Running it Old School

After Gala's character walks in...Mr. Jay looks around at the party in front of him. He thinks to himself, 'There's a lot of muscle, and some magical backup. This group may just work for the job that my employer needs done. '

Looking at each of you in turn he starts to speak. "Everyone, this job that my employer has in mind should be an easy one. It is in an older building in the Everett district. Unfortunately, if your a hacker, they don't have any fraggin wireless connections. It is strictly a jack in sort of thing. That is also the good news for everyone inside the building. Any security spider will have to be jacked in, making him immobile."

He takes a sip of a black liquid in front of him then continues, "My employer needs an item reacquired from this building as it was taken with out my employers permission. It has been traced to this building 'the address and details are on this data chip' where it seems to be lightly guarded. For obvious reasons, my employer needs this done with out the use of corporate assets, thus he asked me to hire you."

Takes another sip of his drink, "The item in question is a book that has been seen in the lab at this building. This book is of great importance and must be kept undamaged. If anything happens to the book, great evil will be unleashed on the earth." He looks up away from his data pad, "Sorry, I was told to read that last part."

"Here is a picture of the book, and the last known position in the building, 'also on the data chip'."

"Any questions?"

The large troll stood there, thinking this through. Ok, they need some book unharmed. Supposidly light security, but that's hard to tell. No matrix to screw us over, so we're good there. So all that's left is... surrounding area and how much we're being paid. He tentively tried to take a seat, but after the chair groaned a little too much, he decided to just keep standing.

"Alright, I've got two questions. What is the surrounding area like, and what's your offer?" Hopefully it'll be enough to get that attachment he had been looking at for his six-gun.

"Jack's" voice oozed out of her mouth like icewater into a glass. It was not cold or dangerous, but something about it catches attention. Despite her preternatural quietude, her nearly whispered voice seemingly by magic manages to reach every ear at the table. She is heard clearly. "I am always interested in a good doomsday quest." She says, allowing a slight smile to spread across her face, her lips wrinkling slightly where they have to part to allow her Orkish tusks to sweep through.
Looking her over, it comes to mind that she would be a good looking Orkish woman, if not for the scars that mar her face. She has seen more than her share of combat, and looks somewhat the worse for wear, although clearly still kicking.
"Is there anything you can tell us about this book? Is it safe to touch?" It isn't clear, but there could be just a hint of a scar across her neck as well, just below the collar of her black tee shirt. It would explain the whispery/raspy quality to her voice. Her mind, of course, went to the thing she pays most attention to: the magic.

"Oh, by the way. You all may call me Jack."

The oddly stocky elf had an unusually bland look about him, though still not bad looking by human standards. He definitely however defied the image of elven beauty that so often made the trids. His hair looked a little thin and a few days unwashed, he even sported gruff looking patch of stubble that couldn't quite be called a thin beard around his mouth and his eyes looked a little blood shot.

So far at least, he offered no name in way of introduction though he studied the Ork and Troll with an assessing gaze, an unhidden attempt to gauge just what sort of people he was dealing with. "Just what's the deal with the book? It supposedly magic or it just some dusty old tomb they dug up somewhere and want to study? Last thing I want, if it's so 'evil'" he says with a sarcastic emphasis on 'evil' "Is if there's some risk of it attracting some sort of weird as dreck spirit we are going to need to deal with. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm a little hazy on how to deal with such things."

Jason or Mamba as he was going by these days, was
near broke. This run meant everything. He needed wheels, and had to pay
rent. Only a month left, so he needed this gig bad. No saying no. He'd
turned down a few jobs. They were not his style, but he needed the
work. The cab let him off a few blocks from where he needed to be.
"sorry" the cab driver had said "far as i go." Null sheen omae"
was his reply, and he paid, hopped out. After he got out the Cabby told
him where to go. Thanks he said. and he kept it moving hands in his
pockets. Well he thought Lets get this over with.
He made his way to the Purple Dino. Where he quickly identified three
patrons who were packing heat. Then he approached the bartender. "Looking for Mr. J." He looked at his watch and added "I'm late".
After getting pointed in the right direction he smiles politely nodded
and made his way to the back of the room. He checked his jacket for his
safety. It was there, and he breathed easy. Anything goes wrong he thought ill be ok.
He walked threw the crowed and made his way to the table hosting the
Johnson & runners. Nodded to each one in kind and sat down "forgive my tardiness, please continue ill play catch up as we go along."

"Ahmmm..." an onslaught of muted rhythmic beats sounded through the table as Zee tapped out some unheard tune with her gloved fingers. Her head bobbed slightly as she glanced at each of the others in turn as they posed questions for Mr. Jay, pausing only to scoot over in order to make room for Mamba to sit down. Although she missed the initial briefing, she was getting a pretty good idea what their job would be, but she could hardly believe it. "A book? Really?" she sounded incredulous as she glanced at the elf and ork before looking back to Mr. Jay. "You mean a physical, hard-copy, no electronics, paper and ink book? Where are we supposed to get it, the 20th century? How could an old-fashioned, real life version of a datasoft be useful or... or important?" Although she sounded surprised, her questions were jovial enough to avoid being disrespectful in nature.

"Ten thousand nuyen?" Zee echoed the figure incredulously before attempting to whistle in an appreciative manner. Unfortunately, she hadn't quite mastered the art of whistling, and failed to do anything but blow pointlessly through pursed lips, which she covered up by turning it into a whispered, "whoah..." This whole demon business sounded really serious, but at that sort of price it had to be worth the risk... right? "Ahmm, so... what do we do if one of the pages... does get damaged?" She asked hesitantly, fidgeting in her seat while her face scrunched up in concern. "I mean, not that it will! Of course... but... you know, just in case it does? Do we have some sort of backup plan or is that the like, 'been nice knowing you' and we go down as the people who started the end of the world?"

With a voice that whispered like dry leaves on a fall day, Jack looked at Zee. "Easy does it, kid. Lez worry 'bout makin' sure it don't happen. 'Cause muh gut tells me that the "go down" part is likely spot on, and there aint much that matters to us after that, eh?" Jack's look toward Zee was intense, but not challenging. She seemed like she was just treating Zee with the respect of an equal.
"Mr. Jay, you'cn count me in." She says, meeting his gaze with a nod.

10,000Y he did not budge, his eyes did not flair, in no way did he let on how thirsty for this job. He was focused he'd seen spirits and awakened Forces in battle and he did not like that part of the deal, but he was not afraid. Came with the territory a "demon" he thought. Best not to play with that kind of mojo. By that time Jack finished speaking he cocked one eyebrow in her direction. "What'cha thinking Protective armored suit case to keep our um book safe?" he looked around to see if anyone had a better idea.

"Yep, tha's exactly what I wuz thinkin'." She said, meeting Mamba's gaze. "I can handle a spirit or two; but a Demon is a candle of a different color."

"Sounds like were on the same page here" Mamba said. "You would not happen to have a container in mind or with you would you mr. J oh by the way I'm in" he added.

Yeah, I'm in as well. Alright, having an armored suitcase sounds good. Nothing flashy though, like a traveling suitcase with armor plating on the inside. Those steel cases draw too much attention and unwanted eyes. We're also going to need an extraction plan, as well as a back-up plan incase the flak hits the fan. He crossed his arms and waited for a response.

"Nope. I got nuthin', and Ahm fresh outta favors too, so aint no one lookin ta help me out neither." She says in response. Her gravely voice grating somewhat, this time sounding more like an avalanche than leaves, or ice water.
"But, if ya got someone what can help us out, Ah got a pretty good idear as'n what we gunna be needin." She looks back to Zee. She leans over a bit, and lowers her voice. "Hey, listen, Ah didna mean fer you ta stop talkin'... We still need ahl ya got ta say here." Her voice was low enough that only augmented hearing would have piciked up any words beyond Zee's ears, but her voice still carried, and it sounded a lot like a cloud of buzzing bees to anyone else at the table.
Surprisingly, anyone who wanted to, could likely start to get a feel for her usage of her voice, just like most normal people. Jack definitely does use inflections, and voice fluctuation, she just starts a good octave and a half lower than anyone else... and had a possibly good reason for it.

"Well..." the elf says speaking up once more. "If we cant find something suitable, I might be able to simply make one depending on how much time we have. I figure it should easy enough to get some parts and a normal case easy enough and it would only take me a few hours to properly install an armoured lining into it. If we even know what size the book is I could even cut out an impact resistant foam lining for it to fit right into."

Mamba slightly grins at the elf. "My friend I'm going to need your contact info." Then he looks at Mr. J "This book got a name." A name to the book could be a useful thing he thought.

"Huh, wha? Oh... no, I was just... thinking, sorry," Zee's eyes dropped for a second on account of Jack's aside and her AR overlay took on a bright red blush, a stubby arm coming up to cover her mouth embarrassedly. But then she was back up and jumped into the conversation, leaning forward and rubbing her gloved hands together eagerly as she enjoyed this part of the job. "I like the idea of making our own protective thingy for the book, I mean they sell normal suitcases like, everywhere, so getting one and putting some armor in it shouldn't be hard at all! And even if we-!" the flow of words cut off suddenly as a violent wiggle shook Zee's body, and she just barely managed to stifle her laughter. "Even... even if we don't..." she tried to continue, but once again twitched and squirmed this time not managing to contain a faint 'eep!' and a giggle. She managed to maintain her composure long enough to finish. "Even if we don't know the size of the book... we can just fill it with those packing foam peanut things, r-right?"

After she got that out, Zee lost it, and began laughing while moving erratically in a way that looked suspiciously similar to a 'bug in the pants' dance. Finally a little minidrone with shining blue eyes peeked out of the collar of her duster, it's sensors dimming in a manner that looked convincingly like squinting from the sudden light. "Ooh! Whazzis?" It spoke up in a squeeky, high-pitched voice, barely audible but extremely energetic at the same time. "Where are we? Who are dese people? Is zis da meeting you were- ack!" Zee cut it off by reaching an arm up to her shoulder and clamping her hand around the tiny drone. She tried to act casual and hid the thing under the table, but a few seconds it climbed up her arm to continue its survey of her new companions. "Dangit Vox! Could you possibly behave any more, like... inappropriately?!" she demanded in a heated whisper. The little drone looked hurt, like a scolded dog, "Sorriez Zee..."

She cleared her throat and tried to salvage some shred of dignity before glancing around at the others. She hadn't gone on one of these type of jobs before, but she had a feeling this wasn't exactly 'normal' behavior for a shadowrunner. At least not the ones she'd seen on the trids! "Um, sorry about that. I, uh... Er, my name's Zee... bee tee double you, and uh, y-you have my service as well. I'm a hacker; I can break network security like Vox here breaks rules of social, um... etiquette and stuff!" She glared down at the emotitoy, clearly annoyed but her expression somewhat softened by a hint of a wry smile.

"Awww... Zee I sed wuz sorriez!"

Alex put his rather large hand on the girl's shoulder. Zee, please calm down. There is no need to rush with your words. Please slow down, there is no rush. He speaks in a slow, deliberate tone, as if he was concentrating on each word. You remind me of my cousin, always talking, very funny. Too bad we do not need funny right now. He then closes his eyes for a few seconds, then opens them again.

Sorry, I forget my manners. You may call me Bear. He gives a wide toothy grin to the young girl.

"Well, I suppose if we are tossing around names I should pitch in my own. You can all just call me Sentinel. Since we are no doubt at some point going to get into the matter of what everyone can do, my specialty is firearms of all sorts. From pea shooters to the big guns and I'm rather handy with explosives to boot." the elf says in a rather sedate tone. "And I'm not too shabby at fixing em too."

"Hey, get off me!" Zee's eyes flashed angrily as she shrugged away from Alex's hand. "That's seriously not cool," she said incredulously, glaring up at the big troll, apparently undeterred by the size difference. Waves of steam and a bulging vein appeared in the chibi imaged that existed where she sat in augmented reality.

The minidrone, still skulking slightly from its admonishment, crawled up Zee's arm to her shoulder. "Aww, Zee he jus tryin' a be friendly!" After hearing that, Zee calmed down a bit, still looking miffed but not nearly as mad. "Still weird..." she mumbled half-heartedly.

Jack, not having much to add to the discussion, had been sitting quietly, enjoying the antics of the situation. Working with "fresh meat" was always an interesting situation, and usually added several levels of mostly comical complexity to completing any 'run. Jack was always partial to increased amusement, since so may 'runners took themselves so seriously.

Jack snorts in amusement at the last exchange with the Trill. She figured it was time to weigh in. Jack's liquid ice voice flowed out of her mouth. "Zee, you're uh refreshin' change from the standard 'runner. I'll enjoy workin' with ya." She says, with a toothy grin; 'cause is there any other way for an Ork to grin?
"As for my specialty: I am a specialist in infiltration and incapacitation. Preferably, at close range. Also, I speak Japanese and Italian well, and I am passably useful in French. Lastly, I am quite good with tactical engagements and planning. At least, on the streets." Again, her vocal inflections sound more like a boulder bouncing down a minor landslide, than a normal person speaking. But it is certainly conceivably understandable... eventually.
"Oh, and I am a magician." She adds in, clearly as an afterthought.

All this talk of specializing in weapons and incapacitating people were bringing to mind images of dual uzi wielding heroes and heroines of 'runner trids, jumping through the air with guns blazing. The thought gave Zee pause as she wondered what she had gotten herself into... not the first time she'd asked herself that recently. But the insecurities faded as Jack's compliment registered, and a happy smile replaced her worried look. "Aw, thanks! I'm looking forward to working with you too." Zee's eyes met Jacks briefly, at which point she blinked twice, seemingly noticing the scars on Jack's face for the first time and unable to keep herself from staring. She looked away as soon as she realized what she was doing, her smile returning, albeit weaker than before.

"Yah! You sound funny!" the minidrone piped up, wanting to a part of the conversation. "I swear to god, Vox," Zee groaned, hiding her face with a palm. "I'm gonna drop you down a drain if you don't cut it out!" The drone let out a tiny 'eek!' and skittered from Zee's shoulder down into her overcoat, peeking out only its 'head' from behind her neck. "So mean!"

Zee let out a deep- only partly exaggerated- sigh and looked around the table at the others. "Mr. Jay said something about a, uh, data chip? Maybe we should take a look at that. Where'd he put it?"

When Zee shruged him off, Bear just shook his head. I am sorry if I was being rude. Please forgive me. He looked to the others, as if collecting his thoughts.

I am a point man. I deal with close quarters combat. I am proficent with blades, pistols, and longarms, such as shotguns. I am also very skilled in unarmed combat. I have a higher bone density, and stronger muscles due to augments I recieved from... friends of mine. I am needed most when you need havoc and destruction, or need something or someone protected. He glanced at Zee before continuing. I am also somewhat proficent with heavy ordinance, though I prefer a direct approach. I currently own a pistol, a shotgun, and an axe. My eyes are also augmented, and I posess an internal commlink. I also have a wired reflex that is not operating at this time. I unfortunately have no contacts, as I left my previous ones after a... painful situation.

He sighs, eyes closed as if remembering something painful. As for this data chip, I would also like to see it. We need tactical information on this. And they better be accurate. He wasn't trying to be intimidating, but past experiences have taught him the value of accurate information.