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GM: Freefall
Players: Freefall, Walker, Silhouette, Ghost Riddle
Synopsis: Freefall stops by Ghost Riddle's apartment and receives a gift from her new decker friend and then the team flies out to Seattle to prepare for their first official Shadowrun together.
Date: 10/20/2082
------------> Text Message to Freefall from Ghost Riddle (#13352) <------------
Big few days coming up… for both of us, hai? Well… I have pre-mission jitters. Why don't you swing by my place if you can fit me in between prep time before we leave?
------------> Text Message to Ghost Riddle from Freefall (#13374) <------------
My pre-stuff is done. I've been packed for months. The flight is on schedule for our 'girls’ long weekend away. I'll be over shortly.
------------> Text Message to Freefall from Ghost Riddle (#13352) <------------
Okay! See you soon then!
About an hour or so later the special knock that Sylvie gave Free to use is used once again. Outside the door Free stands in her normal attire with a traveler’s duffle bag held in one hand, the other kept free and clear. She looks up and down the quiet hallway as she waits, looking for trouble. Not that she expects to find any.
Sylvie unlocks the door and swings it open a few inches to peer up at Free. "Well, hello there," she smiles, opening the door all the way to let Free in. "Welcome back to the Palace! Make yourself at home!"
She's in white sweatpants and a hoodie that so happens to have cat ears attached to it. The logo on the back declares that the wearer of this hoodie is part of the NEKO ARMY and it has a cat armed to the teeth, looking like a cat version of Rambo standing just behind the NEKO ARMY logo and behind that a fireball explosion.
Free gives Sylvie a small smile as she's let in. She doesn't take note of the hoodie at first. Eyes going around the place, looking to see what's new and different. When she looks back to Sylvie she catches sight of the Neko army logo and a surprised laugh that is cut short when a hand covers her mouth. She smiles then and nods to Sylvie or more correctly to her apparel. "Nice hoodie. Neko approves."
Sylvie laughs. "Glad you approve! I had this before I met you. It seems to have more meaning now and its comfy as hell! Can I get you anything to drink? I am little light on groceries since I had to feed the Deck some proggie yum yums."
Freefall's smile turns into more of a frown when hearing that. "Well, no one on my team goes hungry. Why don't you order us some food? I'll pay. And no arguments! My team needs to be in top shape. Not distracted with hunger pangs." She sets her bag behind where the door out would open. Easy to grab on the way out.
Sylvie tossed herself into gamer girl chair and woke up her computer and went into her favorite delivery service page. "You won't ever get a no from me when free food is offered. What type do we want?"
Free might notice that Sylvie has a gun sitting out on her computer desk along with spare mags and boxes of opened 9mm ammo.
Free makes note of the gun and almost says something of approval but leaves off and shrugs to Sylvie's question. "I've had a lot of different things recently. Trying to eat at different locations every meal. Surprise me?" She pads over to the couch and eases down into it, grabbing hold of her tail as she does.
Sylvie is an elf, but she isn't no veggie elf. MEAT! Or a close facsimile is ordered. Two MooMoo #2 combos from the local burger joint she found (and likes) are ordered with drinks. When it comes time to pay, she asks for Free's payment info to plug in for payment. Once that is taken care of she stands up and grabs a like 10 x 14 gift-wrapped package that was leaning up against the wall next to her computer and walks over to present it to Free.
"Made you something to say thanks for all the loans and for giving a noob in Denver a chance to build some streetcred. Hope you like it!"
Free tucks away her credstick and then blinks at the gift handed to her. For a moment the tiredness can clearly be seen in the lines of her face. Circles hidden normally by her skin tone are visible briefly. She looks up at Ghostie and slowly takes the gift into her hands looking lost but then gives Sylvie a smile. "Thanks. You didn't have to. And even if I did pay for stuff, it's also self-serving too." She stares at the gift in et for a few more moments and then starts to open it.
As the packaging is slowly torn open and removed a framed digital painting that Sylvie had printed out on a top-notch color printer and laminated to protect is revealed under glass. The 10in x 14x painting is done in Sylvie's anime art style but is painted in classic oil painting style. It is of Free standing on a cliff with a lush forest behind her. The color tones are that of a morning sunrise. Free's long hair blows in the end and there is a smile on her face as she enjoys the sunrise and the new beginning to the day. Sylvie took liberates on the clothing and put Free in a yellow sundress that is flowing in the wind too. Overall, it is a painting of warmth and peace.
"I call it "New Beginning" and when this mess is all done with… I hope that is you."
Free stills, looking at herself in the picture. Her slitted pupils roamed over the lines and the color. The background and its warmth.
Her eyes glisten and she asks in a voice full of emotions, "Do I look like that?" A fingertip touches the glass where her figure is drawn. Her expression was one of soft confusion mixed with wonder. "Can I look like that?"
Sylvie smiled with a sympathetic touch to it. "Of course, you look like that. That's how I see you anyway. You are awesome. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise and yes, you can look like that after the past is buried. Promise. I'll help you get there. Promise."
Free continues to look down at the picture as if enchanted. Tears well over and slide slowly down her cheeks. She breaks away from the enchantment long enough to look at Sylvie and say a simple, "Thank you."
Getting up and setting the picture carefully on the couch she pads over to the other woman, arms outstretched for a hug.
Sylvie gets a little emotional too at seeing the pain in her friend come out in those tears. The abuse she must have faced over the years before they met, she can only imagine. She was in her own abusive relationship back in Seattle but nothing like what Free had alluded to. Sylvie closed the gap to Free and entered those outstretched hugging arms, hugging tightly. "You are welcome…" she says softly.
Free's body feels slightly different from a normal person’s. Cyberware laced through her skin along with muscle augments making her more solid under a touch. But the emotions are real enough and genuinely human. She pulls back after a good long squeeze and gives Sylvie a smile that needs work but is seeing some progress. "Is it ok if I keep it here? I don't have a safe place to hang it yet. After.. after we do this job, I'll get it for sure."
Sylvie nods, wiping her eyes free of forming tears. "Oh yeah! This is an original Vango! We can't let it get damaged. Once we get back from Seattle, we'll find a good place to hang it! Preferably over a big fireplace where all can see my amazing talents and I can retire rich and famous for my art!" she jokes, trying to bring the heavy emotions in the air back down.
Sylvie then grinned at Free and added, "I am totally adding a character like you into my webcomic, The Adventures of Bad Karma and Company!"
Free chuckles and shakes her head as she moved back to the couch. "Do they make houses with fireplaces anymore? I mean.. That sounds so twenty-thirty and earlier. I guess that means I'll have to find an old house, right?"
She blinks then and her brows raise. "Webcomic? And you want to put a character like me in it? Good God, why? I'm a frick'n mess and I know it."
Sylvie hopped up on her couch in one corner and tucked her legs away, leaning on the back of it with her head propped up in her hand, eyes fixed on Free wherever she goes. "Complex detailed characters that are a mess is what makes a story good. Watching that character overcome their obstacles and grow as a character into something awesome by the end of the story is what sells copies! You are… an inspiration to me and I think readers will like our new protagonist to the party. What should we call her?"
Free listens and lets out a single laugh of disbelief. "If you really want too, you can I guess. Seems so strange to me though. As for names?" She ponders this as she herself takes a seat, tucking her tail down behind herself. "Hotmess? Nibbles? Alley as in Alleycat?"
Sylvie laughs at the names. "I love them! I think her moniker will be Alleycat, Alley for short and someone on the team nicknames her Nibbles because she tends to like chew on stuff when she's excited or nervous! We are character-developing here! Look at us go! Whooot!"
Free laughs softly and wipes at her eyes, "Is that what this is called? Character development?" She picks up the picture Sylvie did for her and carefully sets it to one side before adjusting her seat on the couch. "So. What will Alley look like? She shouldn't look like me I don't think. Would be an info leak for a runner."
Sylvie looked toward the ceiling, tapping her chin, cheeks puffed up cutely as she brainstormed about the new Alleycat. "Well definitely a Neko-chan! She should totally be like… all cute and cuddly until the claws come out! Total personality change! RAR! Here to smack some bitches up!" she chuckles then looks at Free. "Maybe she's like good with samurai swords or something! Good physical adept type! She can hardcore parkour!"
Freefall's smile widens. "That all sounds good except I have claws and spurs and I'm pretty good a parkour moves. But that's..expected from a cat, right?" Her smile fades slightly but then she shrugs. "Make her a fiery redhead? Red hair. Red legs and tail?"
Sylvie nods excitedly. "Redheads for the win! Love me redheads! Should we change her name to Firefox?" she laughs.
Free thinks about it and shrugs. "If she's Firefox then she should be a fox and not a cat? But that's just my too-straight forward thought process talking."
Sylvie nodded. "Tell you what… you can help me develop our kitty slash foxy character when we get back from Seattle. Deal?" she offers a hand to shake to Free.
Free looks at the offered hand and thoughts race around in her brain, chasing one another. She slowly reaches out to grasp hold of Sylvie's hand and shakes it, sealing the deal. But she looks unsure and ill at ease.
------===============================================-----
The day had finally come. Preparations were completed and plans (for the most part) were set in place. Things were ready to go.
Freefall meets Silhouette and Ghost Riddle at a small airport where they meet with their chartered pilot who goes by the name Fancy. A male orc pilot who's all smiles as the three ladies show up to fly away on their 'long girls-only weekend'. Luggage is stowed in the small hold, and he asks that weapons be stowed as well. One notes he himself has a gun holstered on his hip, but it's a smart metahuman that comes prepared.
He tries to engage the ladies during their flight, chatting them up and dropping hints about his single status. At least he's not pushy about it.
They land a few hours later at another small airport and there Free picks up a rental car for transport.
Walker? It seems Walker has found his own way to Seattle, trying to throw Daitan off any trail he might have to track the elf mage.
An hour later through the late Seattle traffic, Free pulls into their lodging. A normal-looking place if on the cheap side. She turns the engine off and sits still for a moment. "Well.. we're here."
Silhouette arrived at the airport with a duffle and looking rather non-descript. Her clothes are meh, and their fit is baggy, her hair looks meh, and her face is mostly concealed behind a rebreather but her eyes look sunken and baggy…all in all nothing remarkable for a wage slave looking to take a weekender with some chums.
Since the plane hit the ground in Seattle, Sylvie's chipper and happy personality on the trip out vanishes replaced by a nervous, looking-over-her-shoulder elf. She is wanted in this town and if the Nightcallers get word she's back…. the plane landing a little too close to the Northern Seattle does not make her nerves easier but after an hour, in which Sylvie sat rather low in the car, slouched down, she seems to be a little more at ease.
"Ayup… here we are…" she echoes.
A message from the errant magician arrives on Free's phone shortly after the trio land in Seattle. It is brief and to the point.
In town. Send an address and I'll be there.
Nothing else has been heard from the elf, leaving the others to come to their own conclusions as to exactly what he's up to.
Free checks her messages and quickly sends a text in response to Walker's giving him the location.
"Let me go check in and get us the rooms and keys."
She steps out of the car and pads over to the entrance and goes inside. It takes a good twenty minutes before she returns with a pissed look on her face and tail lashing side to side. She gets back in and drives them around the building to the backside and parks there. "Third floor. Rooms 327 and 340. I almost didn't get any rooms at all despite reservations ahead of time. I'd asked for two adjoining rooms. Guy behind the counter thought I was 'high risk'." She puts the car in park and pops the trunk.
Silhouette chimes in from the back seat," Why would he think you a high risk? That is not boding well.."
Sylvie gets out of the car, looking around again in a slightly paranoid state. "I mean he's not wrong… but how is he not wrong? We still good Free?"
Free growls as she gets out. If she did that inside, it likely didn't help her with the rooms. "Jack-off was wearing a poli-club pin in his lapel. I imagine I wasn't human enough for him. That aside I think we're good. We'll be in another place tomorrow as a safety measure." She picks up bags, hers and someone else’s, and starts moving towards the stairs while looking around intently.
[Somewhere in Seattle a pocsec chimes with their location and a tall, hooded figure, long coat streaming behind him in the wind, gets to his feet and looks out from his elevated vantage point.
"About damn time," he mutters to himself before abruptly vanishing from sight.]
Sylvie pulled her decking hardened case covered-in anime stickers out of the trunk and slung it over her shoulder, the decker's lifeblood inside. She walked backward a few steps, looking out toward the city then turned back around with a hop and skip to catch up to the kitty's long stride. "So weird.. being back here…"
Silhouette brings up the rear, duffle over her shoulder making a straight line for the hotel for all appearances. She mutters about the sea breeze and the cold air as she goes.
A presence flits through the murky air of the Seattle 'plex, little more than an odd shimmer in the air really, and that only if you knew what you were looking for. Walker zips along above the busy streets and raised highways, his only excitement a near-miss with an advertising drone whose radar briefly registers Seattle's biggest ever GODDAMN BIRD, sending a few panicked and confused queries to its controllers before executing a surprisingly quick evasive maneuver for such a bulky little craft.
Free looks back over her shoulder and checks the two are still with her as she opens the outer door with the keycard. She lets the others go in and follows them up to the third floor. "Let’s go to three twenty-seven. I'll text Walker from there." She belatedly agrees with Ghostie, "Yeah. Yeah it's strange being back. I imagine we have different reasons for thinking that though." She eyes Sil. "You still ok, Sil?"
Ghost nodded with a small smile for the being back motives. She entered the room and unslung her deck case and laid it on one of the beds and leaned up against the wall near it.
Free's phone chimes with a message while she is still composing a message to their house magician.
On the roof. Can you let me in or do I gotta get creative with locks?
Apparently, front doors are for other people.
Silhouette nods, "Hai. Fine." she replies to Free as she passes her. Once in the room she drops the duffle on a bed and begins shedding the excessive, bulky clothing she layered as part of a disguised attempt.
Free blinks and then snorts, moving to the window and after a moment of work and snapping the screw used to shut the window tight, opens it to the evening air.
She texts back.
»> My hand's out the window, waving at you.
She then sticks her arm out the window. "Walker's here. Don't shoot him." She deadpans.
Ghost snorts. " I don't want to shoot him. There are other things I want to do with him…" she says wiggling her eyebrows at Free.
As if on cue, Walker's grinning face materializes at the open window. "Save it for the debrief rookie," the shaman drawls with a wink as he slips through the gap and into the apartment before letting his levitation spell lapse too, leaving him subject to the tyranny of gravity once more. "Flight went OK?" he asks with a glance around the room.
Ghost is a girl after all because that blush is hot. She didn't think Walker would get in that fast.
Free manages a grin at Walker and Ghost before shutting the window and pulling the drapes back in place to blot out the sight of the road. "Flight with Fancy was just spiff. The asshat down at the front counter is a human's first type. Fair warning." She hands him a room key. "For your room. Room three forty. We'll be moving somewhere else tomorrow and I'll be paying in cash/script if I can." She blows out a sigh. "I'm ..frazzled."
Ghost just silently slips off into the bathroom to die… er.. wash her face.
"Oh fuckin' wonderful…" Walker mutters as he plucks the key from her hand, "They pop up all over the place. Remind me to review bomb the place when we get back." He gives the feline woman an encouraging pat on the shoulder after that. "Travel for jobs is always rough. Once we get into it the adrenaline'll kick in," he predicts confidently before glancing after Ghost.
"Ya think that was too mean?" he asks quietly, a hint of disbelief in his voice.
Free nods at the comment of review and about travel. But she gives him an even look when he asks about his comment. "Walker. You're a good-looking elf. She's a good-looking elf. Not sure if that was a mean comment or just .. embarrassing for her. Which could be mean. If you're talking about calling her a rookie. I’m not that much older on the running scale."
Ghost chimes in from the bathroom with the door open still, "Oh the guy is a meta hater? Oh… I could totally hack their systems here, find their Matrix host sight, and hack it… put giant dicks all over the website!" she chuckles.
Nodding along, and apparently satisfied he didn't prick some obscure decker point of pride, Walker leaves the topic alone, for now, instead grinning like a pumpkin at Ghost's suggestion. "Use tiny ones instead!" he calls back, "He's probably real insecure about that kinda thing!"
Ghost towels off her face and comes back out with a grin. "Little Nazis marching animated dicks with Hitler mustaches on them. I am so doing it!" she says enthusiastically… then stops, "After…after."
Free 'ahems', "After we get back home, ok? AFTER. Don't want any excuses for trouble to find us before we go looking for it." She taps one paw on the ground with nervous energy and then adds, "Make sure they're /really/ tiny dicks."
Ghost saluted Free. "Super tiny!"
Walker, who'd had his mouth open to deliver the same admonishment, simply nods in satisfaction and shuts it again. "All right then. So a good night's sleep, do the job tomorrow, and split after that?" he glances at Free as if to gauge the feline woman's mood.
The befelined woman's mood turns suddenly very sad as Walker asks. She nods before sitting on the bed. "Yeah. Yeah tomorrow." She says in a soft voice.
She shakes herself out of the funk and adds, "I didn't get us a return flight. I figured we'd go at different times to the airport and take flights out separately. Not sure if that was a wise idea or not now.."
Ghost popped the thumbprint locks on her case and opened it to reveal her prized possession, The Mighty Deck of Dooooooom… covered in kawaii anime stickers. "I thought I might plug into the Matrix here if this room as a Trix jack point and see if there are any stirrings on the boards about our arrival?"
"Smart," Walker assesses with a quick nod at Ghost before turning his attention to the morose Freefall. "Flexibility is king for this kinda stuff: I think you did right. We might have to boost a car or something anyway, so no point making plans that far ahead."
Free nods to Ghost and points to the wall where I tiny desk sits. "I think there's one there. Hotel claimed it had service anyway." She nods again to Walker. "Trying to be ..I'm just..tired." And she sounds it too.
Ghost set up her deck rig on the desk, plugged into the jackpoint, and made damn sure her firewall was up and running before letting this place touch her baby. She opted for the old-school way, keyboard, vid screen, and a fancy ancient Linux/Unix-looking text-based OS. She jacked into the LTG legally and to surf for her boards, running her Deception proggie and Sleazing her way to glory if need be. She logged in to the Matrix gossip boards in multiple windows, fingers flying across the keys as she logged in with her passwords to the private boards and start browsing around and chitchatting with other users to get the 411 on their arrival if any.
**<<Auto-Judge[]>> Ghost Riddle (#13352) rolls Etiquette (Matrix) vs TN 6:
1 5 5 8 13 = 2 Successes**
«Plot» Freefall says, "Ghostie searches the 'old fashioned way' with fingers flying. It takes a goodly amount of time in searching but there is one note and it had to be made by their pilot.
»> Just dropped off three fine ladies. Landed them safe and sound for their RnR weekend. Look out! They're on the hunt! «<
Attached is a poor shot of the trio sitting in the seats. With the lighting and such they do look pretty.
So far, the comments are more to the pilot and him owing some drinks.
"
By this point Walker was perched behind Ghost, his eyes tracking the vidscreen with rapid, darting movements. The post and accompanying picture draw a raised eyebrow. "You let him take pictures?" he inquires in a soft monotone, almost but not entirely managing to hide the incredulity in his tone.
Ghost mumbles, "Did.. not.. consent to … photos… grrrr…." and she huffs and sits back. "Looks like the pilot shared a photo of us for some clout points. It’s a pretty shitty photo though… so.. .take it with a grain of salt."
Free would answer but by this time she's out like a light, asleep on top of the covers, her hat has fallen off and her ears are free and moving slightly as she dreams. Her tail and legs at least are still, cyber having been shut down as sleep came over her.
"No stress," Walker reassures Ghost after a shrug at the image, "People have a bad habit of grabbing sneaky pics of cute elves, right?" A knowing smile and accompanying wink are directed her way as he chuckles. "If that's all you found I reckon we're doing fine."
Ghost might seem a tad warm with Walker so close to her. She nods quickly at the illegal photo-taking. "Lord knows what he'll do with them when he gets home. That seems to be all so far. I wish I could get into the file server holding that photo still and whack it put it probably be super involved and I am tired AF!"
She did one of those overhead stretches, the kind designed to be showy and effective at working out the muscles. She needs it after that flight and an hour stuffed in the car.
"It'll be all that flirting you've been doing with disreputable men!" Walker responds with a smirk and a pointed nod to the screen where that incredible spurious claim is being made. "We should probably all get some shut-eye: reckon Free's got the right idea there. We can scrub his socials clean after we get done vandalizing this hole's host."
Ghost smiled as she put the deck into shutdown mode. It logged off, and shut down all active proggies then powered down. She pulled the data cable from the jackpoint then stood up and did another full-body stretch. "Sleep does sound good… I am beat. I didn't sleep very good last night. Pre-op jitters. Do they ever go away as you leave rookie status?"
Walker's eyes follow the stretch with perhaps slightly more than professional courtesy would dictate, but he manages not to stare as he weighs the question thoughtfully. "They… change a bit," he decides eventually, "These days I mostly just get really focused and lose my sense of humor, maybe start worrying about keeping the other folk on the team alive." He gives her a helpless little shrug and a crooked grin, "So no I guess!"
Ghost patted Walker on the chest as she walked by saying, "Yes, keep the cute decker alive. That's all she asks!" She moved to her bed to open up her bag to pull out some sleep time clothes…. but then she thinks better of it and stuffs them back in… just in case she has to run out of the place fast.. no sense in running in underwear and socks.
"Guess I'll sleep all clothed up just in case we have to break out of here… and on that note…" she says walking back over to her deck to break-it down and put it back in its hardened case.
There's just a hint of tension in Walker as she pats him on the chest, like a wolf being petted perhaps, but the shaman masks it with a snort of laughter. "I'll do my best! Good deckers are hard to come by, cute ones even more so!" Nodding to her, he flips out his key and hefts his bag over his shoulder. "Sweet dreams, rookie!" After a quick check through the peephole into the corridor, he slips out to leave the others in peace.
Ghost had another blush on her face, not that she would show it to Walker as he walked out. Once he was gone, she hit the lights and flopped into bed next to her gear, staring at the ceiling, lost in thought until her eyes just close on their own and she passes out from the long day.
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