Tzig

joined 1 year ago
[–] Tzig 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Videostream1.mvf - Erstellt um 23:59 am 30.09.2080

A right hand closes an ARO, the camera points to a tired-looking elf, even his threadbare clothes and harsh expression can't hide his charm. He is on all fours in a small metallic corridor of 1m by 1m but does not seem to be hampered in his movements. He finishes tying up his white hair before shouting directly at the camera, his voice echoing slightly.

Whitemane: …what are you doing Rosen?? This is not the time to play with your link!

Streit: I know. But we're in the tower, if we learn something I have to record it, otherwise the Johnson might cause problems. Just let me configure the backup, that all data is sent if my link goes down.

Another ORA appears, the human selects several matrix identifiers and confirms. The voice of the elf calms down, it takes on a softer tone, but also firmer.

Whitemane: You piss me off when you're right.

Streit: And don't use my first name in public please.

Whitemane: In public? We're in an air duct Streit, who's gonna hear us? And more importantly, who's gonna get it something to do now?

Streit: It's just a matter of principle… It inspires me to write a poem but…

Whitemane: Streit, I usually like your poems a lot, you know that, but this is really not the time.

Streit: My genius is misunderstood.

The camera turns around and begins to move forward, we see Streit's hands appear on screen from time to time, two mismatched cyber hands that ring lightly against the side of the conduit with each touch. 7 minutes pass before the camera pops out of an air vent, turning to help the elf. The runners are in an open space office. There is no sign of combat or destruction, but the chairs have not been put away. We hear a slight noise in the distance and the voice behind the camera begins to whisper.

Streit: What is that?

Whitemane: No idea, come on, better not stay here...

The camera moves slowly between the seats before entering another almost similar room, then another. The voice speaks slightly louder.

Streit: Looks like we're somewhat lost... Can you send a spirit to get an elevator or some stairs?

Whitemane: Mmm, not sure they enjoy hanging out here… But I can try

Slight image distortion is detectable around the individual's hands.

Whitemane: And there he went.

Streit: In those moments, the cinnamon smell is just too much, you know.

The elf's jaw twitches

Whitemane: I can't control it Streit, we've already talked about it twenty times.

Streit: Mmm.

Whitemane: …He just came back, he told me we need to move forward a few rooms. He also told me that he prefers not to be around too long, he has a history with the Invae.

Streit: I'm not surprised. We will try to bring spirits only if we really need them then. Come on, let's move.

The team moves forward and opens the door. On the other side a giant insect is visible, it turns towards the door while the camera sticks against the wall and the barrel of an assault rifle enters the frame. At the first shot a warning is displayed at the top of the screen: Schallpegel zu hoch, Mikrofon gesichert. A few bullets are fired before the cannon leaves the frame.

Streit: Shit, are they already inside??

Whitemane: Calm down Streit, if we shout we will attract more. Maybe it didn't get into the building, maybe it escaped from a lab.

Streit: Yeah, I'm not too sure about that. Shit ! Approaching !

Other insects come through the door. The camera takes cover and loses sight of the elf as several volleys of bullets are fired at the insects and hybrids. The enemy seems to be gaining ground until a fireball arrives from the right at several hundred km/h before exploding, sending much of the furniture in the room flying. Streit is knocked to the ground as a bug enters the frame and spit on the human's chest. A gun enters the frame and the insect is reduced to a pulp. Streit then gets up painfully.

Streit: Damn… Whitemane is everything fine, are you hit?

A voice is heard on the right, outside the frame.

Whitemane: Just a headache, it'll pass.

The elf comes out of his cover, his hair is slightly disheveled.

Streit: Be safe, okay?

Whitemane: I'll be careful. How are you ?

The camera points downwards, a puddle of acid can be seen stuck on the armor's torso piece. Streit grabs a napkin left next to a moldy meal on a desk and wipes himself.

Streit: My armor took a squirt of acid but it seems to be holding up, other than that no problem.

Whitemane: Well, we can continue then.

Streit: Alright, better not hang around anyway. We just need to find some data and we're looking for a way out. Come on, let's take the stairs.

The camera moves faster through the rooms before finding a stairwell, inside the number 3 can be seen. The steps are first climbed three by three, then from the 5th floor only two by two. The breath of the two runners becomes heavier and heavier, from the 15th floor, they begin to take breaks. The ascent takes 15 minutes.

Streit: Fucking…Hell…Floor…Sixty…Seven…Let's…take a break.

Whitemane: Phew… Yeah…

Whitemane pulls two canteens of water from his bag and hands one to the cyberhand outstretched in front of the camera.

Streit: Oh shit… I forgot… mine…

Whitemane: I know...

The two sit on a step side by side and slowly catch their breaths over 4 minutes.

Streit: You okay?

Whitemane: Yeah, I think it's okay. The headache is starting to go away, I should be fine.

Streit: So here we go. The levels above must be accessible by specific stairs, the kind that only lets in execs. If we have to, we'll enter with brute force, it won't make much more noise than the shots on the ground floor.

Streit opens the door slowly and finds himself face to face with a 1m-large fly at the withers.

Streit: Ah shit, contact!

The fly explodes under the first volley, before being replaced by another and a cockroach, then a very large flying ant. As soon as the opportunity arises the two runners come out of the stairwell and run to the offices, Streit knocks one down with a kick and the elf follows him to cover. The fight lasts 51 seconds, Streit reloaded twice.

Streit: There are really a lot of them, they must have flown there, there's no way there's a lab there, right? Shit, already spent 3 magazines… 130 bullets, roughly…

The camera turns to the floor behind the table, completely covered with remains.

Streit: We need to reach the executive staircase as soon as possible, these assault aren't stopping any time soon. You got my six?

Streit turns to the mage, he holds his temples and lets the question hover for a few seconds.

Whitemane: …Yes, yes, I'm right behind you.

There's a pause, the microphone picks up Streit's mouth opening for a moment, before closing and the camera heads towards the "Executive Stairs" signs. After a few minutes of checking each room methodically, Streit arrives in front of a large red armored door, barred horizontally and vertically with steel beams. The right cyberhand rests on a box: “Emergency Override”. Streit seems to hesitate again before turning to the elf.

Streit: Okay, Whitemane, can you cover me? I'll try to open the door without making too much noise.

Whitemane: I'll handle. Focus on you.

Streit turns back to the box and smashes the front with his knife, the latches preventing the mechanism from opening can be seen inside. Streit's hand lifts the latches and slides the deadbolts to release the steel bars. As he bends to lift the vertical bars, the camera falters.

Streit: Holy shit!

Whitemane: Streit? Streit, are you okay? What happened ?

Whitemane walks into the frame, he looks distraught.

[–] Tzig 1 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Log_104.maf - Erstellt um 18:02 am 28.09.2080

Rosen told me about the next mission, that we'll be in Berlin by Thursday. I hope he's right, I'm not sure I can hold out much longer. I miss everyone, I still haven't spoken to Sun and Camel and Dakota still hasn't opened my messages... I should have taught him how to use his commlink beforehand... When I get back I'll buy him some trodes...

[–] Tzig 1 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Log_7.maf - Erstellt um 17:52 am 28.09.2080

September 30, 2355h. We have no idea what's likely to happen, but this is what all our intel is pointing to: all remaining Ares forces will move to the headquarters, the Ares Tower. We want to be there of course, let's just say we're beginning to realize their plans never work out quite the way they want. What's more, a few days ago a group of Ares refused to shoot Irregulars, so Anne hopes this means they want our help. Some people think this could be the end of the war, I'm not sure about that, but what I am sure of is that in the Ares tower there are jets that can fly faster than insects. If this goes wrong, I'll bounce and save Vaemar's ass.

[–] Tzig 1 points 1 year ago (4 children)

Log_63.maf - Erstellt um 22:09 am 12.09.2080

What a fucking jerk. He didn't say a thing, just walked in like nothing was wrong with a fucking cyber arm, like I wasn't going to notice. What an asshole. I sent him on his way, and gently told him to only come back when he was ready to talk adult to adult.

[–] Tzig 1 points 1 year ago (5 children)

Log_6.maf - Erstellt um 21:02 am 12.09.2080

It's weird not having a hand anymore, well, a natural hand. I asked for a realistic arm, but I woke up with something all chromed up, that's all the doc had. I thought I could avoid a difficult conversation with him... Shit. At least it responds well and doesn't make too much noise when it moves, there are a couple of gadgets in there apparently but the most important thing for me is to have two arms.

We're starting to get enough information and now that we know that the HQ isn't as secure as we thought, I'm thinking it might be a good idea to get Whitemane out of the way. I've been laughed at by the few Irregulars I've talked about fleeing the city. I'll keep asking around, I've got to get him out of there.

[–] Tzig 1 points 1 year ago (6 children)

Log_5.maf - Erstellt um 10:10 am 12.09.2080

I just don't want him to worry... Is it really such a bad thing? I could see in his eyes how angry he was with me for not saying anything... I didn't tell him about my arm, I pulled the blanket over my shoulders. The doc said he'd fit a new one later that evening... He asked me if I had any contraindications, I lied. I know what people would say, that I've got a gift, that I shouldn't waste it... But I don't care about my magic, I need to be fit enough to finish the mission and get him back to Berlin alive.

[–] Tzig 1 points 1 year ago (7 children)

Log_62.maf - Erstellt um 10:09 am 12.09.2080

We were attacked last night. A group of insects, maybe two or three hundred. Quite a few soldiers, but also two queens. Even with all the Irregulars it was hell, we must have lost easily... pff, 150 people...? Many of whom I knew. After barely an hour of fighting, we were already entrenched in the Platinum, and I must have easily cast... a dozen, maybe twenty spells, lots of fireballs. I must have easily killed 2 dozen spirits before fainting. My hands are badly burned and Streit is in the infirmary. I asked about the aftermath of the battle. Apparently, some Alphas surfaced and the queens fled. The gunners had to bring out the anti-tank ammo, but they managed to disperse them. We've re-established the safety zone, but the tunnels are unusable. Normally, I'd just summon an earth spirit to level things up, but the doctor advised me to rest... Anyway, given the bandages on my hands, I'd rather not try.

Streit is really starting to get on my nerves. I understand that he wants to protect me and keep me safe, but he's got to understand that I'm an adult and I'm at least as capable of fighting as he is. I mean, I'm the one who chose to stay with him in the first place. I went to see him when I woke up and he didn't even want to talk about yesterday or what had happened after my last spell. He looked haunted... I mean... It couldn't have been easy, but what the hell! After everything I've done for him I'd hoped he knew he could talk to me...

[–] Tzig 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (8 children)

Log_4.maf - Erstellt um 03:24 am 11.09.2080

Right... So, today...

[243 Sekunden ausgelassen]

Fuck that, I need to sleep.

[–] Tzig 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (9 children)

Log_54.maf - Erstellt um 21:02 am 27.08.2080

Finally! I just got the news about Streit, I switched on my commlink and damn, I've got a signal! All the other entries disappeared, I'm not sure how the matrix works but that's fine with me, I didn't really want to keep them. I just called the kids, normally I never do that when I'm working, but I just had to. 3 weeks, we've been here for 3 weeks... Elizabeth hasn't replied, but Lalamani spoke to her and she sent me a message, not much, of course, but a "I'm glad you're okay, I was worried"... Feels good to know she's still thinking about me. I hope to see her again when we get home. Well, it's a good thing I planned to go away for a while anyway, they'd have been worried sick! On a positive note, Lalamani has finally found her way home.

Ah... I've also thought about contacting the others, but I don't even really know if they'll want to talk, especially after so much time. I'm going to send Dakota a message anyway, so he'll understand... I hope... I don't think he suspects I'm doing this more for him than for myself... Shit, I was sure I had a cigarette left. Well, too bad. Streit's as stubborn as ever, he's decided we won't leave here until we've got enough information. He's not completely wrong, I'm not sure Kali needs a big dragon in her life.

Hm. Damn, I really should have bought those connected nails I wanted, my glove is so bloody...

[–] Tzig 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (10 children)

Log_3.maf - Erstellt um 20:48 am 27.08.2080

I'm back again. Sorry, I haven't really been able to record much over the last 3 weeks, Camel's hack got spotted and the links started to screw up. They've re-established a pretty decent matrix for all today, everyone seems to be feeling a bit better and I must admit it's good to have my smartguns back. Whitemane was able to send a few messages to his kids and friends, he seemed happy, that's cool. Anyway, some news. We've been on one exploration mission after another for a little over 3 weeks now. We quickly realized that moving fast meant attracting insects, so we moved on foot. The city isn't that big, and everything can be reached in a day's walk. The "Irregular Forces of Ravenheart" often send us out in teams to fetch various resources or rescue loyal Firewatch or Ares agents. We tend to come back with quite a few civilians each time, they slow us down quite a bit on the way back and insects tend to be attracted to large groups, but our orders are to save as many as possible. Apart from that, we had a war council last night. We'd fought a few bugs before, so as soon as Anne heard, she invited us to sit in. Whitemane wasn't too keen, but they found a German interpreter, which helped a lot, even on my side. I recorded the whole conversation but it was a bit long so I'll read the summary instead:

  • This whole mess began with Operation Latvian Gambit on July 30. An Ares operation targeting a hive, code HV-927. According to our sources, there were at least twenty thousand insect spirits, of various fusion types, and insect shamans. Also, and bizarrely, of different species.
    • HV-927's tunnels ran under 6 Detroit zones, which Ares had taken care to seal off in advance, the "No-Go Zone" or NGZ.
    • The Latvian Gambit operation was quite simple: Ares sent 6 gigantic forces to each of the hive's entrances, and went in full force with a coordinated attack using a new type of unit created specifically for the operation, backed up by standard infantry and heavy vehicles and drones.
    • They called these front-line units "Apex Units", and that's where it all went wrong.
  • The Apex units, then, are two projects: Avalon and Pyro. The first was the development of "insect technology". The first was the development of "insect technology", i.e. the creation of objects in which conditioned insect spirits are placed. Among the data recovered by the deckers we saw several prototypes: a bow that shoots balls of magic acid, mines with magically sharpened spikes... Oddly enough, the protos are crap: the bow takes a piece of your soul with every shot, the mines go off randomly and impale the whole team.
  • So, the centerpiece of the Apex units are the "Alpha Fusions" or just the Alphas. For the moment, we don't really know how, but they're insect fusions created from scratch by Ares R&D to fight insects. There are lots of types, but basically they can take on 5 insects each. It's not just their muscles, armor and claws, they hear better, see better, have better reflexes... But above all, they're super aggressive.
  • The operation went to shit. There are two reasons for this: firstly, their information wasn't good, the tunnels weren't where they thought they'd be and there were a lot more of them than expected. Secondly, the Alphas. No problem at first, they were even better than expected, taking 6 insects on their own with no problem. But once there were more bugs, they turned around.
  • The problem is that it's not that simple: the Alphas completely blew the mission, but at the same time, even now, they're fighting the insects and avoiding a total invasion, which is why we only see groups of a few insects, the ones that manage to get through.
  • The thing that's getting the Irregulars into trouble is Ares: they're still refusing to work with them, and are even shooting at us on sight. According to our information, they've lost 40% of their army in less than a month, and prefer to concentrate on guarding the tunnels rather than protecting the city or its inhabitants, so the Irregulars are in charge.

So there you have it. To sum up, there are 4 forces: the Irregulars, Ares' army, the insects and the Alphas. Exploration missions rarely go without a fight, so I'm not complaining.

[–] Tzig 1 points 1 year ago (11 children)

Log_11.maf - Erstellt um 13:26 am 04.08.2080

Finally. I've just set up my mattress, I've asked Streit to go and take care of things... I know he means well, of course, but... I don't know, I just feel lost... Maybe that's why I'm taking up my diary again, I thought I didn't need it anymore... It's getting better anyway, we'll have to concentrate on that, I think. We're safe, we have a bed to sleep in and I think they've got water and maybe even food downstairs... But... But I miss Berlin. It's weird, I never thought I'd miss it... I miss my family too... In fact, I miss everyone, even my morning industrial Soycaf. It's amazing how every time you feel free, life takes you back to the bottom... Pff, you sound like Streit. I have to admit, this morning's poem was cute... Not good, no, in fact it was rather lame, but cute, and familiar above all. It's the same kind of poem he always does, as if everything were normal... It made me feel better. Ah, I can hear him coming back, I'll probably delete this diary when everything's fine, but hey, it felt good to talk about it.

[–] Tzig 1 points 1 year ago (12 children)

Log_2.maf - Erstellt um 13:24 am 04.08.2080

Eventually, we reached the Platinum Trollgirl. Nice place, well, it must have been before the stripper poles were pushed to the side and the old dance floor was completely filled with unshaven guys in heavy armor and chicks with tangled hair that reek of booze and gunpowder. At least they left some background music. Whitemane woke up a bit and we talked a bit on the road, which was a good thing, because at the speed we were going it took us 2 hours to do 6km. He's making an effort so it's not too weird, I know, but I'm not forcing him, and it's good to hear a voice other than mine... Hell, the first sentence he came out with when he came to get me in the ruins of the building we were hiding in... It's not what he said... It's his voice... He'd been crying. I'm going to beat the shit out of those two guys, what a bunch of assholes to leave like that, if they ever pull another stunt like that again I'll shoot them both in the head, you techno-bastards, I knew we couldn't trust them...

Anyway. So, the club. First of all, the atmosphere. Dozens of gangers, from at least 20 different gangs, runners, civilians, Ares defenders... All of them one hair's breadth away from going for each other's throats. We've come upon a good opportunity: it seems that someone has announced a meeting today. We tried to find out, but apparently everyone had heard about the meeting by word of mouth. We chatted quietly with Whitemane, trying to ignore the chick next to us who was reporting or something. "It's for posterity", she said. After 10 minutes of waiting for something to happen, someone came on stage: Anne fucking Ravenheart, the dreamy colonel from the desert wars, former Firewatch unit commander... I'm not one to idealize, but shit, maybe I bought my Alpha because of her ad. She was wearing the same old-generation Firewatch armor she wore on the trids, just a tad more worn. As soon as she walked in, everyone shut up. I recorded the conversation, just in case.

[134 Sekunden Aufnahme im Anschluss]

"Hello everyone. I'm Anne Ravenheart, Colonel... Ex-Colonel of Firewatch Unit Two. With me is Colonel Nathan McCord, callsign 'Rifleman', from Bravo Company. On my right, 'Ringmaster', on his seat you can also see Marv, the owner. Okay, I'm not going to beat around the bush. Ares is now corrupt. Believe me, it pains me to admit this, much more than some people here might understand, but Ares is not the company it used to be, it's rotten to the core by a vicious individual, seeking nothing more than victory at any cost, Damien Knight. I never knew Ares without him, the nanosecond takeover took place just over ten years before me. I had great respect for Mr. Knight, but I must admit that he was often far too quick-witted, far too unconcerned about the consequences of Ares' actions. Since 2059 Mr. Vogel had always succeeded in moderating Mr. Knight, for years and years one bringing wisdom and reflection, the other passion and dynamism. But Mr. Knight knew Ares very well, and with a few friends in line, he decided to launch a few secret operations, without telling Mr. Vogel. One of them was linked to his hatred of insect spirits. He wanted to exterminate them all, as quickly as possible, without thinking about the consequences. He corrupted the entire insect spirit division and put the whole of meta-humanity at risk. Some of us opposed these plans as soon as we heard about them. We were declared traitors, nothing more than vulgar anti-Ares terrorists... Many of my colleagues were gunned down by the "New Firewatch". Ares is corrupt, and has been for years. But that's not why I asked you to join us here. Damien Knight's idiotic plans have put our beautiful city of Detroit to the sword! We are the last of the resistance, and we must unite to fight together! We must join forces, all of us! Firewatch resistance forces, Ares deserters, shadows and anyone with the desire and ability to help us! Let's take back Detroit together!"

That's it... Well, that's not all, I continued to record but I'll put down what I think. Well, sure, her speech was pretty good, and as a kid I probably would have been tempted. The truth was that our objectives were aligned for the moment: being on the side of the resistance meant being on the side of the intel. Anyway, I was just turning to Whitemane ask what he thought about the speech when I heard a noise to my right. I couldn't really see what was going on until I saw a cane pierce a skull and a cyber-gun emerge from an arm to aim at Ravenheart. After being taken down, I hear "Grenade!" and by pure reflex, I grab Whitemane and dive to the ground. There's a flash, but no explosion. I look over to see "Marv" (the gigantic troll in a "Marv's seat" chair) still in his chair, but with a still-smoking pistol that must be the size of my torso in his right hand: "Don't you understand that this is exactly what the enemy wants us to do? I'll tell you what. Those who want to fuck off, fuck off. Those who still want to fuck things up, the next bullet is for you."

5 of them left, the rest were much quieter. Whitemane and I were assigned to exploration. Marv offered everyone a room, apparently he bought the whole neighborhood at the end of his career and had tidied up the tunnels just in case. He gave us each an abandoned office and told us to help ourselves in a mattress store accessible via the tunnels. We settled in and I went to give a hand to the team setting up the barricades. They said they were going to operate as a neutral zone for anyone seeking asylum. I'm not really convinced by their idea but at least here we seem to be safe. Whitemane wanted to be alone so I didn't push too hard and I lit myself a fag while I recorded all this... Apparently the kitchen team has finished, I'm going to bring him a plate, it'll do him good.

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