Eclipse Phase (Private)

[TrashRabbit]

2sday{tacnet}: copy eagle one

He churned out a quick post on the looking for gear forum that looked the most on par with the circles he ran on locus. [New morph who this? Feeling vulnerable. Looking for a smart vacsuit and a blade; preferably pink Jk I'm not picky. Free smartrat pics for enquirers.] He quickly had his choice of pink shivs and after a couple unpleasant interactions found a smart vac suit worth borrowing.
Vidar visually startled for a moment as Penny censored a very shitty mspaint style map of the barge their new friend sent.
[This is barely a map, Boss] Penny chided him.
He frowned.

2sday{Pm to Abby}: If you need to pick anything up before we get started, we can use the buddy system : )

 

[wickedlittlecritta]

th3R4tK1ng{pm to DoubleTrouble} Ori! My buddy, my pal.
DoubleTrouble: What do you want?
th3R4tK1ng: I need a teensy little favor.
DoubleTrouble: Mmmmhm.
DoubleTrouble: Is this about your fuckbuddy?
th3R4tK1ng: I'm gonna kill Cris
DoubleTrouble: good fucking luck
DoubleTrouble: so??
th3R4tK1ng: is there any chance you could hook me up with a gun? Nothing fancy.
DoubleTrouble: You're into some kinky shit Dev
th3R4tK1ng: askkdghkj CAN YOU NOT
DoubleTrouble: (: (: (:
DoubleTrouble: Stop by, I'll give you a little baby pistol for your little baby hands.
th3R4tK1ng: I know where you sleep
th3R4tK1ng: BOTH OF YOU
DoubleTrouble: (: (: (:

Devin said, "Well, I found another gun for me, so here," he said, passing his over to Abby. To RJ he added, "We'll have to make a quick stop. I'll try not to let Ori harass us much. Both of him." Over the chat, he sent out a coordinates, and said, [Rendevouz here when we're done.]

One of Ori waited for them outside his room, smoking hash. He was tall and dark, and he gave RJ a once over as they approached.
"Ori, RJ. RJ, Ori," Devin said, and didn't clarify either of them further.
The second Ori poked his head out. The two forks seemed mostly indifferent to the question of which one was the alpha Ori, and lived in a chaotic sort of harmony. The second Ori passed him a pistol.
"You're the best," Devin said, giving it a quick once over before tucking it out of sight under his coat.
"I know," Ori said. "Is this your fuckbuddy? Do you have TWO fuck buddies?"
"Good bye," Devin said firmly, and lead RJ away, to go and meet Mach.

 

[ValtheStarGal]

Rushing Jaws, scoundrel that he is, winks at the Ori twins on his way out.

Rushing Jaws {TacNet}: [Right, we got Gearhead’s location and the spot of his new morph - let’s be on our way.]

Azathothwakes: [Hey - you still over by Speidwagon?]
Atreides Apogee: [I am. He’s been worryingly quiet.]
Azathothwakes: [Yeah that’s because he’s been poking around for backup. You been on Guanxi?]
Atreides Apogee: [Shit! No, I lack a Guanxi presence.]
Azathothwakes: [So here’s the deal: we’re on our way to pick him up - lucked out on catching his transmission and managed to land the job. You see a scum barger and a fury step in to your shop? Those are friendlies.]
Atreides Apogee: [Marcus is already intensely suspicious of me, I doubt seeing friendlies would help.]
Rushing Jaws: [Which is why we’re not gonna act friendly, see? We’re gonna take our VIP and be on our way.]
Atreides Apogee: [Very well.]

Azathothwakes {PM to Hara}: [Be advised, our sape’s still over with Mach. She’s gonna put on a show of protecting him, so be prepared to have a gun pointed at us. Work those charms and placate her so Mach buys it, then we’ll be collecting him and off to his date with the ego bridge, copy?]

The waypoint takes some stepping over and maneuvering around the ongoing festival that is life aboard The Peculiar Taste of Silence, but as they approach the door Rushing Jaws draws his SMG. The door to Scirocco’s shop is highlighted in AR, Rushing Jaws nodding to Devin and taking point as they approach. The door opens with a ping from Rushing Jaws’ mesh inserts, his Fury’s face a stone mask as he enters the room.

“Who the hell are you??” A bouncer demands, drawing an automatic ride and training it on him and Devin as they enter; Rushing Jaws in turn aims his SMG at her, noticing the wrecked fighting kite only out of the corner of his eye. “Answer me at once!!”

Azathothwakes {PM to Hara}: [that’s your cue buddy. However you do it, get her to stand down.]

 

[Sophos]

Manicpixiecyberhacker{to 2sday}: Yeah, I gotta pick something up. Buddy system works.

Out loud, she said "Thanks man. Me and Tuesday here are about to head out as well, we'll meet you after."

 

[TrashRabbit]

Tuesday gave the other two stooges a little salute as he followed after Abby. "You ever been to a scum barge before?" which he felt was a fairly innocuous question to ask to fill the space. The continuity shock felt raw dealing with some one he didn't know, like object permanence but with his ego. Once Rj and Devin were out of sight it was almost as if he could have imagined them. Like he'd been triangulating his whole person off the two of them existing.

 

[wickedlittlecritta]

"Easy, tiger," Devin said, raising his hands in a pacifying gesture. "I'm Conor. This is Jie. We heard our buddy Mach here got scrambled and came to pick him up." He added, "I told you to stay out of trouble, but noooo," to Mach, as if he was an old friend they were scolding. "Thanks for helping him out," he continued, giving Yasmin a big, bright smile. "We can get him from here."

 

[Graystone713]

Mach Infinity
Backup and drive!
​

Mach smiled upon the fury who kicked the door in. The idiot that followed, less so, but still. The cavalry was here. So now it was smug time.

“A good rule of thumb is if you kidnap someone, you oughta remember to block their comms so they can’t call for help. Another good rule? I don’t talk business with Autonomists. You’d have found more intel on that Slither’s stack if you had a way to snag it. Anyway... Could’ve sworn I asked you to bring the Morph with you... But if Glitterman runs your comms, no wonder you missed that part. Whatever, let’s go.”

 

[ValtheStarGal]

Rushing Jaws​

“Morph’s at the ego bridge,” Rushing Jaws snaps at the fighting kite. Not his first VIP extraction by a long way, Rushing Jaws scoops up the near-crashed Mach while keeping his SMG up, watching as Yasmin lets them all go with tense, worried eyes that speak to the heartbreak of a good deed punished. He is out the door with Mach and ‘Conor’ and off to their ego bridge without a word from Yasmin, stepping back out into the maelstrom of light and sound with only a few onlookers taking notice.

Azathothwakes: {PM to Atreides Apogee}: [I’ll be sure to have my muse save the recording of how fuckin pissed he’s gonna be when he finds out he’s been dealing with Autonomists the whole time. ]

Rushing Jaws lets Devin take point on the walk from Scirocco’s shop to the sleevelab where Mach’s resleeve awaits; it’s ninety degrees spinward from the shop in the Silence's cylinder, but Devin’s familiarity with the barge saves them a lot of time and trouble, and the door to the sleevelab opens with a ping from inserts. The lab itself is part sleevebank, part psychosurgery parlor, part biolab and part robotics lab. The sleevelab’s primary operator looks sleeved in some kind of heavily modified borg morph, with four additional cyberlimbs jutting out of their back that turn to face Devin, Mach and Rushing Jaws as they enter.

“Well hello there,” the technician greets in a voice half-spoken and half projected; turning to face the group, their face is a mess of cybernetics, with eyes that zoom and focus on the damaged kite while also scanning the scum barger and Fury that accompany him. “Yes...very good. Your replacement is prepared, mister Speidwagon. A guard, just as you requested. She’s got some...shall we say creative modifications - last belonged to a scum barger, to give you an idea - but she’s still a fighter underneath all that. Bring him here, let us begin.”

Rigging up what’s left of the kite to the ego bridge is trivial enough; one of the access jacks is sufficient to commence the resleeve. Over the course of ten minutes, Mach experiences his ego transfer from the kite to the virtual brain between the two morphs, and then on to the Guard as it begins taking on more of his consciousness. His purchased weapons and armor arrive during the resleeve, which are set off on a table next to the Guard when Mach is resleeved. The serious looking kit includes a particle beam bolter and a suit of heavy combat armor.

“Gear’s here,” Rushing Jaws says, pointing to the equipment as Mach’s new morph comes online, the technician disconnecting Mach from the ego bridge. “What’s the job?”

 

[Graystone713]

Mach Infinity
my name is Machiplier and welcome to let’s play: The worst day of your life!
​

“Sorry, didn’t realize I’d have the luxury of bridging. Really, you’re a pro and I shouldn’t have doubted it. Really I’m just doubting Dropkick Murphy over there.”
Said Mach, thinking about the job ahead. And hoping that the guard he’d acquired was a good one. Arriving at the sleevelab, the doc almost immediately confirmed it wouldn’t be.
“I’m not keen on a ‘she’, but if she’s all you got... not sure I wanna know what the locals had missed in.”
Mach said, hoping that the bargers went against stereotypes and did something practical, but he was sure it was actually more depraved than their usual morphs.

The second he bridged in, everything felt wrong. Just, WRONG. Her skin was so sensitive! Way, WAY too sensitive! Holy crap, what the hell did they do to this thing? He’d never get used to this body before he left it. Looking at a mirror, it got worse. Tan skin, frizzy bleach-blond hair from 198X, an over exaggerated hourglass body shape, and ridiculous puffy lips were beyond too much. This was the farthest thing from being Mach Infinity that he could imagine. The fury’s question hit him, and he responded thusly:
“Hold on a minute, I need to get over the fact that someone turned a guard into a pleasure pod.”
Then he screamed into his/her hands. Repeatedly. Loudly. And existentially distressed-y. Once he was done, he began angrily forcing his/her body into a suit of heavy armor, grumbling a bit and definitely feeling that heightened sensitivity as he/she did. Then he actually responded.
“I was supposed to just walk into Gray Xu’s ship, inspect the Titan tech, and get it paid, shipped, and handled to the boss back home if it’s legit. Instead, some asshole decides to impersonate me, steal my deal, and get me shot to pieces by the guards! So now if I’m gonna get my hands on the goods, we gotta go for the five finger discount, meaning we tear them to shreds, make sure they know they fucked the wrong people, and then steal everything, legit or not! Hell, he’s probably got other contraband in there, so why not steal everything? If he’s got any illegal weapons on board, maybe we could give ‘em a test run on Gray Xu! BECAUSE HE AND THE COPYCAT OFFICIALLY PISSED ME THE FUUUUUCK OFF!... Sorry, it’s a little personal by this point. So, there’s supposed to be two slitheroids posted on the airlock, but one got shot to bits, and I dunno if they resleeved him immediately or not. Aside from the airlock doors being tough enough to warrant a cutter or some charges, I don’t have any other intel. That enough to get a plan together?”

 

[ValtheStarGal]

The lab technician - who's @-rep profile names him as a Mister Creepsley with a very high @-rep level - visibly starts to hear about TITAN tech aboard the ship, but keeps any opinion they might have about it to themself; even Rushing Jaws, for his part, crooks an eyebrow at the mention of TITAN tech, his visible reaction helping repress a much more visceral twisting of his guts.

Rushing Jaws {TacNet}: [Fuck me, y'all hearing this? Speidwagon's here for TITAN tech - repeat, we have TITAN tech aboard the Annora Arabella. This just got a lot more dangerous.]

"That's a start," he replies aloud to Mach, "can't advise going in hot though, not without knowing who's aboard and what kind'a heat they're packing. We can always check the camera feeds at the airlock, but the actual ship's an unknown and boarding actions are risky in the best of times. Rumor is that players could get an invite - social engineering or digintrusion could get us aboard where hostile action would get us locked out. Hang tight while we work out a plan."

Rushing Jaws {TacNet}: [Gearhead's fucking pissed over here and wants to smash and grab; I for one am not thrilled about the idea of a shootout on a ship with TITAN tech aboard, but we need a plan and we need it fast. What's the play here?]

A cursory search on the swarm's mesh for recent security advisories would reveal sousveillance cameras trained on a slitheroid morph - the same guard as earlier - at the Annora Arabella's airlock, accompanied this time by an armored-up neo-gorilla carrying a light machine gun. Both keep sharp eyes out on the hallways, and reports from passers-by indicate that there've already been several incidents of the two guards threatening anyone that lingers near the airlock. There is some speculation that they are on alert following the incident with Mach, but scattered commentary indicates the scum have a dim view of how aggressive their watch has been.

 

[TrashRabbit]

Abby shot Tuesday a look, then shrugged. "Nah. Been to a few aerostats on Venus that were close though. What about you? Ever been to a place like this?"
"A couple times. Fun to visit. Wouldn't want to stay. How's venus this time of year?
"Busy. Unusually so. Y'all didn't put a tail on me before Breakout, did you?"
"No, didn't know you existed before then. That the favor you need help with?"
"More or less. I'll fill you guys in later. Right now though, we're going to pick up some Drive."
"Gotcha, I got two things to pick up after. Do you need anything else?" he asked gesturing vaguely at the swarm around them.
"I think I'm good after this. I'll save the tourist shopping for after the job."
Tuesday nodded, having just read that there were confirmed TITAN artifacts on the ship he found that unlikely but found airing that sort of pessimism never helped.
2sday{Tacnet}: My favorite! Once were on that boat I vote we lock it behind us. for better or worse.
"We should hurry," He said aloud instead.
They hustled through their errands to meet up at the rendezvous. Once He got a hold of his smart vasuit he began experimenting with the chameleon skin, fractals blossoming across their body with some sustained concentration. It was something he might look into for his home morph because it could be fun.
2sday{Tacnet}: We're just outside. Ready to party. Lets steal some art.

 

[wickedlittlecritta]

"You're all lucky I forgot the bagpipes on Earth," Devin grumbled. "Have we considered...going in through the front door? That sounds easiest. And like it won't get us shot at."
the Magpie{tacnet}: Of all the scum barges they have to bring it on MINE.
the Magpie: Give me a hot second, let me see if I can get us an invite.

Gray Xu {PM to th3r4tk1ng}: I hear you’re looking to arrange a meet?
th3R4tK1ng: I have a buyer who’s very interested in a meeting.
Gray Xu: Yeah? Don’t you sell vinyl records from Earth?
Gray Xu: I wonder who an heirlooms dealer knows who’d be interested in tech?
th3R4tK1ng: It’s the perfect cover (;
Gray Xu: touché
Gray Xu: My last buyers off on their way. You said you had a buyer - how many in your crew?
th3R4tK1ng: 4
Gray Xu: assuming your buyer, you, two guards
Gray Xu: checks out
Gray Xu: Have your G-rep up. Guards are gonna scan you down, confiscate weapons. Standard procedure, I’m sure you understand. Once you’re cleared, then you see the goods. Deal?
th3R4tK1ng: Deal.
Gray Xu: good. coordinates coming your way. don’t keep me waiting.
th3R4tK1ng: Wouldn’t dream of it.

the Magpie{tacnet}: Once again
the Magpie: I am a genius
the Magpie: Abby, 2sday, who wants to pretend to be my buyer? We're next on her docket; last buyer just left.

"Alright," Devin said, outloud, "Before we go in guns blazing like this is the Old West or some shit, I got us an invite. We'll go in as potential buyers." He pointed at Mach. "Don't blow it, hot head. The other guy's just getting out, so we can head in asap."

 

[TrashRabbit]

On a lark Tuesday asked around if anyone knew if cargo had been moved off the Annora Arabella. He gets lucky; some goblin had seen it unload after it docked, but not since. Said goblin recognized him from the nkf demo. Tuesday was still shooting the shit with this guy long after it was pertinent about sords.

2sday{Tacnet}: hey hey hey, knifegoblin in the know says no cargo's been off loaded since the ship docked days ago. So the tech- might not even be in there. But at least the buyers aint leaving with it. Aby this sounds like a job for you? We might not even have to cause a ruckus if the shit's not even on the ship.

 

[ValtheStarGal]

The Peculiar Taste of Silence
​

Rushing Jaws {TacNet}: [I wouldn’t be so sure; if Gray Xu were wasting people’s time with all this then there’d be hell to pay. I just wonder how much they got paid to get that hardware out that quick…]

“Mkay, squad’s together - Creepsley, give us the room?”

“Of course, of course, wouldn’t want to intrude…” The lab technician mumbles, wasting no time in getting out of the room, the specs on their four cyberlimbs eyeing the three in the lab in an almost quizzical fashion like metallic planimals as they depart.

“Kay, so here’s the sitrep: we’re social-engineering our way into the Annora Arabella. Maybe not your typical idea of a smash and grab but if they’re armed to the teeth then diplomacy might be war by other means in this case. Once we’re aboard, we get what intel we can about the cargo, the ship, and its defenses, then come back for the real op once we’ve got a solid plan. Conor here’s gonna do a lot of the talking, so follow my lead and let your heavy combat armor and particle beam bolter there be the only statement we need to make. Copy?”

With that, the three of them join Vidar and Abby out in the hall, and make their way back toward the bow of the ship and down the ‘elevators’ toward the microgravity shell of the ship, to then make their way back toward the Annora Arabella. The journey is uneventful - Rushing Jaws times the dosage of his first tab to give them ten minutes to board the ship - the halls out here somewhat quieter than the cylinder but still lively with music and easygoing laughter - but a tension building as the squad gets closer to the airlock where the Annora Arabella is docked. Eventually, one last corner is all that remains between the squad and the airlock - and the waiting guards, still tense on the sousveillance cameras.

Rushing Jaws {TacNet}: [Okay Viddy, ghost up while they check us for gear and follow in behind us.]

“Whoa hold up!” The slitheroid calls as Devin takes point, both guards training weapons on him and the others that emerge around the corner. “Hold the fuck up. You better be-”

The slitheroid cuts himself off, presumably as Devin’s g-rep profile is verified by his muse. A few tense seconds go by, before the slitheroid signs a stand-down order to the neo-gorilla - who instead climbs up to the ‘ceiling’ to cast a locker down before taking overwatch. The slitheroid catches the crate and opens it with an insert-command, which is set with rows for storing weapons.

“C’mere slowly, one at a time. Gonna give you a scan, then check your weapons in here. You get ‘em back when you’re off the ship. First of you, cast up, let’s get this done.”

 

[Graystone713]

Mach Infinity
Fuggawha?
​

“Wait, hold on, did you forget who hired you? I know that running in the halls thing was a little embarrassing but if I wasn’t stopped, we might not be in this fucking fiasco. And... Okay I’ll admit that’s a good plan, but... The buyer’s gonna get away, and he spoofed my damn guanxi! We can’t just... Oh whatever, you can help me track HIM down later... fuckin’ mercs. At least we’re still getting all the tech.”
Mach said, starting to grumble towards the end. When they hit the airlock, he/she adopted a sort of vapid, vacant look and looked into his/her entoptics as he/she started on a very angry text addressed to his own Guanxi.
[This ain’t a four-lap course, Dickbag. It’s a long desert run across multiple days, maybe even multiple weeks or a few years. It’s a bit like Baja. Remember that, you Hypercorp xerox?]
He texted as he/she absentmindedly handed his weapon to the guards and kept floating on through, without any rep profile broadcasting whatsoever. After all, three SpeedMachZXs in a day would be way more suspicious than what he/she was doing now. And right now Mach was remembering that Baja run, back in his OG flat... He really should’ve kept his supplies somewhere more secure, otherwise that asshole wouldn’t have stolen his drinking water.

 

[ValtheStarGal]

Annora Arabella​

“Okay, get in,” the slitheroid orders as the airlock door opens. “Turn right and head to the cargo bay, that’s where Xu’ll be meeting with you.”

The gantry that connects the Annora Arabella to The Peculiar Taste of Silence is a good four meters in length, and at the end of its span the opposite door opens to allow access into the ship - the cycle process having been bypassed by the stable connection to the scum barge. The short hallway accessible from the airlock ends in a four-way intersection, the opposite end of which is out to the opposite airlock and to the left is another armed and dangerous neo-gorilla that watches the group intently, armed with a machine gun; the neo-gorilla is unresponsive to questions, only nodding toward the opposite end of the corridor it looks down. The converted ore freighter is reasonably clean and in good repair considering who crews and keeps it, with good lighting and halls largely free of floatmess.

The right way leads down a long corridor, past rows of modular storage for generic supplies and into a large cargo bay, where awaits cargo containers secured to prevent floatmess, some of which are no bigger than a storage locker and a few of which look large enough to house fightercraft. A space has been cleared at the center of the cargo bay, where - all holding on to a microgravity handhold extended from the wall - are two well-armored transhuman morphs flanking a bouncer. The bouncer has a soft smile on as the group freefalls into the cargo bay, her skin a deep gray and a shock of white hair to accompany her white eyes; her prehensile feet clutch a metallic canister between them, unremarkable to cursory inspection.

“Welcome,” the bouncer says in greeting to the squad, her bodyguards scanning everyone in turn - even having been forewarned. “I think I can pick out who’s who among this group: the Fury and the, erm, other one in armor there must be the guards, and the sequined one must be the rat king - leaving you, our buyer. You may call me Gray Xu, miss Pixie. Data on my wares should be hitting your entoptics right about-”

Proxy pings Abigail as windows begin opening in her entoptics at the moment Gray Xu says “-now.”

Spoiler: Artifacts for Sale

Item 01: Data Drive
Description: Artifact with computational architecture consisted with known examples of TITAN data drives. Hardware intact, nature or quantity of data is unknown.
Highest Bid: 5.4 Million Credits

Item 02: Undeployed SRS
Description: Canister containing undeployed TITAN self-replicating nanoswarm.
Highest Bid: 1.5 Million Credits

Item 03: Processor Unit
Description: Artifact with computational architecture consistent with known examples of TITAN processor units. Hardware intact save for exposure to the elements on periphery systems.
Highest Bid: 8.7 Million Credits

Item 04: Exotic Matter
Description: Magnetic containment unit containing an unidentified example of stable exotic matter. Purpose or properties of matter are presently unknown.
Highest Bid: 7.6 Million Credits

Item 05: Unknown Artifact
Description: TITAN artifact of unidentified purpose, featuring some known hardware architectures and some as-yet unidentified.
Highest Bid: 4.8 Million Credits

Item 06: Antimatter Warhead
Description: TITAN antimatter bomb, containing an estimated 15 megatons’ reactive potential. Casing stable, trigger mechanism inactive but easily armable.
Highest Bid: 2.2 Million Credits

“I’m particularly pleased with the specimen I have here,” Gray Xu says, indicating the canister gripped between her prehensile feet. “Within this canister is a dormant TITAN self-replicating nanoswarm - the single deadliest weapon in the TITANs’ arsenal during the Fall, with the highest resource-to-kill ratio of anything they deployed. The TITANs were generations ahead of us in nanotechnology, as evidenced by the entire cities that were consumed by swarms such as these. With this, you will have a radically adaptable and fiendishly intelligent nanite swarm capable of converting any matter into any number of tools to remove any obstacles in its path. It could destroy an entire habitat, then go dormant and remain undisturbed upon fulfilling its objective - or, with effective containment and countermeasures, be a source of untold secrets. Just think of what you could do if you managed to bring one of these under your control? You’d be a small god.”

As Mach enters the cargo space, a window in his entoptics opens - Nerrix’s original instructions, now undergoing decryption that the primary conditions have been fulfilled. The data packet is small and takes only seconds to decrypt.

Spoiler: Nerrix Instructions

Marcus Speidwagon: follow these instructions and secure these items for transport to Extropia.

Processor Unit
-Acquisition Priority: Alpha
-Maximum Acceptable Bid: Undefined
-Additional Instructions: Primary item to be acquired - secure at all costs. Should bid exceed 15 million credits, abandon pursuit of other objects and ensure successful acquisition of this artifact.

Data Drive
-Aquisition Priority: Beta
-Maximum Acceptable Bid: 8 Million Credits
-Additional Instructions: Secondary item to be acquired. Acquisition optimal, but secondary to acquiring primary artifact.

Unknown Artifact
-Aquisition Priority: Epsilon
-Maximum Acceptable Bid: 5 Million Credits
-Additional Instructions: Determine nature of artifact if possible. Acquisition optimal, but secondary assuming acquisition of primary artifacts.

Enclosed with these instructions is a note from Meter: [Above instructions outdated per Nerrix’s latest transmission. Present orders: Determine nature and source of cargo. Acquisition of cargo optimal but secondary; take no unnecessary risks - loss of cargo preferable to hostile acquisition of your cortical stack. Identify reason for abandonment of deal, report immediately. Proceed at once.]

Rushing Jaw {TacNet}: [If that’s even a little true that she’s got an SRNS in there, then we gotta shut this shit down yesterday. I advise we play hardball, spoof authorization to get back into the ship, get our weapons and then immediately turn around and seize this thing.]

Gotta keep it together, Rushing Jaws thinks, tense in his core as first embers of the MRDR begin to catch.

 

[TrashRabbit]

Any time Tuesday tried to sneak in anywhere there was a part of his brain screaming that it was no longer 2045 and he was going to be spotted - but chameleon skin really meant invisible if he moved slow enough. Wich was a trick in 0 gravity. He mad direct eye contact with the first guard going in the front door just past Rj's shoulder. And he thought this was how he was going to die in real life. he swallowed his heart back into his chest clamp his jaw shut not to laugh. Laughing when he was nervous was his worst new habit. But, deep down, the thrill was still there, and the game was on. And there was still part of him that used to race motorcycles and duel for fun. He staid near the door as the rest of the class filled in and then launched him self slow and methodical down the right hand corridor. The group gained ground but he took his time. He focused on the pattern of the chameleon skin, finding it the most satisfying and engaging mental activity he'd done in a long time. He didn't think he'd have been able to manage it before. He free fell at a leisurely pace, the cargo serving a lot of cover and hand holds as he went. But he wanted to get in close. Even if mach blew their cover, or devin shot himself in the foot, or RJ had a little MRDR outburst he still had a shot. Moving in close to the squad meant coming into view of queen bee and their mooks- and again he found himself making direct eye contact with one of them. Nothing came of it. and he wondered if he just had a bad habit of trying to make eye contact while invisible.
Heliotrope: {Firewall}: Alright I feel like there are three layers of plans going on here- but if I get the chance to jump her brain I'm going to take it. best case scenario you're out the hatch before I do.
2sday{tacnet}: Still here. still invisible. All we gotta do is play it cool.
2sday{To Mach}: I can feel you vibrating from here, boss, keep it chill- If we gather intel we can come back for a real smash and grab later. Lets see how this goes. I'm armed incase shit goes bogus.

 

[wickedlittlecritta]

“I’m sure I have your attention now,” Gray Xu says to Abby - who’s attention in fact falls on her own entoptics, as the work of hacking into the ship’s network begins. A moment of silence passes, Gray Xu passing from eager to sell to increasingly puzzled. Although Abby’s impression is strong, Gray Xu’s own expression shifts toward confusion, still regarding Abby. “Well, what do you think?”

“It’s a hell of an inventory,” Devin said, eyeing the nanoswarm canister.He remembered Boston. He knew what a TITAN nanoswarm could do, and he didn't want it on the Peculiar Taste at all. Over the G-net, he added, [Hypercorp quirks. What can you do?] to Gray Xu.

“Ah,” Gray Xu says, refocusing her attention to Devin instead of the apparently too-rich-for-her-blood Abby. “You’re here to speak on her behalf, I presume?”

“If you don’t mind,” Devin said. “Now. Your nanoswarm here looks a little underappreciated, judging by your catalogue. Has anyone else taken a look at it?”

“I wouldn’t say under-appreciated - more that most have a healthy caution about something like this,” Gray Xu responds, after a few seconds’ pensive silence. “It isn’t exactly something someone can pop open and take a look at, but this swarm here’s had it’s fair share of bidders. Why - looking to buy?”

“Well, it’s not like something like this comes along very often. You’d have to go to Earth or the quarantine zones for another chance at it, after all.” He paused, as if reading something off his entropics from Abby, but really, he was just thinking. He nodded at the canister and asked, “Is this the only piece around for show-and-tell, or can we take a peek at the rest?”

“You’ve got all the data and models on your entoptics, if Pixie forwarded them to you,” Gray Xu replies, her tone just a little sharper. “You can take a peek at those, the pieces aren’t for display.”

“Sure, sure. But anyone can put a list together and wave an empty canister around. How do we know we won’t be dropping ten million credits on an empty box. I’m sure you can understand our hesitance.”

A parade of microexpressions plays across Gray Xu’s face, starting with anger at the implication that her wares are counterfeit - but quickly placated by the number of credits in play, before the latter clashes with the former and takes a moment to settle into a silent not-glare as she weighs her options.

Just then, a pair of spider-like robotic arms unfurl from the ‘ceiling’ of the cargo hold, searching out and retrieving a crate the size of a refrigerator. The box is carefully moved into place with an eerie grace beneath the three floating figures opposite the squad, its lid clicking off with a hiss as atmosphere escapes the climate-controlled interior. The lid automatically opens itself, and the arms tilt the crate to where it can be clearly viewed.

The two bodyguards next to Gray Xu power up their submachine-railguns, fingers off the trigger but the warning clear enough.

“Here you are, rat king,” Gray Xu says, her confident smile back, as entoptics begin matching the artifact to the ‘Unknown Artifact’ in the catalog. “Genuine TITAN technology. I’m sure your view is quite close enough. Satisfied?”

Devin put his hands behind his back, but leaned closer, like a child warned not to touch. It sure looked like some wacky tech. What did he know. He’d studied art history.

After a minute, the lid of the crate restores itself onto the box, another hiss of air as the seals re-engage before the arms replace the crate back to wherever amid the small maze it was stored. Gray Xu has a curious expression on her face, having watched the squad appraise the artifact for sale with her own curiosity. “So - did I hear that right when I heard you wanted to place a bid for ten million credits?”

 

[Graystone713]

Mach Infinity
Window shopping
​

Mach knew what legit Titan tech looked like. He’d put 50mm tank shells into plenty of it, and brokered deals for just as much. So that thing, half familiar and half alien, was an easy pick. It was real, but he could see why it was being sold as a mystery artifact. Mach was an expert, and he couldn’t figure it out! Sure, that bit with the shifting texture implied some kind of nanotechnology, but this wasn’t a death can. If it was, it would probably look like the one piece in here that Mach would never even consider purchasing.
[To;th3r4tk1ng; Good news bad news. Good news, that piece of tech is real. Bad news, it’s every bit as mysterious as they claim, and one piece being legit doesn’t prove everything is the real deal. It’s like showing a guy a real Bolter so you can sell him a crate of fakes. See if you can get her to crack open a second box, if you tell her you think she’s conning you, she might show us more to protect her rep.]
Mach sent, trying to look aloof as he/she waited for something to happen. Then another thought came to him.
[to;th3r4tk1ng; Before I forget, ask if anything is already spoken for, or if they took anything off the inventory. I want to know if that damn imposter bought something that she’s not telling us about.]

 

[wickedlittlecritta]

th3RtK1ng{pm to Mach}: Shiiiiiiiiit. Let me see what else I can wring out of her.

"We're considering it," he told Gray Xu, watching the box return to the ceiling. "It's an impressive piece. But you know, I've seen a trick--more than once--where a seller pads out a lot of worthless pieces with one that's the genuine article. Fell for it once, even. Of course, it was deeply embarrassing for the seller, in the long run," Devin said, letting his accusation hang unspoken.

Over pm to Gray Xu, he said, [And I know y'all've been here for a while, and we're coming in at the end of your buyers. I'm curious--are we seeing the full catalog, or only what's left?]

 

[Sophos]

While Devin kept Gray Xu busy, Abby was busy hacking into the ship's logs. Not much useful there, though there was the interesting note that the ship was coming from Mars and heading towards the Lunar-Lagrange Alliance, and not the other way around. After several minutes of rummaging around in the ship's network, she did manage to uncover a hidden node. After cracking that, she turned up what looked like an edited version of Gray Xu's bookkeeping. In the records was evidence of cargo being moved to another ship, the Get In Losers, We're Going Asteroid Wrangling, which she forwarded to the rest of the group. This was turning out to be a more complicated issue than she originally thought it would be.

 

[TrashRabbit]

Tuesday saw the name of Get in Losers Were Going Asteroid Wrangling and knew he could find out more. He knew hardly anything about the interior workings of a modern computer but he'd been honing his googling powers for a hundred years. Get in Losers Were Going Asteroid Wrangling was a shuttle that made several stops a day, but he narrowed it down by date and time to Garbage day ???, paper airplanes, and the Main barge. Garbageday?? was a scum ship but Paper airplanes was a tagalong- a non scum ship along for the ride. He did several passes over the local forums and found that the Paper Airplane left two days ago soon after docking with the shuttle. Reliable sources pointed to its destination being mars and that the quick turnaround time of the ship had been unusual.
Tuesday[tacnet]: That shits long gone. Whatever they off loaded its on the Paper Airplane headed to Mars.
Along with his message was his sources, some of which were passing remarks in otherwise unrelated scum chats.
He was glad to have something to do in the moments immediately following the cargo list of panic attacks being shared and the cargo crate full of personal nightmares opened.

 

[ValtheStarGal]

Gray Xu says nothing in response to Devin’s words, her face a mask of stone; her response comes in the form of a drone retrieving another box from among the maze and flying it around, bringing it to rest underneath Gray Xu. As before, the lid opens with a hiss, slowly retracting to reveal another artifact identified by entoptic displays as the data drive. The drive itself is about the size of a small storage crate, with cold blue etchings that draw the eye to interface ports on an otherwise jet black casing.

“Another relic for your appraisal,” Gray Xu says, her voice hard as her two bodyguards keep their weapons at the ready. She lets it hang there for a minute, enough time for a cursory inspection before the lid restores itself and the box is returned to its spot amid the crates by the drone. “I trust you’ll be satisfied that my artifacts are genuine at this point.”

[You’re seeing the whole catalog - and starting to waste my time,] Gray Xu responds to Devin’s message, shooting him a hard glare in the reply.

“In fact,” Gray Xu says aloud, regarding everyone she can see in turn, “I’m starting to suspect something is off about you. Your buyer? She’s been awfully quiet for being the one with credits to throw around, and letting a scum barger talk on her behalf? That's quite out of character for the corporate types I know."

"I want to start seeing bids being placed, or else hearing real answers - and I want them from the handler, not her baboon," Gray Xu says, looking to Abigail. "You there, Pixie, who're you representing here - and don't try to bullshit me either, I've been more than accommodating here and if we're going to do business then I'm going to start needing some give in return."

Rushing Jaws {TacNet}: [not sure if I like where this is going… the MRDR’s caught so if it comes to blows I’m ready to rush but otherwise we’d better tell her what she wants to hear and fast.]

Spoiler: Sentinel Eyes Only

Azathothwakes {PM to Atreides Apogee}: [Report: TITAN relics confirmed aboard Annora Arabella, including TITAN self-replicating nanoswarm; attaching catalog and A/V recording to this message. Additionally, we have data that points to cargo having been transferred off the swarm in a Mars-bound ship. Moving to complete primary objective - secure cargo for containment; updates to follow as situation evolves.]

 

[Sophos]

Abby locked eyes with Gray Xu in a staredown before finally speaking. "I represent Elizabeth Hammond, and by extension Exotech. Our Rat King here represents me. An insult to him is an insult to me, and therefore an insult to those I represent. Now, unless you would like me to take my rather large corporate expense account and leave, you will allow my associate to continue the negotiations."
Abby noded to Devin, and gestured for him to resume his dealing. She put on her best impatient face, which wasn't hard because she really did want to get back to work. Gray Xu almost certainly thought that "work" for her was communicating with her handlers, but in reality she likely wouldn't have anything to do with Elizabeth Hammond or Exotech ever again, unless absolutely needed.

 

[ValtheStarGal]

Gray Xu doesn’t back down from Abigail’s stare, an implicit challenge to see if she will wilt. Her gaze doesn’t follow Abby’s hand back to Devin, instead evaluating her for a long moment despite the impression left by Exotech. The front, however, is held long enough for Gray Xu to think better of challenging it openly - and so she takes a breath and settles herself.

“Very well, now, about that ten million credits-”

Gray Xu is cut off by a split-second tremor that shakes the ship, her attention drawn to her entoptics, and then looks out to the hallway past the squad before her, her hand beginning to go for the weapon on her hip.

Spoiler: Sentinel Eyes Only

Atreides Apogee {PM to Azathothwakes, Hara, Heliotrope}: [Be advised: airlock guards ambushed by unknown assailants!! Had to hide to avoid being shot - too many to engage at once!! They are coming for the ship - likely cargo as well!!]

After a few tense seconds, the sound of a screaming gorilla reaches into the cargo, any words Gray Xu might have had left lost to the horrible sound. Before she can so much as mouth ‘what the fuck,’ the unmistakable full-auto rapport of a machine gun firing off echoes from all the way down the hallway and into the cargo hold - only to be answered with a dozen responding gunshots in turn, another scream out of the neo-gorilla from too far down the hallway to see clearly.

Now Gray Xu demands “What the fuck??” as her own bodyguards move in close to protect her, railguns leveled at everyone visible. Gray Xu looks past the four floating before her, shock and bewilderment giving way to outrage as her own hand goes for the gun that has been on her hip this whole time, hand firm on it as she snarls: “I should’ve fucking known something was off about this - you’ve got ten seconds to give me a fucking good reason to believe why you’re not here to seize my ship, Exotech!”

Rushing Jaws {TacNet}: [Well this took a fucking turn. We don’t got long before whoever’s crashing this party gets in here; talk her down or take ‘em down, we gotta make a call here and fast.]