@Stake:
The system has a rather unorthodox architecture but it isn't anything that you can't navigate your way around. With direct access to the manual terminal you are easily able to slip past the system's firewalls without having to interface with your cyberdeck.
You quickly break open access to a massive archive and with a flutter of your fingers across the black plastic illuminated keypads you begin a browse for relevant information. It's plain to see that whoever ran this system didn't intend for outsiders to obtain manual access and all of the heavy security is focused against intruders entering in from the matrix.
Aside from all of the operations protocols for the fleet of drones you find only two other items of interest: an archive of dossiers on more than two hundred different shadowrunners, your own names included; and an archive of media files looking to be visual footage. Not wasting any time you crack into the video footage and the first file begins playing on the overhead monitors:
@Everyone:
The terminal screens on the computer system light up suddenly almost making you pull the triggers on your readied weapons. You hear a smooth lucid voice of a women who can't be more than 25 years old.
"Personal research log, October 3rd, 2072, 02:30AM, Dr. Tara Lowenstein." A stunning red headed young woman with glasses and a white lab coat is speaking directly into a camera, surrounded by computer terminals looking similar to the one you are presently exploring. You vaguely make out a NeoNet logo emblazoned on a far wall of a cutting-edge laboratory she appears to be in. She looks giddy as if there was some exciting news that she couldn't wait to share. "Project Boot Camp just cleared phase 3. What does that mean Req?" She turns up to look slightly off camera and a somewhat monotonic but lucid disembodied voice responds. "Phase 3 clearance indicates organic soldier units may finally be interfaced into full Boot Camp beta operational virtual skill acquisition learning modules."
She giggles. "English chummer! Geez Req, remind me to swap out your linguasoft for something a little less pretentious. What my dear virtual lab-assistant Requiem means to say is real soldiers will begin to test the Boot Camp UV combat training course as soon as UCAS Military sends over the platoon of trainees. NeoNet with my approval has already selected the candidates, real rookies who stand to benefit most from the accelerated training program!"
The disembodied voice changes its tone to something more expressive. "This is good news indeed Dr. Lowenstein."
Stake plays the second file:
"Personal research log, October 15th, 2072, 08:30AM, Dr. Tara Lowenstein." The same woman stands in front of the camera wearing the same glasses and white lab coat. She is accompanied by two smiling young men in UCAS military fatigues and neither one of them can be more than 20 years old. "Good morning, these two young men have been training since the break of dawn and I thought what better way to document the success of Project Boot Camp's beta implementation than to hear it from the the mouths of the trainee's themselves. I have with me Pvt. Maddox and Lt. Goodman." They both nod at the camera. "Tell me gentlemen, and be brutally honest, how do you feel about your last two weeks of training?" The young man who was identified as Lt. Goodman answers first. "Sore as hell, but training has been amazing! We've covered all terrains, from the jungles of Aztlan to the Athabaskan tundras and all from the safety of this laboratory!." Pvt. Maddox adds, "We've also got the muscle mass to show for it. I've put on 10 lbs. in just two weeks and its all muscle, just from sitting in a chair. I feel far more agile and my combat senses are honed yet we've been sitting here the whole time." Dr. Lowenstein looks back in to the camera. "There you have it. I could bore you with the details of the project evaluation statistics, but at the end of the day here's the real evaluation from the ladies and gentlemen that matter the most. Thank you gentlemen."
Wanting to know more stake plays the third file:
"Personal research log, October 26th, 2072, 07:30AM, Dr. Tara Lowenstein." This time she has lost the glasses and the lab coat and is wearing a top of the line Berwick business suit. You could tell she was beautiful with her nerd gear on, but dressed like this you have a hard time not staring. "Req, you there buddy? I think I'm gonna pee my pants I'm so nervous." The disembodied voice responds in it's more human-like linguasoft. "Despite the fact that I cannot technically BE anywhere, you can consider me right by your side Dr. Lowenstein, every step of the way." She smiles and brushes aside a loose strand of red hair. "Well, we did it, today's the big day, and the day I hate the most. NeoNet has invited UCAS military representatives, along with special envoys from a handful of other countries. Today's the day where they pitch Project Boot Camp to the customers and see if they bite. Even though NeoNet can be mighty...persuasive, at the end of the day it's results that count. A fully functional training exercise with living soldiers is the only thing that'll seal the deal. But we're ready to deliver, right Req?" The AI responds. "I have personally run every diagnostic we have on every sub-system and the Boot Camp is running even better than during our weeks of beta testing." Dr. Lowenstein smiles and crosses her fingers in front of the camera. "Well here I go to the demo room. Keep the champaign on ice Req and if the Great Ghost is good to us we'll be popping it open in about 50 min."
A final file recorded only about 30 min after the previous one is all that's left:
"Personal research log, October 26th, 2072, 07:50AM, Dr. Tara Lowenstein." She looks pale and speaks very slowly fighting back tears. "I slipped in here to record this, because it's the safest place to keep this information. I don't know what happened. The whole platoon, all comatose, Maddox and Goodman among them. The training exercise fried their synapses with simsense overload. UCAS walked out of the deal, no contract, so did everyone else. Requiem says he spotted a matrix intruder, but all he found was a log-off. He's investigating right now who's responsible, but in the eyes of NeoNet, this was all my fault. I don't know what's going to happen to me or the project, but suffice to say I will lose my job......or worse. Whoever sees this, I am releasing my loyal assistant Requiem before they can put the axe to all of......" Suddenly a sound can be heard from the far side of the lab and she looks around startled. Before you even have a chance to try to spot something through the camera feed, the lights go off and the recording ends.
The screens all go blank and silence pervades the room again.
