Chapter 17-6 Midnight Games (II)

Chapter 17-6 Midnight Games (II)

+Seeker Kazahara:

I think the Registry might have a hit for the one youre looking for. Its a single instance and the facial capture is only partial, but the physical characteristics match the memories you sent.

155.45 centimeters.

Female. Possibly adolescent.

Heavyset musculature for her size judging from the width of her shoulders.

The memory was sourced to a street ganger of the Silver Tongues. A Marhir Nanadrugupta. Running his imaging through the Registry confirms him as deceased. Exsanguinated like the others in his outfit. He managed a kill on your an-sus (AUTO-TRANS: anonymous suspect), but while they were trying to deactivate her holocoat, she resurrected and tore through the gang.

The flash of her features was revealed during this instance. Im casting you the sequences.



Seeker, from what I can tell, our an-sus is a Fallwalkeras well as her master before her. I have mem-data on him, but her profile is empty. Theres nothing about any Agnosi performing Frame maintenance or canonicity upgrades. Not from the Exorcists or Paladins. Were looking at an unexplained Godclad operating in the city.

Ill be here in support if you need someone to trawl the Nether. Things are getting bad between Clan DRongo and Clan Nasaganda. A few Concaves and Convexes just had their identities leaked. Quite a few people have died from accidents caused by metaphysical desyncs. A bomb was found in Elder Kerringtons aero.The initial instance of this chapter being available happened at N0v3l.Bin.

Leave it to the Council to squabble over politics at a time like this.

I hope you find this girl soon. And that she leads you to the prime suspect. Ive pulled mem-logs from our Incubi regarding his background and the guys a demented psychopath. I tried peeking at some of his content and threw up at my table. Be careful when dealing with him, Seeker. He seems like the kind to deliberately trigger the Rash for an advantage in combat.+

-Wiser Nara (Ori-Thaum Special Intelligence and Deep Nether Operations Officer)

17-6

Midnight Games (II)

It took less than an ounce of will on Avos part to reshape Elegant-Moons mind. Depositing her in a new holding cell on the George Washington after Draus opened a passage, he scrambled her mind to avoid anyone mem-locking her after his departure. He would rebuild her mind via her template after and reactive her sessions and other phantasmics after he plotted how to use her. After checking that she still had two cyclers and Heavens clean of Rend, he killed her and let her resurrection play out.

Kae asked to stay and observe their new guest. There was something about the Sangs Frame that intrigued herthe make of a new design affecting just how fast Elegant-Moons return from death progressed.

That was the second priority after meeting with Dice. He still had to convene with his grafters about how his projects were coming along. The Sang would prove useful there as well, offering rapid modifications to flesh via her Heavens. Perhaps he could have her be directed by Ruveca towards fuller effect.

Avo, Cas said, catching him just as he was about to step back through the glass. I got her out? The asset. The squire that used to work for me. She contacted me earlier and said she slipped out the district after your girl hit all those Silver Tongue watch lobbies. Theres no one hunting for her anymore. Shes slipped the district. Im going to be preparing to make a few new acquaintances. He rubbed at his jaw and grimaced. Damn shame too. I was beginning to like this face.

Have to be you personally? Avo asked, turning to face the Columner. Risky. Could deploy another one of your people in your place.

What Im planning needs someone with a Frame, he said. Highflame, Ori-Thaum, and a whole bunch of others are clamoring for Fallwalker middlers. And thats just what my cover provides. Itll let me do some more public-facing shaping for the cult anyway. A grin of satisfaction painted his face. Ive been wanting to be a player in the game for some time. Figure nows the moment, with all that weve got going on, and all the openings youre starting to provide.

Always thought Denton was more the spy.

Yeah, well, we got different vectors of pressure to exert. Her job is to be quiet and subtleambiance. Im about the noise, and how to use it. People hear what they want to hear when the song is good enough; doesnt matter what the lyrics say.

That was true, if to a vague and limited extent. Hows Skintaker and our thoughtcast?

Shooting up. Were getting sixty-six percent retention and about twelve million new followers a day. Not incredibly, but steady. Its probably better this waykeeps us off Guild DeepNav more than spiking in popularity does. Most of the audience is split between understimulated Tiersfolk and the chromed-out savages infesting the Spine. Seems both types like watching ghouls and monsters get crushed for different reasons. I had Chambers tweak Skintakers mind a bithave him be more positive and personable. Were probably going to have him start direct sessions soon with certain peoplemostly our plants at first. We think the best way to start building an inner circle of recruits is for them to be vetted personally and intimately by Nether and coldtech profilers.

Good, Avo said. He himself considered new angles they could add to their influence. Their silent war against the Guilds was to be a full-spectrum offense. He would poison the entertainment people consume, collapse the industries the Guilds possess, subvert their Syndicates, choke them of extraneous deaths, and finally turn their very own Godclads against them as facets of his own consciousness.

Abrel and Elegant-Moon was a start. A decent one. But there were millions beyond millions of Ensouled arrayed against him. He needed to keep them confused, divided, and chasing shadows while swelling his own forces.

Increasingly, he found himself wondering about the potential of reaching outside the city as well. Across the Sunderwild were pockets of humanity in feral tribes and Fallwalker enclaves that dotted the uncoiling madness. Much opportunity presented itself there, in such a lawless and unwatched place.

He would speak of this idea later as well. If he could reach beyond the borders of the city using Syndicate smuggling routes to circumvent Naekos orders of enclosure, then perhaps his ranks would swell ever faster, and he could freely reap the bounties of death he needed like a falling scythe rather than a dagger in the dark.

That, and there were all the Fallen Heavens he could claim. As his Frame grew, so too would his ability to soak in Rend and drain the ruptures.

She cocked her head at all the corpses around him. Asked Chambers for the mem-data bout who you were sendin Dice after next. Figured the juv deserves a break.

And you havent killed anyone today.

"And I aint killed nobody today.

Was it fun?

Just used the guns, Draus said. Honestly, not really. You gotta feed me some Glaives soon. Or let those monsters youre growing out.

Theyre not done.

Look plenty done to me.

Might have Elegant-Moon tweak them too. Ruveca can help. Or do you want to be impatient and test a half-finished product?

She collapsed her helmet into her skin so he could better see her sneer. A stillness came over her as her halo spun, ghosts diving back into the accretion as data loaded through into her mind. Alright. Shes here. Just entered the block. You wanna do this in person or what?

Ill leave a construct. You make a passage with it. Well be inside. Talk to her that way. Make it secure for us as well. Should have more redundancies in place if unexpected happens.

The Regular barked a soft laugh. You really like this sneak-shit, dont you? Fuckin Necros.

Cant lose all of our old selves.

His reply made her go silent. She paused. Suppose not. Lets get set up?

Yeah, he said. Lets.

***

Where are you going now?

The experienced squire studied the distant girl making her way into the worn-down cheap-fabbed tenement building. The walls outside were lined with mem-cons and holo-graffiti alike, both carrying the same message.

A burning and overturned street cleaner completed the mood outside.

+THIS IS WARHEAD TERRITORY, FUCKER! STAY OFF! STAY THE FUCK OFF!+

Warheads. Another peculiar little cliche among the degenerates of the Warrens. These ones were a cultural mash but found solace in a shared habit of heavy implants brought on by their body dysmorphia. Joining was simplewalk in the front door and ask them for a new skull. Afterward, they brought you to one of their grafters, and when you came out, youd have a face capable of shooting missiles.

Neck supports were, unsurprisingly, a thing of both fashion and necessity for them.

Trailing Dice using a squadron of high-end stealth golems stolen from Omnitech and jocked by a few of her consangs that owed her favors, the squire watched as the girl moved through the crowds, avoiding unknown miracles and technologies she didnt understand.

The waif was a bit of an ambush predator. She hated the light. She hated anywhere she couldnt hide or was forced into a straight fight. The girl was fast as a souped-up nu-viper. It would be damn dicey to be anywhere near her when a fight started.

Especially since she had a Sangeist grafted inside her.

+Yo, Tavers,+ Mellow said, sounding like he was eating his namesake while piloting his machine. +Girls heading into the building and we got full overwatch. Need any of us trail her in, let us know.+

+Synced,+ Quail Tavers said, as she mentally inputted a few commands into her combat skin. +Ill be heading in close again. One of you shoot a cast to White-Rab. Ill wanna talk with him afterkeep him on standby just in case too. Anything goes wrong, and hes our Necro.+

Mellow huffed. +Its bad business making the client your Necro. Burning imps, Tavers.+

+Ah. But were not here for that, are we?+

+Guess not. But still, imps are nice.+

+Dont you worry your soft, sweet head, Mellow. Youll get paid. Just keep your eyes open. Im gonna spark my Incog now. Going solo. Hit my session if you got the need.+

+Synced. Have fun on safari.+