Nothing bad happens when Boron fails the two checks.
Boron sighs because he cannot do good work--
--and then decides to stop singing to himself and concentrate.
With the triangulation done, he moves on to finally dismantling the box.
Boron dismantles the transmitter with some effort, but does so in the end.
”You finished over there? Good. The officers are looking for you.”
The group spends the next hour or so being questioned by police officers on the situation. Eventually they are allowed to leave for their next location.
*
*
Just like the day before, seated behind a desk is a male verthani who taps on a datapad continually. A name tag on his breast says “Leander Vaz.”
”Welcome to the Blue Room, how may I help you?” He speaks monotonously and without looking up from his datapad.
Boron shrugs.
The verthani pulls out a set of noise-cancelling headphones. He reaches down and pulls out a stamp and a hand-held blacklight. He stamps Xagyg's (and anyone else who wants to use a workstation) hand with an invisible ink and waves the blacklight over it, causing the stamp with the Blue Room's logo to glow under the light.
"Fee's 2 credits per hour. Pick any available workstation."
Volcklon stands by, sliding his credstick across the counter. "Toss us on for a couple hours." He follows in, not looking to use any of the computers but rather keep a lookout while Boron works his magic. "Hopefully you'll be able to find something on their system."
Boron opens up some windows dealing with cigars and whisky to cover his other work... and he starts trying to find some trace of signals or emitters.
Seeing as it seems just like grunt work to do, Boron starts typing away, spending some time trying to get it right...
Someone is manually keeping him out. Someone is counter-hacking him.
Boron swiftly gets to work, out-hacking this other hacker! Just as he’s about to press the last key in the sequence, he gets distracted. He notices a notification on a messaging application on this computer. He clicks it. A simple message is typed out:
If you wanted to talk, all you had to do was ask.
Boron suddenly becomes intent, then somber, he whispers to those around: »Someone... yes, someone online. Counter... counter-hacking me! »
Boron moves back away from the computer, surprised.
»The... they want to... talk?! »
There’s a door in the back corner. 3789656
Boron looks up to his comrades: "So, there’s a door in the back corner, and I.... well, at least Vroni, will know the code for the key pad.
Wanna go walk into some trap or whatever?"
"Probably just another package ready to blow up this entire place like our hotel room." Volcklon is quite sure what to make of it. "Who wants to talk?"
"Some anonymous who said we should've just asked if we wanted to talk.
Ask who? Talk about what? ..."
His blade in hand and resting on his shoulder, Boron leads the way.
The group moves to the back corner of the room where a locked door stands, a simple numeric keypad sitting below the handle. Boron punches in a seven-digit code and the door unlocks with a click.
On the other side of the door is a tiny room containing a simple table with an old desktop computer sitting on it.
Seated at the desk is a hooded figure typing away on the computer. When the door opens they turn to look sidelong at you all, showing the face of a female android whose face is mostly covered by a mask.
”Come in. Close the door behind you.”
”Against. I am part of an organization known as Syzygy. When I overheard you in the lobby yesterday, I realized we may share a common goal: exposing the true intentions of Eclipse Innovations.”
|
Xagyg nods thoughtfully.
"Right then. So, are you aware that they have been setting up broadcast towers around the city? We have been systematically going around, and taking them down, in the process trying to trace the signal, so that we can triangulate the position of their clandestine base. We are here, because the last tower is (apparently) hidden in here, somewhere..."
“They’re transmitters, not broadcast towers. But yes. Tampering with the device or jamming the signal it emits might draw attention to this location, so we’ve decided to merely observe—for now. We know there are others located throughout the city, so destroying just one is a pointless exercise. Why are you so concerned with these transmitters?”
|
|
"Well, we have disabled the other two, already... we just need to deal with the one here, to complete the set. That said, the fact that they selected this location, suggests that they know *something* about it... As for why we oppose them, well, it is decidedly personal. We were the only survivors of their 'beta test' on New Elysium; I don't want to see an entire planet descend into an orgy of violent self-destruction..."
His antennae twitch.
"If you don't believe me, I have a copy of the raw feed from our investigation/escape from New Elysium; a word of warning, though - it is decidedly uncomfortable viewing."
The android looks right at Xagyg—her mask hiding her expression but her eyes showing a combination of fear, disgust, and curiosity.
”’Orgy of—‘?!” She stops abruptly. She shakes her head, clearly not wanting to know the specifics. ”We believe Eclipse chose the Blue Room because it’s in the optimal location, not because of Syzygy—but even so, that is our issue, not yours. There’s a data center on the other side of the workstations. The transmitter’s there. I’ll have Liander let you in. I also want to see that raw feed.”
”Not quite,” The woman takes the copy of the feed and plugs it into her computer and copies it into a video file. She hands it back to Xagyg.
”With evidence like this, it’s gonna hard for those bigwigs to cover up the incident. Is there anything else you need?”
Boron shrugs upon seeng the old computer that is not even turned on.
Boron motions that there is nothing else he needs.
"I can go wherever Liander takes us when you're ready."
Volcklon shrugs. "Destroying them hasn't done a whole lot of good for us either. But with this set, Boron here can triangulate the location of the main center and hopefully take it down."
The android shakes her head at Jacob. “I can perhaps help disable the transmitter here, but after that I must disappear. Syzygy is most effective when it is anonymous. We certainly can’t aid you in charging into a well-financed, highly defended corporate facility. Our strengths lie in cyberspace, not material reality.”
*
Liander waits outside the data center, and when he sees you all he unlocks the door and beckons you inside.
This cramped, narrow space is lined with humming, rectangular machines that stretch all the way to the ceiling. Illuminated floor tiles suffuse the room with a blue light, and flickering multicolored bars are displayed on the machines, which are protected by glass coverings. Standing in the room is the same masked android from before, despite the fact that you left her in the other room.
The woman moves a tangle of yellow wires at the base of one of the servers, revealing a tiny black box.
”Here’s the transmitter.”
Boron thanks Liander for letting the group in, then eyes the android: "Didn't we already meet somewhere?"
Then he gets to work on the small box, muttering to Vroni for help--
--and then Boron smiles as he succeeds in downloading data:
[b]"Got it! I triangulated the signals received from the three transmitters.
I know where the source is located... in the Vesk Empire.
We have the exact coordinates of the black site!
Let's get going!"
He then writes something down on his comm' unit, and shows it first to his comrades: Klebani Range. Verces’s Darkside.
Then he sees if he can dismantle the thing.
And pops the black box out, and tosses it up and down in his hand.
"Okay! Off to meet the Vesk Empire?"
The android nods silently. The group leaves the Blue Room and make their way through the quiet streets of Cuvacara to their next destination.
Something’s wrong!
The group—sans Volcklon—turns around to find themselves face-to-face with a group of soldiers with grenades drawn and sights set on them!
The soldiers throw their grenades right into the middle of the group!
The grenades explode outward in a fiery inferno!
Round 1 Surprise Round
===============
Red
Blue
Yellow
Green
Jacob
Xagyg
Boron {Burning 2d6}
Volcklon
===============
Boron thinks that they should just leave this madhouse, and go somewhere quiet, like a Vesk battlefield.
As his skin blisters, and flames burn from the top of his bald head, Boron brushes his hands over the fire on his skin, as he moves forward, gripping his blade in order to start bashing and slashing.
He at least manages to swat away most of the fire, and his blistered skin is no longer aflame.
The soldiers all look at one another and grin. Green moves into position, Red and Yellow both step over, and all four slice at the dwarf!
Round 2
===============
Red
Blue (-38)
Yellow
Green
Jacob
Xagyg
Boron
Volcklon
===============
Boron is bashed around, but then has Vroni start tracking blue, as he overcharges and then tries to hit.
Boron smashes his sword into one of the soldiers’ faces! Blue scowls at the dwarf with his bloody, singer face!
Round 2
===============
Red
Blue (-72)
Yellow
Green
Jacob
Xagyg
Boron
Volcklon
===============
Volcklon tries to find cover from the grenades, but there are just too many of them. Time begins to warp and slow around him.
EAC: 22 KAC: 23 CM: 31
Stamina: 0/54 | HP: 42/49 | Resolve: 10/12 | DR/6 Kinetic
Spells Used:
(1) 6/7
(2) 4/6
(3) 0/4
Ghost Killer Immolation Flame Spinner 14/20
Arc Pistol Battery 14/20 | 20/20
Trampling Boots 0/1
Wyrmling Dragon Gland 1/1
Force Bolt 0/1
Alternate Outcome 1/1
Three of the four soldiers start swiping with their flaming swords in slow motion. Green is just looking around in confusion.
Round 2
===============
Red {slowed}
Blue (-72) {slowed}
Yellow {slowed}
Green
Jacob
Xagyg
Boron
Volcklon
===============
Jacob moves up, total defenses, and Bodyguards Boron.
Green, as the only one now moving in slow-motion, steps over and all four swipe at the dwarf!
Round 3
===============
Red {slowed}
Blue (-72) {slowed}
Yellow {slowed}
Green
Jacob
Xagyg
Boron
Volcklon
===============