*** Topic for #gurps: The Granite Madams Want Snow White's Head *** Topic for #gurps set by William on Friday, February 1, 2002 6:58:15 PM *** Channel created at Saturday, March 2, 2002 3:49:33 PM [snip pre-game banter] William: --------------------- Game Start --------------------- Jack: with some kids and one old guy BA: Bring me the head of Prince Charming! William: Yep, that's where you are. William: Bocce's not big in this neighborhood, though. It's more of a darts-and-poker kind of bunch. ;^) Fearless: columnist :P ;) Jack: the kids are having a really good time, throwing the balls around the yard and screaming Jack: fine with me! Jack: I'll move into a poker game if there is one katster goes to wake Shad. Jack: <----not very good, sets loss limit at $10 William: A few guys playing at a corner of one of the tables. Nickel-ante stuff, though -- this is just a friendly party for the whole neighborhood. Jack: sounds great...I'll sidle over there and see if there's room for one more Fearless: often, no betting at all in places like that Jack: no betting = no poker! William: Jack: Your Gambling skill is 15, which is about Expert. ;^) William: 3d6 Dicesuke throws the bones for William (3d6) and gets 10. Jack: ok, never mind! William: 3 3d6 Dicesuke throws the bones for William (3 3d6) and gets 12 6 11. Jack reviews char sheet to meet himself Fearless: if anything, they're playing for pennies, matches, or peanuts (literally) Jack: nah...no poker then *** Edward (shadur@fia217-72.dsl.hccnet.nl) has joined channel #Gurps William: No? Jack: they're prolly playing for nickle, dime, quarter katster: yay, I guess it worked. %) Fearless: friendly neighborhood poker... *** Mode change "+o Edward" on #gurps by katster Jack: only people who cant play play for peanuts Fearless: oi, Ed William: At any rate, you're enjoying yourself with some acquaintances from the neighborhood, when the performance part of the evening starts. You know the guys who run the place, and they enjoy practicing and singing a tune every now and then. Jack: rule #42: never put copper on the table Jack: soudns good William: You also notice that reporter from earlier head into the Works with a girl in a wheelchair, and a lady who came by the party. Jack: ok Jack: I'll get a drink and watch the show for a bit Fearless headbangs to Zepplin's "Moby Dick" William: A girl you don't know is hanging around the drinks area. She looks you over as you pick up a cup of something. *** katster is now known as Nicole Jack smiles. "Hi. I'm Jack. Can I get you a drink?" Edward blares You Owe Me Nothing In Return William: "Excuse me. Do you live around here?" Jack: "Sure do! I'm up at Bainbridge and ninth street., Why?" William: She has a crystalline prettiness to her high voice, which seems to fit with her overall image -- peasant top, long skirt, coiffed hair, rosy cheeks, and big sloe eyes. Jack: ooc: do I know her from someplace? William: Nope. William: Well... William: 3d6 Dicesuke throws the bones for William (3d6) and gets 12. William: Nah, nothing familiar about her. Jack: "I'm Jack. I didn't catch your name?" William: "Well..." she swallows and fidgets a bit... "I'm new here. And I could really use someone's help." Jack gets serious quick. "What's the matter?" William: "I'm Grace, Sir. Very pleased to meet you." She curtsies, honest-to-God curtsies. Jack: That makes Jack grin again. Jack: "Good to meet you too. What's the matter?" BA: There's our Ho of the Ages BA: :) William: She gets a little flustered and comes in closer. "It's my old boyfriend, Jack. He's following me. And there's... there's some *woman*, too! Oh please, Jack, do you know someplace we can go?" Jack looks around to see if there's anybody suspicious looking. (Prolly not) Jack: "Sure. Come on." Jack will put down his plastic cup of beer and ushers her out onto the sidewalk. William: "Oh, *thank* you!" She takes your arm and follows you. "I *knew* you wouldn't refuse a lady in need!" Jack: "Nah, I'm a regular Robin Hood." Jack will take her to a nearby restaurant. Fearless: who ya gonna steal from to give to her? :) William: She giggles. "Oh, Robin Hood is so *dashing.* He never harms women. And he always rescues Maid Marian!" Jack: "As long as I don't have to wear any tights, we'll be alright." Jack: "What's this boyfriend look like? Have you called the cops?" William: She giggles again. "You're funny. I like that." Jack starts thinking they should have stayed at the party where he knew about ten guys. William: "The police? Oh, no. I could never do that to someone. Besides..." she lays a hand on your arm and looks deeply into your eyes... "I have you now. You'll keep me safe." Jack thinks, "OK that's weird." Jack: "I know a beat cop on South. We can get a restraining order on this guy, file a complaint." William: "If... if you think that's the right thing to do." Ellis: Y'know, fried egg sandwiches taste better when you remember how to fry an egg. Fearless: *snrk* Jack: "Sure, but you want to get something to drink first?" Fearless: don't get too much shell in the egg. William: "Okay." Ellis: I don't have problems breaking eggs, just frying them. ;) Jack will lead her into a nearby restaurant. William: Oh, thought we were already there. ;^) Jack: "So what's this guy look like? What's his name? Why's he after you?" Jack: ooops, hehe. ok William: She orders a glass of water and a little slip of nothing much from the menu. Ellis: Mmmm, nothing much. I hear they make it fresh here. Jack will order a Laphroig and a bowl of chili and cornbread Jack: "It's on me, so go ahead and order anything." Jack: "Their cornbread is the best on this side of town." William: "He's about six three, has a beard. He's a biker. I thought he was ever so exciting when we met. He was going to take me away from my old life and we could live on the wild open road." She sighed. "It sounded so romantic." She frowns. "Then there was sand, and drunk motorcycle gangs, and (*shudder*) all those dirty roadside pubs. I wanted to get away from him, so I did." Jack: "Sure. So why's he after you now? What's his problem?" William: "He still wants me. He's such a cad." Jack thinks, "A 'cad'?" William: A bounder. Jack: ooc: know what it means, William: A word for an ungentleman-like man, circa 1920. :^) Jack: ooc: never hear anybody outside of RenFaires us the word though Ellis: Ow. Owowowowowoowwwww. Stoppit. Stop reading my mind or I'll hurt you. ;) Jack: "Well, he'll have to get over you." William: She smiles brilliantly. "Yes. Now that you're here, I know everything will be all right." Jack laughs sharply. Jack: "Well, that's a little more confidence than is probably warranted. I did punch a pidgeon once out of the air!" William: "Ooh, impressive." Jack: ooc: is she serious? or does she say that jokingly? William: 3d6 Dicesuke throws the bones for William (3d6) and gets 14. William: As far as you can tell, she's completely serious. William: Big-eyed, gleaming-smiled worship practically radiates across the table at you. Jack: "OK," thinks Jack. "Wackooo!" William: 2 3d6 Dicesuke throws the bones for William (2 3d6) and gets 10 10. Jack: "So where you from originally?" Jack: ooc: the rolling dice of unknown doom William: She gets a blank look for a moment, then says "Illinois." William: "Where are you from?" William: Jack: The roll means that you're vaguely aware she's attempting to seduce you. Whether it's working is up to you. Jack: *nod* William: "I was born in a random dreamscape in the realm of human imagination and took stable form due to an influx of Essence. You?" "Iowa." ;^) Jack: lol BA: So, the short answer would "The Twilight Zone."? :) Jack is thinking, she's a few tacos short of a combo platter, but she is cute Fearless: this whole game *is* the Twilight Zone William: And on that note, what say we leave you to ponder what you'll do later that evening and turn back to the others? Jack: "Philly born and raised. Love it here. How long you been in town?" Jack: ok BA: I thought it was X-Files on Crack Fearless: "We got robots, we got cave men, we got Kung Fu. What is this, some sort of wierd-ass comic book?!" "Yup!" William: No, it's "Bible Stories... for J. Michael Straczynski." :^) Fearless: 10 pt. ref William: Jack: If you want to continue the conversation, let's do that until things wind down. BA: Ars: My Science Project? Fearless: BA: nope William: "I just got in. I don't have any place to go, yet." Jack: sure...or i can wait if others are anxious Fearless: (good guess, though) Jack: "Well, I can find you a place for sure. Everybody's got a couch for a woman in need." BA: BA doesn't. But that's BA ;) William: "That would be great! Including you?" William: 3d6 Dicesuke throws the bones for William (3d6) and gets 11. William: Jack: You suddenly feel very protective of the young lady before you. Jack: "Uh...sure. If you want. If you'd feel comfortable, I mean." William: "I'm sure it's the place where I'd feel the *most* comfortable." William: Pause a second, let me doublecheck the mechanics on something. Jack: ok Jack: (dont forget that Strong will!) William: 3d6 Dicesuke throws the bones for William (3d6) and gets 11. William: It's a tie; call it a brief sensation. Nothing overwhelming. *** Signoff: BA (Ping timeout) Jack: ok William: (Second tie so far. Maybe you and she are cosmically matched. ;^) ) Jack: "I have some peeps dropping by later. You'll get a kick out of them." Jack: lol William: "It sounds like fun." Jack: "Then we we're headed over to Ortleibs. What kind of music do you like?" William: "Oh, any!" Jack: "Jazz?" Fearless: "We like both kinds, country *and* western." William: "Sure...." William: Okay, conversation seems to be winding down to the mundane level at the moment. *** BA (pirch@dyn174.nas9.vegas.viawest.net) has joined channel #gurps BA: re Jack: "Real jazz, not that Kenny G elevator jazz." William: Re UL. Edward: Rollin, rollin', rollin.... *whippish* Jack: ok William: Back to the Works. BA: Random disconn William: I think maybe my last couple of sentences didn't get through. *repaste* Fearless looks around... "Where's the nearest pay phone?" Edward looks at Nicole. "So you're the antithesis of what she wants you to be... In her position, I'd consider you a 'challenge' or at least a 'to-do'" Will_GM: "If it's a local call, I'm sure Rath wouldn't mind you using the office phone." Will_GM: "I think you may not be fully aware yet -- you've been accepted here. That means that Rath and the rest of the Trogloxenes here consider you as part of their group. Soldier or not, they will be there for you." Will_GM: "We take the bonds of alliance *seriously*." BA: Yeah BA: "Still haven't gotta yourself a cell, Fearless?" *hands Fearless his* Fearless: He has one... Nicole grins. Edward: *nod* I remember Fearless: "The problem with cell phones and using the phone here is a little electronic gadget called Caller ID." Fearless: "A pay phone is nearly untracable." BA: "Don't include me in that soldier crap. I may hang out with these guys *points with a thumb at Fearless and the others* but I don't remember signing up for anyone's army." BA: *to Fearless* True." William: Jack: How far away is that restaurant? Assume there's one at any distance you care to name, near a residential area in a city. *** Mode change "+o BA" on #gurps by Fearless Jack: not far, just a coupla blocks, we got there pretty fast ;) William: 'k. William: 6 3d6 Dicesuke throws the bones for William (6 3d6) and gets 14 11 6 10 13 13. Nicole shakes her head at BA and goes back to listening. William: Elena thinks for a moment. "Who are you calling that you would be worried about the call being identified?" *** Signoff: BA (Ping timeout) Fearless: "If I'm lucky, our target." Fearless: "I'll be back in a few minutes." *** UpLink (pirch@dyn132.nas8.vegas.viawest.net) has joined channel #gurps *** UpLink is now known as BA William: "Ah. Very well; I don't know the area. The Ofanite will know best where to find one. Come back quickly." Fearless heads upstairs, then off the property, looking for a payphone. BA: What'd I miss? William: Nothing much. BA: 'k Fearless: BA: I just left to look for a pay phone BA: 'k William: Elena sits back down. "Once we find Mr. Creeley, there remains the question of what we are to do when we find him." Nicole shook her head at you, but is being rather silent on the matter. Jack: ooc: huh! *** Mode change "+o BA" on #gurps by Fearless Ellis: "There is a question. How much will this Damsel be able to work on him? BA: "Why do anything. Just find a way to seperate Tinkerbell from him quietly, then take care of business." Edward: "I was about to raise that point..." Edward: "... And come to think of it, another point as well. Is her counterpart on the loose as well?" William: *to Ellis* "Depends on him. If he can resist her charms -- natural and supernatural -- perhaps little. If not, he might be her devoted protector." William: *to Ed* "Counterpart?" Nicole mutters something about attempting to seperate a lovesick puppydog from the object of his affections quietly. BA: "Prince Charming? You mean we might have to put up with both of them? Think I'm gonna be sick." Ellis: "Lovely. So we might have to deal with him as well. What can she do against us directly?" Edward: "The proverbial 'White Knight in shining armor' who arrives to pull the Damsel out of her distress... If one exists, I'd say the other would be close by since they codepend..." William: "... Ah." Fearless finds a payphone a block or two down, starts calling numbers, listening for Jack's voice... (you need an IQ roll with acute hearing and eiditic memory modifiers?) Fearless: Jack: you have an answering machine at your place? Jack: yessir Jack: "Not here right now. Please let a message after the beep." Beep. Fearless: *click* William: "They're not really codependent. A damsel can theoretically save herself without resort to a White Knight; a Knight can be heroic in other ways than rescuing Damsels. However, you raise an interesting notion. If we could get her to go away with him, the problem might be closer to solution." William: 3d6 Dicesuke throws the bones for William (3d6) and gets 8. William: Fearless: you definitely recognize Jack's voice. Fearless circles the number, and returns to the others. Ellis: What, on an answering machine? Or is he home by now? Fearless: Ellis: yeep, I recognized Jack's voice via answering machine. ;) Ellis: Juuuuuuuust checking. Jack: brb William: It might have been harder for someone else, but with both Acute Hearing *and* Eidetic Memory, it was an accomplishable feat. Fearless: woulda hung up on him if he'd answered live, too William: "However, I'm not bringing another Ethereal to the Corporeal plane in violation of the ban." BA sits quietly, trying to figure out if these people are for real or just insane. Edward nods. William: "Unless, of course, somebody here volunteers to *be* said Knight." Jack: back Ellis: "I thought she was grooming Jack for that role." BA: . o O (Right. What weenie would actually volunteer for a thing like that?) Fearless returns from making his call. "I have his number. Nicole, you want to help me out finding his place?" William: "At the moment, yes. Eventually, however, she will have to sabotage the relationship. A saved Damsel isn't one in Distress, you see." Jack: ooc: excellent! William: That would make you the villain in her twisted little view of the Universe, Jack. :^) Jack: ooc: excellent! William: *snicker* Ellis: "Ah. So she'll get someone to save her from Jack?" Jack: ooc: i think i dated her irl! Edward: And get the next 'knight' hating your guts. William: *nod* Exactly." William: +" Nicole looks up at Fearless. "Sure. Sounds good to me." William: Elena looks at Nicole. "You're volunteering?" Nicole: "Err, no, Fearless asked if I wanted to help him with something." William: "Ah. Oh well." Nicole: "Besides...aren't damsels usually girls?" Jack: brb William: "Yes, of course." She smiles. "I was just considering what would happen if the attempted Knight was one as well." Edward smirks at Nicole. "This *is* the twentyfirst century, y'know... Equality in gender and all that. Besides, didn't you see Monty Python and the Holy Grail?" Fearless: "Did I miss something here?" William: "Ethereals can occasionally change their tune, you see. New quirks and mutations of the basic image can occur." BA: "Not really, Fearless. Just the usual conjecture and pontificating." Nicole: "I'm flattered...but I'm really not sure I could pull it off." William: "Pity. As you wish, though." Fearless: "Ah. Oh, BA, I will need your help in verifying this story later. Think you can show Nicole and I how to use those fancy carbots of yours?" Ellis chuckles at something under his breath. Ellis: William: "Besides, bringing in a Knight of any sort only continues the cycle." Edward looks uncomfortable. "I could probably pull it off, but I'm not sure I could keep myself from actually falling into the role rather than playing it." Nicole looks down at her lap, and says nothing. BA: "Don't see why not. Although Patch Kit's going to be out of commission for a whule. Trying to mount a taser on him." Fearless: "Interesting..." Jack: back, srry' Nicole shrugs. "Well..." Fearless: "Way I see it, let's not worry about doing what to do about it until we have an idea as to who this person actually is." Nicole nods. Ellis: "Sounds good to me." William: "Very well then. Mr. Fearless, you have obtained an address?" Fearless: "That's what Rumblestrip and Speed Bump are for." Fearless shows the circled phone number. "Not yet. That's what I need Nicole's help for." William: "What what and what are for?" BA: "My pet RC spies." Nicole listens to Fearless, and tries to keep a poker face. BA tunes out the rest of the conversation and works on mods to Patch Kit, Rumble Srip, and Speed Bump William: GM idly wonders; don't the phone books still have addresses these days? If not, okay. Just checking. BA: Will: Yes Fearless: some do, some don't Fearless: larger cities normally don't William: Okay. Fearless: too many numbers William: Makes sense. Jack: ooc: Philly does. I live there Jack: It's just a mammoth book Nicole: brb Fearless: well... I still need to get more info than a phone book provides William points a thumb at Jack. What he said. RL info goes in. Edward: online directory services, anyone? BA sketches possible ways to boost the cars' operating time and range William: Ed: propose it! Edward: Is there one? Ed would know if there is. William: www.whitepages.com Fearless: I was going under the assumption that there wasn't an address listed in the phone book, as the Vegas book rarely lists it Edward shrugs. "Philly's got its online phone directory online, IIRC. We could check." Fearless: "Good." Fearless hands copies of the number to Nicole and Ed. "I'll try the more traditional routes." BA also considers outfitting them with low-light and thermal-optics Edward looks at it, memorises it, and stuffs the paper into a pocket. BA: *muttered* "That's gonna beef up their weight. Gonna need a better power cell." Nicole: b William: "Very well. We should stay in contact. I will go with you." She looks over at Edward. "You are helping with the search, if I understand." She looks at Ellis. "And you?" Ellis: "And me?" Nicole looks up Fearless again. "Anytime you're ready." Ellis: "I'll help in any way I can, but I'm fresh out of ideas." Edward nods at Elena. "If I find anything, I can contact you through here?" William: *to Ed* "Yes." Fearless: "Well... no time like the present to introduce you to the Chief... if he's still awake." William: "Hmm." Nicole nods. BA ponders high density lithium cells William: "I have a better idea, I think. Mr. Ferrifous, proceed. You and I, sir -- "she addresses Ellis -- "can do some legwork. I can't imagine Jack and the Damsel got very far. We might still have a good chance of picking them up if we traverse the area on foot." William: *to Johnny* "The young man doodling -- he will be with you?" Edward: "Just what *do* we do when we catch up with her anyway? Slap on some divine handcuffs and haul her off?" BA: "Hey, what? Thought I said not to count me in on that soldier crap." Ellis: "All right. Should I bring anything weaponlike?" Ellis: "Or would that be a Bad Idea?" William: *to Ed* "If she cooperates, take her to an Ethereal Tether, a route between the planes. If not, evict her from her body forcibly." Ellis: I have the sword stashed on the bike anyway... Fearless: "Not at the moment." Nicole speaks up. "How would one find one of these "tethers"? Nicole: " BA: "Now that's a new one. Wouldn't it just be easier to say 'bump her off'?" William: *to Ellis* "A good idea, yes. She won't put up much of a fight, but we might need something to dispatch her quickly if she tries." Ellis sighs, shrugs, nods. William: *to BA* "It won't kill her. At least, it has a low probability of doing so. The body destroyed, the inhabitant will have no place to go but back to the realm of her birth." Fearless heads over to the elevator, looking questioningly at Nicole Fearless: as he does so, he puts the hat back on, then lights up his ever-present weedstick BA: "Isn't that what I just said? Bump her off." Nicole sighs, and follows Johnny out of the room. William: "As you wish." Edward: "That'd get everyone involved into one hell, if you'll excuse my language, of a mess with the non-divine authorities. Homicide is kind of frowned upon, and 'she was a celestial parasite, not a human' is only a good defense if your taste in clothing runs to white canvas blazers with long sleeves..." Jack: ooc: lol William: Elena nods in agreement with Ed. "Of course we have to deal with a fair number of bodies in our line of work, but it's never an easy situation. And violence always smacks of having let the situation slip, somehow." BA: "Then what's the difference? 'Forcible removal from the body' sounds like 'bump her off' to me." *** Signoff: Ellis (Ping timeout) *** Ellis (aris@hh1120118.direcpc.com) has joined channel #gurps William: Re. Ellis: Augh. Re. Fearless: *to Nicole, in the elevator* "One thing I didn't mention in there... I don't believe this whole angel/devil thing is the truth. A little too pat." Nicole shrugs. Fearless: "Different sides of a secret war, I accept. But the whole divinity thing I don't accept." Nicole nods. "Well..." Fearless: "But... there's something going on here. One of the reasons I'm going along with this is to find out the truth for myself." *** Mode change "+o Ellis" on #gurps by BA Ellis: Greg, meanwhile, has swallowed the angel plot hook, line, and pitchfork. ;) Nicole: "From when I was little, I was taught in the matter of religion to go with what I truly believe. To be honest, I don't know what to believe yet. But they've all treated us well, and I'm inclined to at least let it play out." Nicole: "Besides, something just *feels* right about what they're saying, don't ask me why." BA gets up and heads over to the evelator. Edward gets up as well, ponders getting a handheld and a boosted wireless link to the campus system. Fearless: "That is true." *thoughts go back to Fred, the jumper* Fearless takes Nicole out to his car. BA: "I'm about done with these people. All this cloak and dagger crap's driving me nuts." Fearless: "By the way, the offer of you being my assistant is valid." William: Elena looks after BA after he and Edward have left. "Skepticism is well and good," she says to Ellis. "But it can be stretched into denial of things of this world that are wished and hoped for as well." William: "He needs someone to guide him towards those things." Ellis: "I wouldn't know, milady. I've never been granted the luxury of skepticism." Edward shrugs. "So far, they've been mostly straight with us, so I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt. But it's your choice, ultimately." Nicole: "And I don't know what you guys saw in that room with BA, but I know whatever the hell it was, it shook Ed deeply." *shrug* "I don't have the answers." William OOCly cues "The Eternal Knot" Nicole nods. "Thanks, btw." Fearless: "Actually... we haven't been to that meeting yet." Fearless notices BA heading out.... "Excuse me a moment..." BA stops at Fearless' car before heading over to his. "I can't believe you're actually buying this angel/demon bullshit. If these people are so divine, wehy do they insist on dragging us into this?" Fearless heads over to BA. "You okay, pal?" Nicole nods, stops, and lets Fearless approach BA on his own. Fearless: "Actually, no." Edward exits the elevator and gets to his bike, then takes off immediately, driving *just* within the speed limit, and 'skimming' the lights a little closer than normal. William: Elena stands once you two are the only ones in the room. "Shall we?" Fearless: "I'm trying to get to the truth here. There's something both sides are hiding, and I want to find out what it is." William: 3d6 Dicesuke throws the bones for William (3d6) and gets 15. BA: "You and me both. I know a lot of the shadier government orgs out there, but these folks make most of them look sane." William: Ed: fail a Driving roll; ticket for speeding. William: $50. Fearless: "Remember how that mob fiasco started?" Edward pays it. William: *nod* Just a side note. BA: "No kidding. Nice to know you're not buying into this, at least." Fearless: "With too many open questions on both ends? I thought you knew me better than that." William: Ed: On your answering machine at home, by the way, is Rath with a name and address of a tech shop downtown. You know the place by reputation as getting good machines and doing its repairs on time, the first time. BA: "Heh. Yeah, about that. This whole thing's got me messed up. Stop by tomorrow and I'll let you run Speed Bump around the track a bit. I'm going to try and get a handle on things tonight." Fearless: "'K. Anyways, Nicole and I are headed over to the office. Gonna try and find out Creely's address. Is it okay if I stop by after that to look over their controls?" Nicole: "What does it matter what we think we know; in the end, there's no denying the truth." :) Edward notes the addy, then does the addy search first for "Creely, Jack" Jack: ooc: it's listed! BA: "Sure. I should be up for a while yet. Just bang on the door." Fearless: "Right." BA gets into his car and heads home. Fearless helps Nicole into his. William: 3d6 Dicesuke throws the bones for William (3d6) and gets 11. Jack: strike that, no Creely Jack Nicole accepts. William: Ed: Creeley. But when you get no hits on the first one, wildcards are the obvious next step. Edward: Creely, J* then William: yeah. Edward: followed by Creel*, Jack Edward: and creel*, J*, but the above hits. BA: . o O (Why can't these jerks just come out and say 'We have a psychotic bimbo on the loose. We screwed up too badly and need scapegoats. Would you mind?") Ellis OOCly waits for Will to get back to him. William: You get three hits. Cross-referencing with the number Johnny gave you, you find the one adress of interest. Jack: ooc: it's listed! Fearless heads to the office. Jack: just off of South Street on Ninth William: Ellis: Yeah, running through scenes at the moment. One sec. :^) Edward notes it down, calls the masonry. BA: Gonna scram folx BA: Later William: Unmoo UL. Jack: later *** BA is now known as Uplink Fearless: cya, UL William: We'll have UL tinkering with teh cars for the rest of tonight. Fearless: that fits him. ;) *** Uplink has left channel William: Ed: pause once you've gotten that information there. Edward then decides what he needs right now to calm down is some nice, relaxing programming. Edward: 3d6 Dicesuke throws the bones for Edward (3d6) and gets 7. William pans the camera over to Nicole and Johnny. Fearless helps Nicole out of the car, then into the office. Fearless: If the Chief's in, he'll head to *his* office first. If not, we'll head to Fearless' office. Nicole lets Fearless lead the way. William: Remember, it's Saturday and the party was in the evening. It's early night now, and the paper is starting to go to press. The Chief is not in; in fact, the whole place is relatively quiet, with few people around, except for the rumble of the presses audible throughout the building. Fearless: you can never tell with paper editors. ;) Fearless opens the door to his office. "Here we are." Fearless figures there's the typical filing cabinet, desk, computer, printer, etc. William: *nod* Fearless: actually, with GM's permission, I'd like there to be two computers there. William: Any particular reason? Edward vanishes into the universe of low-level networking code and high-level expert system design Fearless: the one on the desk for Fearless to type on, and one for any assistants to use for the legwork. William: Given Fearless' acrophobia, by the way, he'd probably have a tendency to stack stuff and "build up" the office until it was quite stuffed. Cozy, to him, nearly unnavigable to others. Fearless: well, the windows stay closed and shuttered at all times... Nicole: "nearly"? Nicole: :) Fearless: he's afraid of heights, not open spaces Nicole: yeah, agorophobia is fear of openspaces. William: Assistants? No, no assistants. However, a second computer isn't too hard to arrange. Fearless: I think you're thinking agoraphobia William: Oh. Doh. Sorry. Jack has to meet those friends at his home, plans to leave for apartment when GMly spotlight sweeps his way Fearless: well, you never know if he's had one in the past. William: Jack: *nod* William: His latest model, and an old 20Mhz standby with Word 2.2 on it or something. ;^) Fearless sets the hat on the monitor, hangs the trench over his chair. "The second computer's yours. Its got a modem setup and telnet dialing software. Sorry about the age, its a Win3.1 box." Nicole: "Ouch." Fearless: "What I need is to get into the phone company's machine. I have their modem line's number, its on a sticky note on the left side of the screen." Nicole nods. "Ye want me to do that?" Fearless: "Please. I need to get a physical address for Jack's place." Fearless: In the meantime, Fearless is pulling up IE on his own machine, and checking out whitepages.com for the number he has for Jack. Fearless: 3d6 Dicesuke throws the bones for Fearless (3d6) and gets 17, a CRITICAL FAILURE!!! "God hates you, and so do I." Fearless: *ow* Nicole: ouch. William: BSOD! Fearless: *reboot* Fearless: "razzumfrazzumrittlemicrosoftmilleniumgarbage" William: "BIOS Error." Nicole turns on the computer, giggles at Johnny's BSOD a bit. :) William: Nicole: It's slow, but yours runs. Fearless looks over at Nicole. "This is why I have that older one, still." Fearless: *kick* William: BSoD's kind of a fun crit.failure to throw at somebody, now that I actually do it. %^) Fearless: *coldboot* Nicole: "What, from before Microsoft sucking?" Nicole: :) Fearless: "Exactly!" Edward: Nah, the only comps that old aren't PCs. Nicole attempts to figure out her way around the crufty and slightly different interface than what she's used to. William: 3d6 Dicesuke throws the bones for William (3d6) and gets 10. William: Nicole: You do fine. Fearless: (y'know, Fearless *has* a Comp Op skill of 17...) William: Fearless: 17's a crit regardles. Fearless: I know... William: Skills 17 and above are primarily useful to offset penalties for particularly tough tasks. Fearless: but he's not as clueless about them as he acts. Nicole finds the dialer and attempts to connect to the number Johnny has. William: The spirit of Musashi, I am told (whoever the guy was that practically invented kendo) has a Katana skill of something like 34. %^) Nicole: there a password or anything needed here? William: Johnny: What's the number for, again? Fearless: prolly, but it'd be with the phone number. Fearless: Phone company computer William: They have rather a few. Which one? William: :^) Fearless: telnet interface Edward: Close enough -- he stopped using live blades at one point because he was utterly lethal (taking down five fully-armed samurai at once) with wooden practise swords. William: A telnet white pages? Fearless: a telnet interface to the Sprint (or whoever owns the phone lines in Philly) offices' internal computers; straight keyboard interface for finding addresses attached to numbers Fearless gets his computer back up and running... Fearless: "Now, let's try this again... any luck there, Nicole?" William: Um. William: I don't even know if such things exist. Fearless: Will: they do exist... Nicole: Oh, I'm sure they do, the matter would be of course a matter of legality. Fearless: 3d6 Dicesuke throws the bones for Fearless (3d6) and gets 8. William: At any rate, I can guarantee you that whitepages gives the faster computer the same information it did Ed. William: You have the address now. Nicole: "Internal network? You sure this is legal?" Fearless: passed the fast talk roll for Fearless getting the information needed to log in to that system (way back when) William: Nicole: It's asking for a newer version of software, at any rate -- proprietary Sprint property. Fearless: "The password's still legit." Fearless: 3d6 Dicesuke throws the bones for Fearless (3d6) and gets 9. Fearless: Comp Op passed, this time. Nicole pokes Fearless. "It doesn't work with telnet and dialup anymore." William: Fearless: anything in particular? You do get the address. I'm not sure what this "public records search" linked from whitepages is all about yet, though, Fearless: "Great... I'll have to talk to my contacts there to get the update. Well, I found an address." Nicole: "Okay. Good." William: Pause for five minutes? I want to get my butt out of the seat. Fearless: sure William: ---- Pause --------- Fearless: any chance we can bump the old computer to a 486/100? Edward: that much of an improvement? Fearless: from a 386/20? yes. William: Sure. Fearless: hell, BA's prolly had that thing overclocked to 120MHz for a few years, no Fearless: now William: Fearless and Ed have just copied each others' work; Elena will doubtless use this as an excuse to extoll the virtues of teamwork and communication. :^) Fearless: pbbt! :) Jack: hehehe Nicole takes the time to log into the university network and see if there's any new mail and if Ed's around. Fearless does some regular journalism work in the meantime.... Fearless: 3d6 Dicesuke throws the bones for Fearless (3d6) and gets 9. Jack heads home with Grace to meet his friends Fearless: okay, this Sunday's story for the paper is his usual quality. Edward: Nicole: "*ding* The Admin is... *IN*" William: Jack: noted. William: Next scene up is Ellis and Elena. Fearless: Ellis: got a cell phone on you? Fearless: more to the point, did you give Fearless the number at any point? Ellis: I think you gave me one, so yeah. Fearless: *to Nicole* "See if Ed found anything yet?" Nicole: I think I have it, I don't know if Fearless does. Nicole nods. "What I'm doing." Fearless: "'k. Give him this address, and see if it matches what he has." *hands her a sheet with the address, somewhat misspelled. Fearless: Ninth reads Ninht Nicole pokes Ars. 'Tis Aris' turn. ;) William: ------- Unpause ---------- Fearless: sorry Edward: Nicole: "Message from edw@suzaku at 20:35... Got the addy. Ninth and south." William: Elena stops to talk to Fred before they leave. Fred gives you both a general layout of the surrounding neighborhood. William: What you can get in 60 seconds, at any rate. Ellis: "My ride, or what will you?" William: "Feet." William: "You said you had a weapon?" Ellis: "Well... it's a little too conspicuous to be carrying around. I don't exactly have the Duncan McLeod ability to hide four feet of steel in a leather jacket." William: "Hmm. Good point. Let me think." William: "You said you weren't a Soldier, right?" Ellis: "No, I'm not." *** CTCP PING 1015134307 from Ellis replied Fearless: *ZAP* "You are now." %) Ellis: *snrk* Jack: lol William: "Okay. You can use this if we get into trouble." She produces something that looks like the hilt and handle of a sword without the blade. "If we get into any trouble, let me touch it. It will produce a blade, which you can then use. I'll be okay with my fists." Ellis takes it, looks it over, nods, and sticks it in his pocket. "Lightsabers, ho." William: She represses a laugh and nods. "Essentially. Let's go." Ellis sets off with her for a survey of the neighborhood. Ellis: "Will you be able to sense this... Etheral, in any way? Or do we have to rely on appearances?" William: "If she is foolish enough to use any supernatural abilities, I may be able to hear it for some time afterward. Otherwise, this is all elbow grease." Ellis: "Lovely. And I never even met the man." William: "That, I cannot help. I have never seen Mr. Creeley either. However, I do know what Grace's current form looks like. Here." She stops next to a brick wall. William: She pulls out, of all things, a set of chalks, and sets to work on a patch of the wall. Ellis watches her, raising an eyebrow William: 3d6 Dicesuke throws the bones for William (3d6) and gets 11. William hmms. That'd be a pass, except that it's a tough medium. Hmm... Edward: albeit one she has a natural affinity for. William: After about ten minutes, she steps back and looks at the work, then makes a few final adjustments. A woman's face has taken shape on the whitewashed brickwork. William: "That's her. Or as close as I'm going to get without spending a lot more time on it, at any rate." Ellis looks over her. "Pretty, I suppose, in a sort of simpering fashion... which fits, hmm?" William: "Good, I see you've caught the basic properties." She puts the chalk away and continues walking. Ellis follows after her, looking around at the streets and through windows for a sign of the girl. William: The neighborhood is unusually quiet. Much of the local population is, of course, at the block party back at the Works. Ellis: Heh. William: A young-looking person with more piercings than clothes steps out of an alleyway between a couple of apartment buildings. "Spare some change? It's a cold night." Jack: ooc: ok that sounds like Philly! getting near South William: Elena looks at him for a moment. William: 3d6 Dicesuke throws the bones for William (3d6) and gets 9. William: "Clothes would serve you better than change. I have no money, at any rate." William: She looks over at Ellis. William: "You?" Ellis puts his hand in his pocket automatically, feels the sword hilt instead of any loose change. "I'm a teacher. I'm always broke." Ellis reaches around for his wallet anyway, hauls out a couple dollars. "The hell, though. I'll charge it to petty cash. Get yourself some coffee." William: Elena looks back at the bum. "Your increased state of anxiety and anticipation is noticeable. It would be a poor idea to spend it as you are planning to." William: "Huh?" Edward: If she pinches his neck next and makes him faint, I'll hit you. Jack: lol William: "If you're hungry, why not head to the gathering at the Stone and Tile Works? There is free food and drink for residents there." Ellis: "She means treat yourself kindly--there's dying and there's dying, if you know what I mean. You don't have to pay for it." William: "Man, suits are *too* weird." He backs off and into the alley. Ellis sighs. "Probably a good thing I didn't become a priest, then." Jack: ooc: *snrrk* William: Elena cocks an eyebrow. "You were studying?" Ellis: "Mmm, yes. Long story." Ellis puts his hand in his left pocket, runs his thumb over the crucifix, then starts walking again. William: Elena starts walking again. "Which humans usually use to mean they'd rather not talk about it. Very well." Ellis: "Well, at least you've realized that much in your studies. Could use some tips on empathy, though." Edward: *snicker* Ellis: "For example, when you realize that someone doesn't want to talk about something, it's generally considered polite, in human society, to say something to the effect of 'I'm sorry, I won't press,' which makes it sound like you actually care about the story they don't want to tell you." Ellis coughs a few times after that incredibly long sentence and smiles. William: She hesitates before replying. "I can sympathize -- indeed, I must, to be what I am. Human pain and anxieties are clear to me, as are their joys and loves. And I am honestly curious about your background. But empathy -- to feel, and be swayed by that feeling -- I cannot allow. Whatever happens, I must think of the greater good. Subjectivity is a luxury I cannot have." Ellis: o/` Wouldn't it be great / If no one ever got offended? / And wouldn't it be great / To say what's really on your mind? o/` Ellis: "Oh, understood. You have a job to do. But it usually helps to *fake* it, at least." Ellis: "And speaking of jobs to do, we need to find little Rapunzel." William: As you continue walking and looking around you hear her muttering, "I'm sorry, I won't press" in various inflections. William: ;^) Ellis: *LOL!* William: 3d6 Dicesuke throws the bones for William (3d6) and gets 7. William: The remainder of the neighborhood in the commercial quarter is much the same. After about two hours, you start to come across people in larger groups, most heading away from the area of the Works. Ellis: The bar is open, btw. Ellis checks faces as rapidly and well as he can William: Most of the women are Latino or Black; there aren't many White women who live in the area. Of those you do see... William: 3d6 Dicesuke throws the bones for William (3d6) and gets 12. William: ...there don't seem to be any solid matches. Elena also doesn't pounce on any of them. William: "I'd call tonight a write-off. The gathering at the Works looks like it's broken up. It's unlikely we'll find anything more walking about. Mr. Creeley is probably home by now. Whether we know where that is depends on our other friends." Fearless: speaking of which... have Nicole and Ed compared addresses? Ellis: "It is starting to look that way, isn't it. All right, let's touch base with the others and then face the dragon in her new den." Nicole had a reaction, but was waiting her turn. :) William: Elena nods and heads more purposefully back to the Works. Ellis, hauling out the cell? Ellis: Yep. I should have Nicole's number from when she called me... or when we exchanged info a few days ago. William: Okay. Nicole, *ring*. :^) Nicole stares at the write session and the piece of paper, laughs. Fearless was reaching for the phone when Nicole's cell goes off Nicole then watches her phone ring. Picks it up. "'Lo?" Ellis: "Nicole? It's Greg." Nicole: "Yeah? You find Cinderella?" Ellis: "Unfortunately, her coach appears to have turned back into a pumpkin. No trace." Ellis: "Not even a glass slipper." Nicole: "Ah. Whee, this makes the situation more desperate, no?" Ellis: "Only if you don't have an address..." Nicole: "Nah, we got an address. Twice over." Ellis: "Well, that's good. At least we have something to go by." Nicole: "Yeah. So, what's up?" Ellis: "Just trying to touch base. And now wondering if it's better to go after her now, or to wait until tomorrow." Fearless: *to Nicole* "I want to speak with Jack and his 'date' first, before we make any moves..." Nicole: "Fearless says he wants to talk to Jack first. Dunno about tonight or tomorrow..." Fearless: "Tomorrow, if possible." Nicole: "...ah, Fearless says tomorrow..." Fearless looks at the clock. "Tomorrow morning." Nicole: "...tomorrow morning." Ellis: "Okay. Hold on." Ellis turns to Elena. "They have an address. How long do you think she'll stay with him?" Edward: As long as she can suck in the whiteknightness from him, and then until she can turn him into the distress causer. William: "Until something less-than-perfect happens, and she has an excuse to revert from 'saved' to 'distressed' mode again. Around here? Quickly." Jack: ooc: no sucking on the first date William: And Ed nails it.... Ellis: "Ah. One of our number wants to talk with them before we go in force. He thinks it would be best to wait until tomorrow morning." William: "The earlier, the better, no doubt." Ellis: "But you know more about these things than any of us. If you think it's essential that we move tonight, I'll press it." William: "Hm. Either the skeptic wants to get someone else's version of events, or the reporter wants to get another side of the story. I am amenable to either; but surely it can be done tonight? Let us go and meet Mr. Creeley and the Damsel together." Ellis nods and turns to the phone. "Elena thinks we should go tonight. I agree with her. The sooner we get her Away, the better for all of us." Nicole: "Okay...hang on a sec." Fearless: "They want it tonight, right?" Nicole covers the phone. "Elena thinks we should go tonight, yeah." Nicole: "And Ellis agrees with her, and frankly, they're right." Fearless let's loose a sigh, and looks at the clock. GM: Time? William: As you pass by the place where Elena drew the picture, by the way, someone has spray-painted a big heart around it and tagged below its right bottom corner. William: Approximately 10pm. Jack: ooc: nice detail Ellis eyes the picture. "Seems people around here approve of her looks." Ellis: To Elena, covering the mouthpiece of the phone. Fearless picks up the phone. "LEt me see if they're even still awake right now, okay?" William: Elena glances over. "It will preserve the picture; taggers consider it bad form to spray over someone else's tag, which is now included inside the heart." Nicole nods. Fearless calls Jack's number. Ellis: "You know more about it than I do, then." Nicole goes back on the phone. "Fearless says he's going to check and see if they're awake, hang on." William: At 10, Jack would have been in and out again. William: So it's the answering machine again. Ellis: "Okay." *to Elena* "John's calling them to see if they're there." Edward: I am *SO* not going to touch that line with a 3.1415-foot pole. Jack: "Hi, this is Jack. Leave a message after the beep." Beep. Fearless hangs up. "Answering machines..." Fearless: "Either asleep, or just not there." Nicole: "He got an answering machine..." Ellis: Considering the recent summer movies, are you sure pi's the expression you want to be using? Jack: lol Ellis: "And apparently he's not. Or he's screening his calls." Fearless: "Good time to check over the house, though." Edward: Seeing as how I've seen none of them, yes. William: "Well, his house will still be the place to start from. At worst, we keep someone there until he comes back. Unlikely she's already convinced him to pull up stakes entirely." Fearless stands up, dons trench, and grabs the hat. "Up for a little legwork?" Ellis: "She'd do that?" Ellis: "What does that gain her?" William: "Nothing much. She doesn't do it often. Usually it happens when she's eloping." Ellis: "Ahh." William: "I was merely considering the possibility." Ellis: "Nicole, anything else?" Nicole: "Nah, Johnny's doing something, I'm gonna go with him." Ellis: "'Doing something'? That sounds ominous." Nicole: sorry, I just spaced there for a second. Fearless: "Tell them we'll meet them there." Ellis: 'sokay. Nicole: "...well, Johnny's going over there, he says we'll meet you there?" Edward: I'm sure they'll 'do something' in a responsible manner. Besides, they're both adults... Fearless: *wince* Nicole: this is when it sucks that nicole decides to be the honest type. %) Ellis: "Seeing as we can't stop you, what's the address?" Fearless: Fearless switches to Plan B. ;) Nicole gives Ellis the address (can't find it in my backscroll or I'd say it.) Fearless: South and Ninth William: It's a quarter to 2 here in PA. Start next time as we converge on Mr. Creeley's apartment? Nicole: "yeah, South and ninth." Jack: ok Ellis: "South and Ninth. All right, meet you there in... fifteen minutes?" William: It will give us an opportunity to call and see if we can tear BA away from his RC, too. :^) Nicole: "I think fifteen minutes is fine." Ellis: "Don't do anything any responsible demon-hunter wouldn't do." Fearless: yeah, sounds good Nicole: "Alright. See you there." Ellis: "Right. Bye." Nicole hangs up, leaves a quick message for ed in email (if we're not still talking) and nods at Johnny. Ellis: Aaand our Intrepid Heros set off on the quest to banish the Damsel in Distress from the arms of the White Knight and thus restore the story to its natural balance of Fate and Destiny. Fearless gives a quick thumbs-up Fearless: nah, we just want to load a bitch full of lead. ;) Jack: ooc: saved from a damsel in distress, how low can you get? William: ------------ Session End -----------------