As you prepare to step through the door, Vincent says, "My calculations are that you have 4 minutes in there until Zero-One realizes you are in there, and then 2 and a half minutes after that before it closes my connections.  However, if you do anything to alert Zero-One to your presence, your time will be shortened accordingly.  If you don't get back here before our connection is closed, then I'm afraid you're on your own.  In fact, it will be very difficult for me ever to open a connection to that Node ever again."

He then says, "Also, if Agents detect my opening, they will try to get a backdoor to Digital Fortress.  If so, I'll have to cut the opening myself.  If this door closes, you know that I can't help you."

You step into the doorway.

4 minutes until detection.
You stand in a long hallway filled with doors.  The hallway extends to your left and right.  Vincent leaves the door to Digital Fortress open.

The walls are painted white and the doors are painted white.  There are ten doors on either wall.  The hall extends about 40 feet to your left and 60 feet to your right.  A red painted door is at the end of the hallway in each direction.
This message was last updated by the GM at 04:25, Tue 21 June 2005.

Snow draws his pistol, cocks it then moves to the first door.
Lets take a door each, and keep going til we fnd something. he says before opening it, unless anyone has a better idea

"I say we try the two red doors first," Jade says, "and then mess with the others if that doesn't pan out."  She also has drawn her M-16, ready for anything to be amiss.

I thought they would be the exits, but I'll back the play...Noisy or quiet? Snow says as he moves towards the first red door,

"I don't have any tools to get the doors open, but I would suggest relatively quiet."  Screed has his Uzi raised to his shoulder and continues to keep a lookout.  He moves to about the 50' mark in the opposite direction and crouches.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:30, Thu 12 May 2005.

PM

 Fault steps into the hallway and looks around. "Just think of it," he says, absently adjusting his iron knuckles, "this place must connect to every "Employees Only" and "Service" door in the world."
 His blank yellow eyes widen as he runs his fingers across one of the doors. "The paths of the gods, connecting to each and every 7-11." He turns back to the group. "I agree with Jade. Red doors first, rescue Binary, then grab a Slurpie."

OOC:  If you want a red door, you will need to indicate the one to your left or the one to your right.

As you look a bit more closely at the doors, you notice that each one has a bar code on it.

OOC: I believe they were going for the closest one.  One was 40 ft the other was 60 ft.  I am crouching at 50 ft. 

"mmmm.. slurpie..cherry cola..."  He examines the doors from his vantage point.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:01, Sat 14 May 2005.

pm

The party moves toward the closest red door and opens it.  Inside, you see what looks like a room full of servers and computers.  However, there is only one point of access to a computer and monitor, and a security camera peeks down on the station from above.  The camera rotates slowly from left to right to take in the entire room, taking about 10 seconds with each sweep (5 seconds for each 90 degree turn).

You quickly close the door before the camera can see that it is open.

T-Minus 3 minutes, 30 seconds

"Well," Jade says, "we can either sneak in past the cameras, run in and alert the cameras, or try another door.  I say we get our sneakiest guy in there who's good at computers and try to get some answers...and fast."  She looks at Screed.  "Would that be you?"

"I'm okay at them.  Why don't you try the other red door while I check my chances at this one."  Screed moves to the red door to check it out, whether they move along or not.

PM

OOC:  Trying to sneak across to the computer would require hiding behind servers and dodging the camera by timing it.  This will require a thief/spy skill check of "stealth."

Operating the computer while hiding will mean either (1) crouching underneath the desk and typing blindly, just checking to see the results on the computer when the camera is turned away (computer operation at -3 every 10 seconds) or (2) trying to sit at the computer and type and then jumping for cover when the camera turns your way (stealth check once every 10 seconds).

Methuselah keeps his pistol out and ready, but it's been years since he's been inside a building like this, even if it is only a replica.

Screed nods once to the others, times himself, and heads in.  He doesn't look back to see what the others are doing, whether or not they move on, but just closes the door and gets to work.

 Fault sighs. "I hope this will turn out well, but pattern-recognition tells me it won't."
This message was last edited by the player at 06:47, Thu 19 May 2005.

T-Minus 3 minutes
The others are content to wait outside the door as Screed goes in.

He deftly dodges the camera, hiding behind servers and moving only when it won't catch him.  He safely makes it to the computer, but time is ticking by and stealth and speed don't mix.

He begins typing at the computer and ducking down whenever the video camera makes a pass.  He does so quite skillfully, completely evading detection.

It takes him 30 seconds to hack into the computer.  A message pops up:

PLEASE TYPE REQUEST

He ducks down to avoid the camera, giving him 5 seconds to think about what he will type.

T-Minus 2 minutes

Screed types away and whispers into the mike "Okay, in.  please type request, location prisoner Mike aka Binary."

OOC:  Sorry for the delays, was out sick.

Screed types in the request.  The screen instantly pops up with:  "Mike, aka Binary in Zion, is currently being held sedated in room..."  And then the screen shows a bar code.  "He is in container A-31."

Screed punches a few buttons, but is unsuccessful in disarming security.

Screed ducks down as the camera makes another sweep of the room.

T-minus 1 minute, 45 seconds

Asking into the mike, "Anyone know how to get to container A-31?  not much time left."  Types in "Display room..." bar code.  He is looking to get a view of the room, of course.

Snow shakes his head, then goes to a door and tries to see any numbers or anything on it.

OOC:  There has been some question about your CBP Fatigue.  The final rule I decided on is that your total CBP Fatigue equals your total CBP points.  This makes you more powerful over time.  Then you subtract CBP Fatigue whenever you use a skill in the Matrix (a buffer for emergencies).  If you hit 0, you may substitute regular fatigue (based on strength), but it will have the normal fatigue results listed in the rulebook.

Screed takes a quick look at the bar codes.  He may be able to differentiate them visually if he sees a bar code on a door (although a skill check will be made).  Remember that you saw a bar code on each of the doors out in the hall.

He talks into the mike, seeing if any of his friends know anything.

He types in "display room" and the bar code.

The computer flashes back:

ERROR: That code is not a display room.

Screed jumps back down as the camera makes another pass.

T-Minus 1 minute 30 seconds

"We don't have time to mess around," Jade says.

She drops her bag to the floor while waiting for Screed and holsters her two Glocks.  She holds her M-16 handy while slinging the LAW rocket launcher, already armed, over her back.  The she hangs two frag grenades and two flash bang grenades from her belt.  She keeps a Willy Pete and Thermite grenade in her backpack and says, "Let's see what's behind door number two."

She walks straight to the other red door, looks behind to see if anyone follows her, and opens it slowly.

Screed times his exit and leaves the room.  "We have to find the door."  He seems a little out of breath and pale, but ready to go.  Readying his Uzi, he glides down the hallway looking at the barcodes.  He tries to see the one on Jade's door as soon as he is able.

Jade waits for Screed to see if he can confirm the bar code on the door.  "Hurry up!" she prods.

Screed carefully and discreetly leaves the room, timing it with the cameras.  Then he runs over and does in fact confirm that the markings on the other red door match the markings he saw on the computer.

T-Minus 1 minute

Jade pushes the door open.  Once again, your senses are assaulted by the image of a room far larger than it should be.  You see rows upon rows of suspended bodies.  The bodies are wrapped in a cellophane type of material.  It is hard to tell one body from the next.  Wires connect to each body's head and an LCD screen monitors each persons connections.  Each body is tagged with a letter and number.  You see probably thirty or more rows of these bodies in a room over 200 feet long.

And then you see, straight to the left of the door, about 50 feet away, a service desk of some type with computers attached.  A man in light blue mechanic-like overalls is monitoring a screen.  He turns and looks at you when the door opens, tilting his head to one side as if in surprise.  Oddly enough, you see that nearly half of this man's head appears to be computerized, including a monocular lens in place of his left eye.  His right hand is full of needles and steel chromed structures.  This is the closest you've ever seen to what a cyborg might be like, although he does appear to be 90 percent human.

T-Minus 50 seconds
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:19, Fri 27 May 2005.

Screed whispers, "Methuselah, hold the door, everyone else look for A31.  It's him.  I've got Borgman."  He hides his weapon and heads straight for the man(?) behind the desk.

"Hello.  I'm here for a pickup."

 Fault slips into the room and begins searching the rows of bodies for Binary.

Jade picks a different row than Fault and also scans the numbers.

You look at the numbers and see that the nearest one is labeled CCC-1.  You can decipher that the one holding A-31 will be on the far side of the room diagonally from where you stand.

When Screed speaks, the strange human tilts his head sideways.  "I have received no directive.  What is your authorization node and programmer?"

T-Minus 40 seconds

"My programmer and authorization node?  If you had recieved your  directives correctly, you would have that information.  Check again.  How long have you been programmed to this node?"  Hurry up, people.
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:49, Tue 31 May 2005.

Snow sprints towards the area they think Binary will be in and begins to search.

Snow and Jade begin running toward the far corner to look for Binary.

As Screed speaks, the man-robot's head tilts from side to side as though trying to digest the information.

"Your inquiry is illogical.  I was created for this node.  I will search the records for the information you speak of."  He turns to his computer and sits to type something in.

Snow and Jade find body A-31.  Now, the question is just how to get it down.



The body appears encased in some kind of thick plasticine material, with nodes attached to the head and wires and tubes connected to arms and other parts.  There is an LCD monitor below each body.

T-Minus 30 seconds
This message was last edited by the GM at 08:50, Tue 31 May 2005.

Im guessing if we just pull him out, the shock might kill him, so lets use that as a last resort only ok?
Snow then exmaines the LCD monitor below Binary for information, he then searches for any method of input for this system

"Listen, we are on a time schedule here.  You keep looking that up but tell me, have you made any modifications to these holds here to make for a simple disconnect.  I just want to get my job done while you are getting your job done."  Screed tries to see what is being typed into the console while he fingers the safety off his weapon.  He doesn't pull it.  Yet.

Snow looks at the monitors.  They show only biological functions and readouts.  There are no monitors.  Binary appears to be in good health.


The man gives Screed a strange look.  "Simple...disconnect..."  Then he spins, arm reaching toward a button by the computer...

"Intruders!" he yells while doing this.


T-minus 25 seconds.

Entering focus speed, drawing weapon, firing, Screed becomes a blur of motion.  Must stop the alarm!  Adding a few more slots to the guy/machine, he shouts, "Just disconnec him..."  His voice is strained and his face is pale as he fires again just to make sure, "...I've got this!"

Hearing Screed's advice, then a series of gunshots, Snow quickly tries to disconnect Binary.

Jade helps Snow.  "We've got to hurry," she prods.

Screed moves into focus speed.  His shot takes down the man, who rebounds after being hit by the bullet and then crumples to the floor.

Jade and Snow begin cutting through the material holding in Binary using their knives.  It may take a minute to get him down and disconnected.

T-Minus 10 seconds
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:25, Mon 06 June 2005.

Snow puts Binary across his shoulder and then sprnts back through the room, he will move to focus speed to get the quicker.

Screed looks down at the guy to make sure he is down.  He looks back at the others.  What is taking so long?  He asks himself.  He sprints for the door, hides and waits, his senses fully extended.

Screed confirms that the Zero-One program is down.

Jade and Snow continue to cut Binary free.

T-minus 0 seconds

NODE CONNECTION DISCOVERED

Red lights begin to flash on the computer by Screed as he runs to the door, hides and waits.

As Jade and Snow continue to cut Binary free, they notice that there is a door in the corner (i.e. there is a door in the southwest corner where Screed is and in the northeast corner where they are).

T-Minus 2 minutes, 30 seconds to closure of node connection
30 seconds to finish cutting down Binary.

Just outside the door where Screed is, you hear a familiar sound...the sound of doors opening.

 Fault tries to help get Binary free as best he can without a knife.

Screed slams the door shut and tries to lock it.  "Guys...  GUYS...  We've got company and we've got to find another way out, we're outta time."  He takes off running to the other door.

With three people cutting, you get Binary cut down in 20 seconds.

In that time, Screed closes the door.  There are no locks.  He reaches you at the far end of the giant body-filled room.  You hear the far door open and several people enter.  Then the footsteps stop and a voice carries across the room.

The voice is deep and melodic, very focused.  "We know you're in here.  Do not think you can avoid the inevitable."

T-Minus 2 minutes, 20 seconds to Node Disconnect
Binary is completely out.  He falls into your arms.  He is dripping with a mucous substance and wet with liquids.  His body is clad in something that looks like a wetsuit.  You rip the cords out of his body, and his monitor flatlines.  Alarms begin beeping.

"There you are," a voice says from across the room as the alarms beep.  "Let's do this the easy way, shall we?"

Binary is still unconscious.  You will have to carry him out.

Footsteps begin walking toward you, but you still can't see through the aisles of bodies.

You have maybe 10 seconds until the footsteps reach the aisle where you're at.
T-Minus 2 minutes, 10 seconds to Node Disconnect

"I can't fight that well.  I'll carry him, you fight."  Screed quickly doffs his jacket and puts it on Binary, zipping it up.  "There somethign to grab."  Rather than pick him up, he is just going to drag him by the jacket for now so he can fire with his other hand.

 Fault turns toward the voice worriedly. "I think at this point running is our best option." He moves over to Binary and tries to lift his feet. "Let me help."

"I'm all for running, which way?  Around and about back the way we came?  Or try and find a new way out the other door?"  He lifts by the collar of the jacket ready to go.

"Let's go out the door," Jade says, running to the nearby door.  "There doesn't appear to be any other option."  She opens it and looks in.

As Screed picks up Binary and Fault helps, Jade runs to the door and opens it.  All you see is darkness beyond.

The party moves to the edge of the door.

The footsteps round the corner.  You see three men dressed in business attire with sunglasses.  Some sort of listening device like an earplug is attached to each.

The one in front sees you ambling toward the door.  "We know who you are," he says in a cool, monotone voice.

"We know about Zion," says the Agent next to him.

"Binary cannot help you," says the third.

"The destruction of all you know is imminent," says the first one, taking a step forward.  "Can you feel it?  Closing in on you?"

"This is our world, not yours," says the second, falling in step behind the first one.

"It is no use going back to the digital fortress," says the third, also falling in line.  "Vincent is already dead."

T-Minus 1 minute, 55 seconds to Node disconnect.

OOC:  It's very silent.  What are you going to do?

Get going with Binary, Snow whispers, keeping an eye on the newcomers as he steps back as they approach.

I don't believe you, He then says to them, hoping to divert attention frm the others And even if he is, I have his code here... He says patting his chest pocket.

Jade runs into the darkness beyond the door.  She takes a look to see if there is a lock on the other side of the door. "Hurry!" she urges the others.

Screed listens to the exchange, his muscles humming and ready to leap in any direction.  Snow is going to get himself killed, he thinks.  At least they will be shooting for him and not for me, now.  Wait, does he really have the code in his pocket?  Looking at all possible angles before jumping into the darkness, he tries to determine the best possible choice for survival which becomes quite limited as Jade goes in.

Screed, Jade, Fault and Methuselah step through the doorway into the darkness beyond.  Snow's comment has made the agents stop for a moment.  The leader touches a hand to his ear, as if listening to something.

"Like all humans, he lies," the Agent says, and then he begins running toward Snow, followed closely by the others.

Snow has perhaps a 3 second lead on them...

T-Minus 1 minute, 45 seconds to Node disconnect

Jade yells for Snow to hurry, and then she shuts the door as soon as he comes through.

"Find a lightswitch!" she yells to Screed, Fault and Methuselah.
This message was last edited by the player at 08:13, Wed 15 June 2005.

Snow smiles and then turns and runs towards the doorway, pulling his pistol as he does so.

Screed desperately tries to get bearings on his surroundings while searching for a light switch.

 Fault feels his way around in the darkness, trying to get a general impression of the room.

Worriedly, Screed says, "We can't take on agents, right?"

Jade swings the door closed, leaning against it to prevent the agents from coming through.

Screed fumbles around and finds a light switch.  He switches it on, and you see that there is no other door leading out of this room.  You instantly see the bodies hanging from hooks just near your head.  They are skinned and nothing but meat...and then you realize that that is exactly what they are...meat hanging from meathooks.  Large slabs of beef.

It is very cold in the room.  You are in some sort of freezer.  This side of the door is also a pull handle freezer door...with no way to lock it.

The room is filled with boxes marked "poultry," "beef," and all manner of meats.

You all turn toward the door and the approaching agents.  They should be arriving about...

...about...

...about...

now?

Nothing happens.

"Hello?"  A voice is speaking in your ear.  "You guys are in Canada now."  It is X.  "As soon as you exited the Node, I scrambled the exit code.  One of those little tricks I got off of Binary's CD.  Those agents are now looking for you in Chicago, but it won't take long for Zero-One to figure out what happened."
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:06, Thu 16 June 2005.

"So now what?" Jade asks.  "I guess we don't have to worry about the Node Disconnect.  We've just got to get back to the ship, right?  Can you get us there?"

She goes to the freezer door and opens it to get out of the cold.  "How's Binary holding up?" she asks the others.

Phew, Screed's adrenaline drains as he realizes he is somewhat safe for the moment.  Exahaution takes over, and his face is quite pale.  His body starts trembling in the cold, and his lips quickly turn purple.  He says quietly, "I'm so tired."

And then louder, "Don't we need his meat body outside the matrix?"  He asks referring to Binary, "Or do we already have that?  Ohwell, that's not our problem other than when we go back to the ship, what will happen to him?"

Quietly again, he wishes, "What I wouldn't give for a good double burner grill, some good marinade, and a good knife right now."

Jade explains to Screed that Binary went in with them on the first mission, and that's when he was captured.  His body is still preserved on the Hyperion.

Screed looks relieved but still exhausted, "Thanks, Jade.  Then X, my good man, find us an exit.  We have an unconscious Binary with us."

PM

PM