GM: Nightshade
Players: Knox.
Synopsis: Knox does a favor for his decker The Rat and meets a Deckmeister named Impulse
Date: Oct 16 2070
-----> Contact for Knox (#4448) <------
Contact Name: The Rat
Level: 1
Type: decker
GM Note: According to Knox, "The Rat is a pale, emaciated, selfish little prick of an elf. But he's ok." Bad taste, bad breath, bad skin, tacky black street clothes, everything the polished ork fixer hates. He's a young male elf who wears tattered/punk leather type clothing and usually sports a "liberty spike" style Mohawk in lime green. But, the teenager's elite in the trix and gets paydirt. Knox sends The Rat work his way, The Rat sends Knox what he wants (info, services etc). The Rat's personality is mch like his nick name: skittish, selfish, interested in hoarding the scraps of information hidden in databases. His Matrix icon is a looping decomposing rat corpse with a lime green Mohawk. The Rat is likely an average or at best slightly above average decker.
It's early in the morning, just enough light has broken through the pall that hangs over the Warrens to send most of the ghouls deep into thier shelters for the evening. Inside the Cybered Arms however, it's always slatted light filtering through smoke and the smell of stale booze. The Rat has asked Knox to stop into the Cybered Arms for a rare face-to-face. The emaciated elf is sitting in the coner by the cigarrete machine. His strung out style earns him some elbow room as that type of thin and twitchy sometimes means geek, but often means wired.
Knox blows his nose as he enters and tosses the tissue into a nearby overflowing garbage can. The ork is overdressed for this very street type bar, but he's b een here before and Keegan gives him an approximation of a smile. He sees the elf and slides into a seat across from the young man. In his baritone and resonant voice he speaks, "Well, it's a surprise to see you. We don't usually meet like this, per your own paranoia…..what can I do for you?"
Nightshade happens to be sitting at the bar working her way through several beers and talking at length with another troll woman. Both look built for business. Nightshade small sharp and quick, the other woman big broad and blunt. They seem to be enjoying their conversation but even some of the more hardended looking vets of the place wince and lean away when the pair get animated in their conversation, their gestures seem to often indicate breaking things, tearing things, and stomping on things.
The Rat twitches, his teeth grinding against eachother in one of the nervous habits that earned him his name, "Yeah…scan this though, my deck…its compromised. I need…" he glances around, "…I need you to go fetch a new one for me. I've got it all lined up, except…" He looks at you carefully, the glances over at the troll women and other metas in the bar, paying particular attention to the orcs, "…except, the guy who's selling what I need is deep in orktown and isn't fond of 'leaf eaters'."
Knox looks over his shoulder at the Gangers and the two trolls. He smirks as he notices the troll woman, but shrugs turning back to Rat.
A trio of sprawlrats are enjoying drinks. One of them stands up, slamming his beer mug down. "Yeah! FRAG National Trideo Network!!!"
The Rat taps his pocket, "Look, I've got…" his voice drops to half a whisper, "75" then rises again, "And that's a fair price, he's telling me like three times that amount…cause I happen to have pointy ears instead of tusks." He glances around realizing how close tusk sounds to tusker. "Anyways, you take the 75, go do this deal for me, and anything you can shave off the price is yours to keep. What do you say?"
Nightshade laughs, "…so all of a sudden he's tearing off his armor in the middle of a firefight, screaming about spider…" The other woman joins in then responds, "S'nothing, should have seen dis one time, dwarf, ya? He falls down und cried cause his paint gots scratched up on his car. Said it cost him half a mil, so I says 'what you doin with it in a fight den?' and den I smashed the security guards head against da hood again."
A pair of Red Glitter Crew Gangers enter and take a seat at the bar.
Knox leans in, looking interested. "All right Rat,", he sigh, "I destest that area. Ork town is so……not where I want to be this morning But-", he pulls out a pack of cigs and offers the elf one, "Where might I find this 'meister?"
Nightshade orders the pair another round of beers, then smiles at the Glitter crew, "Hoi, wassut yous dat tagged da building on forth?" She blinks as she realizes how bad her accent just was but the crew didn't seem to expect any better from a trogg and just nod, she buys them a round saying, "Damn fine work, you dears almost make this place look good." The other troll just starts laughing.
Rat nods, "He's got a shop, one of those spots right near The Bridge, that apartment complex….yeah…he's right there, goes by Impulse…his shop is Impulse's Controls…shame he's such a fragger."
A trio of sprawlrats are enjoying drinks. One of them stands up, slamming his beer mug down. "Yeah! FRAG Jam-Bo Game Studios!!!"
Knox raises an eyebrow, "He know I'm going there in lieu of you? Or should I you know, act as an interested buyer and see what he has?"
Knox looks over his shoulder again at the trio, he looks back to Rat, "No decorum here that's for sure."
Rat says, "Nah, I didn't say who I was…just checked him out…he's got the gear I need…It's a Hacker House Microdeck-4. I only need it to till I can fix up my other rig, but I can't do drek for it without a sub…you know…so I just need you to go in there, and get it for me…then bring it back."
Rat adds, "But it's common knowledge if you're not a tusker, you pay double, if you're leafy, you pay tree with him."
Knox puffs on his cigarette, hand rolled Yamatetsu "Olde Cowboys". He clears his throat, "Well all right, Rat. You, uh…..you're gonna stay here?" The ork adjusts his lapels and shifts in his seat.
Keegan watches as the Atlanta Braves play a game against the Kansas City Royals on the Trid. "I got 50 nuyen on this game." She mutters. Duke offers, rather helpfully… "Sucker."
Rat glances around, "Nah, I've got a place to hole up…you know…a little hole for the Rat…you call when you've got it and I'll meet up wit'cha."
Knox nods and places a hand very casually under the table, "Lets have the bread crumbs and I'll head over to the party."
Rat produces a credstick, "The pin is the phone number I called you from to set this up."
Keegan watches as the Baltimore Orioles play a game against the Portland Lords on the Trid. "I got 50 nuyen on this game." She mutters. Duke offers, rather helpfully… "Sucker."
Knox quickly grabs it, smiles like a shark (or a former lawyer) and pockets the stick. "All right, Impulse Controls, near the Bridge, Hacker House Microdeck-4", he repeats quietly more for himself than Rats. "I'll call you when I've got it secured and we can meet. So ka?"
Rat nods, "Yeah man…just don't take too long…I'm naked loke a mole rat without my rig."
Knox winks, he gathers himself and gets ready to leave.
Rat makes ready to head out himself.
OrkTown - Central Orktown
Once a nice section of town, this hub in the center of orktown composed the major battlefield during the Battle of Aurora and continues to be plagued by near-constant gang warfare. Only the strongest ork and troll families make their home here, in the heart of OrkTown among the burnt-out cars, dilapidated buildings, and seas of discarded ammo casings.
Faded and torn Black banners bearing a flaming eye within a golden ring mark the entrance into Sons of Sauron-controlled territory, and burned out cars have been used to set up makeshift barricades against go-gangs and boosters rocketing in from Smoky Hill. The decay of the Sons' power in OrkTown is evident in the further decay of the area. Vehicle traffic is almost non-existent, and the sound of heavy weapon and automatic fire tears through the night almost hourly.
Non-troll or orks are rare and usually on specific business and the trolls and Orks bearing heavy weaponry make it clear that tourists are not welcome this side of Ork Town. There's a gritty watchfulness around the area, and everything is watched, and only the resolve of the locals keeps this place from becoming as chaotic and dangerous as the Warzone itself.
Impulse's Controls is one of the few tech shops in this area of the Warrens. An Orktown staple Impulse is responsible for a large amount of the electronics that function in this area and has done more sattelite patch ins to provide folks with limited trix access than most elextricians have stripped wires. His shop is functional rather than friendly with massive slabs of concrete leaned up against the building to provide cover for the valuables inside from the frequent firefights in the area. There is one entrance into the building between the slaps of plascrete which has two heavy doors. The inventory is sparse, as soon as electronics arrive they find homes, the few things still locked in place on the shelves are either of poor quality that no-one has been desperate to purchase yet, or of such high value folks haven't scraped together the cash yet.
Impulse himself is a ork of medium build, he's getting on in years, his tusks are yellowed and cracked and his hair, what is left of it, is white. He's probably in the late thirties of his hard life.
Knox steps out of the Coupe, lightly kicking away the rusted out shell of a hold out pistol near his feet. He pulls his Cabbie low over his brow, turns the collar to his coat up and walks towards the shop with an air of purpose and confidence: I know where I'm going, frag off you vultures. He pushes his hand on the door and enters…..
Several datajacks glint in the light coming in the door as Impulse turns round to check out the new arrival, not recognizing Knox immediately he goes into a practiced speech…"The guns inside the door will put lots of holes in you and whatever you try to steal, and the folks outside will put more in you trying to steal what you tried to steal, so either buy it legit and go home happy, or steal it and never go home…just don't bother shooting at me, medics are pricey round here….what can I do for you?
Knox gruffs his voice up a bit and adds a little ork-ese in, "Hey easy omae, I ain't lookin ta frag witcha, and I aint lookin' to go home in a body bag. I jus' here cause I'm told youse a solid man in orktown to see. How ya doin'?", he steps further in and raises his hands a tad to show he means no harm.
The guns in question are a quartet of shotguns pointing roughly towards the doorway, they're a bit dusty but look eminently functional. Impulse nods, "Doing well, and don't mind the speech, it's just a formality so I don't have any legal trouble if someone gets shot full of holes." He chuckles to himself, an old man with his old man jokes…legality in the Warrens…funny stuff.
Knox nods, he warms his hands together— never warm enough for an LA ork. "So, uh, my buddy says youse carry ya know, some tech. Cause I'm lookin' for something worth my cred I can use reliably. Ya got decks?"
Impulse nods, "'Course I got decks, you looking for anything in particular and how much cred we talking, I can start you off at something for a schoolkid for under a grand, or if you're looking for something monstrous you could go well into the mil range…don't have anything like that here now, but I know people, you know?"
Knox nods, he half jokes, "Well if you got anything I can ruin a fraggin' keebs credit score with that's a good place to start, ya know what I mean?", he chuckles at his thin racism joke.
Impulse scoffs, "Feh, whole damn system's run by Keebs and Breeders, you work within that system and you're gonna lose cause you're playing their game…nah Omae, you take what you can from them, but don't try living in their world, it's tilted too far in their favor, we need our own world, scan?" He does however think for a minute, "If you're going up against that grade of host though, you need a serious pick for that sort of IC. I've got some things that can handle it, but I'll need to see the color of your cred before I crack into that grade."
«Auto-Judge[]» Knox (#4448) has the Active Skill Computers with the value '3'.
«OOC» Nightshade says, "Good enough to sound knowledgeable."
«OOC» Knox says, "and just to stay ahead"
«Auto-Judge[]» Knox (#4448) has the Knowledge Skill Gear Value with the value '4'.
«OOC» Nightshade says, "And please roll etiquette vs Avail 6 (avail on this particular item). Normal wait time is 8 days, we're going to waive that as you 'know' it's in stock."
«OOC» Knox says, "etiquette or street etiquette?"
Knox nods, "I'm thinkin' in the 50kay range, if it's possible I'm a Hacker House man myself."
«OOC» Nightshade says, "If you can pose the request for it in a 'Street' manner I'm willing to accept that, but the conversation so far has been more net-ettiquette than street."
«Auto-Judge[]» Knox (#4448) rolls Etiquette vs TN 6:
3 8 14 = 2 Successes
«OOC» Knox says, "no I concur etiquette is more apt"
Impulse nods, "Yeah, I've got something Hackerhouse that'll do the job, but your pocket is a bit light, they start a lot closer to 100k than to 50k…but let's say that I might have a Hackerhouse Job, one of their recent models a Microdeck-4, you show me 100k and I'll show you the deck.
«OOC» Nightshade says, "Roll Nego, Impulse's Int is 4"
«OOC» Nightshade says, "And please prove your Int"
«Auto-Judge[]» Knox (#4448) rolls Negotiation + Karma Pool: 1 vs TN 4:
1 3 4 5 5 5 13 = 5 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Knox (#4448) has the Attribute Intelligence with the value '5'.
«OOC» Nightshade says, "Nice roll"
«OOC» Knox says, "yea first one in a while lol"
«OOC» Nightshade says, "You can add gear value as a comp"
«Auto-Judge[]» Knox (#4448) rolls 2 vs TN 4 for "Gear value (half round down)":
2 4 = 1 Success
«Auto-Judge[]» Nightshade (#3173) rolls 4 (Impulse's Nego) vs TN 5 for "Counter Nego":
1 2 2 4 = 0 Successes
«OOC» Nightshade says, "20 Discount in your favor"
«OOC» Nightshade says, "You'll be able to get him to 60k, phrase your offer however you like at that number and he'll accept."
Knox crosses his arms, "Aw c'mon man." he shakes his head clearly in the know and as the saying goes, 'The customer is always right'. "I know I can get it for cheaper, but since I'm a new customer and I wanna come back as you and see eye to eye, how's about we agree on 65Kay?", he muses, "Eh?".
Impulse squints, "The customer is always right…so long as the customer has cash…let's see some cred, if you're on the up and up we'll call it done at 65 and me pleasantly surprised to have made a new friend today."
Knox gingerly removes a credstick from a slim wrist pocket in his jacket. He keys in 65 key onto the disposable "burner" credstick and rolls it across the counter top. "Should check out fine."
Impulse produces a credstick reader from behind the counter and checks it, nodding after a few heartbeats when the reader connects and checks out. "Looks straight up…one sec." He pushes a button under the counter and with a 'shunk' bolts slide home securing the door. "Feel free to browse." He steps over to the corner of the room and lifts a trapdoor in the floor, it looks quite heavy but he manages it with only a little effort, once the slab is lifted he descends into the darkness. A minute or two passes before he emerges carrying a secure hackerhouse brand carry case.
Knox keeps his face poker face straight, patiently waiting "Gotta say I aint neva seen any security like dis 'ere. I'm impressed."
Impulse waves his hand at Knox, "Feh, you're a lousy liar…you're welcome to come play poker anytime." He sets the case on the table and spends a second reseting the locks to default 0s. Then turns it towards Knox. "One Hackerhouse Micro 4, better than new…cause it's got no reciept to track you by." He chuckles, "If you break it you bought it, but go ahead and check it out before I run this through." He says gesturing towards the credstic.
«OOC» Nightshade says, "Comp roll vs tn 4 please!"
«Auto-Judge[]» Knox (#4448) rolls Computers vs TN 4:
1 3 11 = 1 Success
«OOC» Nightshade says, "It boots!"
Knox swithces the unit on, hesitates to look a bit further then shuts the power off. He gently places it on the counter, "It's a deal."
Impulse doesn't stand on ceremony and taps out the sale on the credstick reader quickly docking the stick for 65k then returning it to Knox, "There you go, come back anytime now." He pulls a small optical chip engraved with his name and info, "If you need anything else, you can reach me here, yeah?"
«OOC» Nightshade says, "Ok, give me a pose that indicates what 'style' you use to get through the Warrens, example: I sneak (stealth), I walk confidently with a big gun (intim), I know all the right people (etiquette), I bribe who I need to (nego). Then we'll need a roll to get back to the rez based on that with precious cargo."
«OOC» Knox says, "Well i'd either use my street etiquette skills if that applies, otherwise I'll use my negotiation bribing"
«OOC» Nightshade says, "Either works…"
«OOC» Knox says, "roll first?"
«OOC» Nightshade says, "Just think of a way to pose how you 'normally do it'."
«OOC» Nightshade says, "You can roll first if you like…your TN will be…"
«Auto-Judge[]» Nightshade (#3173) rolls 2 for "Dice of mystery and suspense!":
5 5
«OOC» Nightshade says, "5 with a threshold of 2 successes."
«Auto-Judge[]» Knox (#4448) rolls Etiquette (Street):
1 3 4 5 5
«OOC» Nightshade says, "Nice."
«OOC» Knox says, "phew"
«OOC» Nightshade says, "Give a traveling pose incorporate elements of street etiquette."
Knox pockets the chip, "You got it, pleasure doin' business with ya brother.", he raises his hand in ork solitude and steps towards the doorway for the locks to open.
Impulse opens the locks and offers a raised hand in return, "Mind the Keebs brother, they let the breeder's think it's their world…don't fall for it."
Knox leaves and starts up his car letting it warm for a moment. Whether it's Knox is just having a bad day, or the Gods of the Sixth World have it out for him, he wants to get out Orktown and the Warrens badly — and it shows. He pulls his flask of synth whiskey out from under the seat and takes a pull. "I. Hate. This. Part of town." he declares to himself. He moves the car westward and with the window open he flashes the proper "guest" gang signs to the appropriate orks, gang bangin' trogs in leathers, and the odd human who moves her Krill Stand aside to show an alleyway that gives fairly safe passage out of the worst of the urban blight.
Knox makes the right moves in the Warrens and hustles the right gear for Orktown, but that doesn't mean he has to like it. Eventually the fixer makes it onto a quasi-safe highway and keys up Rat's contact info on the cars phone.
Rat seems surprised to hear from Knox so quickly, "Trouble Omae?"
Knox turns off the Highway and heads towards the CAS sector, coasting around for now. "None whatsoever.", he drops his voice a touch lower, "'Cause us ork bredren gotsta sticks tuggeda, keep out them keebs." He chuckles softly like two rock scraping together.
The Rat offers a weak laugh, "Yeah…if you ork bredren would stop worrying so much about sticking together against us keebs you'd realize it's them's with the money that's the problem and the shape of your ears and teeth don't mean a damn thing…anyway…you got my rig?"
Knox agrees with the sentiment before answering the question, "It's as old as it gets: Divide and conquer. That's why the UCAS has been controlled by corps for over a century. It's just more obvious now.", he smoothly moves into the far right lane aka The Slow Lane. "Yep I've got your rig, where do you want to me? And I've got to say, it' still a bit odd seeing you in person and under such cordial conditions my good Rat. Dare I say you're becoming a colleague?"
The Rat chitters a laugh, "Hell, I can be a fancy rat when I need to be…I'm a fella of many talents…I'm over by the shoreline at the Rez…can you get there?"
Knox replies curtly "I'll see you there Rat."
The Rez - Shoreline
Quincy Reservoir was at one time one of the large reservoirs of water for the people of Aurora. With the signing of the Treaty of Denver, things changed. Now, it's still a sizeable lake of water, but it's filled with debris and other unidentifiable things and the water is a very unhealthy-looking brownish-green.
A lakefront road runs around the reservoir, cracked and pebbly in most places, neglected for years. In places, there are still old boat ramps allowing access to the lake for people who want it. Some old parking lots and picnic sites have turned into havens for illicit BTL dealers, shady sexual deals, and furtive street sellers, where they can push the squatters out of the way.
The area is a favorite of riggers to use for drone competitions, as it is secluded and KE doesn't come here unless they're well-bribed. The most active sign of civilization is the Bastille complex, located near the south end of the lake.
The sun has reached just past mid-day by the time Knox has been back and forth to Orktown, the bright sun on the water could be considered pretty…if you were a fan or brownish green foam churned up by the wake of rigged boats and drones. Rat is scurrying between two groups, placing bets and acting somewhat weasley for a guy that goes by Rat.
Knox pulls up as gravel crunches beneath the tires. Stepping out, the ork fixer scans the waterline and sees Rat placing bets between the groups. He pats the ruger in his quickdraw holster under his arm for good luck and reaches into the back of the car for the deck. He stands where he is and waits for Rat to notice. He's not ruining these shoes in whatever that muck is.
Rat notices Knox and gestures that he'll be right over, the ongoing race finishes and Rate settles up between the two groups before heading over. "Stupid Fraggers don't know how to run numbers, gotta come down here more often, can make a killing if I could get someone to bankroll me." He doesn't appear to be mindful of the muck on his shoes or how bad the dead fish and oil smell is coming off him as he steps up to Knox, "So…?" He trails off, expectantly if somewhat disbelievingly.
Knox cocks his head, "So. I got your package and 5K left over,", he motions with his head at the races, "So there's your bankroll too……omae."
The Rat takes the stick incredlously, "Alright…so I owe you one…but don't think you're gonna put me in a corner with it…you know how that kind of thing goes down." He cracks open the case for the briefest glance inside, "I've got some work to do…you know…so…th…at was a good job…" He snaps the case shut then heads off quickly, glancing back at the ork trying to figure out what the angle is, fingering the credstick till he realizes he's walking in the warrens openly displaying a credstick then it vanishes and the case gets covered up by his jacket till he disappears from sight.
Knox shrugs, "Hey no angle, just doing you a favor." he smiles genuinely. "Plus I got some face time with a new deckmeister out of it.", he offers. "I'm late for a meeting, I'd offer you a ride but you'd stink up my car." He offers his hand to shake, "We're square?"
The Rat is already headed off…no time wasted on pleasantries now that he has what he needs to sink back into a world where he's the big cheese.
Knox drives off heading to the downtown glitz of the Denver metroplex.
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