Into the Black

Serris · **Reply #340 on:** October 19, 2013, 11:49:09 AM

Soren scowled. "It's one of those Purifier nutcases. Apparently, they're the ones who burnt down my workshop."

He then sighed as he rubbed his forehead, being careful to avoid knocking his HMD off. "He's serious about the threat too."

"F---, I'm gonna have to basically go nomadic or into hiding."

bushwacked · **Reply #341 on:** October 19, 2013, 12:49:22 PM

"A Purifier?" Axel lowered the gun once the man had walked away. "I guess that explains why he didn't take a shine to me..." He laughed nervously, but his stomach was turning itself in knots. He knew enough about them to know they weren't a joke.

He put his hand on Soren's shoulder, trying to make him feel better. "That guy was probably full of it, Soren. It'll be okay." He looked around anxiously. "But maybe we should close the door, just to be careful."

Serris · **Reply #342 on:** October 19, 2013, 03:13:36 PM

"I'm not interested in finding out. And I don't want him going after my clients," Soren said. He shut the door and with several heavy clicks, the locks engaged.

"Speaking of which, I have something weird to show you about my client records."

He then headed back to his office.

--------

Aaron fumed as his coworker, an Augment with a laser cutter arm attachment was busy cutting some rebar to size.

Despite his neutral expression, his flattened ears conveyed his displeasure as he carried an armload of rebar to the worker.

"Anything else, gleamer?" he spat.

The Augment scowled but said nothing as he continued working.

"Aaron! Cut that s--- out!" a Fruit Bat shouted from five stories up where she was riveting some girders in place. Seeing as she had no more rivets, she leapt from the high perch and spread her arms, letting her membranous wings catch the wind as she glided down.

Aaron said nothing as he went to get more rebar. A crane nearby lifted a group of Avian ironworkers to the top of the building. Avians and Bats were prized as ironworkers owing to their utter fearlessness about heights and their wings. While their wings were not strong enough to let them fly, they were more than capable of gliding.

aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato) · **Reply #343 on:** October 19, 2013, 07:26:17 PM

Emilena looked with disdain at the clothing selection available to her. "The other thing we're doing is going to the clothing store next door. I am most certainly not adopting your fashion preferences."

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Lily darted into the kitchen and grabbed the largest butcher knife she could find. Swallowing her fear, she burst into the main room to see Axel and Soren staring at an empty walkway. "Who-who was he? What did he want?"

bushwacked · **Reply #344 on:** October 19, 2013, 08:01:55 PM

"It's alright, they're gone now," Axel said, propping the shotgun up against the wall and giving the knife Lily was holding an amused smile, "You can put that away, Michael Myers. I guess we know who torched Soren's workplace now - those crazy Purifier guys."

He ran a hand through his white hair. "You feeling better? Soren was going to show something weird he'd noticed in his records. Want to come see?" Axel nodded his head in the direction of Soren's office.

Serris · **Reply #345 on:** October 19, 2013, 08:33:01 PM

Soren booted up his computer and sipped from the canteen of tea he had in the office.

He booted up his spreadsheet and scrolled to the area where he found the most discrepencies

He scowled as laid eyes on the letters and numbers on the screen. Soren was now newrly certain that the Purifiers were mutilating his clients' augments to send him a warning.

(OOC - Soren's referring to recent spike of Augments coming in with incongruious and/or deliberate damage to their parts (taking their background, augmentations and jobs into account).)

StarfallRaptor · **Reply #346 on:** October 19, 2013, 11:39:04 PM

Adrian smiled at Emilena.
"Geeze, harsh~. What's so bad about simple, practical stuff?"
He chuckled as he slung an outfit on...

aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato) · **Reply #347 on:** October 20, 2013, 04:47:37 AM

"It's not the practicality," Emilena wrinkled her nose. "All of it smells like motor oil and chrome."

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Lily nodded. "But be careful! I don't want you getting hurt by these Purifiers, or worse..."

bushwacked · **Reply #348 on:** October 20, 2013, 05:24:28 AM

Axel flushed. "Don't worry about me, it'll take more than a Purifier to damage this tough exterior," he said, puffing out his weedy chest.

"Come on, Soren's waiting." He lead her down the corridor to Soren's office and leaned over his shoulder, looking at the spreadsheet. "So, what did you notice?"

Serris · **Reply #349 on:** October 20, 2013, 12:49:00 PM

Soren pointed to the screen. "Axel, Lily, notice how the previous weeks before my workshop was burnt have had a spike of people coming in with augment damage? And I mean real serious damage. But here's the thing, they're office workers or other low impact jobs. I'm seeing them with damage that I'd usually see in laborers who gotten involved in industrial accidents. Finallyó" Soren bought up a picture of a class 1 augment with all of its fingers removed, probably by a laser cutter. The caption below indicated that it belonged to a lab tech from Pelvanida Cybernetics "ósome of the damage appears deliberate."

He templed his fingers. "I suspect the Purifiers are attacking them and deliberately mutilating their augments to send a message."

Nick22 · **Reply #350 on:** October 21, 2013, 05:45:51 PM

Marie , marita and rose were waiting for Gittsun's surgery to finish, before looking for the others. it had been s couple hours.
-
broadstreets called Emilema's pager. ' echo? this is friendly reminder that you have used up two days of your deadline. you must get your target to me by midnight tonight, or i will be coming for your badge."

aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato) · **Reply #351 on:** October 21, 2013, 07:04:31 PM

"I don't mind the practicality," Emilena wrinkled her nose. "It's that they all have the faint smell of motor oil."

Nevertheless she squeezed into a khaki long-sleeved shirt and trousers, and clipped her retracted katana into a utility belt. "Let's get out of here."
-------------------

"I was actually going to go sew that Sapaar suit out of our bedsheet," Lily glanced down the street hoping to get a glimpse of who had intruded shortly before. "But please be careful! I don't want you getting hurt by these thugs..." She hugged him for reassurance. "You're like the one thing I have."

Lily held her tongue when she observed the reports. "Is there any way I can help, Soren? You've helped me so much already."

bushwacked · **Reply #352 on:** October 22, 2013, 05:21:26 AM

"You're right, something does seem off," Axel said, nodding. "There must be something we can do. Hmn..." He focused on the lab tech who's fingers had been removed.

"Well, we know where this guy works; 'Pelvanida Cybernetics'. I guess the simplest start would be to ask him? Maybe once we've investigated the clothes store for Lily, we could check that place out?"

StarfallRaptor · **Reply #353 on:** October 22, 2013, 12:19:01 PM

Adrian chuckled, glancing over Emilena with a smile.
"Looking sharp. Let's get rolling, shall we?"
He said with a grin, grabbing a set of keys from off the wall...

aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato) · **Reply #354 on:** October 22, 2013, 07:41:32 PM

Emilena cocked a single eyebrow at the keys, but followed Adrian nonetheless.

-------------------------

Lily lay a hand on Soren's shoulder. "You're right. Something's up. I'm not in a position to be giving you suggestions, but I don't think it's safe for you here anymore. Would you like to come with us to the clothing store for a quick look into my purchasing records, and then we can go into hiding together?" she smiled. "I won't lie, it's not an easy life...but it's easier when you're not alone."

Serris · **Reply #355 on:** October 23, 2013, 04:05:48 AM

Soren templed his fingers. "I won't bow to those Purifier freaks," he growled. "I'll keep my business running, no matter the cost."

He was interruped by the doorbell ringing.

Bringing up the view from an external camera, he saw who was at the front door. He sighed. "Her again!?"

He scowled and went up to the door, throwing on his work uniform/armor. The bolts unlatched and he opened the door, revealing a rather beautiful Shetland Pony mare with a metallic horn sticking out of her forehead.

"Hey, Soren, I got something for you," she said.

"What is it this time?"

Anne pulled out a neurotester, a device intended to make sure the augments were working correctly and the nerves were properly hooked up to the augment. "How much for this?"

Soren looked it over. It was clearly a well made ó and expensive piece of equipment. And he needed to replace the stuff that he lost in his workshop fire. "Fine. I'll give youó" He noticed a riveted tag that read "Property of Stephenson Memorial Hospital". "Hey! I ain't payin' you s--- for stolen goods!"

Anne scowled. "What the hell!? You were perfectly willing to buy augments from me, even though you damn well knew where I got them from!"

"Stealing medical equipment from a hospital is heavily investigated by the cops. Stealing augs...not so much."

"You know what? Take it then!" Anne left the neurotester at the door and walked away to steal more stuff to hock.

He sighed. "Well, Lily, I'll have to come with you now to go and return some stolen goods." He picked up the neurotester and carefully put it in an unmarked cardboard box.

bushwacked · **Reply #356 on:** October 23, 2013, 04:53:23 AM

Axel opened a corner of the cardboard box, and gasped when he looked inside. "Hey, an N18! This is one of the best neurotesters out there! Couldn't we just keep it for a bit..." He trailed off when he saw Soren's face. "Alright, I guess not." He closed the box with a wistful sigh.

"Well, we should probably leave as soon as soon as we can. Let's find some cloth for Lily and get out of here before more weirdos show up." He didn't mention how he and Lily probably counted among the weirdos.

aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato) · **Reply #357 on:** October 24, 2013, 01:26:18 AM

The hospital was a flurry of activity; doctors and orderlies passed patients who were wired into holo-networks, passing the time virtually until their turn came. As this was the section for cybernetic upgrades, there weren't as many wounded as elsewhere in the hospital.

The genders here were separated due to the sensitivity of the surgery's nature. With a single "Take care of yourself," Emilena left Adrian's company and headed back.

"You're just in time for your appointment," smiled a skunk receptionist. Emilena wondered what augments she had; it wasn't visually apparent. "If you could please fill these out and return them, we'll wheel you back!" the receptionist finished, handing over a stack of papers.

Fifteen minutes later Emilena was led to a surgical room, where she was asked to remove her clothing and put on a drafty gown. The nurse also wiped her wrists down, checked her vitals, and said, "The doctor will be here in ten minutes. Make sure you are lying down and ready!"

Emilena had no intention of following through with the surgery; this was her opportunity to sneak into the private recesses of the hospital. Once the nurse had left, Emilena began picking the lock to the surgical room.

Minutes later she was asleep. Had she carefully read the papers before signing them, she'd had noted that this hospital applies the anesthetic through wrist wipes.

-------------------------------------------------

Markus received a call on a private channel, a channel reserved for a certain very powerful individual.

(OOC: Got a suggestion for Markus' superior's name?)

StarfallRaptor · **Reply #358 on:** October 24, 2013, 01:43:48 AM

Adrian sat in the waiting room, glancing at the wall before another nurse, this one a male feline, walked in.
"Mr...Kibagami, correct? There was a package delivered for you earlier. With instructions to install it promptly."
He said, motioning for Adrian to follow him. Adrian looked suspiciously at the feline for a moment, then nodded, following him into the surgical suite where, much like Emilena, he signed the requisite forms and was led to the room where the surgery would take place...

Nick22 · **Reply #359 on:** October 24, 2013, 02:53:21 AM

(you pick it LBT)
Marie headed towards the vending machines in a nearby section of the waiting aea. she grabbed a soda as well as a bag of potato chips for munching on. marita and rose came up to her, and marie haned them the drinks to hold while she got two more sodas and two moe bags of chips. ' thought we might use a bite to eat ' she said with a smile.