 PM
Duncan's jaw stiffens a little and he digs his hand deep in that satchel bag of his for a moment or two.

Pwnage_Incarnate-Last Thursday at 8:44 PM
The airlock finishes cycling, and Sarah makes her way in. "Oh hey, it's you. Duncan, right?"

AurumDude-Last Thursday at 8:46 PM
His hand slowly withdraws from the bag, and he 'recovers' by leaning back in the booth. "Yes...I remember your face, not your name." A pause. "I helped you with that computer error a little while ago, right?"

Pwnage_Incarnate-Last Thursday at 8:47 PM
"Yeah. Looks like we're working together again." Sarah looks around the interior of the shuttle. "Do you know how many people we're expectng?"

AurumDude-Last Thursday at 8:50 PM
"I don't even know what the job is." He says, not trying to hide frustration. "...but it pays well, so I'm here."

Pwnage_Incarnate-Last Thursday at 8:55 PM
"Nine Lives is doing something spooky. I don't know any details, but apparently the last guy hired to look into it vanished."

AurumDude-Last Thursday at 8:55 PM
Duncan's eyes narrow a little bit, leaning forward on his right elbow. "Who?"

Pwnage_Incarnate-Last Thursday at 8:56 PM
"Nine Lives? You've never heard of them?  Man, they're some seriously scary dudes."

AurumDude-Last Thursday at 8:59 PM
He just shakes his head. "Who the hell names a gang after cat food?"

Pwnage_Incarnate-Last Thursday at 9:02 PM
"A really spooky gang. If half the rumors are true, they're some really evil dudes."

Artur-Last Thursday at 9:03 PM
"More than half of it is true, I guarantee you."

An asian-featured ghost morph walks towards the party, the airlock closing behind him.

"Will this be the entirety of our cell during this mission?"(edited)

Pwnage_Incarnate-Last Thursday at 9:07 PM
"Idunno. Job didn't say how many people we'd be meeting up with."

Aeris-Last Thursday at 9:08 PM
A voice comes up via the comm system of the shuttle:

"I've taken the liberty of uploading a flight plan to Legba in the shuttle's system. It will take you there without major hurdles, however if you wish the controls can be unlocked."

A hidden container in a side panel pops up: "Here is the QE communicator unit you will need to maintain comms on Legba."

AurumDude-Last Thursday at 9:11 PM
Duncan's head pops up a little at that, watching devices come online and open - watching his 'coworker's reactions as well.

Aeris-Last Thursday at 9:12 PM
"Amaru Timoti was undercover as a resleeving technician, investigating the main sleeving facility should be your main priority. Pyrrhus out."

Pwnage_Incarnate-Last Thursday at 9:14 PM
"Well, that's nice and terrifying."

AurumDude-Last Thursday at 9:16 PM
Duncan stands up and familiarizes himself with the controls, going through pre-flight checks on his own. He can't ever trust an AI to do the work of an actual human body.

Artur-Last Thursday at 9:17 PM
"Isn't it always." Nathan takes a quick glance at the nervous newbie holding firmly his satchel bag, fiddling with the Ship's controls, wondering if he's Firewall material.

Pwnage_Incarnate-Last Thursday at 9:19 PM
Sarah straps herself in, and settles in for the trip to Legba.

Artur-Last Thursday at 9:22 PM
Nathan aks his muse to pick a soothing playlist for the trip, and does the same.

AurumDude-Last Thursday at 9:25 PM
Duncan just settles in, grumbling as the ship does its thing. He, at least, monitors local traffic for anything out of the norm.

Aeris-Last Thursday at 9:27 PM
"STS Arrow Flight, you are cleared for takeoff, proceed on flight vector 94305 until safe distance, good flight."

AurumDude-Last Thursday at 9:28 PM
"...STS Arrow Flight Taking off."

Aeris-Last Thursday at 9:29 PM
The airlock locks and separates from the umbilical cord. The shuttle's vector thrusters initiate a slow burn, moving you out of Extropia's reaches.

"Initiating main burn, brace for acceleration."

The main engine roars to life and you are pushed into your seats for a few seconds.

AurumDude-Last Thursday at 9:30 PM
Duncan makes whooshing sounds under his breath, pretending to manipulate the yoke.

Aeris-Last Thursday at 9:31 PM
"ETA to your destination 7 hours 24 minutes."

AurumDude-Last Thursday at 9:32 PM
His whooshing sounds slowly trail off as he runs out of breath, inhaling and walking around the ship. For now he'll check the ship out, finding a place to get a powernap in.

Pwnage_Incarnate-Last Thursday at 9:33 PM
Sarah meshes out, puts on her programming playlist, and works on code for pretty much the whole trip

Artur-Last Thursday at 9:35 PM
Nathan listens to some music, sends a few messasges ahead of time to his local contacts on Legba, and eventually falls asleep watching an old Hong Kong crime film from the 2050s

Aeris-Last Thursday at 9:36 PM
(Fading to black)

"...ome in STC Arr...light."

"...damn frequency, idiot"

"Ayy STS Arrow Flight, who the fuck are you? This ain't no place for hypercorps lackeys"

AurumDude-Last Thursday at 9:51 PM
Duncan comes to mid-hail, rubbing at his earlobe. An old twitch, almost fumbling for headphones that weren't there. "Uh."

He reassumes control over himself after a few seconds, taking in a decent breath. As he searches for the right words, he's trying to figure out the ship's path - how close they are to their destination.

Aeris-Last Thursday at 9:52 PM
(About 10 minutes out, edge of legba's detection systems)

Artur-Last Thursday at 9:53 PM
Nathan comes up behind him, having had his sleep disrupted by the hailing messages.

"What's up?"

Aeris-Last Thursday at 9:53 PM
"You deaf? Who's this?"

AurumDude-Last Thursday at 9:56 PM
"Depends on who's asking." Gruff, annoyed again.

Off comms, to Nathan, Duncan speaks. "Someone's on the horn. Sounds like a prick. Get our other compatriot up, just in case."

Aeris-Last Thursday at 9:57 PM
"Flight control, what d'you think? Now gimme a reason not to blast you outta the sky!"

Artur-Last Thursday at 9:58 PM
"Wait, you go get her, let me handle this."

"Flight control, this is STS Arrow Flight..."

AurumDude-Last Thursday at 9:58 PM
Duncan grumbles and pauses for a second, nodding as he peels out to the right side of the chair. A quick mission, and he could hit up the kitchen for some instant coffee on the way back.

Artur-Last Thursday at 9:58 PM
Nathan shoots up some of his contacts, and tries to ask for safe passage.

He makes it clear that they're not with any corps, and tries to see if anyone working the docks can help him out.

Aeris-Last Thursday at 10:04 PM
"Sheeeet, well people want you here big boy"

"Get your ass to Zombi and pick a dock, I dont care which."

"FC out"

A map of Legba shows up on the ship's HUD

Artur-Last Thursday at 10:06 PM
Nathan slumps down on one of the flight deck's chairs, combing back his hair with both hands.

"Pheeeew...."

AurumDude-Last Thursday at 10:06 PM
After a few seconds, Sarah gets a few knocks on the door/wall nearby.

"AY. We're close to the drop - something's a little fucky, might wanna get up."

Pwnage_Incarnate-Last Thursday at 10:08 PM
Sarah snaps out of her work, turns the music off and looks a little concerned. "Fucky? How?  What's wrong?"

AurumDude-Last Thursday at 10:09 PM
Duncan shrugs a little with a pained wince. "Cunts on the radios. Other guy is handling it, and we're not getting shot at, so...." Another shrug. "I'm making coffee." He turns and leaves.

Pwnage_Incarnate-Last Thursday at 10:10 PM
"Coffee sounds good."

AurumDude-Last Thursday at 10:10 PM
"It's instant shit. Not like the old days." From down the hall.

Aeris-Last Thursday at 10:11 PM
(Exposition)

Commonly referred to as the “the Belt’s armpit,” Legba is a grimy cluster habitat fused together from tin can modules, disabled ship hulls, and other ramshackle pieces of detritus and spare parts, lashed on to a small mined-out asteroid on a highly elliptic orbit. While no one is certain how many morphs reside in Legba, it is assumed that millions of egos are held captive here in the clutches of the Nine Lives cartel. Calling Legba a hive of scum and villainy is an insult to scum and villains. Space pirates, claim-jumpers, fork-nappers, and other individuals representing the low-life criminal mindset and dregs of transhumanity all converge here. Stragglers and miners who run low on supplies and who are willing to take the risk sometimes try to resupply at Legba, only to get trapped in its clutches, never to be seen or heard from again. Lawless and violent, the only rule Legba has is that “you get to keep what you carry.” According to a common interpretation of this rule, if you are not sober, conscious, or alive enough, you don’t get to keep that ego you’re carrying, so be warned.

The Nine Lives crew, who have the dubious honor of being despised even by other crime syndicates, calls Legba its home. They trade primarily in egos and forks and are ruthless and uncaring as to how they acquire them. They will also sell and deploy them for any purpose that they ﬁnd proﬁtable or amusing. They are infamous for their infomorph virtual slave colonies, their callous experimentation with severe mind edits, memory rape, and ego rending and merging. Then there are their brutal pit ﬁghting rings, forcing imprisoned egos into whatever physical forms they can imagine and then throwing them into battle for entertainment.

Within Legba there are entire cargo bays ﬁlled with recovered cortical stacks, many of them never accessed. Millions of other egos are imprisoned in cold storage rigs or run in all manner of locked down virtualities. Scavengers sift through these mindscapes, scouring them for useful data to be sold on the open market or simply getting a voyeuristic thrill from other people’s thoughts and experiences. The corridors of the Legba hab are hellish places reeking of bodily ﬂuids, viscera, incense, and candles, dotted with shrines dedicated to the spirits where still-bloody cortical stacks are left as grisly offerings. Among Nine Lives members, stacks are often traded as a form of physical currency. Outside of the Belt, most transhumans would like to ignore the fact that Legba even exists. If you’ve lost a loved one—especially if that loved one is a copy of yourself—then Legba may be your best bet for ﬁnding that ego that no one else has been able to locate. On the other hand, if you’re looking to punish an enemy for eternity, Legba might be just the place to send them.

(Exposition end)

The ship takes a slow approach towards Zombi, the docks of Legba.

Through the shuttle's windows, you can see the massive 100m doors, carved into the exterior of the asteroid, in damaged paint, you can read "Fa Jing Corporation", the only remnant of the former owners.

The hab is in it's night cycle when you dock, dense vegetation floating in zero G obscures the area and give out a sinister feeling.

Pwnage_Incarnate-Last Thursday at 10:21 PM
Sarah take a moment to put on armor. She's obviously nervous, despite tryign to put on a strong face. "All right. I'm linking our TacNet." She pulls an SMG out of her bag, loads it, takes a deep breath, and puts it back in the bag.

Artur-Last Thursday at 10:23 PM
"Be calm, but be wary." He glances at Sarah. "You know how it goes."

Aeris-Last Thursday at 10:23 PM
You exit the shuttle and grab onto a nearby railing, light comes through multiple airlocks that lead into the station and from the other ships docked.

Pwnage_Incarnate-Last Thursday at 10:24 PM
"Right. Be calm."

Aeris-Last Thursday at 10:26 PM
Under a light, about 15 meters away, you see one of the airlocks open and three thieves come out, checking you out from a distance.

"Whats up friendos? New to Legba?"

thugs*

AurumDude-Last Thursday at 10:26 PM
Duncan stiffens his haw, lifting his head with a tiny scowl. Anger, at least feigning it.

Pwnage_Incarnate-Last Thursday at 10:28 PM
Sarah sticks close to Duncan, and tries not to make eye contact

AurumDude-Last Thursday at 10:30 PM
"Make like you're on the rag, Sarah. Deters mist shitheads."

Pwnage_Incarnate-Last Thursday at 10:30 PM
She nods silently

Artur-Last Thursday at 10:32 PM
Nathan simply stands floating, holding on to the railing. "Have we met?"(edited)

Aeris-Last Thursday at 10:33 PM
"Don't think we did, l'ami, but we sure are going to. Hand you shit over, you don't want a mess"

One of the thugs flashes a heavy pistol from under his coat.

"So waddya say huh?"

Artur-Last Thursday at 10:35 PM
Nathan hails his allies through the encrypted TacNet frequency.

"Quick and clean, let's not waste too much time."

AurumDude-Last Thursday at 10:37 PM
Duncan enables cheat mode and 'rights' himself on the walls, letting his morph's magnetic feet lock him in place.

Aeris-Last Thursday at 10:56 PM
Nathan pulls up his pistol and in a flash, the gunner's face is splattered on the wall behind him and his mate's spazzing out in zero g from the pain, bleeding out quickly.

Aeris-Last Thursday at 11:02 PM
"OH MÈRDIK LANFÈ, M'LAGE!!!"

The thug grabs the ramp and launches himself as fast as he can

(Roll failed) and sends himself hurling at top speed into a nearby ship.

You hear a distinct crack as his leg connects with the hull and he cries in pain.

Artur-Last Thursday at 11:05 PM
(Through the TacNet) "Do him."

Nathan guides himself slowly towards one of the spinning bodies, checking to see if any are still alive.

Getting his vibroknife out, Nathan starts popping the thugs' stacks.

AurumDude-Last Thursday at 11:09 PM
Duncan pushes down on a wall and 'walks' forward, still not used to the disconnect between his body's desire to float and the magnets keep him stable.

Artur-Last Thursday at 11:09 PM
"This will come in handy in here."

Pwnage_Incarnate-Last Thursday at 11:09 PM
"What do you plan on doing with those?"

AurumDude-Last Thursday at 11:10 PM
"...starting a juggling routine, perhaps."

Artur-Last Thursday at 11:11 PM
"This is Nine Lives turf. Forget creds, and most of your rep. This is what they're all about."

AurumDude-Last Thursday at 11:11 PM
Duncan seems...uncomfortable with that idea, to say the least.

Pwnage_Incarnate-Last Thursday at 11:12 PM
"I am so not ok with this. That's straight up evil."

Artur-Last Thursday at 11:13 PM
"Whatever increases our odds of finding the sleeper agent."

Aeris-Last Thursday at 11:16 PM
A text communication pops up on your huds

"This is Pyrrhos. I'm sending you Amaru Timoti's last known location. He works in Psychopomp, the resleeving facility."

"Contact me when you have more information"

Artur-Last Thursday at 11:18 PM
"Alright, so what do we want to do?"

Nathan turns to his party, now making their way out of the docking area through an airlock.

AurumDude-Last Thursday at 11:19 PM
"Hmm. Well, there's a few options. Try and track down any traces of our contact as possible."

"-Pay- someone for solid intel, or..."

"...well, catfish them? Pose as someone looking for them, make it obvious, then counter-gnab whoever takes the bait."

Artur-Last Thursday at 11:20 PM
"That could work."(edited)

"We should check out that body bank first, though, I think."(edited)

Aeris-Last Thursday at 11:24 PM
Sarah runs a system diagnostics test on the tacnet in a few seconds. All results indicate that the system is running at peak efficiency, multiple automated bots were stopped by the firewall when you arrived on Legba, but none have passed through. You cannot imagine how the system could be safer right now.

Pwnage_Incarnate-Last Thursday at 11:26 PM
I can think of a few ways...

"Let's poke around the resleeving facility."

AurumDude-Last Thursday at 11:28 PM
Duncan would agree with that, one hand on the flap of his man-purse.

Artur-Last Thursday at 11:31 PM
"Alright. Let's hit the body shop, and depending on what we find there I'll hit up some contacts and see if they can make sense of this."