Massive RP Story!

[AiymaNeut]

((OOC:

There have been tons of separate "story" threads written over the past week, and they actually are part of the same massive story that's going on right now - the one with some crazy mofo messing with Sezmra (and everyone else, for that matter). Even those involved are getting a bit confused!

So, I'm going to recreate all of the posts in this one thread, in order of how they happen(ed) (I hope), to make it a bit easier.

ANYONE CONTRIBUTING TO THIS STORY, PLEASE POST HERE!

This story is, quite simply, fascinating (IMO), and what makes it even more fascinating are some interesting statistics:

- a total of 71 citizens appear in the text so far

- 6 "uber-citizens" appear in the text so far

- 11 separate writers have contributed to this story (Bonefish, Nevver, Sezmra, Demenzia, Barlau, Suznahh, Drlog, Julilla, Lesentia, Blackpetal and myself)

- only one person knows what's going - Mr. Sid "Tisantous" Saar. Everyone else, to my knowledge, is reacting completely "IC". Mr. Saar, when this is done I do hope you'll step forward to a standing-O (if Sez finds j00, of course )

I hope everyone enjoys it!

[AiymaNeut]

Omni-Pol Baffled by Mysterious Double ‘Perma-Deaths’

Sunday, December 8, 29476

Omni-Pol detectives are this morning baffled by a pair of unexplained so-called ‘perma-deaths’ that occurred last night in Omni-1, with murder at this stage seeming to be the only plausible explanation.

The bodies of Irvin “Cyulas” Scola and Mona “Rattlis” Scales were discovered floating at opposite ends of Omni-Entertainment, Mr Scola in the flooded area to the south, Miss Scales in the sewers to the north. Omni-Pol have so far released that both bodies were found unmarked save a single close-range execution-style gunshot wound to the forehead.

Omni-Pol forensics reports already show both individuals were shot by the same weapon; an automag of Omni-Tek manufacture firing an electro-thermically enhanced .90 action express cartridge.

Omni-Med have confirmed their records show both individuals regularly updated their cell insurance, and had done so recently, but cannot explain how only a matter of hours before their deaths, both sets of insurance were mysteriously deleted by persons currently unknown. Omni-Med are keen to assure us that corporate cell insurance archives are completely secure from intrusion or tampering, and that corporate employees have nothing to fear of permanent death from non-anti-matter or non-life-force disrupting weapons, such as it appears in this instance.

However, an unnamed source within Omni-Med has unofficially confirmed an internal investigation has been launched into this rather embarrassing contradiction of the corporation’s trademarked slogan, ‘A World Where Death Isn’t Fatal’.

Patrons of Rompa Bar and Baboon’s Nightclub have confirmed Mr Scola and Miss Scales had a number of explosive public confrontations before their deaths, including various threats to each other’s lives, and both appear to be at the centre of a number of stand-offs between their respective Omni-Tek departments.

Miss Scales was a member of controversial Omni-Tek entertainment department Devils Advocate, though had previously taken time out of that role to work under recently deceased Omni-AF Internal Affairs officer Lt. Gabriel “Zaiyne” Maxwell. Rumours are rife she had infiltrated Lt. Maxwell’s internal affairs work for reasons now likely to remain unknown if true, though Devils Advocate’s alleged connections to the criminal underground only fuel these rumours further.

Mr Scola was a probationary applicant of Omni-InternOps security-intelligence department SPARTA.

It is hard to imagine inter-corporation rivalries could escalate to this fatal level, even though it would be logical to assume these killings are a tit-for-tat pair of executions. If only it were not for the fact that both deaths were brought about by the same weapon, and hence it therefore seems by the same party.

Devils Advocate has been unavailable for comment regarding these mysterious perma-deaths, whilst SPARTA has simply refused to comment on it. However, a source who wishes to remain anonymous controversially claims to have overheard SPARTA director Garret “Bonefish” Silvestrini quipping that their; “House is clean. Now.”

The director’s offhand comment hints at all kinds of internal corporate conspiracies, infiltrations and cover-ups, and dare it be suggested his comment even makes it sound like the director’s department has taken the law into its own hands. SPARTA and its director have often verbalised an extremely hard line to the elimination of threats to ‘corporate security’, and it seems reasonable to assume they could have the resources to illegally tamper with insurance records.

Contrary to what the public saw, were Scola and Scales working together? Who were they really working for? Who killed them?

Whatever has happened, this controversy seems likely to rubble on. Who did what and why? What can and will Omni-Pol do?

Katie Wang
Omni Herald

((written by Bonefish))

[AiymaNeut]

Sunday, December 8, 29476

Official statement from Devil's Advocate

We are very saddened by Mona's death and will miss her terribly. We know that she fought fiercely and dirty until the very end.

To be clear, Devil's Advocate has no connections to any supposed "criminal underground." The whole idea of a criminal underground is laughable and easily excusable as an urban myth. We are certain that there is an explanation for what happened to Rattlis, but you can just cross "criminal underground" right off the list.

((written by: Nevver))

[AiymaNeut]

Monday morning; December 9, 29476

Garret “Bonefish” Silvestrini and Raquel “Sezmra” Svancara sit quietly at an early morning breakfast meeting in the Rompa Bar. The director and his intelligence team leader are quietly reviewing a datapad when Investigator “Jachobs”, Jr. Investigator “Sangaria” Princess, and an Omni-Pol armoured Corporal “Fracks” approach…

02:04: Jachobs: Hello there.
02:04: Jachobs smiles.
02:04: Bonefish raises an eyebrow
02:04: Bonefish: Hello.
02:04: Jachobs produces a palm pc.
02:04: Jachobs looks at the palm pc.
02:04: Jachobs: Mr. Silvestrini, I assume?
02:04: Bonefish nods
02:05: Bonefish: Indeed.
02:05: Sezmra yawns.
02:05: Jachobs: I'm Lead Investigator Jachobs.
02:05: Bonefish nods slowly.
02:05: Jachobs: This is Ms Princess.
02:05: Sezmra: Ohhh hello.
02:05: Jachobs: Do you mind if we ask you a few questions.
02:05: Jachobs: Hello Miss.
02:05: Jachobs smiles.
02:05: Sezmra smiles.
02:05: Bonefish: No, please, go ahead.
02:05: Jachobs: Do you know a...
02:05: Jachobs: One moment.
02:06: Jachobs looks at his palm pc.
02:06: Jachobs: .....Miss Scales, and a Mr Scola?
02:06: Bonefish nods slowly...
02:07: Bonefish: Yes.
02:07: Jachobs: When did you last see them?
02:07: Bonefish: Assuming you're talking about Irvin Scola, I saw him here in the Rompa Bar on... hmm. Friday I think?
02:08: Bonefish: In the both on my right here.
02:08: Jachobs: Hmmm, and Miss Scales?
02:08: Bonefish: I haven't seen her in a long while.
02:08: Bonefish: Perhaps two weeks.
02:08: Bonefish: Maybe more, I'm not sure.
02:09: Bonefish: But it was again here in the bar
02:09: Jachobs: What sort of relationship did you have to the aforementioned Citizens?
02:09: Bonefish: Irvin Scola was a probationary applicant with my department.
02:10: Bonefish: With my intelligence branch.
02:10: Bonefish: Due to the nature of our department, and work ethic, he was as if family to us.
02:10: Bonefish remains even faced.
02:10: Jachobs: That I can understand.
02:10: Bonefish: Miss Scola?
02:10: Jachobs: Do you mean, Miss Scales?
02:11: Bonefish shakes his head
02:11: Bonefish: Sorry, yes.
02:11: Bonefish: Forgive me, I’ve only had three hours sleep.
02:11: Jachobs: I know the feeling.
02:11: Jachobs chuckles
02:11: Bonefish: Miss Scales was a tempestuous little firebrand who had few friends - if any.
02:12: Jachobs: How did you come to know her?
02:12: Bonefish: Many in her own department even failed to get on with her. I won't lie when I say that I did not.
02:12: Bonefish: I don't recall. Hmm. Or do I?
02:12: Bonefish: I do actually.
02:13: Bonefish: Lt. Gabriel “Zaiyne” Maxwell of Omni-AF Internal Affairs introduced me to her.
02:14: Jachobs: Hmmmmm, so you had a strictly business relationship?
02:14: Bonefish: We didn't even have that.
02:14: Jachobs: Clash of personalities?
02:15: Bonefish: She had just left Devils Advocate, had tried to "join" Omni-Pol, failed, had tried to "join" SPARTA, failed, then started working for Lt. Maxwell.
02:15: Bonefish: As suspected, we later discovered she was attempting to infiltrate *any* prominent Omni-Tek department for her own divisive criminal ends.
02:15: Jachobs: What sort of connection was there between Mr Scola and Miss Scales?
02:16: Bonefish maintains his even face.
02:16: Bonefish: They didn't get on, rather explosively so. Aside from that, I don't know.
02:16: Jachobs: Did Mr Scola have any close friends?
02:17: Bonefish: Not outside of the department, at least not to my knowledge.
02:17: Bonefish: I can't say I was awfully close, my time is limited.
02:17: Jachobs: Hmmm well I don't want to keep you too long Garret, you don't mind if I call you Garret do you?
02:17: Bonefish raises an eyebrow
02:18: Bonefish: I prefer Director. Actually.
02:18: Jachobs smiles.
02:18: Bonefish seems somewhat annoyed at that.
02:18: Jachobs: Of course.
02:18: Bonefish nods.
02:18: Bonefish: Omni-Pol I assume?
02:19: Jachobs produces his Omni-Pol identification.
02:19: Jachobs smiles.
02:19: Bonefish mmhmms.
02:19: Bonefish: I was wondering when you'd be around.
02:19: Jachobs: If you can think of anything else that could help us learn a little more about these individuals, feel free to contact us.
02:19: Bonefish: Naturally.
02:20: Jachobs: Thank you for your time, we'll be in touch.
02:20: Jachobs smiles.
02:20: Jachobs: Have yourself a great day.
02:20: Sangaria smiles
02:20: Sangaria: Good day to you.
02:20: Jachobs: Corporal, move out.
02:20: Bonefish: Good day.
02:20: Fracks: Yes Sir

Investigator “Jachobs”, Jr. Investigator “Sangaria” Princess and Corporal “Fracks” turn about, and leave the booth, walking away together.

02:20: Bonefish raises an eyebrow
02:21: Bonefish: I hope they catch those responsible.
02:21: Sezmra: Me too... Irvin was a friend.
02:21: Sezmra frowns.

(( OOC: To the Events ARKs who turned up out of the blue and sprung this on us totally by surprise - a huge thank you! Involving yourselves in our little periphery storyline, totally unannounced and unplanned, is nothing short of awesome. Thanks!

Oh... and I really had only three hours sleep... needless to say this woke me up! WTG! ))

Garret "Bonefish" Silvestrini
Director - SPARTA
Chairman of the Omni-Tek Security Council

Founding Member of the Omni-Tek Security Council (OTSEC)

The Omni-Tek Security Council is dedicated to ensuring the company’s security and interests against all threats, coordinating any action deemed necessary to protect corporate assets and personnel.

garret.silvestrini@ot-sparta.org | www.ot-sparta.org

((written by Bonefish))

[AiymaNeut]

Monday evening; December 9, 29476

Raquel "Sezmra" Svancara sat quietly in her favorite corner of Rompa, pouring over her wrist-comm's display. Somewhat lost in thought, she happened to look up and see Omni-Pol Lt. Colonel "Thornson" greeting her.

13:18: Thornson: Miss Svancara is it?
13:18: Sezmra looks up from her wrist-comm.
13:18: Sezmra: Yes, sir. That's me.
13:19: Thornson: I was somewhat looking for you.
13:19: Sezmra raises an eyebrow and tilts her head.
13:19: Thornson: Your name came up in a report from one of my Investigators.
13:19: Sezmra: Ohh..
13:19: Sezmra: I believe I'm aware of what you speak.
13:19: Thornson: If there is any new information that you or any you know have on the case...
13:19: Sezmra frowns slowly and shakes her head.
13:19: Thornson: Then don't hesitate to contact one of my investigators, or even me directly.
13:19: Sezmra smiles.
13:19: Sezmra: I do appreciate it.
13:19: Sezmra: I hope we catch those responsible for...
13:20: Sezmra frowns.
13:20: Thornson: Investigator Jacia Nimrod is one of those working on the case.
13:20: Sezmra: .. A lost colleague.
13:20: Thornson: So do I Miss Svancara.
13:20: Sezmra: Ohh, Jacia. Yes.. I know of her.
13:20: Sezmra: Thank you again.
13:20: Sezmra smiles at him.
13:20: Thornson: Thank you Citizen Svancara, have a good evening.
13:20: Sezmra: You too, sir.
13:20: Sezmra: Take care.


((written by Sezmra))

[AiymaNeut]

Tuesday morning; December 10, 29476

Raquel "Sezmra" Svancara scanned over the display on her comm, still buried into investigation material concerning the double murder plaguing Omni-1. She glanced over at her Director, Garret “Bonefish” Silvestrini, who was now looking up and greeting a figure that had approached the booth.

“Morning, Mr. Saar, please… join us.”, the Director offered to the figure.

The nanomage, “Tisantous”, greeted them in return and took a seat in the booth, across from the pair. Raquel smiled and floated her attention back to her comm’s display as her Director and Mr. Saar began to discuss some business between them. The agent idly listened as she continued her work, and noticed Mr. Saar seemed troubled by something he overheard in his earpiece. His voice was obviously uneasy, and she studied him quietly for a moment as her Boss curiously inquired to the incoming message.

“Good morning.”, a familiar voice crept up on her suddenly and the trio was joined by Mr. “Drlog” Saeger. The morning seemed to be looking up.

Unfortunately, the mood took a turn for the worse as Mr. Saar’s face wore a heavy countenance. Mumbling something about attending an urgent matter, he quickly shot up from his seat, cradling something under his arm, and whisked away down the hall. Raquel furrowed her brow in curiosity and worry… was something amiss? She shook it off and noticed Tisantous nearly ran into an approaching woman as he hurried out.

“Jesska, hello there.”, the agent gave Miss Rhees a small wave. Raquel hadn’t seen this woman in ages! She did notice that something was also troubling the lady. Musing to herself, she began to wonder if everyone suffered worry this morning. Jesska stood there uncomfortably, explaining that she had a bit of a problem. She apparently needed some kind of data examined and was soon handing off a module to Raquel’s Boss. The agent drifted back to her wrist-comm again, in hopes of finally finishing her work… data encryption wasn’t exactly her forte. Raquel grinned to herself, silently thanking the world for Fixers.

Voices swirled around Raquel as she began closing the display on her comm, ending her work for the time being. Something kept darting around her attention, and looking up, she noticed a small opifex man running about nervously. Raquel raised an eyebrow in curiosity… what was this fool running around, panting for? She shook her head, sure that another stim-junkie had invaded the Rompa Bar. The agent was proven wrong, as the man ended up at their booth to address her Boss.

“Mr. Silvestrini, sir.. ma..may I have a word w-with you?”, Arijiki stuttered nervously.
“Oh?”, he said to the small man. “What’s the problem, Arijiki?” Raquel watched her Boss look up with wonder then ask Jesska to have a seat while she waited on the interruption.

“It’s Mr. .. Saar, sir.”, Arijiki mumbled, “He ha..has been critically injured.. and disappeared …”

Raquel’s previous curiosity bloomed into official worry, her eyes widening a bit behind the pair of shades she always wore. Her Director was obviously bothered too, as he put away the module he was working on to listen to the trembling man.

“I… am sorry, I could not identify the attackers, bu.. but he was taken through the Trade distrtict, into the ICC Whompah.”, he explained. “I’m not sure what his business was.. he, he doesn’t tell me everything.”

Arijiki confessed he was at one time a clanner that Saar had taken in to work for him. Raquel knew it was going to be an interesting morning, now. They moved from their seats and got their bearings, her Boss slipping out a pistol and checking its clip. Jesska offered to remain behind, assured by Mr. Silvestrini that he’d get back to her issue sometime in the near future.

Soon, they were following Arijiki out of the bar hurriedly into Omni-Entertainment, concern growing. The small opifex led them to a spot near an apartment complex nearby. Still a wreck, he babbled on about how he saw Mr. Saar passing through to the complex before hearing shots being fired. Shadowy, cloaked figures emerged from the complex and Tisantous was hauled away in the darkness, he explained. The small man led them across the way and into an archway that headed west towards the southern set of Whompahs. He recounted along the way about how the figures seemed so cloaked in darkness, slipping by unnoticed and into Trade. The trio then followed him into the Whompah, hungry to know more. He had followed them to the ICC Whompah, before hearing shots again.

Once in ICC, all three set out to scope the area for anything “odd”. Raquel slipped immediately towards the tunnel while her Boss roamed the area, searching. She stopped before the entrance, peering in cautiously. She would’ve guessed they headed this way, and could imagine them hugging the walls, the body of Tisantous in hand as they slip through the tunnel and into some kind of freedom. Wrinkling her brow, she studied the earthen floor, occasionally stooping down to look for fresh tracks. After a few moments, she frowned sadly, the tunnel hadn’t been used for several hours. She turned about, heading back to the HQ. The trio met up at the Whompahs and shared what they had or hadn’t found. Drlog had questioned a few peacekeepers and her Boss turned up nothing from bystanders.

Arijiki stumbled close, scared and shivering. He fretfully said he had stayed in Trade after they had fired at him, and received a message from Tisantous simply stating…”Rompa, Bonefish.. GO!” They discussed possible traces he could leave behind… maybe if he was so injured, there’d be some kind of trail hinting at such. Raquel’s eyebrows quickly arched up as she remembered something. Yes! She had seen it.

“Perhaps.. if we find the Teddy Bear..”, she offered, “He hurried out with one under his arm.”

Drlog nodded, having confirmed seeing the bear too, and Silvestrini voiced the possibilities; He was either taken into the wilderness, Tir, Newland City, there in the ICC HQ, or he was terminated and reclaimed somewhere. They all glanced at their comm units in eerie unison, noticing there was no bio-sig active for the missing nanomage. However, they agreed that the signature was probably being blocked to lessen the chance of his being found.

Out of the corner of Raquel’s eye, she could see the associate of Tisantous’ shivering and shaking, still. She noticed his shoulder was bleeding quite obviously now. Her Director suggested she have a look at it. The man shivered at her approach and she gently reached up to tug at the skin to examine the wound. Raquel rummaged around for a cleaning bandage in her med kit. The man mumbled then suddenly doubled over vomiting right there before the trio. He shook violently as if in shock. She reached over to hold him still, but he wouldn’t give in. Fumbling into her med kit, one of her arms trapping one of his, she retrieved a small stim. He continued to struggle for what seemed like an eternity, and Raquel pressed the stim to his arm, hoping. Just as Silvestrini mentioned a Medic was on their way, the opifex’ harsh movement slowed as he finally calmed in her grasp. Her eyes grew wide when he continued to slump, a groan escaping his lips. Arijiki fell to the floor of the HQ… dead.

Raquel gasped, stunned for a moment, but quickly kneeled down with a collection tube. She gathered a bit of the vomit laced spittle around his chin into the tube, slipped it back into her kit, and took out a small device. As her Boss suggested, she pressed the device to his NCU belt to take a “snapshot” of his bio-sig. The device beeped twice signaling completion, and she slipped it back into her kit. Standing up from the body, Raquel sighed, confused. How could a standard, relatively weak, field issue relaxant cause such a reaction?

“His original bio-signature.. it’s.. it’s just GONE.”, she mumbled in worry.
“Raq, utilize Aya to get that snapshot investigated. In the mean time, I suggest we go kick some doors down in Newland City.”, Silvestrini quipped.


((written by Sezmra))

[AiymaNeut]

Tuesday, December 10, 29476

They were set with a goal: hit Newland City and find Tisantous. One by one, they entered the Whompah. Once in the City, Silvestrini suggested they split up, each given a certain area to sweep. Raquel was distracted by something hissing in her earpiece, though. She tilted her head and she heard the hiss again. Slowly, words formed, laced with another disturbing hiss. She paused in her steps and listened closely to the man whispering in her ear. She had had her comm onto full alert, which meant all incoming transmissions were put through without notice.

“You are looking for Mr. Sssssaar, are you not?”, the voice eased into her ear.
“Perhaps I am… he’s a friend, have you seen him?”, she returned, Drlog and Silvestrini looking on with interest.
“Come to ICC if you wish to sssssspeak.”

Raquel related the brief exhange and her Boss gave her the go ahead. She nodded, pulled out her handgun of choice, an OT Boomer+ .90AE, and headed back for the HQ. She slipped out of the Whompah to be immediately greeted by the su****ious man. He was a nanomage draped in a black cloak, and wore a matching hood. He seemed so creepy and strange as his eyes lit up in delight at seeing her.

“Well hello, Ssssezmra.”, his words slithered out to her in greeting.
“Yes. hello..”, she nodded to him.
“Hmm, a lovely lady you are.”, the nanomage, Demoneyes, mumbled, his lips curling up in a perverse sneer.

Raquel smiled briefly and politely asked him what he knew of Tisantous’ whereabouts. He described what he referred to as a “messy sight”. He went on about hearing the cracking of bones, about how “they” had beaten their captive. It seemed the group with Tisantous met another group of shady characters at the Whompahs before splitting up and going into Tir, Newland City, and some entrances there in the ICC HQ. He claimed he couldn’t get any kind of data reading on them, and that as far as he could tell, Tisantous was taken into one of the doors in the HQ. Raquel absently looked around as the nanomage continued, her eyes scanning each door.

“Want to know which doorsss they went into?”, he teased her.
“Of course I do… if you’d show me.”, she said, feigning a smile.

Demoneyes looked her over hungrily, asking what was in it for him. Raquel smirked back and inquired as to what he fancied, she was always willing to make a productive “exchange”. His tongue darted into the air, grossly, and Raquel wrinkled her nose. Bluntly, he made mention of the taste of blood. Raquel noticed that Drlog, her Director, now accompanied by Julilla, a medic, and Quinn, friend and fellow Spartan, had entered into the HQ to watch what was going on. Raquel made snide comments about vampires before the haunting nanomage grabbed her by the shoulder. Clearing her throat, she just glared up at him coldly, calmly. Quinn was openly annoyed at the sight, and the others got their bearings, Juls even readying a tranquilizer.

“Hmmm, sssuch a posssition you are in... yesss you are.... sssshare with me your esssence and know the doorsss, or go unknowing yesss”, Demoneyes spoke down to her gaze.

Raquel didn’t appreciate the ultimatum and quickly grabbed him by the collar of his cloak, jabbing him with her pistol. “Look, sssweetie. Behave, eh?” The sleaze looked around, finally noticing how many people were carrying weapons, and how many people didn’t appreciate his attitude. He gave in, and admitted he’d show them the previously mentioned door. He headed around the circular area, to a broad door not too far from the Whompahs. Drlog kept an eye on the nanomage while Raquel eased towards the door. She pressed a key on the entry-pad and the bright red letters “LOCKED” glared back at her on the display. Sighing, she heard a voice behind her. Fixybabe, a fixer employed to Drlog, had joined the group.

“I can give it a try.”, Fixybabe offered. Raquel stepped aside to give Juls the medical data she’d gathered, while letting the fixer at the door. The creepy nanomage kept hissing in the background, Drlog now having a firm grip on his shoulders. The fixer pulled out a device and connected it to the lock. She tapped a few keys in and frowned at the lack of success. She thought for a moment and decided to try something else, tapping another sequence into the key pad. Raquel tried the door again and grimaced.

“Still locked tight, maybe they sabotaged the mechanism from the inside.”, the agent mumbled. Annoyance was building, and she approached Demoneyes, inquiring, prodding, giving him a taste of her skepticism. He hissed and grumbled, mumbling about his all seeing powers. She rolled her eyes at his nonsense as Juls requested to take a few medical samples from him. This quite startled the beast, and he started to back away. Raquel quickly grabbed him by the arm until Drlog could restrain him once more for the Medic. Juls made her way over and pulled up one of the sleeves on Demoneyes' clothing to insert a small needle into his arm. She managed to draw a blood sample from the struggling nanomage before he was let free. Juls gave him a sympathetic look, taking his hand in hers. However, she sneakily scraped some skin cells with onto a hidden med-strip. She slipped the sample into separate container, sealed it and let go of his hand. Without warning, the hissing nanomage scratched her across the cheek in a blur of claws. Juls grasped at her face, backing away from the cloaked figure.

Raquel growled at the gall he exhibited. Her Boss quickly made his way over to the shady character and swung the butt of his pistol into the back of Demoneyes’ neck. His blow wasn’t as successful as the group hoped, and the nanomage swung around violently, another blur of claws contacting with Silvestrini’s forehead. Blood welled up at the three fresh scratches on the Director’s skin as he grunted at the pain. Quinn readied his firearms and Raquel snarled, rushing to the nanomage. She grabbed him by the shoulder and jabbed the mouth of her pistol harshly into his neck. No one harms an employee that easily, and no one harms her Boss and gets away with it. He hissed at her, quipping about dancing with the devil. She just sneered, digging the pistol in deeper.

“Adan, we're going to need a temporary drop in local suppression. Lock onto my locality, and stand-by.”, she could hear her Boss speaking into his comm, contacting their gridmaster while Juls tended his injury.

“I’d hate to shoot someone down in ICC, bloody this pretty floor.”, the agent growled up at him. Abruptly he reached up and tried to claw Raquel across her face, aiming for her right eye. His hand caught her sunglasses instead and knocked them from her nose. She growled again, hearing her Boss confirm the suppression gas request with Adan. He gave her the word and Raquel lunged for the nanomage, locked her hand around the back of his head, jabbed her trusty Boomer underneath his chin and firmly pulled the trigger. The brief sound of flesh being rent filled her ears and the nanomage's body crumpled to the floor. Silvestrini had Adan pull the gas back to normal levels. Juls walked over to check on the agent’s eye, then knelt down to take more medical samples from the body.

They all agreed to retire to the SPARTA offices in Rome Blue, and before they knew it, Fixybabe had them in the grid. One by one they arrived at the office to discuss the matter. Who would kidnap Tisantous? Why would they injure him so? Why did Arijiki, who according to a snippet of intel, never even used a cell scanner, fall over dead? Who was Demoneyes, really, and was he involved? They analyzed the events of the morning, each piece of evidence making up a horribly confusing puzzle. Soon, reports of a hysterical man in the Entertainment District poured into Silvestrini’s earpiece. Someone was yelling about shadows in.. Newland City. The group hurried to the Entertainment District and split the area into sections, each person searching for this hysterical citizen. From the sewers to the flooded area they scoured in vain. It seemed the man, greatly frightened, probably holed himself up somewhere.

Once again they gathered and once again they went over what they had found, what little they knew. Perhaps some of the medical data would lend something useful to them. Until then, they'd keep their eyes and ears open.. and hope.

The morning, which had started off so well, ended on such a dark, shadowed note.

((written by Sezmra))

[AiymaNeut]

Early Wednesday morning; December 11, 29476

“Come closssser…”

She stumbled to her knees, grass clung to her InternOps suit. She brushed off her pants and stood again, and the very air itself tried to push her back down, back to her knees.

“Sssssssssssssss…”

No. Not the hissing again. Grasping her ears, she winced at the loud voice, but made her way to her feet again. She reached out with a hand, trying to feel her way in this land of ebbing color and shapes. Her ears perked as she suddenly crossed a threshold, a threshold of metal infused with light. No matter how tightly she squeezed her eyes shut or covered her face, she couldn’t block out the light. Blue particles engulfed her body, her skin tingled and her mind snapped clear for a split-second.

Then darkness.

Shadows drowned her, darkness surrounded her. She blinked furiously, hoping, but it was all in vain. It was horrible, being caught between sight and shadow. Her eyes couldn’t discern the light, yet the shapes were still there, dancing around like cruel suitors. Her will began to break, and panic crept into her throat. There had to be a way out… there had to be! She had to find it! But, but it was so dark… so lonely. Slowly, her face wrinkled into a mask of worry and fret, hope draining from her mind as she stumbled in the shadows all around her.

Pain slithered its way into her bones, into her joints, like an ethereal snake creeping through the marsh. She pushed on through the darkness and suddenly her chest was racked with a sharp pain. Her breathing ragged, she gasped for air, desperate to breathe easily again. Whimpering through the darkness, she felt something begin to trickle down her cheek. Tears? She reached up with a gloved hand and wiped at her skin with a fingertip. Instinctually she gazed down at her hand, but only shadow swirled in her vision, the outline of her hand barely even discernable. Growling angrily at her plight once again, she brought the fingertip to her lips, and darted her tongue to the substance gracing her glove.

Blood.

Unmistakable in taste, her heart pounded, and her hand searched her forehead, her face. Pain screamed inside of her as her fingertips roughly probed wounds she was unaware of. Tears drizzled down her cheeks, the constant discovery of intense cuts and gashes in her skin pushing her into a state of fear.

“Come clossssser… yesss.”, she yelped in fear at the hiss-laced voice. No more, she couldn’t take it anymore!

“No… NO!”, the agent yelled into the blackness.

The yell woke her. Panting heavily and staring up at the dark ceiling of her apartment, the young opifex tried to force her heart back into her chest. Raquel was frozen in her bed, frozen with shock of the nightmare. Her body ached, strangely, as if being awake only dulled the dream-reality. Slowly she worked up the courage to slip her hands up to her face, and carefully she caressed her skin. Softly she probed, and gradually her fret eased. No blood… no cuts. She giggled nervously at her silliness. “You silly woman, haha, it was just a dream… no, a nightmare.”

With a grimace, Raquel sat up and slid out of bed to make her way to her desk. She lazily slunk into her chair, a finger brushing her terminal with expert grace. The display glowed instantly, and the report she’d been working on was still open, staring back at her. She leaned over, resting her chin in her palm and gazed across at her work. Her eyes skimmed over the words as she double checked the content for anything she may have missed…


Rompa Bar – 02:00, December 11th, 29476

While finally catching up on my paperwork, Randa “Lesentia” Forejt contacted me about a strange nanomage being cornered in the Rompa Bar. I knew exactly who she meant as Damon “Demoneyes” Clyburn had left numerous messages on my comm that evening. I headed to the bar and alerted Quinn to the situation. Near the bar, Lesentia could be seen backing away from Demoneyes as he approached her continuously. I managed to get between the two and Demoneyes stopped, certainly interested in my arrival. He babbled on about the life essence draining slowly out of “our precious politician”.
After a few passing threats between he and myself, Quinn arrived, and Demoneyes finally decided to speak up about what “they” wanted. To quote the hissing bastard: “Silence, silence of the truth, hush of knowledge, silence to the one who knows and speaks these things.”
Anthony “Drlog” Saeger who had been occupied in the back was up and about with us and the nanomage. Demoneyes made a passing comment concerning Quinn’s mother’s safety, Quinn reacting angrily. He calmed himself eventually, and the nanomage hissed on about those that kidnapped Tisantous as “powerful”. He then commented about us “losing two, then the agent, and now a fourth is soon to follow”. When questioned about this, it was clear the agent was Mr. Saar’s assistant, Arijiki, who had died the day before, during our search. The two, he merely mentioned as my knowing them. Drlog and I both suspect he means the double murder victims, Scola and Scales.

“The blood of three lies on your hands, a fourth to come, in darkened lands”, he said to us. He explained that those that have Tisantous are in “higher powers”. Quinn then asked the nanomage about a symbol. To elaborate on this, I had found our hysterical man, Pschoeye, the day before in Rompa. He had told me that he nearly been knocked over by a group, the group that had Tisantous, and saw them rush into Newland City. When he entered to get to safety, he noticed they had slipped into the ICC Whompah. During the closeness to them, he noticed symbols decorating their cloaks; these symbols consisted of some kind of lettering. I had related to the information to Quinn and thus he asked Demoneyes.

Demoneyes seemed to latch onto the idea and after a bit of “seeing” on his part, he described the symbol: a small square, a circle in the upper right corner, and from this circle, three lines spread out. To the left of this square, there are three small letters: L O S. The order of the letters is still a mystery, but several of us assumed them to be SOL as in SOL Banking Corporation. Demoneyes stated that those who wear this symbol do not belong here, but they are welcomed by others “in secret and given things that others do not have to make them more powerful”. He mentions also that they are “very well hidden, those who know, are taken. Those that speak the truth, who know truth, must die in their eyes.” Money is apparently something who “they” meet with want, as well. The nanomage, weary, took a seat in a booth to rest and try to “see” more. Those who “they” see, apparently reside behind the doors in ICC HQ, thus one suspects ICC reps being involved. He then ranted on in some kind of riddle-speak.

“Atop the highest courts, their seat, in hope to bring Omni defeat.”
“A union signed in secret rooms, unspoken plots of Omni doom.”
“No child, man or woman be, safe within our hallowed city."

He could not “see” Tisantous, and could only feel his dying life. Something seems to be blocking his ability to “see”, “erasing all within his form”, and he didn’t know what it could be. To answer Drlog’s question, Demoneyes then explained that his ability was based on metaphysiology. He and Drlog began bantering and Demoneyes accused Doc of mockery. Things went down hill from here, and the nanomage, overtaken with anger, ended up grabbing a nearby atrox in an attempt to latch onto his neck. We surrounded the nanomage, trying to explain that he couldn’t go about trying to bite people, in order to calm him down. He ended up staring down at me, standing only inches away.

I kept calm, but unfortunately the nanomage grabbed me with unearthly speed and sunk his teeth into my neck. Instantly I squirmed and managed to push him away with Drlog’s help. The bastard nanomage mumbled on about “payment” as I pulled out my pistol with hopes to remind him of what happened the last time he misbehaved. Drlog roughly threw him into the nearby booth and went about interrogating him. I watched on, bandaging my neck, and Demoneyes kept mumbling on about payment, and me “being a part of him” and vice versa. Obviously annoyed at his nonsense, I chuckled… and he kept on. Drlog continued questioning him, pushing him back into his seat. Suddenly, Demoneyes jumped, slid over Drlog and fell to stand in front of me again. I pushed out my arm to keep him at bay, and Drlog grabbed onto him, biting his neck. He groaned out about “visiting me” when I sleep before running off in pain, and out of the Bar.

We followed, but he had disappeared by the time we got outside. Demoneyes then wished me pleasant dreams over my comm, before suddenly screaming. Static drowned his cry for help, and we ran about trying to find him. We happened to pass the apartment complex Tisantous was grabbed at and Demoneyes stumbled from the complex, injured, and fell at my feet… dead. His bio-sig has been inactive since.


Raquel let out a long, slow breath. She titled her head slightly, eyes still locked on the last sentence as she idly stroked her neck… the spot he had bitten. She had gone to Omni-Med before going home and the wound was healed, there were no worries. Still, the skin tingled strangely at her touch. She ran her fingers through her hair, her mood even darker than before she’d re-read her report. Hands in her hair, she dropped her head to peer over her shoulder… to her bed.

Dare she sleep again?

((written by Sezmra))

[AiymaNeut]

Mid-morning; December 11, 29476

The interstellar head offices of Omni-Tek Corporation were unusually quiet for mid-week, especially given how close it was to the Corporation's fiscal year-end. The journey to and through the Whompha from the Omni-Prime spaceport to Omni-Admin's central library had been surprisingly rapid, absent the usual level of traffic and constant line-ups.

Reinforcing this eerie silence was the nature of the library itself. Because of the sheer number of terminals, display screens and various light-emitting datapads, the library had no overarching lighting. Rather, the room's shadows were cast in an unnatural harmony of blues and reds. The small, tree-like reading lamps that adorned the desks and study-spaces were directional and localized, casting their light down upon those who prefered the somewhat archaic practice of "taking notes" with a carbon-isotope pen.

Of course, it was quite difficult to make any sound, even if one wanted to. The material used on the walls, celing and even the fabric of the carpet, were all notum- and nano-enriched; the tiny microscopic nanobots worked what could best be described as magic on the surface of these, constantly adjusting the surface shape and texture to prevent the echoing of sounds, and facilitating the absorbtion of errant words.

He leaned back in his chair, rubbing his eyes. It had only been two hours since his arrival, and he already starting to tire. The drafting of an entire planet's laws was taking its toll on him - mentally and physically. It was far too important a task to be rushed and taken lightly; under current plans, Rubi-Ka would, after all, be free of all control one day - something he dared not say too loudly, either in the halls of Omni-Prime or the streets of Rubi-Ka.

"Provided someone doesn't destroy it, first..." he mumbled aloud. Pausing, he was forced to chuckle at a passing thought. "...maybe Miss Maul will someday be proved right." he whispered into the darkness, smiling at the thought of her tearing around the planet, screaming the same line triumphantly over and over again.

"Wait...wasn't it my comments that started all of th---"

"Mr. Age?" A young female voice, slightly quivering with uncertainty, caught him by surprise mid-thought. "The folks up in the legal department wanted me to bring this to your attention" She produced a sealed document contained, marked quite clearly For immediate delivery.

"What's this?" Alamexis asked, spinning the tube around in his hand. "Haven't those guys given me enough work so far?" He chuckled, motioning at the 3-foot pile of papers and datapads stacked around his desk.

"Dunno, sir." She replied. Alamexis let out a sigh, shaking his head slowly.

" 'sir'...Alamexis will do fi--"

She interupted, continuing her earlier thought: "I think they said something about 'Ares' and pact or some other jazz about a new draft." Alamexis gasped, tearing open the seal on the tube and shaking its contents loose onto the table. Sure enough, they had done it.

"Thank you, my dear." Alamexis smiled and nodded. "Please tell the my assistant to postpone my lunch plans. Oh, and my dinner plans, too." She nodded and walked away, leaving Alamexis as a kid in a candy store, suddenly gleeful, with all traces of his fatigue washed away. "Now, what do I do with you, my friend?"

((written by Alamexis))

[AiymaNeut]

December 11, 29476

“Dammit!” Alamexis exclaimed, slamming the datapad down on his desk. He had rifled through every last document on his desk and in his file directory, repeatedly, and had finally given up searching. It simply was not here. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Alamexis tapped his comm-unit.

“Ashley, I need your help” spoken more as a command than a request.

“What’s up, Malcom?” replied the legal department's resident ‘spook’, an agent and former classmate posing as a humble financial clerk but secretly assigned to InterOps. It never hurt to monitor every facet and department from within, and even those highest up were not immune to InterOps reach.

“The copy of the Ares Pact that was delivered to me today is missing Article 4. I don’t know if I lost it or if someone over there fuc---“

“There is no Article 4, Malcom. Not according to the transmission logs. I pulled it myself right from Rubi-Ka grid.” She interjected calmly. “Want me to give our friends at the Council a call?”
Alamexis chuckled quietly. “No need, Ash. I’m sure good old Fiqh will realize it eventually. While I have you trapped on comm…”

Relieved, Alamexis quickly changed the subject, chuckling devilishly. The two made plans for dinner at some future date (and hopefully, Alamexis thought whimsically, breakfast), he uploaded and packed all of his belongings, ready for the hour and half trip back to Rubi-Ka.

((written by Alamexis))

[AiymaNeut]

Early evening; December 11, 29476

The ride from Omni-Prime back to Rubi-Ka had passed uneventfully, and to Malcom "Alamexis" Age, quite quickly. He found himself burried in the myriad of dilemmas raised by the latest "release" by the Council of Ares, and had completely abandoned his normal routine of reviewing Rubi-Ka's news en route home.

As he stepped off of the transport and onto the landing platform in Omni-1, his stomach growled angrily. In the day's excitement, he had resorted to a miserable diet of coffee, and with the cancellation of his lunch meeting, had not eaten since the previous evening.

Alamexis paused, considering his options. Early evening thunder ruptured overhead, shattering the calm inherrent in the accoustomed sounds of daily life on Rubi-Ka and temporarily muting the air traffic overhead. Being ever mindful of the words of his informant back on Omni-Prime, he turned away from his apartment and walked quickly to the much closer Rompa Bar.

His comm had flashed as soon as he sat down in his usual booth, and within ten minutes he had been joined by Kiyoko "Barlau" Grebel.

19:56: Alamexis: So tell me - how rough was waking up for you this morning?
19:56: Alamexis chuckles
19:56: Barlau: Well... not too bad, actually. But I didn't go to bed until very late.
19:57: Barlau: And I had about two glasses less than you did.
19:57: Alamexis sighs
19:57: Alamexis: That was the problem...
19:57: Alamexis: ...I went to bed much too early. Should have let the wine work its way out of my system.
19:57: Barlau: But Logan is getting his first teeth, and was fussing until late. Nanny couldn't get him quieted, we were up for several hours trying to settle him down. Little monkey.
19:58: Barlau chuckles
19:58: Barlau: And yes, you should have...
19:58: Alamexis smiles
19:58: Alamexis: Poor little guy
19:58: Barlau: I know. He's such a darling, otherwise. He almost never cries.
20:18: Alamexis: What do you and your husband have planned for the holidays? Anything special?
20:19: Barlau: We hadn't really planned anything special. If he's home, that's special enough..
20:19: Alamexis smiles
20:19: Barlau smiles back
20:19: Barlau: What about you, Malcom?
20:20: Alamexis: Me? I don't know, actually. I've never been one to celebrate occasions - let alone archaic ones. Even still, I might throw on a Santa hat and give presents to all the poor Council of Ares people I've picked on all year
20:20: Alamexis smirks
20:20: Barlau chuckles

Alamexis glanced upwards, turning his gaze from Barlau to a visitor who had just walked up to their table, Randa "Lesentia" Forejt.

20:37: Alamexis smiles
20:37: Alamexis: Good evening, Ms. Forejt.
20:37: Lesentia: Hello Mr. Age
20:37: Alamexis notices the concerned look on Lesentia's face
20:37: Alamexis: Is everything okay?
20:37: Barlau smiles up at Lesentia
20:37: Lesentia: It could be better
20:37: Barlau: Hello, I don't believe we've met. I'm Kiyoko Grebel.
20:38: Halo101: im halo
20:38: Barlau pauses, weighing her words...
20:38: Lesentia: Greetings Ms. Grebel
20:38: Barlau: Is something wrong?
20:38: Alamexis: Oh, pardon me for being rude...Kiyoko, this is Randa Lesentia Forejt.
20:38: Alamexis: And Lesentia, this is Halo101
20:38: Halo101: hey
20:39: Lesentia: Yes, have either of you herd of the unnamed cult of vampiric nanomages?
20:39: Alamexis glances up in thought
20:39: Alamexis: Not off-hand, no.
20:39: Lesentia flips though files
20:39: Alamexis: When you say "vampiric", you mean "sucking blood" vampiric?
20:40: Lesentia: Yes
20:40: Barlau: Actually... I have... but they did have a name...
20:40: Alamexis' eyes go wide
20:40: Barlau: They call themselves the Vampire Legion.
20:40: Alamexis snaps his fingers
20:40: Alamexis: Yes! That's right.
20:41: Lesentia: The one I am referring to is not ordered
20:41: Barlau: Trentain, I believe, is still their leader. A very nice man, actually. I'm sort of surprised he ascribes to that metaphysical rubbish.
20:41: Barlau: Ah, there's another one running about?
20:41: Lesentia: Yes
20:41: Barlau shakes her head
20:42: Barlau: It seems there's no end to the cult-weirdos that run around this place. They fade, and another comes along to take their place...
20:43: Lesentia: and Sezmra believes that they were the ones who captured Mr. Sid "Tisantous" Sarr
20:43: Lesentia: e****ally after last night
20:43: Alamexis raises an eyebrow
20:43: Barlau: I heard a little bit about that, but only a little. What's happened?
20:43: Barlau: Although I didn't know anything about a capture...
20:44: Lesentia: I believed that he was kidnapped on Monday
20:44: Alamexis: Mr. Saar had many enemies, though. What makes you certain it was them?
20:45: Lesentia: The trouble began with a Demoneyes
20:45: Alamexis glances at the datapad readout, nodding
20:45: Barlau: "Demoneyes"? Nice name
20:45: Barlau makes a little face
20:47: Lesentia: anyway, it all began after Drlog arrived last night
20:54: Alamexis: Now then, Lesentia, please continue.
20:54: Lesentia: yes, as I was saying, last night Demoneyes was at Rompa
20:54: Barlau: What is he like?
20:55: Lesentia: to say the least, creepy
20:55: Barlau: Another one of those religious nuts, proclaiming the end is near and all about higher powers?
20:55: Alamexis nods
20:55: Alamexis: I can imagine.
20:55: Lesentia: I'd not like to go into more detail
20:55: Lesentia: It was just all to creepy
20:55: Barlau studies Lesentia's face for a moment.
20:55: Barlau: He really spooked you, didn't he?
20:56: Lesentia: Of course, even Drlog was for a moment.
20:56: Alamexis raises an eyebrow in shock
20:56: Alamexis: Must have been quite disturbing to affect him
20:57: Barlau: What was it about him that made you all feel this way?
20:57: Lesentia: the way he talked mostly
20:57: Lesentia: and his little actions
20:57: Lesentia: such as sniffing the air.
20:58: Lesentia: and what he said
20:58: Barlau: Perhaps he was congested?
20:58: Barlau: What did he say? And how did he talk?
20:58: Barlau is intrigued by all of this
20:59: Lesentia: He spoke of "your politician" to Sezmra
20:59: Barlau: Whose politician? Raquel's?
21:01: Lesentia: and "When darknessss fallsss, with blackend sunsss, something wicked thisss way comesss"
21:01: Barlau blinks
21:01: Barlau: That's from a very old tale
21:01: Lesentia: with the hissing sound on the end
21:01: Alamexis leans back in thought
21:01: Barlau: Almost a legend...
21:02: Barlau tries to recall the story
21:02: Lesentia: He also mentoned that "Expossure can be a deadly thing"
21:02: Alamexis: Exposure to what, though?
21:03: Barlau shakes her head, unable to re-capture the memory.
21:03: Lesentia: We don't know
21:03: Lesentia: He spoke in very cryptic language
21:03: Alamexis: And deadly to you, or deadly to him?

As she walked up from the bar to their table, Alamexis breathed a sigh of relief. This evening - this entire day - was proving very taxing on so little sleep and so many events. He watched her graceful approach, and she smiled as she did so, lighting up the room in a manner that only Corrine "Treylla" Svancara knew how to do.

21:03: Treylla: Greetings all
21:03: Alamexis smiles at Treylla
21:03: Treylla smiles
21:03: Barlau smiles
21:03: Lesentia: Hello Ms. Svancara
21:03: Treylla: Hi Barlau
21:03: Treylla: How are you Sir
21:03: Alamexis: I don't quite know yet.
21:04: Alamexis smiles, puzzled
21:04: Treylla: i've been there myself
21:04: Treylla: Can I get anyone a drink?
21:04: Barlau: No, I'm good, but thank you
21:04: Alamexis: Well, the fact that you've lived through it is solice enough for me. I'll have a coffee please.
21:04: Alamexis: Thank you, Treylla.
21:05: Treylla: My pleasure Alamexis
21:05: Barlau: "Expossure can be a deadly thing"... it sounds as if he were warning you....
21:05: Alamexis: Indeed...but what could he expose you to that would harm you? Usually, when one speaks of "exposure", it means to something like the weather, or radiation.
21:06: Lesentia: We have no idea
21:06: Barlau: Or viral...
21:06: Barlau bites her lip
21:06: Alamexis looks worriedly around the room
21:06: Barlau: You don't suppose he was carrying any sort of booby-trap, do you?
21:07: Barlau: Any biological-type weaponry
21:07: Lesentia: He also mentioned "You dont have mush time"
21:07: Lesentia: We could not get much out of him
21:08: Alamexis: Where is he now? Were you forced to set him free?
21:08: Lesentia: He continued speaking like that the whole night
21:08: Lesentia: no, he was killed
21:08: Barlau: Any idea whether he was insured?
21:08: Barlau: Something has occurred to me... and there is legal precedent for it....
21:09: Lesentia: Just after he left, we saw him run out of an apartment complex and then fall lifeless to the ground
21:09: Barlau: If he did insure, and you happen to see him again... if he's still acting bizarre, why not have a doctor sign "involuntary commitment" papers?
21:10: Alamexis glances at Kiyoko and smiles proudly
21:10: Barlau: It would require a doctor's signature, and an official arrest by two law enforcement officials. Oh, wait, so you do have him in custody?
21:10: Barlau smiles back
21:10: Barlau: I've done some studying, Malcom.
21:09: Alamexis: Have you investigated the complex?
21:10: Lesentia: We have not been able to find any trace of his vital signs
21:10: Lesentia: No, we have no sign of him
21:11: Lesentia: I would ask Sezmra to talk herself, but I don't believe that she is ready to yet
21:11: Lesentia: the psycholgical stress is too heavy
21:11: Alamexis gets a concerned look on his face
21:11: Alamexis: "psychological stress"?
21:11: Alamexis: Is she okay?
21:12: Lesentia: I don't know, I havent had the chance to speak with her yet
21:12: Alamexis: Please, if you hear anything, let me know. And give her my best wishes, as well.
21:12: Alamexis glances off, dazed
21:12: Barlau: Hmmm... come to think of it, I haven't talked to her in awhile.
21:13: Barlau: Yes, give her my regards when you see her.
21:13: Lesentia: what worries me though, is when he bit her
21:13: Barlau: Ew
21:13: Barlau finds the idea repulsive
21:13: Alamexis looks back at Lesentia
21:13: Alamexis: What?
21:14: Alamexis: He bit her?
21:14: Lesentia: Yes
21:14: Lesentia: as we all were standing there
21:14: Alamexis: Where is she now? Omni-Med I hope?
21:14: Alamexis looks visibly upset
21:15: Lesentia: I have got no response from her comm yet
21:16: Lesentia: Demoneyes called it "payment for what you knew not"
21:16: Barlau: Well, I hope she cleaned the bite. Human bites are supposed to be among the worst, of any animal bite.
21:16: Barlau: What a nasty-sounding person...
21:16: Alamexis: I hope that was nothing more than a petty warning...
21:16: Lesentia: But what of psycho, crazed nanomage vampire...
21:16: Barlau blinks
21:16: Lesentia: He seemes to be able to smell blood
21:17: Barlau: Vampire? But... no. Those don't exist. It's just wishful thinking.
21:17: Lesentia: He even tried to bite me before anyone else got here
21:18: Lesentia: If you wish, Malcom, I can send you my comm's log of the conversation
21:18: Alamexis pauses, glancing down at the couch uneasily
21:19: Alamexis: I'd...rather not read it.
21:19: Alamexis: I just hope she's okay....
21:20: Lesentia: You can try to message her, but I dont think that she is answering.
21:20: Alamexis: I wouldn't want to disturb her, in case she's resting.
21:21: Barlau: If you don't mind, I'm curious to see a log. That remark, "something wicked this way comes", it's from something, it might mean something. But the memory is just beyond my grasp.
21:21: Alamexis: From William Shakespeare's "Macbeth" actually.
21:21: Barlau shakes her head
21:22: Alamexis: "By the prickling of my thumb, something wicked this way comes..."
21:22: Barlau: No... that's not what I'm thinking of...
21:22: Alamexis: It's an ancient-earth play, b--
21:22: Alamexis raises an eyebrow
21:23: Barlau snaps her fingers
21:23: Lesentia: are you sure you dont want a copy, Malcom?
21:23: Alamexis sighs
21:23: Alamexis: Yeah. I'll read her thoughts on the grid, and if I need clarification, I'll contact you.
21:24: Lesentia: ok.
21:24: Barlau: I need to research it, but the story was something about being careful about what you wish for, lest it come true.
21:24: Lesentia: Thank you both for your time
21:24: Alamexis: If anything comes up, please let me know.
21:25: Lesentia: OK, I will
21:25: Alamexis: Thank you.
21:25: Alamexis leans back on the couch, sighing heavily
21:31: Barlau hugs Malcom
21:31: Alamexis smiles, worriedly, hugging her back
21:31: Barlau: I'm sure she's all right...
21:32: Alamexis: ...I hope so, Kiyoko.
21:32: Barlau looks worried too

((written by Alamexis))

[AiymaNeut]

Early morning; December 12, 29476

Following an habit taken over the years, the first thing Jen did when coming back home this evening was to sit in front of her own term, half-slumping in the chair facing the machine while distraitly getting rid of her long trench-coat, sending it flying on the couch without even a look. A tiring day, it had been - first these long hours of recce in the North, then... then she had promised to get some sleep, but once again, she knew she wouldn't be able to. Not when worrying so much about Malcom. Not when adding to this the new, creeping worry for her sis. For Grid's sake, these looks couldn't deceive someone like her; she already knew too much what worry, sadness and anxiety meant not to recognize it on someone else's face.

"Nezumi", she said in a tired tone, intiating the connexion of her own search program on the Grid. Jen liked the sound of this name, as well as its meaning - 'mouse'. She had been working on it since long before applying for her job with SPARTA, working on what had started as a simple little search-query rote, adding tiny bits of coding here and there when she had time, but since she was back from the Desert, it seemed to her that working on it had been... going more quickly than expected. She suspected Heiji from having a hand in this, though not exactly understanding how; he tended to explain things to her during the Phase, and she wasn't always really aware of all the info processed by her brain at these moments, so maybe she had just... learnt, and put the lessons to application without knowing it. The fact was however here - 'Nezumi' was now more operational than it had ever been, and it was a good opportunity to put it to the test. Not an AI... but something that could look like it. Maybe she could find more time, someday, to try and push it further than she had ever done.

She went through the ID and retina scans with a slightly irritated sigh - there was no way she'd take the risk of having anyone break in and try to use her term, nor the programs she had herself compiled, and anyways, both Adan-sama and the Boss would skin her alive if she was to discard any basic security procedure like this one. Now she had to test this thing, though she'd be doing the work by herself too, to cross-compare results and see what could be improved - or what else could be taken out of such a search. Jen could use computed search-query algorithms and improvise rotes in the Grid itself, but the more subprocesses she had to run and monitor, the more tiring it was for her in the long run. And for Heiji as well. The human brain was only so talented, after all...

"ID scan, O.K", the words flashed on the display; she hadn't bothered giving it a voice synthetizer yet, as she'd anyways be accessing it from the Grid most of the time. Nezumi's core, moreover, wasn't located on her machine, but... somewhere else. In a place of the whole Network she was the only one to really know, so that if tracked... it wouldn't lead to her physical place of existence.

"Hello, Ne-chan", the Fixer absently whispered, her fingers playing with her screwdriver, eyes drifting here and there in the room, staring alternatively at the ceiling and at the term display that was for the moment the only source of light in the appartment. "Need some intel 'bout a few things. Proceed: ID lookup: <Sid "Tisantous" Saar>, Nanobreed Techno-sorcerer. Last known location: Trade District, Omni-1 - no, ICC HQ, Nepal. Check bio-sign, data-scans, insurance scans. Check each of his use of a Grid term within the last two weeks. If you notice his trail in the Grid from now on, immediately warn meh. Area, coordinates, joined connexions if there are some."

As she was talking, her fingers were deftly running on the manual interface as well, checking the intel gathered during the day, analyzing it, jumping from one set of data to the other.

"Proceed second query: <Damon "Demoneyes" Clyburn>, Nanomage Metaphysicist. Check for insurance data, possible hacking or even deleting. Check for ID data and DNA samples if available."

<Source for samples?> the program asked.

"...Dat's crap. Omni-Med, ICC orbital arrival station, ICC records, whatever! Ya know what a databank is, goddammit!"

There was so much to do. So many things she was worried about. So many problems she had to solve before they became worse. And there was this symbol, too. This time she wanted to search herself, to look at all the various possibilities. Sol BC just seemed too... evident to her, though that this meaning popping as a first idea was quite an obvious one. She went browsing through the Grid, again and again, following several threads of possibilities, using some more query algorithms. She could feel the tension forming around her, almost vivid, almost tangible, she could feel Heiji's worry, as he was trying to prevent himself from telling her to stop. He was behaving quite oddly, since she - since they were back; oddly, and at the same time, more kindly than he used to in the previous months. "Jen. Stop this. It's not because she told you that you have to do it now!..." And she couldn't care. She couldn't erase the worry, and simply go to sleep like a baby. Besides, she knew she'd dream again, and she really didn't want this kind of dreams...

When she looked up, the middle of the night was already far behind her. Not worth going to bed anymore; the Fixer would once again spend a sleepless night. That was also becoming a habit.

She stopped, hesitating, pondering for a few seconds if what she was going to do was really a good solution. But she finally discarded the thought; she had talked long enough with the Agent, the previous evening, to recognize in her voice and on her face the signs she knew so well for having looked at her own face in the mirror often enough in the last weeks. Haunted look, trailing voice, worry soaring over her, displayed, even so slightly, in her whole attitude. She knew her enough now. She knew what it meant. She had heard her relate the last events, what had happened to her, although the wound had already been properly healed, and part of this sounded weird to her ears. Could one talk of 'paranoia' if there was a real threat lingering above?...

"...Proceed", Jen frowned, her fist clenched on the screwdriver to the point of making her fingers hurt. "<Raquel "Sezmra" Svancara>, Opifex Agent, SPARTA Executive. Emergency code 92-DTP-37. Priority access. Lookup: Omni-Med files, Wednesday, December 11th, 29476. Compare to current insurance records and records from last month. Compare to DNA samples stored in personal SPARTA database."

<Emergency code invalid. Procedure failed>, the display flashed, and Jen briefly snarled. Of course. Fortunately she had taken her own precautions since long ago; despite what the boss could think, she needed access to the whole database, not only to what external eyes were allowed to see. She suspected that Adan-sama already knew; but after all, it was just another challenge among the others - hacking her own office bases - regularly cracking every new security procedure - conceiving procedures herself. As long as she could crack them, it meant that there was a risk for someone else to be able to do it to. That was her way of testing. Of improving things. Of getting sure that nobody would touch and threaten her friends anymore. She was expecting some shouting or reproach sooner or later, yet she simply didn't care.

"Hmrph. Enter Emergency code - ComSec: Alpha." This type, she simply typed the needed codes, falling silent. <Priority access through Port [*****:*]. Use algorithm D-265 if needed.> "You make this comparison, no matter what. I wanna it all - karyotype to karyotype, sequence to sequence. If any difference is detected, give immediate warning. If not, just leave data where they are." It would take hours, of course, or maybe even a whole day; that was the main reason for her to use the Nezumi program to do the checking.

With another sigh, Jen rested her back againts her chair and closed her eyes for a long minute, feeling the tiredness crash on her once again, hoping she could at least catch a few hours of sleep. But she knew she wouldn't be able to. Another useless hope. Why on 'Ka was she still hoping in anything at all, when she knew very well that hope was such an illusion... such a fake...

So much to do, once again...

((written by Demenzia))

[AiymaNeut]

Early morning; December 12, 29476

In that misty half-waking moment between dreams, the answer to the riddle showed itself.

"Ray Bradbury!"

She sat up in bed, recalling the story at last. After her mother's death, her father used to read her to sleep every night. Although "Something Wicked This Way Comes" probably wasn't the best choice for a small child, she had begged him to read it to her. And her father, who had an incredible weakness for the written word, couldn't resist sharing the tale, about the allure of having one's innermost wish fulfilled.

She puzzled, trying to recall the names... Jim Nightshade. Will Holloway. Cooger & Dark's Pandemonium Shadow Show. People who made a wish, were granted their fondest desire, only to be imprisoned by it.

She puzzled it out a bit longer, trying to match any of this to what she had talked with Alamexis and Lesentia about earlier. None of it really made sense. After a few moments, she gave it up.

"A literate creep", she thought to herself, "he was just borrowing a quote".

Alamexis had mentioned Shakespeare's Macbeth. She'd read the book in school, but couldn't recall any of it just then. And now she was just dying to read both stories.

She made a mental note to get copies of both books, then curled up in a little ball, and went to sleep.

((written by Barlau))

[AiymaNeut]

Early morning; December 12, 29476

The night sky loomed over Omni-Entertainment like a shadow dotted with color and points of light. Boots tapped across cold metal, quietly, making their way north across the platform. Shallow waves of black cloth moved with the figure’s gaunt. Slowly he approached her, silently enough that she didn’t notice. He stood behind her for several moments, breathing lightly as to not disturb her. The night sky cast a constant darkness, no light shone about, save the slight glow of the Rompa Bar sign.

“Sssssezzzmraaa…”

She jumped, nearly sailing off the platform as she yelped at the voice behind her. Her hands caught the metal floor she sat upon, fingers digging in for balance. She frantically turned, careful of her distance to him, and looked up in wonder.

“Yesss, I have come back… yesss, for you.”, he hissed down at her.

Raquel, still staring up at the figure of Demoneyes, shook her head slowly and mumbled about seeing him die. Disbelief flowed from her tongue, she was so sure he’d been killed by “them”.

“Yessss Ssssszemra.... I am never really gone... yesss my husk may have been killed, but my ssssoul isss forever... I am not like thossse who have ssssuffered a permanent death noooo. But, I am sssssmarter than they know, yessss, and countered what they attempted. Ssssadly, it can be done only once more, yessss, ssssadly…”, he explained. She prodded him, trying to find out why he continued to seek her out when obviously they knew he was “speaking the truth”. She rose to her feet, stifling a yawn that crept up on her.

Almost on cue, the hissing nanomage mocked her for her lack of sleep. Raquel waved a hand to brush it off, claiming she had slept just fine, but just not enough.

“I ssssee through your liessss, Sssezmra, yesss.”
“I never lie.”, she smiled innocently at him
“When whissspers call in sssshadowed sssleeep, forever mine your ssssoul will be.”, he curled his lips at her, rambling on again about dreams and his soon to be union with her. She mumbled in return about how silly he sounded, talking about souls and shadowed sleep. “And when I passss thisss forssssaken place, we merge assss one, in dark embrace.”, he merely whispered back at her doubt.

“You’re mad, simply MAD!”, she said loudly, “You’re just trying to distract me from this, from my work.”
“To ssssave your politician, yessss?”, he replied, “Issss he really worth sssaving. Sssssezmra?”
“Yes, of course he is!”, she exclaimed, glaring up at him again.
“Jusssst what hasss he done for you?”, he questioned, his voice sincere yet hinted with vice.
“How dare you! I don’t base my duties on what people ‘do’ for me. I base them on my loyalty to the Corporation!”, she snapped at him, as he taunted her again with knowledge of Tisantous’ life “essence”. He claimed it weakened further, and Raquel growled out… demanding to know how to get to Tisantous. The nanomage merely shook his head, at a loss.
“My fate I’ve ssssseen, I know my time isss not to be, for when I die my next death, it sssshall be forever ressst. For thossse who know and sssspeak the truth, Ssssezmra, mussssst die in their eyessss.”, he watched her response, and Raquel absently rubbed her neck, her gaze traveling across the floor of the platform. He sneered down at her, amused, and quipped about their union again. She shook her head, tired of the subject.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a small figure move, pistols in hand. It was Quinn, she expected him, and there he was. She gave him a quick look to signal for him to stand by… she’d utilize him if she needed him, and especially if the nanomage got “feisty” again. Raquel simply declared that Tisantous would not die, halfway wanting to believe it, and halfway distracting Demoneyes from her colleague. He babbled on about truth, warnings, but not before long his attention started to drift, and he slowly peered over his shoulder. Quinn had casually lit a cigarette, looked up at Demoneyes, and blew a small cloud of smoke in his direction.

“Ahhhh, Merryman, your mother…yessss, sssshe will be falling ill sssoon. Sssshe will not recover from this virussss, no, ssssent by thossse that watch your precioussss politician.”, Demoneyes hissed out at Quinn. Raquel’s opifex friend scowled, simply not amused by this man’s whispers of death.

“Look.. tell those ‘all powerful’ bastards to get a grip on reality. No one’s harming any employees and getting away with it.”, Raquel spun him around, finally completely annoyed, “Not Quinn’s mother.. not me, and they sure as hell aren’t getting away with taking Tis.”

Demoneyes ignored her, relating how it was already too late for Quinn’s mother, and barely noticed as Quinn mocked him… until that is, Quinn held up his pistol. The nanomage hissed, partly in fear, and partly in anger. Demoneyes approached Quinn however, slowly stopping to stand in front of him. The nanomage suggested Quinn hurry to go spend time with her, for her end was near. Raquel and Quinn both growled. How dare he speak of such things!

“Sssshhh, her heart is faintly beating yessss. I ssssee her falling…”, his eyes squinted, a light red glow ebbing from them, “.. to the floor asss we sssspeak, yesss, go to her, yesss.”, he mumbled incoherently for a short while, then his eyes soon drifted open.. glowing stronger. “Quinn! Help me! .. please…”

Quinn and the agent almost jumped, gawking at the nanomage. From his lips slithered a voice, not a voice of hisses, but a higher pitched, female voice. Quinn trembled, his eyes growing wide and wild. He shivered, but as volatile as he looked, he quietly whispered inquiry at the nanomage figure.

“Quinn.. ahh.. it’s.. it’s hurting me…,” the voice coughed out at them. Quinn lunged towards Demoneyes and grabbed him by the neck. Raquel nearly stumbled back at the surprise as her friend accosted the man.

“What are you doing to her!! You bastard!”, he yelled at the nanomage, pulling him about.
“Quinny! Aaaagh! It’s hurting me!”, the voice coughed out once more before Demoneyes shuddered back to himself. “Heed the wordssss of your mother, yessss, a warning I ssssend.” Quinn snapped, hurling Demoneyes with unseen strength, into one of the nearby support beams on the platform. The nanomage hissed in pain and annoyance.
“If she is harmed… !”, the opifex shouted.
“Quinn… maybe you should go.”, Raquel suggested. Even she at this point began to fear the worst, despite her skepticism. Quinn snapped his fingers underneath the nanomage’s nose, signaling how quickly he’d have Demoneyes taken care of. Within the blink of an eye, he’d then jumped down from the platform, running fiercely to his mother. She quickly turned back to the hissing nanomage, her lip curled in anger.

“I ssssmell death isss near… yesss.”
“No.”
“Yessss, it issss here, at thisss very door. Looking for another man, yesss. A sssixth!”

Raquel’s jaw dropped open in awe. A sixth!? Six people were to die fully? Permanently?! She panted, refusing to believe it. Darting her eyes from door to door, she asked him, furiously, what door he meant. Demoneyes’ arm rose and a finger set an invisible connection to the door… of Rompa Bar. She gasped. She knew of whom he spoke, for she had spoken to him mere hours ago. The image of Mr. Jurik, Pschoeye, slipped into her mind. Her meeting with him was brief, but somewhat productive. He had received a letter of warning, alerting him to the consequences of his seeing “them” outside Newland City. The consequences of speaking the truth. She had met him, for he’d been willing to hand over the letter, even if his fear was getting the better of him. She had hoped then, that it was the last time he’d be involved in this mess. “They” had other plans, however.

“Death issss lurking, yessss.”, he continued on. Raquel still denied it all, proclaiming again that no more would die. So many had died already… Her friend and colleague, Irvin, some Devils’ Advocate member, Mona Scales, Tisantous’ assistant, Arijiki…. At this thought, her ear piece exploded with shouts and yelling. Somoene was calling out at a door, and she realized whom it was: Quinn. He had been making his way to his mother’s, and apparently arrived. Unrecognizable sounds were heard, then a frantic voice. Quinn called out to his mother, desparately. Raquel winced, frozen, and listened in hope. Hope that Quinn would find his mother safe and sound. That was not to be, though, for soon her friend’s voice shattered into mourning as he yelped out orders for Omni-Med personnel to hurry to her apartment. Moments passed, shuffling, voices rang over Quinn’s active comm. Raquel bit her lip, frowning heavily as she heard the confirmation… his mother had passed away.

Damoneyes looked on, whispering about how too many knew.. too many knew the truth. The agent shook her head and quickly felt around in her pockets, looking for something.

“You can see… can’t you…. I want you…”, she mumbled, still searching, “…to look at something for me.” Her head nodded once as she pulled a folded slip of paper from her back pocket. “Yes.. look in the right hand corner of the paper, Damon, please?”, she asked the nanomage, her voice soft now. She shoved the letter at him, in unspoken demand. “See?”
“Hmmm, a letter, yessss.”, he responded absently, eyeing a bystander who’d wandered close. Raquel tugged at his cloak pleadingly, now yearning for his assistance. He kept on, desiring the blood of the bystander. Annoyed, the agent snatched back the letter and turned.
“Fine.. you’re just going to die anyway.”, she walked towards the edge of the platform, feeling hopeless.
“Ssssezmra! I sssspeak the truth, you ssssee.”, he spoke to her back, “Sssshe has passssed away asss I ssssaid, yesss… and death hasss come for the man that once held that letter.”
“But.. what is that.. there, in the corner.”, she referred to an odd “dot” in the upper right corner as she fingered the paper.
“Allow me to sssee, my dear, yesss.”

She nodded once, and still facing away from him, reached out to offer the letter. He then took the paper from her, his icy cold fingers grazing her hand with his touch. Raquel jerked back her hand at this and waited. The nanomage unfolded the letter and stared intently at the corner of which she spoke. His eyes glowed faintly again, reddish, hauntingly. His tongue swayed strangely, speaking an unknown language… one that Raquel had heard him speak before. Slowly his speech gained familiarity, forming common words again.

“Yessss, thissss isss the insssignia of which we sssspoke. How clever of them to make it ssssoo sssmall.”

Raquel chewed on her lip and deftly retrieved the letter from Demoneyes’ grasp, folded it, and stuck it back into her pocket. Suddenly she noticed Quinn had returned, and her heart immediately began to ache. His face was a mixture of pain, sadness, and anger. He eyed the nanomage hungrily, hatefully, his pistols shaking in his grip. The agent shook her head, she knew what Quinn was feeling. He felt hatred, hatred for the messenger, the whisperer of death. She knew how much he would love to end Demoneyes’ life right there. Suddenly Quinn shouted out, pointing to the nanomage, and walked towards him.

“I want names. Names of who did this. Now. Or whatever else you ‘saw’.”, the agent’s friend demanded.
“Who are you to demand of me, yessss!”
“Who the hell are YOU!”, Quinn yelled, “I am an agent of SPARTA, a security officer of this Corporation, you will answer me!”
“Yesss, I know who you are.. but you asssk things that cannot be sssseeen!”, he hissed back at Quinn.
“Who are these kidnappers! It is your duty as a Corporate citizen to pass on any knowledge of foul play against employees!”, Quinn finally broke, shoving the mouth of his pistol against Demoneyes’ chest. Raquel yelped out a “No!” at the sight. Tension hung in the air. Quinn twitched, his eyes wildly staring up at the nanomage doomsayer.

Whispers of death floated by…


((written by Sezmra))

[AiymaNeut]

Phantom Sensations - Part I

December 12, 29476

Blinding flashes of amber flame seared through the air of Omni-1, narrowly missing his reconstituted body. The intense heat generated by the weapons’ discharge rippled the air in waves of expansion, while the crackling, electro-thermal bursts reverberated thereafter.

Without a moment’s thought, he instinctually dove from beneath the Whompha exit to the side, away from the lines of fire, his eyes rapidly darting around searching for further threats.

18:46: Male Captain: I've been dying for a good fight! Let's see if you can give me one, A Spoiled Brat.
18:47: Female Corporal: You'll be sorry you ever came here, A Spoiled Brat!
18:47: Male Captain: You're not so bright, are you, A Spoiled Brat?
18:47: Male Captain: Time for you to die!

Alamexis rose from his crouched position, brushing the dirt from his clothes. Spoiled Brat? His mind asked itself rhetorically, as he watched the young Neutral female be turned to veritable ash by the Omni-Pol guards only 15 feet from him. Alamexis turned away from the sight, his hand releasing its white-knuckled grip from the rifle tucked beneath his black trench coat, and began walking away. Somewhere off in the distance, he heard someone shout something about “fixers”.

Reaching the same fork in the road that had led him to Rompa Bar last night, Alamexis stopped, glancing around the eastern esplanade of Omni-1. To his right, dozens of Omni-Tek employees prodded both mission terminals and each other, seeking credits or equipment in the case of the former, friendship or adventure in the case of the latter. Glancing past the Whompha in front of him, he eyed the long, seemingly unending route to his apartment, and then to his left, at the relatively short path to Rompa.

Looking up at the slowly fading sky, Alamexis sighed. The weather certainly wouldn’t be as co-operative as last night.

Feeling he had no excuse but to return home, but silently searching for a reason to travel elsewhere, his comm beeped once, flashing with a message.

You must be…? Was all he could muster, albeit in his mind. Garret “Bonefish” Silvestrini, the Director of SPARTA and Chairman of the Omni-Tek Security Council, had proved quite the elusive character to arrange a meeting with. How many times? Five, six, I’ve tried to arrange? He asked himself, trying to recall. Mr. Silvestrini’s influence and power was pervasive and deeply rooted within the corporate community, to say the least; for a man in Alamexis’ position, that spelt g-o-l-d.

Quickly, Alamexis spoke his response, not wanting to lose this opportunity, but was quite disturbed by the response. Another pointless inquiry… Mr. Silvestrini had informed him that he was, yet again, occupied elsewhere. This message was, much like the others, of no purpose aside from “touching base.”

[Alamexis] Of course. I'll be going to Rompa to try and put some food in my stomach, so feel free to contact me at a more opportune time.

Alamexis sighed, as he spoke his response into his comm, but, as he finished, he smiled slyly. After all, with this exchange of seemingly pointless messages, he had accomplished what the weather had refused. He turned his gaze upwards from his comm, and proceeded to Rompa Bar.

((written by Alamexis))

[AiymaNeut]

Alamexis sat in one of Rompa’s many booths, quite annoyed. He was grumpy enough because of the lack of nourishment incurred as a result of spending yet another day buried in the immense central library of Omni-Admin. What made matters worse was that his usual booth across from the bar was taken by someone else.

Given that I actually have to make excuses for myself to come here, lest people think I actuallylive here, you’d think they’d reserve that booth for me… Alamexis thought, searching the room for one of Vixen Entertainment’s waitresses. Seeing none, he returned to his datapad and the amusing message Ashley had left for him. He chuckled quietly, recalling his devilish wishes of Wednesday. I guess I’m not the only one thinking such th---

18:57: Alamexis glances up from his datapad, gasping quietly

18:57: Sezmra: Well hello Michael.
18:57: Cordell: Raquel.
18:57: Sezmra smiles.

18:57: Alamexis: S-Sezmra?
18:57: Sezmra: Mr. Age.. hello there.
18:57: Sezmra blinks.
18:57: Sezmra: In the flesh..
18:58: Alamexis looks at Sezmra, shockingly
18:58: Sezmra smirks, rubbing her neck.
18:58: Alamexis: You're feeling okay, I take it? We were quite worried last night.
18:58: Sezmra smiles.
18:58: Alamexis: Lesentia told us what happened.
18:58: Sezmra: Yes.. I'm.. I'm fine.
18:58: Sezmra: Just a lil' mm tired.
18:58: Alamexis breathes a sigh of relief
18:58: Alamexis smiles
18:58: Sezmra gives Alamexis a comforting look.
18:58: Sezmra: No need to worry.. I'll be alright.
18:58: Alamexis: Good to see, Ms. Svancara. I knew you wouldn't buckle to such a silly injury.
18:59: Sezmra grins.
18:59: Alamexis noticeably relaxes
18:59: Sezmra: Well.. it was more ahh.. strange than injuring.

His nerves finally calmed of their most profound worry of the day, the proverbial world around him, which oddly seemed to dissolved when he first saw Sezmra, slowly returned. Alamexis glanced around, noticing that his “hint” to Mr. Silvestrini either paid off, or a wonderful coincidence had occurred.

18:59: Alamexis nods at Bonefish
18:59: Bonefish: Have you been by the office and collected your uniform, comm channel decoder, and identity card?
18:59: Cordell: Yes sir.
18:59: Bonefish: Excellent, well then... welcome aboard.
19:00: Bonefish smiles
19:00: Cordell: Thank you boss.

After observing Mr. Silvestrini, dressed fully in the very familiar InternOps suit, Alamexis returned his attention to Sezmra and her earlier comment.

19:00: Alamexis: I can imagine, Ms. Svancara. What kind of lunatic bites someone?
19:00: Alamexis chuckles uncomfortably
19:00: Sezmra: Well...
19:00: Sezmra: That's a good question.
19:00: Sezmra shrugs.
19:00: Alamexis: A shame he could not have been...
19:00: Alamexis searches for the word
19:00: Alamexis: ...recovered for questioning.
19:00: Sezmra nods at Micheal.
19:00: Cordell nods at Raquel
19:00: Sezmra: Eh..
19:00: Sezmra: Personally, Malcom...
19:01: Sezmra: I'd be happy to never see him again.
19:01: Alamexis smiles
19:01: Alamexis: I know.
19:01: Sezmra: That and be able to get some sleep.
19:01: Sezmra: Then I'll be fit as a fiddle again.
19:01: Alamexis raises his eyebrow, curious
19:02: Alamexis: Why no sleep? Work too busy?
19:02: Sezmra shakes her head, glossing over it.
19:02: Sezmra: Just...
19:02: Sezmra: Yeah, too busy.
19:02: Sezmra nods, satisfied with that answer.
19:02: Alamexis has a look of concern wash across his face
19:02: Sezmra smiles at Malcom.
19:02: Alamexis calms slightly at Sezmra's smile
19:03: Sezmra: Can't sleep like a baby all the time, now can I?
19:03: Alamexis puts his hand on her shoulder
19:03: Alamexis: No, I guess not
19:03: Alamexis chuckles quietly
19:03: Sezmra: I'd be way too cheerful.. ugh.
19:03: Sezmra snickers.
19:03: Alamexis: Well, I will leave you to your duties, and above all your rest, Ms. Svancara.
19:03: Alamexis smiles warmly
19:03: Alamexis: Do take care of yourself.
19:03: Sezmra smiles.
19:03: Sezmra: Thank you sir, you too.
19:04: Alamexis cringes slightly
19:04: Alamexis: "Sir..."
19:04: Alamexis sighs, saying nothing
19:04: Sezmra chuckles to herself.
19:04: Sezmra: ahhh yes.. Mr. Lamit.

19:04: Bonefish: Well, I'll leave you two to it.
19:04: Cordell: Reporting to duty.
19:04: Sezmra: Good to have you with us.
19:04: Cordell grins
19:04: Sezmra: Now.. let me see.
19:04: Sezmra: You've all your things in order...
19:05: Cordell: Sure do.
19:06: Sezmra: I do believe I'll change and you and I can get to work, very soon.
19:06: Bonefish: Well, if you'll excuse me, I have an appointment which I'm kind of late for...

Alamexis retook his seat within his temporary booth, and returned to his datapad, trying with considerable effort to expel the doubts that were suddenly enveloping his every thought.

((written by Alamexis))

[AiymaNeut]

19:06: Alamexis switches off his datapad, putting it away
19:06: Bonefish: Mr Age.
19:06: Alamexis: Mr. Silvestrini.
19:06: Alamexis: I hope you didn't rush here on my account.
19:06: Bonefish: How are you?
19:07: Alamexis: Busy, but aren't we all?
19:07: Bonefish: Well... I was getting bored of rousting rebels in The Cup, so you saved me.
19:07: Alamexis chuckles, tiredly
19:08: Bonefish: How is the law society coming?
19:08: Alamexis: As busy as can be imaginable. The addition of Kiyoko Grebel and Sejanus Thompon have been blessings.
19:09: Alamexis: But, with the current state of semi-civil war, business is booming.
19:09: Alamexis smirks
19:09: Bonefish: I see.
19:09: Alamexis: What can I do for you?

19:10: Sezmra: Hmm.

Alamexis became suddenly distracted from Bonefish’s reply, and once again the world around him, or at least most of it, faded somewhat, as his attention turned elsewhere.

19:10: Cordell: I hope this is appropriate....
19:11: Sezmra: Have a seat, Micheal.
19:11: Sezmra: I wanted to ask you a few things .. actually. About your recent work. If you'd turn anything up.
19:12: Sezmra: There's a horrible recent turn of events that has me worried.

19:12: Alamexis glances at the picture hanging behind Bonefish in thought

That’s an understatement, Raquel…

19:14: Cordell: So far the investigation hasn't pulled anything tangible.
19:14: Sezmra takes a deep breath and nods slightly.
19:14: Sezmra: Is as I expected.
19:15: Sezmra: Perhaps we can turn something up soon.
19:15: Cordell: I need to see other things first before coming to any conclusions.
19:15: Cordell: I'll pull a few strings and see what can't be done.
19:15: Sezmra: Wonderful.

Bonefish had been speaking the entire time, and although Alamexis responded, smiled, nodded, he simply could not focus on the man – and the meeting he had endeavoured to establish for over four weeks.

Alamexis’ comm suddenly flashed, and he glanced down at it, puzzled. A woman by the name of Cehnie had sent him a message which he could have sworn he not only saw on his screen, but also heard it spoken.

[Cehnie]Mind if we sit with you, sir?
19:18: Alamexis sighs
19:18: Alamexis: "Sir..."
19:19: Bonefish raises an eyebrow

19:19: Sezmra happens to overhear Malcom and chuckles.

Alamexis began to spin around in his seat, to see who was behind him. Glad to see you’re paying attention, too, Raquel… he thought. His original su****ions were confirmed as he turned fully around, noticing Cehnie and three or four other females, mostly nanomages, all curiously dressed in similar robes.

19:19: Alamexis: We are actually in a meeting right now
19:19: Alamexis: Cehnie.
19:19: Mizkat purrs
19:19: Citac: hello there boys...
19:19: Cehnie: well... then I won’t disturb you... for now...
19:19: Alamexis glances around
19:19: Alamexis: Hmmmm...
19:19: Citac: I sure would..
19:19: Alamexis: Thank you.
19:19: Cehnie: come on girls... lets go... their no fun...
19:19: Citac smiles
19:20: Alamexis: Good evening, ladies.
19:20: Mizkat: miau..
19:20: Alamexis turns back to Bonefish
19:20: Cehnie: evening
19:20: Mizkat: stiffs
19:20: Alamexis shakes his head slightly
19:20: Mizkat sighs
19:20: Alamexis whispers: Now, what is it we were talking about, Mr. Silvestrini?

What an odd group of women…haven’t seen them in here, ever. More thoughts tending to confusion. And, despite his question to Bonefish, more distraction compounding his already-plagued thoughts.

19:21: Bonefish whispers: It has rather annoyingly stole some of my thunder, though in a different way.
19:21: Alamexis whispers: Indeed. It was...interesting, as Sezmra would say.

Suddenly, more calamity erupted behind him. What now?

19:21: Templus: oh come now Valaik
19:21: Missmaul: What meeting Templus?
19:21: Valaik: I honestly don't know what you mean.
19:21: Ravia rolls her eyes
19:21: Missmaul: Neither do I

19:21: Bonefish glances up slightly at the familiar voices and names being tossed about.

19:22: Ravia: would you two kindly leave.. my husband and I have things to "discuss".
19:22: Templus: Oh I’m sorry Ravia I don’t care

19:22: Alamexis follows Bonefish 's gaze out of the corner of his eye

Alamexis almost sighed at the relief of seeing the somewhat familiar sight of General Pierce embroiled in fiery discussions with members of Devil’s Advocate.

19:22: Ravia: Oh I am sorry Templus then I don't give a rollerrats ass about your business.
19:23: Valaik chuckles

Alamexis physically turned back to Bonefish, although his mind failed to accompany his body. Bonefish continued talking, and Alamexis continued responding in the least-robotic manner possible.

19:38: Cordell chuckles
19:42: Sezmra: Shush

His attention called away yet again by whispers across the room, and an infinite number of questions arising as a result, Alamexis glanced over his shoulder, noticing that he and Bonefish were no longer alone.

19:49: Lesentia: Hello Mr. Silvestrini
19:49: Bonefish coughs politely.
19:49: Alamexis smiles at Lesentia
19:49: Bonefish: Miss Forejt.
19:49: Bonefish: How are you?
19:49: Lesentia: Hello Alamexis
19:49: Alamexis: Ms. Forejt. Good to see you again.
19:50: Alamexis glances over his shoulder
19:50: Alamexis: And good to see our agent friend, as well.
19:50: Lesentia: Did your assistant get the log she requested?
19:50: Alamexis cringes worriedly
19:50: Alamexis: It would not be pleasant to call her my "assistant", Ms. Forejt.
19:50: Alamexis smiles
19:50: Lesentia: Errr sorry
19:51: Alamexis: I haven't spoken with her yet, actually.
19:51: Bonefish: Kiyoko?
19:51: Alamexis glances at Bonefish, nodding
19:51: Lesentia is slightly embarrassed
19:51: Bonefish: 'Assistant' - oh my.
19:51: Bonefish chuckles
19:51: Alamexis chuckles
19:51: Alamexis: She'd claw my eyes out if I ever called her that...
19:51: Bonefish: At least...
19:52: Bonefish: I fear you would lose the family insurance too.
19:52: Alamexis: Both immediate and distant, Mr. Silvestrini
19:53: Lesentia: Well, are sure you would not like to have a copy, Alamexis?
19:53: Alamexis: She seems....
19:53: Alamexis pauses
19:53: Alamexis: ...well enough. There's no need to trouble myself further by reviewing those troubling events.
19:53: Lesentia: fair enough
19:54: Lesentia: excuse me for interrupting
19:54: Alamexis turns back to Bonefish
19:54: Lesentia: Good evening
19:54: Alamexis: Take care, Ms. Forejt
19:54: Lesentia: Thank you

As Lesentia walked away, to the table at which his thoughts currently sat, Alamexis could see that this meeting was not as productive as he had hoped. And yet, at that time, it seemed not to concern him.

19:56: Sezmra: Lesentia, hey there.
19:56: Lesentia: Hi Sezmra

The world faded even further around him, and he finally succumbed to his distraction.

19:56: Sezmra: How're you?
19:57: Lesentia: I'm fine, but a little shaken
19:57: Sezmra: Over, if I may ask?
19:57: Sezmra: This whole ordeal?
19:57: Lesentia: Yes...
19:57: Sezmra nods.
19:57: Sezmra: Yes..

19:57: Alamexis looks at Bonefish, uneasily
19:57: Bonefish smiles thinly.

Does he know how distracted I am? Can he sense it, see it?

19:58: Lesentia: I spoke to the head of the Vampire Legion just a few minutes ago
19:59: Sezmra raises an eyebrow.
19:59: Sezmra: Really.
19:59: Lesentia: I just happened to find him roaming around in Rome
19:59: Sezmra: Anything come of it?
19:59: Sezmra: No blood dripping from his lips, I hope.
20:00: Lesentia: I asked him if he knew our "friend" and he said no.
20:00: Lesentia: I didn't see any
20:00: Sezmra smiles.
20:00: Sezmra: Well..
20:01: Lesentia: But that doesn't mean that he is just neat during feeding.
20:01: Lesentia chuckles
20:01: Sezmra stretches her neck slightly, grinning at Lesentia.
20:01: Sezmra: Perhaps.
20:02: Lesentia: Has he contacted you after last night?
20:02: Sezmra shakes her head quickly.
20:02: Sezmra: No.

20:02: Alamexis shakes his head slowly, clearing his thoughts

20:03: Lesentia: Have you or anyone else checked around Newland City?
20:03: Sezmra: I wandered about there earlier.
20:03: Sezmra: Quite as usual.
20:03: Sezmra: yes...
20:04: Lesentia: Have we gotten any further on who he works for or represents?
20:04: Sezmra: Damon?
20:04: Sezmra: No... none.
20:04: Sezmra: I'm really honestly believing he's..
20:04: Lesentia sighs
20:04: Sezmra: Just...
20:04: Lesentia: crazy?
20:04: Sezmra chuckles lightly.
20:05: Sezmra: That too.
20:05: Sezmra: Perhaps he's just that...
20:05: Sezmra: A crazy man drug into a crazy situation.

20:06: Alamexis forces a smile

20:06: Lesentia: Sounds a lot like us right now
20:06: Sezmra smirks.
20:06: Sezmra: Yeah...
20:06: Sezmra stifles a yawn, covering her mouth.
20:07: Lesentia: still haven't slept?
20:07: Sezmra shrugs softly.
20:07: Sezmra: Eh.. a bit. Not nearly enough.

20:08: Bonefish nods
20:08: Bonefish: Thank you Mr Age.
20:08: Alamexis: And thank you for the honour of consideration, Mr. Silvestrini.
20:08: Bonefish smiles

20:08: Lesentia: Do we know if he will be back tonight?

20:08: Bonefish: No less than you deserve... Malcom.
20:08: Alamexis nods, smiling slightly

20:08: Sezmra grumbles.
20:08: Sezmra: The way my luck goes, he will be.

20:09: Alamexis: Thank you, Mr. Silvestrini. I will let you back to work now. Oh, one last thing...

Alamexis stood as if to leave, but leaned over to Bonefish.

20:09: Alamexis whispers: Do take care of Ms. Svancara
20:09: Alamexis smiles
20:09: Alamexis: This has been a pleasure, Mr. Silvestrini. I will contact you soon.
20:10: Bonefish extends his hand...
20:10: Alamexis takes Bonefish 's hand, shaking it
20:10: Alamexis: Good evening, Mr. Silvestrini.

Alamexis took a deep breath. His mouth was miserably dry, and although the world had returned around him, he felt the urge not to let it do so – to continue to indulge this…curiosity? Is that what this is? Alamexis shook his head clear, and walked away from the booth and towards the bar.

((written by Alamexis))

[AiymaNeut]

20:11: Alamexis: Evening, Officer.

Alamexis leaned forward on the bar, beside his good friend, Officer Adan "Eternalforce" Brockmeyer, of Omni-Pol.

20:11: Eternalforce: 'evening
20:11: Alamexis: On duty?
20:11: Eternalforce: nope...just 'chillin, enjoying a drink
20:11: Alamexis glances around the room
20:12: Alamexis: It has been absolutely packed in here this week.
20:12: Eternalforce: interesting...wonder why
20:12: Alamexis shrugs
20:12: Alamexis: Who knows?

20:12: Kittensoup removes a tissue from her pack and wipes the tears away

20:12: Eternalforce: hey Mel, know why there've been so many people here lately?

Eternalforce had turned, addressing Vixen Entertainment’s Darin "Melcain" Browman, who was standing a few feet away.

20:13: Alamexis glances out of the corner of his eye at Kittensoup
20:13: Eternalforce: bah, can't hear me
20:13: Eternalforce doesn't have the energy to walk closer to him
20:13: Alamexis chuckles
20:14: Alamexis hands a bottle cap from the bar to Eternalforce
20:14: Alamexis: Try that
20:14: Eternalforce: huh?
20:14: Alamexis nudges Eternalforce
20:14: Alamexis: Throw it!
20:14: Eternalforce: oh...no, can't do that
20:15: Alamexis chuckles
20:15: Eternalforce: ANYways...
20:16: Eternalforce: I had the worst team experience today
20:16: Alamexis: Really? What happened?
20:16: Eternalforce: well, me and a fellow officer tried to start a team
20:16: Eternalforce: all was going well until we ran into a road block:
20:16: Eternalforce: we couldn't find a doc
20:17: Alamexis chuckles at Eternalforce while glancing worriedly at Omni-Pol Offcier Melynda "Carla02" Zembower
20:17: Eternalforce: it takes a while, but I finally find a doc...then my buddy disappears or something, and doesn't come back

20:17: Carla02 nods
20:17: Carla02: Good Evening

20:17: Eternalforce: THEN, to top it all off, the ENF, who was a KFM, gets 2 missions, then leaves the team and runs
20:17: Alamexis turns to Carla02, realizing she saw him looking
20:17: Alamexis: Good evening, Officer Zembower. Is everything okay?
20:18: Eternalforce sighs when he realizes no one is listening
20:18: Alamexis: Pardon me, Eternalforce
20:18: Carla02: hmm well recent events are effecting some citizens worse than others
20:18: Eternalforce: ah, don't mind me...I’m just spewing my woes at a bar like any civilized soldier would
20:18: Alamexis crinkles his brow
20:18: Alamexis: Excuse me, Eternalforce

Without so much as glancing at his friend, who he had effectively abandoned mid-sentence, Alamexis approached Carla02.

20:19: Alamexis: "Recent events"?

20:19: Eternalforce: hey! Melcain! come here and let me burden you with my troubles
20:19: Melcain sighs

20:19: Carla02: The ICC allowing open mining has created great fear within the nanomage community

20:19: Eternalforce: I didn't think it was possible, but I got a ticket for double parking my car in front of BB...can you believe that?
20:20: Melcain smirks
20:20: Melcain: Well... probably..

20:20: Alamexis sighs in relief

Thank heav---

20:20: Aktrez: evening

Shalon "Aktrez" Joor, Vixen Entertainment’s figurehead, and one of Rompa Bar’s resident celebrities, approached the two of them.

20:20: Carla02: hihi
20:20: Alamexis nods at Aktrez
20:20: Aktrez smiles
20:20: Alamexis: Good evening.

20:20: Eternalforce: not only that, but some guy chased me half around Omni-1 Trade for scratching his Yalm
20:21: Melcain: then shoot him once or twice, he'll come back somewhere far away and it’ll all be good, remember you the POLICE
20:21: Eternalforce: it gets better! in case you didn't hear, I got duped by a KFM guy...joined my team, got 2 missions, then ran as fast as his atrox legs could take him
20:21: Melcain smirks
20:21: Eternalforce: not a good day for me...
20:21: Eternalforce takes a long swig

Alamexis was having considerable fun listening in on the exchange between Melcain and Eternalforce, when he noticed Bonefish and Sezmra approach.

20:22: Bonefish: I can only take *so much* live hardcore pornography.
20:22: Eternalforce: err...
20:22: Sezmra chuckles.
20:22: Alexander "Lehx" Western raises an eyebrow at bonefish
20:22: Aktrez: hmmmm
20:22: Melcain: Well everyone their ups and downs
20:22: Alamexis glances at Bonefish, chuckling
20:22: Lehx: the word "where" comes to mind
20:22: Bonefish indicates down the isle at Val and his wife.
20:22: Sezmra points down the isle.
20:22: Alamexis glances in that direction, then averts his eyes
20:23: Alamexis: Please don't point things like that out to me.
20:23: Lesentia: Rompa seems very busy tonight
20:23: Eternalforce: where?!
20:23: Sezmra peers down the isle curiously.
20:23: Lehx shouts: where?!
20:23: Alamexis smirks

20:23: Carla02: Well I should get back to my rounds
20:23: Alamexis nods at Carla02
20:24: Carla02: Have a pleasant evening
20:24: Alamexis: Of course. You too.

Alamexis turned his attention back to the group that had now gathered in front of the bar.

20:24: Aktrez: it's nice and uncomfy
20:24: Bonefish: Ah, well, the comedic moment has passed.
20:24: Bonefish: I was trying to say you don't look that comfortable to sit on.
20:24: Aktrez: I see
20:24: Aktrez smiles
20:24: Alamexis: Seems as if you're running through every conceivable genre of conversation this evening, Mr. Silvestrini.
20:24: Bonefish: Only, I'm still unsettled by Val and his wife rutting down the isle there.
20:24: Aktrez: well, how about a table?
20:24: Alamexis chuckles
20:24: Sezmra laughs.
20:24: Aktrez: huh?
20:25: Aktrez: rutting?
20:25: Bonefish: Rutting.
20:25: Sezmra giggles quietly into her palm, looking on.
20:25: Lesentia chuckles
20:25: Bonefish: You know.
20:25: Bonefish: Rutting.
20:25: Alamexis looks at Bonefish, wondering how he'll explain this
20:25: Bonefish: Aktrez... I'm not going to explain it.
20:25: Aktrez: I get the gist
20:25: Alamexis chuckles
20:25: Bonefish smirks
20:25: Aktrez smiles
20:26: Eternalforce: you folks need help...I have a good mind to put you all in Omni Reform
20:26: Bonefish: Okay everyone, the rutting demonstration is OFF.
20:26: Aktrez: so, no seats then?
20:26: Aktrez: are you sure you are comfy here?
20:26: Bonefish nods
20:26: Aktrez: I feel guilty when y'all just stand here at the bar
20:26: Aktrez: the seats are so nice!
20:26: Sezmra: But...
20:26: Sezmra points down the isle.
20:27: Bonefish: To be honest.
20:27: Aktrez needs to see what this is about
20:27: Sezmra laughs.
20:27: Sezmra: Oh god.
20:27: Sezmra: I didn't do it.
20:27: Bonefish: After seeing Val and Mrs Val "at it", I worry about what's happened on the seats.
20:28: Alamexis leans forward on the bar, pulling out a datapad
20:28: Eternalforce: do you ever stop working?

Alamexis noted his friend’s comment, and chuckled quietly to himself, flipping through the day’s notes and correspondence. His mind, yet again, remained elsewhere.

20:31: Sezmra leans against the wall with a yawn.
20:32: Bonefish: Is it me... or did Aktrez go down the isle to join Val And Rav and not come back...
20:32: Sezmra nods at the Boss.
20:32: Alamexis stops, glancing over his shoulder at Bonefish and chuckling
20:33: Bonefish: We need a floor show or something.
20:33: Sezmra: Well...
20:33: Bonefish: Who has a party piece?
20:33: Sezmra: We've got a couch show in back.
20:33: Zaborex laughs
20:33: Melcain: Aktrez is coming back

20:34: Aktrez shouts: ladies and Gentlemen, please join us at the bar for an impromptu floor show

20:34: Bonefish: Aktrez... we need some entertainment.
20:34: Bonefish: A floor sho...
20:34: Bonefish laughs
20:34: Aktrez smiles
20:34: Sezmra: Good timing.
20:34: Aktrez: always a step ahead
20:34: Aktrez: please, take a seat folks
20:34: Aktrez: just in front there
20:34: Aktrez: as soon as our other dancer gets here.. we will be ready
20:34: Bonefish: I don't wanna see Val ugly naked butt again... so please... not that
20:35: Melcain laughs
20:36: Melcain shouts: Dance, Dance, Dance
20:36: Aktrez shouts: one more dancer on her way
20:37: Melcain: Ladies and Gentlemen...
20:37: Melcain: please line up by the bar and take a seat
20:37: Lesentia needs a very strong drink
20:37: Bonefish prods Lehx in the back
20:38: Melcain: Who wants to see dancing?
20:38: Melcain: Then take a seat here
20:38: Aktrez shouts: ladies and gents, please have a seat facing the bar.
20:38: Melcain: where I’m standing
20:38: Aktrez shouts: the show is about to begin
20:38: Melcain sighs
20:39: Lesentia: oh dear god...
20:39: Lesentia shakes head

As he flipped casually through the mostly business-related correspondence he had uploaded to his datapad, he paused as the message from his spook/financial-clerk friend, Ashley, popped on screen. My, aren’t we playful?

20:39: Alamexis chuckles quietly to himself, staring at his datapad
20:39: Aktrez shouts: Vixen Entertainment.. and the Rompa Bar present. The VIXEN DANCERS
20:40: Eternalforce: you know, it's sad, but I think VE makes better lines than us
20:40: Melcain laughs
20:40: Lesentia laughs

20:42 Aktrez starts singing
20:42: Aktrez: You are the dancing queen

Alamexis was jolted from his datapad, as one of the Vixen dancers hopped on to the bar directly in front of him.
20:42: Alamexis glances up from his datapad at the dancer now in front of him

20:42: Aktrez: Young and sweet, only seventeen
20:42: Aktrez: Dancing queen..
20:42: Aktrez: Feel the beat from the tambourine
20:42: Aktrez: You can dance
20:42: Aktrez: You can jive

20:42: Lesentia: I am officially scared

Noticing that the dancer didn’t seem particularly concerned with his attempt at “work”, Alamexis walked away from the bar, to the back of the crowd.

20:43: Aktrez: Dig in the dancing queen

20:43: Aktrez: may I have a volunteer?
20:43: Alamexis leans against the wall, returning to his datapad
20:43: Aktrez shouts: ALAMEXIS
20:43: Aktrez: please join me up here
20:43: Sezmra laughs.
20:43: Alamexis glances at Aktrez
20:43: Aktrez: come up to the stage
20:43: Alamexis: Oh no....
20:44: Aktrez: a round of applause for Alamexis folks
20:44: Sezmra chuckles, looking on with a grin.
20:44: Alamexis coughs *Sezmra*
20:44: Lesentia: Come on, go up there
20:44: Sezmra: Malcom! Get up there!
20:44: Sezmra cheers for Alamexis.
20:44: Alamexis: I believe Ms. Svancara has just volunteered to take my place
20:44: Sezmra laughs!
20:44: Alamexis sighs, putting away his datapad
20:44: Lesentia backs away innocently
20:44: Aktrez shouts: a round of applause
20:44: Sezmra winks at Alamexis.
20:44: Alamexis blushes profusely

20:44: Aktrez sings to Alamexis
20:44: Aktrez: never knew I could feel like this
20:44: Alamexis smiles at Sezmra
20:44: Aktrez: Like I've never seen the sky before
20:45: Aktrez: want to vanish inside your kiss
20:45: Aktrez: every day I love you more and more....
20:45: Aktrez: Listen to my heart, can you hear it sing?
20:45: Alamexis blushes more, turning away...
20:45: Aktrez: tellin' me to give you everything!
20:45: Aktrez: seasons may change
20:45: Aktrez: winter
20:45: Aktrez: to spring.
20:45: Aktrez: but I'll love you until the end of time.
20:45: Aktrez: Come what may.......
20:45: Aktrez: come what may.....
20:45: Aktrez: I will love you ..
20:45: Aktrez: until my dying day....

20:45: Aktrez: thank you
20:45: Alamexis smiles uncomfortably at Aktrez, trying to hide his glee
20:45: Aktrez: thank you for helping Al!!
20:46: Alamexis: My...uh...pleasure
20:46: Aktrez: applause!!
20:46: Sezmra applauds for Malcom.
20:46: Aktrez: you may have a seat.
20:46: Aktrez smiles
20:46: Lesentia tries to hide, snickering
20:46: Alamexis spins around, seeing nothing but eyes around
20:46: Alamexis sighs, embarrassed
20:46: Aktrez shouts: let's give it up for the Vixen Dancers!!!!
20:46: Aktrez shouts: Serari
20:46: Melcain claps
20:46: Alamexis: Now if you'll all excuse me...now that you've had your fun.
20:46: Aktrez shouts: Liannika
20:46: Cordell claps
20:46: Aktrez shouts: Flirtatia

Glowing an odd shade of red, Alamexis watched as, one by one, the dancers took a bow and walked towards the main room of the bar, where the congregated in celebration.

((written by Alamexis))

[AiymaNeut]

Alamexis had retreated back to his perch along the wall, embarrassed, and yet oddly giddy.

20:47: Sezmra reaches over and pokes Malcom
20:47: Alamexis looks at Sezmra
20:47: Alamexis: You know I will remember this, don't you?
20:47: Sezmra: Oh smile! You liked it
20:47: Sezmra grins
20:47: Sezmra: Yes.. I fear you will
20:47: Alamexis chuckles
20:47: Lesentia chuckles
20:47: Alamexis exaggeratingly smiles
20:47: Alamexis: Better?
20:47: Sezmra grins
20:47: Sezmra: Mm hmm.
20:47: Lesentia shouts: laughs
20:47: Alamexis grins mischievously at Sezmra
20:47: Lesentia laughs
20:48: Sezmra pokes Lesentia
20:48: Sezmra smirks
20:48: Lesentia: ouch..
20:48: Alamexis: Yeah. That was definitely "interesting"
20:48: Sezmra nods
20:48: Alamexis chuckles, looking at Sezmra
20:48: Lesentia: This should make the news
20:48: Sezmra whistles innocently
20:49: Alamexis looks alarmingly at Lesentia
20:49: Alamexis: Don't you DARE
20:49: Lesentia backs away form Alamexis
20:49: Sezmra laughs!
20:49: Alamexis shakes his head, thinking of the consequences
20:49: Lesentia: I'm just kidding Alamexis
20:50: Alamexis glances at the message saved on the screen of his comm
20:50: Alamexis: ....I hope so
20:50: Lesentia looks around innocently
20:51: Lesentia looks back down the aisle
20:52: Lesentia: ok...what was that
20:52: Sezmra blinks
20:52: Alamexis blocks Lesentia's gaze with his hand
20:52: Alamexis: You really don't want to look down there
20:52: Lesentia: no, not that
20:52: Sezmra does!
20:52: Sezmra peers over their heads.
20:52: Lesentia: the atrox in a thong
20:52: Alamexis looks at Sezmra, smirking
20:52: Alamexis: Feeling better, Ms. Svancara?
20:52: Alamexis chuckles
20:52: Sezmra: Ry!
20:53: Sezmra nudges Malcom.. see.. I was looking for Ry.
20:53: Sezmra smiles

Sezmra, Lesentia and Alamexis were joined by Jennifer "Ryania" Thompon

20:53: Ryania: Hey Sez
20:53: Alamexis nods, in complete disbelief
20:53: Alamexis: Sure you were, Sezmra...
20:53: Sezmra harumphs
20:53: Sezmra: Can't let a lil' blood sucking and lack of sleep get in the way.
20:53: Alamexis chuckles
20:54: Alamexis: Indeed. People might think you're going "soft"
20:54: Sezmra rubs her neck
20:54: Sezmra: Yeah..
20:54: Alamexis smirks devilishly at Sezmra
20:54: Lesentia chuckles, but also looks around distrustfully
20:54: Sezmra hugs Ryania
20:55: Alamexis looks at Sezmra, puzzled by her reaction and her displeasure with her wound
20:55: Ryania smiles and hugs Sezmra
20:55: Sezmra: Just uh.. what do they call it
20:55: Sezmra: "Phantom" sensations?
20:55: Semirage: Evening ladies

Solaris "Semirage" Nocturne, who, with the aid of more than a handful of nanobots, was dramatically smaller in size, approached the group.

20:55: Alamexis gets a puzzled look on his face
20:55: Lesentia: Hello
20:56: Ryania: Be back Sez...

Alamexis was eyeing Sezmra, trying to find answers as to why he could sense such foreboding and displeasure in her voice and her words.

20:56: Alamexis: Are you....never mind.
20:56: Alamexis turns his attention to Semirage
20:56: Lesentia ooohs
20:56: Alamexis: Hello, little one
20:56: Lesentia: your sooo tiny
20:56: Semirage: whaaaat?
20:56: Alamexis forces a smirk
20:57: Semirage: Evening Alam
20:57: Semirage: Something amiss?
20:57: Alamexis: About three feet, the way I see it
20:57: Alamexis chuckles, washing the concern from his face
20:57: Semirage chuckles
20:58: Lesentia jumps over Semirage
20:58: Semirage: Don't you stomp me lady
20:58: Lesentia: I'll try not to
20:59: Lesentia: If you excuse me, I have a flight to catch
20:59: Semirage nods
20:59: Alamexis nods at Lesentia
20:59: Alamexis: Thank you for everything, Ms. Forejt
20:59: Alamexis smiles warmly
20:59: Sezmra: Take care Miss.
20:59: Lesentia: Good evening Mr. Age, Ms. Svancara
20:59: Lesentia: I will see one or both of you later
21:00: Sezmra nods
21:00: Lesentia smiles
21:00: Alamexis ' comm flashes, beeping
21:00: Lesentia: Good night

Oh damn. Ashley. In one of her characteristically-playful moods, undoubtedly, was trying to make contact with him. Alamexis didn’t even hesitate a moment with his next action.

21:00: Alamexis glances at his comm, then at Sezmra, and shuts his comm off
21:00: Sezmra raises an eyebrow.
21:00: Semirage: You really have to change that tune on the Comm Alam, the factory setting is just so darn annoying
21:01: Semirage: I can't stand the Nokiu sound
21:01: Lesentia: Oh, and Sezmra, next time you see the blood sucker, hit him with a bottle of whisky and then light a match, K?
21:01: Alamexis: Much too lazy for that. There are far too many options, and I fear my uncreative self would get lost trying to change it
21:01: Sezmra laughs at Lesentia.
21:01: Sezmra: Might do that...
21:01: Lesentia smiles
21:01: Lesentia: See you later
21:01: Sezmra grins back.
21:01: Sezmra nods.
21:02: Semirage: Did I interrupt something when I came?
21:02: Semirage: I'll leave if I did
21:02: Alamexis looks down at Semirage
21:02: Sezmra: No, just chatting
21:02: Alamexis: Of course not.
21:02: Semirage nods
21:02: Semirage: I need a trip to the loo though
21:02: Semirage: See you in a while
21:03: Sezmra shrugs.

Alamexis fiddled with his comm, being ever so careful to ensure that it was positively off. Ashley was InternOps, after all. As he frantically checked and re-checked his comm, he didn’t notice Sezmra walk to the edge of the stairs leading down to the main room.

21:03: Sezmra: Must be practicing.
21:03: Alamexis raises an eyebrow
21:03: Alamexis: Practicing?
21:03: Sezmra points to the tables across the dance floor.
21:03: Sezmra: The dancers
21:03: Alamexis walks up beside Sezmra
21:04: Alamexis: Ah. I see.
21:04: Sezmra nods.
21:04: Alamexis: Seems they have spectators, as well.
21:04: Sezmra: hehe
21:04: Alamexis: I truly think the Atrox are fascinated by sexuality. I wonder how that must be, lacking any concept of....
21:04: Alamexis blushes
21:05: Alamexis: ...biology.
21:05: Sezmra grins suddenly.
21:05: Sezmra: Yeah.. I'm sure it's ahh.
21:05: Sezmra: Strange.
21:05: Alamexis chuckles nervously, sensing same in the woman standing beside him
21:05: Sezmra: It'd.. be.. weird!
21:06: Sezmra heh's.
21:06: Alamexis smirks uncomfortably
21:06: Alamexis: Certainly much more weird than...awkward moments among other breeds
21:06: Alamexis chuckles
21:06: Sezmra giggles.. ack.
21:06: Sezmra: Hah, so true.
21:06: Alamexis: So anyway...
21:07: Alamexis exhales the nervousness
21:07: Sezmra removes her shades to rub the bridge of her nose.
21:07: Sezmra: So.. indeed. How're things on the political front?
21:07: Alamexis huffs
21:07: Alamexis: Busy....
21:07: Sezmra slips her shades back on with a nod.
21:08: Sezmra: Yes, I'm sure they are.
21:08: Alamexis: ...to say the absolute least. That is certainly an understatement

Josef " Xyrnyx" Thompon approached the two of them, in the form of a rather large feline.

21:08: Sezmra smirks.
21:08: Sezmra: Jo.
21:08: Sezmra: I do believe you're a *****.
21:08: Xyrnyx: meow
21:08: Sezmra snickers.
21:08: Alamexis sighs heavily, then smirks at Sezmra's comment
21:08: Xyrnyx waves a paw
21:08: Alamexis hmmmms
21:09: Sezmra tugs on his tail as he passes.
21:09: Alamexis: Last time I saw one of those, it was in a mirror
21:09: Alamexis: I wonder who was responsible for that?
21:09: Alamexis glances at Sezmra, smirking
21:09: Sezmra glances back at Malcom, a large open grin on her face.
21:09: Sezmra: Hah!
21:09: Sezmra laughs.
21:09: Alamexis laughs
21:10: Alamexis: Just sitting there, minding my own business reviewing some correspondence, and the next thing I know, I'm a four-hundred pound cat
21:10: Sezmra grins.
21:10: Alamexis smiles at Kittensoup
21:10: Kittensoup: A four hundred pundcat?
21:10: Kittensoup bobbles her speech out of amazement
21:10: Alamexis: Well...
21:11: Alamexis: ...I didn't weigh myself
21:12: Kittensoup: I know a good recipe for a four hundred pound Cat that could feed an army
21:12: Alamexis glances at Sezmra alarmingly
21:12: Alamexis: Don't you even THINK about it!
21:13: Sezmra blinks.
21:13: Sezmra chuckles.
21:13: Kittensoup: Tell me Alamexis.....Have you ever tried Kittensoup?
21:14: Alamexis chuckles initially, then freezes uncomfortably
21:14: Kittensoup giggles
21:14: Alamexis: Can't say I have, actually
21:14: Sezmra stops before anymore images pop into her head.
21:15: Alamexis smiles
21:16: Kittensoup giggles

Despite the comedy, and perhaps because of the awkwardness of the conversation, Alamexis found himself turning to Sezmra.

21:16: Alamexis eyes Sezmra's neck
21:16: Alamexis: Does it...
21:16: Alamexis: ...still hurt?
21:16: Sezmra notices Malcom's stare and rubs at her neck.
21:17: Sezmra: Ohh hm..
21:17: Sezmra: No..
21:17: Alamexis grabs Sezmra's hand
21:17: Alamexis: Don't pick at it
21:17: Sezmra starts.
21:17: Kittensoup is curious...but decides against asking
21:17: Sezmra nods in agreement.
21:17: Alamexis: Look how red it is...
21:17: Semirage raises an eyebrow
21:17: Sezmra: Doesn't hurt, but it feels like
21:18: Sezmra: I don't know..
21:18: Sezmra: Like someone's lightly touching it.. but nothing's there.
21:18: Alamexis: What did the Omni-Med people have to say?
21:18: Semirage: BAH
21:18: Sezmra shrugs.
21:18: Semirage: Omni-Med is a joke
21:18: Kittensoup looks at Sezma and nods in agreement
21:18: Sezmra: No real big deal.. human bite.. deep enough to need a trip to their offices
21:19: Alamexis lightly touches the surface of the wound with the back of his index finger
21:19: Sezmra winces involuntarily.
21:19: Alamexis pulls his hand away quickly
21:19: Alamexis: I think you should get that looked at, at least by someone
21:19: Kittensoup preps her medical tools
21:19: Sezmra pulls her collar up further.
21:20: Alamexis frowns in discontent
21:20: Alamexis: You worry me, Raquel
21:20: Sezmra: I'm fine.. I just think it's disturbing.
21:20: Sezmra: I've never had a demonic looking nanomage grab me suddenly, biting me.
21:20: Sezmra: and so deep so quickly.
21:20: Kittensoup: Are you sure? I can have a look at it if you want
21:20: Sezmra: Yes.. I'm sure. I'll be fine.. thank you Kitten.
21:20: Sezmra smiles.
21:21: Sezmra: My clothing's probably just rubbing against it too much.
21:21: Sezmra nods.
21:21: Doncarnage group hugs
21:21: Aktrez shouts: DONNIE!!!!
21:21: Sezmra yelps.
21:21: Doncarnage: heyas
21:21: Alamexis studies Sezmra, looking for any hint of deceit, but being able to see none
21:21: Kittensoup whispers: Can I offer you some plasma Sezmra?
21:21: Sezmra icks at Kitten... remembering the 'vampire'.
21:21: Sezmra whispers: Nooo.. no please. Heh
21:22: Alamexis pushes the vial of blood away from Sezmra
21:22: Kittensoup whispers: Just an offer....you never know
21:22: Alamexis: That is not necessary, nor is it proper, Ms. Eskew
21:22: Alamexis: Given what she's been through
21:22: Sezmra pats Malcom on the shoulder.
21:22: Sezmra: It's okay..
21:23: Sezmra smiles.
21:23: Alamexis glances at Kittensoup, then back to Sezmra
21:23: Alamexis sighs
21:24: Kittensoup softly speaks into her comm
21:26: Kittensoup suddenly gets excited as she hears Kare's voice in her com
21:28: Sezmra smirks.
21:28: Alamexis glances off blankly
21:29: Kittensoup giggles
21:29: Alamexis: Excuse me, I need to go out and get some air

He emerged into the cool, crisp evening air, all alone. The avenue in front of Rompa was devoid of life. Even the odd little robots were noticeably absent. Alamexis pulled his trench coat closer around his body, and walked out onto the bridge.

A wave of consciousness suddenly fell over him, as he realized how harshly he had chastised Kittensoup. Guilt fell into his heart, yet despite the feeling of remorse at his actions, there was a heavy…sadness? No. …worry? Perhaps… He simply could not adequately state what it was that was bothering him, even though it could be visualized; epitomized; in the form of someone he had left inside.

21:43: Alamexis takes a deep breath

Almost 15 minutes had passed, and he realized that, if for no other reason than to quell the seeming need to go back inside, he should return to apologize.

As he proceeded through the doors, all he could feel was his shoulder impact with another object – or person – inside.

21:44: Alamexis turns after walking in to Sezmra, surprised by her presence
21:44: Alamexis: Oh...hello
21:44: Sezmra smiles.
21:44: Sezmra: Yeah I had gone to wander outside.. but got stopped in my tracks by my comm.
21:44: Sezmra smirks. "Go figure".
21:45: Alamexis: Sorry for running in to you. I didn't see you there.
21:45: Alamexis smiles
21:45: Sezmra: My fault.. standing in the hall.
21:45: Alamexis: It's quite a beautiful night, actually
21:45: Sezmra: ohhh, well, they've been quite pretty lately
21:45: Alamexis: Raquel...
21:45: Sezmra: Hm?
21:45: Alamexis pauses, averting his eyes from Sezmra
21:46: Sezmra wrinkles her brow.
21:46: Alamexis: ...I'm sorry if my snapping at Ms. Eskew embarrassed you in any way
21:46: Sezmra shakes her head.
21:46: Sezmra: Ohh it didn't. I know you're concerned.. and I appreciate that.
21:46: Sezmra smiles at Malcom.
21:46: Alamexis smiles back
21:47: Alamexis: Just wanted to be sure. As I said, you...
21:47: Alamexis pauses, cutting himself off
21:47: Alamexis: Have a good night, Ms. Svancara.
21:47: Sezmra smiles.
21:47: Alamexis glances towards the doorway

Fighting every urge within that wanted him to stay exactly where he was, Alamexis walked over to Kittensoup, who was standing in the doorway leading into Rompa’s main room.

21:47: Alamexis: Ms. Eskew?
21:48: Kittensoup: Yes Mr. Age
21:48: Alamexis: I need to apologize for my actions earlier. I'm sorry if I snapped at you for the whole "plasma" thing.
21:48: Kittensoup: It is quite alright
21:48: Karerune: Plasma?
21:49: Alamexis smiles at Kittensoup, nodding
21:49: Alamexis: Enjoy your night.

Alamexis walked inside, and right for the bar. Rompa had emptied, although a few still remained. He walked up to the bar, ordering a glass of red wine, hoping that the alcohol would calm his nerves and mute his feelings.

He glanced up from his glass, noticing his “regular” booth was available. It was empty, but he had no desire – no need – to remain at Rompa. He placed the full glass of wine on the bar and walked out, returning to his apartment.

((written by Alamexis))

[AiymaNeut]

Early Friday morning; December 13, 29476

“Rome Green? .. Alright, I’ll be right there.”, Raquel tiredly spoke into her wrist-comm. She brushed off her pants, checked her boots again, and headed to Rome. She decided to walk, for she was too tired to even think about piloting a yalm. She slipped into the Highrise and noticed they were sitting at the lounging area. Raquel wandered near and took a seat in a chair adjacent to the pair she came to see.

“Juls, Quinn.”, she greeted them, Juls smiling up at her.
“Good to see you.”, Juls said, “Now that I have you here, let me tell you what I’ve found. It’s very exciting, really, I’ve never seen anything like it.” Juls pulled out a hefty stack of notes and skimmed over them, continuing on with her findings. “The blood samples we took from Demoneyes, I ordered routine labwork for. Interestingly, his blood shows all the characteristics of being anemic, but he isn’t. He has an adequate iron count, which isn’t all that special really. It probably means he had an iron deficiency at some time in his recent past.”

Quinn and Raquel simply listened, thinking on Juls’ discoveries, and what they could mean. The agent had pulled out a small vial and was fidgeting with it as the medic talked. So far she’d been the only medical assistance they had, and her work with the samples was interesting, to say the least.

“He’s still.. human, though, right?”, Quinn asked, “Standard Homo Nano?”

Juls nodded to Quinn, confirming his assumption, before she went on. “However... he has an incredible vitamin-D deficiency. I've never seen that in any human. The human body, in a pinch, can at least get an adequate amount from sunlight.”, she continued on about growing cultures with added stem cells to produce a larger quantity of tissue to work with. “I had five of these cultures... and every last one of them had a violent allergic reaction to ultraviolet light. But only if directly applied, as in, shining a lamp directly onto the tissue sheath. It's hard to describe in laymen's terms... but it's as if the cells degenerate, but they don't die. They sort of metamorphose into a new sort of cell structure. I was curious to see how this would apply in a living creature, so I did a skin-graft on a few lab rats.” Juls described injecting her test subjects, assisting their absorbing the new tissues. Physically and mentally they had changed somehow as a result, shunning direct light, and sensing heat of nearby sources and creatures.
Quinn and Juls both agreed it sounded very “vampiric” in behavior. Quinn, worried, wondered if perhaps it was a virus or disease. Juls stated that if it indeed was, she’d been unable to locate and separate it from the cells or blood samples.

“What I do know is that if these cells come in contact with broken skin, i.e., enter the bloodstream, there is a risk that it will mutate the host organism's cells.”, she said finally. “But much of my hypothesis are premature.”

Raquel found herself rubbing her neck at Juls last tidbit. Her mind drifted to the phantom sensations she felt now and again, and suddenly she quietly realized the scratches her Boss had suffered.. and even the one that had graced Juls’ cheek. Quinn openly voiced his concern for the three as Juls explained she had prepared injections to block this possibility of mutation. The shot however would render the patient extremely tired for about 24 hours.

Something dawned on Juls and she looked to Raquel, “I thought he didn’t get your eye?”
“Ohh, he didn’t, he barely scratched me and didn’t break the skin, no. However, he kinda jumped me, and… bit my neck.”, the agent replied, concern in her voice.
“He broke the skin?”, Juls then sighed after Raquel nodded in affirmation to her question.

Raquel leaned over, stretching out her arm, and offered the vial she’d been toying with to Juls. The medic took it from her, examining it closely before asking what it was. A disturbing look covered the agent’s face as she searched for the right words to relate the origin of that vial. For a moment she pondered, pondered what she saw and how much she wished she hadn’t seen it. In order to somehow free herself from the disturbance, she just poured the story out quickly.

Someone had tried to contact her, and she hadn’t noticed the comm light. Finally when she had, a “Susnesnoc” had left her a rather disturbing message about an incident. Quickly, Raquel tapped at her keypad, performing a query on this citizen: Cristobal “Susnesnoc” Depaolo, male nanomage, bureaucrat. She took a deep breath and pressed a small light on her comm, “Yes?”

“Ohh thank goodness you answered. We have an unfortunate mishap here”
“Where?”, she asked.
“Omni-Entertainment, Highrise 1.”

Raquel hopped off her booth, and ran out of Rompa, into the night air. It took her less than a minute to arrive at the highrise, her yalm speeding her along. Lesentia, Susnesnoc, and Greenie01 were standing at the entrance, conversing,
“It isn’t a pretty sight, I warn you, and the smell is very distasteful… what’s left of the poor chap.”

The agent wrinkled her brow with intense curiosity, then followed Susnesnoc into the Highrise, with Lesentia. Greenie01 stayed behind to keep an eye out for any su****ious characters. Hurriedly, they made their way to the training grounds and to the northeast corner, past the waterfall. As they neared, Raquel could make out a dark, odd mass in a rocky inlet against the ‘mountainside’. Her nose began to wrinkle, and the closer they got, the more she grimaced. They stopped a few feet from the scene, all looking down with disgust and mild wonder.

“That green goo, that’s what’s left of him…I tried to send a comm to him, but he.. doesn’t ‘exist’ anymore. Psychoeye, or something similar, Mr. Jurik, I think it was.”, Mr. Depaolo explained.

Lesentia was obviously disgusted, and Raquel even so. The agent, staring down at the “mess”, gasped as Susnesnoc uttered the victim’s apparent name. Her face drew into a cold, unemotional mask as he continued with what he witnessed. He described hearing a groaning, coming from this spot, and ran over to help what he thought was a fellow trainee in trouble. He saw this man “crumpled up, writhing, it seemed like, in pain”. Supposedly the victim looked as though he’d suffered several gun shot wounds to the head. Susnesnoc asked the man if he was alright, being a concerned employee.

“… then suddenly, his mouth opened and green goo started to fizz from it, then his body begin to rapidly melt in this fizz, and into this goo..”, he continued while turning to face Raquel. “Ohh, and… he had scratched your name in the dirt during his last moments, so I figured I should contact you.”

The agent grimaced, disturbed by this new pinnacle in a very freakish chain of events. With a sigh, she pulled out one of those now familiar med-tubes and bent down to the horrid sight before her to collect a sample of the “goo”. Susnesnoc also threw out another detail for them to ponder on… during the first message he had sent her, he heard a hissing sound on the channel that soon seemed to be all around him.

“And that’s where it came from…”, Raquel nodded towards the vial in Juls’ hand. “Afterwards, the bystander kinda freaked out, swatting at shadows, other nonsense. We took him out of the highrise, and ran into a colleague of Lesentia’s, Kermit “Littlehorror” Harnett. She had to catch a shuttle, so he accompanied me with Depaolo to the nearest Omni-Med office.” She wore a tired look on her face as she related the rest of her morning to them. Lack of sleep started to wear on her, as much as she wanted to deny it.
“You have to realize, this man was absolutely hysterical, several times he’d try to kill himself.. even with his own program library.”, she decided to skip the whole episode of Damon somehow possessing the employee to tell her she needed to hurry… “In one weeks pass should your politician stray, his life shall pass eternally.” Her eyes drifted over Juls as the medic continued to voice her concern over how dangerous Damon could be if he did indeed possess some kind of vampiric virus. She listened to Juls, still, but her eyes now floated over to Quinn. Frowning, she recalled the other day.. how he’d lost his mother just like that, and how he’d almost shot Damon just like that. Raquel knew that no matter how much he now drowned his sorrows in drink, Quinn still ached, probably wishing he’d gone through with it, instead of letting the nanomage get away.

“I’ve got some reports to finish.”, she mumbled to the pair. Juls had some of her own work to do and they parted. Raquel took a long walk home, breathing in the night air, thinking. She thought about how little time was left. She’d mentioned to Littlehorror their need for perhaps Omni-Pol involvement. Things were getting out of control, even if they were somewhat contained. They could get assistance, she thought… but then what? What would they do?
She slipped the keycard into the door and almost collapsed into the doorway. Yawning, she tossed some papers she’d stuck in her pockets onto her desk before heading towards her bed. Raquel was too tired to care about any dreams, any nightmares, any hissing. She kicked off her boots, crawled onto the bed, still fully clothed, and set her head amongst a sea of pillows, certain to try for a good night’s sleep.

((written by Sezmra))