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The Hacker was feeling lonely. Everyone else around him was something unique, while he was a simple, low life hacker. He got up but his fishnet shirt was caught on a splinter, so it was pulled up slightly. It revealed dozens of vertical slashes, which were of course of his own accord. He maneuvered his arm around the splinter then continued to walk out the door of the no name and through a few desolate corridors, until he finally reached a small ship. He leaned against it with a sigh, his green eyes slightly hinted at the chronic depression deep inside him. His black nails tapped against the metallic ship with unwanted solitude. He then reached into his pocket to pull out a cigarette, which he soon lit up and started to inhale.
------------------ I hate people with fancy signatures. ._.
(This message has been edited by Phantasmaegoria (edited 08-14-2004).)
"Heh, rash. Well, coming at odds with anyone at the bar would be rash... or selling out the mission, that would be rash... or being observed as an agent of mine, that would be very rash! Fun with Jacey? Maybe I should inform her of Yume... Throwing a knife at a Nirttef. Ha! Well, she certainly has spunk, I'll give her that. In fact, I'm beginning to like this assassin. She would be invaluable as an ally, invincible as an apprentice. I'll have to give some notice to that soon, Hamster and Retsmah did let me do so much more..."
---
The Nirttef twitched its head imperceptibly, as if listening to something. The circuits in the listening station began to whirr to life again.
/send (securemsg)
:ENTER ENCRYPTION CODEC:
/enigma82,enigma94,enigma01
:CODECS READY, ENTER MESSAGE:
{To Elessa} My, my, your exuberance is encouraging, and as far as my definition of 'rash' is concerned, I merely warn you that there are quite a few persons at this particular bar that you would do well not to come at odds with. As for my agents; they resemble the one who gave you this assignment originally. All of them. I can dispatch them quickly. Oh, and Jacey has a current love interest; Yume, a partially cybernetic humanoid. She has rather acute senses, so while observing Jasan, do not let her see you doing as such. Otherwise, good luck with your mission. -Reverend Sen
------------------ Me Bar Pics Page-> (url="http://"http://homepage.mac.com/ami/Menu1.html")http://homepage.mac.com/ami/Menu1.html(/url) 'You couldn't get a clue during clue mating season in a field of clues if you smeared your body in musk and did the clue mating dance.' -Severin
She laughed quietly as she read the message, ordering another brandy. -So, no fun with Jacey. Pity, but I wouldn't try my chances against a cybernetic human.- --- SENDING MESSAGE:SECURE CHANNEL Ah, no fun then. I cared for about a second. And if your agents are similar to the one who gave me this assignment, throwing a knife at them would do nothing except make them more willing to rip my spine out through my skull. How dull...you practically have me doing nothing except sitting here and watching people. Most boring. I hope you give me something more...entertaining, soon, or I may reconsider this assignment. I'm an assassin, not a spy. -Elessa MESSAGE SENT --- She leaned back against the bar, a tiny smile playing across her face as she twirled her knife between her fingers.
------------------ Hm...looks around How much madness and mayhem can I create here?
{To Elessa} Have no fear, you will see some action before this is over. And as for your current assignment, I realize it may seem busy work to you, but it is essential in the execution of the plan. If I had sent one of my own agents, they would be instantly recognized, and I could collect no useful data. I did not pick an overqualified agent, you will see your abilities pressed to their limit before long, I believe. Hopefully, I will be able to contact you in person before long, but this depends on the success of your surveillance on Jacey. One more thing: If you have the time, or if Jacey does not appear soon, I would like you to contact a potential agent in the docking bay by the name of Hacker. He knows nothing of the assignment, so when you find him, I will transmit you a note you may read, print out, and give to him. Good luck. -Reverend Sen
Dech sat at the table with his old friends.
"I'm not sure if I need any kind of help at the moment other than information... Which I'm pretty bloody sure you don't have. I highly doubt its something the Voinians would be in on or interested in." Dech leaned back, kicking the chair up on its back legs. "But I've been developing a bit of a network on this chunk of asteroid, and I might be able to help you out. What's the game?"
"The game, as you put it, is this." Shek leaned forward, lowering his voice. "I trust this will go no further than your ears, my friend. Secrecy is paramount. Lelos and I are looking for something. Rumors have reached Voinian High Command that the renegades here have developed cloaking technology. Naturally, High Command is interested. We're here to find it, steal it, copy all the plans and information, and sabotage the original effort, giving the Voinians the advantage."
Dech leaned back in his chair, a thoughtful look on his face. "Hmm... I'll check into it, see if I can drum up any information for you. I might be able to find something in the computer networks, I'll see what I can dig up."
"Come to think of it," Dech continued, leaning forward again, "I might have something you can help me with. Someone's having me followed, and I don't know who she is, or why she's following me. If you could, you know, pop in on her and say hi, or something, and try to coax a little bit of information out of her, that would be great... She's over in hangar section 3. Long red hair, you can't miss her."
Long red hair... Dech thought to himself. I knew someone with long red hair almost just like that a long time ago... No, it can't be. Dech dismissed such thoughts from his mind, concentrating on finding Shek and Lelos their cloaking device.
Shek nodded. "I'll see what I can do."
------------
Nicol snuck out of the bar after hearing Dech's discussion with Shek. Someone following my Dech? I'll have to look into this...
Her small frame was easily lost in the crowds, and shortly she'd reached hangar section 3. The drab walls seemed to close in, stifling. She was alone down here.
She continued on.
A noise. It didn't fit with the normal humming and rattling of the station's various systems. She dropped to one knee and drew her blaster.
Paralysis. The pistol dropped from her hand, and she slumped over. A presence invaded her mind, prying, yet gentle. Only looking. Then darkness.
Nicol awoke, and looked around her in a panic. Where am I? Then she realized it was the master cabin aboard the Longbow.
Dech gave up. He couldn't hack into the network deep enough to get anything about a cloaking device, or even any weapon information. If the device even existed.
The door to his bar slid open silently. A hooded, robed figure entered, its face obscured in shadow. Only the nose was slightly visible.
Dech glanced up at the newcomer, then continued his work. Then he stopped, and looked again. Something about the walk... and... the nose? Impossible , Dech thought.
Dech went back to work, trying to hack.
The figure took a seat in a corner of the bar, facing Dech. It seemed to stare. Dech's neck tingled again. He looked up, and saw the figure seemingly staring at him.
OOC: This is taking longer than I thought. I'm having a slight creative blockage. Jacey, feel free to take over with you-know-who's you-know-what. conspiratorial grin
Oh, and Jacey... you shameless bastard.
------------------ (url="http://"http://thegreenfiles.net/")thegreenfiles.net(/url) "Oh... is that right, Rambo?" cogito cogito ergo cogito sum thegreenfile@gmail.com
(This message has been edited by TheGreenFile (edited 08-14-2004).)
She read the message, eyes darkening. -Oh, so now I'm some goddamn errand girl? What the hell is going on here?- Leaving money for the drinks, she sheathed her knife in one fluid motion and walked out the door. --- Elessa walked around at the docks, inquiring as to this "Hacker" person. One man pointed to a lone figure leaning against a smallish ship, smoking a cigarette. Smiling her thanks, she approached him. --- "Hey, I'm Elessa. So you're Hacker?"
The Hacker seemed to appear behind Dechtran, as he stared at the comp. He blinked, then hunched over and started to type. "A direct search will come up with nothing. First you have to get anything remotely similar to it, i.e., the rebel website. Yes, the idiots have one, feebly protected by a pathetic shield. " In a few moments he was on the site. " Now, they have nothing to hide besides the most top- secret files, thinking we are a member of theirs. So, now I simply have to hack into their "Higher Files", and see whats up with this 'cloaking device'. " Soon, he had blueprints of it printed out and an exact location to where it was being tested. He handed the paper to Shek, and than sat across from them. "The rebels seem to have a laboratory about nine miles east of this exact location. Bad thing is the only entrance is a door about nine feet deep of steel. you'd need nothing less than ship blasters to go through it. The good news is that the door is in a docking bay, full of ships. If any of you could pilot one of those, we could break down the door and go in, but you'd have heavy resistance. Well, good luck..."
She shouldnt be doing this She doesnt have to be doing this Jacey was thinking about what he had sung to Yume. All in French, of course, he had sung that he didnt need her touch to attract him to her. He had sung about the difference between him and anyone else. That he was like no other guy she would meet. As cliche as the message might have been, he was partially correct. The Jacey that Yume was trying to please wasnt the same Jacey that she was nestling with. The real Jacey didnt need her body up against his, even though he enjoyed it. For truly, truly... this was bliss pure bliss to feel her body against his but Jacey didnt want that. He wasn't schizophrenic. He felt conflicted. He simply wanted to know who she was and why she was here in a place of evil hiding in the heart of darkness. The back of Jaceys neck tingled as he enjoyed the wonderful sensation of Yumes caress. Why should he care? Jacey lifted Yumes head gently and kissed her on the lips. He loved her, but he felt he had to convince himself. He kissed her again with even more passion, and she felt his temperature rise once more. As he kissed her a third time, she felt his lips hard against hers. Indescribable pleasure warmed her up to him. They kissed each other, sharing mutually in this passion, and they did it gently, though it went on without end. What bliss what bliss what what WHAT AM I DOING?
This moment had lasted an eternity. An ideal woman, the model of female perfection, nestled in his arms. He looked into her eyes and couldnt tell where she would lead him. But she was so beautiful
And Jacey held back because it was too good to be true. How could this be pure and innocent? One of them was hiding something.
Jaceys eyes began to water when he suspected something. It had to be him. What was he doing to her? Why was he taking advantage of her likes this?! He broke down it no it was too early for this! Jacey had to hold himself back from throwing her off of him in disgust. He wasnt angry at her. He was angry at himself. Somehow Jacey was convinced that some evil urge was taking over in him. His heart longed for her, but Jacey was too immature to know the source of his feelings. If someone could have seen into Jaceys soul deeper than he could, one would have been able to tell him that the feelings he had were indeed pure and full of all the love he hoped to give Yume. But Jacey did not know. Though he hadn't yet touched her except through kisses, Yume had the perfect build, so Jacey's fear was that his feelings must be physical attraction alone.
Why couldnt it be both?
All he could ask himself however was if his feelings went beyond what he saw on the surface. He had no answer to that. Instead, he should have asked himself how he was in fact taking advantage of her at all, because to that question... he would have had no answer either. Jacey was more innocent than he thought. And definitely more naive.
What Jacey didnt realize was who was truly taking advantage of whom.
==========
Throwing off his outer clothing revealed Bishop to be a very thin young man. A lean torso held powerful lungs, however, and now that he was unencumbered by his robes Bishop raced to the station engineers bay and reached it within seconds (a little psychic augmentation helped his speed).
Squiggy stopped to pick up the robes. Even in his eternally intoxicated state, Squiggy could tell that something was wrong.
Bishop reached the point where Matt had left the Rock. Bishop had no knowledge of what had happened at this place, but he had felt the presence of a powerful mind leave from this location - the same mind he had spoken to in the bar. Bishop had little energy left since his duel with Page days ago. Who could blame him? He had never taken a moment to rest. Throwing out all his remaining energy to the heavens, Bishop expanded his consciousness to contact the mind he had met earlier.
No response, but he found the silent mind within its shell of a body.
Matts sensory system felt a warm presence wrap around his body even while he froze in the vacuum of space. None of this registered in his exhausted mind.
Then, expending the last of his spirits force, Bishop sent Matts body hurtling back to the Rocks surface. The tortured minds body had been battered by space debris, but had remained intact. It settled to the station surface and landed just outside the air lock.
Squiggy caught up with Bishop just as he expired and jammed a syringe into his friends shoulder. Bishop would survive.
Squiggy next suited up and exited the air lock to see if the same could be said for the strange young man.
Holding the door open, Jacey waited for Yume to enter first and then led her to a table near the bar. He had long since calmed down. After sharing a final intimate moment with Yume, the boy had left their secluded spot on a considerable emotional high. Who could blame him? As far as his naďve mind knew, he was the most charming guy on the Rock. And so sensitive, too
He tried his luck with a patron he hadnt met yet.
"Hey friend! Over here!" The Hacker stared back at him. Jacey was waving for him to take a seat on the other side of Yume. I dont think weve met yet. My names Jacey. Let me buy you a drink. And before the Hacker could object, Dech had brought over three Guinesses for each of them.
OOC: Paranoid, please take over from where I left off with Matt.
(This message has been edited by JaceySquires (edited 08-15-2004).)
"I'm seventeen, and I only smoke, sorry. I'm Hacker. Bleh, I'm off to die somewhere." And he left the planet to go to another planet somewhere else, away from here. Yay.
In a random alleyway on the side of the no name, there was a rumble, and the rock split slightly. In a sudden burst, a skeleton appeared. Slowly it animated itself into a dark- cloaked mysterious human.his rags, buckles, and belts jingled as he took slow steps towards the bar. He radiated with darkness as the warrior of yesteryear moved. His seemingly elven ears twitched, and he soon dissapeared in a slight rustle of clothing. He appeared a the scene of a few punks messing with a girl. They violently turned on the new comer, and one pulled a stiletto on him.He stood up straight, his eyes shot open, and suddenly he diagonally was split, the top half sliding off the bottom. And the warrior was behind him. In rapid succesion, the other three were maimed and eviscerated in the blink of an eye. In the last horrifying moments of life of the gangster, the great demonic being kneeled and whispered in his ear, crimson hues paralyzing the teen. "Only the dead know what true war is." And the teen bled to death, his lungs punctured, heart missing and missing nose. The human went to his feet, and in another rustle he was in the bar, sitting in the corner.
OOC: Nice picture of him, if anybody wants to see e-mail me, thanks. /OOC
------------------
(This message has been edited by Nevermore (edited 08-15-2004).)
{To Elessa} I am exceedingly sorry, but it appears as if this Hacker has suddenly left. I assure you that the frustration you are feeling at ferrying messages will be undoubtedly compensated in your paycheck, a fraction of which I have transferred to your account. Now, to more serious business, Jacey has entered the bar. I need you to prepare whatever instruments you may need to carry out a hostage situation. Where you are taking a hostage. Do not worry about escape routes, I give you my solemn word that if you are able to complete this successfully, no harm will come of you, and I will see to it that you are able to return to your ship as soon as possible. Consider this coming assignment the main stage of your mission, I hope it conforms to more of the work you seem to enjoy. Depending on your success, I may have further assignments you may wish to take on, but that is irrelevant at the moment. Prepare yourself to take Yume hostage. But do not act until I give you a signal. This will come as a rather large disturbance in the bar, courtesy of my black-hatted agents. Good Luck. -Reverend Sen
Matt couldnt move. Once again, his body had decided not to let him die, apparently free will was, at least for him, an illusion. His outside layer of skin had become pressured so that even the absence of an atmosphere wouldnt kill him. The lack of oxygen hadnt even managed it, his body had apparently drawn pure energy from one of its many sources neglecting the 'necessity' of oxygen. It didnt matter.
He would have slept for a much longer time if it hadnt been for a mind reaching out toward him. He knew the mind vaguely; he had seen it before in an incomplete form within the man-child Jacey. The mind had pushed him back once again to the Rock, but it didnt matter. Nothing mattered any more. Perhaps he would stay out here on the surface of the Rock forever, but he knew better. The engineers would send out the robots to retrieve what they believed to be a corpse for disposal. He didnt know if he would ever be able to move again, his body might decide it was safer for it to just leave him in this prison. Perhaps that would be the best for everyone, he would continue to descend into madness until he finally became unable to interact with reality, but this wasnt reality. He had almost forgotten. If he could escape this unreality perhaps he could die, of course he couldnt die in a dream. He hadnt thought about his situation, perhaps that was why nothing ever worked.
He lay there in the awkward, bent position he had taken in space for a few more minutes when a light began to grow before him. He saw it but he couldnt react, it didnt matter, only his thoughts mattered. You know, Matt, I would have been much happier if you could have succeeded in finishing yourself off.
Now Im seeing lights, and hearing voices, Matt thought, I might as well ask what you are and what you want.
The voice took on a slightly hurt expression. You dont remember Me? Matt, you cant tell the difference from reality and illusion anymore, can you Matt? Matt kept his mind as blank as he could, but it didnt matter. Im God. Im sure you dont remember who you are either, youre my antithesis. Satan, Baalzabub, whatever the newest cults are calling you now.
Just what I needed, delusions that accuse me of being a lesser being then human. I thought my experience proved that well enough.
Every action you take destroys everything. The most convincing deceiver is one who believes what he says. Ive finally been able to stop you here. I guess this universe will be your hell. I hate to give these people over to you, but its either that or allow you to destroy the multiverse.
Youve just proved youre a delusion, God. Nothing can destroy something that even infinity cannot comprehend it.
God had a slight humored feeling to it, but also somewhat pained. Even something thats power is expanding infinitely? You cant even be scratched by a sword now, whatever energy is thrust at you strengthens you, and you are immortal.
Immortality is an illusion. This is an illusion. You are a bloody hallucination. Matter and energy decay into a state of Entropy. Nothing can avoid death. Matts thoughts were calm but he couldnt help but doubt the unreality of everything. He had destroyed universe after universe as he touched them. He had caused wars that had brought about the use of weapons that destroyed everything; he had destroyed countless trillions of souls. Worst of all he could remember all of them, all the hopes he had destroyed, all the promise he had extinguished.
In the multiverse every possibility must occur. Consider it another immovable object versus an unstoppable force. You are an unstoppable force, not because you have power, but because your power is growing infinitely at an undetermined rate.
Im already dead, arent I? This is Hell. You arent God, youre Satan! Every time I work for good, it will come back as evil. What happens if I dont move? What happens if I dont try to change anything? God was silent. Damn you. Matts mind had lost its shield of denial, he knew that whatever he did or didnt do hed destroy everything. The hallucination faded from before him and he found that he was inside, apparently dragged in while the light had blinded all his senses during his impossible conversation. He didnt even think on the fact that he had seen the light, as if he were no longer blind. To him it didnt matter. He didnt care, he was infinitely powerful but at the same time completely helpless. Nothing mattered.
------------------ I move along the path alone, without a friend, without a home. Yet though this tortured path I roam, knowing that my mind doth foam; in madness shall I ever seek, an answer for the poor and meek.
(This message has been edited by Paranoid (edited 08-15-2004).)
Jacey felt sick to his stomach. Something weird was going on again.
Without speaking a word to Yume, he rose from their table and exited the bar to look for the Hacker.
He left one hand in his pocket, holding his blaster in case he should need it...
------------------ ...to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. (Mt7:8)
As Jacey walked along, a hand grasped his shoulder. He whirled around and drew his blaster. He was greeted by red hues that seemed to paralyze him. "Your girlfriends in trouble, I'd get her out of the bar before the Nirttefs come for her. And Hacker will be gone for awhile...don't go looking for him." And with that, a dark sphere engulfed the dark warrior, and he was gone.
"Nirttef? What's a Nirttef?" But no one was around to answer Jacey's question.
Shrugging, he continued walking the streets. The bar would be the safest place for Yume at this time anyway, and if anyone was truly going after her, Jacey would need Bishop's help to protect her.
Besides, Jacey needed time on his own to sort out the feelings swirling through his adolescent mind.
Her eyes widened as she read the newest message. He wanted her to mess with the cybernetic? Then she began to laugh quietly as she responded to his message. --- SENDING MESSAGE As I'm writing this, I'm laughing to myself. Hostage situation with a cybernetic...you are certainly good at coming up with things for me to do that I've never done before. I appreciate it, by the way. It's certainly better than trying to run surveillance on someone. I have a few questions, though. One. What kind of hostage situation should I be preparing for? As in, should I be prepared to knock my hostage unconcious or even do her bodily harm? Also, should I be prepared for resistance from Jacey? Do I get to fight, or do I just have to take this girl hostage and go? ...I may have more questions for you later, so be prepared. -Elessa
MESSAGE SENT --- She laughed again, pushing herself up off the ship and striding back to the bar.
Damn. I'll get nothing done this way. Forget Bishop.
Jacey pulled out the pen Bishop had given him. He pulled off the cap and weighed it in his hand. It was a little too light for his liking. And it only extended about three inches out when he held it in his fist.
Jacey swung his arm in an experimental arc.
No, I'll need a real blade. Something truly sharp.
Jacey laughed. Bishop had hundreds of blades stored in his ship. In fact, he probably had the largest collection of exotic weapons on this asteroid.
So I might need his help after all...
He left the pen uncapped and placed it above his ear - just in case.
Yume blinked as Jacey had left her alone now without even a goodbye and sighed lightly as she wondered now if she was the reason he left. Perhaps she shouldn't have tried to see how his skin felt...
She looked away back to the table she was sitting at as she stared at the top for a moment as she wasn't sure if she should go after him. What was the point anyways? She wasn't even sure how long he was going to be gone either.
Yume took a glance around before she sighed once more as she didn't want to stay here with all these drunk creatures so she got up and walked out of the bar so that she can take a walk. She sighed heavily as she wondered if Jacey would be back by the time she returns.
------------------ Life is learning to find happiness in any situation, however bad it may seem.
Jacey hadn't traveled far. In fact, he noticed Yume pass by and wondered if the best way to protect her might be to follow her in secret.
He didn't care if she realized he was following her or not, but if anyone attacked her, he hoped Yume would be just as surprised as her assailant would be. After all, Jacey was curious about what was going on, but he didn't want to reveal himself yet.
He let her go further before he turned the corner and watched where she went. He tucked his blaster into a belt buckle and stayed as close to the shadows as he could while he followed the girl.
{To Elessa} I have found something rather disquieting; apparently we have a rival working against us. Fortunately, it seems that he/it is unaware of your place in this plan. He is aware of the existence of my other agents, and, somehow, the danger Yume is in. This is very unnerving, as I feel that you have not leaked any information, and, assuming my transitions are completely secure, confuses me as to how this rival came to the knowledge of it. He has warned Jacey that Yume is in trouble. I'm afraid that Jacey may enlist the help of his friends, Squiggy, and most probably, Bishop. From the information I have been able to collect on his rather mysterious persona, Bishop is quite the collector of odd and unusual weapons. As for the nature of your hostage-taking, I would prefer speed over the comfort of our victim. Feel free to take advantage of her semi-electronic makeup; a low powered electro-magnetic pulse might be in order. And remember, she is far from defenseless, quite adept in the ways of bladework. In fact, I have been able to glean psychic information from her frequent hallucinations, that she may have been some sort of super-agent in the past. I hope this has wetted your appetite. I have provided an extremely detailed bio scan, and full historical report of her actions, those that I am aware of. You may be unnerved as to the detail of this report. I assure you, my knowledge of this entire assignment exceeds that of most of your former employers. No pressure, I expect no fault in your work. Take her in the hallways where she is now, drag her to the first left hand turn, and follow that corridor. Go down that corridor, and enter the first door on your right. The room will be filled with my agents, two of whom will take her through a portal. You must follow these two. As soon as you step through the portal, you will find yourself in a very strange, mountainous place. Do not worry, my agents will take you where you need to go, and I will meet you in person there soon. You will encounter resistance in taking her out of the bar, as she is employed there, and not a regular patron. Once you make it to the room with my agents, they will greatly assist you in your flight. The rival I had previously mentioned will most likely be trying to stop you. If you are ever surrounded with red light that restricts your movements, do not panic, I can quickly solve that problem on my side. You should be more preoccupied with Jacey himself, his friends, and the one called Page. Good Luck.
(This message has been edited by Hamster2 (edited 08-15-2004).)