Futurepunk IC

[The Watch Dog]

Link to the OOC/signup thread: https://www.iwakuroleplay.com/threads/futurepunk.44288/
Link to the Interest Check thread: https://www.iwakuroleplay.com/threads/futurepunk.43788/

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The november rain was smoothly crossing the sky to mercilessly assault the road pavement down below. The heavy glass panes of the skyscraper, that covered the entire Arkwright Industries HQ, reflected the images of a busy town that was topped down washed away by the melancholic downpour. Silent city noise was being replaced by the sound of the dropping water, as the night was lit up by the millions of light sources that echoed the liveliness and retroness of New Massachusetts, the world's frontier of technology and progress.

Some silent buzz ring interrupted Royce's thoughts - the familiar smooth vibe of the Assistant's notification module. Royce stepped back from the window and moved towards his office, located in the 114th floor of the Headquarters, and just two floors below the penthouse. With a rapid, swift sweep over the small floating panel, his finger was recognized and the AI initiated. The floating panel projected on thin air by a holo projection sphere just below his arm now turned on, and the face of some unrecognizable woman appeared just before him.

Royce turned to the hovering head; "What do you have for me?"

"I'd like to remind you sir, that today is the day you were planning to meet on with a VIP from Europa Corporation." the Assistant replied kindly. That's right, today was that day...

Today was the day he commenced war against the privateers that threatened his rule over New Massachusetts.

 

[Shokkou]

This was his first time seeing one of these new urban centers of the future. Bart had been to Massachusetts before he'd been frozen, but that familiarity only gave him a greater sense of nagging in the back of his head when what little was the same stood out from everything that had changed. The city looked like something out of an old grungy sci-fi novel from his time. The skyline shimmered with lights of every color, each hue competing for dominance in its own sphere of the rainy mist. He couldn't take his eyes off it as the company helicopter flew him towards his flat in the Arkwright controlled city center.

The trip up until now had been easy enough. His company credentials had sped him past the customs and immigration inspections. The doughy middle aged man who sat behind the glass checking paperwork knew well enough to let him through without issue. His forms had been left with a conspicuously vague answer when it came to possessions, and for a company man with Bart's stature and outfit that could only mean one thing. Weapons. The bulky stuff, what he couldn't conceal easily on his person, was probably already waiting for him at the apartment. What he did have though was an Arkwright M2041 .45 autopistol and a Waylink monoknife.

He heard the pilot radioing in for landing. The CEO would have notification of his progress. No pressure Bart. First job for the company is to pull "security" for the boss. You'd better be prepared for anything.

 

[ze_kraken]

Lyssa had decided to go back to school, after all, her parents had always blabbed about how she needed to receive proper education. An hour went by as she sent in applications for several of the best universities in the nation before hacking into the networks to grant her applications a green-light. Breakfast time.

The day followed its usual pattern from there: work at the local holo-PAD shop, take a few smokes out back - electronic of course, few smoked tobacco anymore - and then began to search for work on the crowded MagLev train home. A few job offers as a result of her acceptance into "top notch" schools. A few of the usual easy-marked bank accounts ripe for picking; she'd have to remind herself to check those out, later of course. Two or three corporate jobs involving some "questionable assessment of talent among the masses" or whatever garbage they wrote to disguise 'we intend to commit a crime.' Then came the last item on the list: Royce Arkwright. The brilliant heir to the empire interested in an ex-Netter from Japan and a piece of lowly trash compared to his reputation.

Must have been the universities. She told herself, grinning as her hand wafted over to click the "accept" tab on her PAD. That didn't leave much time. Go home, get into 'official' looking gear, grab her Deck, her PAD, and her respirator to boot. Didn't want to go anywhere without it; she might have to actually walk outside. The MagLev glided to a halt, barely jerking as it reached a complete stop and Lyssa stepped out to the shielded walkway that led from the station to her Hab-Block about a block away. Below her, through the Transparasteel walkway, unfolded dozens of MagLevs, skycars, more walkways and people. Just people. You could tell what they did just by looking at them at this point just from a quick glance, at that. It never tired her to see the sheer size of New Massachusetts.

The PAD vibrated with the response that 'You, Lyssa Rocheford have hereby accepted the terms and agreements presented...' and so on. Without bothering to spare the document a second glance, Lyssa's hand slid over to the 'I agree' tab and replied to the message, deactivating the PAD, causing the screen to fold into a cylinder that controlled the device.

Rain had begun to fall, plopping heavily above her against the walkway, thick and near looking like tar. A pang of sympathy for those poor bastards on the ground level went through her before she was off to her Hab, having awkwardly stood around with the PAD for a few minutes. It was fairly empty. Most people in this part of town didn't get off of work for another three hours or so. If they did, they were off doing something illegal or another. Not that Peacekeepers gave two shits about what most of the populace did. Her reputation - being publicly renowned in this district - living proof that even a hacker tagged as herself could get by just fine without the law peering over her shoulder.

Lyssa finally arrived at her worn Hab door, opening it with a slide of her Ident-Card before walking into the shabby block of an apartment. An old couch sat, cushions torn in several places, a good portion of the interior showing from a sizable tear in the fabric. Across from that was a Holo-Display bar, sitting dutifully on a stand so old that it was made of wood. It wouldn't have a screen unless you turned it on, not like that mattered. Everyone had some device smaller than a Holo-D that could do its job just as well and still do other things. But it had come with the Hab block, so why not? From there branched a small kitchen with the bare essentials - a heating platform, microwave, and mini-Cryo unit that could be set for cold, cool, and all things in between. The Hab had come with an AI, too. Not that she ever used it - it was more of an annoyance than a helper. Still, the voice spoke.

"Welcome back, Miss Rocheford." The calm female voice spoke, echoing through the Hab.

"No time to talk, Ember." Lyssa responded, frantically beginning to rummage through her closet for something that looked better than a worn t-shirt and faded jeans. The closest she came was a worn sports jacket and slacks, which she promptly threw her trenchcoat and hood over to apply 'her touch' to it. The AI had indignantly scoffed - or tried to scoff - at Lyssa's comment and began settling around to monitoring the Hab's temperature, fans, and electrical input.

The door shut behind her and the AI shut off, leaving the Hab, as it had been, empty.

 

[guygombaa]

Vastrum Tech HQ

Luxus had been staring out the window a lot. It was almost like an obsession. Staring at the gleaming towers and polished steel. The- "Oi, Luxus!" The shout came from the other side of his desk. "Uh, Katie, how long have you been there?" They had dated, briefly. Split up after he got stabbed in the eye. He'd changed after that. The say the blade scraped his brain. Nothing incredibly serious, but enough to make him change. They had mutually agreed it was best to split after that.

"About six minutes." There was an awkward pause. "Why didn't you speak up earlier?" He asked. "You like staring out the window. Not being disturbed." He tilted his head to the side. His way of approval. "What's up?" He said, spinning the chair right around. "Pixel Heroes hit number 1 on the charts. The team has almost finished Shift Gun, and have begun work on Pixel Fighters." She flicked through her notes. "And the newest shipment came in. We'll be handing over to the resistance cell tonight." After a few seconds silence, it was clear she had finished. "Good." Was all he could say.

 

[Tanzinite]

The apartment was small, but it was all she needed. Employment had been slow. Surprising, considering the amount of corporate spying and backstabbing. She'd expected to be gobbled up quickly. Maybe she'd need to use her skills in order to ensure that it happened. Not the worst outcome imaginable.

On the bright side, she was officially a student. A postgrad doctorate candidate, to be exact. And she had a part time day job that would keep her rent in order as the rest of her money went to paying for education. She hated the costs, it was nothing like back home, but the school was renowned and well known, and she wasn't going to waste an opportunity on frugality.

The microwave beeped, and she turned to retrieve the instant meal. It was rather disgusting, and she knew the nutritional contents were pretty much shit, but it was all she could afford if she wanted to continue financing her studies. She was almost at the point where she considered hacking their servers and recoding it so that she wouldn't have to keep making payments. Unfortunately, her memory of Tristen kept her from doing so. He would never approve. Fucker, she thought, can't stay out of my business even when he's dead. Despite what appearances might say, she missed him.

She finished eating her meal and washed it down with a glass of tap water. It tasted like far too much sulfur, but again, she couldn't afford much. As she finished, she threw the disposable plastic dishes away and turned off the lights in her apartment. It was time to go "job hunting", as she liked to call it. "Amber, turn off climate control. I don't care how cold it gets in here. I don't want a big power bill this month," she ordered the AI. It was relatively primitive, but it got the job done.

Closing the door behind her, she smiled as she made her way down the hall. She wanted to go downtown, where so any businesses met and intermingled. Plus, she'd be close to Arkwright, and landing a job for them would be awesome.

She'd have to take one of the walkways, considering she did not own a vehicle of any kind. The rain was rather disgusting, falling in black globs. It surprised her that the buildings resisted the near daily chemical dump. She'd love to analyze the "rain" sometime in her lab, but she wasn't sure how much she wanted to touch the stuff.

She got out at one of the massive buildings in the centre of downtown and booted up her superphone. Lots of people preferred the newer holo-Pads, but she found them to be slow. The amount of energy it took to render the holograms was far more than she was interested in, especially since her phone could do the same jobs at a faster pace. It was also a lot easier for a bystander to see what was on the screen of a holo-Pad.

With three minutes, Skylar had hacked into all the security grids of the closest buildings, within a five block radius. She could now see everything being displayed on their cameras, and could start looking for ways of getting herself in. Even Arkwright, with all its flare for security, was at her fingertips. Smiling, she plopped herself down in a leather chair and began to sift through the data running across her screen.