IC - Mad World

[Drake]

Frank Drake walked through one of the parks behind the military cordon around the SCIRE. In each park a number of electronic notice boards had been set up, and on these notice boards people on the outside had posted pictures of loved ones trapped inside the Arcology. The large boards constantly scrolled through pictures of various individuals with messages of hope from the family outside.
Some pictures carried the last contact date. Some were simply photos asking if anyone has seen this person. Hardly any photos had comments left by other members of the public.
These parks had become meeting places for those with loved ones trapped inside. 24 hours a day there would be hundreds of people gathered trawling through the boards, or studying the blank face of the immense building. Some sat in silence, some prayed, some just gossiped. Frank slowly walked through the crowds looking from notice board to the arcology, to the military personnel. He could sense the anguish from these gathered masses. He could sense the oppresive atmosphere that the silent building emmanated. It was so big! This one building contained countless problems. If the rumours were to be beleived, the arcology housed an army of loyal followers. The "Blues". And drones, Renraku were renowned for making all manner of drones.

Frank thought about the plan for him and Black to enter the pyramid. It played on his mind constantly.
Could one small person make a difference in a building that big?

... Hell yeah.

[arcanus]

The soft lights of the ops center purred, the mainframe initialised its safety protocols before connecting to the matrix.
Its shadowy owners reacquainted themselves, although Silk had not been gone long.

The pair starting to run they're searches, Black analysing the various maps he had of the area, looking at the mine and for variances between the decades.
After some six hours, they had identified that the current map had been doctored, in fact the satellite images of Jefferson River had been overwritten.

Silk was convinced that in reality the area and the old mine was considerably different.
The pair of them wondered what the state of affairs within the town of Tuscon was.

[arcanus]

"What the hell was that" shouted 'Groove Rider"
His rigger pilot didn't answer, instead immersed in the virtual lanscape, he fought with the neural controls of the T-bird.
A wave of force had rippled across the Makah territory.

Reaper winced, strapped in her bucket seat in the rear turret, she calmed the youngest and newest member of their group, all the while she prayed to a god she hadn't believed existed.
The LAVs stabilisers were amongst the best that money could buy on the black market, whatever had hit them was overcoming said equipment all too easily.

The teams resident mage had taken a look and blacked out, plus their instumentation was indicating it wasn't an electomagnetic pulse, so what was it.
The rigger started the LAV downwards, he was landing the bird before it crashed.

***

The trid screens flickered in the monitoring room, the Ares Watch Officer transmitted a command to the main hub which transfered the topographic images and data to his console.
The Haden IV complex in Jefferson County had dropped out of the loop, its matrix connections, hardline comms were not just down but completed zero'd.

Ten minutes later after a discussion with divisional in Seattle he stepped the security status of the Ares Port Angeles complex to red.
"Scramble the Dragons, plus wing support" he ordered
His comms officer turned, "We've got fluxuating energy readings off the charts at this time, sir, could be an EMP flash"
Leutenant Colley grimaced, then got Divisional on the line again, he chastised himself for not having thoroughly checked before the first call.

"We've got to wait until it clears" he said to the now assembled watch staff, at this time Haden IV is alone and considered hostile!"

[arcanus]

"Bloody eck" fumed Curren, looking at the end of his boot being completely missing, the wave of rippling energy had stopped halfway up the slope which Black,
Drake and himself had retreated.

Each of them watched as the energy, rippled with periodic pulses of light, each pulse accompanied by a minor tremor.
Each of the Crusaders looked at each other in turn and through their mental link each simultaneously thought 'Here we go again'

[arcanus]

The Devils Brew - Touristville, The Redmond Barrens - Greater Seatle Metroplex
The Talismongery and gift emporium The Devil's Brew sat in the South East corner of Touristville near the I202, not the most ideal location but still near enough to cilivlisation to get wannabees occultists and Bellevue slummers visiting.

It was also conveniently close to the start of true Barrens which made illicit movement easier, its owner Des wanted as little truck with scumbags and wasters as possible and that included gangers, so Reyth tread a line in working for Des and being a scion of the Sugar Hill Gang.

The shop was more gift shop than serious inner sanctum occultware, but Des was an accomplished Talismonger albeit a mundane with a prodigous knowledge and keen eye, he relied on his employees Mort and Reyth, the former was what had only 5 years ago been unknown and scoffed at, a 'Spark' not fully awakened but possessing a baseline ability to either perceive or interact with Awakened forces.

In Mort's case it was interaction, he could activate and utilise awakened items and with the gathering and refinement training Des had provided could produce some fine wares. Reyth was a different matter, a bonafide awakened elf, the real deal so as long as she kept her agents of skullduffery away she was a valuable employee.

It was a grey midweek afternoon, not that Redmond enjoyed seasons, the sheer amount of enviromental pollution and climate destruction it had experienced in the last 50 years had resulted in the once prosperous city having a micro-climate that was grey, suffocating and unhealthy.

Reyth watched a couple of wannabees swipe through the holo catalogue, the screens fixed to the front of the counters, all of the goods were behind armoured glass cases or the fortress like counter and its floor to ceiling screens. Shoppers came in looked at the secure wares and then dug into the catalogues, they could link in and touch and feel the goods through AR, a fairly decent datajack or simlink providing the Stimulus.
Of course if a buyer was genuinely interested Mort, Reyth or Carla could let them see the goods under close supervision that being a ceiling mounted Winchester 12' Gauge and the doors being locked, hardcore Mongers would speak with Mort or even Des in the consultation room.

This might appear paranoid but this was the barrens and if it wasn't locked away it was gone, usually with some chiphead having slit your throat for a one cred trinket.

"Sultan play to Concrete Dreams - Spiralling Epipathy" said Carla from the back of the bench space behind the counter screens, she was Des's apprentice taken on as part of the Renton District Government work entry program. Carla was a fairly talented hacker, who had fortified The Brews matrix defenses. Being this close to civilisation meant that it was by and large connected to the grid unlike the most of the Barrens.

She had also hackered her smart speaker and its AI Sultan, Reynth's attention moved back to Mort watching his Trid feeds whilst slurping down soy-noodles, she smiled as typical for Mort he had not one hologram channel running but 6, most of them about his three favourite subjects, space, magic and news.

CNN <'In Megacorp News the big story for the Big 10 of today is Saedler Krupps confirmation that their Muspelheim Long range spacecraft has reached safe orbit of the Junkyard Free Space Station at Lagrange Point 5. As our viewers will know SK has been mired in legal challenges from Ares Space and Proteus AG Corporations and technical mishaps over the patents to its proposed revolutionary anti-matter drive.
It intends to intiate its test flight to the asteroid belt of its AM drive in the next few days>

"Heh" chucked Mort "Technical mishaps!"

CBC <'17 Months remain before Halleys' Comet returns to pass Earth's orbit, great anticipation runs through the global scientific and Magical communities, both communities are playing down reports that Earths Mana levels are increasing as the celestial body grows closer'
'In related news the Halley Probe race is hotting up with further A to AAA Megacorps submitting entries to land a probe on the Comet'>

"Very cool"

NBS <'Investor confidence in Ares Macrotechnology stock rose today following leaked information from company sources around a viable solutution to the continuing Metahumanitarian disaster in the Chicago Containment Zone. White House staff have declined comment, however Illinous Governor Andrew Jackson has made unfounded claims that the corporation for refusing to communicate its plans for the CCZ'>

KSAF <'In local news, Seatle Fans wait with eager anticipation for tonights start of the Warcars season in the Kiloton Stadium'>
"Oh man" Mort exclaimed "How did I almost forget, Warcars!"

Reynth chuckled Mort was a loveable geek, but Warcars was his passion, when the old USA had broken into pieces Nascar has taken a big hit and ended up largely being a CAS franchise which was then hit by the introduction the new rigger technologies and from the ashes arose Warcars, essentially rigger controlled cars armed to the teeth that raced on Nascar type circuits or designated areas of locations such as abandoned freeways.

The Seattle stadium was based in Everett and tickets highly sought after, with numerous independant teams from the city, Calfree and UCAS competing against Corporate and Metroplex teams, it was one of the growing events in Seattle sports. Mort however like many was reliant on watching the even on the trid.

Her commlink chimed and Reynth looked down, reality intruding, her brother with a cryptic message around a meeting when she'd finished but before she make her way back to Sugar Hill, she frowned at the message that meant he was local and up to something!