Ronin Corporation Nevereign branch

"What're yuh saying? Yuh'd give up yuh favourite..." Tethys stopped to breathe for a few seconds, "... person for yuh favourite axe?" but when Shark told her it was a joke she smiled. Even in this state, Shark was well enough to make a joke. But what did it mean? Tethys had for sure made jokes hinting to the uselessness of the other person involved, but it was all in affection. Like calling your significant other a moron or such. And Tethys knew she'd never had stronger friendships than with those who'd constantly ripped on her and she'd slagged them off to the same extent.


It was an odd thing to be thinking about as Shark was talking about her hand. Tethys hadn't felt much from it since Shark had picked her off the floor. Maybe that part of her brain had simply exploded with the pain it had to endure. Of course, Tethys knew that was ridiculous - the pain would come back soon. Once she'd sweated out the adrenaline. It would all kick back into overdrive and she'd probably end up her side in the car moaning and crying. But for now, she was glad she was able to respond to Shark in some way.


She'd not thanked Shark yet. But something told Tethys now wasn't the time - Specialists and serious-looking compadrés all around. Maybe it would be okay to thank her, to dedicate her life to Shark - it's the only thing Tethys thought could repay Shark - but Tethys decided against it. Instead, she sat back, staring at her boots as Shark carefully examined her maimed digits. They were useless, and Tethys was right-handed. She'd have to learn to write with her left hand, to tie her shoes with one hand...


Although... Tethys glanced at Shark, at her arms. They looked a little damaged, but she could be fixed. Would that be what would happen to her? Or would she simply get amputated and have to walk around all day with a huge war-scar that didn't even come from a war? But... she could say it did. What did anyone else know? And, once she had grandchildren, they'd ask, "Gran'ma, wha's tha?" and she'd tell them "Yuh ain't gonna b'lieve this right, but it got blown up," and the boy of the grandchildren would give a big, "whoaaa" and Tethys would smile. After all, 'blown up' wasn't entirely wrong...


And yes, Tethys was planning on raising grandchildren to have her cockney accent. The thought made her laugh. Laugh as the world sped past and she was sat beside Shark, alive.


Alive.


Laugh away th' pain. 'Cause it's coming.


@Mr_DC
 
@Mr_DC @HarleyQuip @0stinato


Kora took a quick step backward to make distance between herself, Lotus, and Steele. She was unsure where this was headed, but she didn't like the look of it at all. What was Lotus planning to do to him? Claw him to shreds, right in front of everyone? She was a slim woman, but Kora had a feeling she could take out the two guards Steele cowered behind.


She had something pressing on her mind, Kora could tell by the way she spoke to him. Perhaps she had been tracking this man, for some reason or another. Some sort of debt to repay, or maybe she was just a fan?


Steele and Lotus volleyed back and forth. Again, with the ambiguity. What is it with these people and being so indirect all the time? She could have opened her big mouth to speak up and say, “Get on with it already,” but she knew she had already tested her luck several times today. It was time to call it quits and keep to herself, like she should have done during this entire outing.


“Ugh, yes,” Kora gave a small exhale, loosening her tight shoulders in response to Jack's touch. She muttered, “I could definitely use a drink after this.” This had been the most intense day of her life, and it wasn't even over yet. There would be even more to unravel in the coming days. She craved some sleep.
 
@Mr_DC @uesius @0stinato

Lotus folded her arms at the question [what was your name]... She had been called Lotus for almost 13 years straight now... in this time and place hardly anyone knew her real name anymore it was enough to question if she could tell him her name. But she shrugged her shoulders and let her arms fall back to her sides before pivoting a bit turning her body with her left toes pressing into the ground while her right leg was straight as a board. She grabbed the crumpled up cigarette box and pulled one out.

[1 left]

The mechanical gear sparked the flint on her lighter as she retrieved it from the box, the flame and cig up to her lip now. She pressed it into her crimson colored lips lighting the tip and inhaling dragging an orange glow into the cigarette. She put the lighter into the box and placed it between the set of magazines on her side. She crossed the arm with the axe in hand against her chest, resting the hand below the elbow of the arm's hand holding the cigarette. She did this for a bit of drama and face side first to Steele almost as if to mock the high fashion models here in the west.

She exhaled and as smoke sifted upwards from her lips she turned her eyes onto Steele. She knew very well she had his attention now milking the moment a bit.

--Zilo, Redeema. A.k.a Black Lotus

She returned Steele's commercial grade smirk. She was going to enjoy this thoroughly.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
@0stinato


"How come Steele was at Ronin?" Shark looked at the Specialist sitting by Tethys but got no response from anyone. She forgot her place again. All that action, her life being in danger, standing against someone with similar skill but better equipped. Shark forgot her place. She wasn't meant to ask questions. She was meant to do as told and not think about things she sees.


The pain. It kept thumping in her head, in her chest, in her back. Her arm was leaking fluid from the slash in the cybernetic tissue. They intended to implant her with prototype material cybernetics but the idea got lost somewhere. The problems weren't in the cybernetics, though. The problem was in the weapon.


Whatever that mad woman used, it cut through her arm like it was nothing. A dangerous weapon, definitely, but that meant it could be replicated. If it existed, it could be copied. And all the effort Shark put into fighting her paid off. Shark was alive and her brain full of information. Grenades, assault rifle, handgun, invisibility, blades. All could be countered. She had ideas but was no scientist. That's why Lazarus had R&D labs in every important branch. They could create things to counter whatever the enemy could throw at her. If there was something Lazarus valued, it was knowledge. Knowledge and efficiency. And Shark was efficient. Efficient.

Shark slumped forward, her eyes turning back but the Specialist barely reacted. The one sitting by Tethys calmly pulled out a large injector and removed the safety cap on the end. He looked at Shark and then Tethys. He had the expression of someone working as an accountant. He didn't find his job thrilling or dangerous. They were just corporate soldiers and they either live or die. They either climb the ranks and get better gear or they stay where they are and don't impress anyone. A bland life for someone facing death every day.


He stabbed Shark in the back with the injector and she immediately inhaled but remained unconscious. Slow down her bodily functions. Keep her sleeping. Keep her in a state where they could bring her back. The Specialist handed the injector to the Specialist in the front seat while taking a new one from him. "It will hurt for a moment." He looked at Tethys while removing the cap. "You may wake up later." He slammed the injector in Tethys' chest as well.


(I'll move us to Lazarus in my next post, if you don't have anything to post here)
 
@HarleyQuip @uesius


"I know where Chloe keeps the good stuff." Jack chuckled, patting Kora on the back. He wanted to get back to the Chloe's office and grab the strongest thing he could find. Hell, even his office would be good. There had to be something alcoholic in his desk. Everyone had alcohol to get through the day. It was as if the bottle came with the office. A part of the outfit.


But, getting down wasn't really a choice. Lotus and Steele were having their moment in front of the elevator and in spite of the calm situation, he didn't want wo walk past a mercenary, two Specialists, and one of the most powerful CEOs.


"Hey." Chloe frowned at Jack, placing one hand on her hip but quickly relaxed. "You know what? I need it too. There's this bottle of burbon I've been savin' just for somethin' like this." She sighed. They both felt tired and it was clear on them. Jack was no longer flashing his winning smile or doing his annoying wink. Chloe didn't look or sound cocky. No cigar between her lips, no burning look in her eyes. "I need a massage." She mumbled.


"Can we go to the company spa?" Jack chuckled. If nothing else, Ronin cared about keeping their employees happy. Best to keep someone happy when they're working with sensitive information.


Steele never took his eyes off Lotus. He was clearly interested in the woman but didn't lower his guard for a moment. His Specialists kept careful watch of the woman, their bodies tense. He blinked when he heard the name. More precisely, the nickname. "Well, miss Redeema..." Steele started, rolling the cigarette between his white, elegant, cybernetic fingers. "I will make sure to find you." He spoke slowly, giving each word its own weight. "I might still be brave enough to have dinner with an assassin even after I make my announcement today." He smirked. "Regardless of the occasion, I am certain we will meet again." He nodded, turning around. "Good day, Redeema."
 
@Mr_DC @uesius

Lotus nodded as Steele motioned to her. Surprisingly enough Lotus was a very patient person. She knew that if Steele wanted her she would be called for, but not to be mistaken... Lotus was no lap dog. No... she was far too wild to be tamed in such a way. She watched Steele and his gorillas step into the elevator before turning to Kora, Jack, and Chloe with a very soft, and satisfied smile on her lips. She almost laughed at the three of them as she passed walking towards the window's edge now.

[Look at all of you... worn out by a simple business meeting... if he's made of flesh, if he bleeds... he can be dealt with]

She shook her head lightly as the thought entered her mind. The whole situation was comical. She stepped to the edge and stopped the glass crunching beneath her metallic feet. She stared off into the city for a long moment before speaking out to Chloe.

--Chloe... Ronin itself prevented me from carrying out the full extent of my ability. Between the soldiers... who I thought would be more organized... and the turret who turned on me... This is troublesome. I'm not sure if you set me up, or if someone was able to make a fool of you... but the very few seconds I had to capture our target were foiled by the security system.

She sharply inhaled on the cigarette and held the breath for a little while before exhaling. The room was quiet, Lotus wasn't sure if this was because they didn't know if they could trust her or if it was what everyone was thinking.

She threw the cigarette onto the buildings marble floor and smashed the cherry with the tip of her toe.

--In any case... there's a few things I need to inform you of.

She folded her arms and leaned against the windows frame that wasn't broken.

--The person's name who I was fighting is someone named Shark. Not sure if you have heard of them but I got a nice little souvenir

She motioned with the axe in her hand

--But she wasn't alone... she had an accomplice. Someone not trained like she is. Recruit or trainee at best...

She began picking bits of broken glass from her clothes

--I have some good news through all of this though... I was able to tag Shark with some tracking rounds. They will tell us exactly where she is. I've got a sniper rifle capable of punching through lightly armored tanks... and it has a 2 mile radius. I could go after the two of them if that's what you want... but I expect a significant pay increase for them. If not... I'd like to ask what your plan is.

She turned her head still learning against the frame of the window with her body and looked at Chloe.

--If we're going to be business associates... I need you to trust me. But more importantly... do you have any idea what happened today? I noticed this building has an A.I... can it be trusted? where did it come from?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
@Mr_DC @HarleyQuip


Kora folded her arms, her trembling beginning to subside. She had never before been so scared by someone. Even when she was plucked up off the street by Jack, she felt somewhat secure knowing that she was in public. Someone could have saved her. But up here? No, it was a lot more personal, more intimate. She had a feeling there would have been no hope for her had Steele tried something tricky.


She wouldn't allow herself to show any noticeable signs of fear. Better to keep that to herself. Her first gig as a Ronin goon and she was completely worn out, that's a terrible first impression. When the CEO is showing signs of distress, you know something terrible is going on. Something far bigger than what just happened in this room.


“There's a spa here?” she laughed, submerging her feelings as if they didn't exist in the first place. “Wow, booze and spas, you guys have everything, don't you?”


Kora watched Lotus approach the window and stare down towards the city, prompting her to turn and gaze out the broken window. The view was similar to the one Lilly had shown her earlier. It was nice. The gentle breeze on her face was soothing as well. She missed that jerk of a robot and wandered what she was up to now.


The synchronous mention of an AI prompted Kora to look up. It couldn't be the same one, right? No, there had to be thousands of them in this city alone. She wanted to ask about it, but knew she couldn't, not knowing if Lilly had any sort of relationship to Ronin. The last thing she needed was for her cyber partner-in-crime to be snatched up and deactivated, which would leave Kora more in the dark than she already was
 
@Mr_DC @uesius(tagging u because Kora is near Chloe)

Monika pulled up to the curb of a corporate building a few blocks from Ronin. The car was so loud she didn't realize there was shooting and explosions until she turned the ignition ceasing the engine's roar. She sat there for a few moments her hands wrapped around the white leather of the steering wheel. That was one thing she enjoyed about the vehicle was the modest interior; pure white. It made her feel fancy even though the exterior looked like she got the thing from a junk yard. The edges of the paint had all but worn off from weathering and heavy use. In place of it was an ugly brown with rich speckles of orange.

*BOOM*

She hesitated for a moment staring at her car cautiously. She was sure she had turned it of-

*BOOM*

"Alright that is definitely not my car"

She said in an almost british accent. She leaned forward squinting past her steering wheel down the road at the Ronin building. It was then that she saw all the commotion and chaos of gunfire and samurai's with laser swords.

"Holyyyy Shit! No way..."

In her entire life she had never witnessed something as violent. Her eyes fixated on the soldiers for a few moments before she saw tiny reflective pieces litter the air as Shark busted out, followed by a strange mechanical looking lady who disappeared somewhere beyond the upper fence line. She watched Shark carrying Tethys get into a black van and speed off.

"It's like a bloody spy movie!"

She was too far to make out any major details but pieced together the little she could.

"Is eht a corporate war?"

She had heard about times like this from the black market contact Archie had but nothing like this. Usually it was an inside job that did a company like that in. She sat back so quick it made the car rock back and forth a bit. The suspension... naturally... shot from too many miles. Monika liked to talk to herself in times like this, it kept her feeling a bit... normal. She reached over and pulled a large unfittingly expensive fashion bag from the passenger floor and dug through it's contents to retrieve her mobile before swiping the lock off and scrolling to the only Ronin contact she had. Chloe's personal business line. She tapped in the numbers on her keypad before pressing the call button.

*Riiiiiiing.... Riiiiiiiiing.... Riiiiiiing*

"Hope you're not dead..."

She waited for Chloe to pick up watching the building fall apart before her eyes.

"Jesus..."
 
Last edited by a moderator:
@HarleyQuip @uesius


Chloe frowned at Lotus' comment. Maybe Chloe rushed with her conclusions about Lotus being capable and useful. "My soldiers got in your way?" Chloe growled, clenching her fists. Her guards didn't like the comments either. "You went invisible and ran in their line of fire which allowed several attackers avoid gettin' shot. Not to mention..." Chloe raised her voice. "That you murdered my soldiers!" She yelled, her Samurai drawing their swords but staying right by her side. They were well-trained. Not the ones to leave their VIP. After all, Ronin's job was defense and those by Chloe's side were the best of the best. "You think you have the right to question their organization? You should stick to shooting at unsuspectin' people." Chloe scoffed, crossing her arms on her chest. "You're fuckin' pathetic at fightin' alongside someone who knows how to do their job."


"I'll take you to the spa, then." Jack smiled, whispering to Kora. He didn't want any of the two women to focus on him. Jack had no problem with stepping in the line of fire but he had a feeling that no one would benefit from him trying to calm the situation down. It would just end badly for him. Maybe an insult to his masculinity. Maybe an attack on his masculinity. Chloe had a painful sense of humor.


"How about we wait for the situation to defuse itself, hm?" He sighed, his smile melting away. The day just kept getting worse and worse. He just wanted to rest and relax.


With a growl, Chloe turned her back to Lotus. "You should be happy I'm lettin' you live." She sighed, calming down. It took a level head and a steady hand to take a hold of all the strings which flew free now. "You're not goin' after them." Chloe pinched the ridge of her nose with a frown. "Why would I care about two soldiers in particular? I'm more worried about you gettin' friendly with Steele." She mumbled, ending the incoming call and typing in a message.


Second floor. You have one minute. Tell the guard outside 'Autumn leaves'. Chloe just hoped she remembered the phrase right. The code words changed so much that it was impossible to keep track of which were the active ones.


Chloe turned back around to face Lotus. "Every corporation as an AI. Lazarus even has a pair, the smug bastards. I wonder what they think is worth protectin' so much." She spoke more to herself. "We can trust ours. My people made it and AIA confirmed it's all right and proper." Chloe shrugged. "Why?" Everyone high enough in any corporation dreaded the AIA. Someone who is allowed to do literally whatever they want. Someone who can just waltz in and create huge inconveniences...


"Actually, miss Chloe Johnson." A voice came from the staircase. A pair of people climbed up as silent as a whisper. They, a man and a woman, looked like twins. Both had blonde hair, thin lips, blue eyes, and a sharp, dead gaze. They wore perfectly white suits but they didn't resemble the expensive, corporate uniforms. No, they were uniforms but simple ones. Simple white uniforms with a simple black logo on their shoulders. AIA. "We have a few questions about your artificial intelligence unit." The woman said, her voice only slightly different from the man's only in pitch.


Chloe's jaw dropped. Speak of the devil... She blinked. And two appear.


(Damn your signature, Harley, I keep staring at it instead of writing  :smile9: )
 
A white four-door sedan tore through the streets of Nevereign, pushing close to 150 in a mad race against time. Greg had gone dark, an emotionless scowl sliding over his face as he drove, one hand resting on the wheel the other fondling the assault rifle in his lap. Gabe sat in the passenger seat, arguing with Binh over the comm as he coordinated the plan of attack. "We need you in their system now damn it!"

"I'm goin fast as I can G-man." Binh protested, "It's not easy hacking a mega like Ronin, especially when they're already going batshit."

"ETA?" Gabe barked at Greg.

"Less than three minutes." Greg droned in response.

"You have one minute." Gabe growled into the commlink.
 


"Alright alright, I'm in." Binh exclaimed, "Piggybacked onto a signal from Nevereign PD, they won't set foot on Ronin turf cuz extraterritoriality and all that rap, but they wer,"

"Cameras Binh." Gabe insisted, "We need eyes on what's happening."

"Right." The fat hacker paused as he worked his magic on the security systems. "Alright, looks like a bunch of dead corp goons outside the building and in the lobby area, mostly grunt troops, some sammies mixed in. Got a chopper with Lazurus logos sitting on the roof, hello, the fuck is this?"

"Talk to me Binh, I need a clear picture of what we're dealing with."

"Fucking crazy bitch just jumped out a fuckin window, bitch must be more metal than Tiny."

"Who damn it?" Gabe was rapidly running out of patience with his hacker.

"Must have been the leader of the assault team or something, looks like they're making a getaway, black van, heavy corp troops supporting their escape."

"Two minutes." Greg intoned.

"Alright, alright, so the assault team's dead, that means we've got a chance to catch Ronin while they're calming down. How long until they detect your intrusion Binh?"

"Let's see, they probably won't know I'm here until they go looking for me, meaning when I start nabbin systems from em, after that, probably a minute or two depends on how goo,"
 


Gabe shifted in his seat, a wonderful, awful idea springing to life in his mind, "Yeah yeah yeah," He practically shouted, cutting off the hacker, "Don't let that chopper take off, here's what we're gonna do."


____________________________________________________________


It was safe to say that the Janitorial staff at Ronin were not having a very good day, first they'd spent all day working extra hard on cleaning the place up for the special visitors, then a bunch of crazy assholes with guns had stormed the place and utterly ruined all their hard work, and now they were supposed to help clean it up without getting in the way of the terrifying and very angry security personnel that littered the lobby area that, at the moment, had more in common with a war zone than a foyer.


And then the power went out. Just for a moment, it only took about a second and a half for the backup generators to kick on. More confusing was the fact that the building's speakers were now thundering with the high-pitched squeal of some ancient metal vocalist.

Twisting the strangle grip
Won't give no mercy
Feeling those tendons rip
Torn up and mean



The people in the lobby had just enough time to register their confusion before a loud crashing sound drew their attention to the front of the building and the white sedan barreling towards it. The janitor staff scattered, running for any form of cover they could find, a few brave security team member s open fire on the offending vehicle, the not so brave ones bolted out of the way, and Gabe, from his perch in the passenger seat, regretted letting Greg drive.


The sedan crashed through the remains of the lobby doors, running over a security officer too slow to get out of the way before crashing through the front desk and sliding to a halt. Two men in combat armor, one eerily silent, the other giggling to himself at his own joke, stepped out of the ruined car, shouldered a pair of rifles and opened fire on a lobby full of corporate employees to the tune of Judas Priest's All Guns Blazing.


"You got a sick sense of humor G-man." Binh offered as the pair reloaded.


"Can it." Gabe ordered "We still got the camera feeds?"


"For now." Binh confirmed, "Counter-Intrusion is already gunning for me, don't know how long I can keep the feeds live. Most of the rest of the security system is stuck in a reboot loop though, they'll need to hard reset it all to get them running again."

"Should keep the turrets off us at least." Gabe noted, "Alright, we're losing time, Greg, keep Ronin busy, Binh get your drones moving, I'm gonna work on our evac plan."


With that Greg yanked open the back door of the sedan, pulled a pair of drones out, traded the assault rifle for his shotgun and moved further into the building as the team split up and Seek & Destroy began thundering through the speakers.
 
@HarleyQuip @Mr_DC


Kora stayed quiet as the two woman spatted with each other. While she didn't want to get into the middle of it, she desperately wanted to chime in with a “Both of you shut the hell up and lets get out of there.” But she knew that wouldn't be professional.


She glanced towards the elevator, the one Steele disappeared in. She fantasized about waltzing right out of the room and back on the street. This wasn't the line of work for her. She wasn't a top secret agent person/assassin/robot humanoid or whatever. She was an average joe, a city dweller most comfortable with the dirt and grime of poverty. It was where she belonged. Not with these high-flying, homicidal maniacs.


She looked towards the direction of the unfamiliar voice and saw two identical people near the staircase. She rolled her eyes, her agitation at an all time high. “Oh jesus,” she grumbled, giving an exasperated gesture in their direction. “Who the fuck are they?”


Another explosion-like sound, coming from somewhere. She didn't even flinch this time, just shook her head. She could have sworn she heard the faint sounds of an electric guitar. She gave an apathetic declare, “Well, here comes some more guns."
 
@uesius @Mr_DC @Cashdash25

Chloe was busy taking out all of her frustration on Lotus but Lotus wasn't listening she was watching as a gleaming white sedan sped quickly towards Ronin. All 8 cylinders causing a loud gurgling in the small alleys echoing from the roads. She watched as it came barreling through the gates sending debris and men flying across the lawn. A few ideas came to mind as Chloe was busy badgering her, as to, how to stop their intruders. However... the situation was escalating quickly. Lotus had plenty of ammunition left for both weapons to continue a repressing assault... but she wasn't feeling particularly generous after Chloe had said what she said. Sure Chloe was the CEO but this whole damn building was acting like a death trap and she didn't like that.

--Easier to cut my losses now and risk losing you as an employer than stay in this shit hole and die for what was it again?

She turned to look Chloe in the eyes

--5k per head? Don't fucking insult me woman.

Her eyes turned to the tense guards

--As for you fuckin 6 useless tin cans, don't go acting all tough I could throw a grenade in your direction and detonate it with my pistol faster than any of you could move. Your brute strength won't save your bitter CEO.

Lotus had become pretty fed up with her at this point. She put her life on the line for both her and Kora not to mention put up with all her shit, her malfunctioning turrets,

--AND THE GOD DAMN GUARDS WHO WERE SUPPOSED TO BE OUTSIDE NOT LETTING ANY OF THE RECRUITS IN.

She hadn't realized she yelled this aloud but once she did she simply shrugged it was the truth.

--By the way you've got a shit storm of trouble coming your way. I'm planning on sticking around and watching so that maybe... you'll see why it's important to value your business relations.

By the time the guards even moved she would have pulled the pin and tossed her grenade at them, disengage the pistol and hurl a round into the grenade ending all of them.

Suddenly the atmosphere changed as two blue eyed women made their way into the room with all of them. Her eyes fixated on them intrigued.
 
@Mr_DC

Monika's fingers typed away on the phone as she received a message. However her attention was drawn to a vehicle that sped into Ronin with full force. Her eyes focused on the commotion but her fingers slowly tapped on the keypad.

"You've got more company it appears, please proceed with caution. Is there an entry for me to safely get into the building?"

She sat back and pulled a piece of gum from her bag and plopped it in her mouth chewing on it. This was turning out to be quite a day already... Next thing she expected to see was an airstrike. Wouldn't that be something?

She leaned forward continuing to watch as all the commotion began to escalate.

This a company you really wanna work for? Look at this mess...

She thought before her hand popped the handle on her door open stepping out of the car in her 50,000 credit shoes that screamed business, luxury, elegance. Her heels clicked against the pavement as she made her way to the building.

"Good choice, what kind of employee would you be if you simply skipped out on an opportunity because of bullets and danger?"

She knew how to move and would act accordingly if the gunfire began to become uncomfortably close.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Binh's handy work was starting to finally take full effect, the building based security network was in an eternal loop and the outside security assets had been unable to locate his IP or his way of entry yet.


"Yo, I'm gonna do you two a favor and see about disabling the helo, I don't think there's any immediate weakpoints but as far as I can see no pilot has entered it yet, I'll position the sniper drone on standby to eliminate current personnel on and subsequently deny acces to the roof for now. The support drone will remain outside to inform me of any reinforcements... Yo tiny make sure you snatch some explosives for me too, we didn't take any of my toys it appears so I need a restock."


There already did appear to be some interesting figures roaming around already, they did not appear to be high priority targets though, for now elimination of security elements and potential higher ranking assets along with gathering arms and destruction of property was the objective.


"Yo G-man... got an idea actually, why don't you like find your way to the gennies, if we blow that shit up the building would be a nice pile of destruction, its high risk but it would be damn awesome"


And now all Binh was to do was sit back and monitor the cameras, along with the occasional checking on the hacking situation... "Time to have some of tiny's beers then." 


"I will kill you." Greg noted, even more motivation for Tiny to get through this Binh guessed, all worth it.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
@HarleyQuip @uesius @Cashdash25 @admiral9


Jack closed his eyes, sighing at the pair appearing. It was fitting they would just show up quietly without anyone noticing them. That's what they were. That omnipresent group always ready to step in and tell you what you were doing wrong. No one could really say anything to them anyways. If they wanted to get into your bathroom while you were taking a shower, no one would stop them. They had a reason for everything and usually didn't hesitate from cutting down whatever was in their path while maintaining their emotionless expression. "The Artificial Intelligence Authority." Jack mumbled to Kora, sighing again. "Just... Do what they tell you and answer their questions as honestly and clearly as you can. No one wants them to stay here more than they need." What a bother.


Chloe scoffed at Lotus' remarks. "So, what? That little scuffle with Lazarus soldiers got you so worn out you're goin' to sit this one out?" She shook her head but as she was about to say something, the AIA man beat her to it.


"You will accompany us to your office and after a short interrogation, we will go to the artificial intelligence core to run some tests." He said calmly, ignoring the shooting going on nearby. They both acted like they were in another universe. Like nothing around them presented a threat. They were right, to a point.


"Listen, this is the second attack on my buildin' in the last half hour." Chloe replied to the man in an exhausted tone. She knew better than to stand up to them. If they wanted, they could just claim Ronin for themselves with the full backing of every world power. But they wouldn't. They shouldn't. "After I fend it off, we can talk."


"You." The woman said to Lotus while her partner talked with Chloe. "You will help defend the building during our inspection." She nodded, her unblinking, dead eyes locked with Lotus'. "The Artificial Intelligence Authority will take note of our assistance in this matter."


As soon as Steele's men opened the door of the roof, a sniper shot hit one of his guards. A glancing blow. Steele frowned as both he and his guards backed into the doorway again. Not his soldiers, that's for sure. And not an assassin or they would wait for a better moment. Whoever that was, they were keeping them pinned. He smirked, looking back down. Lotus. He started climbing back down the stairs. She's perfect.


"LLI-001, LLI-002..." Steele spoke into his cybernetic fist as he walked down the stairs with his guards. "Get reinforcements at the Ronin Headquarters. Outsider throat." He finished, stepping back onto the second floor with his bodyguards where the rest of the group still was. "Miss Redeema." Steele started but stopped when he saw the logo. AIA. Not good.


"Mr Franklin Winthrop Steele." The woman looked at him. "We need to investigate you as well." She spoke as if she knew he was there the entire time. Like he was expected.


(You should post in the order I tagged you. Don't skip over anyone. This order of posting should ensure each 'team' had a chance to react to what the other team does.)
 
@Mr_DC @uesius @Cashdash25 @admiral9

Lotus held a sigh as she was now being bossed around by what she assumed was the Ronin's A.I. However she took notice of the logo on the two's shoulders.

[AIA... what the fuck are they doing here...]

She was about to turn and walk towards the window to eagle dive out and start wreaking havoc on the new set of opponents who had arrived but stopped just short as she saw Steele come back into the room, then his words cut short by the AIA.

At this point she wasn't sure rather to go shooting or inquire about what it was that brought Steele back. The A.I.A gave her an order but didn't specify the exact time to be executed. Lotus wasn't stupid enough to defy them but she decided to inquire.

--Yes Mr. Steele?

She turned her full attention to him. She didn't sport the charm of the woman intrigued and infatuated by him now; instead her arms were crossed and the expression on her face was rather serious, not meant to be intimidating but business like.

[Judging by the way the intruders came to Ronin it can be assumed that their psyche is similar. Too confident, sloppy this isn't a well thought out attack but it would appear they've done this before based on the chatter over the comms about a drone. Proceed with extreme caution, repression will be the only way of getting rid of these men. However assuming Ronin's security is doing their job they should have the driver and passengers pinned at their location.]

It was an amateur mistake to come crashing into a building with defense in place like Ronin did. The security teams were trained exactly for this kind of situation, terrorist attacks, civilian protests, riots...


_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Monika


As she walked closer to the building she recognized the sound of a .338 Lapua Magnum in the next moment she caught sight of a single bullet shell falling from the roof of Ronin which caused her eyes to shift upwards noticing the faint indistinguishable sound of helicopter blades, and a soft hum undoubtedly a drone. She spotted it hovering about a hundred or so feet above the complex, about 50 ft north of the buildings primary face.

She continued to walk closer to the chaos and destruction now hearing the loud bass and treble of heavy metal tuned to an awful chaotic mix of guitar, drum, and screaming vocalists. She shook her head as she crossed the street to Ronin but turning to walk along it's right side.


 


"How can anyone stand such a ruckus?"


She quickened her stride taking into account Chloe's statement of "Autumn Leaves" and 1 minute. She supposed that was all the time it would take to get to the back entrance of the building. Much safer, practically untouched. Still surprisingly guarded. As she approached the two statue like black armored samurai she stood in the center of the two but a few feet back.

"Autumn Leaves"


 


The guards looked at each other for a moment but the door opened for her. She noticed the door had a 6 cylinder locking mechanism. Interior was probably composed of concrete while the exterior was probably a steel or steel alloy like most bank vault doors. However unlike vault bank doors it had no external operating parts. Which led her to shift her gaze up again catching the glimmer of a hidden lens embedded just above the door just as she entered into the facility. This part of the building was in pristine condition untouched by the gunfire or any explosions. From here she couldn't even smell the gunpowder or catalysts. So the building was also sectioned in certain areas to create airtight environments which meant that the ventilation system did not recycle it's air like most energy conservation layouts. The price to maintain a building like this was much more substantial than a call center, or law firm.

She continued to walk towards the elevator which had also been untouched by the chaos.


 


"Hmm"



As she walked down the hall she was met by a glass pane and bold texts telling her of the offices and their employees. "Chloe Basement Level 40"


 


"Basement level?"


She very quickly pieced together that this was for security purposes, perhaps personal preference but not intentionally.






This intrigued her more so than it would normal people. So... the elevators have not been shut down... which means this building has virtually no emergency services... which also suggests that this building is in-fact outside the jurisdictions law. For a reason, this company had to be one of the biggest money generators in the city... so were the emergency services paid off? Or did Ronin prefer it that way? Too many thoughts buzzed through her head to think about anything specific too long. The elevator's doors swung open and she stepped inside. Of course the elevator had microphones and hidden camera's like most corporate buildings successfully breaking the law of being filmed without permission... but not many people were aware of their actual existence because they were hidden in the telephone panel's and LED displays. Their only knowledge of their existence was in movies where they were often hidden in the corners of the elevators.

The doors slid open and she was confronted by a similar glass pane with bold texts with arrows pointing in the direction of their employee's offices. However this level merely had Chloe's name. No other employees were down here aside from guards. Which made her question what was behind the other doors. Monika made her way down to Chloe's office where two more guards were standing. She confronted them with the same phrase.

"Autumn Leaves"


 


The guards didn't budge. So this appeared to be the end of the line. She pulled her phone from her bag and began texting Chloe another message.


 


"I'm at your office door, these tough guys won't let me in."
 
Last edited by a moderator:
@Mr_DC @HarleyQuip @Cashdash25 @admiral9


(Sorry for the long wait and terribly short post. I've been out all day, I'm beat.)


“The Artificial Intelligence Authority,” Kora mused to herself. That name definitely screamed trouble, especially given what she already knew about AI and its capabilities. Like hell she was going to actually tell them the truth about anything she knew.


But the way Chloe spoke to them made her suspicious. This pair was powerful, perhaps even more so than Steele? Kora wasn't sure yet, but did not want to test that theory by hollering in their direction. She whispered to Jack, “Any ideas why they might be here?
 
@Mr_DC @HarleyQuip @admiral9 @The Glass Ninja


"Door on your left Tiny."


The roar of Greg's shotgun was the last thing the poor Ronin security officer heard as his ambush point suddenly filled with lead. Ronin's security teams were good, but it's hard to launch a counterattack when your own cameras are working against you. With Binh periodically warning him of incoming hostiles Greg was practically invincible, not that Greg noticed. He was going on pure instinct, months of training and years of experience combining to guide him through the compound, his head gently nodding in time with the music.


Greg liked music, helped him focus, helped break through the dust and fog.


"Hallway on the right, half-dozen or so, looks like they're redeploying squads from elsewhere in the building."


Yanking the pin on a smoke grenade and chucking it into the hallway up ahead, Greg switched his Cybereyes to thermal mode and extended a Cyberblade from his wrist. A long phsssh sound emanated from the canister as the air filled with thick, grey smoke, the security team, coughing and hacking, were completely unprepared for a mountain of a man with nearly two feet of sharpened steel attached to his wrist to rush around the corner.


While not as fancy as Ronin Samurai's laser swords, sharpened steel killed just as well as it always had and the corp-sec team died in a storm of blood and screams. Feeling more alive than he had all day Greg casually pulled a few rounds out his combat vest and continued on his random path through the facility.


"Binh, find me an elevator or something, this place has to have a basement area of some kind."
 
@HarleyQuip @uesius @Cashdash25 @admiral9


"Just show up and we'll let you in - I know the drill." Steele nodded respectfully at the AIA official. Not the first time he had to deal with them. Every corporation which had at least one AI had to tolerate regular visits from AIA and Lazarus had two powerful AI. They were constantly monitored.


"Would you mind giving me some assistance?" Steele smiled at Lotus. "I know it's not really gentlemanly of me but my means of transportation appears to be watched by a rifleman or something of the sort. Would you mind demonstrating your combat abilities?"


With an annoyed grumble, Chloe decided to distract herself by replying to whatever message she just received. Her annoyance dissipated quickly. She was impressed. The girl actually made her way through the gunfight and reached Chloe's office.


Wait for me, I'll be there soon. She wrote but stopped before hitting send. The girl might be useful. Hide and don't get yourself killed. She added to the message and sent it.


Jack scoffed, looking away from Steele. What a way to say 'My chopper is pinned, get out there and kill them.' Jack couldn't have said it better himself. Steele would be a tough target to lie to. He probably knew all the tricks in the book. Hell, he knew every trick in every book. He probably wrote the book.


Jack frowned, rubbing the side of his face. "Judging by what they're asking for..." Jack started to answer Kora with a sigh. He felt like am encyclopedia. Not that he minded explaining things to Kora but the situation simply stretched on for long enough to get on his nerves as well. "They know there's a rogue AI in the city but they aren't sure whose it is. That's why they want to talk to the boss. If they knew it was our AI, we would be out of power by now." Jack explained. Turning off the entire city grid wasn't out of their reach. They could probably turn off every power plant in the country with a single phone call.


The Ronin reinforcements which were called over because of the first attack started arriving. They did their best to surround the building and started moving in to deal with the new threat they had no information on. But they had numbers. Numbers and home turf. The building was a fortress, after all. It wasn't difficult to enter it but it was difficult to get deeper into its fifty basement levels. That was where their defensive expertise showed. The lower one would go, the more the building seemed like a vault, designed to keep the unwanted out.


(Sorry for the crappy post. I don't know what's with me lately. Also, we skipped @admiral9 as it has been a while since some roleplayers posted)
 
@uesius @Cashdash25 @admiral9 @Mr_DC
Lotus smiled at Steele unfolding her arms and walking towards him and his men.

--Sure, stay down here where it's safe puddin'

She gently brushed the shoulder of one of his guards as she passed.

--Oh big boy like you can't handle a little skirmish...

She laughed and made her way up the staircase her processor working on the audio feeds available and her eyes examined everything in the stairwell.

[No immediate threats detected, bullet hole in the concrete left side suggests larger caliber. Sniper rifle, untrained or unmanned attacker. Not precise enough to be considered a high threat. Proceed with caution]

She made her way up and stopped just before the opening of the staircase examining the exterior but not angling her body to get shot. Her ears were adjusting because the helicopter blades were too loud to make out any possible drones nearby. Her audio inputs allowed her to filter out certain sounds or increase the sound of others. She adjusted them to filter out any bass and increase treble. This allowed her to filter out most of the sound from the helicopter aside from radio chatter and electricity. Lotus recognized something very faintly... it could be a drone but it could also be the turrets. She proceeded cautiously out onto the helipad turning invisible before entering view of the doorway. Instantly she sprinted towards the door frame grabbing it with gymnast like agility swinging herself onto the other side of the exterior doorway placing herself against the concrete wall. She pulled the pin on a smoke grenade and cooked it until there was enough smoke pouring out of it to blind her, before placing it on the ground next to her feet.

[Activating heat vision]

She kneeled at the lowest possible level before peaking out her eyes scanning the sky for any drones. Sure enough about 100ft out she could see the faint glow of a drone's motor, just before she could pull her ak from her back and fire, a sniper round smashed against the concrete just above her head sending debris across her face and causing her to jolt back for a moment before readying her AK. She kicked the smoke grenade towards the helicopter causing a trail of thick smoke to line the helipad. She jumped towards the grenade tucking and rolling before bringing the red dot up to focus on the drone. She pulled the trigger letting a few rounds spiral off towards the drone with calculated precision. One of the drone's blade was instantly shattered, the post holding the blade was also destroyed successfully throwing the little machine off balance causing the next sniper round to embed itself in the helipad a few feet to her left. She sent another few rounds spiraling towards the drone with the same calculated precision before rolling to the door way and standing up straight elegantly at the edge of the first step; and making her way back down to Steele and his men.

--Steele... your problem has been dealt with. Anything else?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Monika


 


She awaited Chloe's reply tapping her foot against the floor anxiously not sure what was happening outside. Her phone vibrated violently in her hand and she read the message. Almost instantly after reading the message she began examining the entire area.

"Concrete as far as the eye can see... Lights, more concrete, ceiling seems to be made of concrete as well... where do you expect me to hide in your fortress? I can't hide anywhere obvious... that's out of the question. Not under a desk... not under anything really... the least common place for anyone to be suspected to hide is up... but where...?"

She began following a thin pipe like conduit which was clearly wired into one of the lights. She continued to follow it away from the guards to a hole just above a doorway. The door had an electronic keypad and keycard combination but the door itself was made of wood. She examined it more closely...

"What secrets do you have little keypad?"

She noticed something odd. The keys weren't worn out or even dirty which meant that either the cleaning crew was very detail oriented, not likely down here in the basement, or the locking mechanism worked off a split system. Either the card or the numbers. Just incase you forgot your card. She reached into her purse and opened her wallet inside the bag. She retrieved a hotel like key and began furiously rubbing it against her pencil skirt creating electricity. She quickly slid it into the keycard slot pushing it down until she felt it connect with the bottom edge of the guide and quickly pulled out. The door lock notified with a red light indicating failure.

"Cmon I don't ave time for this shit"

She did it again but more furiously than the last and slid it into the keypad once again but pulled it out a lot slower this time. The locking mechanisms red light turned off and nothing happened for a couple seconds, but then just as hope seemed lost the light lit up green.

"Eureka!"

She turned the door handle and proceeded inside carefully shutting the door behind her as quietly as possible, the lock re-engaging, before turning around to see what places would allow for cover. The room seemed to be a maintenance room with scattered cleaning products on shelves. Old electric cabling carelessly lining the floor covered in dust bunnies. Upon further examination an electric fuse box and a couple of server boxes were tucked into the corner of the room. A vent that looked like it hadn't been turned on in a decade.

"Where to hide now... don't think I have enough time to unscrew anything, don't want to disturb the dust..."

She wanted to be frantic but she kept hold of her state of mind and remained calm. She looked back at where the piping continued above the doorway and followed it along the wall and ceiling where it fed into a metal panel that didn't look like it was secured with screws. She grabbed a stepping ladder near the wall and made her way up, tip-toeing to press the metal plate in the concrete ceiling up and away from the cables. Once she had it opened she jumped slightly, her fingers grabbing onto one of the concrete edges and she used her upper body strength to pull herself upwards, she also hooked the tips of her toes onto the stepping ladder and pulled it up with her. The interior of the opening was extremely dark and slender. She had enough to turn her body around on any side of her but not to stand or kneel which made getting the stepping ladder up very tedious. She struggled only for a moment twisting and contorting her body in such a small space but managed to pulled the ladder in with her and close the metal panel into it's original position avoiding touching the underside as she didn't want to get dusty fingerprints on the panel. It slid back in place with a satisfying "ting"

"What a fuckin mess..."

She had remarkably kept her purse strapped to her shoulder the entire time and reached into it pulling out her mobile for light. She examined the interior rather quickly. Lots of cables, more metal framework but there was a turn in the space that she followed and turned her flashlight on for a brief moment again. There was no breaks in the tunnel for as far as she could see. She clicked the light off and sent off another message to Chloe.

"Alright, we're all nice and comfy. Let me know when I should come see you."

She waited in the silence steadying her breath from the commotion before slowing it down to an inaudible level. The tunnel she had made a turn at traveled far beyond the thick concrete back walling of the maintenance room and then some. She waited in silence staring at the blackness before her, debating on taking a nap. She turned her phone on silent and dimmed the light as much as it could. before putting it in her purse and laying down not moving.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
@Mr_DC @HarleyQuip @Cashdash25 @admiral9


It took all of Kora's willpower for her not to do one of those stereotypical gulps – the ones people do when they know they're guilty of something and don't want anyone to find out. “Oh, damn,” she exhaled, as if she were completely oblivious of the situation, like she was supposed to be. “Must be pretty serious, then.”


Sentence fragments ran through her mind. It couldn't – No, it's not – Could it be? Dispersed throughout her chaotic thoughts was one word: Lilly. They're trying to find her. The AIA: The Artificial Intelligence Agency, just like she told her.


Well, shit. The AI wasn't lying after all. That insane joyride, where Lilly explained to Kora who she was and how much trouble she'd be in if she was caught, the mowing down of people by MosTech, that wasn't all for show. It wasn't some weird hallucination Kora dreamed up just to come back here.


It never happened, Kora told herself. I know nothing. Nada, zip, zero. If she kept repeating synonyms, perhaps it would turn out to be true. She would have to convince herself it was.


She had to leave, get as far away from those creepy white-suits as possible. They weren't focused on her, nah, they wanted Steele. He would know more about a rogue AI than she would, of course. That was a relief.


She said to Jack, “So, are we gonna have to stand here and wait for something to happen, or can we finally get out of this room and see what's going on elsewhere?” Shuddering, she added, “All this pent-up energy is making me stir crazy.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
@Mr_DC @HarleyQuip @uesius @Cashdash25


"And.... there! I got in man, I got eyes on the high and lows of the building. If you wanna go the holy diver route then you'll need to fight your way through towards an elevator shaft on the far side of the building, appears to be guarded by some punk ass fuckers though, lots of fighting if you wanna get there.


Now if you wanna go the space anomaly route you wanna find a stairway, There appears to be some interesting figures operating there including some kinky looking bitch that somehow managed to blow up my fucking drone."


"I've got some more news for you though, appears a bunch of ronin sec teams are arriving, The security systems on the buildings perimeter are working against them thanks to a little code rewriting from yours truly but they got some pretty heavy gear... If I were you dude I'd be getting out of dodge right around now, maybe try to steal one of their own vehicles so you can snatch the equipment contained. I've taken pictures man, I got names... next time we spot any of these fuckers that was too lazy to ensure their facial features were hidden we're blowing em to kingdom come." Binh was starting to get rather heated, but for his job's sake he eventually regained his calm, thankfully his sensory drone was still operating from its hidden position so he had a full overview of the happenings both inside and outside, and things were starting to look rather crowded.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
@Mr_DC @HarleyQuip @uesius @admiral9


Gabriel McClintock was having a pretty good day, Iron Maiden's Run to The Hills was playing, the piles of Ronin dead, and thus looted corp-sec gear, were growing and he'd even found an evac vehicle, all that was left to do was get rid of the Ronin security team standing between him and it and get Greg down here. "About to secure our evac Greg, keep Ronin busy and get moving upwards, you'll have an easier time getting out that way. Binh, keep that chopper grounded anyway you can until Greg can get up there."

Switching his attention back to the matter at hand, Gabe shoulder his rifle and opened fire on the security team, taking the leader with a surprise burst to the chest. The rest of the team responded almost instantly, raking Gabe's ambush position with return fire, Ronin was known for its loyalty and fanaticism if nothing else at least. Gabe pulled a flashbang grenade, looted off another dead corp-sec officer, from his vest and chucked it in the vague direction of the incoming fire, waited for the boom, and popped up to fire another burst, taking down two more Ronin goons before they recovered. The forth trooper was faster on the upswing however, and opened fire as Gab was switching targets.


Two bullets hit, the first impacting harmlessly in his combat vest, the second burying itself in his upper arm, gritting his teeth Gabe shifted his aim lower and took out the offender's legs with his response. "Binh!" He hissed, his scottish accent bleeding into his speech, "Get your fookin drone over here an patch meh up." Hopping the ruined wall that had been serving as his cover Gabe walked over to the downed corp-sec, who was busily screaming and writhing in pain from the half-dozen bullets lodged in his legs. "I'm gonna fookin hurt yeh fer that mate." Gabe snarled, swinging a kick at the man's jaw, his head snapped back with a horrifying crunch and the screaming was cut off to a miserable whimper, a few more kicks left the man's face permanently disfigured and in need of serious reconstructive surgery.


"Now, let's see about this van.."


__________________________


On Gabe's orders Greg took off for the nearest stairway, continuing to smash up Ronin's HQ and cause as much damage as he could as he went, drawing Ronin forces towards him and away from Gabe. "Have I ever mentioned how much I hate stairs?" He said to no one in particular as he gazed up flight after flight of stairs, trading his shotgun for his pistol and extending a blade he started up the many, many steps between him and the targets he was after.
 
@HarleyQuip @uesius @Cashdash25 @admiral9


"No." Steele bowed, his lips curling into a pleased smile. "I'll be sure to make room for you in my schedule soon." He smirked, looking straight at her, ignoring the rest of the people in the room. "Very soon." He gave her a courteous nod and headed back up with his bodyguards. While he did trust the woman to clear the roof, he still instructed his bodyguards to be cautious. Once they confirmed the coast was clear outside, Steele quickly made his way to the helicopter which started its twin jets.


"Lotus." Chloe looked at Lotus. Not like an enemy this time but as an equal. "Deal with these fuckers and come to my office." She ordered. "You kill them in ten minutes and I'll personally give you a bonus." She sighed and looked at the two AIA officials. "Let's go. My office is below." She motioned her head at the elevator. At least it was bulletproof if nothing else. Maybe the attackers had half a brain and wouldn't go after AIA people. No one wanted their wrath. They may be the authority on AIs but there was nothing to stop them from using all their power to find someone who crossed them.


"Yeah." Jack bowed his head and headed to the elevator as well. "After we relax a bit, we can go to my office and wait for the boss to finish her talk." He nodded at Chloe who was walking ahead of them with an annoyed expression. "Wouldn't be surprised if they interview the entire building. Probably not you, though, since you just got here. I don't think you really had the opportunity to interact with our AI." Jack yawned, oblivious to the shooting coming just a few floors below.
 
@Cashdash25 @admiral9


Lotus walked to the edge of the broken window examining the chaos. The Ronin samurai were focusing fire on one of the infiltrators. She decided it was in the best interest to not pursue; it looked like they were heading to a getaway vehicle anyway.




She jumped from the window and landed on the street before walking over to her motorcycle, popping the stand up and kicking the bike to life before speeding off deeper into the city.

MONIKA


 


Monika rolled over onto her back. She grabbed the phone from her purse and turned it on the screen dimly illuminated the interior of the current shaft she was in. However there was nothing to greet her as she lay there staring wishfully at the mobile. Had Chloe forgotten about her? Just leaving her there to rot? No... there was a lot of commotion before you came in she's probably just busy dealing with the shit storm of destruction outside...

"Still..."

She began humming quietly a tune to herself trying to pass the time as she waited. She hadn't heard any footsteps or commotion yet and it was as silent as it could possibly get.

"This lil' light of mine... I'm gonna let it shine..." @Mr_DC
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top