When killing negotiators to start a war, timing is everything.
Sure, you could've blown him...
Sure, you could've blown him...
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First Shot
When killing negotiators to start a war, timing is everything.
Sure, you could've blown him away as he got out of the car. Or taken an anti-material rifle and just punched through the car. But that lacks art, and they might have sent another. And then where would you be? Spending every weekend sitting around, killing negotiators. And while that totally is your idea of a good time, your best friend might feel mistreated if you ditch him all regularly.
No, you'll do it right, and that means timing is everything. Here, it means shooting him during the negotiations, even if you have to aim through the trees and past the various memorials littering the park.
You have your directional antenna focused on them, and you're waiting for tempers to flare. There's bad blood here, of course there is. They wouldn't need a peace negotiation otherwise. You've seen it often enough. It's fifty fifty that you wouldn't even have to do anything, but then you wouldn't get a paycheck either, and being an Evil Sniper isn't cheap. There's the cost of very large rifles, very large ammunition, travel to exotic locations, bribes and so on. The usual expenses of living.
You have to commend their restraint, it takes nearly two hours before you finally get an opportunity. You roll over to the rifle from group A you nabbed a week ago, and blow the bearded ones beard away. With your low angle and position behind group B, it should look like an attack from group A. Then you roll over to the second rifle. This is why they hired you. To make sure the dream of peace died here, and that means going a bit further.
You take careful aim. This will be a little challenging, even for you. Baldy, the negotiator from A, is trying to calm things down. They picked a good man for this. But you are better. You have a rifle stolen from A. There's a conveniently placed statue pedestal. You've always been great at pool.
The rifle barks, the stone cracks, the man falls. A second later, both delegations open up. Mission accomplished.
You collect the spent casings, pack up your observation gear, and store away both rifles. Then you power walk away. The police can't ignore this, no matter what they got paid. Getting picked up would ruin your work.
---------------------------------------------
You make it back home ok. A passing police car stopped you, but they only offered you a ride home. You accepted, because rifles are heavy. You doze off for the half hour drive. They even help you carry your bag up the stairs, so you give them your left-over homemade sushi. Bribing policemen is an evil thing, after all. Alternatively, poisoning policemen is also evil. You can't remember how that particular batch turned out.
You store your stuff away call Carly about disposing the evidence, and then sit down in the TV corner to plan your next week with the soothing background noise of news reports about the renewed fighting between the Amaretto and the Koshnic crime families.
You have 4 Evilness points, and 7 Sniperness points. You use up 1 of both every week, and some actions can also reduce them. Do Evil things and Snipe people to gain more. Don't let either run out or it's quest over, since you won't be an Evil Sniper anymore.
You have 2 actions:
[]You know a guy who knows a guy… who has a whole lot of puppies. You should go look at the puppies. To kick them, of course, no other reason. You're Evil, after all.
Rewards: +2 Evilness.Play with kick puppies.
[]You should spend time with your best (only) friend. Blan isn't very demanding, so long as he gets to steal your food, but that doesn't mean you should abuse it.
Rewards: Marathon Shell of a Ghost.
[]Go to school. Maybe you should do that at some point. There's just so many people, and you can't shoot any of them when they say mean things.
Rewards: Education. Social anxiety.
[]Look for more contracts. These things don't come to you, thank everything. That one time was a mess.
Rewards: Find more people to pay you for shooting other people. Contracts rewards large amounts of Evilness and Sniperness.
[]Spent vast amounts of money for... professional reasons. Buying another rifle is something you totally need. For your work.
Rewards: Inner emptiness filled. For a moment.
[]Spent tiny amounts of money for incomprehensible reasons. Girls are supposed to have a vast array of clothing. None of which in camo patterns. You don't have that, and don't understand why you should. Your school uniform does well enough as an urban disguise. Still, maybe you should try it?
Rewards: Confusion. Vague sense of sadness.
Sure, you could've blown him away as he got out of the car. Or taken an anti-material rifle and just punched through the car. But that lacks art, and they might have sent another. And then where would you be? Spending every weekend sitting around, killing negotiators. And while that totally is your idea of a good time, your best friend might feel mistreated if you ditch him all regularly.
No, you'll do it right, and that means timing is everything. Here, it means shooting him during the negotiations, even if you have to aim through the trees and past the various memorials littering the park.
You have your directional antenna focused on them, and you're waiting for tempers to flare. There's bad blood here, of course there is. They wouldn't need a peace negotiation otherwise. You've seen it often enough. It's fifty fifty that you wouldn't even have to do anything, but then you wouldn't get a paycheck either, and being an Evil Sniper isn't cheap. There's the cost of very large rifles, very large ammunition, travel to exotic locations, bribes and so on. The usual expenses of living.
You have to commend their restraint, it takes nearly two hours before you finally get an opportunity. You roll over to the rifle from group A you nabbed a week ago, and blow the bearded ones beard away. With your low angle and position behind group B, it should look like an attack from group A. Then you roll over to the second rifle. This is why they hired you. To make sure the dream of peace died here, and that means going a bit further.
You take careful aim. This will be a little challenging, even for you. Baldy, the negotiator from A, is trying to calm things down. They picked a good man for this. But you are better. You have a rifle stolen from A. There's a conveniently placed statue pedestal. You've always been great at pool.
The rifle barks, the stone cracks, the man falls. A second later, both delegations open up. Mission accomplished.
You collect the spent casings, pack up your observation gear, and store away both rifles. Then you power walk away. The police can't ignore this, no matter what they got paid. Getting picked up would ruin your work.
---------------------------------------------
You make it back home ok. A passing police car stopped you, but they only offered you a ride home. You accepted, because rifles are heavy. You doze off for the half hour drive. They even help you carry your bag up the stairs, so you give them your left-over homemade sushi. Bribing policemen is an evil thing, after all. Alternatively, poisoning policemen is also evil. You can't remember how that particular batch turned out.
You store your stuff away call Carly about disposing the evidence, and then sit down in the TV corner to plan your next week with the soothing background noise of news reports about the renewed fighting between the Amaretto and the Koshnic crime families.
You have 4 Evilness points, and 7 Sniperness points. You use up 1 of both every week, and some actions can also reduce them. Do Evil things and Snipe people to gain more. Don't let either run out or it's quest over, since you won't be an Evil Sniper anymore.
You have 2 actions:
[]You know a guy who knows a guy… who has a whole lot of puppies. You should go look at the puppies. To kick them, of course, no other reason. You're Evil, after all.
Rewards: +2 Evilness.
[]You should spend time with your best (only) friend. Blan isn't very demanding, so long as he gets to steal your food, but that doesn't mean you should abuse it.
Rewards: Marathon Shell of a Ghost.
[]Go to school. Maybe you should do that at some point. There's just so many people, and you can't shoot any of them when they say mean things.
Rewards: Education. Social anxiety.
[]Look for more contracts. These things don't come to you, thank everything. That one time was a mess.
Rewards: Find more people to pay you for shooting other people. Contracts rewards large amounts of Evilness and Sniperness.
[]Spent vast amounts of money for... professional reasons. Buying another rifle is something you totally need. For your work.
Rewards: Inner emptiness filled. For a moment.
[]Spent tiny amounts of money for incomprehensible reasons. Girls are supposed to have a vast array of clothing. None of which in camo patterns. You don't have that, and don't understand why you should. Your school uniform does well enough as an urban disguise. Still, maybe you should try it?
Rewards: Confusion. Vague sense of sadness.
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Bio
Totally real name: Stella Reed
You've come to the city for a second shoot at life. So far, it's been mostly unquiet loneliness, but recently things have been looking up. You've met some new people that haven't tried to hurt your feelings!
Arsenal:
-AUP three-stage thermobaric siege rifle. When you need to assassinate a building.
You've come to the city for a second shoot at life. So far, it's been mostly unquiet loneliness, but recently things have been looking up. You've met some new people that haven't tried to hurt your feelings!
Arsenal:
-AUP three-stage thermobaric siege rifle. When you need to assassinate a building.
Last edited:
Contacts
Social contacts
Fiona level 1
She takes cares of puppies. And swears a lot.
Tall Girl level 1
A very tall fashionista that helped/ordered you with clothing
Lucas level 5
You punched out your sister for him. Later he walked away from it all to make a path for you, even if he'll never acknowledge that.
Blan zu Decken level Blan
Blan is the best. If the warmest, softest, comfiest hug had a child with Lazy Hunger, then Blan could be the child's brother.
Miss Mere level 0
Teacher at Caledonia High. Considers her classes very important.
The Mean One level -1
A student at Caledonia, and you're aspiring nemesis.
Business contacts
Carly level 0, locked
Your contact for disposing evidence.
Thomas level 1
A capable pilot, but a bit inexperience when things get hot. Likes to complain a lot.
Fiona level 1
She takes cares of puppies. And swears a lot.
Tall Girl level 1
A very tall fashionista that helped/ordered you with clothing
Lucas level 5
You punched out your sister for him. Later he walked away from it all to make a path for you, even if he'll never acknowledge that.
Blan zu Decken level Blan
Blan is the best. If the warmest, softest, comfiest hug had a child with Lazy Hunger, then Blan could be the child's brother.
Miss Mere level 0
Teacher at Caledonia High. Considers her classes very important.
The Mean One level -1
A student at Caledonia, and you're aspiring nemesis.
Business contacts
Carly level 0, locked
Your contact for disposing evidence.
Thomas level 1
A capable pilot, but a bit inexperience when things get hot. Likes to complain a lot.
Last edited:
Reload 1
Reload 1
[X]You know a guy who knows a guy… who has a whole lot of puppies. You should go look at the puppies. To kick them, of course, no other reason. You're Evil, after all.
Rewards: +2 Evilness.Play with kick puppies.
[X]Spent tiny amounts of money for incomprehensible reasons. Girls are supposed to have a vast array of clothing. None of which in camo patterns. You don't have that, and don't understand why you should. The uniform does well enough as an urban disguise. Still, maybe you should try it?
Rewards: Confusion. Vague sense of sadness.
You are at the puppy farm. Dog pension? Holding place? Cuddle mansion? You don't know the name for this kind of place. As the heavy steel gates close behind you, there's a strange feeling in your chest. Is it… excitement? It feels just like the first time you shoot someone for money, so it must be. You can't help but feel a little nostalgic, maybe it's architecture reminding you of your childhood.
There's a woman standing in front of the main entrance, smoking a filterless cigarette with the desperate ferocity of a professional addict. Half a dozen freshly ground out stubs litter the ground around her. She's not too happy when she notices you coming towards her.
"Hey girlie, how the fuck did you get in here?"
You hand her your visitor's pass. After a minute of tense examination, she lets out a huge sigh and cradles her head in her hands. You don't think your picture is that bad. Or maybe you just look really awful. You don't look that awful, do you?
What do you look like? (Use ranked voting; 1 means it's your favorite, 2 would be your second choice, etc.)
[]Headphone
[]Braids
[]Strawberry
[]White
[]Blonde
[]Fruit
[]something else
"A shit, management as finally lost its marbles."
She turns to you and says, "look, I dunno what you thought you signed up for, or how, but you don't wanna go there. Unless this is some kinda fucked up Make a Wish thing, in which case, go ahead. Ain't like I'm one talk about that shit."
She waves the cigarette in your face, which is really rude. You tell her that you came to see the puppies, and that you will definitely see puppies.
"Puppies? I guess that's one way to say it. Come on, you gotta sign some disclaimers, and then you can get it over with. Fucking weirdo."
She leads you to an office, and hands you a bunch of forms. You sign them with your totally real name
[]your real name
because that is your real name.
This is going to be great!
"Fucking hell, this shit's going to be so much paperwork."
----------------------------------------
"Awooooooooooooooooooo" *CLANG*
Puppy number 3 hits the wall, rebounds, and comes bouncing back to you. Puppy number 3 is your favorite, he's got such a cute smile. He's just so happy to be alive.
Puppy 2 and 5 jump you at the same time, and you let the impact bring you down. They clamber on top of you and start licking your face. Well, faceplate. You had to wear a full biohazard suit. They take the health of the animals really serious here. After a few seconds of slobber, the weight gets a bit much, so you bring your legs under Puppy 5 and send him flying.
"Awuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu" *CLANG*
Then you grab Puppy 2's shoulders, pull yourself up, and heave him up and over. While he's lying on his back, stunned by the surprise suplex, you give him a kick as well.
"Awoooooooo" *BAM* "uuuuuuuuuuuuuuu" *CLANG*
He hits Puppy 6 mid jump and they both go flying together. They land in a pile and it takes a moment for them to try to sort out all the limbs. All the others use the chance to pounce, and now there's a puppy pile rolling around the floor. You take the chance to exit the room.
Cigarette lady is waiting for you on the other side of decontamination chamber. She's not smoking anymore, and doesn't seem happy about that at all.
"Look girlie, good work there. I have no idea how, but you kept the beasts entertained. I'll write you up as Animal Health Consultant, or some shit, and see about getting you clearance. Just don't expect to get payed, we barely have enough to keep the things fed."
That's alright, miss…?
"Fiona, call me Fiona. I'll escort you out."
You leave in silence. Fiona stays at the exit door, and it becomes clear that 'I'll escort you out' means 'I'll take a smoke break'. But she does give you a wave as you leave. That's nice.
By kicking puppies you have gained +2 Evilness. You met somebody! Fiona Social Link unlocked.
----------------------------------------
You look at the blue shirt. You look at the other blue shit. You look back to the blue shirt. Or was it a blouse? How would you tell? A gaggle of giggling girls walks by. You decide that you don't need either of these shirts, and that you should try the next store. You've gone through about 80% of the eastern wing of the Viceroy shopping mall so far.
You like the Arête store. You don't tend to use tents, or other equipment, but sometimes it's nice to have. They also have a small corner for climbing equipment, and take a look around. You have a number of ice picks already, but you've never tried climbing with ropes and stuff. Since you're here to take part in capitalist society, you decide to just buy one of everything.
And now you have bulging bags, so only your confusion and loneliness mark you as an outsider. You press on. There's a ritzy store towards the end, with a big crowd gathered before it. You see one girl leave, a bag (purse?) held reverently in her arms. The girls move in, touching and whispering. She's soon carried away by a large clump, the rest stay to stare forlornly into the store.
You shrug, and start walking. You've still got budget to blow. Might as well.
"Oh no, you won't."
You're suddenly looking up at a girl. Far up. She's even taller than the Aug in apartment 3, and that guy had to pad the top of his doorframe. She's shaking her head with a pained grimace.
"If you go in there, they'll tear you apart. Look, I'll help you find something to wear, and you don't start a riot. Deal?" She turns around to the moving pile of bags behind her, "I'll see you at Igor's Ice Cream. Won't be long."
Then she grabs your wrist, and drags you away. You have to jog to keep up, and soon enough you arrive. The shop is as cheap as it gets in a Viceroy mall. She leaves you standing in the entrance area, and takes off. Five minutes later she comes back with four shopping bags, though each only contains a couple of pieces.
"Here. Each bag is an outfit. Don't mix them. Write down numbers if you have to. Come back once you can wear one without looking like you mugged someone for it."
She press the bags into your arm, then pulls out a receipt and scribbles something on it. Then it goes on top of Mount Bag.
"If you want some decent gear, go to Marmuk's. Arête's is to look good, not to climb good."
Then she takes off. You try to parse the sequence of events that lead to this point, but never quite get there. After five fruitless minutes, you give up and head out to pay. You got what you came here for, after all.
Gained fashion advice/orders! Gained four outfits! You still don't know why you did this.
You met somebody! Tall Girl Social Link unlocked
You have 5 Evilness points, and 6 Sniperness points.
Choose two actions for the next week.
[]Fiona invited to come kick some more puppies. A great idea. Except, it doesn't feel all that Evil if the authorities tell you to. Maybe you should keep her waiting. That would be evil, right?
Rewards: +1 Evilness.Play with kick puppies again.
[]You should spend time with your best (only) friend. Blan isn't very demanding, so long as he gets to steal your food, but that doesn't mean you should abuse it.
Rewards: Marathon Shell of a Ghost.
[]Go to school. Maybe you should do that at some point. There's just so many people, and you can't shoot any of them when they say mean things.
Rewards: Education. Social anxiety.
[]Spent vast amounts of money for... professional reasons. Buying another rifle is something you totally need. For your work.
Rewards: Inner emptiness filled. For a moment.
[]Wear outfits. Try not to look like you mugged someone for them. Even if the money came from shooting people. But that's not mugging, right?
Rewards: Permission to enter the mall. Fashionableness?
[]Visit Marmuk's. Better equipment is always good. Even if, technically speaking, you don't actually need it. You've heard about buying happiness, and you really want to try it out.
Rewards: Better equipment. Living the capitalist dream.
[]Look for more contracts. These things don't come to you, thank everything. That one time was a mess.
Rewards: Find more people to pay you for shooting other people. Contracts rewards large amounts of Evilness and Sniperness.
[X]You know a guy who knows a guy… who has a whole lot of puppies. You should go look at the puppies. To kick them, of course, no other reason. You're Evil, after all.
Rewards: +2 Evilness.
[X]Spent tiny amounts of money for incomprehensible reasons. Girls are supposed to have a vast array of clothing. None of which in camo patterns. You don't have that, and don't understand why you should. The uniform does well enough as an urban disguise. Still, maybe you should try it?
Rewards: Confusion. Vague sense of sadness.
You are at the puppy farm. Dog pension? Holding place? Cuddle mansion? You don't know the name for this kind of place. As the heavy steel gates close behind you, there's a strange feeling in your chest. Is it… excitement? It feels just like the first time you shoot someone for money, so it must be. You can't help but feel a little nostalgic, maybe it's architecture reminding you of your childhood.
There's a woman standing in front of the main entrance, smoking a filterless cigarette with the desperate ferocity of a professional addict. Half a dozen freshly ground out stubs litter the ground around her. She's not too happy when she notices you coming towards her.
"Hey girlie, how the fuck did you get in here?"
You hand her your visitor's pass. After a minute of tense examination, she lets out a huge sigh and cradles her head in her hands. You don't think your picture is that bad. Or maybe you just look really awful. You don't look that awful, do you?
What do you look like? (Use ranked voting; 1 means it's your favorite, 2 would be your second choice, etc.)
[]Headphone
[]Braids
"A shit, management as finally lost its marbles."
She turns to you and says, "look, I dunno what you thought you signed up for, or how, but you don't wanna go there. Unless this is some kinda fucked up Make a Wish thing, in which case, go ahead. Ain't like I'm one talk about that shit."
She waves the cigarette in your face, which is really rude. You tell her that you came to see the puppies, and that you will definitely see puppies.
"Puppies? I guess that's one way to say it. Come on, you gotta sign some disclaimers, and then you can get it over with. Fucking weirdo."
She leads you to an office, and hands you a bunch of forms. You sign them with your totally real name
[]your real name
because that is your real name.
This is going to be great!
"Fucking hell, this shit's going to be so much paperwork."
----------------------------------------
"Awooooooooooooooooooo" *CLANG*
Puppy number 3 hits the wall, rebounds, and comes bouncing back to you. Puppy number 3 is your favorite, he's got such a cute smile. He's just so happy to be alive.
Puppy 2 and 5 jump you at the same time, and you let the impact bring you down. They clamber on top of you and start licking your face. Well, faceplate. You had to wear a full biohazard suit. They take the health of the animals really serious here. After a few seconds of slobber, the weight gets a bit much, so you bring your legs under Puppy 5 and send him flying.
"Awuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu" *CLANG*
Then you grab Puppy 2's shoulders, pull yourself up, and heave him up and over. While he's lying on his back, stunned by the surprise suplex, you give him a kick as well.
"Awoooooooo" *BAM* "uuuuuuuuuuuuuuu" *CLANG*
He hits Puppy 6 mid jump and they both go flying together. They land in a pile and it takes a moment for them to try to sort out all the limbs. All the others use the chance to pounce, and now there's a puppy pile rolling around the floor. You take the chance to exit the room.
Cigarette lady is waiting for you on the other side of decontamination chamber. She's not smoking anymore, and doesn't seem happy about that at all.
"Look girlie, good work there. I have no idea how, but you kept the beasts entertained. I'll write you up as Animal Health Consultant, or some shit, and see about getting you clearance. Just don't expect to get payed, we barely have enough to keep the things fed."
That's alright, miss…?
"Fiona, call me Fiona. I'll escort you out."
You leave in silence. Fiona stays at the exit door, and it becomes clear that 'I'll escort you out' means 'I'll take a smoke break'. But she does give you a wave as you leave. That's nice.
By kicking puppies you have gained +2 Evilness. You met somebody! Fiona Social Link unlocked.
----------------------------------------
You look at the blue shirt. You look at the other blue shit. You look back to the blue shirt. Or was it a blouse? How would you tell? A gaggle of giggling girls walks by. You decide that you don't need either of these shirts, and that you should try the next store. You've gone through about 80% of the eastern wing of the Viceroy shopping mall so far.
You like the Arête store. You don't tend to use tents, or other equipment, but sometimes it's nice to have. They also have a small corner for climbing equipment, and take a look around. You have a number of ice picks already, but you've never tried climbing with ropes and stuff. Since you're here to take part in capitalist society, you decide to just buy one of everything.
And now you have bulging bags, so only your confusion and loneliness mark you as an outsider. You press on. There's a ritzy store towards the end, with a big crowd gathered before it. You see one girl leave, a bag (purse?) held reverently in her arms. The girls move in, touching and whispering. She's soon carried away by a large clump, the rest stay to stare forlornly into the store.
You shrug, and start walking. You've still got budget to blow. Might as well.
"Oh no, you won't."
You're suddenly looking up at a girl. Far up. She's even taller than the Aug in apartment 3, and that guy had to pad the top of his doorframe. She's shaking her head with a pained grimace.
"If you go in there, they'll tear you apart. Look, I'll help you find something to wear, and you don't start a riot. Deal?" She turns around to the moving pile of bags behind her, "I'll see you at Igor's Ice Cream. Won't be long."
Then she grabs your wrist, and drags you away. You have to jog to keep up, and soon enough you arrive. The shop is as cheap as it gets in a Viceroy mall. She leaves you standing in the entrance area, and takes off. Five minutes later she comes back with four shopping bags, though each only contains a couple of pieces.
"Here. Each bag is an outfit. Don't mix them. Write down numbers if you have to. Come back once you can wear one without looking like you mugged someone for it."
She press the bags into your arm, then pulls out a receipt and scribbles something on it. Then it goes on top of Mount Bag.
"If you want some decent gear, go to Marmuk's. Arête's is to look good, not to climb good."
Then she takes off. You try to parse the sequence of events that lead to this point, but never quite get there. After five fruitless minutes, you give up and head out to pay. You got what you came here for, after all.
Gained fashion advice/orders! Gained four outfits! You still don't know why you did this.
You met somebody! Tall Girl Social Link unlocked
You have 5 Evilness points, and 6 Sniperness points.
Choose two actions for the next week.
[]Fiona invited to come kick some more puppies. A great idea. Except, it doesn't feel all that Evil if the authorities tell you to. Maybe you should keep her waiting. That would be evil, right?
Rewards: +1 Evilness.
[]You should spend time with your best (only) friend. Blan isn't very demanding, so long as he gets to steal your food, but that doesn't mean you should abuse it.
Rewards: Marathon Shell of a Ghost.
[]Go to school. Maybe you should do that at some point. There's just so many people, and you can't shoot any of them when they say mean things.
Rewards: Education. Social anxiety.
[]Spent vast amounts of money for... professional reasons. Buying another rifle is something you totally need. For your work.
Rewards: Inner emptiness filled. For a moment.
[]Wear outfits. Try not to look like you mugged someone for them. Even if the money came from shooting people. But that's not mugging, right?
Rewards: Permission to enter the mall. Fashionableness?
[]Visit Marmuk's. Better equipment is always good. Even if, technically speaking, you don't actually need it. You've heard about buying happiness, and you really want to try it out.
Rewards: Better equipment. Living the capitalist dream.
[]Look for more contracts. These things don't come to you, thank everything. That one time was a mess.
Rewards: Find more people to pay you for shooting other people. Contracts rewards large amounts of Evilness and Sniperness.
Last edited:
Reload 2
Reload 2
[X] Stella Reed
[X]Headphones
[X]Wear outfits. Try not to look like you mugged someone for them. Even if the money came from shooting people. But that's not mugging, right?
[X]Look for more contracts. These things don't come to you, thank everything. That one time was a mess.
You make your way through the twisted canyons of the undercity, past harsh neon and oily black. This part of the city sleeps in the day and dances in the dark. Lucas has always loved that, loved the city's nightside. You don't think he's left it since the day you two first set foot in the city.
Your relationship with it is conflicted. It's full of twists and turns, blind corners and ambush points, but it's also near impossible to get a good line on anything farther away than a hundred meters. Hardly worth the rifle, you could throw a bullet further if that didn't go against your professional sensibilities.
You turn up the music on your headphones before you step into the rushing masses seeking their myriad vices. You've visited a few times, searching for pieces for your collection or the rare fish filet that makes it past the South African embargo. You've only had Kainji Lake bass once since you left the continent.
But today, you're here on business. So you push forward, past flashing lights and darkened entrances, past the the shops where you can buy a life or a death, through crowds of the desperately lonely and the lonely desperates, and past promises that that you could be a little less lonely and a little less desperate for the right price. Touche is expensive, in the undercity.
You're isolated from it all, by the music blaring from your headphones, and your hood pulled up. Aid freely given, kindness unrequested. There's a reason you live above, even though the undercity fits you better.
You arrive at the restaurant Lucas has chosen for today. It's quite, because that's the most expensive thing in the undercity, and it's that kind of place. Lucas is seated between and under two blond girls. It's even odds that they're Bright Young Things, out to experience all the fashionable new sins, or seasoned agents waiting for a nice back to stab.
"Stella! You look good! This must be the first time I've seen you in something that fits and doesn't have stripes."
There's giggling, and comments about how 'out' stripes are, but you let that pass. Lucas was never interested in the finer details of camouflage, no matter how often you tried. You just offer a quiet greeting.
"I'm sorry to say, but the last shipment was shot down, so I can only offer you a Chimer steak. It will arrive shortly." The 'or else' is left unsaid, but that just makes it louder.
"Now, Cindy, hand me my brief case."
More giggling, and he's spreads out a number of folders before you. Cindy giggles about using paper, and you know you won't see her again. You put them in you bag and the food arrives, the timing perfect as always. Lucas has a talent for working his people. The two girls slide off him, and you enjoy the food and part of the company.
The silence couldn't last, and Not-Cindy is rather rude as your second helping arrives. You won't be seeing her again either. But for now, Lucas keeps silent. Talking and eating is better left separate as far as you're concerned, and he respects your opinion on that. When your done, he stands with you, and walks a few steps to the exit. It's as close as he will get to an apology for the company. It's a loud enough rebuke. Touch is expensive in the undercity.
In the shadowed arch of the exit you both stop for a moment, and there, in the middle of the jamming curtain, he gives you a small smile.
"It was good to see you, Stella."
He brushes some imaginary stain from your shoulder.
"If you're getting into fashion, we could meet at 'Le Pain, Parant' next time."
His face is blank, but there's a smile in his eyes, which is how you know it's genuine. Then he turns and walks away, and you leave as well.
------------------------------------------------
Back at home, you go through the possible options, and Lucas' notes on them. Blan helps, if only by keeping you warm.
You have 4 Evilness points, and 5 Sniperness points.
Choose two actions for the next week.
Private actions:
[]Kick puppies some more
Fiona invited you, and it's a great idea. Except it doesn't feel all that Evil if the authorities tell you to. Maybe you should keep her waiting some more. That would be evil, right?
Rewards: +1 Evilness. Play with kick puppies again.
[]Spend time with your best (only) friend
Blan isn't very demanding, so long as he gets to steal your food, but that doesn't mean you should abuse it.
Rewards: Marathon Shell of a Ghost.
[]Go to school
Maybe you should do that at some point. There's just so many people, and you can't shoot any of them when they say mean things.
Rewards: Education. Social anxiety.
[]Spent vast amounts of money for... professional reasons
Buying another rifle is something you totally need. For your work.
Rewards: Inner emptiness filled. For a moment.
[]Visit Marmuk's
Better equipment is always good. Even if, technically speaking, you don't actually need it. You've heard about buying happiness, and you really want to try it out.
Rewards: Better equipment. Living the capitalist dream.
Contract actions:
A bullet to kill an idea
In the Arctic, there's a facility doing research. Someone would like it if they stopped. Since science is Good, stopping it would be Evil, so you're covered on that front. But the whole thing is really beneath your level. You're surprised Lucas even included it, until you get to the last part, which is a stat sheet on the new AUP three-stage thermobaric siege rifle. And a suggestion that since you're working for them on this, you should be able to requisition one.
Time limit: 3 weeks
[]Preparation: Transport
You've hiked across the Arctic once, and while Blan has forgiven that, he's never forgotten. Not surprising, since he's your dedicated bed warmer, and the Arctic lacks both beds and warmth.
Rewards: Blan doesn't get annoyed.
[]Preparation: Collection
Getting prototype weaponry released to an independent contractor with no expectation of getting it back (you have a bit of a reputation) is a hard sell. It'll take Lucas a week, but why else would take the contract?
Rewards: Collection piece, Contract rewards +1 Sniperness
[]Execution: A bullet to kill an idea
Eh, might as well. You've never killed science, so that should make it worth it. Even if Blan will be annoyed, and you don't get sweet toys.
Rewards: 4 Evilness, 1 Sniperness
Holding on to a Hero
The Crusaders of Light are trying to free their leader Alexander Reichenbach from Australia's legendary cyber prison Tartarus. They're willing to pay a lot for help in freeing him. Others are willing to pay even more to see him dead. Since crusaders should be good guys, killing them should be Evil. And double crossing them even more so.
Time limit: 4 weeks
[]Preparation: Trust issues
Betraying someone properly means they have to trust you first. Time to earn their trust by working a few missions for them, and hitting all the talking points.
Rewards: Contract rewards +3 Evilness
[]Preparation: How to kill a Hero
Alexander isn't easy to kill. It's been tried before. Didn't stick. The Australians haven't figure it out yet. But then, you are better at this than Australia.
Rewards: He stays dead. Contract rewards +3 Sniperness
[]Preparation: Planned Betrayl
Pulling the whole thing off propperly will be complex, and the timing tight, but that's what seperates the amateur and the professional.
Rewards: The whole thing is just neater. Contract rewards +1 Sniperness
[]Execution: Holding on to a Hero
Well, you could just shoot him. Bit pedestrian though.
Rewards: 3 Evilness, 1 Sniperness
AN: As I wrote this, I realized that this quest is cyberpunk. Dunno how I missed that while thinking it up.
I couldn't think of a good way to fit in the outfit vote as it's own segment. Since this is my casual/relaxation quest, I left it as it is. It might work out like that in the future again. I already spend entirely to much time trying to get the French right. Well, at least I know it's wrong, and that I don't know enough to make it not wrong. How the hell did it even end up at 1.5k?
[X] Stella Reed
[X]Headphones
[X]Wear outfits. Try not to look like you mugged someone for them. Even if the money came from shooting people. But that's not mugging, right?
[X]Look for more contracts. These things don't come to you, thank everything. That one time was a mess.
You make your way through the twisted canyons of the undercity, past harsh neon and oily black. This part of the city sleeps in the day and dances in the dark. Lucas has always loved that, loved the city's nightside. You don't think he's left it since the day you two first set foot in the city.
Your relationship with it is conflicted. It's full of twists and turns, blind corners and ambush points, but it's also near impossible to get a good line on anything farther away than a hundred meters. Hardly worth the rifle, you could throw a bullet further if that didn't go against your professional sensibilities.
You turn up the music on your headphones before you step into the rushing masses seeking their myriad vices. You've visited a few times, searching for pieces for your collection or the rare fish filet that makes it past the South African embargo. You've only had Kainji Lake bass once since you left the continent.
But today, you're here on business. So you push forward, past flashing lights and darkened entrances, past the the shops where you can buy a life or a death, through crowds of the desperately lonely and the lonely desperates, and past promises that that you could be a little less lonely and a little less desperate for the right price. Touche is expensive, in the undercity.
You're isolated from it all, by the music blaring from your headphones, and your hood pulled up. Aid freely given, kindness unrequested. There's a reason you live above, even though the undercity fits you better.
You arrive at the restaurant Lucas has chosen for today. It's quite, because that's the most expensive thing in the undercity, and it's that kind of place. Lucas is seated between and under two blond girls. It's even odds that they're Bright Young Things, out to experience all the fashionable new sins, or seasoned agents waiting for a nice back to stab.
"Stella! You look good! This must be the first time I've seen you in something that fits and doesn't have stripes."
There's giggling, and comments about how 'out' stripes are, but you let that pass. Lucas was never interested in the finer details of camouflage, no matter how often you tried. You just offer a quiet greeting.
"I'm sorry to say, but the last shipment was shot down, so I can only offer you a Chimer steak. It will arrive shortly." The 'or else' is left unsaid, but that just makes it louder.
"Now, Cindy, hand me my brief case."
More giggling, and he's spreads out a number of folders before you. Cindy giggles about using paper, and you know you won't see her again. You put them in you bag and the food arrives, the timing perfect as always. Lucas has a talent for working his people. The two girls slide off him, and you enjoy the food and part of the company.
The silence couldn't last, and Not-Cindy is rather rude as your second helping arrives. You won't be seeing her again either. But for now, Lucas keeps silent. Talking and eating is better left separate as far as you're concerned, and he respects your opinion on that. When your done, he stands with you, and walks a few steps to the exit. It's as close as he will get to an apology for the company. It's a loud enough rebuke. Touch is expensive in the undercity.
In the shadowed arch of the exit you both stop for a moment, and there, in the middle of the jamming curtain, he gives you a small smile.
"It was good to see you, Stella."
He brushes some imaginary stain from your shoulder.
"If you're getting into fashion, we could meet at 'Le Pain, Parant' next time."
His face is blank, but there's a smile in his eyes, which is how you know it's genuine. Then he turns and walks away, and you leave as well.
------------------------------------------------
Back at home, you go through the possible options, and Lucas' notes on them. Blan helps, if only by keeping you warm.
You have 4 Evilness points, and 5 Sniperness points.
Choose two actions for the next week.
Private actions:
[]Kick puppies some more
Fiona invited you, and it's a great idea. Except it doesn't feel all that Evil if the authorities tell you to. Maybe you should keep her waiting some more. That would be evil, right?
Rewards: +1 Evilness. Play with kick puppies again.
[]Spend time with your best (only) friend
Blan isn't very demanding, so long as he gets to steal your food, but that doesn't mean you should abuse it.
Rewards: Marathon Shell of a Ghost.
[]Go to school
Maybe you should do that at some point. There's just so many people, and you can't shoot any of them when they say mean things.
Rewards: Education. Social anxiety.
[]Spent vast amounts of money for... professional reasons
Buying another rifle is something you totally need. For your work.
Rewards: Inner emptiness filled. For a moment.
[]Visit Marmuk's
Better equipment is always good. Even if, technically speaking, you don't actually need it. You've heard about buying happiness, and you really want to try it out.
Rewards: Better equipment. Living the capitalist dream.
Contract actions:
A bullet to kill an idea
In the Arctic, there's a facility doing research. Someone would like it if they stopped. Since science is Good, stopping it would be Evil, so you're covered on that front. But the whole thing is really beneath your level. You're surprised Lucas even included it, until you get to the last part, which is a stat sheet on the new AUP three-stage thermobaric siege rifle. And a suggestion that since you're working for them on this, you should be able to requisition one.
Time limit: 3 weeks
[]Preparation: Transport
You've hiked across the Arctic once, and while Blan has forgiven that, he's never forgotten. Not surprising, since he's your dedicated bed warmer, and the Arctic lacks both beds and warmth.
Rewards: Blan doesn't get annoyed.
[]Preparation: Collection
Getting prototype weaponry released to an independent contractor with no expectation of getting it back (you have a bit of a reputation) is a hard sell. It'll take Lucas a week, but why else would take the contract?
Rewards: Collection piece, Contract rewards +1 Sniperness
[]Execution: A bullet to kill an idea
Eh, might as well. You've never killed science, so that should make it worth it. Even if Blan will be annoyed, and you don't get sweet toys.
Rewards: 4 Evilness, 1 Sniperness
Holding on to a Hero
The Crusaders of Light are trying to free their leader Alexander Reichenbach from Australia's legendary cyber prison Tartarus. They're willing to pay a lot for help in freeing him. Others are willing to pay even more to see him dead. Since crusaders should be good guys, killing them should be Evil. And double crossing them even more so.
Time limit: 4 weeks
[]Preparation: Trust issues
Betraying someone properly means they have to trust you first. Time to earn their trust by working a few missions for them, and hitting all the talking points.
Rewards: Contract rewards +3 Evilness
[]Preparation: How to kill a Hero
Alexander isn't easy to kill. It's been tried before. Didn't stick. The Australians haven't figure it out yet. But then, you are better at this than Australia.
Rewards: He stays dead. Contract rewards +3 Sniperness
[]Preparation: Planned Betrayl
Pulling the whole thing off propperly will be complex, and the timing tight, but that's what seperates the amateur and the professional.
Rewards: The whole thing is just neater. Contract rewards +1 Sniperness
[]Execution: Holding on to a Hero
Well, you could just shoot him. Bit pedestrian though.
Rewards: 3 Evilness, 1 Sniperness
AN: As I wrote this, I realized that this quest is cyberpunk. Dunno how I missed that while thinking it up.
I couldn't think of a good way to fit in the outfit vote as it's own segment. Since this is my casual/relaxation quest, I left it as it is. It might work out like that in the future again. I already spend entirely to much time trying to get the French right. Well, at least I know it's wrong, and that I don't know enough to make it not wrong. How the hell did it even end up at 1.5k?
Last edited:
Reload 3
Reload 3
[X] Preparation: Collection
[X]Preparation: Trust issues
You get an invite to the AUP testing grounds in Tibet four days later. It's always a joy to blow up a few mountains, and you haven't been there in almost a decade. They'd closed it down for clean-up after someone realised that maybe testing CBR systems around their main water source wasn't such a good idea. Their farm lands were already damaged enough from normal industry without adding intentionally dangerous chemicals, nasty plagues and radioactivity into the rivers.
Your guide/escort for the day isn't exactly talkative, but that suits you just fine. You'll just enjoy the highland breeze. You see the day's range coming up. Some crates, some people (the usual mixing of soldiers, scientists and salesmen), some bunkers.
You'd spent the five hours of flight skimming through the technical specs. It was, as expected, ludicrous. The AUP's weapons department has finally realized that hey, it's not the twenty's anymore! We can in fact use those newfangled superconductors! And then, instead of doing the sane, sensible thing of just building a rail gun, they produced this thing.
It's a logistical nightmare, totally unsuitable as a weapon of war, and it makes you sooo happy that you don't have to worry about all that anymore. You still remember the time you had to head out with an AK 47 because everything else had run out of supplies. Who even made ammo for a century-old weapon? As far as you can, the stuff just materializes in a armoury. You wouldn't be surprised if you had a box back home.
"Good morning, ma'am. We are ready to begin at your discretion."
The project lead gives you a bow. You're officially here as an independent inspector to evaluate the results. Hopefully, that means you'll get an actually working version.
You walk to the firing position. The rifle is surprisingly large. The AUP isn't really know for their aug soldiers. Maybe they're working on exo-skeleton armor? You might mention it to Lucas, he's always liked talking about that sort of thing.
"I have been informed that you will be performing a live fire stress test of your own to discover the systems capabilities yourself. I won't get in the way of that, so we will only perform a basic demonstration. "
You just nod. No point in getting caught up in office politics.
"The shells fired by the SR-3 work in three stages. The first penetrates the into the target structure, the second disperses a submunitions to ensure area cover, and the third induces a thorough mixing of atmosphere and reactant before ignition. The reactant is sufficiently active that you can archive a good result even in low oxygen environments. We've had success with underwater targets."
You're suddenly fairly sure this weapon was the result of a drunken argument between engineers. Why else would they make a thermobaric weapon that works underwater? That's removing the air part of fuel-air bomb, at which point, aren't you making a just normal explosion.
You have to admit though: Seeing the concrete bunker crack, and the interior cameras get smashed is rather exiting. You don't often play with this kinda of hardware. It will be… enjoyable.
On the flight back, you fill out the endless paper work for the initial project evaluation. Another aspect you don't miss about official positions.
--------------------------------------
Over the last week, you've helped the crusaders in a number of raids. Two communications hubs, the mansion of one of their old enemies, and so on. You make a few statements about "purging the unworthy", generally picked up from the comment sections of one of their affiliated sites, and that makes everybody rather happy. You also demand a heavily reduced rate, and that makes them very happy.
You're pretty sure they'd be suspicious if you actually demanded information, so you don't, even if it means rushing around a lot because of the last minute calls.
On the plus side, you visit the new zu Decken Ancestral Home while you're in Europe. The work crews have finally finished the interior work on the castle, and Blan seems happy with the whole thing. You think he's taken the joke a bit too far, but as long as he's happy, you're happy too.
You have 3 Evilness points, and 4 Sniperness points.
Choose two actions for the next week.
Private actions:
[]Kick puppies some more
Fiona invited you, and it's a great idea. Except it doesn't feel all that Evil if the authorities tell you to. Maybe you should keep her waiting some more. That would be evil, right?
Rewards: +1 Evilness.Play with kick puppies again.
[]Spend time with your best (only) friend
Blan isn't very demanding, so long as he gets to steal your food, but that doesn't mean you should abuse it.
Rewards: Marathon Shell of a Ghost.
[]Go to school
Maybe you should do that at some point. There's just so many people, and you can't shoot any of them when they say mean things.
Rewards: Education. Social anxiety.
[]Spent vast amounts of money for... professional reasons
Buying another rifle is something you totally need. For your work.
Rewards: Inner emptiness filled. For a moment.
[]Visit Marmuk's
Better equipment is always good. Even if, technically speaking, you don't actually need it. You've heard about buying happiness, and you really want to try it out.
Rewards: Better equipment. Living the capitalist dream.
Contract actions:
A bullet to kill an idea
In the Arctic, there's a facility doing research. Someone would like it if they stopped. Since science is Good, stopping it would be Evil, so you're covered on that front. But the whole thing is really beneath your level. You're surprised Lucas even included it, until you get to the last part, which is a stat sheet on the new AUP three-stage thermobaric siege rifle. And a suggestion that since you're working for them on this, you should be able to requisition one.
Time limit: 2 weeks
[]Preparation: Transport
You've hiked across the Arctic once, and while Blan has forgiven that, he's never forgotten. Not surprising, since he's your dedicated bed warmer, and the Arctic lacks both beds and warmth.
Rewards: Blan doesn't get annoyed.
[]Execution: A bullet to kill an idea
You have a sweet new rifle, and an appropriate target. What else could you want? Well, not carrying the thing across a snow wasteland would be nice, but you've gone on more unpleasant trips.
Rewards: 4 Evilness, 2 Sniperness
Holding on to a Hero
The Crusaders of Light are trying to free their leader Alexander Reichenbach from Australia's legendary cyber prison Tartarus. They're willing to pay a lot for help in freeing him. Others are willing to pay even more to see him dead. Since crusaders should be good guys, killing them should be Evil. And double crossing them even more so.
Time limit: 3 weeks
[]Preparation: How to kill a Hero
Alexander isn't easy to kill. It's been tried before. Didn't stick. The Australians haven't figure it out yet. But then, you are better at this than Australia.
Rewards: He stays dead. Contract rewards +3 Sniperness
[]Preparation: Planned Betrayal
Pulling the whole thing off properly will be complex, and the timing tight, but that's what separates the amateur and the professional.
Rewards: The whole thing is just neater. Contract rewards +1 Sniperness
[]Execution: Holding on to a Hero
You've ensure that you can shoot him in a moment of surprise. Even if he survives it, that won't be your problem.
Rewards: 6 Evilness, 1 Sniperness
AN: Today, I learned that a shell get through roughly half a meter of concrete.
This update originally had more technobabble, before I decided that wasn't where I wanted to go. Still, by that pointed I'd written some of it, and I didn't want to just throw it out, so I included it below.
[X] Preparation: Collection
[X]Preparation: Trust issues
You get an invite to the AUP testing grounds in Tibet four days later. It's always a joy to blow up a few mountains, and you haven't been there in almost a decade. They'd closed it down for clean-up after someone realised that maybe testing CBR systems around their main water source wasn't such a good idea. Their farm lands were already damaged enough from normal industry without adding intentionally dangerous chemicals, nasty plagues and radioactivity into the rivers.
Your guide/escort for the day isn't exactly talkative, but that suits you just fine. You'll just enjoy the highland breeze. You see the day's range coming up. Some crates, some people (the usual mixing of soldiers, scientists and salesmen), some bunkers.
You'd spent the five hours of flight skimming through the technical specs. It was, as expected, ludicrous. The AUP's weapons department has finally realized that hey, it's not the twenty's anymore! We can in fact use those newfangled superconductors! And then, instead of doing the sane, sensible thing of just building a rail gun, they produced this thing.
It's a logistical nightmare, totally unsuitable as a weapon of war, and it makes you sooo happy that you don't have to worry about all that anymore. You still remember the time you had to head out with an AK 47 because everything else had run out of supplies. Who even made ammo for a century-old weapon? As far as you can, the stuff just materializes in a armoury. You wouldn't be surprised if you had a box back home.
"Good morning, ma'am. We are ready to begin at your discretion."
The project lead gives you a bow. You're officially here as an independent inspector to evaluate the results. Hopefully, that means you'll get an actually working version.
You walk to the firing position. The rifle is surprisingly large. The AUP isn't really know for their aug soldiers. Maybe they're working on exo-skeleton armor? You might mention it to Lucas, he's always liked talking about that sort of thing.
"I have been informed that you will be performing a live fire stress test of your own to discover the systems capabilities yourself. I won't get in the way of that, so we will only perform a basic demonstration. "
You just nod. No point in getting caught up in office politics.
"The shells fired by the SR-3 work in three stages. The first penetrates the into the target structure, the second disperses a submunitions to ensure area cover, and the third induces a thorough mixing of atmosphere and reactant before ignition. The reactant is sufficiently active that you can archive a good result even in low oxygen environments. We've had success with underwater targets."
You're suddenly fairly sure this weapon was the result of a drunken argument between engineers. Why else would they make a thermobaric weapon that works underwater? That's removing the air part of fuel-air bomb, at which point, aren't you making a just normal explosion.
You have to admit though: Seeing the concrete bunker crack, and the interior cameras get smashed is rather exiting. You don't often play with this kinda of hardware. It will be… enjoyable.
On the flight back, you fill out the endless paper work for the initial project evaluation. Another aspect you don't miss about official positions.
--------------------------------------
Over the last week, you've helped the crusaders in a number of raids. Two communications hubs, the mansion of one of their old enemies, and so on. You make a few statements about "purging the unworthy", generally picked up from the comment sections of one of their affiliated sites, and that makes everybody rather happy. You also demand a heavily reduced rate, and that makes them very happy.
You're pretty sure they'd be suspicious if you actually demanded information, so you don't, even if it means rushing around a lot because of the last minute calls.
On the plus side, you visit the new zu Decken Ancestral Home while you're in Europe. The work crews have finally finished the interior work on the castle, and Blan seems happy with the whole thing. You think he's taken the joke a bit too far, but as long as he's happy, you're happy too.
You have 3 Evilness points, and 4 Sniperness points.
Choose two actions for the next week.
Private actions:
[]Kick puppies some more
Fiona invited you, and it's a great idea. Except it doesn't feel all that Evil if the authorities tell you to. Maybe you should keep her waiting some more. That would be evil, right?
Rewards: +1 Evilness.
[]Spend time with your best (only) friend
Blan isn't very demanding, so long as he gets to steal your food, but that doesn't mean you should abuse it.
Rewards: Marathon Shell of a Ghost.
[]Go to school
Maybe you should do that at some point. There's just so many people, and you can't shoot any of them when they say mean things.
Rewards: Education. Social anxiety.
[]Spent vast amounts of money for... professional reasons
Buying another rifle is something you totally need. For your work.
Rewards: Inner emptiness filled. For a moment.
[]Visit Marmuk's
Better equipment is always good. Even if, technically speaking, you don't actually need it. You've heard about buying happiness, and you really want to try it out.
Rewards: Better equipment. Living the capitalist dream.
Contract actions:
A bullet to kill an idea
In the Arctic, there's a facility doing research. Someone would like it if they stopped. Since science is Good, stopping it would be Evil, so you're covered on that front. But the whole thing is really beneath your level. You're surprised Lucas even included it, until you get to the last part, which is a stat sheet on the new AUP three-stage thermobaric siege rifle. And a suggestion that since you're working for them on this, you should be able to requisition one.
Time limit: 2 weeks
[]Preparation: Transport
You've hiked across the Arctic once, and while Blan has forgiven that, he's never forgotten. Not surprising, since he's your dedicated bed warmer, and the Arctic lacks both beds and warmth.
Rewards: Blan doesn't get annoyed.
[]Execution: A bullet to kill an idea
You have a sweet new rifle, and an appropriate target. What else could you want? Well, not carrying the thing across a snow wasteland would be nice, but you've gone on more unpleasant trips.
Rewards: 4 Evilness, 2 Sniperness
Holding on to a Hero
The Crusaders of Light are trying to free their leader Alexander Reichenbach from Australia's legendary cyber prison Tartarus. They're willing to pay a lot for help in freeing him. Others are willing to pay even more to see him dead. Since crusaders should be good guys, killing them should be Evil. And double crossing them even more so.
Time limit: 3 weeks
[]Preparation: How to kill a Hero
Alexander isn't easy to kill. It's been tried before. Didn't stick. The Australians haven't figure it out yet. But then, you are better at this than Australia.
Rewards: He stays dead. Contract rewards +3 Sniperness
[]Preparation: Planned Betrayal
Pulling the whole thing off properly will be complex, and the timing tight, but that's what separates the amateur and the professional.
Rewards: The whole thing is just neater. Contract rewards +1 Sniperness
[]Execution: Holding on to a Hero
You've ensure that you can shoot him in a moment of surprise. Even if he survives it, that won't be your problem.
Rewards: 6 Evilness, 1 Sniperness
AN: Today, I learned that a shell get through roughly half a meter of concrete.
This update originally had more technobabble, before I decided that wasn't where I wanted to go. Still, by that pointed I'd written some of it, and I didn't want to just throw it out, so I included it below.
"I have been informed that you will be performing live fire test of your own, so I have only set up a few simple demonstrations of the different firing modes. You may of course make further use of the testing grounds. Though we may run out of installed targets."
You head to the firing stand. There's a few brief instructions, but nothing new.
"First, a basic fuel-air charge. Procurement insisted." There's a note of disdain in his voice. Understandable, cheap munitions don't help the price if the delivery system is this expensive to run. I'd be like dropping stones from a bomber.
You load the shell, aim at a group of mannequins, and fire. It vanishes in a fireball. A few short lived dust devils spring up in its wake. Pretty standard stuff.
"Now, the first interesting variation: A MIRV inspired saturation shell. It is possible to manually adjust the placement of microshells. I do not recommend a tight overlap because it reduces the burn rate. In the extreme case, you won't even get a proper detonation."
You load up a shell, and take aim at the second group. It's about twice as large, the area of a large military outpost. The result this time is a bit more interesting. There's a cluster of six explosions, and while any while any one of them is smaller, the actual damage is much larger.
You head to the firing stand. There's a few brief instructions, but nothing new.
"First, a basic fuel-air charge. Procurement insisted." There's a note of disdain in his voice. Understandable, cheap munitions don't help the price if the delivery system is this expensive to run. I'd be like dropping stones from a bomber.
You load the shell, aim at a group of mannequins, and fire. It vanishes in a fireball. A few short lived dust devils spring up in its wake. Pretty standard stuff.
"Now, the first interesting variation: A MIRV inspired saturation shell. It is possible to manually adjust the placement of microshells. I do not recommend a tight overlap because it reduces the burn rate. In the extreme case, you won't even get a proper detonation."
You load up a shell, and take aim at the second group. It's about twice as large, the area of a large military outpost. The result this time is a bit more interesting. There's a cluster of six explosions, and while any while any one of them is smaller, the actual damage is much larger.
To kill an idea
To kill an idea
[X]Preparation: Transport
[X]Execution: A bullet to kill an idea
The ease of hiring transportation is inversely proportional to the legality of the transportation. The easiest is just doing it over the table. You've never actually done that, and you won't start today. The next option is doing it under the table, the gray market. Illegal, but tolerated by the Powers. Couldn't have their disposable tools without gear. If it doubles as cheap testing? All the better.
It says a lot about the typical runner that they never realise this.
Finally, there's the true underground, a web of acquaintances held together by favours, pride and spite. It functions more like a spy network than a market, but it's the only way to get your hands on something the Corps won't find out about.
You've hired a pilot, and bought an old Blacksun assault transport. It's a good plane, even if most of your experiences involve shooting them down. The US army has been replacing them with the new model, and started selling off the remaining stock after the peace treaty, so they've become rather cheap. Good thing, because it won't be returning with you.
---------------------------------------------------------------
You look out through the bay windows, into the chaos of swirling flakes. You do your best to move with the jerking of the plane as it fights the wind. The weather and low flight path should prevent early detection, so long as you don't crash. You personally wouldn't be able to do that reliably, but that's why you hired a professional. He does his job, and you do yours.
"Right lady, where on station. As close as it gets, in this weather."
You hit the bay release and rappel down while the pilot switches to hover mode. In calm weather, you'd shoot straight from the plane. As it is, you have to get down for a stable firing position. But that's all right, the Blacksun was designed for this, and lets you deploy your gear quickly.
You pull out the rifle and sight the complex. There's utility buildings, administration, barracks, turrets. The usual for a research base. The most import part for now is the communications building. That will buy time.
The main target is the fortified research building. It's why you brought the big gun. It needs to go to full-fill the contract. The secondary targets are the scientists and the admin building, to erase as much data as possible. There's also the buried nuclear reactor. Without the your siege rifle, you'd have hit the cooling controls to initiate a meltdown to eliminate the base. That model's safety systems are rather lacking.
But since you do have your siege rifle, you get to avoid irradiation. That's always nice.
You take a few minutes to consider the best place to hit the research building, since you won't have time for that later. There, the corner. That should give you a good line at the central hall, which will funnel the pressure wave where you need it to go.
All right. First shell, on the utility quarter. Coms down. The parts still standing are on fire. No worries there.
Second shell, research building. Half a second later you hear a dull thump, and see part of the pressure wave escape through the entry hole. No other visible damage. Perfect. There's no better pressure cooker than a closed down bunker.
An automated artillery turret swivels and barks out a shell. No trouble there.
You line up a shot at the admin building. You have another shot before the artillery turret will fire again, enough to put a shell in the barracks, and then extract. You'll put a final shell into the research building on the escape.
"Incoming!"
Then you're jerked to the side as the pilot tries to dodge the incoming shell. Your gear is dragged along by the extraction cable, and it all tumbles through the snow. Blan softens the impacts a little, but it's still very unpleasant.
This is why you prefer war veterans, the impact zone was at least seventy meters off.
You grab a shell form the moving container and reload. A second later, you push off and use the second of air time to snap a quick shot at the artillery turret. Even if it doesn't go down from that, the accuracy will be ruined.
What a waste of a shell.
You can stop now, Mister Pilot.
He does, and things settle down. You hit the admin building and barracks, one after the other, as quickly as you can. The dispersal shells do a good job of flattening whole regions at a time.
You hope the extra time wasn't enough for a missile lock, but frankly, that's his problem now. He caused it in the first place.
You signal for extraction, and the plane starts lifting while the cable is reeled in. There's a moment of weightlessness as he dips beneath a ridge to lose the target lock, then you crash down again. You hastily close the doors, before even more snow ends up inside.
"So lady, where to now?"
You send him the flight plan. Then you go prepare your things for the exit.
-----------------------------------------------------
"Why? Really, why?"
So you can't get tracked.
"And that means letting a beauty drop into the ocean?"
Of course. No traces from the plane, and no idea where along the flight path we left.
"Left. Left! I hate parachuting. And letting a plane drop from fuel deprivation is a crime against aviation."
…
"And if you want to erase your trace so badly, why didn't you leave your cannon thing behind? It's not exactly subtle, and jumping strapped to that thing was terrible."
It's a collector's piece, and worth more than you make in ten years.
"So is that plane, and that didn't stop you! Why is your dumb rifle any different?"
I'm paying.
"Ugh."
You enjoy the silence while it lasts, and debate ignoring him when he starts up again. The boat should be here soon.
Rewards: 4 Evilness, 2 Sniperness, Contact: Pilot Thomas
You have 6 Evilness points, and 5 Sniperness points.
Choose two actions for the next week.
Private actions:
[]Kick puppies some more
Fiona invited you, and it's a great idea. Except it doesn't feel all that Evil if the authorities tell you to. Maybe you should keep her waiting some more. That would be evil, right?
Rewards: +1 Evilness.Play with kick puppies again.
[]Spend time with your best (only) friend
Blan isn't very demanding, so long as he gets to steal your food, but that doesn't mean you should abuse it. He's been a bit more cling since the trip to the Arctic, cold weather always does that to him.
Rewards: Marathon Shell of a Ghost.
[]Go to school
Maybe you should do that at some point. There's just so many people, and you can't shoot any of them when they say mean things.
Rewards: Education. Social anxiety.
[]Spent vast amounts of money for... professional reasons
Buying another rifle is something you totally need. For your work.
Rewards: Inner emptiness filled. For a moment.
[]Visit Marmuk's
Better equipment is always good. Even if, technically speaking, you don't actually need it. You've heard about buying happiness, and you really want to try it out.
Rewards: Better equipment. Living the capitalist dream.
Contract actions:
Holding on to a Hero
The Crusaders of Light are trying to free their leader Alexander Reichenbach from Australia's legendary cyber prison Tartarus. They're willing to pay a lot for help in freeing him. Others are willing to pay even more to see him dead. Since crusaders should be good guys, killing them should be Evil. And double crossing them even more so.
Time limit: 2 weeks
[]Preparation: How to kill a Hero
Alexander isn't easy to kill. It's been tried before. Didn't stick. The Australians haven't figure it out yet. But then, you are better at this than Australia.
Rewards: He stays dead. Contract rewards +3 Sniperness
[]Preparation: Planned Betrayal
Pulling the whole thing off properly will be complex, and the timing tight, but that's what separates the amateur and the professional.
Rewards: The whole thing is just neater. Contract rewards +1 Sniperness
[]Execution: Holding on to a Hero
You've ensure that you can shoot him in a moment of surprise. Even if he survives it, that won't be your problem.
Rewards: 6 Evilness, 1 Sniperness
[X]Preparation: Transport
[X]Execution: A bullet to kill an idea
The ease of hiring transportation is inversely proportional to the legality of the transportation. The easiest is just doing it over the table. You've never actually done that, and you won't start today. The next option is doing it under the table, the gray market. Illegal, but tolerated by the Powers. Couldn't have their disposable tools without gear. If it doubles as cheap testing? All the better.
It says a lot about the typical runner that they never realise this.
Finally, there's the true underground, a web of acquaintances held together by favours, pride and spite. It functions more like a spy network than a market, but it's the only way to get your hands on something the Corps won't find out about.
You've hired a pilot, and bought an old Blacksun assault transport. It's a good plane, even if most of your experiences involve shooting them down. The US army has been replacing them with the new model, and started selling off the remaining stock after the peace treaty, so they've become rather cheap. Good thing, because it won't be returning with you.
---------------------------------------------------------------
You look out through the bay windows, into the chaos of swirling flakes. You do your best to move with the jerking of the plane as it fights the wind. The weather and low flight path should prevent early detection, so long as you don't crash. You personally wouldn't be able to do that reliably, but that's why you hired a professional. He does his job, and you do yours.
"Right lady, where on station. As close as it gets, in this weather."
You hit the bay release and rappel down while the pilot switches to hover mode. In calm weather, you'd shoot straight from the plane. As it is, you have to get down for a stable firing position. But that's all right, the Blacksun was designed for this, and lets you deploy your gear quickly.
You pull out the rifle and sight the complex. There's utility buildings, administration, barracks, turrets. The usual for a research base. The most import part for now is the communications building. That will buy time.
The main target is the fortified research building. It's why you brought the big gun. It needs to go to full-fill the contract. The secondary targets are the scientists and the admin building, to erase as much data as possible. There's also the buried nuclear reactor. Without the your siege rifle, you'd have hit the cooling controls to initiate a meltdown to eliminate the base. That model's safety systems are rather lacking.
But since you do have your siege rifle, you get to avoid irradiation. That's always nice.
You take a few minutes to consider the best place to hit the research building, since you won't have time for that later. There, the corner. That should give you a good line at the central hall, which will funnel the pressure wave where you need it to go.
All right. First shell, on the utility quarter. Coms down. The parts still standing are on fire. No worries there.
Second shell, research building. Half a second later you hear a dull thump, and see part of the pressure wave escape through the entry hole. No other visible damage. Perfect. There's no better pressure cooker than a closed down bunker.
An automated artillery turret swivels and barks out a shell. No trouble there.
You line up a shot at the admin building. You have another shot before the artillery turret will fire again, enough to put a shell in the barracks, and then extract. You'll put a final shell into the research building on the escape.
"Incoming!"
Then you're jerked to the side as the pilot tries to dodge the incoming shell. Your gear is dragged along by the extraction cable, and it all tumbles through the snow. Blan softens the impacts a little, but it's still very unpleasant.
This is why you prefer war veterans, the impact zone was at least seventy meters off.
You grab a shell form the moving container and reload. A second later, you push off and use the second of air time to snap a quick shot at the artillery turret. Even if it doesn't go down from that, the accuracy will be ruined.
What a waste of a shell.
You can stop now, Mister Pilot.
He does, and things settle down. You hit the admin building and barracks, one after the other, as quickly as you can. The dispersal shells do a good job of flattening whole regions at a time.
You hope the extra time wasn't enough for a missile lock, but frankly, that's his problem now. He caused it in the first place.
You signal for extraction, and the plane starts lifting while the cable is reeled in. There's a moment of weightlessness as he dips beneath a ridge to lose the target lock, then you crash down again. You hastily close the doors, before even more snow ends up inside.
"So lady, where to now?"
You send him the flight plan. Then you go prepare your things for the exit.
-----------------------------------------------------
"Why? Really, why?"
So you can't get tracked.
"And that means letting a beauty drop into the ocean?"
Of course. No traces from the plane, and no idea where along the flight path we left.
"Left. Left! I hate parachuting. And letting a plane drop from fuel deprivation is a crime against aviation."
…
"And if you want to erase your trace so badly, why didn't you leave your cannon thing behind? It's not exactly subtle, and jumping strapped to that thing was terrible."
It's a collector's piece, and worth more than you make in ten years.
"So is that plane, and that didn't stop you! Why is your dumb rifle any different?"
I'm paying.
"Ugh."
You enjoy the silence while it lasts, and debate ignoring him when he starts up again. The boat should be here soon.
Rewards: 4 Evilness, 2 Sniperness, Contact: Pilot Thomas
You have 6 Evilness points, and 5 Sniperness points.
Choose two actions for the next week.
Private actions:
[]Kick puppies some more
Fiona invited you, and it's a great idea. Except it doesn't feel all that Evil if the authorities tell you to. Maybe you should keep her waiting some more. That would be evil, right?
Rewards: +1 Evilness.
[]Spend time with your best (only) friend
Blan isn't very demanding, so long as he gets to steal your food, but that doesn't mean you should abuse it. He's been a bit more cling since the trip to the Arctic, cold weather always does that to him.
Rewards: Marathon Shell of a Ghost.
[]Go to school
Maybe you should do that at some point. There's just so many people, and you can't shoot any of them when they say mean things.
Rewards: Education. Social anxiety.
[]Spent vast amounts of money for... professional reasons
Buying another rifle is something you totally need. For your work.
Rewards: Inner emptiness filled. For a moment.
[]Visit Marmuk's
Better equipment is always good. Even if, technically speaking, you don't actually need it. You've heard about buying happiness, and you really want to try it out.
Rewards: Better equipment. Living the capitalist dream.
Contract actions:
Holding on to a Hero
The Crusaders of Light are trying to free their leader Alexander Reichenbach from Australia's legendary cyber prison Tartarus. They're willing to pay a lot for help in freeing him. Others are willing to pay even more to see him dead. Since crusaders should be good guys, killing them should be Evil. And double crossing them even more so.
Time limit: 2 weeks
[]Preparation: How to kill a Hero
Alexander isn't easy to kill. It's been tried before. Didn't stick. The Australians haven't figure it out yet. But then, you are better at this than Australia.
Rewards: He stays dead. Contract rewards +3 Sniperness
[]Preparation: Planned Betrayal
Pulling the whole thing off properly will be complex, and the timing tight, but that's what separates the amateur and the professional.
Rewards: The whole thing is just neater. Contract rewards +1 Sniperness
[]Execution: Holding on to a Hero
You've ensure that you can shoot him in a moment of surprise. Even if he survives it, that won't be your problem.
Rewards: 6 Evilness, 1 Sniperness
Reload 4
Reload 4
[X]Preparation: How to kill a Hero
[X]Spend time with your best (only) friend
Your target steps out of Northern American Headquarters of Solace Synergies surrounded by a ring of bodyguards and a second ring of corporate security. He pauses at the top of the steps, and looks out over the crowd. They're agitated, but so far the thin line of riot police is keeping them from the marble stairs.
He holds up his hands, and the crowd stills, awaiting the words of their hero.
His deep voice rings out, decrying the degeneracy of the modern world, how the slaves of Mammon have yet again rejected the open hand of mercy and how soon only the closed fist of retribution will remain.
He goes on like that, while you do your best to tune him out, waiting for the critical moment.
It has come. A shot rings out, and a quarter of his chest vanishes. He slumps, and the crowd surges, blood on their minds.
You turn off the recording before the slaughter really begins.
That was only one of a dozen rumoured attempts on his life. It wasn't even the best documented. Certainly not the last. But it did have one critical feature: He'd just stepped out of negotiations, and the Corp would not have allowed any sort of imposter. That was Alexander Reichenbach.
At this point, you're kind of stumped.
You're about to dive into another file when the kitchen timer rings.
Right, the stew. You'll have get back to work later. Once Blan has released you.
You roll out of bed, Blan wrapped around you. He gets clingy after a meal. Good thing he enjoys lying around motionless, or you'd never get anything done.
You roll/wriggle across the floor to the DVD player and switch in the disk for the original movie. It took a while to find a working player, not to mention a version that wasn't scratched up beyond any use. You could've just downloaded the digital version, but it would be the same. At least as far as Blan is concerned.
For someone who spends most of his time as a bed cover, he's got strong opinions about the strangest things.
It takes five minutes of squirming to get back on the bed, during which Blan is NOT HELPFUL AT ALL.
Well, the original Shell of a Ghost is pretty good. You prefer DSS, but then that series is basically perfect. You do think it's kind of amusing that reality has finally caught about with the movie. One or two corps are working on stuff like the Captain's uploading right now. It's only taken half a century.
You startle up, and ignore Blan's grumbling as you reach for your terminal.
Yes, you know the first episode of season three just started, but this is important.
No, it's not more important, but it's faster, so wait ten minutes, and then we can actually focus on the show, without a constant distraction on your mind.
You send a message to Lucas, asking him to pick out a few talented hackers and set them to investigate.
Blan isn't happy, but he forgives without too much complaining. He steals your chocolate milk in return, but then he always does. If he likes 'captured' food better, you won't gainsay him.
You get back to the marathon. There's still a stack of Shell of a Ghost things to work through, and you have no intention of delaying any further.
You unpause, Blan loosens his grip, and the intro takes away everything else.
You stop three days later. So much inactivity puts a strain on the body. Blan continues laying on the bed, smugly motionless. You've had to work for it, but it comes natural to him.
You check your messages, still trying to stretch out a few stubborn kinks. Lucas has forwarded the results. Mostly unimportant, some data packets of potentially useful information about the crusaders, and two jackpots. Two caches of something that looks a whole lot like virtual identity data.
Half the report is a list of all the protections that prevent access, but you're not after access anyway. You scan the list, hoping, and... yes. There's a whole list of synchronization protocols. You send a message Lucas a message about preparations.
Alexander Reichenbach will be killed by his own rebirth.
You have 5 Evilness points, and 4 Sniperness points.
Choose two actions for the next week.
Private actions:
[]Kick puppies some more
Fiona invited you, and it's a great idea. Except it doesn't feel all that Evil if the authorities tell you to. Maybe you should keep her waiting some more. That would be evil, right?
Rewards: +1 Evilness.Play with kick puppies again.
[]Go to school
Maybe you should do that at some point. There's just so many people, and you can't shoot any of them when they say mean things.
Rewards: Education. Social anxiety.
[]Spent vast amounts of money for... professional reasons
Buying another rifle is something you totally need. For your work.
Rewards: Inner emptiness filled. For a moment.
[]Visit Marmuk's
Better equipment is always good. Even if, technically speaking, you don't actually need it. You've heard about buying happiness, and you really want to try it out.
Rewards: Better equipment. Living the capitalist dream.
[]Lazy days in the sun
Cats, reptiles and Blan all enjoy lying motionless. Cats and reptiles prefer doing it under the sun. Maybe Blan will like it too? You can buy some sunning lamps and find out.
Rewards: Blan continues what he's already doing, just slightly more comfortable? Maybe.
Contract actions:
Holding on to a Hero
The Crusaders of Light are trying to free their leader Alexander Reichenbach from Australia's legendary cyber prison Tartarus. They're willing to pay a lot for help in freeing him. Others are willing to pay even more to see him dead. Since crusaders should be good guys, killing them should be Evil. And double crossing them even more so.
Time limit: 1 weeks
[]Preparation: Planned Betrayal
Pulling the whole thing off properly will be complex, and the timing tight, but that's what separates the amateur and the professional.
Rewards: The whole thing is just neater. Contract rewards +1 Sniperness
[]Execution: Holding on to a Hero
You've ensure that you can shoot him in a moment of surprise. You have a plan to make sure it sticks. There's still some sharp corners, and getting the necessary timing will be hard, but you'll just have to wing it.
Rewards: 6 Evilness, 4 Sniperness
[X]Preparation: How to kill a Hero
[X]Spend time with your best (only) friend
Your target steps out of Northern American Headquarters of Solace Synergies surrounded by a ring of bodyguards and a second ring of corporate security. He pauses at the top of the steps, and looks out over the crowd. They're agitated, but so far the thin line of riot police is keeping them from the marble stairs.
He holds up his hands, and the crowd stills, awaiting the words of their hero.
His deep voice rings out, decrying the degeneracy of the modern world, how the slaves of Mammon have yet again rejected the open hand of mercy and how soon only the closed fist of retribution will remain.
He goes on like that, while you do your best to tune him out, waiting for the critical moment.
It has come. A shot rings out, and a quarter of his chest vanishes. He slumps, and the crowd surges, blood on their minds.
You turn off the recording before the slaughter really begins.
That was only one of a dozen rumoured attempts on his life. It wasn't even the best documented. Certainly not the last. But it did have one critical feature: He'd just stepped out of negotiations, and the Corp would not have allowed any sort of imposter. That was Alexander Reichenbach.
At this point, you're kind of stumped.
You're about to dive into another file when the kitchen timer rings.
Right, the stew. You'll have get back to work later. Once Blan has released you.
------------------------------------------
You roll out of bed, Blan wrapped around you. He gets clingy after a meal. Good thing he enjoys lying around motionless, or you'd never get anything done.
You roll/wriggle across the floor to the DVD player and switch in the disk for the original movie. It took a while to find a working player, not to mention a version that wasn't scratched up beyond any use. You could've just downloaded the digital version, but it would be the same. At least as far as Blan is concerned.
For someone who spends most of his time as a bed cover, he's got strong opinions about the strangest things.
It takes five minutes of squirming to get back on the bed, during which Blan is NOT HELPFUL AT ALL.
------------------------------------------
Well, the original Shell of a Ghost is pretty good. You prefer DSS, but then that series is basically perfect. You do think it's kind of amusing that reality has finally caught about with the movie. One or two corps are working on stuff like the Captain's uploading right now. It's only taken half a century.
You startle up, and ignore Blan's grumbling as you reach for your terminal.
Yes, you know the first episode of season three just started, but this is important.
No, it's not more important, but it's faster, so wait ten minutes, and then we can actually focus on the show, without a constant distraction on your mind.
You send a message to Lucas, asking him to pick out a few talented hackers and set them to investigate.
Blan isn't happy, but he forgives without too much complaining. He steals your chocolate milk in return, but then he always does. If he likes 'captured' food better, you won't gainsay him.
You get back to the marathon. There's still a stack of Shell of a Ghost things to work through, and you have no intention of delaying any further.
You unpause, Blan loosens his grip, and the intro takes away everything else.
------------------------------------------
You stop three days later. So much inactivity puts a strain on the body. Blan continues laying on the bed, smugly motionless. You've had to work for it, but it comes natural to him.
You check your messages, still trying to stretch out a few stubborn kinks. Lucas has forwarded the results. Mostly unimportant, some data packets of potentially useful information about the crusaders, and two jackpots. Two caches of something that looks a whole lot like virtual identity data.
Half the report is a list of all the protections that prevent access, but you're not after access anyway. You scan the list, hoping, and... yes. There's a whole list of synchronization protocols. You send a message Lucas a message about preparations.
Alexander Reichenbach will be killed by his own rebirth.
You have 5 Evilness points, and 4 Sniperness points.
Choose two actions for the next week.
Private actions:
[]Kick puppies some more
Fiona invited you, and it's a great idea. Except it doesn't feel all that Evil if the authorities tell you to. Maybe you should keep her waiting some more. That would be evil, right?
Rewards: +1 Evilness.
[]Go to school
Maybe you should do that at some point. There's just so many people, and you can't shoot any of them when they say mean things.
Rewards: Education. Social anxiety.
[]Spent vast amounts of money for... professional reasons
Buying another rifle is something you totally need. For your work.
Rewards: Inner emptiness filled. For a moment.
[]Visit Marmuk's
Better equipment is always good. Even if, technically speaking, you don't actually need it. You've heard about buying happiness, and you really want to try it out.
Rewards: Better equipment. Living the capitalist dream.
[]Lazy days in the sun
Cats, reptiles and Blan all enjoy lying motionless. Cats and reptiles prefer doing it under the sun. Maybe Blan will like it too? You can buy some sunning lamps and find out.
Rewards: Blan continues what he's already doing, just slightly more comfortable? Maybe.
Contract actions:
Holding on to a Hero
The Crusaders of Light are trying to free their leader Alexander Reichenbach from Australia's legendary cyber prison Tartarus. They're willing to pay a lot for help in freeing him. Others are willing to pay even more to see him dead. Since crusaders should be good guys, killing them should be Evil. And double crossing them even more so.
Time limit: 1 weeks
[]Preparation: Planned Betrayal
Pulling the whole thing off properly will be complex, and the timing tight, but that's what separates the amateur and the professional.
Rewards: The whole thing is just neater. Contract rewards +1 Sniperness
[]Execution: Holding on to a Hero
You've ensure that you can shoot him in a moment of surprise. You have a plan to make sure it sticks. There's still some sharp corners, and getting the necessary timing will be hard, but you'll just have to wing it.
Rewards: 6 Evilness, 4 Sniperness
Holding on to a Hero
Holding on to a Hero
[X]Preparation: Planned Betrayal
[X]Execution: Holding on to a Hero
The planning room is dim and cramped, full of maps and monitors. A thick haze of smoke has settled in, and from experience you know it will take ages to wash out again. A few times you had to go in with an NBC-suit to make sure the scent wouldn't mark you on a mission. You're glad Lucas cut down on his smoking after the second lung transplant. Now you only have to endure it during planning sessions.
Lucas is in the corner, mixing together his drink. Seems it's only cola, coffee and an energy drink so far. He'll start adding caffeine powder in an hour or so, followed by more and more of the stimulants he keeps in the cabinet.
There's a quartet arguing about transmission rates at one of the corner tables. One of them must have worked with Lucas before, because she's wearing a dust mask. The others just take a sip every other sentence.
A few more people are scattered across the room or standing around the central table. You get a few looks, since you're the last arrival, but Lucas always takes a while to get going. It roughly corresponds with how long it takes before the room is filled with haze.
"Stella. Let's begin then."
Seems Lucas has finished with the alchemy, so now you can get to work. The plan exists, and most of the parts have been worked out, and it's about fitting them together. Which isn't to say it will be easy. This demands excruciating precision, like a bullet and barrel.
You take your place at the head of the table. Lucas insisted the you chair the meeting, for all that he'd be the one directing it. You're not sure what to make of that. So you'll just ignore it, and go over the plan again. They've all heard it before, but it's basic principle to always double check.
"Our target is Alexander Reichenbach. He's survived previous assassinations because of uploaded backups. We've isolated a few and gotten a look at the security measures."
You nod to the quartet who worked on tracking the caches.
"The distributed nature means we cannot eliminate them all. Instead we will turn the security protocols against him. One section ensures only one active version at a time. Backups will be eliminated by the synchronization protocols as they come online."
You turn to the architect quartet. One of them catches the unspoken question, and give his report.
"Yeah, we've got the basic trojan working. Jones is running down more backups to run a few sims against, but in the end we can't do much more than hope the inevitable bugs won't break anything important. Critical thing is getting the identity token, can't work otherwise. And for that he needs to link up with the salted version on our sever."
"Yes. He's currently held in Tartarus. He hasn't reset, so that version has important information. We have classified intel that confirms this." Read, he was captured during a raid on a research facility. "The Australian army will move in to ensure immediate uplink."
You nod at the man not wearing uniform, but clearly wishing he was. Or maybe he's just naturally grumpy. It's pretty common among intel officers.
"His connection will link to your node."
Huh, his voice sounds like a perfume commercials. It's a bit strange. You wait a moment longer, but it doesn't seem like he's got anything more to add, so you continue.
"The stasis protocol will activate on bullet impact. The target can be considered eliminated at that point."
"How the hell is that going to work out? It needs to hit at a specific moment during the exchange, and the window for that is a few microseconds!"
Is that Jones? Yes, that is Jones. He's got his hands on the table, and he's doing a good job being imposing, for a civvy anyway. You turn to answer him.
"A low level jamming will widen that. It's not a particularly difficult shot. Firing the bullet will trigger the firewall breakdown. I only need to ensure a trajectory of appropriate length."
For some reason he seems surprised by this.
"You? Of course. Goddamnit Lucas, what are you even doing."
Well, he doesn't seem to have any other objections, so you'll just move on and ignore the strange man.
"Afterwards I exfiltrate. The army takes care of the remaing crusaders."
At this point Lucas speaks up.
"There will also be a number of raids on associated targets. If you have any stock in Apex Ultranautics or Mccarthy Motors, then I suggest you stop doing that. Now, let's work on the details."
You take this as your cue to step back and let him handle things. Frankly, you don't have much to add on most topics. That's why they are here, after all. You'll focus on seeing what Lucas wanted you to see, even if you don't even know where to start looking.
---------------------------------------------------
"Strike 3, secured target."
"Roger. Strike 2, move to support. Strike 1, and 4, keep the exit open."
Commander Blondie is doing a decent job coordinating the operation. Of course, for something like Tartarus, 'decent' means 'miserable failure'. Lucas takes up the slack, to make sure things stay just difficult enough.
On that note, you shoot a mechoid that got the drop on Strike 2. The bullet takes out the shoulder and a good part of the chest, but he's likely to live through that. It's a miserable shot, and you hope nobody recorded that, but killing allies isn't a good long term strategy. You're sensibilities will take a back seat to practicality.
They're far enough now. Time to step things up.
"Overwatch 2, enemy reinforcements coming, ETA 7 minutes."
"Damnit. We're not gonna make that."
Ugh. You should be glad these people don't understand the meaning of 'backup plan'. You really should. You'll try. Next time.
For now, you'll just usher them along to the next step.
"I can see one of the jamming generators. Destroying it will allow the target to escape."
"Yes. Yes! We'll hunker down at courtyard 2a. Paragon Reichenbach can break out from there."
It has line of sight on the communication satellite AUS-CYQ-7. He was quick on the uptake there. They start sprinting, he's barking orders. You blow up the generator decoy. Alex makes some speech about their sacrifice and the new world while working on the upload.
The first soldiers are starting to move into the courtyard. Alex isn't looking to happy now. You let him sweat for a few more seconds, just to make sure he takes the connection without too much scrutiny.
Time to die. Through the scope, you see a flash of relief that vanishes into nothingness. Literally.
The rescue team doesn't seem able to parse that, and are getting overrun without much fuss. You bring your rifle to bear the other (very badly hidden) sniper team, who haven't overcome the surprise either.
Now you just have to get away from the angry army group chasing you. That's another thing you didn't miss. It's always so tedious.
You have 10 Evilness points, and 8 Sniperness points.
Choose two actions for the next week.
Private actions:
[]Kick puppies some more
Fiona invited you, and it's a great idea. Except it doesn't feel all that Evil if the authorities tell you to. Maybe you should keep her waiting some more. That would be evil, right?
Rewards: +1 Evilness.Play with kick puppies again.
[]Go to school
Maybe you should do that at some point. There's just so many people, and you can't shoot any of them when they say mean things.
Rewards: Education. Social anxiety.
[]Spent vast amounts of money for... professional reasons
Buying another rifle is something you totally need. For your work.
Rewards: Inner emptiness filled. For a moment.
[]Visit Marmuk's
Better equipment is always good. Even if, technically speaking, you don't actually need it. You've heard about buying happiness, and you really want to try it out.
Rewards: Better equipment. Living the capitalist dream.
[]Lazy days in the sun
Cats, reptiles and Blan all enjoy lying motionless. Cats and reptiles prefer doing it under the sun. Maybe Blan will like it too? You can buy some sunning lamps and find out.
Rewards: Blan continues what he's already doing, just slightly more comfortable? Maybe.
[X]Preparation: Planned Betrayal
[X]Execution: Holding on to a Hero
The planning room is dim and cramped, full of maps and monitors. A thick haze of smoke has settled in, and from experience you know it will take ages to wash out again. A few times you had to go in with an NBC-suit to make sure the scent wouldn't mark you on a mission. You're glad Lucas cut down on his smoking after the second lung transplant. Now you only have to endure it during planning sessions.
Lucas is in the corner, mixing together his drink. Seems it's only cola, coffee and an energy drink so far. He'll start adding caffeine powder in an hour or so, followed by more and more of the stimulants he keeps in the cabinet.
There's a quartet arguing about transmission rates at one of the corner tables. One of them must have worked with Lucas before, because she's wearing a dust mask. The others just take a sip every other sentence.
A few more people are scattered across the room or standing around the central table. You get a few looks, since you're the last arrival, but Lucas always takes a while to get going. It roughly corresponds with how long it takes before the room is filled with haze.
"Stella. Let's begin then."
Seems Lucas has finished with the alchemy, so now you can get to work. The plan exists, and most of the parts have been worked out, and it's about fitting them together. Which isn't to say it will be easy. This demands excruciating precision, like a bullet and barrel.
You take your place at the head of the table. Lucas insisted the you chair the meeting, for all that he'd be the one directing it. You're not sure what to make of that. So you'll just ignore it, and go over the plan again. They've all heard it before, but it's basic principle to always double check.
"Our target is Alexander Reichenbach. He's survived previous assassinations because of uploaded backups. We've isolated a few and gotten a look at the security measures."
You nod to the quartet who worked on tracking the caches.
"The distributed nature means we cannot eliminate them all. Instead we will turn the security protocols against him. One section ensures only one active version at a time. Backups will be eliminated by the synchronization protocols as they come online."
You turn to the architect quartet. One of them catches the unspoken question, and give his report.
"Yeah, we've got the basic trojan working. Jones is running down more backups to run a few sims against, but in the end we can't do much more than hope the inevitable bugs won't break anything important. Critical thing is getting the identity token, can't work otherwise. And for that he needs to link up with the salted version on our sever."
"Yes. He's currently held in Tartarus. He hasn't reset, so that version has important information. We have classified intel that confirms this." Read, he was captured during a raid on a research facility. "The Australian army will move in to ensure immediate uplink."
You nod at the man not wearing uniform, but clearly wishing he was. Or maybe he's just naturally grumpy. It's pretty common among intel officers.
"His connection will link to your node."
Huh, his voice sounds like a perfume commercials. It's a bit strange. You wait a moment longer, but it doesn't seem like he's got anything more to add, so you continue.
"The stasis protocol will activate on bullet impact. The target can be considered eliminated at that point."
"How the hell is that going to work out? It needs to hit at a specific moment during the exchange, and the window for that is a few microseconds!"
Is that Jones? Yes, that is Jones. He's got his hands on the table, and he's doing a good job being imposing, for a civvy anyway. You turn to answer him.
"A low level jamming will widen that. It's not a particularly difficult shot. Firing the bullet will trigger the firewall breakdown. I only need to ensure a trajectory of appropriate length."
For some reason he seems surprised by this.
"You? Of course. Goddamnit Lucas, what are you even doing."
Well, he doesn't seem to have any other objections, so you'll just move on and ignore the strange man.
"Afterwards I exfiltrate. The army takes care of the remaing crusaders."
At this point Lucas speaks up.
"There will also be a number of raids on associated targets. If you have any stock in Apex Ultranautics or Mccarthy Motors, then I suggest you stop doing that. Now, let's work on the details."
You take this as your cue to step back and let him handle things. Frankly, you don't have much to add on most topics. That's why they are here, after all. You'll focus on seeing what Lucas wanted you to see, even if you don't even know where to start looking.
---------------------------------------------------
"Strike 3, secured target."
"Roger. Strike 2, move to support. Strike 1, and 4, keep the exit open."
Commander Blondie is doing a decent job coordinating the operation. Of course, for something like Tartarus, 'decent' means 'miserable failure'. Lucas takes up the slack, to make sure things stay just difficult enough.
On that note, you shoot a mechoid that got the drop on Strike 2. The bullet takes out the shoulder and a good part of the chest, but he's likely to live through that. It's a miserable shot, and you hope nobody recorded that, but killing allies isn't a good long term strategy. You're sensibilities will take a back seat to practicality.
They're far enough now. Time to step things up.
"Overwatch 2, enemy reinforcements coming, ETA 7 minutes."
"Damnit. We're not gonna make that."
Ugh. You should be glad these people don't understand the meaning of 'backup plan'. You really should. You'll try. Next time.
For now, you'll just usher them along to the next step.
"I can see one of the jamming generators. Destroying it will allow the target to escape."
"Yes. Yes! We'll hunker down at courtyard 2a. Paragon Reichenbach can break out from there."
It has line of sight on the communication satellite AUS-CYQ-7. He was quick on the uptake there. They start sprinting, he's barking orders. You blow up the generator decoy. Alex makes some speech about their sacrifice and the new world while working on the upload.
The first soldiers are starting to move into the courtyard. Alex isn't looking to happy now. You let him sweat for a few more seconds, just to make sure he takes the connection without too much scrutiny.
Time to die. Through the scope, you see a flash of relief that vanishes into nothingness. Literally.
The rescue team doesn't seem able to parse that, and are getting overrun without much fuss. You bring your rifle to bear the other (very badly hidden) sniper team, who haven't overcome the surprise either.
Now you just have to get away from the angry army group chasing you. That's another thing you didn't miss. It's always so tedious.
You have 10 Evilness points, and 8 Sniperness points.
Choose two actions for the next week.
Private actions:
[]Kick puppies some more
Fiona invited you, and it's a great idea. Except it doesn't feel all that Evil if the authorities tell you to. Maybe you should keep her waiting some more. That would be evil, right?
Rewards: +1 Evilness.
[]Go to school
Maybe you should do that at some point. There's just so many people, and you can't shoot any of them when they say mean things.
Rewards: Education. Social anxiety.
[]Spent vast amounts of money for... professional reasons
Buying another rifle is something you totally need. For your work.
Rewards: Inner emptiness filled. For a moment.
[]Visit Marmuk's
Better equipment is always good. Even if, technically speaking, you don't actually need it. You've heard about buying happiness, and you really want to try it out.
Rewards: Better equipment. Living the capitalist dream.
[]Lazy days in the sun
Cats, reptiles and Blan all enjoy lying motionless. Cats and reptiles prefer doing it under the sun. Maybe Blan will like it too? You can buy some sunning lamps and find out.
Rewards: Blan continues what he's already doing, just slightly more comfortable? Maybe.
Restock 1
[X]Go to school
[X] Visit Marmuk's
You step out of the train car, and take a moment to centre yourself. Calendonia High is a school for those rich enough to live in the good parts of town, but not rich enough to live in the private parts of town. An old building in the neoclassical style of the beginning of the century, later renovations kept the look. One of its proudest features is the private park, something rather rare even at the outskirts of the city. An important reason for your choice to go here, besides the lax attendance policy.
Lucas insisted you should get your education at a public school, but you have priorities and classes are nowhere near the top.
You walk across the campus. The smell of wisteria and orange drifts on the air. They're using a pretty good fake. A few groups of students are still lingering, but most have headed inside.
The hallways are fuller, and the students seem to be in no particular hurry. You hurry past. You don't really care to arrive, but want to linger even less.
Class 3a. You're here. A bit early, as planned.
You sit down, note that the room is still half empty, and wait.
A few people glance your way. The rest stare. You just ignore it.
A few conversations shift and start speculating about your presence. They drift back quickly. Fifteen minutes later, when the teacher comes in, they've all returned to the original topic.
The woman gives you a warm smile, but you're rather sure that's from a social aug. You've seen it on enough low-level politicians.
"You must be Stella Reed. I am Miss Mere. I welcome you to class 3a. I have your missed assignments here."
She hands you a data stick. You try to hide your annoyance as you pocket it. You don't succeed, because her next words are much colder.
"You will find me a fair taskmaster, if you do your work. I have been informed of your special circumstances, but that is no excuse for an incomplete education. If you must miss a class, then so be it. But you will work through the material. If you require a tutor, I will gladly arrange one. Or assign one."
Ugh. This is not what you were promised. Well, nothing better than to sit it out. What are your special circumstances anyway?
Five minutes later, you are called up to introduce yourself. More stares.
You don't like it.
The teacher talks and then there's group work. Your group somehow collectively decides to ignore you. You return the favour. The material is a mix of trivial and pointless. The current subject is pointless.
You are not happy.
The first break is late. You are patient. But this took too long. You flee for the mess hall, but that isn't much better. It's a nice place, with good food, but you don't enjoy either.
Who needs forty-five minutes to eat? You couldn't eat that slow if you tried.
You do try. Until ten minutes in. A group of girls come in and sit at the table. A few meters away from you. They talk about you loudly. It's not nice things.
The rest of the day is like that.
The next few days as well.
------------------
On Thursday, you head out to visit Marmuk's. You'll give the whole buying happiness thing another try. The mall was inconclusive, but the siege rifle is nice, and blood is supposed to be the second oldest currency. You have suspicions about the oldest, but endeavoured not to consider it. You'll put the rifle in storage in a few weeks, but until then it's a nice decoration.
Tall Girl is there behind the corner. She greets you as you enter. There's no recognition.
You'll buy something and leave. You go to one of the racks and look at climbing axes. Not really your style. Maybe they have some kind of hookshot?
"Can I help you?"
Tall girl has wandered over. How nice. Wait, if she works here, and you buy something, then she has to help you. If you buy a lot, then she has to help you a lot. And that's basically friendship. You're supposed to get more friendship. Lucas said so.
Plan made, you proceed to buy things. It's good. Well, it's better.
Twenty minutes later, and you're halfway to buying one of everything. You'd have just bought everything, but Tall Girl didn't want that. Which is strange, isn't she supposed to sell you stuff? She's gotten a strange look on her face.
"Say, you're the girl from the mall? Why are you buying all this? Arête isn't that bad."
You can't say much to that, so you just shrug.
"Ok. You look better. Uhm, good. Glad you took my advice. I hope it helped."
You shrug. It did, sorta.
"Right. You're now the owner of two complete sets of climbing gear. Have you ever actually put them to use?"
Not really.
She sighs, and then looks you over and seems to consider something.
"You have a good built. You must do at least some exercise. If you want, we can meet up and I'll show you the ropes. I normally do some training on Wednesdays after the shop closes. Come by then, and we can do some work."
Victory! You have successfully purchased friendship. Lucas will be so proud.
You pack up all your new stuff, and then head back home. You're glad your apartment has a large storage area, you did buy quite a lot.
-------------
School continues the way it did before. You don't leave early, because you have principles, and that would be giving up.
It's all different flavours of pointless. Either it's no use, or something you learned when you were ten. The people don't change. One girl is particularly active in showing her disdain. You have dubbed her the Mean One. You think she's trying to become your nemesis. There's also a dumb one, and a shallow one, and so on, but none of them deserve capitals.
The only remotely good part is when the Mean One and her group go for a volley of fly-by insults in a hallway, and she falls flat on her face.
You're not very good at beating people, but your siblings ensured you knew how to trip someone and make it look like an accident.
That was on Saturday. Now it's time for a new week.
You have 9 Evilness points, and 7 Sniperness points.
Choose two actions for the next week.
Private actions:
[]Kick puppies some more
Fiona invited you, and it's a great idea. Except it doesn't feel all that Evil if the authorities tell you to. Maybe you should keep her waiting some more. That would be evil, right?
Rewards: +1 Evilness.Play with kick puppies again.
[]Spent vast amounts of money for... professional reasons
Buying another rifle is something you totally need. For your work.
Rewards: Inner emptiness filled. For a moment.
[]Lazy days in the sun
Cats, reptiles and Blan all enjoy lying motionless. Cats and reptiles prefer doing it under the sun. Maybe Blan will like it too? You can buy some sunning lamps and find out.
Rewards: Blan continues what he's already doing, just slightly more comfortable? Maybe.
[]An introduction to climbing
Tall Girl has offered to teach you how to use your new gear. You could figure it out yourself. But that wasn't the point, and isn't the point.
Rewards: Learn how to use your stuff better. Friendship?
[]Go to school some more
You have not found education to be a very pleasant thing. But you're not willing to give up so easily.
Rewards: Education. Social torment.
[]Backlog, first half
You have a whole lot of assignments to work through. You don't strictly have to, but you get the feeling Miss Mere wouldn't like that.
Rewards: Miss Mere doesn't hate you. Learn useless things.
[]Private Education
Public school hasn't worked out. You'll talk to Lucas, and get something else.
Rewards: Other Education options. Talking to Lucas.
AN: I'd like to say that I've enjoyed the speculation about Blan. You should do some more of that. Or maybe Stella, she hasn't been discussed at all. That makes Blan sad, and you wouldn't want that, right?
In all seriousness, seeing discussion helps a lot in seeing what people pick up on. That goes especially for the world building.
[X] Visit Marmuk's
You step out of the train car, and take a moment to centre yourself. Calendonia High is a school for those rich enough to live in the good parts of town, but not rich enough to live in the private parts of town. An old building in the neoclassical style of the beginning of the century, later renovations kept the look. One of its proudest features is the private park, something rather rare even at the outskirts of the city. An important reason for your choice to go here, besides the lax attendance policy.
Lucas insisted you should get your education at a public school, but you have priorities and classes are nowhere near the top.
You walk across the campus. The smell of wisteria and orange drifts on the air. They're using a pretty good fake. A few groups of students are still lingering, but most have headed inside.
The hallways are fuller, and the students seem to be in no particular hurry. You hurry past. You don't really care to arrive, but want to linger even less.
Class 3a. You're here. A bit early, as planned.
You sit down, note that the room is still half empty, and wait.
A few people glance your way. The rest stare. You just ignore it.
A few conversations shift and start speculating about your presence. They drift back quickly. Fifteen minutes later, when the teacher comes in, they've all returned to the original topic.
The woman gives you a warm smile, but you're rather sure that's from a social aug. You've seen it on enough low-level politicians.
"You must be Stella Reed. I am Miss Mere. I welcome you to class 3a. I have your missed assignments here."
She hands you a data stick. You try to hide your annoyance as you pocket it. You don't succeed, because her next words are much colder.
"You will find me a fair taskmaster, if you do your work. I have been informed of your special circumstances, but that is no excuse for an incomplete education. If you must miss a class, then so be it. But you will work through the material. If you require a tutor, I will gladly arrange one. Or assign one."
Ugh. This is not what you were promised. Well, nothing better than to sit it out. What are your special circumstances anyway?
Five minutes later, you are called up to introduce yourself. More stares.
You don't like it.
The teacher talks and then there's group work. Your group somehow collectively decides to ignore you. You return the favour. The material is a mix of trivial and pointless. The current subject is pointless.
You are not happy.
The first break is late. You are patient. But this took too long. You flee for the mess hall, but that isn't much better. It's a nice place, with good food, but you don't enjoy either.
Who needs forty-five minutes to eat? You couldn't eat that slow if you tried.
You do try. Until ten minutes in. A group of girls come in and sit at the table. A few meters away from you. They talk about you loudly. It's not nice things.
The rest of the day is like that.
The next few days as well.
------------------
On Thursday, you head out to visit Marmuk's. You'll give the whole buying happiness thing another try. The mall was inconclusive, but the siege rifle is nice, and blood is supposed to be the second oldest currency. You have suspicions about the oldest, but endeavoured not to consider it. You'll put the rifle in storage in a few weeks, but until then it's a nice decoration.
Tall Girl is there behind the corner. She greets you as you enter. There's no recognition.
You'll buy something and leave. You go to one of the racks and look at climbing axes. Not really your style. Maybe they have some kind of hookshot?
"Can I help you?"
Tall girl has wandered over. How nice. Wait, if she works here, and you buy something, then she has to help you. If you buy a lot, then she has to help you a lot. And that's basically friendship. You're supposed to get more friendship. Lucas said so.
Plan made, you proceed to buy things. It's good. Well, it's better.
Twenty minutes later, and you're halfway to buying one of everything. You'd have just bought everything, but Tall Girl didn't want that. Which is strange, isn't she supposed to sell you stuff? She's gotten a strange look on her face.
"Say, you're the girl from the mall? Why are you buying all this? Arête isn't that bad."
You can't say much to that, so you just shrug.
"Ok. You look better. Uhm, good. Glad you took my advice. I hope it helped."
You shrug. It did, sorta.
"Right. You're now the owner of two complete sets of climbing gear. Have you ever actually put them to use?"
Not really.
She sighs, and then looks you over and seems to consider something.
"You have a good built. You must do at least some exercise. If you want, we can meet up and I'll show you the ropes. I normally do some training on Wednesdays after the shop closes. Come by then, and we can do some work."
Victory! You have successfully purchased friendship. Lucas will be so proud.
You pack up all your new stuff, and then head back home. You're glad your apartment has a large storage area, you did buy quite a lot.
-------------
School continues the way it did before. You don't leave early, because you have principles, and that would be giving up.
It's all different flavours of pointless. Either it's no use, or something you learned when you were ten. The people don't change. One girl is particularly active in showing her disdain. You have dubbed her the Mean One. You think she's trying to become your nemesis. There's also a dumb one, and a shallow one, and so on, but none of them deserve capitals.
The only remotely good part is when the Mean One and her group go for a volley of fly-by insults in a hallway, and she falls flat on her face.
You're not very good at beating people, but your siblings ensured you knew how to trip someone and make it look like an accident.
That was on Saturday. Now it's time for a new week.
You have 9 Evilness points, and 7 Sniperness points.
Choose two actions for the next week.
Private actions:
[]Kick puppies some more
Fiona invited you, and it's a great idea. Except it doesn't feel all that Evil if the authorities tell you to. Maybe you should keep her waiting some more. That would be evil, right?
Rewards: +1 Evilness.
[]Spent vast amounts of money for... professional reasons
Buying another rifle is something you totally need. For your work.
Rewards: Inner emptiness filled. For a moment.
[]Lazy days in the sun
Cats, reptiles and Blan all enjoy lying motionless. Cats and reptiles prefer doing it under the sun. Maybe Blan will like it too? You can buy some sunning lamps and find out.
Rewards: Blan continues what he's already doing, just slightly more comfortable? Maybe.
[]An introduction to climbing
Tall Girl has offered to teach you how to use your new gear. You could figure it out yourself. But that wasn't the point, and isn't the point.
Rewards: Learn how to use your stuff better. Friendship?
[]Go to school some more
You have not found education to be a very pleasant thing. But you're not willing to give up so easily.
Rewards: Education. Social torment.
[]Backlog, first half
You have a whole lot of assignments to work through. You don't strictly have to, but you get the feeling Miss Mere wouldn't like that.
Rewards: Miss Mere doesn't hate you. Learn useless things.
[]Private Education
Public school hasn't worked out. You'll talk to Lucas, and get something else.
Rewards: Other Education options. Talking to Lucas.
AN: I'd like to say that I've enjoyed the speculation about Blan. You should do some more of that. Or maybe Stella, she hasn't been discussed at all. That makes Blan sad, and you wouldn't want that, right?
In all seriousness, seeing discussion helps a lot in seeing what people pick up on. That goes especially for the world building.