>>31916575

“The Declan team will be arriving soon.” Dreadnought explains. “Have you taken control of the marina’s security network?”

“Did it right when we got here.” You nod.

“Good. I will engage directly with the Declan operatives, while Quetzal and the drone provide support. Where do you plan to be during the operation?”

>Inside one of the security offices, looking through the marina’s cameras and providing overwatch.
>In the van with Harriet, preparing to move it to the dock when her ride arrives.
>In the field, providing support personally.

>>31916582
>Inside one of the security offices, looking through the marina’s cameras and providing overwatch.

>>31916582
>Inside one of the security offices, looking through the marina’s cameras and providing overwatch.

As before, the voting period for the night's first vote will be twenty minutes instead of ten.

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>>31916582
>In the field, providing support personally.
Its like you guys dont like fun or something

>>31916582
>>In the van with Harriet, preparing to move it to the dock when her ride arrives.

>>31916672
>>31916674
>Writing

>>31916582
“I’ll be where it’s safest.” You say. “There’s a security office in one of buildings around here. I’ll be able to keep an eye on you guys and do matrix overwatch without worrying about catching a stray bullet.”

“You will also be protected should our sniper friend decide she wants to kill you after all.” Dreadnought says.

“Harriet stays in the back of the van until her boat gets here.” You explain. “When that happens, I’ll move it to the dock and she’ll have her getaway.”

“I’ll put a spirit on guard with you.” Quetzal offers. “Just in case.”

“Thanks.” You nod. The electronic tone signaling an incoming commcall rings in your head. You recognize the commcode immediately. “Sooner or later, we should introduce ourselves properly.”

“I’m in position.” The sniper says. “Don’t take this the wrong way. I’m just here to kill to asshole who tried to geek my team, and then I’m going home.”

>Be industrious. “I’m willing to pay you to help us for a little longer than that.”
>Be abrasive. “Thanks for nothing.”
>Be inquisitive. “So, where’s the rest of your team?”

>>31917245
>>Be industrious. “I’m willing to pay you to help us for a little longer than that.”

>>31917245
>Be industrious. “I’m willing to pay you to help us for a little longer than that.”

Suddenly I remember that we turned down that money and promised a certain someone a vacation.

I get the feeling we are going to be working overtime after this.

>>31917286
>>31917380
>Writing

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>>31917245
“You came all the way out here. You might as well help finish the job.” You say. “I’m willing to pay you if you stick around until we’re done.” You need to force the words out. Just thinking of your dwindling expense account, the advance that will probably be the only money you make on this job, and the holy terror Summer will unleash on you if you back out of your vacation is making you wish you’d never taken this job.

“Pay me?” You can hear the sniper’s cold laugh. “How much? I usually ask for a bonus per kill, you know.”

“We can discuss terms after. I need to get into position.” You can feel a headache forming already.

“Roger. I guess I don’t mind sticking around for a little while longer. This is a matter of professional pride at this point, but I’ll admit that the money helps.”

“I’ll be in touch.” You close the call and look between Dreadnought and Quetzal. “Our area support’s here. I’ll take my position. The team should be here any minute. Good luck.”

“To you as well, my friend.” Dreadnought gives you a bone-creaking clap on the shoulder.

“We’ll see you on the other side.” Quetzal nods slowly. Harriet stares at you before turning away in a huff.

“Don’t get yourself killed.” She commands. You nod and run off towards the security office. You scan the nearby rooftops, looking for the sniper, but don’t catch sight of her. Wherever she is, she’s probably cloaked.

(cont.)

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>>31917743
You use your hacked access privileges to open the security office doors and set yourself up in front of a desk with a reclining swivel chair. From in here, you have access to the camera feeds as well as control of the marina’s security systems. With the doors locked and the steel shutters down, it would take at least a bit of effort to get to you from the outside.

You recline the chair back and prepare to drop into VR. You do a quick diagnostic to determine that your systems are running properly, and flip the switch on your commlink’s sim module to disable the safety limiters. With hotsim running, your own commlink’s response chip, and the simsense accelerator you test-ran a few days ago, you were at your absolute fastest. Declan Futures was about to meet the real Echo_TRACER.

Data surges through your brain as you jump into VR. The sudden rush of information streaming into your nervous system is like a pulse of electricity running through your sensorium. It’s enough to make you feel like your head’s about a burst with ecstasy. Your body is like the light of, your nerves like divine fire. You feel invincible. Windows showing the camera feeds, diagnostic information and your team’s commcalls appear around almost before you mentally open them.

You see a black van busting through the marina’s gates explode in a burst of magical flame as another pair of vans drives past the wreckage. In meatspace, your body quivers with energy and excitement while your mouth twists into a cruel grin. Time for the slaughter.

>Scramble the security drones (DC 12. Risks triggering a security alert)
>Hack the enemy’s tacnet (DC 15)
>Search for the enemy hacker’s PAN, and cripple it. (DC 18)

>>31918014
>>Hack the enemy’s tacnet (DC 15)

>>31918014
>Hack the enemy’s tacnet (DC 15)

>>31918099
>>31918138

>Writing

>>31918014
Your virtual body floats in the blue abyss of your commlink’s virtual location, staring out into the sea of information. From here, you can see everything interacting with the wireless matrix around you. With just a quick scan, you can even see what lies just beneath the surface; including the enemy team’s tactical network. Babylon’s array of red swords floats lazily around you like the tendrils of a jellyfish. In the physical world, the Declan team was beginning to lay fire into Dreadnought’s position. They were slowly outmaneuvering him, and preparing to surround the van. You decide to even things up for him.

The enemy’s tacnet is nearly invisible in virtual space, and resembles nothing so much as a jumble of mismatched node sculpting. You extend a hand towards it, and your Exploit program springs into action.

>Roll 1d20

Rolled 9

>>31918398

Rolled 11

>>31918398

Rolled 8

>>31918398
Rollin thunder.

Rolled 6

>>31918398

>>31918443
>>31918455
>>31918465
>Writing

Rolled 15, 9 = 24

Also, rolls unrelated to the one you just made

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>>31918398
As much as you hammer against the enemy tacnet, it just won’t fall. While you work, you can see that Dreadnought’s managed to turn the tables on the first wave by burying them under a deluge of machinegun fire. The few who dare to pop out to shoot get clipped after only a few shots. What bullets manage to hit Dreadnought as he slowly advances only bounce off of his armor. Even the ones that make it through are stopped dead by her dermal armor.

While Dreadnought’s covering fire keeps the enemy from being able to shoot, Quetzal’s counter-magic keeps the enemy mage from being able to cast. During a sweep of Dreadnought’s machinegun fire, the mage makes a suicide run at Quetzal, hoping to bring him down in close-quarters. Judging by how easily Quetzal dropped him with a combination of a couple pistol shots and the Aztec club-sword to his throat, you’re guessing the mage was less prepared than you thought.

Your assault on the enemy’s tacnet failed to cripple it, but it did manage to grab their spider’s attention. While only about a quarter as fast as you, they waste no time attempting to hack the marina’s security node.

>Engage the spider in cybercombat (DC 12)
>Let the IC handle it. (Enemy spider gets a roll at a fairly-high DC. Choose from one of the following options.
>1) Resume assault on enemy tacnet (DC 15)
>2) Set a Data Bomb for the spider (DC 12. Success creates a penalty for the spider failing)
>3) Scramble the drones (DC 12)

(Also, I'll be taking a break for dinner. Be back in about twenty minutes)

>>31918790
>>Engage the spider in cybercombat (DC 12)

>>31918790
>2) Set a Data Bomb for the spider (DC 12. Success creates a penalty for the spider failing)

>>31918790
>2) Set a Data Bomb for the spider (DC 12. Success creates a penalty for the spider failing)

>>31918939
>>31918973
>>31919003
>Writing

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>>31918790
You dive into the security office’s node. It recognizes your (temporarily) legitimate admin rights and welcomes you in. The enemy spider, whose node resembles a crystalline praying mantis, is moving towards the node’s massive security gate. From your perspective, it’s moving at a snail’s pace, but you know instinctively that you don’t have much time. Out of fear of detection, you didn’t copy any of your own programs onto the security node, but the situation no longer warrants careful action. You begin copying your Data Bomb software onto the security node, hoping that you mental processes will activate it before the spider begins hacking.

>Roll 1d20

Rolled 9

>>31919650

Rolled 6

>>31919650

Rolled 11

>>31919650
Here goes nothing.

Rolled 18

>>31919650

>>31919650
Welp. I advocate that we use an edge if we have it.

Rolled 12

>>31919726
>>31919762
>>31919785
Rolling for the spider's hack

>Also, writing.

Rolled 18

Right. I have to roll for the IC, too.

>Back to writing.

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>>31919650

Unfortunately, the spider’s already begun hacking by the time you have the Data Bomb set up. You can also tell by his careful reaction that he immediately noticed it. You curse under your breath. At least the firewall managed to keep him out, and the Data Bomb will keep him from trying again without disarming it. That is, if the IC doesn’t keep him too busy.

Back in meatspace, Dreadnought’s finished mopping up most of the first wave with a flurry of fists and combat axe swings while most of a second detachment takes their own lives (courtesy of Quetzal’s magic). You glance at the time. You’ve got about fifteen more minutes before Harriet’s boat arrives. Nervous energy is building up inside you.

Three more transports survive the fiery assault of Quetzal’s spirit. When this group piles out, you can immediately tell that they’re better armed than their predecessors. The cameras also spot something else: a black box with wires leading beyond the camera’s sight. In the security room, your physical body’s palms are slick with sweat.

“A nexus. God help us all.” You mutter to yourself.

>Luck’s not on your side. Try for the tacnet again. (DC 12)
>Luck’s not on YOUR side. Tell sniper girl to shoot the nexus (DC 15)
>Luck favors the bold. Take over that nexus. (DC 18)

>>31920139
>>Luck’s not on your side. Try for the tacnet again. (DC 12)

>>31920139
>Luck favors the bold. Take over that nexus.
We've got 3 Edge left.

I suppose I could give this vote five more minutes.

>>31920139
>>Luck favors the bold. Take over that nexus. (DC 18)
If we don't make this roll, we should use an Edge.

>>31920520
No, you don't. You Edge does not restore every thread. You used your last Edge last thread. You'll get another after a Critical Hit or Critical Glitch, or when the day passes. Granted, there is still totally a chance that you could succeed that roll even without the Edge.

>>31920575
Oh alright then. I'll change my vote
>>31920574
to
>Luck’s not on your side. Try for the tacnet again. (DC 12)

>>31920575
>You used your last Edge last thread
I was going by our character sheet, which says that we still have 3 Edge. I did not realize we had already spent our last one.

>>31920619
I've been absolutely shit about updating that thing. Sorry for the confusion. I'll get right on that.

>>31920312
>>31920615
In the meantime

>Writing

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>>31920139

You can worry about the nexus once you’ve taken some of the heat off Dread and Quetzal. With the primary spider distracted by IC and the new spider(s) still warming up, this is the perfect chance to do some damage to the enemy tacnet. You aim Babylon towards the tacnet and let the digital swords fly.

>Roll 1d20

Rolled 16

>>31920778

Rolled 4

>>31920778
DO it!

Rolled 2

>>31920778

>>31920828
>>31920842
>>31920855
>Writing

Rolled 17

>>31920828
Damn thanks for rolling bro. Seems we are useless today, I regret nothing going for the low DC now.

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>>31920778
Your luck had to turn around sooner or later. The tacnetc’s security parameters crumble beneath Babylon’s continued assault, and you use the opportunity to flood the enemy tacnet with false information and harmful sensory data. You watch with delight as the enemy’s tactical coordination collapses. Suddenly blind to their allies’ positions, they become easy pickings for Dreadnought’s bullets and fists, and Quetzal’s spirits and spells.

With the chaos going on in meatspace, you see that the spider has managed to escape from the security node he was assaulting. He retreats back towards the van containing the nexus and hops in. You check the clock again. In thirty seconds, you’ll have about ten minutes left.

>Drop out of VR and take a breather. You’ll be able to defend against an enemy matrix team with a clearer head. (Restore 1 Edge)
>No time for rest. Assault the nexus before the assault team can make a matrix presence (DC 18)
>Get sniper girl to kill the nexus. Exposing her position is a necessary evil. (DC 15)

>>31921122
>Drop out of VR and take a breather. You’ll be able to defend against an enemy matrix team with a clearer head. (Restore 1 Edge)

>>31921122
>>Drop out of VR and take a breather. You’ll be able to defend against an enemy matrix team with a clearer head. (Restore 1 Edge)

>>31921122
>Drop out of VR and take a breather. You’ll be able to defend against an enemy matrix team with a clearer head. (Restore 1 Edge)
I agree we need to rest. A clear mind is completely necessary.

>>31921202
>>31921231
>>31921245
>Writing

>>31921122
You feel the sudden disconnect from virtual reality like having your senses cut off. By the time you’ve readjusted to your body, you realize that you’re hyperventilating and sweating. Even if you didn’t exert yourself physically, your mental strain was still enough to have physical symptoms. You grimace and put a hand to your forehead. Even if it was an assault team authorized by the corporate court, the Declan group’s virtual security was top-class. You had expected them to have prepared for fighting you, but this was above and beyond what even you had expected.

“Roll call, everyone.” You say to the subvocal mic.

“Harriet, here.”

“Dreadnought, here.”

“Quetzal, here.”

“Right here.” Sniper girl says.

“Last push, guys. The next wave is probably on their way, and their field command is probably going to be with them.”

“Once I’ve taken the shot, they’re gonna know where I am.” Sniper girl growls. “I hope you have an escape route planned, because if I’m not going home on my own-”

“The escape route’s been taken care of.” You lie. “Just help us get through until Blondie’s on the boat and you’ll be fine.” Despite yourself, you’re grinning. You’re cornered, grossly outnumbered and probably outgunned. This may be the least funny situation possible, and yet you’ve never felt more driven. If you get out of this alive, this will be a run for the history books.

>Edge +1

You drop back into VR just in time to see another three vans arrive at the marina. Your body gulps as you see a man in military armor step out of one of the vans. You recognize his stance and gait immediately. You only spoke with Jason twice, but he left something of an impression. You’re suddenly very glad that it isn’t you dealing with him.

(cont.)

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>>31921817
You hear Sniper Girl’s audio line go dead the second Jason steps out of the van. You’re about to hope and pray that she keeps her head cool long enough to at least line up her shot when you see virtual space flood with a sudden influx of moving nodes. You can identify about half of them as PANs and vehicles, but the rest, you realize, are drones. You get the feeling that these are going to be much better-defended than Walter.

A camera catches the light of a muzzle flash an instant before you hear the muffled sound of suppressed rifle fire. Your eye catches the momentary visual distortion of Sniper Girl crouched on a rooftop and realize that, in all likelihood, every enemy soldier on the ground now knows where she is. You only hope that things go as planned.

>Roll d20

Rolled 9

>>31921971
I'm feeling lucky?

Rolled 6

>>31921971
TT, wherein things do not go as planned.

Rolled 9

>>31921971
YEEEEEAAAAH

Rolled 3

>>31922018
>>31922031
>>31922032
Oh dear lord. What the hell is wrong the with the dice tonight? Now for a counter-roll.

>Also, writing.

>>31922074
>3

AHAHAHAH the dice gods have cursed everyone in this to flounder around in mediocrity.

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>>31921971

You may not know your guns backwards and front, but you know that the Barret Model 121 is the most powerful anti-material rifle on the market. This was a gun designed to shoot through vehicles. It’s one of the few personal-scale weapons you imagine might be able to scratch Dreadnought through his armor. Even mil-spec armor can’t stand against an aimed shot from a Barret.

You see Jason fall back as the rifle bullet strikes him. You see his body hit the ground. And then you see his arm, severed at the shoulder, hit the ground next to him. Immediately, Jason’s team surrounds him as two move him back into the van. Once they’ve made proper assessment of the situation, one of them points to where Sniper Girl is hiding.

“Sniper!” he shouts. That’s all you need to hear before remotely instruction the drone to put down suppressive fire. Quetzal sends his fire spirit afield and Dreadnought starts firing at the approaching swarm of drones supported by armored men on motorcycles. From you virtual roost, you examine the hectic matrix activity unfolding before you between glances at the clock. The only thing standing between you and Harriet’s safety is six-hundred seconds of mayhem.

>The nexus is up and running, but you still have a chance to bring it down before the hackers manning it assault you. (DC 20)
>Dealing with whatever node cluster these drones are slaved to might be the smarter plan (DC 15)
>Why don’t you see if you can take some of these bikes for a ride (DC 13)

(Also, you really can't imagine how happy I am that I get to use this gif in this quest)

>>31922506
>>The nexus is up and running, but you still have a chance to bring it down before the hackers manning it assault you. (DC 20)

File: 1394560772809.gif (1.47 MB, 397x307)

1.47 MB GIF

>>31922506
>(Also, you really can't imagine how happy I am that I get to use this gif in this quest)
i know exactly how happy you are

>>Why don’t you see if you can take some of these bikes for a ride (DC 13)

>>31922506
>>The nexus is up and running, but you still have a chance to bring it down before the hackers manning it assault you. (DC 20)

This plus edge should take shit down pretty well.

>>31922506
>The nexus is up and running, but you still have a chance to bring it down before the hackers manning it assault you. (DC 20)

Got to go big or go home!

>>31922544
>>31922618
>>31922625
>Writing

>>31922506
You freely admit that you haven’t had much experience with hacking nexi. There was that one time in college that you felt went pretty well but then the corporate hitmen showed up to kill you so maybe you didn’t do as well as you thought. Well, there’s a first time to not screw up for everything, and it looks like this is it. You navigate your connection to the nexus in the van and are struck breathless.

The node is sculpted as blocks and blocks of towers, all extending seemingly-endlessly into a deep blue sky. You can see IC swarming about, on the lookout for intruders like you, as well as the spiders who haven’t quite noticed you yet. What surprises you the most is the polygon refresh rate. Refresh rates in VR have been a highly-controversial issue to most of the matrix junkies you’ve met in the past, but somehow you doubt many of them would find a problem with a node so optimized that its iconography refreshes faster than you can see, even at your ridiculously accelerated speed.

While you’d normally be happy to marvel at the sights, you came here with a job to do, and you know that those towers are where that job will be done. You target them with Babylon’s Exploit protocols and spread your arms wide as it red steel rains from the heavens.

>Roll 1d20

Rolled 6

>>31922966

Rolled 7

>>31922966

Rolled 18

>>31922966
dice gods wry have you abandoned us!

>>31923017
>>31923078
>>31923110
Okay, the rolls are in.

>Spend Edge? (Current Edge: 1)
>y
>n

Rolled 2

>>31923130
>y

>>31923110
Aha! Good thing we just gained that edge!

>>31923130
Y

Rolled 2

>>31922966
gogogogo

Rolled 7

>>31923174
nononono

>>31923130
y

>>31923145
>>31923167
>>31923223
>Writing

>>31922966

(Edge spent. Hit!)

As expected of a nexus, the security is amazingly responsive. The IC take notice the second you try to hack your way in and the entire node goes into alert. You feel like you’re screwed every step of the way, and you know in your heart that in just a few seconds, the IC will get you and you’ll be left a sputtering wreck with your brain leaking out of your ears. You grit your teeth, force your brain to speed up despite how much it hurts to push harder, and abandon yourself to pure instinct.

The doors to the towers are forced open, and you find yourself standing at the top of the sky, looking down on the blocks of skyscrapers below. From up here, you can see the nexus performing overwatch on the entire operation. The IC are closing in, and you know the marina’s security node is getting hammered by the spiders outside, but you don’t care. It will be extremely risky, but you have one way to put the nexus out of commission for long enough to put the entire operation in jeopardy. The first step is changing every valid password registered in the node with a random string of characters.

The second step is to crash the node.

Babylon changes form into a ball of plasma that slowly begins eating up everything inside of the nexus. It almost hurts to crash a node with such beautiful sculpting, but it’s what has to be done. You brace yourself for impact and clench your teeth as the entire world falls apart.

(cont.)

>>31923497
Dumpshock feels like you landed flat on your back after falling off a building. You handle it worse than you expect. Every joint and muscle hurts. You feel like your brain is on fire. Your wild spasms send you tumbling from the chair and sprawling across the floor. You want to vomit. You want to pass out and never wake up. It feels like you’re being turned inside out. You force your eyes open to look at the time and give a weak smile. The camera feeds show a small boat piloted by a large Japanese man waiting at a dock. You’re glad that you don’t need to move your limbs to move Dreadnought’s van.

While Dreadnought, Quetzal and Walter the drone lay into the disoriented soldiers and drones, you move the van slowly and carefully towards the edge of the dock. Once it reaches the edge, Harriet jumps from the van and climbs into the boat. The Japanese man gives a thumbs-up towards the van and steers the boat off towards open water. You sigh with satisfaction, glad that the hard part is over, and try to get to your feet.

The world spins beneath your feet. One hand steadies you against the desk while the other goes to your head. You clench your eyes shut and resist the urge to scream. You’re not sure you can even stand on your own right now, much less walk outside. You’d like to ask Quetzal to get his spirit guard to carry you.

“Echo, something’s wrong!” Quetzal says with surprising urgency. “The spirit I had guarding you just engaged in combat. It… It’s been destroyed.”

“Wha-?” That’s all you have time to say before the door to the security room is kicked open. You stumble forward, towards the intruder, only to get your feet knocked out from under you. You open your eyes just in time to see Sniper Girl standing over you with a pistol trained on your chest. She cocks her head to one side and smiles. Two pops ring out, and you feel electricity surge through your body just before you lose consciousness.

[THREAD 10 END]

That's all for tonight, Chummers. Shadowrun Hacker Quest will return next Sunday at 18:00 EST. Be sure to follow me on Twitter for schedule updates and be the first to know when the next thread goes live.

https://twitter.com/NullFearQuests

As usual, I'll be hanging around for next hour or so for the postmortem and I'll be archiving the thread shortly.

>>31923824
wat

You know I imagine summer is wondering what the hell is going on right now.

>>31924255
It's not as though Echo_TRACER hasn't had ample opportunities to talk to her. It's just that the thread has other ideas every time the opportunity arises.

>>31924487
yep and it's hilarious imagining her being like "where the hell did he vanish to this time?"

>>31923824
Note to self: This is what happens when we are anywhere near nice to people.

Clearly I must remember that this is ShadowRun.