[Volker]

"No problem, our petite matrix maestro."

bnc chuckles audibly on Slobbertooth copying bnc's youth slang.

After a few moments, bnc explains.
"Okay, thanks, buddies. I am able to slave 9 devices to my deck, but Torrent's commlink which is not to bad either. So, please, Torrent, enslave the devices as to following lists.

This is what I would suggest as master-slave relationships:

Nova will enslave:

• my smartgun
• my hidden arm slide
• my chameleon suite
• Slobbertooth's smartgun 
• Torrent's smartgun
• Slobbertooth's concealed holster
• Krestov's cybereyes
• Krestov's Ares Crusader II
• Krestov's helmet suite

Torrent's Erika Elite will enslave the rest, which is:

• his eye-contacts
• his chameleon suite
• hit autopicker
• Slobbertooth's helmet
• Slobbertooth's Sony Emporer
• Slobbertooth's glasses and earbuds
• Krestov's Yamaha pulsar
• Krestov's Renraku Sensei

And to Krestov, she adds.
"Ah, and big 'un. I would really recommend you rethink your priorities. While as a hacker I can really understand you don't appreciate your commlink being ripped apart, you're going to be blind with rage if someone bricks your eyes!

bnc suspiciosly throws a glance at the ARO indicating Krestov being under the influence of the vicious manipulative bitch, but he's a grown-up and she knows pretty well that a 19 year old drug-addict "anemic teenage decker"  will not be an authority for Krestov. She refrains from hacking into his program, showing a rare display of respect for other people's private sphere, watching his stress levels closely.

Depending on whether the others are already in their come, she comments the dialogue with: "It's going down the rabbit hole, Alices!"

[Jack_Spade]

Krestov's virtual therapist took a second to contemplate that statement - or at least it waited that long to answer:

"This is a question only you can answer. What images are giving you the most frequent nightmares and/or flashbacks? What is the earliest recurring nightmare for you?
Highly emotional and traumatic experiences that haven't been processed completely are prone to recur as vivid memories.
You are a very strong and independent individual - a defining traumatic experience would probably be a situation where despite these traits you were made helpless to influence your own condition."

bnc received another prompt from the host:
"All occupants of the Jonas-Host have been evaluated and are fit for hibernation treatment. Hypodermic injection for nutrition and medicament supply can now be engaged.
Please be advised that the "rapid awakening protocol" is currently in effect.
Your personal configuration is in effect.
Your personal VR environment is loaded and ready.
Your personal override has been compiled and implemented.
The Jonas-Host has been connected to an outside power-supply, extending the operation time to... 87 days, 6 hours and 25 minutes before supplies have to be refilled.

Have a nice day."

[Volker]

"Okay, babies, this is it. As soon as you give me the confirmation that you're ready, I'll send you to come. If anything happens to us some or all of you will be woken up the rapid way. Any questions before I hit the button?

After everyone confirms she triggers the sequence to set them asleep. She herself will stay awake just a little longer.

[SquirrelDude]

Slobbertooth sighted, and focused himself. He was ready to not feel the catheter or butt-plugs anymore. Hopefully over these next two months he wasn't going to have any bad dreams, too. "Alright, give me my warm milk. I'll need my beauty rest or I'm going to be all grumpy when we start this mission."

[Jack_Spade]

The prick through the hypodermic needle was painless as the system transported Slobbertooth quickly into VR to disengage him from his body. Than, from one moment to the other he was out like a light.
His heart rate steadily reduced and his breathing became flat. Simultaneously his body temperature began to fall and stabilized at 35,5° C.
The smart mattress reported its functionality and would begin to massage his muscles every hour and to induce weak electric stimuli to prevent atrophy and bedsores.

[SgtBoomCloud]

Krestov sent a confirmation to proceed with the stasis program to bnc before focusing on the words his Autodoc therapist was telling him.  It took several minutes before he responded, and by then he was likely to have drifted off into full VR, his body hibernating in the induced stasis.

<<...My expulsion from Academy fits that quality best, and is the biggest reason why I am not doing what I was meant to...no, what I was built to be.  This story I have told to only one person, and if I am right, she has likely already dug up the parts I hadn't shared.  I was seventeen, top of my class, thanks to the conditioning program I was placed in.  The biogenetic enhancements allowed me to excel.  I was not liked...several human and elven students thought it unfair a "trog like me" should get enhancements for something I was already at an advantage before.  Halfway through the year, I was informed that I had been expelled, and it wasn't until after I had learned that a human's parents had filed a suit against the school for my program.  I..do not remember what much happened the next few days, but I knew of that truth and that I could not stay in my home country>>

Mentally, she sent a message to the team.

<<Krestov here.  The therapy seems to not be malign in nature, other than addressing events of your past.  You might be getting invites to link up with my VR environment, and it is on you whether or not to accept.  ...I strive for honesty with those I consider friends, so I will warn that if you do, you may learn more of me than you would prefer.  Krestov out>>

[Volker]

bnc sends Slobbertooth into Nirvana.

"Slobbertooth is gone. I set the noise filter to blend out his snoring."
bnc chuckles.

To Krestov she sends a private message. "Got it, big 'un. I'll be there for you, big 'un. But don't expect me to participate in some pre-programmed weird shit pseudo-psychology program. I was treated by a real living flesh-and-bones psychologist for years and you see what good it did to me. I like me the way I am, but I would be dishonest if I ignored the fact that I'm totally fucked up."

[Sabato Kuroi]

It wasn't that Torrent lacked self discipline.But the idea of staying still inside a coffin while immeasurable tons of water pushed from all directions, trying to crack his cocoon  was a bit discomforting.In a twisted way it reminded him of suffocating childhood years: the slums stood upright resisting  the forces of nature and there was never enough space  to claim as your own.



Ok kid.Send me to sleep.And play nice while we're gone, eh?

[Volker]

And send him to sleep she does.

[Jack_Spade]

The voyage continued while bnc sent each team member into hibernation. Their bodies' life signs were steady and showed no signs of stress.
bnc had read the manuals meticulously and knew that their brains still could go into VR without waking up the body.

She had time to relax and entered her own VR environment to keep an even closer eye on her friends well being. She did notice that the Jonas Hub used a lot of bandwidth for matrix searches - something it would have to cease once they were under water as only a few meters of salt water would create a noise barrier to thick for even the most advanced communication devices.

And still, Krestov's therapy continued.

[Volker]

bnc stays online until they reach the facility, keeping herself entertained with reading, playing games and toying around with the system.

[Jack_Spade]

While the therapy continued - bnc saw that the boys had effectively re-purposed it into a Virtual Military Shooter - their transport showed signs of being moved. To be precise the whole container was shaking when the crane tried to put it gently inside the hold of another ship.

The sound filter did catch only a few bits along the lines of "I sure hope that seal still holds" and "The doctor will be really mad if his toys get wet... or crushed" before a remarkable silence cut of any and all noises from outside. Correspondingly the matrix access vanished, leaving only the Jonas Host and the silent present of the submarine that was taking them down into the depths.


Maxime #6 of Maximally Effective Mercenaries: If violence wasn’t your last resort, you failed to resort to enough of it.

The ground of the Pacific, ca. 50 km outside the coast of Seattle

The container had been moved earlier and now been at rest for about 10 minutes. The Jonas Host was part of an unfamiliar grid that allowed no access to the matrix at large and only seemed to consist of two other hosts. There names were displayed as Deep One and Blue Hades. Both had an impressive level 7 rating but where obviously ok with the presence of the Jonas Host.

bnc became aware to the chirping sound of a received mark. Schmitt had done as she asked and sent her an invite to his shiny, shiny comlink. At the moment he was in room 121.

Shortly thereafter he moved upwards and settled into room 523b where he stayed for the next eight hours.

[Volker]

bnc checks everything: matrix anomalies, silently running icons, biomonitors, and basically every little piece of data she can receive down there, than allows the machine to sedate her. She programs the schedule to unfreeze her in exactly 20 hours.

[Jack_Spade]

The day's are just flying away while bnc keeps to her routine of waking up in VR and going to sleep again. She noticed, that the system had noted her Whoom cravings and wanted to start a substitute treatment. It was no problem for her to instead have the system give her a small dose of the real stuff.

"Wheeeeeeeeeeee" the alert shook the team from there deep slumber like a bucket of cold water. The internal clock showed that it was sometime after 0300 hours on the 34th day of their mission.

Something was wrong with the station grid. The Jonas Host seemed to be disconnected from the other hosts and Schmitt's comlink was nowhere to be found. The host also noted that it was disconnected from the station power supply, indicating that either there was no power or that the whole station was running on auxiliary and had cut of any non-essential consumers.

The pods had enacted the quick-thaw program, pumping drugs into the teams system while also rising the temperature rapidly through heating elements.

As far as bnc knew, the pods where still in the container and the container still in room 107A.

Now the sound filter did record something, that sounded a lot like gun shots, muffled through iron walls.
Also two sets of footsteps were within 107A and a whispered conversation, that the system translated from Spanish:
"...no-one here..."
"...<unintelligible>, you son of a whore. Just a minute ago someone sent a signal here. Open that cabinet, I will search that container..."

The pods had unsealed themselves and the team was awake, free of any appendages the pods had used. Still, they felt nauseated (Nausea condition, double all wound modifiers for 10 minutes), while they heard someone opening the container.

The foot steps came closer while the person said something under her breath that the filters didn't catch.

A gloved hand appeared inside the pod of (1d4=1) Slobbertooth and slowly began to open...

[SquirrelDude]

Slobbertooth saw the pod opening, heard the siren, and saw the tactical equipment. "Go time." He quickly drew his Ruger Superwarhawk (Quick Draw Agility Test (2): 6d6h5 3), and kicked the container the rest of the way open. His hands clenched, his pupils dilated and he resisted the urge to howl as he channeled his spirit guide into his hands. (Simple Action Agility Boost [2]: 6d6h5 3).

Slobbertooth raised his new toy at the teams probably stunned hosts. "¡Hola! Chummer." Slobbertooth unleashed a blast from his hand-cannon aimed at his door man's chest. (Simple Action Magnum Attack Test [7]: 16d6h5 3 Net Damage 11s -1AP). Slobbertooth immediately rolled his eyes and cursed, remembering he had just fired a gel round. "Stupid fragging nonlethal mission stipulations." (Or'zet)