Johnny_Fear GM: question... how much did I get on the four guys I was looking into down in the archives? William: JF: One second... [snip OOC banter about absent player] William: JF: You were looking in a specific timeframe, yes? Johnny_Fear as far back as I could go, but IIRC Javier's name popped up as being 30 years back BA takes a break from fixing other peoples' computer problems and cruises around town after lunch Johnny_Fear the other two, I think, I just looked up in the microfiche index Johnny_Fear as for Xavier, you did tell me I didn't find anything "out of the ordinary", IIRC BA: Mmm... microfiche. Good in tartar sauce with a micro brew :) Ellis: back William: Yeah. That's a *lot* of newspapers to search by hand. However, the focused search around Javier's time unearths an article about him. He was arrested for assault; they couldn't make attempted murder stick. Hmm... I really should write up the whole article; but the gist is that neither he nor the man he was assaulting had much identifying data around. They were looking into a missing persons cases as well. Johnny_Fearless cocks an eyebrow William: The assault, oddly enough, was with an array of cooking utensils. I mean, a cleaver has some status, but the scaling knife was just weird... BA decides to stop in on Fearless at work and see what's up Johnny_Fear you've been watching too much Men In Black, methinks. %) Johnny_Fearless ponders something... is there a photo, or even a name, for the "victim"? William: The victim was a John Doe. He was black, which given the year might have played a factor in dropping attempted murder. Philly's an openminded town, but it was still the 60's. Edward , after exhausting internet searches on those occasions of 'assault' from the club, does the same. William: Ed, BA: Johnny is doing his stuff in the week of the strange events, before where we ended up last week -- at the OHW, Friday dinner. Edward: ah, 'k. Scratch that then. Johnny_Fear that's okay... with BA, its expected that he can stop by from time to time... Johnny_Fear as a self-employed person, he keeps his own hours. BA wander around the paper's offices, annoys one of the secretaries who in on he gag with a bit of risky banter, then heads down to the records room to find Fearless BA: + BA: t William: BA, Johnny: Once you two get done with this scene, we can FF to the "present" and have people all get together once more. William: Cyg has dropped out, at least for now. You five constitute the gaming group, so for once we have full attendance! :^) Ellis: Full attendance! Woot! Johnny_Fearless slumps back in the chair. "All four... all *five* of them are complete zeros..." BA tells Fearless about the MIBs that visited him in much more interesting, but truthful, way than it actually happened. Nicole: Will, heh. I almost copped out on you because I'm feeling lousy. Johnny_Fear "Interesting..." Edward leans back into his chair, reading the information displayed on his console... "Interesting." Edward: Out of my skull. NOW. William: Oh, wait. You mentioned a microfiche index, didn't you? BA: "Wanna see the security footage? Got a few good mug shots." Johnny_Fear yeah William hmms... *** William is now known as Will_Gm Johnny_Fear "Not at the moment. Maybe when I'm done here." *** Will_Gm is now known as Will_GM Will_GM: ~roll 3d6 Will_GM: !roll 3d6 Daisuke: Rolls for 3 dice at 6 sides per die: 1 3 5 E[C]: eich BA: "'k. I take it you've decided to stop playing vampire and are heading out to do some DAYTIME footwork?" Johnny_Fear that's still lower than all my skill levels. :) Will_GM: The question is how hard the stuff is to find. ;^) Johnny_Fear *heh* Johnny_Fear "A reporter's work is never done. You should know that by now, BA." Will_GM: You do get something. An "Ezekiel Leonard" is mentioned in the index as part of a community group. (OOC: Such groups as the following actually exist...) It was several years ago, but it gives the name and address of a stonemasonry company that was looking for new apprentices to support a gradually-shrinking craft. They were hiring especially in poor and underserved neighborhoods. Johnny_Fear "But did I ever tell you... I really, *really* hate heights. Johnny_Fear "Interesting... " *scribbles down the address* BA: "So next time tell the jumper to get off the ledge or you'll go out there and push him off yourself." Will_GM: The apprenticeship deal was very traditional; several hours of education each evening, in exchange for small work in the shop; the article writer (an older reporter you know and trust, retired now) seemed to be impressed with the master/apprentice bonds. Will_GM: (This particular article appeared a couple of years earlier than the computer records had yet reached back to.) E[C]: nighters folxen Edward: 'nite Johnny_Fear cya, Emp BA: Later Emp Johnny_Fear "Up for a little drive-by investigation, BA?" BA: "Sure. My car or Shank's Mare?" Ellis: Oh, you two... look, the rest of us wanted to play tonight, too. Johnny_Fear "I never trusted your driving." *smirk* "my car, but bring rumblestrip." BA: Initiative. It does wonders for moving a plot :) BA: "Sure." Johnny_Fear and FF to the present... we just did one drive-by. *** E[C] has left channel Johnny_Fear just to see what was at the address currently Will_GM: Bear in mind, you didn't have any amazingly new information when I sat you down that Friday... storywise, perhaps it would be better if you left a thorough investigation until after discussing it with the group. *** Signoff: E[C] (Client closed connection) Will_GM: JF, BA: The stonemasonry shop is still there, and apparently doing business. BA: "That's looks normal. Alittle TOO normal." Johnny_Fear "Yeah..." Johnny_Fear *resolves to come back later* Will_GM: FF to Friday... pick up right where we left off? BA: sure Ellis: Okee. Ellis spreads his hands on the table. "So what do we know?" Will_GM: You're all still at dinner. JF, BA, you too have been introduced to Edward and Greg; you five are the only ones here. (I also put some words in your mouth which were fairly innocuous; check the logs to be sure.) Nicole: And we had a visitor and Xavie chased him off and then ran off himself. %) BA hands Fearless his security tape. "We know the war's over and thr good guys won. What else, Ellis?" BA: :) BA: -r +e Will_GM: As you speak, remember that it is October 6, 2001. We are about to begin bombing Afghanistan on Sunday. :^) Ellis gives BA a long, measuring stare. Edward: "The interesting thing is that when a war is over, the winners tend to retroactively become the 'good guys' -- nobody else is around to write the history books." Johnny_Fearless reads the logs... which of the two guys from the first night is the "stab victim"? Edward: the guy Xavier ran off. Johnny_Fear ah Will_GM: JF: Neither of those two. He's one of the two (of the original five) that left early. Johnny_Fear ah.. oj Johnny_Fear ok Ellis: "Indeed. Martin Luther has a glowing record as a reformer and a luminary, when in reality he was a hypocrite and an antisemite." Ellis: Will_GM: No, O.J. *did* the stabbi... sorry. ;^) Nicole lets them argue, is still piecing. Edward ignores the jab, tries to recall if he saw any security cameras when he looked around the restaurant when he came in. BA opens his laptop and helps Nicole Ellis: So can we get into an argument about religion, huh? Pleaseohpleaseohplease... %) Ellis: I didn't mean a jab *at* anyone, per se, just a quirk. Johnny_Fearless is still reading through the log... unlike fearless, I don't tend to be a speedreader. BA: Where's the log, again? Will_GM: Ed: There's a camera trained on stage when there's a band on (as there is now); you can't recall whether or not you've seen any others at the moment. Will_GM: http://earl.of.sandwich.net/Game_Logs/ Edward: 'k. Nicole: "Okay. So everything we have, from the top..." Ellis: "Xavier and his buddies don't like stabbing victim and his buddies." Johnny_Fear "A jumper interested in UFOs, several people with no identity including Xavier ..." Nicole looks at Johnny. "Whu? You kidding?" Ellis: "A reporter, who was asking questions about Nicole and I, allied with the victim..." Edward: "Stabbing victim acknowledged that he and his buddies have been trying to get information about us and using deceit to do so... *muttered* Xavier on the other hand is still lying to us." Johnny_Fearless shakes his head no. "Other than the articles on this place, nothing." Ellis: "In...ter...es...ting." Nicole: "Does that necesarily mean anything? I mean, there's nothing in the Philly papers on me. I grew up in Sacramento." Johnny_Fear *in a whisper to the others, so that Xav doesn't accidentally overhear. "There's one other interesting item I came up with... someone by the name of Javier Montenegro was involved in an assault thirty years ago, and his photo is nearly identical to Xav's." Nicole: *blink* Ellis: *blink* Edward: *eyebrowraise, drumstop* Ellis idly looks around to see if someone else is paying attention to this conversation. Johnny_Fear *to Ellis* "Did your reporter friend have a name?" BA: "Really? Think I should 'forget' Rumblestrip in here for a coupla nights? BA: " Will_GM: Ellis: Nope. Even Xav isn't in sight. Ellis: "Hmm? Oh... he... let me think." Johnny_Fear "You have another one handy? We may need Rumblestrip for another job." Ellis: !roll 3d6 Daisuke: Rolls for 3 dice at 6 sides per die: 3 5 6 Johnny_Fear *wince* Will_GM: What was the roll for? Ellis: "He gave it to me, I think, but I don't remember. It might not even have been his real name." BA: "That's OK. I still have Roadblock and Patchkit back at the house." Ellis: Will: IQ. See if I could realistically remember. BA: "Of course, the little guys'll miss ol' 'Strip. But I'm sure they'll get over it." :) Nicole: "So...what would Xav want with a reporter, a college student, a fencing instructor, an engineer, and whatever it is that Edward does?" Johnny_Fear "I can see the reporter and engineer..." Edward: *still in a low voice just in case* "There were also two recorded cases of assault on homeless people by waiters of this restaurant. The homeless people claimed the waiters were ordered to strongarm them - but the waiters insisted they acted on their own initiative, and were fired shortly afterwards each case." Johnny_Fear "Nicole, what is your major again?" Ellis looks around again, seeing as Ed's still being paranoid. Johnny_Fear *in low voice* "Get me the names of those homeless, please." Edward smirks at Nicole. "I am the admin. I runs the programs that makes the networks stay up. " Edward tries to recall... Were those names on those articles I read? Edward: !3d6 Edward: !roll 3d6 Daisuke: Rolls for 3 dice at 6 sides per die: 2 6 5 Nicole: "CS. with minors in math and music. Special intrest in encryption." Johnny_Fear "Encryption... that might be the key..." BA: "Maybe he's trying to put together an elite cadre of curious, hippy bomb builders with flash and a flare for all nighters?" Edward raises an eyebrow at nicole. "Now *that* is interesting..." Ellis smiles. "A sysadmin, a reporter, an engineer, a CS major, and a second-rate fencing teacher. Interesting group." Nicole: "I'm a bit weird, I confess. The music's something I've always done on the side." Will_GM: Ed: Both had names, attached to (apparently, though certainly not quoted in the article) long records of being in and out of homeless shelters in the area. Johnny_Fear "I still don't know where the fencing instructor comes in... unless you also have some... hidden talents, like Nicole." Ellis raises an eyebrow. "Are you asking?" Johnny_Fear "In a roundabout way, yes." Ellis shrugs. "Nothing special, I'm afraid. I spent my wild youth in training for the priesthood in the Vatican." Johnny_Fear *eyebrowraise* BA plays Pac-Man on his laptop. "Could be worse. You may have been studying to be a nun." Ellis listens to pins dropping, or at least the band's current number Johnny_Fear "Fairly unusual, but not unobtrusively so. A lot of priests in training visit the Vatican. But to actually study there..." Edward: "*to Fearless* The first was named Fred Taylor, the second one Arnold Left." Nicole: "My mom's a minister." Ellis: *to Nicole* "Oh, really? Where?" Johnny_Fearless scribbles those names down, then starts scribbling a picture of 'Cabbage'..." Johnny_Fear !roll 3d6 Daisuke: Rolls for 3 dice at 6 sides per die: 6 4 3 Johnny_Fear *heh* decent likeness, too. BA: Who's Cabbage? Edward: "One was stuck up for by a local homeless shelter boss as a decent old man; the other was younger, and said to have some slight mental problems." Will_GM: JF: You have photos of him, if you recall. ;^) Edward: stabbee guy. BA: Ah Will_GM: He came in for a bit... Xav called him that. Johnny_Fear of the two that left later, IIRC... Johnny_Fear the stab victim wasn't one of the two I got pics of. Will_GM: Yeah, 's right. Okay. Johnny_Fear "BA... play that security tape, would ya?" BA taps a few keys, pulls up a digital version on the laptop Edward looks BA: "There ya go." Nicole looks up at Ellis. "UU Church of Sacramento." BA turns the comp to face the ithers Johnny_Fearless waits until we get to a good facial shot. "Pause there." Will_GM: The security tape, as you recall, is of the guy that ran inside the house to use the bathroom. BA: -i +o BA pauses the mugshot Ellis: "Ahhh. I haven't heard much about that church in particular, but the movement itself seems quite strong." Johnny_Fear "Could you crop that picture for me, and email it?" Will_GM: Johnny: Also one of the guys on the first night. He left earlier, with the stabbee. Nicole: "Us rabblerousers?" BA: "OOPS! Wrong face!" *fastforewards* :) Johnny_Fear "He was with Cabbage, King, and the others." Will_GM: BA: No, right face. That's the guy I was talking about, at least. Nicole grins at Johnny. "o/~ Hullo hully, we'll feast today/ on Cabbages and Kings! o/~" Edward: "Shoes and ships and sealing wax too?" Ellis: "Mmm-hmm. I admire any movement with enough courage to stage demonstrations against a sports team's mascot." BA: "I prefer slithy toaves." Johnny_Fear "BA, could you crop that picture for me, and email it?" Nicole: "I was there. In the rain. It was fun." BA: "Sure." *crops* Ellis grins. "Ahh, I see." He raises his glass. "To noble causes." Johnny_Fear "In fact..." *pulls out his own laptop, and sets it for IR-transfer( Will_GM: !roll 6d6 Daisuke: Rolls for 6 dice at 6 sides per die: 5 6 5 6 3 1 Nicole raises hers to match Ellis'. "You betcha." Johnny_Fear okay... my skill in comp op is 17, I dunno what BA's is Johnny_Fear the first three fit for me, I dunno about him. Will_GM: That wasn't what I was rolling. "No obvious effect occurs as a result of the dice rolls you just saw" is the GMly thing to say at this point. :^) Johnny_Fear ah BA: L10 Johnny_Fearless received the file, though? BA: But BA doesn't have IR on his laptop :) Johnny_Fear all laptops dated 1996 or later have IR Johnny_Fear if its a pentium, it has IR. BA: They do? BA: 'k Johnny_Fear *nod* Will_GM: Boys and their toys. ;^) You'll get the picture, even if BA has to go all the way home and plug his laptop into a shockingly low-tech phone modem. ;^) Johnny_Fear *heheh* Ellis: Hey! :( Will_GM: ? Ellis: *I'm* using a 56k. ;) Johnny_Fearless worked on fixing laptops for almost a year, I better know what they can and cannot do. %) Will_GM: Ellis: so'm I. O:^) Johnny_Fear same %) BA: ditto Edward: *mock* Nicole: I think what Ellis is trying to say is don't degenerate the geek capability of the two females present for the game. ;) BA: But I'll have cable come next Febuary :) Johnny_Fearless glances around... Will_GM: Sorry. It just made a nice rhyme. ;^) Johnny_Fear Xav anywhere to be seen? Will_GM: JF: Nope, still presumably in the kitchen or back office. Johnny_Fear *to BA* "Have one of the cars handy now?" BA ponders pasting a few eyes around the joint Ellis takes a drink of SoBe(assuming it came by now), grins. "Speaking of cabbages and kings, something interesting I picked up in semenary..." BA pulls up Rumblestrip's camera on the laptop. "As if you need to ask." :) Ellis: "Apparently the Hebrew word for 'Cherubim' is the same word for 'cabbage'." Johnny_Fearless sips his really brackish american-made non-alcoholic beer. "Take a look around for Xav." Johnny_Fearless *blinks* when he hears this... [snip: game-related messaging] BA: "Really? I always thought it meant 'fat baby wing dude'." Ellis smirks at Fearless. "Yes, I know. Non-sequitor." Johnny_Fear "What else does the Hebrew name for King mean?" BA tries to get Rumblestrip moved out from under the table and around into the kitchen [snip: game-related messaging] Ellis: "But what do we know about these other... guys?" [snip: game-related messaging] Edward: "They can communicate in a language they don't know after muttering a few words." BA: "Sounds like that Cypher kid from New Mutants." Johnny_Fear "I'm looking into that... appears Zeke Leonard apprenticed at a masonry place locally. I'll be checking it out later." Ellis shrugs at Fearless. "Dunno." [snip: game-related messaging] Edward: "That brings the other question... How well does any of you trust Xavier?" Nicole: "Nothing else that I know." BA: "Well, Xav runs a good eatery and band bar. He can't be all bad." [snip: game-related messaging] Nicole: "Well, before tonight, I thought he was a decent guy and mostly honest. Right now? 'Answer unclear, ask again later.'" Edward nods. Ellis: "I've known him for a while, even though this is my first time here... he always seemed like someone I could trust." Johnny_Fearless idly flashes back mentally to some of the other "front" companies he's run across in the past. BA sends a quick post-it message to Fearless' laptop. Johnny_Fearless reads it... Edward: *drummedy* [snip: game-related messaging] Johnny_Fear *looks at BA, shakes his head no* BA shrugs *** Signoff: Nicole (Ping timeout) Johnny_Fearless puts out his cigarette, lights up another one right away. *** Nicole (katster@stk-ca-eli-4-11.internetuser.net) has joined channel #gurps Daisuke: [Nicole] o/~ and when I arose, like the phoenix/ In that world reduced to ashes, there was none but two survived o/~ *** Mode change "+o Nicole" on #GURPS by Johnny_Fearless Johnny_Fear ;re Nicole: Argh, what did I miss? Will_GM: Re Nicole. Last you saw? Nicole: Last I saw was Johnny's musing on front companies. Will_GM: BA sends a quick post-it message to Fearless' laptop. Will_GM: Johnny_Fearless reads it... Will_GM: Edward: *drummedy* Will_GM: BA shrugs Will_GM: That's it. Nicole: okee. Johnny_Fear *drummedy* Johnny_Fear *looks at BA, shakes his head no* Johnny_Fear *BA shrugs Johnny_Fear *Johnny_Fearless puts out his cigarette, lights Johnny_Fear up another one right away. Nicole drums her fingers on the table a bit more. "So...now what do we do?" Johnny_Fear "Well... email addresses?" BA: "Well, I'm going to go back to my shop and play with nifty spy gadgets and a few upgrades for Rumblestrip." *gets said RC car back under the table* BA: *to Fearless* "You already have mine." Johnny_Fear "I suggest we keep each other informed of 'wierd happenings' and new information that way." Edward nods. Edward: "I'll set up a list when I get to the office." BA: "Sure. Anyone want some bugs, let me know." Edward: "edw@cs.upenn.edu" Johnny_Fear "Mine's fearless@aol.com" Johnny_Fear *smirk* Nicole: "Heh, I'm sure you could look up mine, but... neh at the same suffix as yours." --> Ellis "Maybe we should spend some time checking out these other guys. Anybody have any leads? I admit I'm just about fresh out." BA: "I'm at socketmonket@enter.net." Ellis: o/~ Well I'm fearless today / And I'm not scared to say I'm afraid / Yes I have a couple hesitations... o/~ [4] Johnny_Fear enter.net has philly offices? BA: JF: I think so Johnny_Fear fast.net has 'em, but I don't think enter.net does Johnny_Fear and fast.net boasts 3 T-3s to the backbone. BA: -t +y BA: OK, then "socketmonkey@fast.net" Edward: if you work for the university paper, you prolly have a @upenn addu Edward: addy even Will_GM: He works for the city paper, but maybe he wants to keep this on his home account. ;^) Johnny_Fear nope... Philadelphia Enquirer Johnny_Fear and Will's got it in one Johnny_Fear besides, *one* of us needed an AOL account. %) BA: Eh? Oh, Hell. Ellis: Gee, the blurb on the back of Summer Queen is attributed to the Philiadelphia *In*quirer... Johnny_Fear typo [snip: game-related messaging] Johnny_Fear and brainfart [snip: game-related messaging] Ellis: "Maybe we should spend some time checking out these other guys. Anybody have any leads? I admit I'm just about fresh out." Ellis: Johnny_Fear "I know some people around town... I'll put some feelers out about the homeless people." BA: "None yet, but I'm sure Johny, Rumblestrip, and me can dig up a few." BA gets an idea.... . o O (Rumblestrip! Transform and.... nah.) Johnny_Fear "Edward, Nicole, I'll email you the pic. See what you can find on the web, okay?" Edward: "There was a lookup on my license plate a few days ago, from a public terminal." Edward nods. "I'll see what I can do." Johnny_Fear "That could have been anyone. Hrrm..." [snip: game-related messaging] Johnny_Fear "Don't be upset if you encounter nothing, though." BA: "Hey, Ed. You said you're a CompSci major, right? Any chance I can bribe you into putting a better firewall on my box and home security setup?" Nicole: "He's the sysadmin, I'm the CS major." *grin* Edward: "I'm the sysadmin, actually." BA: "Oh, yeah. That, too." Johnny_Fearless smiles to himself. Johnny_Fearless looks around discretely... Johnny_Fear Xav, or one of his wait staff around? [snip: game-related messaging] Edward: "And I can probably take a look at it. Edward: " Will_GM: JF: Yes. Will_GM: you can't see Xav, but there are waiters about. BA: "Thanks." *hands Ed a business card* Johnny_Fear just taking orders, or milling about? [snip: game-related messaging] Will_GM: Johnny: Doing normal waiter's things. BA pulls a straw out of its wrapper, winds it up and holds it for Fearless Ellis blinks a couple times. Edward takes it Johnny_Fearless motions for a refill, idly flicking the straw with his finger. BA: *POP* :) [snip: game-related messaging] Will_GM: JF: The waiter comes over and provides. Johnny_Fear "Edward, Nicole, Greg, do you mind if I swing by the campus sometime this week?" Ellis: "... I'm sorry, John, did you ask me something?" Nicole: "I guess not. Whatcha have in mind?" Johnny_Fear "Do you mind if I swing by the campus sometime this week?" Ellis: (That was pre your question.) Johnny_Fear ah Edward: "Not at all." Ellis: (Finger slow on the return key) Ellis: "... and no, I don't mind." [snip: game-related messaging] Ellis pushes his drink around on the table, frowning= BA: "What the matter, Ellis?" Ellis visibly pulls himself together and shrugs whatever is bothering him off. "Do you know where to find me?" Johnny_Fear *to Nicole* "Oh, to see things for myself." [snip: game-related messaging] Johnny_Fear *to Ellis* "No, but I'm certain it can't be too hard to find someone there." BA: "In general? On Earth, I should think."] BA: -] [snip: game-related messaging] Nicole blinks. "BA? Can I see those pictures again?" BA pulls up the pick again, displays them on his screen and turns it toward Nicole Nicole: "Egads. It's...it's..." Johnny_Fear "Yes?" Edward looks at nicole Ellis wasn't talking to BA, but to Johnny, in that last question... BA: "It's what?" Ellis raises an eyebrow at Nicole Nicole gains some composure and spits it out. "It's that punk jerk that went after Cabbage." Ellis: *DRAMATIC CHORD!* Johnny_Fear "Which one?" Nicole: "At the bus stop...the one who managed to knock me over in the process." Ellis looks at the photograph [snip: game-related messaging] Johnny_Fear same... BA: "It is?" *turns the computer back around, takes a good look, and labels the pic 'Jerk'* Johnny_Fear one of the five from last week? Will_GM: J: Yes. Johnny_Fear "Curiouser and curiouser..." [snip: game-related messaging] Nicole: "Where'd you take these again, BA?" BA: "I think I know this guy better as Dunno No-Yoda." Edward: GAH. memory leak chewing up my comp. Gotta reboot. Johnny_Fear roit. Will_GM: Will_GM parses this as "Tonno no Yoda," perfectly respectable-sounding Japanese name... Will_GM: Everybody take five until Ed gets back, then, Will_GM: -, BA: "Well, this guy, No-Yoda, needed to use my bathroom. The other guy, Rath-something or other, hung out in the car." BA: Thanks Will. BA does speak Japanese :) Edward: .. or not. Will_GM: Ed: so you're good? Edward: yeah. Will_GM: 'k. Will_GM: BA: No, the guy who didn't know who Yoda was was Cabbage. the one Nicole's identified was the other guy. BA: "Uh... no wait. Reverse those." Johnny_Fear "You said you were visited by two people... this is one." Johnny_Fear "Who was the other one?" BA: "Said his name was 'Rath'. No 'W'. He sure seemed to be interested in the Class B nuclear transport container I'm using as footstool in my living room." :) Johnny_Fear "You have a picture of him on that tape?" BA: "Yep." Will_GM: that's him showing. Will_GM: The one inside the house, that is. BA: "Oh, hey! That reminds me! I need to put together a whire noise generator when I get back. I'm pretty sure they bugged my pad." Johnny_Fear I was asking about the other one that visited BA... not the one that needed the bathroom, but the other guy. BA: -r +t BA: No-Yoda :) Will_GM: BA doesn't have a picture of him. No external cameras. (Sorry, got to put a stop to the sudden security system somewhere.) BA: 'k Johnny_Fear From what I can piece together here... the one that needed the bathroom was the one that stabbed Cabbage... the other guy, who stayed in the shop, *was* Cabbage? Will_GM: Are you saying that out loud? Johnny_Fear did BA make any comment about that? Johnny_Fear no... Edward: "Really, now.." Johnny_Fear that wasn't out loud, but it wasn't completely OOC, either... Will_GM: Then, yes. Near the end of last week's session, I had BA mention that Cabbage was one of the ones who were surveilling his place. Ellis smiles at BA. "I'm impressed by the level of paranoia it takes to jump to that conclusion so rapidly." BA: "Yes. I always thought it'd be funny to get someone to bug my place, be listening in really carefully, then blasting out their eardrums with lots of feedback." :) Johnny_Fearless blinks... BA: *to Elis* "Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get my Snapplejacks." :) Johnny_Fear *in a low voice to Nicole* "Why would this guy case out BA's shop with Cabbage, then attempt to stab him later?" Ellis looks away from BA. Nicole shrugs. *low voice to Johnny* "Cabbage told me his attacker was in a rival gang. I don't know how." Johnny_Fear "Something stinks in here, and it isn't just Xav's choice of bands this week." Nicole shrugs again, then finishes her thought. "You ask me, nobody in this is on the up and up with us." Johnny_Fear "I agree... one of the reasons I want to meet on campus sometime. Away from prying eyes and ears." Edward: "I agree. However, 'cabbage' seemed prepared to come clean regarding this. I for one would very much like to hear what he has to say." Ellis nods at Nicole's assessment. Nicole: "We hope." BA: What time, gametime, is it? Nicole nods at Edward. "But meeting with Cabbage is out of the question here. Xav doesn't seem to want us interacting with him." Will_GM: You've been talking for a while in the evening. Around 8 or 9pm, Friday Oct. 5, 2001. Johnny_Fear "But on campus is another story..." BA: "So we just get a third party as a go-between." Johnny_Fear "But... who outside of us can we trust?" Edward smirks sardonically. "Can we trust ourselves?" BA: "What about that one secretary where you work. Y'know, what's her name... Legs?" Ellis: "Do we have anything worth worrying about trust for?" Johnny_Fear "That depends on the level of trust. There's a reason I got that carry permit." Edward gives Ellis a look. "The root password and DSA key passphrase for every mainframe and computer on campus, but I see your point." Nicole: "Oooh." BA: "Well, it's time I was heading home. Voyager needs to be MiSTied before I sack out for the night." Ellis: "I can hardly imagine why a group of... people would be stabbing each other over your passwords, much as I respect the skill needed to keep and use that information." Johnny_Fear "I trust BA, but I've known him for years. He even backed me up on a few calls where I got shot at." Ellis: "I thought you were a reporter, not an investigator." BA: "And fired a few back." Johnny_Fear "Sometimes, the lines between the two get crossed." BA: "Well, later folx." *gets up, picks up Rumblestrip, gathers his stuff, and heads out to the parking lot* Will_GM: Will the PCs permit me to encourage a particular line of play already suggested? Johnny_Fear "Talk to you later, Will." BA: Sure Johnny_Fear hrrm? Ellis: Depends. ;) Johnny_Fear -Will+BA Edward: sure. Nicole: Go for it, Will. Will_GM: Meet on campus. It'd be a good place from which to launch an investigation of this secondary site Johnny and BA took a quick look at. Edward: *nod* BA: Sounds good Johnny_Fear agreed. BA drives home and settles in for the night. BA: Speaking of which, I'm gonna crash, myself. Nicole: "So...when and where are we meeting next?" BA: g'nite Ellis smirks. "Here, next friday? In the lion's den?" *** BA is now known as UpLink Johnny_Fear "Tuesday, there, I think." Nicole: "I meant, if we're gonna pursue this on campus meeting idea Johnny proposed." Ellis: Bye, Van^H^H^HBA^H^HUL *** Signoff: UpLink (Quit: If guns cause crime, then pencils cause mispelled words.) Edward shakes his head. "How about tuesday on campus? We can discuss the meeting place by email." Nicole: "Works for me." Ellis: "I have work until eight most days next week, but as long as we can meet after then..." Nicole: "I'd offer up my apartment, but it's prolly a bit cramped for all five of us." *grin* Edward: "That will not be a problem. I'm on evening shift for next week anyway." Ellis: "We can use the gym; I can keep it open after fencing practice." Johnny_Fear "Well, I have to be there to catch Governor Ridge's speech tomorrow at city hall. I'd best get ready myself. And the gym sounds good." Nicole: Point of order, isn't by this point Ridge the Director of the Office of Homeland Security? Will_GM: On Oct. 5? I forget when he took the job. Johnny_Fear I just spoke with Will about that... [snip: game-related messaging] Johnny_Fear well, insert whoever the governor really is, then... Ellis: Will: The office was established before we started bombing. Will_GM: At any rate, insert new governor or call him Director Ridge. *shrug* Ellis: Whatever. Johnny_Fear Director Ridge works... Nicole: I stand corrected. Nicole: October 8th, 2001. Nicole: The following...Tuesday? Ellis: Hunh. Okay. Nicole: Monday. Johnny_Fear sheer coincidence! Ellis: Monda--yeah. Nicole: So yeah, maybe this is his farewell as Pennsy gov. Johnny_Fearless flips microcassettes around in his one pocket, changing his tape recorder's ammo... Edward does what he talked to the GM about. Johnny_Fear and comes across one marked "Jumper" Johnny_Fear . o O (I'll play that for them on Tuesday.) Ellis: Oh, saints preserve us. ;) Will_GM: Okay, now we really do need to take five. Nature calls. Johnny_Fear *heheh* Edward grabs something edible, bbi5 Johnny_Fear btw, I will not subject you to the full rant... just about a 30-second snippet of it. Ellis: You're too kind. ;) Johnny_Fear but... there's a reason for the snippet... Johnny_Fear not the content, but the voice. Nicole: I think that's the issue I have on the floor in here. Nicole: No, but it is prolly the one I'll grab this week. Will_GM returns, ready to go. Anything anyone wants to do at dinner some more, or is it magically Tuesday? Edward: I could be wrong but that looked more like a bully taking the opportunity to "legally" throw his weight around than an overly-cautious secguard.. Edward: tuesday sounds good. Ellis: Nothing more here. Will_GM: Okay, Tuesday it is. Johnny_Fear tuesday's good, unless something "odd" happens over the weekend. Will_GM: Nah. Johnny_Fear 'k Will_GM: You're meeting in the gym where the fencers usually train; there are only a couple of students left, sparring in practice for an upcoming meet with PSU. Will_GM: On a totally random note, PSU apparently has one of, if not *the*, best fencing team in the country, I am told. Ellis: And national semifinals Johnny_Fearless arrives early, and watches the fencing. Ellis is teaching one of the students some tips for going up against a leftie. Ellis: !roll 6d6 Daisuke: Rolls for 6 dice at 6 sides per die: 3 3 2 1 6 4 Johnny_Fearless shrugs, pulls out the camera, and takes a few photos. Edward arrives after karate practice ends. Nicole sits in a corner, looking up wistfully at the pulled up baskets. Johnny_Fear "Might make a good shot in the sports section..." Ellis: Woot, passed both fencing and teaching rolls. Will_GM: *nod* Johnny_Fear do I need a photography roll for these? Johnny_Fear after all, nothing really special about 'em. Edward walks over to Nicole and hands her a small black rectangle the size and shape of a credit card. Will_GM: If you're seriously trying to get something that might be useful as stock or real photo, yes. Nicole blinks. "What's this?" Johnny_Fear !roll 3d6 Daisuke: Rolls for 3 dice at 6 sides per die: 1 1 3 Johnny_Fear umm... question... Will_GM: That'd be a yes. :^) Johnny_Fear that's an answer. :) Johnny_Fear "Well, got one or two good ones for the paper." Edward: "Access card for the comp labs outside normal campus hours." Edward: "I'd give you the standard security lecture if I didn't think you'd know it yet." Ellis: cue Mission:Impossible music? Nicole: "Hey, sweet. All of 'em?" Edward nods. Johnny_Fearless puts the camera away... Will_GM: BA calls on Johnny's cellphone and says he's not going to make it... a semiserious competition has started up impromptu at his racetrack, and he stands to make some good money and satisfied customers. Johnny_Fearless snickers, tells him good luck, and says he'll drop an email later. Ellis salutes the (defeated) student, grins, and tells the rest they can keep practicing or go home, but he has some business to attend to. Johnny_Fearless heads over to where Nicole and Edward are... "BA can't make it." Edward nods. Johnny_Fear "Can I light up in here, or no?" Will_GM: RL Info: UPenn is a nonsmoking campus. Nothing inside. Nicole puts the card away. Looks wistfully at the fencers a bit too. Nicole: "No. Not allowed to, in the buildings." Johnny_Fear Oh... over the weekend, I put feelers out for the two homeless people that were mentioned... should I do a streetwise roll for that, or no? Will_GM: JF: It'll take a while for those to bring back any information; homeless people are, naturally, hard to find, even if they're still alive and in the same area. Johnny_Fear *nod* Ellis puts away his foils and the heavier gear, hangs a towel around his neck, and heads over to the group. "Hello, everyone." Johnny_Fear the feelers, of course, were at the local shelters Edward nods in greeting. "good match." Nicole waves at Ellis. "They're looking good." Johnny_Fear "Yes, very good." Johnny_Fear "Let's hope they win this week." Ellis smiles selfconsciously. "A lot of natural talent." *re: winning* "Yeah, well, cross our fingers and train train train. We'll have a shot at Nationals if we can pull this off." Johnny_Fear "Good." *shows him the pictures from the camera* "Its possible that the paper will print these. Which would you prefer?" Nicole watches them, shakes her head. "Well.. Nicole lets the thought trail off into nothingness. Johnny_Fear "Anything new on the ... other items?" Ellis assumes we're all on bleachers... climbs up next to Johnny to look at the camera. Ellis: "Mmmm... Two and six, I think. Aaron's way too underappreciated on the team, this'll give him an ego boost." Johnny_Fear "Okay. What's his last name?" Ellis: "Kleinman." Johnny_Fear "Thanks." Ellis: "As far as other news?" *shrug* "Nothing. Not a quiver." Johnny_Fear "I'll see what the Chief thinks about these, then." Nicole: Ahem. Bleachers? I don't think so. Nicole: Unless you guys are in the lower rows. Ellis: That's what I meant. Ellis: Like, first two rows. Johnny_Fear "As I expected." Nicole: Okay. 'cause I can't get on the bleachers. %) Johnny_Fear "And I haven't had the time to run past the masonry place yet this weekend. Ridge's speech and the other newspaper duties kept me out. Johnny_Fear "Any additional contact with 'Cabbage'?" Ellis: Awww. And again, the ADA must bow to the force of physics... Nicole continues to stare wistfully at the few students finishing practice. Nicole: "Nothing." Edward: "No word whatsoever." Nicole shrugs. "Nothing new under the sun. I studied for a math midterm and played at church. Gee, the usual." Johnny_Fear "With the oddities recently, I got to thinking of something that happened a week ago. Remember the jumper story?" Edward nods. Johnny_Fear "Was not my best work, but... something's been bugging me." Edward: "Oh?" Johnny_Fearless pulls out his recorder, and pops the tape in. "Does this guy sound familiar to any of you?" *plays one of the saner moments of the interview." Johnny_Fear 30 seconds, tops. Ellis: !roll 3d6 Daisuke: Rolls for 3 dice at 6 sides per die: 2 1 2 Ellis: Well, that's a pass on the IQ roll... GM, do I recognize him? Will_GM: You all hear a snippet of something that sounds like a call for the entire population of the Earth to band together in brotherhood. Edward: !roll 3d6 Daisuke: Rolls for 3 dice at 6 sides per die: 3 1 2 Nicole: !roll 3d6 Daisuke: Rolls for 3 dice at 6 sides per die: 5 3 1 Johnny_Fear (LIS, one of the *saner* moments of the tape.) :P Will_GM: I'll roll myself, thanks. Things like this you shouldn't know whether it's possible or not. ;^) Ellis: Oh, fine. ;) Nicole: Hee. :) Let the GM do the dirty work. ;) Johnny_Fear that's why he's the GM Nicole: my two friends want me to GM a GURPS game IRL. :P :) Will_GM: None of you recognize the voice, I'm afraid. Edward: (damn, that was a critical success, too) Will_GM: Nicole: What genre, if any? Will_GM: -Nicole + kats Nicole: Dunno yet. He just said something, I said I'd think about it. Tempted to have fun with IOU though. %) Johnny_Fear *shuts off the tape deck* "Yes, he's a looney." Nicole: "But a looney we apperantly don't know." Ellis shakes his head slowly, still thinking. [snip: game-related messaging] Johnny_Fear "I didn't think so. But this came by just as the rest of the unusual stuff was starting." Johnny_Fear "It was worth a shot." [snip: game-related messaging] Edward: "He was someone Xavier new and considered "trouble"..." Ellis looks over at Edward [snip: game-related messaging] Johnny_Fearless does the same. "You've heard of him, then?" Edward: "He was one of two men that Xavier claimed were following him when we met at the concert... His partner was the instant linguist." Nicole spins the wheelchair around in a deft three point turn to face the group on the bleachers. "So. Things get curiouser and curiouser." Johnny_Fear "Did his partner have a name?" Edward: "He didn't mention one." Nicole grins. "So...when do we go through the Looking glass? Or have we already?" Johnny_Fear "But... you recognize the voice?" Edward wasn't on the bleachers, but standing next to Nicole. Edward shakes his head. "He didn't speak to me at all -- only his partner did." Johnny_Fearless was also on the ground, list I checked, but... oh well. Nicole: Chalk it up to my flu, I guess. Johnny_Fear can't get good shots from the bleachers, especially with a non-zoom digital Ellis: We're *at* the bleachers, on the first couple rows. Johnny_Fear "Interesting. We appear to be caught up in the middle of something, but we don't know what yet." Johnny_Fear "But why us?" Edward: "Only one way to find out..." Nicole: "Dunno. What can you do with a sysadmin, a college student studying crypto, an engineer, a reporter, and a man of the cloth turned fencing instructor?" Will_GM: CONQUER THE WORLD, and STORM THE GATES OF HEAVEN!! Ellis: "Not a man of the cloth. Just... a student." Ellis: ... okay, the GM snapped. Johnny_Fear "The first four I can see being used to get information on anyone." Johnny_Fear "But that fifth one is the monkey wrench in the machine. No offense, Greg." Ellis: *deadpan* "None taken." Ellis laughs. "Unless they want me to get information on the state of your souls." Nicole: "So...if you studied to be a priest, why didn't you become one? Nicole: +" Johnny_Fearless has a chuckle of his own at that. Ellis: "... that's a long story." Johnny_Fear "Is there a short version?" Ellis: "No." Nicole: "I think time is something we can spare if it gives us a clue into what's going on." Ellis shakes his head. "It has nothing to do with anything going on here. I can assure you of that, if nothing else." Edward nods. "okay." Johnny_Fear "Are you sure?" Ellis gives Johnny a stare. "Yes." Johnny_Fear "Just checking." Nicole sighs. "So we're no closer to an answer than we were Friday. Who do we trust?" Ellis: "God." Ellis: "But for a more... reachable ally, I have no answer." Johnny_Fear "I trust myself, BA, and my instincts. Beyond that..." Nicole: "I just wish God would pick up the phone more often, y'know?" Ellis: "Trust Ivanova, trust yourself, anybody else, shoot 'em." Ellis: "Indeed." Johnny_Fear *heh* Nicole mutters bitterly under her breath. "And I wonder where He was when two lives were changed forever." Will_GM: "Ivanova is God." :^) Johnny_Fear and never trust Londo. Johnny_Fear %) Will_GM: At any rate... less B5, nore GURPS. :^) Ellis: Awww! :( ;) Edward gets that slightly uncomfortable look on his face that you get when someone you consider a friend is feeling bad about something and you don't have a clue what to say or do that'd help although you want to. Ellis helps Ellis: ;) Nicole looks at them with that bitter look. "Sorry. Just angry about something. If I ever meet up with the God guy, I've got words for him." Johnny_Fearless shifts about nervously. "Your loss of legs, among other things." Ellis has to go - is getting told to sleep. Nicole: "I lost more than that in that fscking accident." Johnny_Fear "If you care to talk about it... " Will_GM: Guess we can call it here, then. Y'all can head off checking out the other place next session. Ellis: And it'd be incharacter for me to be part of this conversation.