[NEON HEARTS] -- Main Story Thread
<h1 id="title">Elliquiy Role Playing Forums</h1>
		<h2 id="linktree">Play-By-Post: Bondage, D/s, S&amp;M =&gt; Bondage: Human Small Groups =&gt; Topic started by: Kokaine on 27-02-2023, 03:58:01</h2>
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>[NEON HEARTS] -- Main Story Thread</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Kokaine</strong> on <strong>27-02-2023, 03:58:01</strong>
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				<hr><hr><div align="center"><em><span style="font-family: andale mono;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 40pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>NEON HEARTS</strong></span></span></em></div><hr><hr><br><div align="center"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 18pt;" class="bbc_size"><em><strong><span class="bbc_u">CHAPTER 1:</span><br>THE GRINDERS GO PRO</strong></em></span></span></div><br><br><div align="center"><table class="bbc_table"><tbody><tr><td><div align="center">(https://i.imgur.com/A3sooip.jpg)</div></td><td><div align="center">(https://i.imgur.com/ourAVOz.jpg)</div></td><td><div align="center">(https://i.imgur.com/RK9d9kH.jpg)</div></td><td><div align="center">(https://i.imgur.com/hwEb8N0.jpg)</div></td></tr><tr><td><div align="center"><span style="font-family: andale mono;" class="bbc_font">Xerena "Xero" West</span></div></td><td><div align="center"><span style="font-family: andale mono;" class="bbc_font">Kiyoshi Kita</span></div></td><td><div align="center"><span style="font-family: andale mono;" class="bbc_font">Evelyn "Evie" Grant-Sterling</span></div></td><td><div align="center"><span style="font-family: andale mono;" class="bbc_font">Naomi Uehara</span></div></td></tr><tr><td><div align="center"><span style="font-family: andale mono;" class="bbc_font"><strong>Jack of Hearts</strong></span></div></td><td><div align="center"><span style="font-family: andale mono;" class="bbc_font"><strong>Jack of Spades</strong></span></div></td><td><div align="center"><span style="font-family: andale mono;" class="bbc_font"><strong>Jack of Clubs</strong></span></div></td><td><div align="center"><span style="font-family: andale mono;" class="bbc_font"><strong>Jack of Diamonds</strong></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div><br><br><br><div align="center"><span style="font-family: andale mono;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><em>This thread is for the main story line/current time.</em></span></span></div><br><br><br><div class="codeheader">Code: <a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="return smfSelectText(this);" class="codeoperation">[Select]</a></div><pre style="margin: 0; padding: 0;"><code class="bbc_code">[floatleft][img height=200 padding=5]*insert pic url here*[/img][/floatleft]<br>[b]Name:[/b] [i]***Character Name***[/i]<br>[b]Date | Location:[/b] [i]***When and Where are you (be as specific as you like)***[/i]<br>[b]Wearing | Carrying:[/b] [i]***Approximate times like mid-morning, evening, etc are fine***[/i]<br>[b]Tagging:[/b] [i]***Who are you interacting with? May also mark the scene as open for others to join or closed.***[/i]<br>[b]Warning:[/b] [i]***Give a heads up to your fellow writers just in case there are things they might wish to avoid reading***[/i][hr]</code></pre><br><br><div align="center"><span style="font-family: andale mono;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 14pt;" class="bbc_size"><em><strong><span class="bbc_u">Game Links</span></strong></em></span></span><br>Interest Thread (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=348443.msg16385884#msg16385884)<br>OOC (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=349104.0)<br>Side Stories Thread (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=349305.0)<br>Private Thread (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=349306.0)</div>
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [NEON HEARTS] -- Main Story Thread</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Kokaine</strong> on <strong>27-02-2023, 04:58:15</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/A3sooip.jpg)</div><span style="font-family: Georgia;" class="bbc_font"><strong>Name:</strong> Xerena West aka Xero<br><strong>Time | Location:</strong> June 7th, 2135, late evening | Downtown New Vegas, AEC Security Safe House<br><strong>Wearing | Carrying:</strong> Custom armored 3pc suit in black (https://i.etsystatic.com/24100781/r/il/be2b6b/3412447511/il_1080xN.3412447511_32s0.jpg), black driving gloves, shades | Eyes currently Gray, Hair all black<br><strong>Tagging:</strong> The Jacks<br><strong>Warning:</strong> N/A</span><hr><span style="font-family: georgia;" class="bbc_font">The night had been quiet. Well, as quiet as a major hub like New Vegas ever gets anyway. Here in the more grinding patterns of downtown the hum of life didn't stop but it definitely slowed in the later hours. Most of the action could still be found over on the strip, much the same way it had always been even centuries back. There the corporations had a strangle hold on tourism and kept their attractions running 24/7 in order to drain every last little bit of hope and life out of those who dared set foot there. Even within other parts of the city life ran on a never ending cycle, but here things were quite a bit quieter. Which was both a blessing and a bit of an obstacle seeing as how the Jacks weren't always exactly the <em>quietest</em> bunch.<br><br>"Hey... what's going on in there?! Everything good?"<br><br>The low honeyed purr and its hint of unplaceable accent was usually filled with a simmering, playful warmth. However, at the moment it was instead filled with budding concern that was clear even through their comms as Xero once again scanned her surroundings. The street was largely lowkey except for the occasional person or pair wandering by in search of more active scenes. None of the homeless or hookers had made their way this way oddly enough, but then Xero understood why they wouldn't. Most tended to avidly avoid the types that AEC Security employed and she didn't blame them when even the law wouldn't go up against them. Having looked into what she could of their operations she'd had to hold back the desire to simply set the whole thing on fire. Sticking to the mission, the one they'd been hired for, was key here. Especially since they had further plans they hoped to accomplish. Getting derailed into a pissing contest would not help them with their goals. So Xero was chill, or as chill as she could manage anyway. She'd stayed frosty and alert, watching her teams' back while they performed what should have been a very quick retrieval op. <br><br>Of course, when things should be quick and easy they rarely turn out to be so.<br><br>Opting to take a risk tonight, Xero had jacked into her vehicle. She didn't enjoy driving via interface this way, but there were admitted bonuses to being able to have a more complete view of her surroundings. Like noticing the big silent black Hummer with its lights off that pulled up and slipped into the shadows of the alleyway instead of entering the basement parking area of the ten story building. From her vantage point parked on the opposite side of the street a few buildings back, she could see the gleam of AEC Security's logo and cursed under her breath. <br><br>"Shit. I really hope ya'll are fragging on the move already. You've got incoming and my guess is they're hot." The squad was, for some reason, returning early for their last shift change of the night. Her plan should have had her team in the clear by about an hour but obviously either she'd missed some variable or else an alarm had been tripped because the Security team hopped out quick and smooth, a team of four that were quickly joined by another two that seemed to bleed out of the shadows.<br><br>Xero hesitated for only about a second after they moved for the door before shutting down her interface and pulling out. The sensation made her feel like gagging but she held it down and sighed.<br><br>"Spotted 6 coming in the side entrance," Six. Not four, not eight, but six... which seemed an odd number to her... "Not sure how many more there might be. GET OUT NOW!" The order was sharp as she prepared to get out of the shiny but bland sedan she'd equipped for the mission. She'd given the others an exit plan and the way would have been clear but now Xero was no longer sure. So she was going to make sure...</span>
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [NEON HEARTS] -- Main Story Thread</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Wordworker</strong> on <strong>27-02-2023, 05:29:10</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/RK9d9kH.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> <em>Evelyn Grant, aka, Evie</em><br><strong>Date | Location:</strong> <em>Late Evening&nbsp; | AEC Security Safe House, Basement, Data Vault</em><br><strong>Wearing | Carrying:</strong> <em>Mark III combat armor, heavy revolver, assault rifle</em><br><strong>Tagging:</strong> <em>Kiyo and Naomi (if she can hear me)</em><br><strong>Warning:</strong> <em>N/A</em><hr><br>Retrieval op—the first question Evie asked was, “Bio, tech, or info?” It mattered, whether you were stealing a person, thing, or string of code. In this case, it’s data. AEC is corpo security, they provide body-men to protect the richest of the rich, but who knows what secrets about the elite they have on their servers? Someone must know, because they’re paying for the Jacks to retrieve it.<br><br>AEC is no joke. They hire former and sometimes even current military. Evie worked that world once, she even took an AEC paycheck once or twice.<br><br>She agrees when it gets comm’d in. <em>Six is weird.</em> Not SOP at all. She says as much to Kiyo: “Something’s up, might not be a typical team.”<br><br>Naomi is here in person, they needed her; AEC data-banks are air-gapped and neither Evie nor Kiyo had the specialization to figure out which mainframe they were even looking for. Naomi’s currently on her knees in the data vault, plugged into the server she IDed as their target. She’s fighting her way through whatever firewall they have.<br><br>Evie tries the comm: “We’re in the vault. Contingency Tango.” She hits her detonator.<br><br>A small explosion goes off three floors up, on the armory door. If those six agents don’t know exactly who they’re looking for, they’re likely to assume the break-in is hitting the armory, not the data vault. AEC munitions are valuable on the black market, pointing toward a smash-and-grab by local gangs. The explosion is on the armory door, so they’ll have to breach and clear it before they can think to check the basement, where the data vault is located.<br><br>“Three minutes, thirty seconds for them to clear the armory, if they take the bait,” Evie says to Kiyo. “Any longer than that, and we’re fighting our way out.” She glances at Naomi, not sure if in her current state she can even hear them.<br>
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				Title: <strong>Re: [NEON HEARTS] -- Main Story Thread</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Arcanist</strong> on <strong>27-02-2023, 11:42:34</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/hwEb8N0.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> <em>Naomi Uehara</em><br><strong>Date | Location:</strong> <em>Late Evening | AEC Security Safe House, Basement, Data Vault | Netspace</em><br><strong>Wearing | Carrying:</strong> <em>Black Armour Weave suit with protective plate| cyberdeck vambrace| backpack of stuff</em><br><strong>Tagging:</strong> <em>Kiyoshi | Evie | Xero</em><br><strong>Warning:</strong> <em></em><hr><em>The figure in the white kimono looked out of place. For one thing, she seemed too real in and among her surroundings. It was night, at least it looked like it. Instead of stars, motes of light decorate the night sky. At times it would "trickle" down as others modes of light take its place. The figure looked around and in an instant floated up and start to twirl, quickly blurring as it disappears into a burst of snowflakes. <br><br>The figure in the white kimono burst into existence in a shower of snowflakes, before the figure a gate. A courtyard lies behind the gate and a bunker-like building. blue with sickly green lines illuminating it in the digitized night sky. The figure walked up to the gate, her elegance a contrast to the environment which is devoid of life. Instead of pressing the intercom, the figure seemed to shimmer as if a mirage and walked through the solid bars of the gate. <br><br>Once on the other side, the figure in the white kimono continued to make its way to the building. This time, however, its outline is faint as if intangible. The figure paused as if it noticed two menacing guards in futuristic black armor on patrol. They however failed to see the figure, even as it walked past but a meter from them. Once at the door of the bunker, the door expanded until it encompassed everything in view. The figure pushed against the door and frowned as it refused to give. There was a pause that seem to go on forever when the figure pulled out an antique-looking key from the folds of its kimono. The figure pressed the key into the door as it suddenly cease to exist.</em><br><br>Naomi opened her eyes as her tendril, at least she called it her tendril, disengaged from the port and slide back into the side of her neck. She shivered as the tendril clicked back into place. It was small and allowed her a full immersion into cyberspace. That meant that her reaction speed and processing abilities went through the roof but left her more vulnerable to cyber-attacks. That and she was oblivious to the outside world. <br><br><strong>".....that, and we’re fighting our way out.” </strong><br><br>Naomi looked up at Evie and Kiyoshi from her position on the floor. She was not normally the type to go on missions like this. She preferred to stay in her pod. It was safer that way, but in the case of this mission, what they needed was isolated in a physical node onsite. The only way to get to it was to jack in directly into the node. At least she has armor. It was a present from her new family. <strong>"Got it"</strong> as she tapped her head. <strong>"That and we have company and it's not me....oh..."</strong> She quickly processed the new information in her lens and let out a soft sigh. <strong>"I guess it's the contingency plan? I've stalled their point of entry before I jacked out. It should slow them down." </strong> She was full of nervous energy as she reached into her backpack and pulled out a small insect size drone and set it free. A secondary view came up to her on the left side of her field of vision. <strong>" Can we go home now?"</strong> she asked as she stood up.<strong> "According to the schematics, exit is that way."</strong><br><br>
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [NEON HEARTS] -- Main Story Thread</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>pdragon</strong> on <strong>28-02-2023, 03:27:50</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/ymUO6Xq.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> <em>Kiyoshi Kita</em><br><strong>Date | Location:</strong> <em>Late Evening&nbsp; | AEC Security Safe House, Basement, Data Vault</em><br><strong>Wearing | Carrying:</strong> <em>See image, BARB-13 SMG (Silenced), Vibro-Katana x2</em><br><strong>Tagging:</strong> <em>All</em><br><strong>Warning:</strong> <hr><br>"Understood" was Kiyoshi's simple reply to Xero's warning. He was already peering out into the hall to confirm they were still clear as Naomi came out of cyberspace. The raven haired boy didn't flinch as the explosion sounded overhead, though he wasn't confident the distraction would work. If it had been a standard squad arriving at a standard time then perhaps they could be lured around like that, however all the oddities suggested they were coming in with a very specific purpose. Of course he could be wrong, and it'd be far more convenient if he was in this case. Either way he turned and gave a nod to Evie, a three minute timer popping up in the corner of his vision for easy reference. <br><br>With a basic extraction plan in place, Kiyoshi stepped into the doorway and waved for them to follow. However when Naomi was about to step through he placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her, "Breathe..." he said, taking a deep, even one of his own. He had sensed how anxious she was, and she had good reason to be. She wasn't used to coming out into the field with them, and to suddenly have this wrench thrown in after everything else had gone smoothly would understandably make her nervous. <br><br>With that said he gave another nod and turned down the hall, gun at the ready, staying ahead of the Evie and Naomi in case they ran into any security. <br><br>
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				Title: <strong>Re: [NEON HEARTS] -- Main Story Thread</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Wordworker</strong> on <strong>28-02-2023, 19:08:43</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/RK9d9kH.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> <em>Evelyn Grant, aka, Evie</em><br><strong>Date | Location:</strong> <em>Late Evening&nbsp; | AEC Security Safe House, Main Floor</em><br><strong>Wearing | Carrying:</strong> <em>Mark III combat armor, heavy revolver, assault rifle</em><br><strong>Tagging:</strong> <em>All</em><br><strong>Warning:</strong> <em>N/A</em><hr><br>Evie takes up position a few paces behind Kiyo; they reach a corner, Evie stops, hand seizing Naomi’s armored shoulder to stop her progress—a light push from Evie and she shoves Naomi’s back flush to the wall. “Narrow profile,” she whispers. Less likely to catch a stray round, and with Evie in front of her, it’s overwhelmingly likely to hit the big soldier, not the coder. There’s something stern in how she says it, expecting her to obey.<br><br>Fine hairs go on-end at the back of Evie’s neck. She’s not sure why.<br><br>Kiyo finishes his clear and they follow, into a stairwell; soon they’re on the main floor, the back entrance just a short jaunt from where they’re standing. The tingling gets worse and Evie realizes what’s bothering her: “Didn’t we fry that cam?” she asks. In the corner there’s a camera pointed down on them. It wasn’t faced that direction on their way in.<br><br>They’ll realize it all at once: Enemy has a Netrunner. They’ll be able to lock their exit, playing the same game Naomi was, except the enemy runner has a lot more back-up and probably isn’t inside.<br><br>They have to assume the fireteam have cams on the armory, and know exactly where the three Jacks in the building are, which means they’re about to walk into an ambush if they keep moving forward.<br><br>That also means Evie knows where they’ll be—right around the next corner at the exit door, weapons at ready. She touches her mic. “Heart, exit’s no good; they’ve got a runner, who might still be outside. See if you can tag ‘em in meatspace.”<br><br>She glances at Naomi; she’ll know the best way to deal with an enemy in the system. “What now, kiddo?” It might be the first time this entire mission Evie’s treated Naomi like she’s an adult, and still the old merc managed to sneak in a “kiddo.”<br><br>As for the ambush, well, Evie and Kiyo will deal with that the second they have a solution to the runner.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [NEON HEARTS] -- Main Story Thread</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Kokaine</strong> on <strong>01-03-2023, 01:36:02</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/A3sooip.jpg)</div><span style="font-family: Georgia;" class="bbc_font"><strong>Name:</strong> Xerena West aka Xero<br><strong>Time | Location:</strong> June 7th, 2135, late evening | Downtown New Vegas, Outside AEC Security Safe House<br><strong>Wearing | Carrying:</strong> Custom armored 3pc suit in black (https://i.etsystatic.com/24100781/r/il/be2b6b/3412447511/il_1080xN.3412447511_32s0.jpg), black driving gloves, shades | Eyes currently Gray, Hair all black<br><strong>Tagging:</strong> NPC bad guys | Hearing the Jacks over Comms<br><strong>Warning:</strong> N/A</span><hr><span style="font-family: georgia;" class="bbc_font">Xero absolutely hated when people mucked up her plans. She didn't do these things half way. Schedules, schematics, head counts, contingency plans.... all of it was looked into. When things went well every step was laid out and every second was accounted for. If she drew up a plan that said a job would be in and out in six minutes and thirteen seconds, then that was precisely how long it needed to take, not a minute more , not a minute less. However, she also knew better than to think her team was anywhere near as anal about these sorts of things as she was so she typically gave them a more general window of time to complete what they needed to under best case scenarios. So when even that went to hell, Xero was not a happy camper. <br><br>"Somehow I knew this was going to go to hell tonight..." Xero sighed and darted her eyes toward the rear-view mirror. It was only a quick glance but in the stillness of the street she caught just the barest sense of motion. Like, so quick, so small that her brain processed it almost after the fact. "I guess we're meant to do this the hard way then." <br><br>Xero paused long enough to input a code into the vehicle. Said code would begin a 3 minute countdown before it wiped every trace of her biometrics and gps data from the car and disabled it entirely. She'd kept the truth of her identity, the fact that she'd survived 'decommissioning', a secret this long, she wasn't going to let that secret get out on some botched data run. Satisfied after hearing the confirmation beep, a sharply dressed woman exited the car and closed the door behind her. Beginning a count under her breath, she proceeded with smooth steps of a deceptively lazy air and rounded the car to the trunk. Still counting she popped it open to reveal a seemingly empty space but started to lean forward as if she intended to grab something.<br><br>...13...14...15...<br><br>The crunch of gravel tickled the shell of her ear giving away the approximate placement of one sent to sneak up on her and Xero let muscle memory and something else take over. it was like one smooth extended movement. Side stepping, she whirled around and lifted her hands to trap the handgun in their hands. Barely a blink and she stripped it from them, turning it back on them. However, she was momentarily caught off guard when it seemed to be a random civvie facing her rather than one of the Security firm's operatives. Stupid. <br><br>Xero crumpled to the side against the car as a meaty fist connected with the side of her face hard enough to ring her bell and bloody her mouth. Yep. She'd missed something alright.<br><br><em>“Heart, exit’s no good; they’ve got a runner, who might still be outside. See if you can tag ‘em in meatspace.”</em><br><br>"Right. I'll get right on that." She replied sighing again and pushing herself upright to face her attackers, still counting in her head. As if she had all the time in the world and were not facing a squad sent to ambush her with only the gun she'd taken in easy reach, Xero straightened her suit and left her comm open, "Oh my..." she purred, "Four on one? Oh darlings, you'll make me blush." Her lips began to curve and she saw the man to her left begin to move...</span>
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [NEON HEARTS] -- Main Story Thread</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Arcanist</strong> on <strong>01-03-2023, 02:30:45</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/hwEb8N0.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> <em>Naomi Uehara</em><br><strong>Date | Location:</strong> <em>Late Evening | AEC Security Safe House, Basement, Data Vault | Netspace</em><br><strong>Wearing | Carrying:</strong> <em>Black Armour Weave suit with protective plate| cyberdeck vambrace| backpack of stuff</em><br><strong>Tagging:</strong> <em>Kiyoshi | Evie | Xero</em><br><strong>Warning:</strong> <em></em><hr><br>Naomi turned back to Kiyoshi and nodded her head. She smiled at him and knew she was full of nervous energy. Then she breathed and noticed that her heart was racing. She was about to head out into a conflict and she felt completely out of her comfort zone. <strong>"Got it....breathe.."</strong> She watched him head out and sent the tiny drone after him. She also gave access to her teammates to the vision on her drone. They would need all the help they can get.<br><br>Naomi followed Evie and Kiyoshi. She was stealthy. At least she could do that right. All those times she had to sneak in and out of those server rooms have paid off. That and her armor helped. There were some upgrades on it that helped her hide. She felt the light push from Evie followed by her words. She blushed. She had trained with the Jacks for something such as this, but nothing beat real experience. That and her situation awareness needed to improve. "Sorry Evie" she whispered back. Her inexperience was going to get her team killed and she did not want that. She had grown to love her new family.<br><br><strong>“Didn’t we fry that cam?”</strong><br><br>Naomi turned and looked at the cam. Lines of code started to run down the vision of her left eye. With laser-guided focus, she tapped into the building's security. While she had jacked into the isolated node to get the data, a netrunner had returned to the security system and reactivated parts of it. Thankfully the netrunner was still in the process of untangling the virtual webs she had filled the system with. Thankfully, no alarm had been sent out yet, but that does not explain the group coming in. <br><br><strong>"It's a trap. The netrunner knew were going to be here today and jacked in after I left for the node. The netrunner is good enough to breach the temporary firewall I set up. But so far they only have cameras. But not anymore...."</strong><br><br>She took control of the cameras once more. Her fingers danced on the keyboard on the vambrace of her arm. Thankfully she did not have to jack in to take control. That would mean that she would be unable to do anything else in the "real world". She went through the security system and saw through the cameras. She knew that the netrunner would attempt to break into the system again, so she left the netrunner a present and short-circuited all the cameras with a bit of code. They were on borrowed time. Sure they were blind, but that meant the people coming for them were blind too and she did not have to worry about playing footsies with the netrunner. That and her virtual present.<br><br><strong>"Change of plans, garage door out back. It's normally sealed except in the instance of an emergency like a fire. Normally it would send an alarm to the fire department. But I've tricked the system and bypassed it. But may bring company."</strong>
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [NEON HEARTS] -- Main Story Thread</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>pdragon</strong> on <strong>03-03-2023, 21:07:58</strong>
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				<br><div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/ymUO6Xq.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> <em>Kiyoshi Kita</em><br><strong>Date | Location:</strong> <em>Late Evening&nbsp; | AEC Security Safe House, Basement, Data Vault</em><br><strong>Wearing | Carrying:</strong> <em>See image, BARB-13 SMG (Silenced), Vibro-Katana x2</em><br><strong>Tagging:</strong> <em>All</em><br><strong>Warning:</strong> <hr><br>It seemed that fate had decided on a whim that their job wasn't going to go smoothly after all. In fact all at once it decided to drop three major problems in their laps. A kill squad, an enemy runner, and now whatever Xero was dealing with over the comms. Four on one? While most wouldn't notice it, Evie would be able to pick up on it, the slight tensing in Kiyoshi's posture that might as well have been him screaming "Oh Shit! Oh fuck!". He looked back at the two as they devised a plan, a detour out through the garage, the second change of plans already in the past minute...<br><br>"No" he suddenly spoke up, shooting down Naomi's proposal, "Route's too long. We might not get back to Xero in time. We can't let them keep shepherding us around inside the building" he said, before nodding towards the corner they were about to go around, where the fire team was no doubt waiting for them, "The exit's right there. We should push through" he said calmly yet firmly, suggesting they just take on the security force directly. There was no telling what reinforcements they might have coming, and if they turned and retreated now the squad could just pursue them into the garage, potentially flanking them with whatever other security might be waiting for them. Of course no matter how reasonable the logic might be, Evie could easily tell his real motivation was his concern for Xero. The usually cold operator was acting deceptively emotional. 
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [NEON HEARTS] -- Main Story Thread</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Wordworker</strong> on <strong>04-03-2023, 05:24:44</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/RK9d9kH.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> <em>Evelyn Grant, aka, Evie</em><br><strong>Date | Location:</strong> <em>Late Evening&nbsp; | AEC Security Safe House, Main Floor</em><br><strong>Wearing | Carrying:</strong> <em>Mark III combat armor, heavy revolver, assault rifle</em><br><strong>Tagging:</strong> <em>All, but Kiyo might want to jump in either next or after Xero</em><br><strong>Warning:</strong> <em>N/A</em><br><strong>Note:</strong><em>Edited to replace reference to "Xero" with "Heart" while on mission.</em><hr><br>Kiyo’s right. Evie can tell from the open line that Xero’s in a bad place and she’s not going to let this end like last time around. “Good call. No more chess, let’s play rugby.” She shoulders through the door beside her, into an office. The room occupies the wall of the corridor they’re in, and also on another facing, occupies the hallway they suspect the ambush is positioned in. Evie’s already reaching for breaching charges in her pack, calling over her shoulder: “Tuck the kid into a corner. T-minus five.”<br><br>Five: Evie strides over to the wall, holding an explosive rig she’d built out of det-cord and a shaped charge.<br><br>Four: She drags the three-hundred pound filing cabinet across the carpet with one violent lurch of her powered arm, clearing a spot for the charge.<br><br>Three: With one, two, three, four slaps of her hand she lays the four corners for the det-cord.<br><br>Two: Planting the central charge on the wall, the detcord automatically snaps to each corner. Evie’s already stepping aside.<br><br>The charge is shaped, it will blow backward and forward, with minimal explosive force to the sides. The safe distance between explosive and a person standing to one side or the other is three feet. Evie’s only two feet away, but she’s got her armored synthetic arm between her and the det-cord. It should hold up fine and she doesn’t mind the smell of plastique in her hair. Kiyo will know every detail of this maneuver, from safe distance to where Evie likes to stand, how she prefers to go first through the breach. The pair will be able to work in near-perfect coordination.<br><br>One: Evie hits the detonator.<br><br><strong>Fwooom!</strong><br><br>Instant door. Evie’s instincts were on point: They blow a hole directly behind where the six-man team had set up a foldable barricade. The charge takes off the head of a man who’d been stationed along the wall, and throws a second into the far wall, knocking him over. Evie’s through a split second later, seizing a third man by his throat and gun, charging with him into the wall, flattening him there.<br><br>That leaves three more behind the barricade, but Evie’s got them back-footed. “Get to Heart!” Evie bellows. She has the man’s gun in her prosthetic hand and when her hand squeezes it bends the barrel, rendering it useless.<br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [NEON HEARTS] -- Main Story Thread</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Arcanist</strong> on <strong>04-03-2023, 12:27:26</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/hwEb8N0.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> <em>Naomi Uehara</em><br><strong>Date | Location:</strong> <em>Late Evening | AEC Security Safe House, Basement, Data Vault | Netspace</em><br><strong>Wearing | Carrying:</strong> <em>Black Armour Weave suit with protective plate| cyberdeck vambrace| backpack of stuff</em><br><strong>Tagging:</strong> <em>Kiyoshi | Evie | Xero</em><br><strong>Warning:</strong> <em></em><hr><br>Naomi heard Kiyoshi and she understood where he came from. She owed Xero and the Jacks her life but she saw the exit through the garage as the fastest and with any luck, they would not run into an armed conflict. But she was inexperienced and heeded the decisions of her teammates. Rugby? huh..wait chess? It was then that she noticed Evie had begun to remove things from a backpack. Evie was going to blow things up again. <strong>"I'm not.."</strong> She let out a sigh as she shook her head and hid behind the corner. Evie can be so frustrating at times. She knew that Evie liked her but something kept them from being closer. She did not know what but there was definitely something. She had seen those looks that Evie gave her. She wished that she had the courage to ask Evie. She wanted to know where she stood with her. Kiyoshi and Xeri were easier to read. <br><br>Noami watched Evie work quickly and then the explosion. She had expected it and protected her ears and closed her eyes. Even then there was still some mild ringing in her ears. She wondered if she would ever get used to it. She waited for Kiyoshi's command and cues before taking off. She was sure that Evie could take care of the men. She could, couldn't she? Nevertheless, she followed Evie's orders and ran. As she did so, she took control of her drone and sent it forward and up. A notification came up at the top of her vision. The present she left for the enemy netrunner had triggered and grinned. The netrunner will suffer the death of a thousand cuts. or at least it would certainly feel like it. "Heart, we are coming to get you but coming in hot". It was about then that she saw Xero and her "friends".
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [NEON HEARTS] -- Main Story Thread</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>pdragon</strong> on <strong>04-03-2023, 17:25:37</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/ymUO6Xq.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> <em>Kiyoshi Kita</em><br><strong>Date | Location:</strong> <em>Late Evening&nbsp; | AEC Security Safe House, Basement, Data Vault</em><br><strong>Wearing | Carrying:</strong> <em>See image, BARB-13 SMG (Silenced), Vibro-Katana x2</em><br><strong>Tagging:</strong> <em>All</em><br><strong>Warning:</strong> <hr><br>Kiyoshi nodded and ushered Naomi back as Evie went to set up the charge. They had decided they were going out hot and loud, and Evie was one to take such things as literally as possible, "Confirmed" he replied over the comm when Evie initiated the count down. <br><br>Five: Kiyoshi double checked his SMG, taking it up in his right hand. <br><br>Four: He reached around to his back and slowly drew one of his swords in his left hand, a faint hum ringing from the vibrating blade. <br><br>Three: The boy twirled the blade around into a reverse grip and dropped down into a runner's starting position, staring ahead at the corner. <br><br>Two: Close your eyes. Breathe. Focus. Center. <br><br>One: With the artificial "click" of an imaginary cassette player, his ears are suddenly flushed with music (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgLHp15MSNY), just in time to drown out the jarring sound of-<br><br><strong>Fwoooom!</strong><br><br>Kiyo doesn't hear, but rather <em>feels</em> the explosion go off, and uses it as his cue to take off and dash around the corner, approaching the squad head on whilst Evie flanks. Opening his eyes his <div class="spoiler_container"><div onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button" class="spoiler_header">pupils</div><div class="spoiler_body">(https://i.imgur.com/HGtTOCu.gif)</div></div> rapidly expand and contract like the shutter of a camera, and for a brief moment time seems to slow as his brain processed the flood of information. The squad members all light up, traced by thick red lines that tracked them as enemies in his vision. Immediately one of them is snuffed out, an "X" flashing over him before the tracing fades entirely. He is instead replaced by Evie, who is outlined in a friendly blue. <br><br>While they were originally looking his way, the explosive distraction had turned their heads away before they noticed him, and the resulting chaos further masked his approach. It allowed him to line up a shot and send a trio of bullets through the back of one of their heads as they were readying their weapon, dropping them dead before they could get a shot off at Evie. As he ran forward he saw the mobile barricade they had set up. Not having the ordinance to go through the barricade, he instead opted to go over it, leaping up at the un-exploded wall and activating the electromagnetic plating on his skeleton. His feet locked onto the metal in the wall, allowing him to run up and along it. Though as he drew closer to the barricade he rose even further, spiraling up until he had completely turned upside down and was now running across the ceiling, allowing him to pass straight over the barricade and fire down at another one of the security team from above, a shower of armor-piercing raindrops that tore him to shreds. <br><br>"What the fuck!?" a third man shouted in disbelief, just in time for Kiyo to deactivate his magnetic plating and drop down on him. His blade found the man's collar, oscillating at such a high frequency that it carved through armor and bone like butter, slicing him in half diagonally. Gunshots rang out as the man's upper torso went flying, squeezing the trigger of his rifle in a death grip, while Kiyo landed on the man's lower half to soften his fall. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [NEON HEARTS] -- Main Story Thread</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Kokaine</strong> on <strong>07-03-2023, 23:59:25</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/A3sooip.jpg)</div><span style="font-family: Georgia;" class="bbc_font"><strong>Name:</strong> Xerena West aka Xero<br><strong>Time | Location:</strong> June 7th, 2135, late evening | Downtown New Vegas, Outside AEC Security Safe House<br><strong>Wearing | Carrying:</strong> Custom armored 3pc suit in black (https://i.etsystatic.com/24100781/r/il/be2b6b/3412447511/il_1080xN.3412447511_32s0.jpg), black driving gloves, shades | Eyes stormy gray--&gt;wintery gray, Hair all black | Currently holding a military grade tech pistol <br><strong>Tagging:</strong> NPC bad guys | Hearing the Jacks over Comms<br><strong>Warning:</strong> N/A</span><hr><span style="font-family: georgia;" class="bbc_font">The second Xero sensed true potential not just in front of her but quite literally aimed and rushing her way, it was like a switch flipped. One moment she was her ever calm and sultry self and then the next... well, the next it was like she wasn't quite home alone up there. Her eyes bled from their previous turbulent stormy gray to something icier with hints of palest blue and white coming through, light enough that those with the right mods would notice it through the dark lenses on her face. However, that wasn't the give away that something had changed. No, instead it was in the way she moved, the very set of her shoulders and the flow of her limbs. <br><br>Xero might not have put herself up on the front lines as much anymore but only an idiot would think her inept. Her speed was not inhuman but it definitely pushed the limits as she countered the first operative's reach. Using his momentum, she simply gave a tug and rolled behind him, back to back, using his armored form to absorb the shots that zinged out in her direction. His comrades had no problem lighting him up but that was fine as she took quick precision aim and fired off three rapid charges at the body closing in on them from the left. She didn't so much as wince as a shot grazed her wrist below the cuff of her jacket, but instead kept right on moving through the motion until she whipped around and slammed her elbow hard into her living (sort of) meat shield's face. Not once, but twice. It wouldn't kill him, but it was hard enough and landed in the right place to fuck with his optics something serious. Not that she waited around to watch it.<br><br>By the time Xero whirled around the opposite flank of the car a full minute of her count was gone and only one of her attackers was down for the count. Sloppy. Very sloppy. <br><br><em>"Toss the weapon down and put your hands up. You can't win this, but if you play real nice we'll only rough you up a little bit."</em><br><br>Xero snorted inelegantly as the shots ceased and she could hear the groaning of the one she'd all but blinded. His friend was out though. Two to the head and one to the heart was still a reliable method after all. So maybe she had like, two and a half idiots to deal with before she could go for the backup ride she'd stashed. <br><br>"Aww, that's too bad. I rather like it rough. No need to take it easy on me, boys."<br><br>Xero stepped out from behind her cover not even bothering to play coy anymore, her borrowed tech pistol was already aimed, and her finger squeezing the trigger as she targeted the first blind mouse to put him out of his misery. Though as she did she took two non-lethal hits to the vest and something far more serious to the meat of her upper left arm.<br><br><em>"Down! Get down. No more playing now!"</em> Came the yells she didn't even pay attention to.<br><br>Instead, Xero came to a stop right in her tracks and looked at her arm in disbelief. "Yoouuu bloody..." Her attention was not on her actual arm or the way it just sort of hung there, stunned, but rather at the ruined arm of her suit! There was a charred fucking <em>HOLE</em>! Xero's eyes went red.</span>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [NEON HEARTS] -- Main Story Thread</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Wordworker</strong> on <strong>08-03-2023, 03:08:49</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/RK9d9kH.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> <em>Evelyn Grant, aka, Evie</em><br><strong>Date | Location:</strong> <em>Late Evening&nbsp; | AEC Security Safe House, Exterior Street</em><br><strong>Wearing | Carrying:</strong> <em>Mark III combat armor, heavy revolver, assault rifle</em><br><strong>Tagging:</strong> <em>All, but it's Naomi's turn</em><br><strong>Warning:</strong> <em>N/A</em><hr><br>Three men drop around Evie in a hail of gunfire from Kiyo’s SMG, the third squished as her favorite pretty-boy smashes feet-first, driving that pig-sticker through the enemy merc’s collar bone. Evie’s got one in a grapple, his gun ruined. He goes for his knife, but she goes for her gun, quick-drawing, firing into the soft armor at his gut. She hasn’t got Kiyo’s fancy optics, but she knows where an aorta is, and he’s halfway gone before he hits the ground.<br><br>Naomi rushes out the hole she made, headed for the exit and the only living man left is the one her shaped charge blew off his feet. He hasn’t even got his gun up, but Evie doesn’t let him—she backs up, her back to Naomi, front to the last living guy, ready to soak a bullet even as she fires twice more, all without lifting the revolver past her hip. She’s an artist at this range, one to the armor at the gut, one the throat.<br><br>She scoots out the door after Naomi and fans the hammer on her revolver, enough to get the attention of the asshole who just clipped Xeri, the one shouting orders at a woman he really ought to be more polite toward, in Evie's rich experience. “Who’s playing, you gonk-brain fucks!” They’re over fifty feet away, though, so the bullets aren’t quite so precise. A few hit—nothing fatal. But Evie’s got their attention off Xeri and Naomi.<br><br>They return fire in force—Evie’s already in motion, lifted her metal arm to cover her face and throat, bullets deflecting loudly off the shielded metal, dropping to a knee behind an auto’s engine block, which swallows up the rest of their rounds.<br><br>“Kiyo-Cat, I got a flank on them, they’re gonna move.” The mercs will split their attention between Xeri and Evie—they’ll have to reposition, leaving Kiyo free to find an angle and rip them apart.<br><br>She’s worried for Xeri. Sounded like she took a hit, but Evie interprets the salty language as a flesh wound. It would have been either a lot saltier or silent if the shot had been worse.<br><br>Evie angles her rifle over cover without sticking her head out and fires over the engine block just to remind folks she’s there and encourage them to do stupid things. To Naomi, she says, “You keep your head down, kid,” once again treating Naomi like she’s a child and not an adept netrunner with a drone.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [NEON HEARTS] -- Main Story Thread</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>pdragon</strong> on <strong>08-03-2023, 04:23:41</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<br><div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/ymUO6Xq.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> <em>Kiyoshi Kita</em> (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=349104.msg16409492#msg16409492)<br><strong>Date | Location:</strong> <em>Late Evening&nbsp; | AEC Security Safe House, Basement, Data Vault</em><br><strong>Wearing | Carrying:</strong> <em>See image, BARB-13 SMG (Silenced), Vibro-Katana x2</em><br><strong>Tagging:</strong> <em>All</em><br><strong>Warning:</strong> <hr><br>“Kiyo-Cat, I got a flank on them, they’re gonna move-”<br><br><div align="center"><em><span style="font-size: 12pt;" class="bbc_size">*S H I N K*</span></em></div><br>The words barely made it past Evie's lips before a katana came flying in, sinking itself straight through the side of one of the remaining mercs' heads. The man stands there for a brief moment, stunned, as if his brain hadn't yet fully processed that there was a vibrating slice of metal jammed inside it. He turned towards his last remaining partner, stumbled to his knees, let out some slurred noises that were probably supposed to be his last words to his comrade, and then flopped forward on his face, ending up in a rather undignified position. Fortunately he wasn't alive to feel embarrassed about it. <br><br>"What the fuck!?" the remaining merc shouts. In less than 20 seconds he had gone from trying to talk Xero into surrendering to being down three guys and getting fired on from all angles. Kiyo would have almost felt sorry for the poor bastard, had he not been the one that hit Xero in the arm...<br><br>Without a word the sociopathic cat boy ran in, taking advantage of the cover fire Evie provided. He leapt up onto a nearby car, running up the back and across the roof. When his feet touched down on the hood he activated his electromagnetic plating again. However this time instead of attaching himself to the metal of the car, he reversed the magnetic polarity so it would repel, launching himself off the car and through the air in a soaring leap. His trajectory was computer calculated, and just like before he would end up landing right on top of the merc. Now normally a tackle from a 130 pound twink wouldn't be the most formidable attack, but at the height and speed he was falling from Kiyo was able to turn his body into quite the hefty projectile, landing shoulder first into the man and sending them both tumbling across the ground. <br><br>Kiyoshi was quickly back up though, going along with the momentum of his tumble to roll right back up to his feet. Rushing over to still-downed merc the first thing he did was stomp down on his wrist to loosen his grip on his gun. And then he stomped it again...and again...and again and again and again until the man's hand was completely smashed, hanging onto his arm by a few sparking wires. Kiyo didn't stop stomping and kicking him though, he simply moved onto to different joints and extremities, becoming increasingly more violent with each blow. He didn't let out a sound, didn't shout or curse at the man, but by the anger they saw twisting his face, a rarity for one usually so stoic, he may as well have been screaming at the top of his lungs, enraged by the sight of Xero getting hurt when she wasn't even supposed to be on the fireteam for this job. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [NEON HEARTS] -- Main Story Thread</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Arcanist</strong> on <strong>09-03-2023, 01:32:57</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/hwEb8N0.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> <em>Naomi Uehara</em><br><strong>Date | Location:</strong> <em>Late Evening | AEC Security Safe House, Basement, Data Vault | Netspace</em><br><strong>Wearing | Carrying:</strong> <em>Black Armour Weave suit with protective plate| cyberdeck vambrace| backpack of stuff</em><br><strong>Tagging:</strong> <em>Kiyoshi | Evie | Xero</em><br><strong>Warning:</strong> <em></em><hr><br>Naomi tried not to look at the violence. The sounds of the gunfire so close to her deafened her. She tried to ignore the spray of blood and the screams and grunts. She was no stranger to violence but perhaps not to this magnitude and definitely not this close. She felt sick, her face clearly indicating how she felt. She understood the reasons behind it. It was either her and her companions or them. She had been the target of violence. But it still did not make it any easier. She breathed hard and concentrated on the task at hand. There were three responses in a stressful situation like this, fight, flight, or freeze. Thankfully her response was not to freeze. <br><br>Naomi breathed and got to work as she followed the rest. As she ducked behind a car with Evie. She stuck her tongue out at Evie. <strong>"Am not a kid".</strong> But nevertheless, she kept her head down. Part of her wished that Evie would stop, but somehow part of her liked it. There was just something about Evie. Perhaps that was why she never said anything. She also trusted the Jacks to deal with any obstacles. Yes, obstacles, think of them as obstacles. She sent her drone higher up in the air as she scanned the area for more surprises. The images appeared in her left eye, this was followed by lines of code that superimposed themselves in her vision. She had earlier spent time studying the security of their target and the surrounding areas. The virus she left at their target now went to work as their internal and external communications died instead of getting rerouted to her. Cameras in the vicinity just happened to be looking in a different direction. There was also an increase in communications traffic.&nbsp; <br><br>It was about then that Naomi noticed some communication traffic a little further away. Not sure how they were notified but were definitely reinforcements. At least they were only in cars and not in AVs. Maybe a few red lights might slow them down. <strong>"Bad Guys, ETA 7 minutes, give or take! We need to go".</strong> She was so gonna crash when it's over. At least her cardio is up.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [NEON HEARTS] -- Main Story Thread</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Kokaine</strong> on <strong>14-03-2023, 01:06:17</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/A3sooip.jpg)</div><span style="font-family: Georgia;" class="bbc_font"><strong>Name:</strong> Xerena West aka Xero<br><strong>Time | Location:</strong> June 7th, 2135, late evening | Downtown New Vegas, Outside AEC Security Safe House<br><strong>Wearing | Carrying:</strong> Custom armored 3pc suit in black (https://i.etsystatic.com/24100781/r/il/be2b6b/3412447511/il_1080xN.3412447511_32s0.jpg), black driving gloves, shades | Eyes stormy gray--&gt;wintery gray, Hair all black | Currently holding a military grade tech pistol <br><strong>Tagging:</strong> The Jacks<br><strong>Warning:</strong> N/A</span><hr><span style="font-family: georgia;" class="bbc_font">Xero had tensed and with but half a second more she'd have taken the payment for her suit out of the two dumbasses' hides. However, before potential could become action, two things happened at once. <br><br>Evie fires from the hip and distracts just as Xero hears the car's system finish its wipe and fry all the systems with a relatively lowkey little spark show.<br><br>That got her into gear, the count resuming in her head as she all but ignored their opposition in favor of getting to the car's trunk and pulling free the backup kit of weapons and utility gear she'd tucked there. Strictly speaking, she didn't need it as nothing there could be traced back to her directly, but some of the toys she had were quite expensive and hard to get one's hands on. There was no need to be wasteful after all.<br><br>Xero hefted her back with ease, still ignoring the now downed mercs as well as the bloody hole in her arm. Her left arm was protesting any sort of use but the right was more than capable of picking up the slack. She could feel other spots where she'd taken damage but she was still functional. She'd pay the price later. <br><br>"Seconded." Xero echoed Naomi's warning and made her way with fluid strides toward Kiyo. "Our ride was made, so it's burned now," or would be anyway, "backup is a few blocks north, let's move out before they can catch our trail."&nbsp; Her voice was still warmed with hints of actual anger, which was rare enough for Xero while on a job. Normally she was ever the cool customer but she did so hate having her suits ruined for no good reason. A fact which narrowed her eyes to slits behind her sturdy lenses as she aimed her pistol and fired exactly three charges around Kiyo's violence. Two in the chest, one in the head, and the screaming and cursing stopped.<br><br>"Let's go, handsome," Xero's gaze slanted toward her favorite Spade and despite the sudden urge to reach out an touch him, only her lips curved in clear acknowledgement of what she'd seen before she turned and began heading toward a very dark and sketchy looking alley, trusting the others to come along. If they got moving now, they'd be out of sight long before any backup came to help and they could get home, debrief, and put this shit show out of their minds. <br><br></span>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [NEON HEARTS] -- Main Story Thread</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Wordworker</strong> on <strong>14-03-2023, 20:20:03</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/RK9d9kH.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> <em>Evelyn Grant, aka, Evie</em><br><strong>Date | Location:</strong> <em>Late Evening&nbsp; | AEC Security Safe House, Back-Up Ride</em><br><strong>Wearing | Carrying:</strong> <em>Mark III combat armor, heavy revolver, assault rifle</em><br><strong>Tagging:</strong> <em>All</em><br><strong>Warning:</strong> <em>N/A</em><hr><br>Evie’s barely called out the flank when Kiyo puts vibrating metal through a merc’s head. The swift katana-wielder had been halfway there before Evie’d even seen him. She makes a note to stop calling her shots so often with Kiyo—the boy was gifted. She follows up with more concentrated covering fire, experienced with Kiyo’s movements, enough she won’t hit the flexible ninja by accident.<br><br>Experience with Kiyo’s movements, of course, is a far cry from “used to.” He launches off the car like a bullet and downs the final merc, starting to pummel him, face twisting into something animal that’s all too familiar for Evie. She’s sure she made about the same face that night they found the Yakuza readying to dirty Naomi.<br><br>Naomi announces incoming. “Good eye, kid.” Evie winks, making it clear now that she’s complained it’ll be her nickname from now till Doomsday. “Xeri!” she calls, relieved to see her read on the shot that clipped Heart had been the correct one—hurt, but not badly. Xeri puts an unceremonious three rounds into the merc Kiyo is taking out his aggression on, and Evie stays close to Naomi, as is her usual habit on mission.<br><br>They duck into the alley, backs to the wall as they wait for their ride, Evie and Naomi on one side and Kiyo and Xeri on the other. Evie quickly fixes a lock of Naomi’s hair, just a small gesture now that the tension of the moment has relaxed—not out of danger, but between dangers.<br><br>She glances at Xero’s shoulder, clucking her tongue. “Looks like Xeri picks the game tonight.”<br><br>It's a dumb tradition that started a few missions back: Whoever comes back from mission most banged up picks the game, movie, or evening activity. Evie’d kind of hoped she’d get the badge of honor tonight, she had her sights set on poker.<br><br>The backup ride screeches to a stop in the alley. They’re already stationed on both sides, and like an oiled machine, they climb in all at once—Naomi is shotgun, Evie in back with Kiyo, and Xeri behind the wheel. Evie catches Kiyo-cat’s attention. “Hey, you okay?” she asks, having seen him flip out on the man who’d shot Xeri.<br><br>Evie gestures Kiyo close, licks her thumb, and cleans a drying spot of blood off his cheek.<br><br><hr><br><em>Establishing a Jacks tradition if we're all okay with it: Most-hurt person picks evening activity or otherwise gets position of honor.</em>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [NEON HEARTS] -- Main Story Thread</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>pdragon</strong> on <strong>20-03-2023, 20:21:27</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<br><div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/ymUO6Xq.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> <em>Kiyoshi Kita</em> (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=349104.msg16409492#msg16409492)<br><strong>Date | Location:</strong> <em>Late Evening&nbsp; | AEC Security Safe House, Basement, Data Vault</em><br><strong>Wearing | Carrying:</strong> <em>See image, BARB-13 SMG (Silenced), Vibro-Katana x2</em><br><strong>Tagging:</strong> <em>All</em><br><strong>Warning:</strong> <hr><br>Kiyo was seeing red, and not just the thick outlines of his HUD. The merc was screaming and cursing up at the smaller man raining down stomps on him, but there was nothing he could actually do to stop him, not when Kiyo made sure to take out his major joints first. It wasn't until Xero intervened and put the guy out of his misery that Kiyo snapped back to reality, the gunshots like an alarm bell waking him up, "y-yeah...let's go..." he said, his cheeks slightly tinged, realizing how badly he had lost his cool, right in front of Xero no less. <br><br>He quickly follows behind her like the lost puppy he was. Without looking back he reaches his hand out, palming facing towards the first merc he had killed. Suddenly the sword still embedded in his head starts to wobble, before unsheathing itself from the man's skull and flying back to Kiyo's hand. He gives it a quick flick to remove the blood before carefully sliding it back in its sheath, all while following along with the others. When they made it to the alleyway he wasted no time attending to Xero, wordlessly slapping away any attempts to resist as he pulled out a small needle gun and shot her bullet wound full of medi-gel. It would sealing it up the hole and numb the pain until they could give her proper treatment. <br><br>When their ride arrived Kiyo took a step forward, but stopped when he glanced down and saw his sneakers were covered in blood. He did his best to wipe them off on the alley cement, before sliding into the back beside Evie, "huh?" he muttered when Evie asked if he was ok. He was confused at first. Of course he was ok, he hadn't taken a single hit the whole time. If anything she should be asking if Xero was...<br><br>Then he felt her thumb rub across cheek, and it clicked what she meant, "Oh...yeah...I'm fine..." he said, blushing again, "Sorry" he added. It wasn't for the act itself. He knew that, perhaps Naomi aside, none of them were squeamish about violence, far from it. However the problem was he had lost his cool, which would be bad even on the smoothest op, but when things were already going sideways like today? What if something even worse had happened because he wasn't focused? "Sorry..." he said again, staring out the window so as not to meet her eyes. Though even as he looked away, his hand reached up to grab hers, holding onto it the entire trip, letting her know that him turning away was to hide his embarrassment, not to flee from her affection. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [NEON HEARTS] -- Main Story Thread</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Arcanist</strong> on <strong>21-03-2023, 02:06:38</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/hwEb8N0.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> <em>Naomi Uehara</em><br><strong>Date | Location:</strong> <em>Late Evening | AEC Security Safe House, Basement, Data Vault | Netspace</em><br><strong>Wearing | Carrying:</strong> <em>Black Armour Weave suit with protective plate| cyberdeck vambrace| backpack of stuff</em><br><strong>Tagging:</strong> <em>Kiyoshi | Evie | Xero</em><br><strong>Warning:</strong> <em></em><hr><br>Naomi smiled at Kiyo and nodded her head. She may have been uncomfortable as to what had happened but Kiyo was her friend. Well, at times more than friends. That and she understood. It was either her and her companions or them. She would rather it be them. She slipped into the car and called out <strong>"I'm going under."</strong> She did not wait for the rest and assumed that they would protect her or pull her out if it gets dangerous. She needed to go in for this. The backseat was not the best place for it, but one needed to adapt. With a few commands and internal checks, she entered cyberspace.<br><br><em>The lady in white kimono appeared in what seemed to be a path made with flicking blue symbols. With the symbols constantly flicking and changing, they start to expand out like the branches of a tree into infinity. She closed her eyes as if trying to reorient herself. She needed to find that backdoor she left at the transport hub. Having been there before, it was a matter to unlock the backdoor and complete the changes. With a step, the lady in white disappeared and reappeared behind the walls of a castle. A door appeared before her as she pressed her palm upon a faint square on the wall and without much ado, she opened the door and entered it. </em><br><br>It was just as the Jacks planned. The lights changed for them at each of the intersections. It was just one of those days when all the lights happen to be green. Street cameras happen to be pointed in the wrong direction as they drove past. She also left a present for any pursuers. They would have a bad day with the lights and maybe a detour or two. She let their car head to a blind spot before setting up a false trail as she sets off the lights on a different path. That way their vehicle will be harder to track. She continued to monitor the situation in cyberspace just in case and trusted the rest to keep her safe and carry her out later. <br><br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [NEON HEARTS] -- Main Story Thread</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Kokaine</strong> on <strong>23-03-2023, 00:49:02</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/A3sooip.jpg)</div><span style="font-family: Georgia;" class="bbc_font"><strong>Name:</strong> Xerena West aka Xero<br><strong>Time | Location:</strong> June 7th, 2135, late evening | Downtown New Vegas, Outside AEC Security Safe House<br><strong>Wearing | Carrying:</strong> Custom armored 3pc suit in black (https://i.etsystatic.com/24100781/r/il/be2b6b/3412447511/il_1080xN.3412447511_32s0.jpg), black driving gloves, shades | Eyes stormy gray--&gt;wintery gray, Hair all black | Currently holding a military grade tech pistol <br><strong>Tagging:</strong> The Jacks<br><strong>Warning:</strong> N/A</span><hr><span style="font-family: georgia;" class="bbc_font">Xero glanced about at her fellow Jacks as they entered the alley, feeling a familiar surge of relief that all seemed to be perfectly in tact. As far as she could tell, Evie's spirits were high and Naomi was her usual careful self. Kiyo was in somewhat rare form but she figured if it needed addressing that could happen back at HQ. As it was her own nerves were rubbed raw by a simmering anger at herself and the assholes who screwed her beautiful little plan six ways to hell. Her count was so far off it wasn't funny and the failed timing was enough to keep the tension building in her limbs rather than easing. It was only when Kiyo forced her to stop so he could attend to her wound that she seemed to take a breath.<br><br>Her first instinct was, of course, to shrug Kiyo's attention off. It was a bad habit she supposed she'd developed way back when. However, even her clueless self recognized Kiyo's need to reassure himself she was alright so Xero let him patch her up in the few moments before their ride pulled up. Yet again she felt the urge to touch him but all she did was flash one of her signature smirks at him and nod--yeah, she was an idiot--but she wasn't gonna go all soft right here on the street. <br><br>"Thanks for... umm... cleaning up my mess," she said to the others quietly before moving to the sleek and sporty vehicle and getting in.<br><br>The second all the doors were secured, Xero took off. She kept her speed reasonable, a little fast but nothing too eye catching, and kept the path from being too direct. She was thankful for Naomi's assistance in this part and made a mental note to pick up something special for the girl. She didn't like to physically come along on runs, it was a struggle for her and out of her comfort zone for real but she'd helped to make the mission a success despite Xero's screw ups so... yeah, she owed her. <br><br>Evie's declaration had only been met with a noncommittal hum given she was focused on making sure no one was following them. However, once or twice her gaze flicked up to the rear-view to steal a glance at the redhead before quickly pulling away. Thankfully her sunglasses kept that hidden. <br><br>It wasn't too long before they made their way across town and pulled into the lot behind a local bar. Jacks Wild. The ride was shut down and she hopped out smooth and quick despite the small twitches beginning in her arm. Retrieving her gear she headed inside, her strides long and purposeful. <br><br></span><hr><br><span style="font-family: georgia;" class="bbc_font">The scene inside the bar was as it always was. Music pumped through the place and bodies loitered about. The smell of peanuts, beer, and body odor filled every inch of space, making Xero's nose crinkle for a second as it always did when she stepped in past "security". Which was kind of funny given that outside didn't smell too much better. The place held a mix of folks from bikers to punks to rando's off the street. Not that Xero cared. Anyone was welcome so long as they followed the rules:<br><br>1. Don't bring cops around.<br>2. Don't start anything you can't finish. (She'd had to step in on this one a few times in the early days and even now had to remind some folks.)<br>3. You break it, you bought it.<br><br>Jacks and their associates frequented the place but there were also other regulars that came around for... well, who knew what reason. The place even attracted more than a few tourists on occasion so the place pretty much paid for itself. <br><br>"Ayyyy! Boss lady!"<br><br>"Don't call me that, Sparrow." She said this every time and yet, in four years this hunk of junk that passed for a man had never stopped. He was grizzled in a way that sat at odds with the shiny new upgrades he was sporting as he wiped down the bar top. "Where's Moose?"<br><br>"Right there..." Sparrow pointed a couple seats down to a baby face that seemed a few years shy of being legal. He was older than Xero, but not too many knew that. <br><br>"Thanks." She nodded before moving to the man in question and tapping him on the shoulder. She watched him spin around on his stool like a goofball and held her straight face.<br><br>"Hiya, Z!"<br><br>Xero rolled her eyes. Her name didn't start with a Z but Moose didn't seem to care. Rather than get into it with him, Xero simply cut to the point. "Ride's out front. Make it gone. No trace. Do it tonight and I'll pay you double."<br><br>She watched him stroke his hairless chin and sighed. <br><br>"I dunno... tonight. Kinda short notice..." He appeared to be considering but Xero already knew what he was going to ask for. It was the same every time. <br><br>"Tonight. No trace. And I'll..." She sighed again, "I'll bake a batch of those horrendous cookies you like." The cookies with far too many ingredients, ugh. <br><br>Still, Moose's eyes lit up and he reached out to fist bump her. "You gotta deal, ma'am!" <br><br>Xero returned the bump and her facade nearly cracked as she watched him slip off his stool. His legs hadn't touched the ground while sitting so his eyes were right at her chest level when he stood. It would have been a good excuse to be a pervert but Moose was far too wholesome for those types of games.&nbsp; Instead he tilted his head back, gave her a silly salute and then began rolling away, his footwear having been augmented with wheels. <br><br>With her business concluded, Xero made her way to the back of the bar, ignoring catcalls and the sound of her name from various mouths. Skipping the elevator, Xero opted to take the stairs up her breath easing sharply between her teeth as the twitches in her arm became stronger, the torn muscles reacting to the nanobots and their work. She probably should have spared herself the extra effort and taken the elevator, or even just chilled out in the backroom for a bit, but she needed a few moments to herself. Especially as the pain grew enough to overwhelm the numbing properties of the medi-gel. "Fuck!" She gritted out as contraction caught her off guard and almost made her miss a step. That would have been embarrassing.<br></span>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [NEON HEARTS] -- Main Story Thread</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>pdragon</strong> on <strong>04-04-2023, 19:36:39</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<br><div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/ymUO6Xq.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong> <em>Kiyoshi Kita</em> (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=349104.msg16409492#msg16409492)<br><strong>Date | Location:</strong> <em>Late Evening&nbsp; | AEC Security Safe House, Basement, Data Vault</em><br><strong>Wearing | Carrying:</strong> <em>See image, BARB-13 SMG (Silenced), Vibro-Katana x2</em><br><strong>Tagging:</strong> <em>All</em><br><strong>Warning:</strong> <hr><br>As the Jacks pulled up to the the Jacks Wild, their safe haven, their port in the proverbial storm that was New Vegas, Kiyo let out a sigh. They had gotten through the job, the mission was a success, and they'd be getting paid just fine for it. Still he couldn't help but feel like they lost a bit. Things had gone south too hard too fast, and it took them too long to adjust and get things back under control. This was meant to be a routine gig and it had come dangerously close to one of them getting murked. They were sloppy, no, <em>he</em> was sloppy. As they shuffled out of the car Kiyo would stand up on his tip toes to give Evie a quick kiss on the cheek, before hanging back to let her and Xero head inside, his gaze lingering on Xero as she disappeared inside, but putting that on hold for now. <br><br>"Oi. wait up." he suddenly said to Naomi in Japanese, placing a hand on her shoulder and circling around to sit on the hood of the car, "How are you holding up? he asked, "About the job. Sorry. We weren't expecting that level of opposition for your first field mission" he said, peeling off his gloves and yanking the magnetic cat ear accessories off his head, "Still..." he said, reaching out to place a hand on her head, "You did good out there" he complimented, giving her a proud smile and a ruffle of her hair.
			</dd>
		</dl>
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