GM: Walker
Players: Varangian
Synopsis: An old comrade of Varangian's hires her to extract a travelling businessman from a hotel in the UCAS sector who was being courted as a potential contact but had broken off contact.
Date: 17 Jan 2081
«Plot» Walker says, "Log is on. Usual disclaimers apply: play silly games, win silly, high-velocity prizes. Please indicate your consent for potential high-velocity presents."
«Plot» Varangian consents to high-tech, high-velocity hazards
It isn't often that Varangian receives mysterious, unsolicited trixmail - aside from the occasional spam that manages to defeat modern pruning algorithms - but upon returning from church one Sunday she finds this message in an inbox:
»» Iryna,
»» I know we have not spoken in some time, but I hope you are well. Times have been hard since leaving Constantinople but work is steady. I was glad to hear that you have felt more settled in Denver.
»» If you are interested, I have some work that could use a local that I can trust. I cannot easily travel to Denver, I will not go into the details, but this work is time-sensitive. You would have to track down a person and extract them. I cannot help directly but have some contacts that could provide logistical support.
»» If you are interested, the address to a secure host is attached. We can discuss particulars there.
»» Argash
Returning home to her apartment after church, Iryna throws her jacket over a chair and gets her samovar going. While brewing herself some Turkish tea, naturally served in an earless glass, she turns her home cyberterminal on to check for messages.
"Huh," she says to herself in surprise seeing a message from her old Constantinopolitan colleague. After getting the tea done, she slips down in a chair in front of the computer and checks the message. Curious, she opens up the attachment and finds the host address.
~Wonder what the old bastard is up to…~ she thinks to herself as she goes on to access the secured host.
As the datajack connection is established and the physical world fades away to be replaced the familiar environment of her cyberterminal, the attachment containing a link to the access node takes on a new form: a flat orb of grey that eclipses anything behind it. Not a black hole or anything so showy, just a flat disc of fine static that obscures the environment behind it, only recognisable as a sphere when viewed from a different perspective.
When she accesses the node, every sensory feed is filled with the same static. White noise in her ears, static in her vision, even strange tingling across her skin and a random barrage of nonsensical scents: none of it harmful, but all quite disorienting. Her sense of balance warps too - is she falling? There's barely enough time for the thought to register before gravity reasserts itself with a jerk and she falls into a firelit darkness, landing on a surprisingly comfortable leather armchair.
Clearly Argash has a rather grim sense of humour: the host resembles a foxhole in a dark forest, though the pair of armchairs and the mahogany bar complete with an impressive range of booze give it an unusual distinction. A fire in the centre provides flickering light while smoke drifts through the forest above them. Occasional bursts of gunfire can be heard in the distance.
In the other armchair site Argash, his icon appearing in his old uniform, the 10,000 daggers insignia proudly displayed. He lifts a glass, "Good to see you Iryna."
Iryna's physical body slumps back in the chair as the digital stimuli fed through the cable plugged behind her ear takes over that of her normal senses. The light of the room eventually turns off, leaving only a faint glow from the computer terminal and the red diode over her ear visible in the darkness.
When she appears in this new world, she is rendered to resemble an old Byzantine icon, wearing a medieval suit of armour and wrapped in a cloak of imperial purple, much like how a Saint would be depicted, only female, with Iryna's real-life long brown hair. Also, without a halo. That would be downright sacrilege.
"Been a long time," she replies and leans back in the armchair, while admiring the surroundings. "Didn't imagine you'd have such exquisite tastes in digital hideouts."
The old mercenary shrugs, the hint of a grin curling the corner of his mouth. "I hear old men are allowed a degree of sentimentality," he takes a sip from his glass and chuckles, a low rough sound, "Just getting a head start." His glass is waved to take in the bar, "Drink? It's not quite like the real thing, but better than the piss the Americans make."
"You know I was never a big drinker," the Varangian says but nonetheless helps herself to the digital facsimile of some good old Turkish Raki. It's not like her fitness obsession only started when she moved to Denver. "Not a fan of bourbon, then?" she says with a chuckle, swirling around that glass of milky liquor as if checking its resolution. "I have to admit, life in America is not always as exciting as I had imagined it'd be when things started going quiet in Turkey and the Levant. Lots of sitting around, waiting for stuff to happen."
The face Argash pulls is enough to make his opinion of bourbon perfectly clear. He nods in agreement with her sentiment, "Same shit, different place: long periods of boredom with occasional bursts of fatal excitement." His dark eyes fix on her and a toothy smile cracks his face, "That why you're here? Denver not exciting enough for you? Not enough doors to kick down?"
"I should be asking you," Iryna replies. The stylised, Icon-like features of her face aren't really conducive to expression, though her voice should be able to convey her surprise. "You sent me here, after all, and I presume not just for admiring the texture on your mahogany table and throwing stabs at Americans. Even though those things can be fun, but I have a feeling you've got something more interesting on offer."
Argash mulls this over for a moment before eventually giving a slow nod. "There is a man I had been in contact with in Denver. I cannot get into details, but he was to do some work for me," he drains the rest of his glass and slaps in on the bar, in the distance something explodes, "Yesterday he did not make contact as expected. I suspect he might have received a better offer and while he does not know enough to be truly dangerous, it would be better for all concerned if he and I could have a friendly chat -outside- the city limits."
The explosion in the distance does get noted, though Varangian just assumes it's a deliberate choice of decor rather than something to be concerned about. Background music for an old soldier, if you will. The glass of Raki comes down on the table a moment later, although with not as much gusto. "I see. I suppose you need someone on location to find him, then? Grab him, put him in a parcel and mail him to you?"
"Essentially? Yes." Argash leans back in his chair as vehicle engines roar in the calm after the explosion. "Unharmed though, that is vital. I need to know what he knows. Ideally you would arrange it to look as though he took a business trip or the like. The fewer ripples the better, understood?" Then he sits forwards, lowering his voice, "And Iryna, be careful who you trust with this. I trust your discretion in this matter."
Iryna folds her arms over her chest as she listens. "Sounds doable," she says. "Arranging such a thing might require breaking into his Matrix database though. I'm accessing this host from a tortoise, just saying." She stops to listen to the sounds of battle in the distance, almost as if she found them just as soothing. "I can be discreet though, worry not."
"The nature of his work had him moving around a lot," Argash offers on the subject of datatrails, "I can supply account numbers which might let you back trace his spending with the right credentials. If you need additional hardware I know a local who can arrange that."
"Excellent," Iryna replies. "As you can imagine, Denver has a lot of really good deckers on hand so I haven't had to do much work on the Matrix since… well, since disabling that electronic minefield back in Lebanon, if you remember? I've got updated software ready for upload with the know-how, I just need to get hold of a deck. Think that contact of yours can lend one out for a job? Maybe there'll be some paydata in return for him."
Argash's icon glitches as he pulls a face, creating a slightly gruesome effect for a moment. "So long as that paydata does not concern me or your target, I have no concerns with that." A moment of thought follows as he thinks it over, "I suspect they will have some hardware on hand, but I would not go expecting miracles." Another crooked grin appears in the darkness as the fire dims, "As they say, you get what you pay for. I will send you the information I have, keep it offline. Anything else?"
"That's all." Iryna says. "Allah Korusun," she says, slowly lifting out of that chair until erect. Her icon after that slowly begins to fade, as if bursting at the seams displaying the pixels underneath, until eventually fading out as she disconnects from the host.
As reality reasserts itself in Iryna's mind, her apartment slowly returns around her, the lights powering back on as she moves a little. In her inbox is a new message, the sender unknown, containing a single file.
Walter Hastings is her target's name: a wandering salesman of sorts who seems to hop from corp to corp and territory to territory in and around the Denver FTZ on a fairly regular tempo. Probably a useful man to have in your pocket all things considered. A fair amount of information is provided: background, description, known haunts, the briefest of psych profiles and his known bank account information.
«Plot» Varangian says, "Any information about the contact that can lend her a deck?"
«Plot» Walker flails and remembers that. A commcode is attached. Name provided is Patch.
Waking up with a bit of twitch, Iryna sits up straight on her chair and pulls the table out of her skull. She takes the information in that file, downloads it onto a memory chip and plugs it into one vacant slot in her neck. Then, she gets up, downs the rest of her now-cold tea and prepares to head out. She checks her Cerberus pistol one extra time before heading out, then proceeds to call Patch on her way down the stairs.
The phone on the other end rings exactly once before it connects. "Yes?"
The voice is formatted somehow, there's no accent or inflection. It's like talking to a machine.
The Varangian heads out of her building and walks out on the street, wrapping her jacket closer to her as the cold outside hits her. She looks up at the grey sky above and the polluted snowflakes that rain down on the dirty street. "I'm Varangian, an associate of Mr. Batulhan. I need to get hold of some hardware for a job," she says as she begins to walk down the street towards the nearest monorail station.
«Plot» Walker says, "Roll me a single die please. :)"
«Auto-Judge[]» Varangian (#13867) rolls 1:
11
"Yah, sure," the strange machine-voice replies, "Let's not get all familiar, huh? Your name is Denver and I'm Patch. I don't know who gave you this number but I can do that. As a matter of fact it's your lucky day." A distorted peal of laughter sounds through the phone, "A friend of mine recently got into an accident when he tried to drive too fast… terrible thing. You ever go to the old library in the CAS sector? They've got a great old book there about road safety, 'Drones: Why Metahumans Shouldn't Drive'." A brief pause follows, "Seems it's reserved under your name. You should give it a read." With that, the line disconnects, leaving the sine wave of a dial tone as the only thing in her ears.
The dial tone does come a little sooner than expected though she's well aware that's how netizens behave. Well, at least the shady ones. Getting on the monorail, she thus heads off towards the library. Expecting an uneventful ride there, she puts on some gun review videos she recently downloaded from the Trix playing on her image link while zoning out.
Once at the library, she gives the building a look of appreciation, and goes in, hoping the guards won't bother her too much. She doesn't exactly look like a college student, after all.
The tall woman does draw a brief glance from security, but perhaps she's on the swim team or something. The book is indeed waiting for her at the desk when she asks, a rather heated polemic on the dangers of allowing potentially criminal humans behind the wheel now that autonav was a mature technology. Patch, it seems, has a sense of humour. Opening the book and flicking through reveals a key matching one of the library's lockers which contains a kitbag. Inside is an almost pristine HackerHouse Prodigy-6: apart from a couple of blood stains. A brief flick through memory reveals a limited set of utilities - not enough to satisfy a professional decker, but perhaps enough to get a script kiddy into serious trouble or to locate a wayward travelling salaryman.
===================> Hacker House Chargen Tier Cyberdecks <====================
Hacker House Prodigy-6 MPCP 6
-+ BOD: 3
-+ EVASION: 6
-+ SENSOR: 3
-+ MASKING: 6
-+ Hot ASIST
-+ I/O Speed: 500
-+ Hardening: 6
-+ ICCM Biofeedback Filter
-+ Response Increase: 1
-+ RAS Override
-+ Active Memory: 3000
-+ Storage Memory: 5000
-+ Matrix Interface
-+ R6 Satellite Interface
-+ 6 Additional FUPs (12 total)
«Plot» Walker says, "The die roll was 3+1d3 to figure out MPCP of the deck. You got a proper machine (gently used). ;)"
«Plot» Walker says, "I won't list all the utilities, but you have enough on it to do basic intrusion work and search ops."
Quickly, the deck finds its way down her bag before anyone can notice. Fortunately, most people in a place like this have their noses down in books. Just for looks, she does the same, taking something off a shelf, pretending to read as she connects to the deck to peruse its memory. A while later, she puts the book back in its place and heads out, giving security a little smile as they look her over once again.
Having procured her tools for the job, she ponders where to go to find a suitable jackpoint.
«Plot» Walker says, "Roll me a knowskill or intelligence if you want ideas."
«Plot» Varangian says, "You need a Dataline tap if you want to jack in through unauthorized places, no?"
«Plot» Walker says, "Yes. As far as I remember anyway. A webcafe or the future equivalent would work just fine though, though you should be mindful of local security just in case."
«Plot» Walker says, "The tap is for making a connection where there isn't one. You could jack in in the library using their trix, but security is tighter here than you might find elsewhere."
«Plot» Varangian says, "Would a cheap hotel have jackpoints?"
«Plot» Walker says, "As long as it wasn't too cheap, sure."
«Plot» Varangian says, "Like Sal's Coffin place?"
«Plot» Walker says, "That's probably too cheap, I don't think you get much of anything there."
«OOC» Walker says, "I really thought there were more hotels on grid. Huh."
«Plot» Walker says, "Bottom line: 100 =Y= will get you a hotel room with trix access for a night."
«Plot» Varangian says, "Will go for it"
«Plot» Walker says, "Okydoke. If you want to pose finding that and settling down to do some deckery we can hop into trixery 101 from there. :)"
After some time, the brunette soon-to-be-decker decides to grab some nearby hotel that looks decent enough to supply what she needs. Basically a jackpoint and a door to lock behind her. Not too hard to find.
Once checked in at the hotel, she gets up to her room, locks the door, closes the curtains and begins to look for the point to jack in. She takes her jacket off, lies down on the bed with the deck next to her, plugs herself in and turns the computer on, connecting her consciousness once more to the vast net.
«Plot» Walker says, "All right class, turn to your rulebooks, page 199… ;P"
«Plot» Walker says, "You may find this helpful: http://denver.wikidot.com/info:matrix-operations"
«Plot» Walker says, "I'm going to be essentially ignoring most of the Matrix 3 rules for this because they complicate matters rather a lot. The two big ones you'll want are changing Switching Modes, which lets you increase one attribute (Masking) by 50% by reducing another (probably Bod or Sensor) by 50%. Also you can put aside Hacking Pool (we'll get there) to increase Detection Factor (ditto). We want these because they both increase Detection Factor, which makes deckers have a considerably easier time. First question then, do you know about Hacking Pool and Detection Factor?"
«Plot» Varangian says, "Hacking Pool is Intelligence + MPCP / 3, which should be 9/3 = 3 in her case?"
«Plot» Varangian says, "And detection factor is the TN the host needs to beat to detect my operations? Determined by Sleaze + Masking / 2 ?"
«Plot» Walker says, "What's Vara's intelligence? I thought it was higher than 3, although since you round down it might be academic."
«Auto-Judge[]» Varangian (#13867) has the Attribute Intelligence with the value '6'.
«Plot» Walker says, "So (6+6)/3=12/3=4 Hacking Pool"
«Plot» Walker says, "Correct on Detection Factor, with the wrinkle that it's one of the very few cases where you round up. If you run Masking mode you can get Masking 9. With Sleaze-6 (the most you can run on MPCP-6 hardware), DF is (9+6)/2=15/2=7.5=>8. If you add 4 hacking pool into that you could get it up to 10 which -might- be worth it. :P"
«Plot» Varangian says, "So utility ratings can be adjusted depending on how much of the deck's memory you want to allocate to it?"
«Plot» Walker says, "No. Utilities are fixed (unless Matrix3 something ignore this). For simplicity's sake, your utilities are all R6 (the most you can run on a MPCP-6 deck). Your Persona attributes can be changed by switching modes. Technically you can only have a certain amount of utilities loaded, but memory is so cheap that it's never really a practical problem."
«Plot» Walker says, "Any other questions right now about decks/utilities? :)"
«Plot» Varangian says, "I think we can go on"
«Plot» Walker says, "All right. Are you familiar with host System Ratings and ACIFS?"
«Plot» Varangian says, "I know ACIFS. That's like the stats of a host: Access Control Index Files Slave"
«Plot» Walker nods. "The System Rating contains both the ACIFS and the Security Rating."
«Plot» Walker says, "Say Green-4 8/9/10/9/8"
«Plot» Walker says, "In full: Security Code-Security Value then ACIFS as you described."
«Plot» Walker says, "So first step in any decking run is going to be Logon to LTG. That's the LTG's Access-the decker's Deception. Normally you don't know the numbers ahead of time but I'm doing all this in front of the screen. The local LTG is Orange-4 8/9/7/6/6. Would you know from that what to roll to log on?"
«Plot» Varangian says, "So that host has Access rating 8, meaning it's the TN on Computer skill to access, but the Deception Utility will lower that TN, meaning with an R6 Deception TN for Logon to LTG becomes 2?"
«Plot» Walker says, "Precisely! :)"
«Plot» Varangian says, "And, as usual, you can add dice to that with Hacking Pool, though it seems redundant in this case"
«Plot» Walker says, "Yeah. You can set aside hacking pool to increase Detection Factor at a 2:1 rate, up to +3 Detection Factor."
«Auto-Judge[]» Varangian (#13867) rolls 6 (Chipped Computer Skil) vs TN 2 for "Logon to LTG":
1 1 2 4 5 5 = 4 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Walker (#12094) rolls 4 vs TN 10 for "System Test (Security Value vs. Detection Factor), Tally=0":
3 4 9 13 = 1 Success
«Plot» Walker says, "Lucky system. It cancels 1 of your successes and increases your Security Tally by 1, but you manage to get online just fine regardless."
«Plot» Varangian says, "Normally the tally count is kept secret, right?"
«Plot» Varangian says, "To give deckers nasty surprises. >:)"
«Plot» Walker says, "Yes, you can use Analyze Security to find it if you want to though."
«Plot» Walker says, "Fun balancing act of speed and certainty. };)"
«Plot» Walker says, "Anyway, next is logon to RTG. It has the same ratings as its baby LTGs, so you're effectively repeating the test. I realise now I've been skipping over this in some runs."
«Plot» Varangian says, "I guess you don't need to logon to RTGs if you're attacking a host that's physically close?"
«Plot» Walker says, "Correct. If you're in the building you just logon to host directly, say."
«Auto-Judge[]» Varangian (#13867) rolls 6 (Chipped Computer Skill) vs TN 2 for "Logon to RTG":
1 1 5 5 5 5 = 4 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Walker (#12094) rolls 4 vs TN 10 for "System Test (Security Value vs. Detection Factor), Tally=1":
2 3 5 8 = 0 Successes
«Plot» Walker says, "Easy-peasy. I'll pose the scenery and then you can decide how you want to approach this from here. :)"
«Plot» Varangian nodnods
«Plot» Varangian says, "Denver Central RTG I suppose?"
«Plot» Walker says, "Yeah, see: http://denver.wikidot.com/into:rtgs"
The Denver RTG and it's local nets are higher security than most others, but with the surprisingly good equipment provided by Patch it's a simple matter for Varangian to slice through the security measures around the hotel and flit nearly undetected into the broader Denver grid. A mishmash of iconography assails the senses, the grid laid out much like the city itself with several gleaming spires at its centre for each of the sectors, all with their own cultural stylings that clash and merge in the broader grid below. Neon cowboys and chrome couatls jockey for position with old-timey astronauts and wireframe cybershamans.
«Plot» Varangian says, "By the way, I assume the personal icon would be stored on the deck, meaning she would appear as whatever the previous owner decided to look like?"
«Plot» Walker says, "I believe that is correct, though my trix theme is a bit hazy. Pick whatever you like. I think that decks have a built-in generic icon too: something like the 2081 version of the windows logo. :P"
«Plot» Varangian will proceed to Locate Access Node to find the bank his account belongs to
«Auto-Judge[]» Varangian (#13867) rolls 6 (computer) for "Locating Bank Access Node":
1 1 3 3 3 9
«Plot» Walker says, "So since Index for the grid is 7, TN would be 7-6=1=>2, so probably fine…"
«Auto-Judge[]» Walker (#12094) rolls 4 vs TN 10 for "System Test (Security Value vs. Detection Factor), Tally=1":
1 1 3 4 = 0 Successes
«Plot» Walker says, "Yup, simples. It's a local bank: East Denver Metropolitan, primarily servicing the UCAS sector."
«Plot» Walker will roll some dice for system ratings this time.
«Plot» Varangian will also switch deck mode to boost Masking
«Plot» Walker says, "I've been assuming you were running that. ;)"
«Plot» Varangian nodnods
«Plot» Walker says, "Near always a good plan though. :)"
«Auto-Judge[]» Walker (#12094) rolls 1 for "Orange-Average seems right for a bank. Security Value is 1d3+6":
4
«Auto-Judge[]» Walker (#12094) rolls 5 for "Normally subsystem ratings for Average are 2d3+9, but that seems hard, so 1d6+9 instead. :P":
1 3 5 5 11
«Plot» Walker says, "Lemme see… index can go hang, because searching bank data is necessary… slave subsystems aren't needed because their cameras and stuff would be a different host. Let's say then…"
«Plot» Walker says, "Orange-6 14/15/12/14/10"
«Auto-Judge[]» Varangian (#13867) rolls 6 (computer) + 3 (Hacking Pool) vs TN 8 for "Host Access 14 - R6 Deception":
1 1 1 2 2 4 5 10 16 = 2 Successes
«Plot» Walker says, "Spot on. 3HP spent means DF is down to 8 though."
«Auto-Judge[]» Walker (#12094) rolls 6 vs TN 8 for "System Test (Security Value vs. Detection Factor), Tally=1":
3 4 5 5 7 11 = 1 Success
«Plot» Walker says, "OK, tally is 2 but you are online. Host looks like an old-school 1920s bank on the inside."
Varangian appears in the Denver network, looking like a bright yellow crash test dummy with happy ^_^ eyes painted on it, rather ironic choice of icon from the deck's last user considering his fate. Clearly, a speed freak into the last.
The yellow dummy, bereft of a car, sweeps through the flow of data, sending out yellow pixels lighting up the path towards the bank's host. Stopping once she finds the icon, a floating cube with a glyph resembling a Greek temple with a Yen sign over it, the yellow pixels light it up and she jumps into it
She then plops out through the door of an old marble hall with tall columns and numerous carved wooden panel booths. The dummy proceeds to creep forward to one of those booths to leech onto its data.
«Plot» Varangian will do an Analyse Host just to see what she's dealing with
«Plot» Varangian says, "Or is that the Orange-6 14/15/12/14/10 info she already has?"
«Plot» Walker says, "That's what it'd give you. There's also some nasty tricks in Matrix3 that it can detect to, so it isn't bad practice to run it when you enter just so you have an idea of those in particular."
«Plot» Walker says, "I suppose I should split hairs and say SHE doesn't know, but we do. ;)"
«Plot» Varangian nods, will try to Locate File instead then
«Plot» Walker says, "OK. Since you have his account details, I'll say you get -1TN, assuming that's what you're after?"
«Plot» Varangian says, "Yeah"
«Auto-Judge[]» Varangian (#13867) rolls 6 (computer) vs TN 5 for "Locating File, Index 12 - R6 Browse - 1":
3 4 5 5 5 5 = 4 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Walker (#12094) rolls 6 vs TN 10 for "System Test (Security Value vs. Detection Factor), Tally=2":
1 2 2 3 4 7 = 0 Successes
«Plot» Walker says, "Done in a flash. I should note that was against Index, but you had the right number so that looks like a typo."
«Plot» Varangian says, "Can I go on to Download File or does it need to be Decrypted or something first?"
«Plot» Walker says, "It is encrypted (bank data), so it does need decrypting first. I'm not entirely sure if that's normally obvious or if you need to do something, but I'll look that up later."
«Auto-Judge[]» Varangian (#13867) rolls 6 (computer) + 2 (Hacking Pool) vs TN 8 for "Decrypting File, Files 14 - Decrypt R6":
2 2 2 4 5 7 7 11 = 1 Success
«Auto-Judge[]» Walker (#12094) rolls 6 vs TN 10 for "System Test (Security Value vs. Detection Factor), Tally=2":
1 3 3 4 4 5 = 0 Successes
«Plot» Walker says, "Ah, you need Analyze Subsystem normally, I'll elide over that for now."
«Plot» Walker says, "Correction, that should've been DF9. Makes no difference though. Decryption defeated!"
«Plot» Varangian says, "Next step, download?"
«Plot» Walker says, "Yuppers!"
«Auto-Judge[]» Varangian (#13867) rolls 6 (computer) + 2 (Hacking Pool) vs TN 8 for "Downloading Data, Files 14 - R/W R6":
1 2 4 4 5 5 9 13 = 2 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Walker (#12094) rolls 6 vs TN 9 for "System Test (Security Value vs. Detection Factor), Tally=2":
2 3 3 5 9 10 = 2 Successes
«Plot» Walker says, "OK, so some things happen…"
«Plot» Walker says, "That negates your two successes, and bumps your tally to 4."
«Plot» Varangian says, "Oh noes"
«Plot» Walker says, "Which is also the point where Orange hosts tend to have trigger step 1."
«Plot» Walker says, "Generally, I use Probe IC first, because it gives the system more chances to see what's going on. So…"
«Auto-Judge[]» Walker (#12094) rolls 6 vs TN 9 for "Probe-6 vs Detection Factor, successes increase tally, Tally=4":
2 3 4 4 5 8 = 0 Successes
«Plot» Walker says, "You also get a free Sensor (Perception) test to detect the new IC. I believe that was 3 for the deck provided…"
«Auto-Judge[]» Varangian (#13867) rolls 3:
2 2 5
«Plot» Walker says, "Against Probe-6, no luck, but nobody's shooting at you yet. ;)"
«Plot» Walker says, "Try and download again? Or something else?"
«Plot» Varangian will run a Locate IC since the download operation was denied
«Auto-Judge[]» Varangian (#13867) rolls 6 (Computer) vs TN 6 for "Locating IC, Index 12 - Analyse 6":
2 2 3 4 10 11 = 2 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Walker (#12094) rolls 6 vs TN 10 for "System Test (Security Value vs. Detection Factor), Tally=4":
1 2 2 2 3 4 = 0 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Walker (#12094) rolls 6 vs TN 10 for "Probe-6 vs Detection Factor, successes increase tally, Tally=4":
1 2 4 4 5 9 = 0 Successes
As the crash dummy opens the filing cabinets to locate Walter's account history, it runs into an issue: the files are contained in manila folders. Not normal manila folders though, no siree - these folders are fractal. Every time the dummy opens one there's another folder inside. It takes a bit of work, but eventually it discovers the trick: you have to stroke the spines on the folders in a soothing way to get them to open without the fractal nonsense.
«Plot» Walker says, "So, you find the Probe IC. What do? You have an Attack-D-6 utility but (notably) no Armour utility."
«Plot» Varangian will proceed to Download anyway, hoping she'll get it and scram before the probe manages to rack up any more tally.
«Plot» Walker says, "Seems sensible."
«Auto-Judge[]» Varangian (#13867) rolls 6 (computer) vs TN 8 for "Downloading Data, Files 14 - R/W R6":
2 2 3 5 11 14 = 2 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Varangian (#13867) rolls 6 (computer) - 2 vs TN 8 for "Downloading Data, Files 14 - R/W R6, KP1":
4 8 8 9 = 3 Successes
«Plot» Varangian says, "Stand"
«Auto-Judge[]» Walker (#12094) rolls 6 vs TN 10 for "System Test (Security Value vs. Detection Factor), Tally=4":
1 3 4 4 4 5 = 0 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Walker (#12094) rolls 6 vs TN 10 for "Probe-6 vs Detection Factor, successes increase tally, Tally=4":
2 3 3 4 4 4 = 0 Successes
«Plot» Walker says, "Dayum. You download the shit outta that file."
«Plot» Walker says, "I don't think it takes that long, being essentially a table of text and numbers, so I won't worry about ongoing operations etc."
As the initial download fails, the happy ^_^ eyes of the crash test dummy turn into probing @_@ spyglass eyes that survey the bank lobby. Noticing the presence of probing eyes, it proceeds to download again, hoping it'll go smoother this time, which it does. Lifting the corresponding file out, the dummy's jaw opens up and shoots out, turning into a big filing cabinet that consumes the file before closing again.
«Plot» Varangian says, "Alrighty :D Time to scram it"
«Plot» Walker says, "Graceful logoff then. :)"
«Auto-Judge[]» Varangian (#13867) rolls 6 (computer) + 4 (Hacking pool) vs TN 14 for "Graceful logout, Access 14 - Deception 6":
2 3 3 3 4 5 7 8 9 11 = 0 Successes
«Plot» Walker umms… "TN8"
«Auto-Judge[]» Varangian (#13867) rolls 6 (computer) + 4 (Hacking pool) vs TN 8 for "Graceful logout, Access 14 - Deception 6":
1 2 3 3 4 5 5 5 5 14 = 1 Success
«Auto-Judge[]» Walker (#12094) rolls 6 vs TN 8 for "System Test (Security Value vs. Detection Factor), Tally=4":
1 1 2 2 10 10 = 2 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Walker (#12094) rolls 6 vs TN 8 for "Probe-6 vs Detection Factor, successes increase tally, Tally=6":
1 2 2 5 5 5 = 0 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Walker (#12094) rolls 1 for "Orange host triggers are 1d3+2 apart…":
2
«Plot» Walker says, "Last was at 4, you're now on 6, next trigger is at 7."
«Plot» Varangian will just try again
«Auto-Judge[]» Varangian (#13867) rolls 6 (computer) + 4 (Hacking pool) vs TN 8 for "Graceful logoff, Access 14 - Deception 6":
1 1 1 1 2 2 4 5 7 17 = 1 Success
«Auto-Judge[]» Varangian (#13867) rolls 6 (computer) + 4 (Hacking pool) - 1 vs TN 8 for "Graceful logoff, Access 14 - Deception 6, KP1":
1 3 3 3 4 5 9 10 14 = 3 Successes
«Plot» Varangian says, "Stand"
«Auto-Judge[]» Walker (#12094) rolls 6 vs TN 8 for "System Test (Security Value vs. Detection Factor), Tally=6":
2 2 3 3 5 5 = 0 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Walker (#12094) rolls 6 vs TN 8 for "Probe-6 vs Detection Factor, successes increase tally, Tally=6":
1 1 1 5 5 7 = 0 Successes
«Plot» Walker says, "All good. Pose your zooping on out."
The crash test dummy, having consumed the necessary data, proceeds to terminate itself in the way crash test dummies do best - by crashing into the nearest wall. Leaping up and taking a floating posture as if seated in a car, the dummy flies away towards one of the bank's columns, but upon impact it bounces away and lands unharmed on the marble floor, its ^_^ eyes replaced with dizzy o_O ones.
But it doesn't give up, It hops up again, disengages an imaginary hand brake and steps on an invisible gas pedal, swooshing away at top speed straight into the wall and blows into pieces, its yellow head bouncing over the floor with x_x eyes before finally dissipating into yellow pixels.
A moment later, Iryna opens her eyes as meatspace is fed back into her brain, instinctively gasping for air.
Once she reorients and has a chance to go through Hastings' account records, it isn't too hard to deduce his whereabouts. The most recent transactions all point to the Staybridge Hotel: room, bar tab, massages, room service. Somebody's living it up for sure.
Iryna sits up on the bed and snatches one of the complimentary bottles of water, downing it in one go. She goes to the window in the room, peeling up the curtains with her fingers just to get a view of the city outside while she ponders how to go about this.
«Plot» Varangian will have to pay the guy a visit…
«Plot» Walker fingersteeples, "Go on…" }:3
«Plot» Varangian says, "Well, generally there's one easy way for a woman to gain access to someone's hotel room, especially if it happens to be a man living it large. It's not an approach wants to go for though ;P"
«Plot» Walker says, "Roll me intelligence if you want some suggestions besides the oldest one. ;)"
«Auto-Judge[]» Varangian (#13867) rolls Intelligence:
1 2 3 4 5 10
«Plot» Walker says, "So aside from the obvious, you could use that to get past the front desk and then break out the taser in the room. Or you find him in the bar and slip him something, or you make a fake key with a little more decking, or etc. etc. etc."
«Plot» Walker says, "Just be wary of security, because the area is AA and not too far from Ares Denver."
«Plot» Walker says, "Could be a maid… :3"
«Plot» Varangian says, "The takedown itself is the easy part, Vara known how to do that stuff. Smuggling him out of the hotel is the hardest part :P"
«Plot» Walker says, "Bundled into laundry hamper, or room service trolley… marched out at gunpoint after suitable 'persuasion'…"
«Plot» Varangian did think of dressing up as room service and chucking him in the laundry trolley, then taking the service lift down
«Plot» Varangian says, "What floor is he on?"
«Plot» Walker says, "Top. Penthouse suite, natch. ;P"
«Plot» Varangian wishes she had a parachute :P
«Plot» Varangian ponders going out to the Trix again to make a key copy using the hotel's key system but assumes she'll need an actual physical key still.
«Plot» Walker says, "Eh, I'd say it's a generic card that you can program with off the shelf hardware. You could also spoof camera footage and the like."
«Plot» Varangian does have a nifty disguise kit for the cameras ;) "They'll think it's any of the other myriads of 6'2" women out there!"
«Plot» Walker says, "I mean in a world with trolls and elves and elf posers… might be more than usual. ;P"
«Plot» Varangian says, "For how long has he stayed at the hotel?"
«Plot» Walker says, "Couple days."
«Plot» Varangian will pay the hotel a visit… on the Matrix
«Plot» Walker says, "All righty!"
«Plot» Varangian will also visit a hardware store to buy a card reader, and a blank credstick/keycard.
«Plot» Varangian says, "Assuming those things are readily available?"
«Plot» Walker says, "Sure thing. Probably best to do that first. Will give the security tally on the grids some time to die down."
«Plot» Varangian says, "And let's keep tutorial mode open :P"
«Plot» Walker says, "Yeah, they're easily available. Call that 1000 off the final reward for the gear. Or you could try and get it from Patch if you want to sling some Etiquette my way?"
«Plot» Varangian will just buy it herself; doesn't want to call Patch more than necessary.
«Auto-Judge[]» Walker (#12094) rolls 2 (to no one) for "Wrong Party Test":
2 5
«Plot» Walker says, "That's easy enough to do, you can get them at any electronics supplier. Go ahead and pose that and any setup you want to do before trix jaunt 2 and we can go from there."
After having uncovered the name and location of her target, Varangian sits around in her hotel room, thinking of a plan. Then, she heads out on the street to do some shopping. After touring a couple flea markets and electronics stores, she returns to her hotel room with a card reader of the same type used in many hotels. Then, she connects it to her cyberdeck and tests it out on the spare keycard she got from the room she rented.
«Plot» Varangian says, "You need an Electronics roll for that?"
«Plot» Walker says, "I think you're good without the roll. Connecting stuff up seems fairly routine."
«Plot» Walker says, "Off to the trix then?"
«Plot» Varangian says, "Aye"
«Plot» Walker noddles. "You remember the steps?" :3
«Plot» Varangian says, "Logon to LTG, then continue to RTG"
«Plot» Walker says, "Perfect! Denver RTG is Orange-4 8/9/7/6/6 as a reminder. The child LTGs underneath it have the same ratings."
«Auto-Judge[]» Varangian (#13867) rolls 6 (Computer) vs TN 2 for "Logon to LTG, Access 8 - 6 Deception":
1 2 3 3 4 5 = 5 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Walker (#12094) rolls 4 vs TN 10 for "System Test vs Detection Factor (assuming Masking Mode and 4HP set aside), Tally=0":
2 3 4 10 = 1 Success
«Auto-Judge[]» Varangian (#13867) rolls 6 (Computer) vs TN 2 for "Logon to Denver RTG, Access 8 - 6 Deception":
3 3 3 4 4 10 = 6 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Walker (#12094) rolls 4 vs TN 10 for "System Test vs Detection Factor (assuming Masking Mode and 4HP set aside), Tally=1":
1 2 2 3 = 0 Successes
«Plot» Varangian says, "Locating the Staybridge Hotel should be easy, I assume"
«Plot» Walker says, "You need a Locate Access Node, but since you have the name you get -1 to the TN. A point I missed previously is that it's an Interrogation Operation, which means you need 5 cumulative successes (possibly over several actions) to get the result."
«Plot» Walker, still learning rules. :3
«Auto-Judge[]» Varangian (#13867) rolls 6 (Computer) vs TN 3 for "Locate Staybridge Hotel Access Node, Index 9 - 6 Browse":
2 3 4 4 5 5 = 5 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Walker (#12094) rolls 4 vs TN 10 for "System Test vs Detection Factor, Tally=1":
1 3 4 17 = 1 Success
«Plot» Walker says, "TN should've been 2. 9 is Control, Index is 7. You're good."
«Auto-Judge[]» Walker (#12094) rolls 1 for "Hotel hosts are easy, 1d3+3 Security Value":
1
«Auto-Judge[]» Walker (#12094) rolls 5 for "Subsystem Ratings are 1d3+7":
1 2 3 3 5
«Plot» Walker says, "Lessee… Green-4 8/10/8/9/9"
Iryna takes her jacket off and lies down on the bed again. She puts the deck down beside her, then closes her eyes before plugging the fiberoptic cable into her brain. Once again the crash test dummy is thrown out onto the net, easily finding its way through the local subroutine and out onto the digital streets of Denver. From there, locating the Hotel's icon does not prove a particularly challenging task either, and within the course of virtual seconds the dummy is floating in front of an icon bearing the hotel logo.
«Auto-Judge[]» Varangian (#13867) rolls 6 (Computer) vs TN 2 for "Accessing Hotel Host, Access 8 - 6 Deception":
1 2 4 5 9 10 = 5 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Walker (#12094) rolls 4 vs TN 10 for "System Test vs Detection Factor, Tally=2":
1 1 2 2 = 0 Successes
The velvet rope across the access node is a tricky beast: no matter how icons approach it always seems to get in the way. Impressive for glorified red twine. With a bit of perseverance however, the dummy manages to navigate the barrier and plunge into the node.
The host on the other side, perhaps unsurprisingly, is a richly appointed hotel lobby. Files are arranged in an enormous stack of pigeonholes that seem to correspond to different staff members and rooms. The marble pillars and floor beneath the thick rugs gleams in the golden sunlight streaming through the huge windows and a bustling set of staff programs in bellboy uniforms bustle around attending to a hundred different tasks.
«Plot» Varangian will try to find the lobby's system for creating room key cards
«Plot» Varangian says, "Locate file I suppose?"
«Plot» Walker says, "Hmmm… Locate Slave I think. That's more like an actual device."
«Plot» Walker says, "Interrogation Operation again, vs Index"
«Auto-Judge[]» Varangian (#13867) rolls 6 (Computer) vs TN 2 for "Locate Slave, Index 8 - 6 Analyse":
2 3 4 4 4 5 = 6 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Walker (#12094) rolls 4 vs TN 10 for "System Test vs Detection Factor, Tally=2":
1 2 4 5 = 0 Successes
«Plot» Walker says, "Easy-peasy. This is a good moment to talk about Scramble IC!"
«Plot» Walker says, "Some subsystems (Slave is a good option) can be trapped with IC and other nonsense to make doing stuff tricky. To guard against creative GM-inspired accident, it's generally good practise to Analyze Subsystem before you try to mess with it to discover its secrets. ;)"
«Plot» Walker says, "In this case, that'd be Analyse vs Slave."
«Plot» Varangian says, "Good call! Will do so, then"
«Auto-Judge[]» Varangian (#13867) rolls 6 (Computer) vs TN 3 for "Analysing keycard subsystem, Slave 9 - 6 Analyse":
3 4 5 5 8 16 = 6 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Walker (#12094) rolls 4 vs TN 10 for "System Test vs Detection Factor, Tally=2":
1 2 4 4 = 0 Successes
«Plot» Walker says, "The card system is (surprise, surprise) encrypted with Scramble IC!"
«Plot» Varangian says, "Decrypt Slave then!"
«Auto-Judge[]» Varangian (#13867) rolls 6 (Computer) vs TN 3 for "Decrypting keycard system, Slave 9 - 6 Decrypt":
3 5 5 9 11 11 = 6 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Walker (#12094) rolls 4 vs TN 10 for "System Test vs Detection Factor, Tally=2":
2 2 5 5 = 0 Successes
«Plot» Walker says, "Done!"
«Plot» Varangian says, "Do the Decrypt dice go in an opposed roll vs IC rating or something like that?"
«Plot» Walker says, "No, it's a regular system operation. The IC comes in if you try and access sensitive files where it'll try to delete the data."
«Plot» Varangian says, "And now those delicious sensitive files lie exposed :>"
«Plot» Walker says, "So I'm guessing you want a keycard for Walter's room? Or something more nefarious?"
«Plot» Varangian will proceed to fool the card reader that a card is in the machine and it's to be programmed with the electronic key to the penthouse.
«Plot» Walker says, "Bit of a funny one… I'm going to say you want Control Slave and Edit Slave for this. First for the keycard, the second to divert that to your device."
«Auto-Judge[]» Varangian (#13867) rolls 6 (Computer) vs TN 3 for "Taking control of keycard machine, Slave 9 - 6 Spoof":
1 1 1 1 1 5 = 1 Success
«Plot» Varangian says, "Wow"
«Plot» Walker boggles O_O
«Plot» Varangian says, "Is that like a critical fail or something?"
«Plot» Walker says, "No, the 5 saves you from the oops. That's the most 1s I've ever seen at once though. Like 1 in 7776 or something to get that. XD"
«Auto-Judge[]» Walker (#12094) rolls 4 vs TN 10 for "System Test vs Detection Factor, Tally=2":
1 3 4 8 = 0 Successes
«Plot» Walker says, "Even worked ;)"
«Plot» Varangian says, "That is easily the worst roll I've made here so far"
«Auto-Judge[]» Varangian (#13867) rolls 6 (Computer) vs TN 3 for "Edit Slave, Slave 9 - 6 Spoof":
1 1 2 3 3 7 = 3 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Walker (#12094) rolls 4 vs TN 10 for "System Test vs Detection Factor, Tally=2":
3 3 5 22 = 1 Success
«Plot» Walker says, "Go ahead and pose your card-making shenanigans."
The crash test dummy, after popping up in the hotel lobby, ignores the typical functions catering to the average visitors and slips off behind the counter, so to speak. It digs into the subsystem reserved for hotel staff, searching for the main lobby's device for creating room keys. Once it finds it, a huge wrench appears in its hands and it begins to bash the system until it spits out a copy of the Penthouse key, which it later picks up and slips into the slit of its mouth as if it by itself was a card reader.
«Plot» Walker says, "Shenanigans indeed! Any other business or does that wrap this intrusion up?"
«Plot» Varangian will go look for the employee roster next >:)
«Plot» Walker says, "OK. That's a Locate File. Want to Analyse Subsystem first?"
«Auto-Judge[]» Varangian (#13867) rolls 6 (Computer) vs TN 3 for "Analysing subsystem, Slave 9 - 6 Analyse":
1 1 3 4 9 11 = 4 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Walker (#12094) rolls 4 vs TN 10 for "System Test vs Detection Factor, Tally=3":
1 5 8 17 = 1 Success
«Auto-Judge[]» Walker (#12094) rolls 1 for "First trigger step on Green systems is 1d3+3… :3":
3
«Plot» Walker says, "Still got another step before things (TM) happen. ;)"
«Plot» Walker says, "No tricks on the staff files, though guest information is encrypted."
«Auto-Judge[]» Varangian (#13867) rolls 6 (Computer) vs TN 2 for "Locating Staff roster, Index 8 - 6 Browse":
1 2 2 3 4 5 = 5 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Walker (#12094) rolls 4 vs TN 10 for "System Test vs Detection Factor, Tally=4":
1 1 5 13 = 1 Success
«Plot» Walker says, "OK, so 1 short of the 5 you need for interrogation…"
«Plot» Walker says, "Sensor Test please, TN4. IIRC your Sensor is 3."
«Plot» Varangian says, "Do I add anything to that roll or just 3 dice?"
«Plot» Walker says, "Just 3."
«Auto-Judge[]» Varangian (#13867) rolls 3 vs TN 4 for "Sensor test":
1 3 4 = 1 Success
«Plot» Walker says, "Going to say 1st step is Probe-4. Normally the Sensor Test would be secret and you wouldn't know unless you hit."
«Plot» Walker says, "It's reactive, but it effectively acts as 4 extra dice for the host to increase your tally (though it doesn't reduce your successes). You can crash it if you want, but then you'd have to put hacking pool into suppressing it or it'd increase tally even further."
«Auto-Judge[]» Walker (#12094) rolls 4 vs TN 10 for "Probe-4 vs Detection Factor, Tally=5":
1 2 5 5 = 0 Successes
«Plot» Varangian will proceed as before
«Auto-Judge[]» Varangian (#13867) rolls 6 (Computer) vs TN 2 for "Locating Staff roster, Index 8 - 6 Browse":
1 3 3 5 8 8 = 5 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Walker (#12094) rolls 4 vs TN 10 for "System Test vs Detection Factor, Tally=5":
2 3 4 5 = 0 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Walker (#12094) rolls 4 vs TN 10 for "Probe-4 vs Detection Factor, Tally=5":
1 1 1 10 = 1 Success
As the crash dummy roots around behind the counter it attracts some attention. A little drone, no more than three feet high, balanced precariously on a single squeaky wheel with an enormous camera lens for a head peeks around the edge of the counter at the strange icon.
«Plot» Varangian will attempt to pull the plug here
«Plot» Walker says, "Download File first perhaps? :3"
«Plot» Walker says, "You have another 3-5 tally before the next step."
«Plot» Varangian says, "Alright, Download then"
«Plot» Varangian was expecting next step to be on Tally 7
«Plot» Walker says, "Nah, Green hosts are 4-6 tally between triggers."
«Auto-Judge[]» Varangian (#13867) rolls 6 (Computer) vs TN 3 for "Downloading Staff roster, Files 9 - 6 R/W":
1 1 2 4 5 11 = 3 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Walker (#12094) rolls 4 vs TN 10 for "System Test vs Detection Factor, Tally=6":
4 4 4 17 = 1 Success
«Auto-Judge[]» Walker (#12094) rolls 4 vs TN 10 for "Probe-4 vs Detection Factor, Tally=7":
1 2 4 10 = 1 Success
«Plot» Varangian says, "Also needing 5 successes here?"
«Plot» Walker says, "No, Download Data just depends on your I/O speed. Given it's just a basic database time isn't a huge factor, which may be just as well. ;)"
«Plot» Varangian will edit the datafile as last operation
«Auto-Judge[]» Varangian (#13867) rolls 6 (Computer) vs TN 3 for "Editing Staff roster, Files 9 - 6 R/W":
1 2 4 5 5 7 = 4 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Walker (#12094) rolls 4 vs TN 10 for "System Test vs Detection Factor, Tally=8":
2 2 2 3 = 0 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Walker (#12094) rolls 4 vs TN 10 for "Probe-4 vs Detection Factor, Tally=8":
1 2 2 5 = 0 Successes
«Plot» Varangian is planning to input a bogus name as a new employee on the room service staff payroll
«Plot» Walker says, "Done and done. Anything further or we bugging out? :)"
The crash test dummy is almost sweating at the tension over the drone's squeaky wheel echoing through the lobby. >_> Eyes darting about <_< As it jumps at the employee register. Its jaw extends once more into a filing cabinet that consumes the delicious file, then the dummy gets nerdy glasses B) and a quill pen and it goes in and signs a new name on the hotel staff - Estelle Chandler, Room Service, Intern.
«Plot» Varangian says, "Bugging out!"
«Auto-Judge[]» Varangian (#13867) rolls 6 (Computer) vs TN 2 for "Logging out, Files 8 - 6 Deception":
1 1 1 5 5 7 = 3 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Walker (#12094) rolls 4 vs TN 10 for "System Test vs Detection Factor, Tally=8":
3 3 4 5 = 0 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Walker (#12094) rolls 4 vs TN 10 for "Probe-4 vs Detection Factor, Tally=8":
2 3 3 4 = 0 Successes
«Plot» Walker says, "And safe! Pose the loggouttery and waking up and I think that's this part done. :D"
After stealthily recruiting a new employee to the hotel workforce, the crash test dummy closes the file, then hops up, seating itself in an invisible car and proceeds to drive itself straight into a wall, exploding in a cartoony cloud of stars and little winged crash test dummies. After they fade away into pixels, nothing remains of the bright yellow intruder.
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