>>32357627
>Start this fight! Stand up and shoulder-check Hardesty (DC 15)
>Avoid this fight. Try and talk them down. (DC 13)
>See how things play out while trying to get out of your bonds. (DC 20)
>Other (write in)

>>32357640
>>See how things play out while trying to get out of your bonds. (DC 20)

As usual, first vote of the night will have double voting period. I'll need to put that in the rules pastebin eventually.

>>32357640
>Other
Talk them down and convince them we've got to move.
No, really. Declan's probably already got spiders, agents, spirits, elementals, and maybe even a pet AI they've had locked up on the Orbital tracking us down.
We don't have the time to be talking it out here, we need to move.

>>32357640
>Avoid this fight. Try and talk them down. (DC 13)

Would rather avoid this whole fighting thing.

>>32357737
>>32358005
(These two involve a sufficiently similar process that I'm willing to combine them.)

>Writing. Die roll after next post.

>>32357640
“Hold on.” You say firmly. “Don’t I get a say in this?”

“Why should I listen to anything you have to say?” Hardesty asks. “You’re the one who called those two, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, because we may not have enough time to make your plan work. Declan’s looking for us, for all of us, and a day and a half is too long to make anything work. We need to get moving and we need to do it immediately.”

“You’re still saying that Corporate Court bullshit?” Hardesty says. “I can’t believe this.”

“I can.” The girl says. “Terminal’s alive, Hardesty. I found him and he has a much less suicidal plan than you do.”

“You’ve spoken to him?” Hardesty growls. “Since when?”

“Since yesterday. He know what you were doing and went dark right after he gave you Echo_TRACER’s information.”

“He did what?!” You suddenly remember the hacker from the merc hideout. Well, at least you know what he was doing there now.

“I’m not letting you leave with the hacker.” Hardesty says, releasing the pistol from her sleeve. “He’s the only way any of us are getting out of this alive.”

“Which is why we’ll be better off with two more people helping us!” you shout. “Think, Hardesty. We need all the help we can get. Even if we do use your plan, it’ll take more than the three of us to make it work. We need to talk about this with everyone, and if you and Fury still want to kill each other after, you can at least do it in a more secure location.”

>Roll 1d20

Rolled 20

>>32358262
We are SO not the Face for this group.

>>32358313
You are now.

>Writing.

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>>32358313
Maybe we should consider getting some Negotiation skillsofts and some pheromone bio-augments.

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>>32358313

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>>32358262
>Critical Hit! +1 Edge (Current Edge: 2)
The room goes silent during your speech. Even in your panicked state, the words come to you easily. Maybe everyone’s just riding high on the tense atmosphere, but being the sole voice of reason in the room is certainly having its advantages. By the time you’re done all eyes are on you. You get the feeling that you just made Summer proud.

Hardesty unsheathes the survival knife strapped to her thigh and cuts through the rope binding your wrists. Finally free, you start trying to massage the feeling back into them. After a few seconds, Hardesty drops a duffel bag onto your lap. You open it up to find both of your commlinks, your pistol and collapsible baton, your armor jacket, radio frequency sensor, and all of your other equipment. When you look back up, Hardesty has already shouldered her rifle and Tripwire is… gone?

“You said we needed to move, right?” Hardesty asks irritably. “Trip’s scouting ahead. Gear up and quit wasting time.” She claps you on the shoulder and walks towards the door, casting a glare at the girl on her way out. “What kind of transport do we have?”

“I brought Term’s van.” The girl answers nervously.

“Good. I want us cleared out in five.”

“Yes, Ma’am.” The girl nods. With the tension out of the room, you think you can finally recognize her. It was dark at the time, but you distinctly remember the fear you felt at the time.

“Aren’t you the one who broke into my safehouse two nights ago?” you ask, pointing a finger at her.

“Yup.” The girl nods. “Don’t take it personally. I just wanted to steal Harriet from you before you opened the box. No hard feelings, right?”

“…” you sigh.

(cont.)

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>>32358784
You welcome the familiar simsense channels streaming into your sensorium. With your gear back where it belongs, you cram yourself into the van along with “Bunny,” Hardesty and Tripwire. Fury agrees to take her bike. Despite your objection, the girl takes the wheel. Surprisingly, the ride isn’t that far. After a twenty minute drive, you find yourself in a ruined factory complex in what could best be described in the “bad part” of Auburn. The first thing you notice is that the only Matrix access points are encrypted to hell. The second is that the entire inside of the complex looks like a dead-zone.

“Go on.” The girl says. You hesitantly step through the factor doors and past the dusty and derelict conveyor belts to a chain-operated lift. Once the five of you are on it, it descends into the earth. The rattling chains and squeal of metal against metal is enough to drive you insane, and it seems to take forever for your descent to stop. Once you hit the bottom, you immediately hear… water?

A light goes on, and you see a rust-covered steel door, but you can hear the sound of water from beyond. Hell, you can smell sea breeze. You look at “Bunny,” who nods, and you push open the door. The contrast is immediate. The filthy and dank lift leads to a pristine lobby attended by a pretty receptionist.

“Good afternoon, sir.” The receptionist says with a bow. “A bedroom has been prepared for you.”

>Have a meet with Terminal.
>Call Dreadnought and Quetzal and bring them here.
>Talk to “Bunny."
>Other (write-in)

(Going to eat. Be back in about twenty minutes.)

>>32359134
>>Call Dreadnought and Quetzal and bring them here.

>>32359134
>Talk to “Bunny."
Ask if we can get some of our team here.
>Call Dreadnought and Quetzal and bring them here.
>Have a meet with Terminal.

>>32359183
>>32359489
I'd have been back sooner, but I was out of clean silverware because I'm apparently the only one in this house who washes any.

>writing

>>32359670
I know the feeling.

Also, participation's a tad low tonight. If we don't pick up another player within the next couple posts, I might call it a bit early.

>>32359691
Sorry, dinner delayed me. I'm back now.

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>>32359691
Consider your other player here, I've been reading thru the archives and finally caught one of these live.

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>>32359134
“Would it be a problem if I contacted the rest of my team before the meet-and-greet?” you ask Bunny.

“If you want.” She shrugs. “Really, you probably should. Everyone on staff here knows the owner, so this hotel’s about as safe as you can get. Oh, but make sure to set up a meeting point so I can go get them. Right now, Fury’s the only one besides us who brought her own vehicle. No offense, but I’d rather keep it that way.” The receptionist directs to you a hardline port in a private booth, making sure to offer you use of an anonymization service and top-rated encryption. Once you’ve got her squared away, you plug your commlink into the wall port and dial up Dreadnought’s commcode.

“Hello again, Echo.” Dreadnought says. “Are you still in Loveland?”

“No, I’ve moved northward a bit. Grab Quetzal and wait outside of Leo’s for a van to pick you up. Oh, I forgot to ask something earlier. Where’s my car?”

“Back in its spot at your building, I would think. Echo, do you really think it wise to wait outside of someplace where Declan knows us to have been?”

“Given that Jason got his arm shot off, I doubt he’ll still be there. Don’t worry. Just keep your head low and I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

“Roger. I will get Quetzal immediately.” The line goes dead. Even if it was only for a few hours, you already miss your team. It’ll be good to see them again. With your call concluded, you return to the lobby to see Hardesty, Tripwire and Bunny going over their equipment.

>Go with Bunny on the ride and ask her about herself.
>Stick around and ask Hardesty for her story.
>Stick around and ask Tripwire for his story.
>Go bark at Terminal.

>>32360012
>>Go with Bunny on the ride and ask her about herself.

>>32360012
>>Stick around and ask Hardesty for her story.

>>32360012
>Go to Terminal and tell him we need to start checking to see if the Declan/CC agents and Matrix security teams have started sniffing around for us yet.

>>32360012
>Go with Bunny on the ride and ask her about herself.

We kinda already know Hardesty and Trip already, let's hear the would-be thief's story.

>>32359935
Glad to have you on, Chummer. It's always nice to pick up another player through the archives. I don't know if it's just something about the Sunday night timeslot and Shadowrunners, but, as you've seen, the numbers typically float around two or three around here. Even just one more player makes a huge difference.

>>32360169
>>32360083
>Writing

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>>32360012
A few minutes later, you’re riding towards Touristville in the passenger seat of Bunny’s team’s van. There’s all of Renton between Auburn and Redmond. To distract yourself from the dull scenery and the constant anxiety of Declan agents dropping in on you, you decide to make small talk.

“So, what’s your story?” You ask Bunny. “You’re not the youngest ‘runner I’ve ever met, but not by much.” If you had to guess, she’s about fifteen or sixteen. Your first guess would be that she got started as a street punk, but she doesn’t have the look. Next is a child soldier like Hardesty, but she doesn’t have the attitude.

“My story?” she asks quizzically.

“You know: who you are, where you trained, how you got started. That kind of thing.” As far as you’re concerned, there are really only two types of ‘runners: the kind who talk about their old lives like they’re still living them, and the kind who are so different now that they barely consider their old selves and new selves to be the same people. Whether you’re the former or the latter is something deserving of some thought some other time.

“Well, for starters, I’m a legacy.” Bunny explains.

“One of your parents is a ‘runner?”

“Both, actually. Everything I know now, I learned from them. I kind of didn’t want to do any of this at first. It didn’t seem fair that other kids got to goof off while I was learning how to use a gun. But I think I’m starting to like it now. Granted, I have no idea where my mom is, and it’s kind of hard to bring school friends to my house when dad’s cleaning his sniper rifle on the coffee table. Still, I can’t say I’m unhappy with the money.”

(cont.)

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>>32360616
“I got saddled with Hardesty and Thompson, our rigger, during my first team gig. I’ll admit I was a little… jumpy at the time. Nerves, you know? Suddenly, all of my training didn’t seem like it meant much. Hardesty’s pretty pissed off now, but she was cold as ice when I first met her. The real deal, you know? So, I made a couple of rookie mistakes, things got hot and afterwards I thought they wanted to kill me. Instead, Hardesty gave me a beer and told me not to sweat it. Her and Thompson started calling me Bunny and it just sort of stuck. So, how about you, I told you my origin story. What’s yours?”

“I used to be a Matrix Science student at a local university. I liked hacking, and I thought I was pretty good at it. I got dared to break into a nexus at a corporate data processing office. I got caught, feelings got hurt, and I ended up faking my own death. I met my fixer, he set me up with a new ID and I went from hacking to win money to hacking to earn money. At first it was just security consultation and tiger team operations. I guess you could say that taking a job from the Corporate Court puts in me in the big leagues.”

“Yeah, I guess.” The van comes to a stop outside of Leonardo’s. Dreadnought and Quetzal come into view, and Bunny opens the van for them to climb into the back.

“What happened to you, Echo?” Quetzal asks. “We were both worried.”

>Hiding from Declan.
>Planning to take on Declan.
>Making new friends.
>Other (write-in)

>>32360981
>Making new friends, planing to take on Declan..

>>32360981
>>Other (write-in)
I was a bit tied up. Making new friends.

I bet you anything her dad is an /k/omando

>>32360981
>>Making new friends.

>>32361065
>>32361074
>>32361089
>Writing

>>32360981
“I was making new friends and got a little tied up.” You say dryly. “Dread and Quetzal, this is Bunny.”

“Yo.” Bunny says, starting the return drive to Auburn. “In case you were wondering, we’re headed to a safehouse our hacker found for us.”

“Safe from Declan?” Dreadnought asks.

“No place is safe forever.” You say. “We have to finish this, and soon. What’s been the word on the street?”

“How would we know?” Dreadnought asks. “We have been hiding since the operation last night.”

“Perfect.” You sigh. “Well, at least they’re not calling me a terrorist on national news, which means that they’re not crazy enough to geek me in the middle of the street.”

“We’ll need to convene with Terminal to be sure, but Declan might not be as untouchable as we’re thinking.” Bunny says.

Once you get back to the safehouse, Dreadnought and Quetzal get set up in their rooms. The second their gear is properly put away, Hardesty grabs you and drags you to another elevator, which leads directly to a conference room. Chairs surround a circular table at the center of the room. Atop the table, a holo-projector cycles through a number of “screensaver” projections. All are clips from various anime from the last five years, and a few are obviously pornographic. Fury looks repulsed, Bunny shakes her head and Hardesty gives a bitter laugh.

“Yeah, he’s like that.” She says. “Don’t worry. He’ll turn on the professionalism once we get started.”

>Take a seat and wait.
>Hack the display into something more tasteful (DC 14)
>Hack the display into something even worse (DC 14)
>Hack the display to make fun of Terminal (DC 14)

>>32361619
>>Hack the display to make fun of Terminal (DC 14)

A little fun now and then never hurt anyone.

>>32361619
>>Hack the display to make fun of Terminal (DC 14)

>>32361722
>>32361851
>Writing

>>32361722
>>32361851
Actually, there won't be much introduction to this one, so instead...

>Roll 1d20

Rolled 1

>>32361936

Rolled 14

>>32361936
rolling for miracles

>>32361936
dice+1D20

I'll give a couple more minutes to see if one more roll comes in.

>>32362072
>dice+1d20
Goes in the subject line.

dice+1d20

Rolled 16

>>32361936

>>32362072
>>32362110
>>32362106
Goddammit, I knew I was forgetting something.

>>32361957
>>32361992
>>32362116

Will you spend an edge to sever this fate and negate a Critical Glitch? (Current Edge 2)

Rolled 16

>>32362155
probably not worth it

Rolled 20

>>32362155
I say Nein, looking like an ass is something that's yet to happen to us yet.

>>32362212
>>32362213
>Writing

>>32362155
We probably should, I'd rather not piss off Terminal.

>>32362155
Nah, lets just see what happens.

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>>32361619
You’re very glad that this building is shielded from outside wireless signals, because hacking this projector is just instinct. Without barely a thought, you launch Babylon and begin hacking the projector to display something… different. You even hack the integral rangefinder to alter the display the second someone else comes in. You’re not disappointed, as moments later the hacker from the merc apartment walks in. He’s wearing a different shirt than the one from the the Westin, but this one still has a anime AR overlay.

Right as he enters, the projector’s display changes. You smile with smug satisfaction and hear the other ‘runners in the room bust into the laughter. You become slightly confused when Terminal also starts laughing. Granted, this one is a classic, but-

Echo_TRACER is a FAGGOT!

What? What??? How does a person even make that mistake? You look around at the laughing shadowrunners and awkwardly laugh with them to make it look intentional. You definitely aren’t buying it and you see no reason why they would either. Having just insulted yourself in a room full of professional criminals, you take a seat and wait for the meeting to start.

“Okay, folks.” Terminal chuckles and wipes a tear from his eye. “We’ve got two different teams here today. The one thing we all have in common is that Declan Futures has a beef with all of us. So, how are we going to keep them from getting us?”

“I’m guessing ‘kill them’ is off the table?” Hardesty asks. Fury looks upset that she didn’t get to say that first.

“Unfortunately, Declan’s position in the corporate ladder makes that a horrible idea.” Terminal explains. “No, we can’t kill them. But I’ve been monitoring the data streams, and I think I’ve got a plan for how we can make ourselves untouchable. Echo, you spent the last few days guarding a girl named Harriet, right?”

“Yeah.” You nod.

“I want to look at her legs.”

[THREAD 12 END]

That's all for tonight, chummers. Shadowrun Hacker Quest returns next Sunday at 18:00 EST. 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 around for the next hour or so for the thread postmortem, and I'll be archiving it in short order.

>>32362592
>ECHO TRACER IS A FAGGOT

Oh god. This failure this amazingly epic failure.

>>32362647
Thanks for running!