Sempiternal: The Path to Immortality (IC)

[Finland SSR]

Maria Anastasna Zhukova

"Ouch! Excuse me?" Yet another person bumped into me while I was trying to connect to the Internet through the miniature computer-watch stationed on my wrist. "You're in the way, nerd!" It was yet another of the party-goers. I rolled by eyes and moved to the side, relocating next to the table with a gargantuan bowl of chips. Come on, what could be the password to this network? Jason's acting so extravagant throughout the whole thing and yet he forgot to ask his parents to make it public?

I'm having trouble mentally pointing to the reason why I'm still here. After all, this is a massive party - loud music, all kinds of shiny and wealth-showing items everywhere, expensive food and clothing, and people are supposedly having fun with all of this. Father told me that all of this is necessary, and I shouldn't be such a downer and actually try to socialize. Well, is it not easy for you to say! Half of the people here are drunk, and the other half don't even want to be there at all! I continuously typed in passwords in hopes of finding the right one. "jasonrules" "123456789" "987654321"... No, none of them are the one...

Wait...

Why is it suddenly not responding- Oh, crap! The battery is running out! A dark red battery symbol is flashing on the screen... Did I seriously forgot to charge it?

"Hey, why are you panicking?" Some bystander asked me as I desperately searched for the charger with my left hand while watching the charge slowly... tick... down...

No...

"NO!" I exclaimed.

"What, is the battery dry?" He sounded like it's something funny. It's not funny. I left the charger back home. This is a custom-built device, so no recharges. The teleportation module is now unavailable. I'm stuck here, a continent away from my home... in a party.

"This is no joke, you know..." I muttered.

[In Gentem Et De Libris Scientiam]

New York City
Sons of Gabriel, Christ's Liberation Army

To : thescrougeofgod@tor.com
From : cleganesoc@tor.com
Encryption : High

I've heard of your expertise on basically everything. And that's why I want you to hire you. I'm representing Christ's Liberation Army of New York branch and we're in need for something ASAP. Considering you're not a human, I think you already have the needed abilities. There's a Constellis Inc. official escaping from our assassination attempt on a bar, you might already saw it on TV. Our intel confirmed that he's somewhere near NYPD, so expect heavy resistance if you are discovered. I want you to assassinates him, and collecting any information he has on his body. Search all corners of his body. You'll received half of your payment as a front up payment. The rest will be given after you gave us the evidences you found, if you found it. If you don't, then you only need to killed him and it's on the news. We have our own people there who is part of NYPD forensic and can check whether or not the target is really assassinated or just replaced with a nobody. Just don't play with us.

To: cleganesoc@tor.com
From: thescroungeofgod@tor.com
I'll take it. Who's the target you want me to assassinate?

Paul leaned back in his chair. This is my first real mission that I'm doing on my own... Without the permission of my superiors. That life was starting to get boring. This should be a lot more fun that that..

[Altito Asmoro]

New York City
Sons of Gabriel, Christ's Liberation Army

To : thescrougeofgod@tor.com
From : cleganesoc@tor.com
Encryption : High

I've heard of your expertise on basically everything. And that's why I want you to hire you. I'm representing Christ's Liberation Army of New York branch and we're in need for something ASAP. Considering you're not a human, I think you already have the needed abilities. There's a Constellis Inc. official escaping from our assassination attempt on a bar, you might already saw it on TV. Our intel confirmed that he's somewhere near NYPD, so expect heavy resistance if you are discovered. I want you to assassinates him, and collecting any information he has on his body. Search all corners of his body. You'll received half of your payment as a front up payment. The rest will be given after you gave us the evidences you found, if you found it. If you don't, then you only need to killed him and it's on the news. We have our own people there who is part of NYPD forensic and can check whether or not the target is really assassinated or just replaced with a nobody. Just don't play with us.

To: cleganesoc@tor.com
From: thescroungeofgod@tor.com
I'll take it. Who's the target you want me to assassinate?

Paul leaned back in his chair. This is my first real mission that I'm doing on my own... Without the permission of my superiors. That life was starting to get boring. This should be a lot more fun that that..

New York City
Sons of Gabriel, Christ's Liberation Army

To : thescrougeofgod@tor.com
From : cleganesoc@tor.com
Encryption : High

His name is Robert. He has name tag "Robert" on his clothes.

---

New York City's streets
Sons of Gabriel, Christ's Liberation Army

Nikolas and the rest of his crew who still alive watched down to the streets of NY. It is apparent that they are looking for targets but so far they haven't found one. Recent intel suggested that there is a convoy strolling down the streets. A limousine as well, but until they have the weapons to take them down they can't do anything. So the only thing that is possible are either private transactions from their wealthy Christian sponsors, or hacking bank accounts. Or stealing money. Hacking bank accounts and stealing money face-to-face sounds easier than done.

[Ulvenes]

Sgt. Christopher Reed
Constellis Inc. Enforcer
NYC

"How about Artemis..."

"Yeah, that sounds like a good..."

The voice was unmistakably Ylva's, that hot wolfgirl next door, and one of Cecilia's odd acquaintances (by odd, he meant that it made little sense that Cecilia would know her). Turning his head, he found himself staring directly up toward the woman, a slight tinge of dissatisfaction that she wasn't wearing a skirt of some sort (hey, he's got needs too, and prostitution just wasn't his cup of tea).

Forcing the heat down, he gave her the most professional smile/grin he could manage, and welcomed her. "Its good to see you, Ylva. Pardon me for not shaking your hand, but circumstances make that kinda difficult from down here."

Honestly, he wasn't very good at noticing things when his hormones were involved, and completely missed Astra's toying at her collar. He'd need a bit of a wake-up call if he were to pay attention.

"Yeah, good day." Ylva said, merely acknowledging him and giving him a greeting nod. "Don't worry about the hand shake, I have occupied hands anyway.." She said sternly as her eyes drifted from Christopher up towards his sister, Cecilia. The girl she had a secret crush for.. "H-hello Cecilia.. How are you? W-well I hope.." She said suddenly timidly, although trying her best to hide it and slightly tilting her head down so that her hood hid her face more. She then looked at the cat that was trying to get Christopher's attention. She set her bag of groceries down at the door before crouching close to Christopher as she pulled her hood back, letting her ears perk up and her shortish hair flow freely. She watched the cat paw at her collar then stare at her before walking away, making Ylva smile. Something so small and innocent.. She thought to herself before looking up at Cecilia's ears. It was ironic, while she's had her own ears petted like a strange animal, Ylva wanted to pet Cecilia's just as bad.. Well.. There was a few things Ylva wanted to do with Cecilia, but right now that was just fantasies...

[Imperial--japan]

Lua breathed a sigh of relief when she managed to situate herself amongst her peers once more. That stuffy art exhibition was beginning to wear on her patience, and so Lua decided to lay down on her seat as she watched the majority of her entourage gather around her while still remaining in the limo's hot tub. The only other person besides her that was still seated was Yuki, one of the apparent subservients that had been assigned to Lua as a necessity. What Yuki's actual purpose given by her father was, wasn't part of her 'need to know' criteria, but it was likely to be a bodyguard function similar to Chase.

"Uhg. What an awful place. Like, I can't believe daddy makes me go to those things. The only people there are the old and lonely with, like, nobody to spend time with." Lua complained to all her ardent admirers. As friends should, they agreed with her and a few of the other girls talked about how their grandfathers would also force them to attend such drawl displays of art. A few more minutes passed before Lua called out to Chase.

"DRIVER!! Let's get to Jason's mansion in time for the party. I don't plan to miss out on a good time," Lua called out to Chase. Meanwhile, she began to de-clothe to reveal a pure white swimsuit underneath. Lua waved for Yuki to follow if they so desired, before getting in and mingling with her posse herself.

Yuki's gaze turned to Lua as she made her return to the unnecessarily extravagant vehicle that was their means of transport. Remaining as quiet as he usually did, the artificial maid took heed of Lua's words, should they be in any way important, or relevant to him. Of course, it was mostly just idle chatter, but his current purpose was to protect and obey her, and thus, Yuki would pay attention to anything she said or did. Of course, it was not long before Lua readied herself for the hot tub, and entered. Blushing faintly, he looked away.

Android he might be, he was also remarkably similar to a human in design. Though designed as a battle maid, he had been granted self-developing cognitive abilities to the extent, that he was a synthetic organism, or robot, with a "soul" so to speak. Consistent elements in his coding had begun to appear, and a few personality traits kept reappearing independently of being entered externally. This was something that indicated a less malleable "self" was forming, and perhaps had already begun forming as far back as seven years ago. The majority of his experience so far didn't involve socialising particularly, and more simply serving the needs of whomever was his master or mistress, be it a variety of things, from making food to assassination.

Attempting to seem unfazed, Yuki noted Lua's nonverbal invitation to the hot tub, with a hint of trepidation. He didn't really know how to deal with that situation, and it wasn't like he had been ordered to go over there and... associate with Lua and her friends. As it was, not saying anything was probably the best option. Otherwise, there was an 94.86 percent chance of finding himself in an unanticipated predicament, or so Yuki's senses told him...

Lua stared intently at the bodyguard that had been assigned to her and frowned slightly. He should of been honored that she was offering a mere servant the opportunity to socialize among her group. Instead, she was ignored by this lowly enforcer. How.....how dare he. Lua couldn't help but scowl as she removed herself from the tub. Slowly moving towards Yuki, while being sure to emphasize her curves with each majestic strut and a hand on her side, Lua firmly grasped Yuki's shoulder.

"I can see you are giving it a lot of thought..." Lua muttered in a low voice before bringing her face next to Yuki's ear.

"However, it wasn't a choice", she finished with only a bit of venom in her voice and a sly grin plastered across her face. She firmly grasped Yuki's hand before letting go and returning to the hot tub. It would be absolutely delightful to be able to make some progress with her bodyguard before arriving at Jason's, but it seemed she'd be making as much progress as with Chase.

[Isle of Lithonia]

Ula Zagorsky
Ula was looking around the main room of NYC Security HQ, when she heard a voice, and was led by the rather elegant secretary. Of course, being her, she payed little mind to the secretary whatsoever, in both the looks department and at her mannerisms which she barely even took note of, except very briefly. Mostly because she didn't really care either way, she just briefly looked her over and didn't really get why someone would dress in such a way, when they could just dress more casually, like herself. If you could call this casual, since her own sense of style was rather bizarre.

As the man behind the desk in the room that she had been led to looked her over in the manner that he did, as if looking through her and trying to see the personal wiring in her brain and system to see if she was properly wired for the job, she seemed completely calm and like she barely took note of it. She was just patiently waiting for him to speak while her mind ran at a million miles an hour, trying to think of what was in store. And her mind was constantly thinking of ways to tweak things that she already owned and worked with on a regular basis, to make it even better, so even while in casual conversation (Which she did tend to hate), she was thinking of ways to improve them and make them better. Her mind was always thinking of ways to make things better. Her mannerisms gave off the impression that her head was working really fast, because her eyes darted around a lot like she was processing information like a computer, and her slight body mannerisms, like say a minor jittery twitch to her body, gave off that, too. He didn't get the impression that it came from her being nervous. Not at all. She was actually rather calm. Just as calm as someone being the genius that she was could possibly be in any normal, casual conversation that didn't involve working on stuff that would go over the heads of almost any normal person. Not to mention, she was taking in the mans office as he evaluated her by staring at her, so her eyes were darting around because of that, too. Mostly she was mentally praising his office, but at the same time, her mind ran through all the flaws she felt were present in his office, and those were usually the things that came out of her mouth instead, but not right now.

While she didn't personally consider herself to be a child anymore, she didn't have any issues with being called a child genius. She was, after all, only 18, and most of what she learned, she learned in her teens, and even before that. It wasn't like she had a beyond college level of intelligence as soon as she hit 18. So she might as well be considered a child genius as far as she was concerned. In response to him saying that she came highly recommended, she responded, in a rather casual way, not like she was obviously bragging or anything like that, just how she reacted to things, with "I would hope so", then sat down when he directed her to do so. It may sound like she was bragging, hoping that she would be highly recommended, but she didn't even take it as bragging. In her mind, bragging wasn't really something that specifically she thought of. It was just how she would react. She was a genius, and she was good at her job. So why wouldn't she hope that she was highly recommended? That was at least how it came across in her mind, and to any normal people, may come off as bragging.

Then, she listened silently for a moment, while he told her who he was, what his job was, his responsibilities, and what she was here to do. She had heard a bit about what she was here for beforehand, but she didn't know everything, so getting debriefed was good. And of course she EXPECTED to be debriefed. She had heard that New York City seemed to have turned into some action film, where people, or things, wanted to blow it up at every turn, so hearing about all the villains and whatnot roaming lately wasn't all that particularly surprising to her. She also didn't particularly care what "wiping them out once and for all" entailed, because she didn't really get emotionally attached to anyone, knowing them or not, and everyone was just a part of the piece of the puzzle known as the world. Known as life. And if one of them went missing, did it really matter in the big picture? Whatever that big picture was? To her, not really. Sure, it sucked when something went wrong on your end, but she still didn't particularly feel much emotion when things did happen.

However, when it came to what she was actually supposed to do, she almost looked like excitement appeared in her mannerisms, but for the most part, she remained calm. She had the responsibility of the tech and craftsmanship of pretty much ALL of their important stuff? It wasn't even a feat that worried her. Yes, it was a big responsibility, but she knew that she was cut out for such a responsibility. She'd had some pretty major responsibilities before, after all, like doing the main programming or coding and whatnot for Montreal's major security firm, and such like that. Which had, in some cases, spread even further then that, because it was such a success, to be used at other places. So she knew that she had the ability to do what was required without much difficulty at all.

Ula didn't seem to be particularly phased by his threat of making sure she didn't make him regret putting in her in this position. She knew that he wouldn't regret doing so, after all. She trusted in herself. That would be for multiple reasons. One, she didn't have typical outside personal emotional attachments or reasons that a typical human being did to affect her work, like relationship drama, family drama, and such like that. Two, she knew she was effective. She had never been a disappointment before, and she doubted that would ever change. "I never disappoint, so you have no worries" She said, again sounding like she was a bit bragging, but even though she may not intentionally brag, maybe she even did have a reason to brag even if she thought of it as bragging, and not that she was just effective at her job? That's if there was ever an excuse for bragging, that is.

"I may have more questions at a later date, but for now, I'm good" Ula replied to him, seeming pleased that she got her own apartment while she was here. It was always good to have her own place of seclusion. That was if the apartment WAS in fact actually secluded, and she wouldn't have roommates. Then that would be a bit annoying. But whatever she had to do, she'd work with it. Still, an apartment at all was better than the alternative, whatever that alternative would be, so she was satisfied enough nonetheless.

Wernher nodded, seemingly satisfied. "Very well," he said gruffly. "Officer Hanowa will escort you to your apartment."

A rather tall, somewhat lanky officer walked in, his head nodding slightly in greeting. Wordlessly, he opened the door, gesturing for Ula to follow him....

---

Capt. Kiera Jackson
Constellis Inc. Security Spec Ops
NYC

"You...are an atheist?!?!" Mother screamed at me, her voice shrill and full of hatred. My heart was torn to pieces, shards piercing my chest. Mother was the only one who cared for me, the only one in our family who tried to protect me from Father and the men of the commune. And now...

"Momma! Please!"

"As the Lord God said, 'Depart from me, you worker of lawlessness! I.Never.Knew.You!'" She spat, her eyes flaming.

I never knew you.

The venom pierced deeply into my heart, leaving me broken, unable to think. "M...momma?" I tearfully clung to her shirt, only to have her slap my hands away.

"I said depart!!! Get away from me, spawn of the Devil!!!" Every word...every single word cut me deeper and deeper, as if my heart could be cut more than it already was. I didn't know my heart could bleed so much.

It was a blur. The Elders convened, the judgement pronounced. I don't remember it.

I was kicked onto the streets outside the Commune. I was literally kicked, the sole of my Father's combat boot hitting me so hard as to cut into my flesh.

To this day, I still bear their imprint on my ribs. I could have had the scars removed, but they are who I am. They are my past. They are the reason I began to fight. And they remind me of the darkness my father granted me that night.

I had cried all night in some back alley. Alone. No-one gave a shit. Of course no-one gave a shit, and why should they? Its not like I have ever meant anything to anyone, except as a tool for their own selfish ends.

But soon, soon enough I will change that.

This world...it has remained stagnant. We stopped progressing. We are going nowhere. And life for everyone but the few is hell. For the last several hundred years, this remained unchanged.

"This is sempiternal
Will we ever see the end?
This is sempiternal
Over and over, again and again."

Mankind has become sempiternal. And now, they wouldn't change.

I will bring an end to it all. But if this evil is to be extinguished, the world must burn. For only from ashes can a phoenix rise.

Without realizing it, the oppressors were creating and empowering the very time bomb that would bring their end. For several years, I have fought and labored, rising swiftly through the ranks of quite possibly the most powerful oppressor on Earth, Constellis. I proved myself a worthwhile asset to my employers, and now they have placed me in exactly the place I needed to be. Already I have my plan. Very soon the world will suffer under the same pain it inflicted on me. And we will advance once more.

The door opened behind me, my eyes darting to take in the newcomer. It was a young girl, who must be Ula. The one who would act as lead researcher for the time bomb. If she was as smart as they said, the girl wouldn't interrupt her, and would find everything she needed without assistance. The "apartment" after all was really just a small, high-tech lab with some beds thrown in. All the tools the girl could need were there, and if something were somehow missing, a quick phone call would fix that. Even the Technomancer Suit sat in a small vat near the computers.

Without even a nod in acknowledgment to the girl, Kiera turned back to her disassembled pistol between her crossed legs on the bed in front of her, continuing to clean each individual part meticulously. Hopefully the girl would get straight to work, for too much needed done, the world couldn't wait forever.

[Videssos]

Yuki's gaze turned to Lua as she made her return to the unnecessarily extravagant vehicle that was their means of transport. Remaining as quiet as he usually did, the artificial maid took heed of Lua's words, should they be in any way important, or relevant to him. Of course, it was mostly just idle chatter, but his current purpose was to protect and obey her, and thus, Yuki would pay attention to anything she said or did. Of course, it was not long before Lua readied herself for the hot tub, and entered. Blushing faintly, he looked away.

Android he might be, he was also remarkably similar to a human in design. Though designed as a battle maid, he had been granted self-developing cognitive abilities to the extent, that he was a synthetic organism, or robot, with a "soul" so to speak. Consistent elements in his coding had begun to appear, and a few personality traits kept reappearing independently of being entered externally. This was something that indicated a less malleable "self" was forming, and perhaps had already begun forming as far back as seven years ago. The majority of his experience so far didn't involve socialising particularly, and more simply serving the needs of whomever was his master or mistress, be it a variety of things, from making food to assassination.

Attempting to seem unfazed, Yuki noted Lua's nonverbal invitation to the hot tub, with a hint of trepidation. He didn't really know how to deal with that situation, and it wasn't like he had been ordered to go over there and... associate with Lua and her friends. As it was, not saying anything was probably the best option. Otherwise, there was an 94.86 percent chance of finding himself in an unanticipated predicament, or so Yuki's senses told him...

Lua stared intently at the bodyguard that had been assigned to her and frowned slightly. He should of been honored that she was offering a mere servant the opportunity to socialize among her group. Instead, she was ignored by this lowly enforcer. How.....how dare he. Lua couldn't help but scowl as she removed herself from the tub. Slowly moving towards Yuki, while being sure to emphasize her curves with each majestic strut and a hand on her side, Lua firmly grasped Yuki's shoulder.

"I can see you are giving it a lot of thought..." Lua muttered in a low voice before bringing her face next to Yuki's ear.

"However, it wasn't a choice", she finished with only a bit of venom in her voice and a sly grin plastered across her face. She firmly grasped Yuki's hand before letting go and returning to the hot tub. It would be absolutely delightful to be able to make some progress with her bodyguard before arriving at Jason's, but it seemed she'd be making as much progress as with Chase.

Yuki's miscalculation dawned upon him, as soon as Lua began approaching him. His calm façade began shattering, in part because she didn't seem too happy, and in part because he wasn't sure exactly where to look. As she made matters clear, he froze, more akin to a frightened rabbit than a bodyguard, in that moment. Yuki's face flushed, Lua's proximity and words playing a key role in that. "H-hai, Ojōsama..." he shakily replied, inadvertently slipping into Japanese, in his anxiety. She returned to the hot tub, and the maid began squirming a little. Chase's comment moments earlier, via earpiece, had arrived too late. There was no way of getting out of it, now, and disobeying was quite literally impossible, unless he was reprogrammed.

Thus it was, that Yuki found himself unobtrusively crouched a short distance away, attempting to hide behind a nearby drinks cabinet along the side of the Limo's interior, with limited success. Unlike Lua, he hadn't brought any swimwear with him, as he certainly hadn't anticipated the current course of events. He glanced nearby, noticing what appeared to be spare swimwear draped along the side of a table, in the form of a bakini bra and panties, next to an unzipped bag which presumably contained some other clothing. He had no idea whose they were, but Yuki knew he had no choice, other than to borrow them. Darting over to retrieve them, he moved back to his previous hiding place of dubious effectiveness.

Pulling the main part of the maid outfit off, which composed the top and skirt in one piece, he soon placed it next to him, along with the wrist cuffs, maid headdress, shoes, socks and other accoutrements. All that remained now, was the underwear. Slipping off his undergarments, he slid the bikini panties on in their place, making sure that the string at the side was tied. After the bra was tied at the front, Yuki gingerly crept out from around the corner of the cabinet, unaware that it hadn't hidden quite as much as he had thought. Dressed accordingly, he began veering towards the hot tub, his earlier blush fiercer than ever, and his right hand attempting to cover his crotch. Unsurprisingly, he felt decidedly underdressed, and the maid's self-consciousness was all too apparent. I... wonder what h...happens next? They're not going to do anything... perverted, right? Of course not! I think... I mean... hope... not. Yuki's mental state of affairs was clearly somewhat disordered at this point, and his mind couldn't help but inadvertently go down paths of imagination he wasn't quite willing to admit his interest in. This continued as he reached the hot tub, and began to step in...

[Saleon]

Monica's eyes barely flinched from the games as the girl ate, which was notably short. The only exception being when she slowly began to hear some slightly faint words, "Thank you." The words were succinct, if not shy. Of course, Persephone couldn't be shy, right? probably just containing her militant aggression. Monica's eyes peer up to acknowledge her. Her cheeks get a slight rosy hue to them. She quickly hid her embarrassment under the screen of the game system. "thank," she paused, "you." She, herself, hadn't had guests in a long time. It was a new moment to be complimented, or treated nicely, or had guests, or many other things; All in all, it was a hearty experience. She hadn't heard those words in a long time (which is ironic for working as a receptionist, but I think that more or less says something about working customer service). She savored the words, well, with her complexion trying its best to hide it. The whole thing almost made the psychotic guest seem alright- only almost- and only by a smidgen.

She recoiled from her seat slightly, and positioned her chair back, with her legs unapologetically on the table. Her rosy complexion seemingly faded, but her tail took time to coil around one of her legs. "oh, if you find me boring or anything," she said, "The TV is over there." It was a foil to not focus to hard on her guest, now that she seemed "hospitable." All in all, she got a little bit more comfortable. Monica let out a deep breath in contentment. She was relaxed.

She actually smiled slightly.

"Thanks,"--there's that again--"but I've got a lot of experience keeping myself..."

Entertained?

No...

"Busy."

"alright," she motioned whilst what could be heard was some sort of victory music, "Whatever keeps you busy..." She continued on to the next level of her game. This next one had a boss level on it. The boss was meant to be a large giant who towered over an entire city. The objective was to climb up on to it, careful not to be shaken off, and stab it in its weak points. It could shoot beams of light from afar, making the trek to it a difficult slalom, followed by the difficult climb. It was meant to be the most difficult boss in the game, so they didn't spare their talents elsewhere. This boss was the crusher of many a gamer's soul. With this she could get the final soul needed to reverse the curse on the character's lover and then **** them. It reminded her of another game, but this one had some different elements to it, including the ending.

Ultimately it was shelved from the market due to how well it sold. The MCs were quick to pull the plug.

She had a couple more games lined up for her to defeat. Each one would end other gamers, but Monica was a different beast, a different breed of gamer than any other. Devil's souls, bloodbane, Battlecodes, ghost and hobgoblins- the true games that were often canned from third parties. Normal games left on the market were an easy market tested set of pathetic games. You'd have to wait for a new IP to show up for ages. They merely recycled what they had and put a new pricetag on it. War shooter monochrome brown came out today! It looks like ****, but it pulls people's attention and makes money. Creativity was, itself, stifled by MCs. Competition was gone, the ultimate end to a market without regulations. A term forgotten in the age of companies acting like countries. They are nothing, but despotic monarchs above their throne of the third estate, the impoverished. Unfortunately, it would take a long times work for Bastille day. Of course, one had to hope for change, and run off it, no matter how foolish. Some would pessimistically call that foolish, but to Monica, that was the best thing in life.

She finished off the boss in five minutes flat, with little less than all of her health. When did black markets become the only safety valve from corrupt laissez faire economy? She shuffled to her computer and removed the cd that was in it originally. She'd save it for after she left. She started it up and looked at her email for a quick moment. Some stuff happened from what she understood, but not a job for a while. Nothing to quite frankly hack for cash.

That didn't stop her from looking around through a couple of backdoors. Constellis had a less known backdoor they never check, but it only allowed access to some minor stuff. She tumbled through the folders and files, watching the news on their security system. She had only two minutes before the system noticed an unwelcome guest. She found an odd file name which grabbed her interest. It had a really high clearance to it. the encryption hid most of the name, but she could get decypher one of the words: "WAR." She was almost too curious as to what that could be, but quickly decided against it. She left a number of dummy signals in her wake to match her level of paranoia, and to, in the case they were alerted, draw them off her tail. The signal continuously bounce off a random collection of access points, and was one of the codes she got from gambit.

That didn't seem like a normal file. She’d just found that backdoor, but now she knew to close it for good. She kept that secret locked up, and knew not to explore it again, under threat of something worse than dying once, but dying forever.

[In Gentem Et De Libris Scientiam]

To: cleganesoc@tor.com
From: thescroungeofgod@tor.com
I'll take it. Who's the target you want me to assassinate?

Paul leaned back in his chair. This is my first real mission that I'm doing on my own... Without the permission of my superiors. That life was starting to get boring. This should be a lot more fun that that..

New York City
Sons of Gabriel, Christ's Liberation Army

To : thescrougeofgod@tor.com
From : cleganesoc@tor.com
Encryption : High

His name is Robert. He has name tag "Robert" on his clothes.

---

New York City's streets
Sons of Gabriel, Christ's Liberation Army

Nikolas and the rest of his crew who still alive watched down to the streets of NY. It is apparent that they are looking for targets but so far they haven't found one. Recent intel suggested that there is a convoy strolling down the streets. A limousine as well, but until they have the weapons to take them down they can't do anything. So the only thing that is possible are either private transactions from their wealthy Christian sponsors, or hacking bank accounts. Or stealing money. Hacking bank accounts and stealing money face-to-face sounds easier than done.

Paul got up out of his chair. It was one of those chairs that you buy at staples and feel good but are pretty cheap. This was a new one, so he Had not broken it in yet. Paul walked into his room, where he changed his sweat pants into easy to move armored pants. Something people might not notice to be armor. He pulled out a helmet though. People would dismiss it as a helmet for a board, not a military grade defense measure.With that he walked into his office, a normal looking room... Until you pull the hidden switch. Then all the weapons appear. Anything that is able to be held by a person and considered well made would be here. A perk of being in the military with high ranked friends. He grabbed his plasma knife set, a sub machine gun of some technology, and a foldable machine gun. He stuck these, his "tail" and clothing in a strong duffle bag. The tail and the clothing hid the metallic sounds. Paul felt the hunger come on him. He grabbed a dosage of some random drug from his compartment of drugs. One last thing Paul thought. He went into the dining room and grabbed some roses out of the vase. Explains why I'm up late at night with a duffle bag. Going over to my girlfriends.

[Altito Asmoro]

To: cleganesoc@tor.com
From: thescroungeofgod@tor.com
I'll take it. Who's the target you want me to assassinate?

Paul leaned back in his chair. This is my first real mission that I'm doing on my own... Without the permission of my superiors. That life was starting to get boring. This should be a lot more fun that that..

New York City
Sons of Gabriel, Christ's Liberation Army

To : thescrougeofgod@tor.com
From : cleganesoc@tor.com
Encryption : High

His name is Robert. He has name tag "Robert" on his clothes.

---

New York City's streets
Sons of Gabriel, Christ's Liberation Army

Nikolas and the rest of his crew who still alive watched down to the streets of NY. It is apparent that they are looking for targets but so far they haven't found one. Recent intel suggested that there is a convoy strolling down the streets. A limousine as well, but until they have the weapons to take them down they can't do anything. So the only thing that is possible are either private transactions from their wealthy Christian sponsors, or hacking bank accounts. Or stealing money. Hacking bank accounts and stealing money face-to-face sounds easier than done.

New York City's streets
Sons of Gabriel, Christ's Liberation Army

Frankly, they found nothing. Nikolas stayed at his position, and his crew returned back to their base while he ordered few of his men to stay near NYPD. Posing as everybody, to carefully watch as the event unfold that will happens any minutes. Or hours. No matter, in the end, Robert dead and everybody's happy except for his family and colleagues. And maybe mistresses here and there. On his current position he could noticed anything right now, and thus he noticed, a bit far from where he is, a convoy. A convoy, huh? Some money in there, probably.

Speaking of money, they found some money through hacking bank accounts, the ones that were unencrypted due to user's own stupidity. There has been increase in security measures but it's not free. Weird, huh? Security designed and provided for the users and yet it's not free.

Media hasn't telling anything, perhaps the Constellis didn't wanted any unwanted attentions.

[Empire of Donner land]

Josephine Lotte

After a quick discussion with her contact on the roof, the location of the target of interest which of whom she was delighted to hear about. Lua, the daughter of the person who runs the Syndicate that killed her father. Finally she has the break she's been waiting for since she discovered who exactly killed her father. Her objectives were simple and she repeated them in her head as she sat in her ambush point planned along the possible route she was given from her contact.

"Kill the girl and get out." She said out loud as she waited resting the Railgun on a table looking out the window in an abandoned apartment. Her breath was visible due to the cold air. At that moment she saw the bright lights of what could be a vehicle and then many more, as if it was a convoy. "You're mine now." The scope of the weapon she had canceled out the brightness of the lights. she identified the Limo it as it curved around the corner and aimed at the engine block. Any armor the Limo had would be useless against the high speed small projectile going through the air.

Click.

The weapon created a roar as the solid metal shell exited the barrel and within milliseconds met the front of the Limo smashing into the engine disabling it as it crashed into the electric motor that controlled the movement of the vehicle. The impact created blinding sparks and the shell launched out of the Railgun richocheted into the ground smashing apart on impact through the bottom of the vehicle. She sat there as she saw the convoy stop abruptly. She quickly raced to another room in the building to another window to change positions giving the illusion of multiple Attackers and fired again into the Limos windshield blindly not trying to hit anything in particular.

Then she waited as the panic ensued.

[Corrian]

Ula didn't nod back, simply making a slight indication that she knew what was said and understood what he was saying. She didn't say thank you or anything, and just left to find this Officer Hanowa. It didn't take her particularly long to do so, because presumably he was standing right nearby. He gave her a nod in a greeting, but she didn't return it, and he opened the door, gesturing for her to follow him, and she did, not saying anything. He didn't have a reason to speak, and neither did she, so it likely turned into an awkward silence until they arrived.

Once there, she again didn't really thank him or anything, and gave him a slight look that might as well be taken as a thanks, and headed inside to her "apartment". She headed inside and immediately took note of the fact that it did happen to appear that she would have a roommate. Not what she had hoped for, but she adapted to whatever she had to deal with nonetheless. She just hoped that her "roommate" or whatever she was wouldn't be annoying and talk to her all the time, distracting her from her work. Or just be annoying in general and she would mind her own business most of the time. Just like she would do herself.

The "apartment" itself wasn't quite what she was hoping for or expecting, but nonetheless it was good enough for her, and she was pretty certain that it worked for her needs, even if it may not be quite what she had expected it to be. She seemed to pay the apartment more mind then the girl that was near her. She had given her a brief glance, then went to looking around the place and not saying anything at all to her.

After giving it a thorough looking over, she seemed pleased with it, and said "Good enough" out loud to herself, then seemed "zone out" for a bit, but what that really meant was that she was processing everything that she had just seen in here, and trying to immediately remember where everything was, and what was what. Then her mind went into hyperactive mode with ideas, and she would probably look pretty weird from the outside just standing there, with her hands to her head, as if her mind was going to explode or something. It definitely looked like she was thinking really fast with the way that she was behaving.

A bit later, she stopped, and she immediately moved on again, finding somewhere she presumed, or more like claimed as her bed (One that didn't look occupied), set some things up, and immediately got to work on brainstorming some ideas.

[Legatia]

Lucia Calsley

The girl pondered for a moment, before sighing.

"Very well- but under two conditions. One, don't sell me out, and two- I'm not doing any courtesean stuff or marriage alliances. If you can meet those two things, I'll work for you."

Lucia extended her hand towards Wiking, nodding. She might be on a track to luck through him..

"Deal?"

[The Templar High Council]

Josephine Lotte

After a quick discussion with her contact on the roof, the location of the target of interest which of whom she was delighted to hear about. Lua, the daughter of the person who runs the Syndicate that killed her father. Finally she has the break she's been waiting for since she discovered who exactly killed her father. Her objectives were simple and she repeated them in her head as she sat in her ambush point planned along the possible route she was given from her contact.

"Kill the girl and get out." She said out loud as she waited resting the railgun on a table looking out the window in an abandoned apartment. Her breath was visible due to the cold air. At that moment she saw the bright lights of what could be a vehicle and then many more, as if it was a convoy. "You're mine now." The scope of the weapon she had canceled out the brightness of the lights. she identified the limo it as it curved around the corner and aimed at the engine block. Any armor the limo had would be useless against the high speed small projectile going through the air.

Click.

The weapon created a roar as the solid metal shell exited the barrel and within milliseconds met the front of the limo smashing into the engine disabling it as it crashed into the electric motor that controlled the movement of the vehicle. The impact created blinding sparks and the shell launched out of the railgun ricocheted into the ground smashing apart on impact through the bottom of the vehicle. She sat there as she saw the convoy stop abruptly. She quickly raced to another room in the building to another window to change positions giving the illusion of multiple Attackers and fired again into the Limos windshield blindly not trying to hit anything in particular.

Then she waited as the panic ensued.

All was going fine, possibly more than fine, given how Chase wasn't listening to the feminine shrieks from the hot tub behind him. Suddenly, it all went to shit. Something that Chase could only assume was a sniper rifle fired a shot that killed the limo's engine. The long car continued rolling forward as Chase shoved his head down, and three or four bullets impacted where his head previously was, as well as the passenger seat. Once the firing was over, Chase got out of the car and spoke into his earpiece, to the other cars.

"We're under attack! Everyone pull up around the limo, we need to get these people out of here. Lua, Yuki, and I need to get back to the Xiao estate before anything else happens." On his orders, the other cars pulled up as Chase opened the back door to the limo. "All of you, out! Now! Get into the two cars in front, the drivers will get you home." He looked directly at Yuki, and designated him with his assignment: "We need to get Ms. Lua home. If anyone interferes, don't hesitate to kill them." Chase grabbed the closest rich kid to the rear driver's-side door and pulled him out. "I said now!" The cars had pulled up and were unlocked, waiting to receive their passengers.

[The Tophat Empire]

Lucia Calsley

The girl pondered for a moment, before sighing.

"Very well- but under two conditions. One, don't sell me out, and two- I'm not doing any courtesean stuff or marriage alliances. If you can meet those two things, I'll work for you."

Lucia extended her hand towards Wiking, nodding. She might be on a track to luck through him..

"Deal?"

Wiking
Dumfries
20:40

Maestro

"sell you out? Marriage alliance? what do you take me for, a ancient brute? Meeting those conditions will not be any problems. So deal." wiking said, taking Lucias hand and shaking it.

He shook his head, and said "well, with that done, i suppose i should trust you as well." with that he took his free arm up to his helmet, pushing the face-plate lightly. Using a brain command to release the seal that the helmet made, retracting in segments towards the neck. He removed the helmet and placed it under his arm, it becoming covered beneath the long cloac that he also held over his arm. Looking at Lucia he said "I am sorry about the helmet, in any case. This will be short notice, but your first mission will be tomorrow, the file said that you are a good pilot. that true?"

[Imperial--japan]

The Xiao Syndicate

Whether white, black, yellow, or red, the Xiao are known to have their hands in almost one-third of the various acts of crime around what would be todays United States. While the Xiao in the west may be contested by other petty crime organizations and the occasional 'righteous' law enforcement officer, the Xiao powerbase in the east was a solid infrastructure of numerous operations and facilities. This is all thanks to the numerous contracts that the Xiao have signed with Sinopec in regards to extortion, murder, thievery, and more. The vast wealth of the Xiao is what makes it as powerful as it is, for in this day in age, money is everything to a person. The promise to rise above the petty beggars is enthralling to many, but only so many make it to that stage.

With the rise and success of the Xiao in the generation prior, the rapid expansion of the notorious crime syndicate has slowed down significantly. The debate over succession of the organization has grown ever fiercer in recent years, with some unsatisfied with the idea of 'Lua Xiao' inheriting, deeming her 'unfit' for this line of work. Safe to say, not too many are brave enough to express this opinion vocally, instead sowing doom from the shadows.

Now with the world nearing the pinnacle of change, the head of the Xiao seeks to carve his name into the annals of history; in blood.

Lua Xiao

Lua looked on to Yuki with a satisfied grin on her face. As usual, nobody could resist her whims. It was such a delightful life to live.

"Now see? That wasn't so difficult. Now lets have a little fun," Lua whispered into Yuki's ear. Her advances were only stopped by the piercing sound of gunshots. While the heiress did wish for a bit more excitement in her life, this wasn't exactly what she had in mind. In what seemed like only a few short seconds, the limo door was thrown open and Chase arrived to make sure she was escorted safely. Back to the estate though? Hardly. No threat of death was going to cause her to miss the hottest party of the year.

"This isn't over," Lua smiled as she cupped Yuki's chin in her hands. The heiress never left business such as this...unfinished. Not missing a beat, she exited the limousine under the protection of her guards and headed towards the nearest available vehicle. Whether Chase liked it or not, she would be relaying the new directions to her driver.

[Videssos]

Perhaps it was in some ways, a blessing, though at the same time a curse, when the rapidly escalating situation going on in the back of the limousine was abruptly interrupted by the attack. He wasn't sure, but he probably squeaked a little as Lua's advances grew more pronounced and intimate in nature. Needless to say, the otherwise unusually quiet, scantily clad maid leapt out of the hot tub as soon as he was able, in the wake of his owner's last remark. One could be forgiven for thinking the hot tub would have been boiling by now, given Yuki's flushed countenance.

As soon as the attack had made itself felt, his combat subroutines had already begun preparing and formulating appropriate measures. Moving in a blur, he momentarily veered off to collect his clothes nearby, though he retained the bikini underneath the maid outfit. A majority of his weapons happened to be stored in said clothes, not to mention it would be intolerable fighting, never mind moving around in public wearing as little as he had moments ago. He also feared some more perverted antics orchestrated by Lua. Fear wasn't the only emotion at play, but it was one of the few Yuki was more willing to admit to feeling in that regard.

As it was, Yuki emerged from the limousine a mere few seconds after Lua, somehow having donned much of his earlier clothing in moments. In his hands, he held an A/SRH-C81 laser semi-automatic hybrid assault rifle, though where he'd hidden such a weapon remained a mystery. Of course, it was from far the only weapon he had, and even without a remarkable array of hidden weapons, it was easy to forget, outside of conflict, that fighting was also one of his primary functions, as an artificial battle maid.

The stated objective was to escort and protect Lua from any potential assailants, including the sniper whose assault had ...postponed... certain happenings, as his mistress seemed to infer. Scanning the surrounding environs, including any nearby rooftops or windows for the source of the ambush, Yuki's gaze began glowing an intense crimson as he went through a variety of electromagnetic frequencies, be it infrared, visible light or x-rays, among other things. All the while, he moved behind Lua, as the other guards flanked her, and Chase dealt with Lua's friends.

[The Templar High Council]

Lua looked on to Yuki with a satisfied grin on her face. As usual, nobody could resist her whims. It was such a delightful life to live.

"Now see? That wasn't so difficult. Now lets have a little fun," Lua whispered into Yuki's ear. Her advances were only stopped by the piercing sound of gunshots. While the heiress did wish for a bit more excitement in her life, this wasn't exactly what she had in mind. In what seemed like only a few short seconds, the limo door was thrown open and Chase arrived to make sure she was escorted safely. Back to the estate though? Hardly. No threat of death was going to cause her to miss the hottest party of the year.

"This isn't over," Lua smiled as she cupped Yuki's chin in her hands. The heiress never left business such as this...unfinished. Not missing a beat, she exited the limousine under the protection of her guards and headed towards the nearest available vehicle. Whether Chase liked it or not, she would be relaying the new directions to her driver.

Perhaps it was in some ways, a blessing, though at the same time a curse, when the rapidly escalating situation going on in the back of the limousine was abruptly interrupted by the attack. He wasn't sure, but he probably squeaked a little as Lua's advances grew more pronounced and intimate in nature. Needless to say, the otherwise unusually quiet, scantily clad maid leapt out of the hot tub as soon as he was able, in the wake of his owner's last remark. One could be forgiven for thinking the hot tub would have been boiling by now, given Yuki's flushed countenance.

As soon as the attack had made itself felt, his combat subroutines had already begun preparing and formulating appropriate measures. Moving in a blur, he momentarily veered off to collect his clothes nearby, though he retained the bikini underneath the maid outfit. A majority of his weapons happened to be stored in said clothes, not to mention it would be intolerable fighting, never mind moving around in public wearing as little as he had moments ago. He also feared some more perverted antics orchestrated by Lua. Fear wasn't the only emotion at play, but it was one of the few Yuki was more willing to admit to feeling in that regard.

As it was, Yuki emerged from the limousine a mere few seconds after Lua, somehow having donned much of his earlier clothing in moments. In his hands, he held an A/SRH-C81 laser semi-automatic hybrid assault rifle, though where he'd hidden such a weapon remained a mystery. Of course, it was from far the only weapon he had, and even without a remarkable array of hidden weapons, it was easy to forget, outside of conflict, that fighting was also one of his primary functions, as an artificial battle maid.

The stated objective was to escort and protect Lua from any potential assailants, including the sniper whose assault had ...postponed... certain happenings, as his mistress seemed to infer. Scanning the surrounding environs, including any nearby rooftops or windows for the source of the ambush, Yuki's gaze began glowing an intense crimson as he went through a variety of electromagnetic frequencies, be it infrared, visible light or x-rays, among other things. All the while, he moved behind Lua, as the other guards flanked her, and Chase dealt with Lua's friends.

After Chase had filled the first two cars with Lua's "associates," he made sure only Lua was in the last car. Yuki as well was pushed into the back seat, wielding a large laser rifle, which Chase didn't even have time to question. "You have your orders," he told the robotic maid, as he himself dove into the front seat and looked to the man on his left.

"We need to get Ms. Xiao to safety. Take her back to headquarters, Boss needs to know about what happened." The thin black male nodded, starting the car and turning it 180° before accelerating the way they came from. Neither of the men in the front seat had noticed Lua's visible protest at not being brought to the party.

[Altito Asmoro]

All was going fine, possibly more than fine, given how Chase wasn't listening to the feminine shrieks from the hot tub behind him. Suddenly, it all went to shit. Something that Chase could only assume was a sniper rifle fired a shot that killed the limo's engine. The long car continued rolling forward as Chase shoved his head down, and three or four bullets impacted where his head previously was, as well as the passenger seat. Once the firing was over, Chase got out of the car and spoke into his earpiece, to the other cars.

"We're under attack! Everyone pull up around the limo, we need to get these people out of here. Lua, Yuki, and I need to get back to the Xiao estate before anything else happens." On his orders, the other cars pulled up as Chase opened the back door to the limo. "All of you, out! Now! Get into the two cars in front, the drivers will get you home." He looked directly at Yuki, and designated him with his assignment: "We need to get Ms. Lua home. If anyone interferes, don't hesitate to kill them." Chase grabbed the closest rich kid to the rear driver's-side door and pulled him out. "I said now!" The cars had pulled up and were unlocked, waiting to receive their passengers.

"The situation is critical down here on the street. Team, get off from the roofs and down to the streets. Ride on the motorcycles, and prepare to follow the remaining convoy. I'll be on the street shortly," said Nikolas to his crew as they went down. They didn't asked, but they knew that they won't interact with the convoy directly, maybe more or less just following them and taking them down in the most casualties way. Nikolas, meanwhile, on the top of the roof, preparing his laser sniper rifle from the roof, in position.

After Chase had filled the first two cars with Lua's "associates," he made sure only Lua was in the last car. Yuki as well was pushed into the back seat, wielding a large laser rifle, which Chase didn't even have time to question. "You have your orders," he told the robotic maid, as he himself dove into the front seat and looked to the man on his left.

"We need to get Ms. Xiao to safety. Take her back to headquarters, Boss needs to know about what happened." The thin black male nodded, starting the car and turning it 180° before accelerating the way they came from. Neither of the men in the front seat had noticed Lua's visible protest at not being brought to the party.

"That's the cue, go, go! Chase them from behind and open fire to them! This will be our tonight's feast on money!"

The team, 4 motorcycles each with two men, riding along the streets, and opening fire on the car with their submachine guns and assault rifles, looted from raid on Constellis military facilities 5 months ago so it will shows how effective it will be, while Nikolas put his sniper rifle back in position and prepare to at least able to follow the car via rooftops. He's not going to snipe them here, he's going to snipe when