[Mercy Merchant]

Athos shakes his head.  "The answers to those questions lies in the future.  What I do know is that the old order was not working and will not work.  Sure, it brought wealth and power to a few individuals, but the people cowered in fear and gave only what they had to.  They grew up believing that violence is the only answer.  Thugs are heroes.  Is it not time to try to change that?  Is that not worth trying?" 

He shrugs his shoulders.  "Listen.  Yes, I expect that there will be gangs gunning for me and for anyone who is helping me.  We will have to be able to show that we are hard, but that we believe.  I am betting that I can find others that will help me.  I had been told that you might be one such.  A group of trained Orks would be impressive at my back.  I have money to pay wages and buy gear, but I do not have many soldiers.  If you will not help me, can you at least think of someone who might?  I will do this even if I am the only soldier in the Family."

[Jack_Spade]

Kynos was crazy, not dumb. This was bait and the fact that the spirit still hadn't gone indicated that what he had shot at was an illusion.
Lucky for him, that he didn't care for the Ginger Elf.
He altered his course again and dashed for a gap between the two houses he had chucked the smoke grenades in.
At 100 m out he exchanged magazines for life ammo.
He didn't know if the spirit still occupied the ground, but it wouldn't hurt to shoot the ground - or rather hopefully it would.
Then he was off through the gap - it was time for the final strike...

His next attack came 3 minutes later from the opposite direction

His rifle was in his sling as he tore with high speed towards the tree. In his hand he held an object that trailed oily smoke...


Disengage,
change ammo
Aim
Shoot the ground with a Brain Blaster - if the spirit is still inside it may soak Shoot the ground: 15d6t5 2
= 15 P AP 2 (I imagine sand doesn't have much armor)

Vanish
Return from opposite direction
Full speed: Piloting: 10d6t5 4
Ini: 15+4d6 24

Kynos is aiming directly for the tree with his bike.

[gilga]

"Is she dead? Is she really dead?" The crowd are restless and they begin to scatter the Joke burned and shortly after some runner came to waste the witch. The refugees begin to scatter and panic starts to spread like a fire... "The witch is gone, there is nobody to protect us. " The Yaks seems a bit skeptical, puzzled they don't know what to do, Minnie can hear some of them speaking "This cannot be, we tried to kill her again and again - and she kept coming back. This really puts us in a negative light. We all failed how can this be." They quickly head back to the tree to examine the corpse.  Minnie is the first to arrive, and she find the corpse heavier and stiffer than she anticipated. She carries her back to cover.
(where? If you want to sneak past the Yaks give me sneaking roll. )

@Kynos the spirit may or may not have been hit, you cannot be certain there do not appear to be a spirit in there right now.
(What are you trying to do to the tree? Burn it?)

[Jack_Spade]

The molotov cocktail shattered high up in the tree's crown, setting alight the oily residue of the first grenade.
It had taken Kynos a minute to prepare the missile from his bike's gas, an old whiskey bottle, and the naphta tablets as well as the soy-oil based energy bar from his survival packet. 

Kynos didn't stop, he just lobbed the bottle into the tree and sped on.


Throw: 4d6t5 3

[gilga]

@Kynos As Kynos dashed toward the tree the Rotodrones he previously heard about were already visible. They were delivering gifts, explosive gifts  it took y grenades and a crush to take Kynos down but down he was. The Molotov bottle stroke the tree and started a small fire that thing Kynos was sure of. Then Kynos awoken by powerful stimulants, his head was aching - it took him a moment to understand what happened and his ears were ringing from the explosions and the crush. He was laying in a lightly wooded area, the guards were after him and there were more many more on the way. In your imminent vicinity there is a wooden house with a parking lot,

(You are south of the Joke - there is an open space where many refugees live and an old school building behind it. The school is a fortified complex now.) In the open terrain there are tents where refugees from the northern parts of the Barrens now now live.)

The Yaks were establishing perimeter around the tree to prevent the masses from seeing Strawberry in her grief - the myth should be preserved, the irony is that now they are coming after you in multiple direction. The place you crushed is not far from a refugee camp, and the refugees also seem alarmed by your presence - "It is him - the murderer" some cry and a crowd of thugs makes his way toward you. "Bring him to justice!" Others cry - you are alone confused and in a very distinctive full body armor.

@Athos MXN say "Look pal - I do not care about order and protection and these things - but I will tell you this - I can help you if your plan makes sense and honestly, I am not sure that your body is where your mind is. If you can actually protect us here in the farm we will provide you some able men for your neighborhood watch - but do not expect us to actually join this venture people respect force - nothing else - gangers live to climb the rank - they dream of anything they'll achieve in the future - give them too much right now and they'll burn it all on drugs. You'll find that their ambition is lost into BTLs and their personality and willpower are all gone.

You need to learn how to be rich - it is not easy - if it was I wouldn't be here with the money I spent on augmentations I could live comfortably for the rest of my life - it made no sense but I always wanted more. Now I can do superhuman things but feeding my own family? This is a challenge and keeping them safe while associating with violent criminals - there is a challenge that punching and dodging does not solve."

@Maxwell you have no idea where your body is, it is not at the Joke it was taken somewhere but where?  You are at the Joke and something is twisted about that place, the fire the murders the background count has increased and it makes you feel sick, you can barely see a thing with all the fear and terror. "Still alive ?" She asks you and laughs bitterly. "You are in MY domain now mortal,  and you are an ungrateful murderous psychopath - How do you prefer to die? Astral combat or to play hide and seek with your body until you discover that you cannot stay at MY domain for too long"

@Minnie - I am waiting to hear where you take Strawberry to and what are you doing, Venom will come with you while the bike crushes and will allow the rest to deal with Kynos.

[gilga]

@Athos Jack one of M's employees contacts you.

>> Athos hi, this is about the Deck and comlink you gave me. We restored them - the signal that blew up the warehouse came from the Deck and the deck owner - this is a bizarre story. A  Renraku cooperate decker that worked for a division named 'Genetic revivification and augmentation industries' , Daniel Mitnick is the name of the decker.  The declared goal was to prolong the life expectancy of people but they actually did some nanite research.

The ownership of the deck was transferred to a fake sin called 'No Spoon' they did not even attempt to give it a real name - 'No Spoon' only had ownership of that deck but I dug deeper and 'No Spoon' is linked to another SIN that has no meaning and is seldom used 'Road Runner'. Who would call them self like that? But 'Road Runner' still pays the rent in some apartment in Renton.

This is not all that there is there, there are records of data thefts grand data thefts, from GRAI Daniel Mitnik had a lot of their nanite program on his deck - he erased it before transferring owner ship but he did so hastily and we were able to recover some of the details.

Their nanite program is called Wonderland - they created three successful AI's the Cheshire cat, the Red queen and Alice. The first one can integrate with people and upload their thoughts into a private cloud. Red Queen pilot people like riggers do drones - and Alice? she was the their absolute goal an AI designed for conquest without violence.

They used some old code from Deus,  Alice was planned to be a digital goddess. She was meant to act as their CEO.  She is allegedly capable of integrating people minds together and making them more efficient and together think. They describe her as meta organizem that is more intellect than dragons.

Daniel Mitnick stole data about the program he had the templates of Alice that combined the Cat with the red queen.

[Mulcarn]

He arrives to find the place in worse shape than when he left.  The astral is warped heavily with fear and a rising background count.  It makes him feel ill like he has the flu, reminding him of that one time he took a trip to Glow City, into the Heart of the Blight.  Shortly after he began looking for his body he was being taunted by some spectral stranger.  A vaguely familiar stranger.

Maxwell takes a defensive stance and yells out nearby.  "Brave talk coming from someone who hides.  What is all this madness?  This place is sickly with terror.  Wasn't like this when I left or more accurately when someone sucker punched my soul into one of the deep planes."

[gilga]

@Maxwell the spirit say "These are the fruits of your labor, you murdered 8 people injured more you exploded a massive fireball in a room full of people - Now you complain about the background count? Your actions are destroying this world - they allow all sort of creatures to get inside. Punching your soul? These were me and Strawberry figured it would be a worthy punishment and we can put somebody else in your body... you have to thank me, Strawberry wanted to burn you alive - do to you what you did to her business".

[Mulcarn]

He closes his eyes and shakes his head in disappointment.  Opening them again to reveal his dark brown burning gaze.  Maxwell speaks back in black pride. "Nice to see you enjoying my bonfire."  His smug smile fades almost as fast as it appeared when the spirit's words started to bounce around in his skull.

Gritting his teeth, Maxwell speaks in rancor.  "What do you mean destroying this world?  It's already a tomb, a nightmare!  Monsters exist within this world with or without me!  At least i'm trying to fight the beasts instead of cowering in fear of them.  Zombies roam free in this damned city at night.  They come to crawl whenever the dark kills the sun.  Slowly all of Seattle will just be a necropolis, a ruin filled with cold grey fog and rancid filth.  My scorched hell will look like a paradise in comparison."

He pauses for a moment after his rant to berate the spirit further.  "You're more twisted than I am if you think i'm just going to lie down and let you steal my body.  Where the fuck is it?  I'm tired of suffering your lunacy and playing your games.  I have an army of undead and a vampire to destroy."

[gilga]

@Maxwell the spirit tells you "When you open the trids and see Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake , what is happening? You are looking at the swans, but you miss the real happening.

Where is your body ? What if I tell you that it is being  'Augmented' ? "

[Mulcarn]

He straightens his back and stares into the spirit.  Arms folded across his chest as he cocks his head to the side.  His face a pained mixture of sadness, hate, rage and betrayal.  His hands ball up into fists in mounting fury before suddenly, for no reason, he slouches over in exhaustion.  Trying with all of his might he regains his stance and speaks back to the spirit in a calmer more depressed manner.

"At worst I thought you only to be blind idiots.  I was wrong.  You're no different from the frail minded mongoloids that shout godless devil-worshiper at my passing.  You've no honor or courage within anything in your being.  What could you possibly hope to gain from these soul mutilations?  Are you not strong or brave enough to stand on your own?  I was a fool to think she was my friend, to try to help her.  Perhaps I should have just let the flames consume her."

Maxwell becomes more stern the longer he talks.  "If I return back to my body in a state of cut flesh and metal.  My new goal in life will be to hurt Strawberry and everything she holds most dear.  I have never tried or wanted to harm her, but if what you're saying is true then...

Maxwell flares up in anger and screams aloud.  "Begone spirit!  Take me to the woman that I enjoy talking to.  She was proud, funny, clever and lovely.  You're just some hollow specter of lies.  I refuse to believe any self respecting mage would commit such barbarism.  I will tolerate this no longer!  You will show me the way back to my body and I will walk in flesh and blood unmarred by machinery!  I will smash the cage you locked her in and sunder the chains that hold her down!"

[gilga]

The spirit is emotionless she does not seem to be effected by your words.

"You have raw abilities but you are an infant, a rookie in a world - you have eyes but you do not use them. Strawberry was not even at the Joke, a single look would have confirmed it for you. You have eyes yet you choose to be blind. 

Afraid for your essence? Your precious talent?  We are 'preparing' your body for possession, this means that it is going to be extra easy for spirits to posses you. I will show you the way to your body - but there are few mages in the city that can reverse this process. If you ever cross us again, you will spend all your remaining years as a puppet to be controlled. If you want to reverse the process you better behave yourself. "

[Mulcarn]

He crosses his arms and is practically snarling, baring teeth and fury in a grimaced growl.  "Blight-mad spirit, she was never in any danger to begin with.  It was never my goal or desire to kill her.  Who are you calling infant anyway?  Neither of you seemed to have learned to harness and master some of the most common dark energies in this world."

He looks down sighing and feels the agony of a phantom collar fashioning itself around his neck.  Looking back up at the spirit, feeling ghostly tremors of disgust moving throughout his very being.  "It doesn't matter anyway.  With a city of ravenous dead howling at midnight, I've little interest in debating the brutal truth with you.  Just another shackle placed upon me, little more.  Let's go."

[Mercy Merchant]

Athos sends a quick message to Cat, attaching the text he had received from Jack.  **Cat.  What do you make of this message.  I cannot figure out who is who and what is going on.  What do you know of this Alice?**

He has listened to the Ork and replies.  "Yes, you are right on all counts.  It is entirely possible that I will fail and that any who helped me will be killed.  I am sorry that I can give no guarantees of protection, but thank you for listening to me.  If you change your mind, you can reach me on this comm code."

Athos turns to Bruno.  "I am headed to the Ork Underground to see if I can round up some soldiers there.  You do not have to come if you think it is bad.  I respect your choice.  But if you are coming, I am leaving now."

With that, Athos turns and heads back to the van.  Once inside, he places his head on the steering wheel for a moment then sits upright, new resolve in his eyes as he starts the engine and heads off to one of the known entrances to Underground.

[gilga]

@Athos Cat say I have never met her and it is a surprise to read that I was developed by Renraku, I always thought I belong to the new horizon 2080, the grand plan of horizon to double their size until 2080.  I may be a stolen cat - about Alice I have never met her. Red mentioned her once but as a myth rather than a concrete person. I think that I was the product of industrial espionage because I was sold to the KE for a lot of money by a company owned by Horizon, and if I upload all my findings to a cloud I do not know that I do that.

There is this Daniel Mitnick he is related to both the data theft and the destruction of the warehouse, he assigned the job for a SIN called 'No Spoon' that they dug up and was often seen with another SIN called 'Road Runner' and there is a residence address where rent is being paid every week. Now it may have nothing to do with taking over some areas of the Barrens - but how coincidence is it that Luna referred  to Road Runner as the orc lady that died inside this warehouse. Also, I feel that something is constantly fighting for the KE's attention.

The warehouse top hit on two strong crime syndicates something that could start a war. Then Deep Blue shows up and all eyes and efforts are set to stop her. She does not manage to even disappear and a horde of undead and a missile attack strikes the city - now the KE cannot even hunt for Deep Blue - but I wonder could all these events be so close to each other? Is it possible that there is someone behind them? I am in the mind of many KE officers an they are all running from one fire to the rest - nobody has time to take a step back and figure out what is actually going on.