#Jotwebe's No Soldier Challenge (normal/permadeath)

1 messages · Page 2 of 1

mystic ermine Nov 10, 2024, 2:19 PM

Uzi's done

really, people keep expecting me to work for free

at least Teddy here is willing to part with some salad

Woulda've brough Cynthia, but since it's a WB job...

Here's hoping for an easy little raid

mystic ermine Nov 17, 2024, 11:44 AM

Warwitch going for the sniper

The pressure plate will draw guards away, is the plan

Slash clears a path for us on the ground

still a lot of guards around

and one of them saw me move

good thing is he walks right into sword range

Warwitch assists from above

still, the shootout hasn't gone unnoticed

whoa that is a lot of guards

and that sniper spotted Warwitch on his little tower

Zerker to the rescue

that lets Warwitch come down and help out on the ground

and Slash manages to take the sniper out

I dis-arm a captain

and storm the stairs

not so many guards now

the remaining ones try to put up a fight

but I rush them down

to the last man

Zerker, all clear

finally: some decent loot

meanwhile, Warwitch has his eyes on some other place

yellowjacket reinforcements - thankfully out of the way, for now

Warwitch rides his quantum broom

yessss

that is the good stuff

time to prepare our getaway

while more gangers filter in

Warwitch prepares to charge

we still want that last lootbox

no point not using the big guns if nobody's alive to hear them

no point in being quiet at all, come to think of it

not much loot in there, but it's the principle of the thing

also an excuse for Warwitch to do his trick again

that could have gone more smoothly

OJ of course we'll do the job for you

late apex Nov 24, 2024, 5:26 AM

mystic ermine Zerker, all clear

wow clear indeed, considering this! #1280842127064170529 message

mystic ermine Jan 1, 2025, 8:31 PM

MOLE HILL STRIKE here we come!

Far in the back: the matrix terminal with most of our loot

We didn't realize at the time, but slo-mo video replays showed we were fighting weird rubber robots

We advance quickly and silenty

Hades tries to log in, but the terminal is out of order! Down for repairs...

Nothing works in this hellhole of a dome, it's a nothing but huge trashheap

incompetent bumbling corpo idiots

that was our payout... well, most of it

probably at least half

so mad right now

Warwitch prepares to bypass a couple of laser grids

whoa, these guys are really quick on the trigger, we barely even got here

maybe they're the escort for the matrix repairman?

and there's more!

at least the meatspace loot is where it's meant to be

we quickly collect all the parts

one silver lining: the matrix being down meant we were quick enough to make OJ extra happy

shortly after we're back, Octane calls in her favor

looks like there's a SNITCH we gotta SNUFF OUT

Zone 06 is the area this is supposed to go down. Lots of heat walking about, oblivious for now

or so we hope

while Slash is guarding our backs, me and the rest of the team prep to take a commanding position

we strike silently

above and below

Sanchez never stood a chance

Warwitch takes a shortcut, as he is wont to do

Brave Star are so proud of their Mecha infantry, but they don't make 'em proper proof against cutters

down you go, Sparky

gonna admit I did not expect that squad hiding out in there

still to slow, suckers

Next heist: JIGSAW MATINEE

he hit 'em hard and fast

with Warwitch showing off his tricks

good thing for us all out targets are hanging out together, more or less

I love me some convenience

someone took a shot at Warwitch - he's got his quantum thingy up, so he's barely scratched, but the noise is unfortunate

yeah I could have done without those guys

we'll just have to be a bit more discreet, and nothing says discreet like a roomful of smoke

smooth and suave

not quite as inconvenient as the last ones, but that's right next to our getaway route

Philosopher preps the ambush

we could've just run, but where's the fun in that?

no loot, but good pay

I'm fine with that

Miss Trashcan does some work for our purveyor of fine chemicals

we got our U-Uhub to find some more underworld contacts

I went with who had the best sense of style

did I mention my new sword yet?

she's a beaut

our enforcer work goes well

Hades does a spike job for us

looks like she's enjoying herself

hopefully that'll help her overlook certain irregularities in our shared history she could possibly become upset about, should she become aware of them

nothing we do could make you look good, mister

we'll do the job though

no acts are going to be cleaned up if we have anything to say about it

you'll all come into the muck with us, willingly or not

wrestling in the mud and spiking each other's Q-gapped servers like wild men

while in the background, others rise

the spice must flow

BACK BAY ENDEAVOR - the tip-off Koma Zuul gave us

Justice's first time out after a long stint in the StimTrainer

Stimt?

Hades is here to clean out the matrix

Justice to keep things clean and quiet

it's some time before the first reinforcements are called

Laser Grid? who cares

second reinforcements: yesterday's heroes

we're already on our way out

Justice still got some stuff to learn

although eventually he does get it

willow elm Jan 5, 2025, 8:40 PM

mystic ermine second reinforcements: yesterday's heroes

Yesterday's heros is such a good line

mystic ermine Jan 8, 2025, 3:16 PM

B-Tuna has a job for us - and Hades buts in to make clear how she's extra there for it

Seems she's still salty about her life being ruined

Just taking note of that, for no reason

Our next heist is for WB though, on Justice's father's instigation

So Hades won't come, and it's Cadillac doing the hacking

Marin, "the Street Smart Climber," is on her first mission with the team, with a last-minute change in her outfit. She also got a copy of Sören's nano-hive - she's something like his understudy

Our choice of ingress is flawless, if I say so myself - we're right next to the matrix host, just one camera and a pressure sensor we have to jam. And another camera, okay. It's really close, though!

Quantum Lookahead allows us to execute our first moves flawlessly

We hide behind a glowy pillar while Marin takes out the camera

But what's this?! Someone, several someones even, got spotted and pumped full of nano-coated bullets, and there's two more guards coming to check what the noise is

guys, we barely even got here

Yes, thanks, Justice, someone around here is using their heads

I'm using my ult-pump to be honest

FINISH HER!

Cadillac is out of position, Marin covers him with nano-smoke

Good thinking, but I got this

Justice continues to be helpful

We're going to look for some loot while Cadillac does hacker things

He and Marin have shut down the camera overseeing the matrix host pretty hard

No reaction for now, but I can feel the AI getting more active

Cadillac beelines the SCU - it's very connected in this complex. Here he just shut down a camera and a pressure plate

Don't mind if I do

Once the connected devices are down, he goes for the jugular

Marin provides White Noise for another kill

Alexander wants us to send a message - we need to kill a whole bunch of guards to deliver it

After the little upset at the beginning the heist progresses smoothly

teamwork tells

willow elm Jan 8, 2025, 3:42 PM

(I can only imagine how full your screenshot folder is)

mystic ermine Jan 8, 2025, 3:43 PM

Cadillac has hacked everything there is to hack, and will provide a false trail as he leaves

mystic ermine Jan 8, 2025, 3:43 PM

willow elm (I can only imagine how full your screenshot folder is)

new laptop, big hard disk 😉

581 on steam

willow elm Jan 8, 2025, 3:44 PM

312, but that's like after a year

mystic ermine Jan 8, 2025, 3:44 PM

Reinforcements arrive! They come in exactly where we did... let us hope it's not because they could trace us in some way

It's good that they're here, because we need them for our... message

it is fitting that Justice does most of the work here, it's his dad we're doing this for after all

Chaos ensues

brain-wormed syndies going at each other like it's 2200 and they're in line for a spot in a dome

we just have to pick up the stragglers

This one got too far ahead to end up in the murder-flashmob

So, enough with the fun, time to get serious

more reinforcements, but they're far from the action

Justice, what are you doooing? Did you go to the Philosopher school of marksmanship?

well he finally got it done. Message delivered, I reckon

Time to exfil

Justice is lagging behind, because he needed a bunch of tries to land a hit with a shotgun - but at least Bio-Mimic allows him to take a shortcut

I'm guarding his back- captain last off the ship

Go go go

Could've gone better, but all in all a success

Octane is becoming quite the player - we give her a present to keep on her good side

So, this is the heist Hades was so keen on. Marin is still recovering from the last one, so Sören gets to be the White Noise machine

We're hunting WB captains tonight

it's a target rich environment - they're all close by to our point of entry

my new fabbed sword is really something

One down, two to go

come a leeeettle bit closer

BOO!

'Scuse me, but this spot is reserved for Hades

You'll have to go somewhere else

Like... to hell

We're about so score some nice quantum loot

Inconvenient: the captain is going to walk right to the spot we've just cleared for Hades to hack

Convenient: the captain is going to walk right to the spot we just cleared

Welp I honestly thought that wall was longer

Thanks, Justice, you're a real pro

the captain's still on track at least

on track to HELL

Warwitch is on a roll

Now that we've done the main part of the job, we'll see what our spoofed gold card will buy us

The matrix host was disappointingly small, so Hades is already out of a job and tagging along instead

The Sec AI has caught the smell of blood, but it is much too slow

I behead a WB corpo

Unfortunately, I hit him so hard his corpse toppled into his collegues FOV and that worthy turned around and spotted me

so that means all hands on deck

we can't quite put him in the ground in time

the Sec AI isn't much help for our friend though

He's all alone

willow elm Jan 8, 2025, 4:21 PM

mystic ermine Welp I honestly thought that wall was longer

walls are tricky

mystic ermine Jan 8, 2025, 4:21 PM

we enter the vault

the loot there was so-so, but there's still some boxes left

Warwitch is going after them

B-Tuna wants us to stay quiet for a change, and we're still on track to make that

Sec AI's barely woken up

We'll just make sure the exit is clear

WB goons show up right in Warwitch's way, of course

That's my lootbox, you sauerkraut-munching buffoons!

Pro: they move away from it. Con: they turn around

flying under the radar, so to speak

Warwitch throws some smoke to loot the box in quiet, then takes a shortcut to the bridge

first in, last out

nice work, people, this went off with barely a hitch

back at the base, Diego Drake, a.k.a. "the other gunrunner" needs us to babysit a delivery of his

Rabbit is back out of the hospital, and Slash and Anemone have been getting bored lately

late apex Jan 20, 2025, 5:59 PM

mystic ermine We hide behind a glowy pillar while Marin takes out the camera

Team unstoppable pistol

mystic ermine Jan 25, 2025, 10:46 AM

FREEWAY PARTY is a go

There's an annoying guard overlooking our entrance area

I don't bother with stealth for this one

Slash silences a Whistler

Rabbit will go up on the roof - she has a quick way back down

Slash escorts our package

while Anemone scouts the way

Rabbit has reached her target

Rabbit's White-Noise lets Slash take the kill and Anemone keep her Silence up

The armor-cutting sword goes light on the battery, but the damage is sub-par. Good thing Slash can take two swipes no problem.

Meanwhile Rabbit softens up her target with a handful of nano-propelled shurikens, then puts her down with a club to the head

Anemone sneaks behind her next target and takes her time to line up her hit

Rabbit hops down from the roof

the Red Queen stirs

ye olde spine-breaker

Anemone is on a roll

the way is clear

I love it when a plan comes together

Back at the base, the party-loving German going by "Mr. Stone" has a proposal for us

Sören is in a good mood today

Maybe it's because he gets to work for our most stylish hover car op?

Since our counter-intel pod is underutilized at the moment, I allow our hackers to have some fun with it

Hades appreciates it!

Finally

and Sören meets with success... not a bad smuggler for a former corpo armchair-warmer

Must be my good influence

Teddy is fed up with the local color

I think I want some more firepower for this

yeah, sounds like Rebecca here is a good fit for a mission that's bound to be loud

I upgraded my drips, is the takeaway here

Aaron also deserves an upgrade

Time for our battle strike mission. We've prevailed upon Bastille for premium transportation, and convinced Rebecca to change up her look a bit to hopefully throw off pursuit

This joint is definitely in a different league then our usual haunts

Let's see what the new girl can do

yeah we can work with that

lemme just clean up a bit

We'll have our bridgehead cleared in no time

Slash goes into cover and finishes the wildfire from there

caught my breath, time for more swordwork

Slash does a two-for-one

there she goes!

One of them is down for good

Justice was a bit careless when going into cover, but he threw some chem-fog that makes the divergents easier to hit

I kill the captain Slash didn't... bit of overkill there

There's reinforcements coming up from behind us, it's Justice's and Philosopher's job to keep them off our backs

Another group of reinforcements comes in at the other side of the complex

So far it's going well

since the other group is still some time away, Rebecca lends two hands

Here they come

Philospher pulls out all the stops

It's a massacre

That breaks the oppo's resolve. The team has started to call Rebecca "Centaur" - don't ask me why, maybe it's the clunky boots?

I feel the quantum rider is even more deeply integrated now

Zasha's "doctor" has a job for us.

Hades does it.

We've always got time for Dancehall.

As well as for Dr Ashe, but this doesn't sound super time critical and I'd like to get some people out of the hospital first

The Underworld Hub helps us find a new doctor - this one has some strange fashion choices for a medical professional though, so I'm glad she's not our only option

Anyway, enough resting, we're doing that Q-Spike for B-Tuna

Here's our target - shouldn't be too hard to reach

B-Tuna wants us to send a message, and Slash gets right on that

that sniper will have to go ASAP

not only her though

Hades gets to work

Slash brings down the sniper

not all the way down though

well as long as she's dead

Rabbit goes the other way around

nice view from here

we got all loot boxes with this one

there's a bunch of goons coming up to the matrix host that we don't want to bother Hades

so we intercept them

I've unlocked an atomic stutter function on the quantum rider that helps with that

shocktops take some work to put down

the Sec Ai sends reinforcements

I still one-shot them though

meanwhile, Rabbit eliminates a whistler

Hades has spiked the CPU

the Sec AI doesn't understand what's going on yet, but it does know a lot of its goons are dead

The first batch is finding a lot of bodies (and blocking our way out)

There's also B-Tuna's "message" to consider, so from here on we go out loud and bloody

well I stay quiet with the sword, because it's better versus armor

they don't look it, but these wildfires can take some punishment

miss my final shot though

means Slash has to take up the slack

These are to late to matter

our most squishy member (unfortunate wording that) is ready to pu- extract

We disappear in a cloud of smoke, just because we can

no wounded, maximum loot and a little bonus - just how I like these missions to go

Our contacts, ordered by influence. I call this the "LB jog jam"

Dancehall has some very specific requirements here: we're supposed to send a message, but also keep the Sec Level low. I get it though, a dead guy for the morning shift hits different than a big noisy assault

The way to do quick and silent is this bunch here

hope we don't lose out too much for not bringing a hacker

but escort runs demand that you go fast

at least if we want to do it the way Dancehall wants

up till now it went smoothly, but this guy spotted and shot Anemone

these waterways aren't very helpful for swordwork, but we manage

whoops almost missed there

got the requisite number of heads, and the AI is still clueless

Let's get Dancehall back into the log jam

Dr Ashe got quite aggressive since we funded her clinic

Marin for one is loving it

late apex Jan 25, 2025, 4:25 PM

mystic ermine The armor-cutting sword goes light on the battery, but the damage is sub-par. Go...

WOW

mystic ermine Jan 26, 2025, 12:16 PM

we sure picked up a lot of people who have beefs with WB

Warner-Beefs, if you will

oh well, not quite ready for the big leagues, I guess

Dr Ashe remains hungry

This lady has a power play going as well - seems to be a bog standard assassination she wants to send us on, though

Anyway, we're on to GREEN SEARCH - assassinate 3 captains for the LZ gun runner Diego Drake

There's some matrix hosts we're going for here, so Hades is coming along for that

We've got Rabbit to provide stealth and Slash to take out guards and captains

Quantum rider warns me of an incoming guard

off to the side is a matrix host that controls a bunch of mines and cameras - our first target, I think...

... since the second host controls the cameras you need to get past to reach it - only useful for loot

there's also some extra loot we bought the key to in that direction

turns out the guard walking to us is one of the targets

very convenient

Slash takes down the other nearby guard

there's a guard on the roof overlooking our route

so we need to detour around a toppled crane and a cargo pod

Rabbit prepares our attack

another captain walks right into the killzone:

Slash takes advantage with a slide between him and the guard

the guard goes first, 'cause he's a sure thing

and with Choppa, the captain dies to the backswing

matix host is clear

Hades jacks in

a guard spots Rabbit looting - but he should have spotted me

the Red Queen notices people are going missing

When their bodies are found, it starts to wake up

just before she gets to spike the RCU, Hades get dumped

side note: disgraceful discipline by WB there, what with the bottles

Rabbit is moving up towards our next targets - the gold key locked vault and the second matrix host

so do I

and what do you know, another fat and happy captain walking right into my view

I dash behind him

and take out number 3

time to see what the vault holds

Slash uncovers a Doppelgänger! They are among us!

Rabbit is way less competent with the Glitch function of her nano-hive than Warwitch is, but she makes do

she's becoming quite handy with the stun-stick

Hades finally clears the first matrix host

time to get moving

Rabbit and me tag team the remaining guards

she's going after the last loot box now

Bit of a hickup:

The Red Queen pulled reinforcements, and they spot Hades

Rabbit lets the loot box be for now and hoses down the WB goons with her raildart

first sweep hits them, second not so much - she's not too good with recoil, it has to be said

it's enough to distract the captain from his overwatch though

so Hades can put the E-Rifle to good use

We can't stop them from calling us in, but we can stop them from getting off a shot

There's another group coming from behind us - but I'm coming in from behind them

Rabbit has taken a short loot break and comes back to help out

Slash had also been on a detour

She jumps in between them with a Slashslide-

-and I take 'em them down with a full auto sweep

don't worry, she's shielded

Hades has cleared out the second host - time to go

a third wave is on the way, but they're too far back to catch us

a fourth wave is close, but also too late

Made it out just under the Sec Level Diego wanted, got all targets, cleared all the loot, and no one got hit

I'd call it a smashing success

Hades got 50% stress just from nasty IC though

mystic ermine Mar 14, 2025, 11:02 PM

So Origami Joe has been a happy camper lately

We've got two missions coming up, an assassination from an UltraTek bigshot - the space obsessed one - and we've finally got info on the Sniper from Zombie's old team. Dupernovik wants us to threaten some associates of his, but I tell him to eat a chill pill - we're a bit busy

These will be rather loud affairs, I suspect - well, the meetup with the Sniper will hopefully be peaceful, but just it might not be - and so Rabbit gets stuffed into the brain tank. She gets kittery when she's not occupied, and she might even learn a bit.

It's definitely not the usual crew of ne'erdowells - Philosopher to show we're a Sniper-friendly outfit, Slash with an E-Cutter, a Burnermouth and a powerbank, and lastly our newest sign-up, Centaur, who hopefully can bond about losing teams.

She's not super receptive when we show up. In fact, she shot at us

Or at least in our general direction.

Hopefully it was more a warning shot

Or she's a really bad Sniper?

Her protection is fired up and looks about to shoot at us in earnest - maybe they remember DEAD DROP HIT?

Philosopher takes precautions to hold off the main group

There's also some scallawags creeping up on our rear - I send Centaur to hold them off

She didn't quite manage to put down the first one right away, but at least she's in a good position to keep fighting

As the Fenians attack, Philosopher drops the first one and badly wings the second

Centaur misses her Wildfire again, but at least it's mutual

behind the one Philosopher put down, a whole 'nother load of Fenians come storming down the bridge at us - this is what they call a target-rich environment, I suppose.

I can see the appeal

Slash can see it, too, apparently, because she's running down the bridge, sword almost cutting through the railing. I give her a quantum boost for luck - though she's got a sparkly Vita shield going that should keep her safe. Ish.

She gets there before the Fenians can bring their guns to bear, rushes through the group and leaves them missing limbs and spurting blood

This was supposed the be a friendly chat!

Wait - did you just call me slow? Did you call. ME. SLOW?!

Lady are you crazy?

Yeah I might have gotten a bit snappy there.

That's no call for straight-up murder through

The Fenians under the high bridge were too busy staring at their lopped-off limbs to do much, and now Slash turns around and finishes them off

They should worry about getting out of here alive instead of lust after my cyberware

back at our rear, the Wildfire is trying to keep Centaur in her sights, but between the blood loss and the wall our Gunslinger is behind, she's not in the best position

on the other hand, Philosopher is in a spot of trouble

Because apparently, this is too close to get a good shot off

Do we actually want another Sniper?

The Fenian hits him, but it's just a flesh wound

Centaur has put enough holes in her first oppo to put her down, but the second one manages to flank her

We're beleaguered on all sides, but at least Rhino has stopped shooting

I help out Philosopher with his Fenian - the distance is just right for my AR

Centaur get her revenge, but there's more Fenians showing up

Rhino is still frozen in indecision

a Fenian captain charges in but gets stopped in his tracks by a revolver bullet

Now the Fenians are going after Rhino as well - and she's put one of them down. Slash taunts the another into attacking her - uselessly, with her Vita-field up

she does not last long against our Slash

with that, Rhino deigns to come with us

yeah, don't you worry sweatums, it's nver going to be a bullet to the back of the head with me

I'm strictly a blade to the back of the neck kinda guy

well, that was exciting if not very remunerative

at least no one got seriously hurt

No time to linger, we've got a Jupiter exec to murder

I do let the crew take a breather, apart from Zasha - client wants this done quietly, if possible, so we go with our classic team while Centaur gets a detox and Philosopher can meditate on what he got wrong

as always with these type of run: F.O.B. is recon, and go for a central location

... preferably without getting spotted

It's pretty quiet here, looks like, so it could happen.

do some prep work on the side

Let Warwitch get his claws into the tech

Anemone get impatient

I guess she's been on the bench a lot lately, and super fired up.

I have to use my Quantum-stun to freez the guys brain

The asset show up, and they know somethings wrong

The asset shows up, and Jupiter knows somethings wrong

Fortunately we're already sitting right on their exit

our jamming causes a communication mix-up: the target is coming right towards us, while his protection detail gets sidetracked

or maybe we're not the only bullet in that UltraTek exec's shooter

Nothing we can do about it now

Blur tells me the oppo chatter is going wild

but the target appears to be out of it

he's gotta have some kind of chrome, that's almost as fast as me!

I did not expect that

at the last bit though, he falters

maybe he thinks he's in the clear

Warwitch bags the poor fool.

if they don't find the corpse, maybe we can get out in time to get our bonus?

So far, it's been pretty clean

We could also take our time, do a little slaughter, loot very last thing

but after that mess HIGH STREET, I'm not feeling it.

Seems someone reported the smoke like a little boy scout, and now the discretion bonus is off, too

Oh well, time to head home. Good enough for UltraTek work.

mystic ermine May 28, 2025, 4:45 PM

We've been chilling a bit, when Goldstax comes calling and asks for an under navigator.

Rhino is our best girl for this, and we jank her out of the Simstream Detox so she can do this job along the toxic sludge called the Mystic.

Not a word of complaint - I'm really impressed. Must the the special bond we have.

Ol' Teddy is continuing to do well. He was making noises about having some high-priority missions for us, but I told him he should play it slow and steady.

It's all part of my secret plan, you see.

Next job is for our good friend OJ - Origami Joe to his other customers. We've made sure to cross our tees and dot our eyes for that one.

It's a little hit on a WB cybernetics hub.

Cadillac is on deck, Slash is on sword-support, and Rabbit is continuing to be Warwitch's understudy. She's on White Noise duty mainly, perhaps some smoke if things go southerly.

She's happy to be along.

She immediately makes herself useful.

I let the two ladies escort Cadillac to the first matrix host - I'm making sure there's no surprises coming up in our rear

Doors and corners - gotta love them!

Still loving my custom-made monocutter, too

Welp, looks like Cadillac didn't quite make it behind the barrier in time and got his ass spotted

Even worse, he got his ass shot, and the Sec AI busybodying

Slash goes for the clean-up

The newcomer doesn't see Rabbit behind him

Bad mistake

I intercept another guard investigating the noise - help by my good friend "stack of boxes"

Then, another guard enters the matrix room, and also spots Cadillac

instead of immediately opening fire, he scans the room for other enemies

Too bad for him he didn't spot Slash

Cadillac is oblivious to it all

To his credit, he's dripping blood on the floor in alarming amounts

There's even more guards coming, but they haven't seen anyone yet

Rabbit buys us some time with a Lure

One guard is off investigating, the other walked into a stun club

Cadillac is finished with the first host. As he's moving to the second, Slash scouts ahead and takes the opportunity to spray some medical nanos on him

Cadillac has done a number on the Sec AI from the matrix. It's just spinning it's wheels, the facility is nearly empty, with just a pair of guards still running around

So far, our loot has been very underwhelming.

But this is a gold-key locked area, there's bound to be something shiny inside.

Cadillac is cleaning out the second matrix host for what meager files it has on it

Rabbit is watching his back and is also ready to support Slash against the next-to-last guard

not that she needs it

Apart from the hickup at the start, we went in and out like ghosts

rather murderous ghosts, to be fair

OJ is happy though, since WB is a bot mystified what exactly happened

He want's them nice and worried, I suspect

Works for us as well - the blame games and intrigues sparked by our raid are a perfect opening for our ally Alex to make his move

We may have given him a hint or two so he could look good to the board.

We'll se where he goes with this...

mystic ermine May 30, 2025, 11:03 AM

We've got somewhere else to be for now: Ballista wants some files stolen

It's a syndie run place, looking pretty tight

We're right next to a special storage area Dancehall got us a key to, and then we'll go the long way around to the first matrix host, before we move on to the armored red door and the next part of the facility

There's a whistler just in range of my AR, and out of hearing range form everyone else, might as well

click-bzzyooot

with lockroom looted, we're already ahead on this heist

nice of them to show us where the good stuff is stashed

Rabbit is blinding cameras and turning heads - away from doors

I'm moving up to help, Slash and Hades are going the other way around

I shred his armor, Rabbit takes him down

Meanwhile, Slash takes down another Whistler

we should get her a better sword one of these days

They get surprised after looting an out-of-the-way box, but isn't it near how I can Atomic Stutter through walls?

too bad the camera came back on

Rabbit and me are forging ahead while Slash and Hades follow up

conveniently, Rabbit's Line Crawler deactivated the second laser grid in our way. There's still the camera in the way, though - we could wait until it turns, but I think I'll run ahead and scramble it

The guards hanging around the matrix host show now sign of moving on

Rabbit's dampened down the noise, I do the chopping

now Hades has a nice and quiet place to work from

looks doable

reinforcements are being called in - we've already cleared everything from where they're coming in, so that's all right

somewhere Rabbit picked up a red key - nobody tells me anything

Hades is making progress - that's the first of four

Two of the reinforcements are coming our way - shouldn't be a problem though

After stuttering the better armored captain, I shoot the trailing whistler

and sword down the cap

meanwhile, Slash and Rabbit have gone ahead into the secured zone

Slash ambushes two guards with Slashslide

she takes out the chopjob, and Rabbit handles the grunt

as the body reports come in, the Red Queen calls in another squad

these are a bit more inconvenient, because that's where our planned exit is

Rabbit prepares the killing ground

we catch them in a pincher - fitting, since the we've called this jaunt QUANTUM PINCH, geddit?

Geddit`

the Red Queen really likes to seen people in here - but these are coming in in some out of the way nook

Hades wastes no time on the second matrix host

That's all of the files Bastille wanted

Slash closes the door behind us and breaks off the handle

I do some well-deserved preening

our pay is almost a cool mil, and that's before we count the loot

mystic ermine Jun 5, 2025, 4:50 PM

Next mission's for the mysterious fabber, Koma Zuul. He's got some strange requirements: want's to keep the Sec Level low, but also wants us to kill at least 13 UltraTek mooks. And he wants us to steal some formula his guy on the inside has stashed around the lab.

Pursuant these goals, I have assembled a highly stealth-capable team. And also loaded everyone up on bio dissolvers.

Dade is really hyped for it. He seems like he's had a new lease on life, in general.

First stop for us is this matrix host - Dade will do an "unscheduled supplementary backup" and shut down all the cameras

Then we'll move on to the next host, where he'll shut down the laser grids...

... and that will let us reach the piece de resistance, the trompe l'oeil, the Herzstück: a high sec vault that we happened to have chanced upon the codes for

Slash takes point in utter silence - her new Chameleon cyber doing great work there

She really needs a better sword though, this should be a one-shot

Zerker has to help out, what a sad mess. So disappoint!

THIS is how you do it

Rabbit sneaks off to towards a loot box

Some guard heard a noise, they're coming to investigate. Shouldn't be a problem, but she'll pop Aegis just in case

why are the corpses even there, you ask? Cause Slash is carrying a medkit and an e-jammer, and Zerker hacking drugs and smoke

not that kind of smoke, the other kind

Now, let me show you how it's done again. Two guards, one Elder - I stun the more distant one

and cut down the other, silent approach courtesy of Rabbit's White Noise

Meanwhile, the first suspicious guard found the dead sniper

But gets rushed by Slash before he can call it in

Zerker can finally go to work

There's the SCU

Rabbit's excursion was met with success - she's found one of the stashed files

she lives for this

tiny little problem here: stunned guard (designate: target one) is in view of a long-range cam, and a second guard (designate: target two) is about to turn in his direction

Fortunately Zerker is just about to deactivate the-

Connection rerouted you say? Yeah I don't care, how long until you fix this?

Camera is not connected to the host, you say? Screw it, I'm calling Aaron.

Yes, shut them all down.

See how the guard is gone? See how there's not corpse? THAT'S how it's done.

Yeah, nice work with the looting, too, Slash.

As a Cyber Knight, you should be an inspiration to your team

Propel them to new heights

accept their mistakes, look forwards

and help rectify them

They'll repay your trust

and surprise you with sudden bouts of glorious competence

sweet, blood-spattered competence

Did I say competence? See how desperate my situation is, with several birdmen converging on by hiding place?

What's that noise?

MUST HAVE BEEN THE WIND! AHAHAHAHA!

Okay, yeah, this one was a freebie

The Warwitch special claims another victim

He'll be so proud when he reviews the footage

Zerker gets to work on the second host, now that the distractions are removed

REMOVED I SAY!

We got what Koma Zuul sent us for - everything from now on will be a bonus

Ah, gold key vault, my beloved

Lessee... Hyperclub - we got that one, Arc Blade, yeah we have it, Invoices - booooring, 25k pure moolah, we'll take it, 5 Blue cubes, meh, yeah, stuff it all in the bag

So, the thing is... Koma Zuul wants us to kill 13 mooks, but there only were 11.

Awkward.

Good thing this pressure plate is still working

Hello? Can we get some service around here?

Finally! Yes I'll take a quarter-pounder algae special with maxy-mint sauce

supriiise Slash

shurikeeeen waaaave

Alright people, that was fun, but now we're outta here

We ain't getting paid by the hour on this job

We're getting paid by results

and the result speak for themselves

time for that new weapon for Zasha

new blade, new Zash

Strange goings-on along the mystic. But then Goldstax is a weird guy, so I can't say it's surprising.

Rhino rockin' her new outfit.

with her drip handled, it's time that she got a display link... what kind of Sniper doesn't have one?

okay color me intrigued

it's a gold-ish kind of color, eff why eye

sure, for a valued customer like you, Mr. Stone, that McKellen server is toast

we'll get right on it

we'll keep those highly intriguing accounts, though

even if they're more orange than gold

we're all about friends and valued customers

... mutually beneficial arrangements ...

... and cutting-edge cyberware

My peeps appreciate it

you love to see it

UltraTek seems to have made some enemies lately. Hehehee.

Hades is happy to do it

We're all friends here, right? Good team, good vibes.

Now this is colored gold-ish

So, you're not feeling more loyal? Just got your matrix link working more smoothly? Cool, cool. Nah, no reason.

You know you're our favorite, OJ!

When we need weapons, if we don't fab them, we get them from you!

In this business you have to stick with people you absolutely trust

We'd never chase after shiny, high-flying opportunities

Slow and stead, that's our M.O.

Always with the redundancies, the double tap.

The meticulous plan.

The bounds of family, gene-forged or gutter-found.

Favors for Favors

Okay, real talk for a minute:

This is not super convenient with the Fadelight thing about to go hot

But if you're self-employed, you either complain about too little work, or too much. Pick one.

So best double down and make sure the job goes without a hitch

Everything has to go just... right... this time

yeah we'll consider it

New sword for Zasha, hopefully now she can do her job properly on the first try

We're going to bring Warwitch for the big one

means Rabbit can go on a jaunt

one problem out of my hair

Blur dropped the ball here, would have been good to get the full suite of services upgraded.

Okay, everybody set?

Time to go, then.

willow elm Jun 6, 2025, 9:58 PM

mystic ermine Blur dropped the ball here, would have been good to get the full suite of servic...

Oooh, that hurts

mystic ermine Jun 9, 2025, 9:25 AM

willow elm Oooh, that hurts

yeah, but it's mostly Elder dunking on her because he's stressed

Right, matrix host ASAP, we need to shut down these meshes and bio-scans

Yep, that's a matrix host, Hades. Now stop admiring the hardware and plug in... NOW

What are you spiking the CPU for? "It makes the rest of the job easier?" This ain't your cushy UNA job, we need to get results FAST

Now you've distracted me, and see what happened

This could have happened a lot more elegantly

Are you about finished? Legs fell asleep? Should I send Slash over to help you get up?

... what was that? bit busy right now

okay, yeah, that is an interesting find. yeah, good thing you stuck around. now download that and get moving!

Finally we're getting somewhere

Yeah, good job there, Slash

good thinking there, Warwitch. Now take that bastard out

Jeez, man, are you stressed or something? half as hard would have done the job well enough

okay, people, end run, look sharp

well done, Warwitch, now MOVE MOVE MOVE

be quick about it, Hades, we have what we came for

except for the gold vault of course, yeah I haven't forgotten

don't stand around in the open, Warwitch, how many times do I have to tell you?

there you go: I have aveng-ed you

okay, download that too, by all means

That's not really necessary, Hades, eyes on the target, I don't care if it's "the best part"

grumbles inaudibly

matter of fact, this is the best part. Slash, you may do the honors. Open 'er up!

Okay, everbody clear? Then we scarper!

well done, team.

(when I said last update with old hair, I forgot I'd start in the mission)

willow elm Jun 9, 2025, 9:15 PM

I can't see warwitch's name without remembering City of Heros

have I said that before? I feel like I said that before

mystic ermine Jun 16, 2025, 4:32 PM

ready for our next trip: grabbing some files for that Daedalus character

Hades will hack it, Slash is her for muscle and Warwitch is taking a break after getting shot. Been some time since Anemone came along, but she's got some sweet new armor from the fab, should help her be sneaky

we had a briefing about this, Anemone