The experimental project (game, I'm not sure what else yet)

It was raining this night. A heavy, pounding rain that made enough noise to actually contest the constant noise Manehatten exhibited. Despite that though, it still couldn't hold a match to the bonfire of noise that came from the night club itself. A crowded place, packed so tightly with bodies that it was actually hard to tell who was who and what was what. Music pounded through the building, the heavy base beats vibrating everything that wasn't already moving, while the light show painted everything in constantly switching hues and flashes of color. None of you however were called here to just enjoy the dancing, the various drinks, or even the 'dancers' up on raised/suspended podiums and in cages.

No, your goal would be to the back of the crowded room, marked by a rather out of place looking diamond dog in barely concealed armor. The blatantly armored jacket seemed to have had an attempt at being made to look like a formal suit, but even then it still looked rather out of place in the club. The massive figure who was only matched by a few others of similar species, would glare down at any who approached the door. Except for each of you however. As each of you would come to approach the door and the dog, he flicked his eyes to a different color it seemed for a moment before they returned to normal. After that check, the dog would open the door for each individual that managed to pass this little inspection.

Past this door was a short hallway, ending with a single door set slightly ajar. Inside, the music was muted to almost nothing, and a rather exact number of seats were arranged for those who arrived and a small table, but nothing else in the bleak room that they were to wait in for their employer.

Castle picks her way through the club, making a valiant if ultimately futile effort to avoid drunks and other sorts looking for a good time. Luckily, she had was very good at ducking and weaving through crowds, among other things, so such fools presented little issue to her. 'I get why they had us meet here, but honestly, couldn't they have given us a route in that didn't involve us going through the club. Makes it rather obvious we're meeting someone here.' Little thoughts like these run through her head as she comes to a stop in front of the diamond dog. She sighs in relief as she apparently checks out as far as it's concerned, and moves past it.
As she comes into the room, she notes that the music is thankfully less likely to cause hearing damage, and sits down in one of the chairs. She turns as the other file into the room, looking over them carefully.

Ampera Bandiix Charge blended in rather well in the night club. In fact, were it any other day, she would probably be just another one of the alcoholically-inclined ponies of the nightclub, drinking and dancing the night (and most of the morning) away. But no, tonight was not just another night. She glanced towards the back room, easily noticing the hulking diamond guard dog. “Psh. Bet I could fry his ass faster than he could pummel mine.” she commented to herself.  Ampera moved towards whatever this club called its bar and ordered something or another. It really didn’t matter to the mare. She just wanted to end her current state of ‘not pleasantly buzzed’.

Expertly downing whatever it was she ordered, she payed the tender whatever she owned him and moved towards the Diamond Guard. After passing what ever check the dog needed done, she’d trot into the corridor, and later the chair room. The quieter atmosphere was a bit of a drag for her, but, the disappointment was dismissed upon seeing the other pony in the room. Ampera took a moment to admire said pony. “Shiny, decent curvature.. a solid 7, pending facial score. I could dig it." she thought to herself.

“Hello there,” she said with a wave as she took a seat near the other mare.

Aw, c'mon, Icee! Just one drink?

No. We are here on business. It would not to do get drunk.

But-

Business, Eu. Business.

Gotta second Ice this time. Fighting when you're drunk ain't pretty.

Aww...

Ice-blue eyes darted around the bar, giving it a quick once-over. She had been given directions, and they were all she needed. Normally Diana would care more about how well she fit in, but today she needn't bother. Fitting in wouldn't matter today. Not when the bar was just the path to her real destination.

She spotted the diamond dog pretty quickly. Slipping her way through the crowd, she worked her way over to him and gave him a knowing nod. As the door was shortly pushed open, she walked into the room and gave it a quick glance.

Two ponies. One crystal pony and one unicorn. So this is who I'll be working with.

I hope they're fun!

I hope they can kill.

I hope, Diana interjected, that they will make a good team. She moved to take a seat beside the two of them when Euforia cleared her mental throat awkwardly.

Um, Icee... I dunno if you saw it just now, but the unicorn looked like she was, um...

Ogling, Katariah helpfully supplied.

Maybe you should leave them to it.

Alright. Diana stretched out her hoof to take the seat beside Ampera and sit down, but apart from a polite nod and a murmured 'Greetings.' she left them undisturbed.

An old rustbucket of a van pulled into a parking spot outside the nightclub. Inside was a rather tall and haggard unicorn mare. She stuffed her deck and other accessories into her bag, shutting it so that it would be watertight, before putting on a jacket over her ragged corporate desk clothing. She slung her bag onto her back, and managed to get out of her van, shutting it and locking it before heading into the nightclub.

Starlight worked her way to the back of the nightclub, moving past all of the partying ponies. Under normal circumstances, she'd probably be here, jacked into the matrix and enjoying some fun time with her friends. She was here for a different thing. Was it a shadowrunning job? She didn't know. She walked into the small room, taking a seat. An earth pony, a crystal pony, and another unicorn...lovely... She took her hood down, letting her dark purple mane down, and revealing her coat of fur to be light grey. "So...is this some addicts anonymous meeting or something?"

"Something else I'm afraid," said a sharply dressed earth pony as he walked in just moments after Starlight entered. The pony was sporting a very formal looking suit, a short chopped mane and tail, and he moved with a strong fluid purpose. A Mr. Johnson if there ever was one and a sign that this was indeed a serious shadowrun. "I've called you all here for a job, and one that I can't personally see to," he went on while pulling out a comm devise. "I've sent each of you the data on a, disturbed employee. A professor Arc, who was working on an new and experimental product for the EVO corporation has gone rogue after disagreements. You all are being hired to recover the professor's old work, notes, and any new work he's done on the project MFCC. Questions?" he then asked abruptly.

The file would arrive as Mr. Johnson spoke, and would open without issue. Inside would be a photo of Professor Arc, a map location of where he's supposed to be living, and some notes on the scientist's background and work. It would seem that Professor Arc specialized in programming and cyberware, contributing on several projects throughout his career. That was when he was working for RENRAKU computer systems, but then he'd suddenly transferred over to EVO and all his work became classified before going rogue.

Castle leans back, muddling her next words in her head. She didn't know her soon to be partners, and she didn't know the ins and outs of their business, or what questions to ask on their behalf. She couldn't her own skills with negotiation if she didn't know what she was negotiating for. However, there were a couple of things she did know. Namely, cash.
Castle leans forward, fiddling idly with her scarf.
"I think I, and those beside me for that matter, would like to know what you intend to pay us for this. I assume you are paying us, yes?"

"I must agree," Diana added, studying both Starlight and Johnson. One her teammate, the other her employer. Presumably. "I wish to know how much we will receive from this job. I have little intention of working pro bono." She paused to collect her thoughts. "And assuming that your price is acceptable, where are we to return the retrieved items?"

But it's good to be nice sometimes, y'know.

Sure. We could offer our break-in and theft services for free.

Hey, we can do tech stuff too.

Yeah, well, if people owned tech stuff advanced enough to break down, I think they could afford to pay us.

Ampera was slightly irritated that her greeting had gone ignored, an irritation that was made apparent by her briefly sparking horn.  Mr. Johnson’s entry served to quell whatever magical discharge she had been about to unleash. When he asked if she had any questions, she shrugged. The other two already asked the important questions, anyways. She waited for Johnson’s answer, sitting back as relaxed as one could get on the provided seats.

Ampera reviewed whatever documents Johnson had sent them. “Impressive history… Too bad he went and threw it all away.” she thought to herself as she skimmed through Arc’s accomplishments. She looked at his picture, giving it much the same treatment she had given Castle. His score? ‘Eh’.  The professor’s impromptu biography quickly bored her, and she returned her attention to her team and Mr. Johnson. “I take it Arc living  isn’t important anymore?” Ampera asked.

Starlight sighed with relief as the Johnson answered her question, putting her fears to rest. "Oh lovely, I got roped into a shadow run. Lovely. I could use more income..." She glanced over at the crystal pony who questioned getting paid. "Of course you're getting paid. Shadow runs are dangerous at best, running out and getting shot isn't something most ponies choose to do for free. It's never 'are we getting paid?' it's 'how much?'." She turned towards the Mr. Johnson. "I'm assuming since you didn't specify, you can just identify him via dental records and the corpse doesn't need to be recognizable?"

Mr. Johnson nodded to the statements as at least one was answered before he had to. "Yes, you'll all be paid for this," he said calmly, "and quite well I might add. Twenty thousand nuyen for the job (a fairly moderate amount of pay)." Mr. Johnson then looked towards Diana, "you'll be completing the delivery here, via a direct connection transfer of the files."

Then his gaze turned towards both Starlight and Ampera. "Professor Arc is no longer a concern of my employer and as such his fate is not something that factors on the nature of payment for this job," Mr. Johnson replied plainly.

“The grey one is a bit of a bitch,” Ampera thought to herself after Starlight’s little payment monologue. “That’s fine, though… every party needs one.” She continued. Sometime during Johnson’s pleasant revelation, their payment, her attention drifted towards Diana. “She has pretty eyes.” Ampera thought as she idly observed the other mare.  All things considered, this job could’ve been worse. Three attractive mares, 20k nuyen. Yeah, it definitely could’ve been worse.

Ampera got up from her increasingly uncomfortable chair. “Alright, we know who, where, what… and how doesn't seem to be important… So what are we still doing here? We've got shit to do.” She said to everyone in the room, then directed her attention to Johnson specifically. “You got a ride for us, or are we going to blow this popsicle stand on hoof?” She asked their employer.

Castle glares at Starlight. Would it kill the mare to be a little more polite. Honestly, these ponies.
She perks up at the exact figures for payment, though not visibly. She wasn't that green, although she felt they could push for a bit more.... Castle looks to either side of her, judging what her soon to be partners felt about the offered sum. After a moment, she decides that they could in fact get a bit more than 20k.
Speaking up "Given that you're asking us to retrieve a smart and paranoid pony, I can't imagine any reason why he wouldn't have some sort of defenses set up. Can you give us any clues as to what he would be capable of putting together in the time he's had?"
'Oh dear...', she thinks, looking at Ampera. 'I do believe I forgot to return her greeting. Stupid, stupid brain... I shall apologize once this meeting is concluded. IT wouldn;t do for her to feel I had intentionally snubbed her, not this early in my career.'

"Very well." Diana nodded and stepped back. This should be everything I need for now. Except maybe a consideration of the challenges we might face, given prior precedent and-

"... what he would be capable of putting together in the time he's had?" she heard the crystal pony say. Well, that was all she needed to know.

I think we are done here.

Let's earn ourselves twenty-kay nuyen!

Wait, is that per person or all in all?

Thanks for catching that, Eu. "This twenty thousand nuyen of which you speak. Is this the payment per individual, or for our entire group?"

Starlight's face slammed onto the table. She was trying not to pass out from all the asking. She was in the same boat as Ampera, time to get the fuck out of dodge and get on the assignment. "20,000 nuyen. 5,000 each. Got it. No need for the corpse to be anywhere near identifiable. Standard assassination run." She stood up from the table, stretching a bit. "I've got a van. You guys can ride in the back, look for the old beater in the parking lot if you stay behind to get any more trivial questions answered by lovely Mr. Johnson over here." And with that, she started to walk out.

"It would seem that you all already have a ride," Mr. Johnson responded to Ampera first and then turned his attention towards the others and it became a little strained. "I thought I was quite clear that professor arc isn't a concern of the firm I represent. Whether he is alive or not isn't the point of the job, nor is the recovery of the pony himself. We only want the data files and all relevant work he's done on the MFCC project," Mr. Johnson stated sternly while eyeing Starlight with a hard look as she just up and walked out of the room.

With a slight sigh, Mr. Johnson refocused back onto the other questions that had been presented to him. "As the sent file should state, professor Arc was a leading designer in programming and computer systems. He'll likely have drones and automated defenses as well as a fairly powerful ICE programs guarding his work on project MFCC," Mr. Johnson said as he looked about the three ponies that were still sitting down. "Any other questions?" he asked while sounding somewhat annoyed.

Castle shakes her head, ready to leave once the others were. Perhaps she had overdone it, but there was nothing for that now. She would need to do a better job next time, assuming this didn't get her killed. She really really hoped it didn't get her killed.
She turns to her two remaining partners. "I have no more questions, if the two of you don't? Shall we go?"

Ampera was slightly amused at how Starlight, the pony who had shown up late, had also been the first one to leave. Normally, it would’ve annoyed her… but that mare smelled funny, so, an exception was made.  Johnson’s irritable tone was not lost on her, and as far as she was concerned… whenever your employer started getting pissy, you scrammed and let some other poor sod trigger him.

“Nope, I’m straight.” She said in response to Castle’s question. Ampera then began to casually trot out of the room, and towards Starlight’s van.

Diana turned towards Castle. Her eyes flashed momentarily, transitioning from their normal ice blue to, briefly, blood-red. "I'd question if we're stuck with that idiot..." And just like that, the red melted back into blue, and she turned back to the door. "But the answer is obvious enough." She sighed and proceeded through the door herself. "We should be going. We have a job to do, after all."

Please do not do that again, Blood.

Yeah, well, it's true.

The honesty of a given statement is often inversely proportional to its social acceptability.

Are we fighting again?

No.

Oh, goodie. It sounded like you were.

Starlight made her way out to the parking lot, making sure she had her bag in tow. Her horn lit up, opening the door with a slight creaking noise and stepping in. She set her gear bag in back, settling down behind the wheel and sighing. "That crystal pony is a fucking idiot. You don't just pester a goddamn Johnson like that..." She monologued to no one in particular. She turned her head to see Ampera following her, and opened one of the panel doors. "I'm assuming you need a lift from all the stupidity back there?"

The Nightclub hadn't changed in the time the four had spent in the back with Mr. Johnson, the music was still blaring, the lights were still flashing, and the mass of bodies was still moving. This just made the transition of scene all the more present as just outside the club, the drab and dreary rain soaked streets were fairly calm and quiet for this time.

The map provided in the data file sent showed an easy route to take to reach the professor's location, except for the lengthy drive as it was some distance away. These many hours could be spent doing several things from going over information in the data file, to preparing oneself for mission.

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OOG: Alright, so we're initializing travel time here, spend it how you want or just have your character take a nap. When you feel you're done and ready to move on to the next scene, just say so and we'll get right to the professor's lab. Would also like to quickly say, multiple posts can be made at this time.

Trotting back into the nightclub itself had Ampera tempted to take another drink. The only reason she didn’t, and she very nearly did, was because as of now, she had a job to do. Being inebriated during a mission could kill her… and living was something she very much enjoyed doing.  Unfortunately, the DJ had been playing a particularly catchy bit of wub… and now so was her brain. “Shit, this song isn’t even good…” She mumbled to herself as she exited the club.

“Hey, don’t badmouth your partners, they’re more inclined to keep you living when they like you.” Ampera said to Starlight after the mare had finished bad-mouthing the crystal pony. “Yeah, I need a ride. I figure they do too. We’re better off riding together, plan for the run and shit.” she continued, hopping into Starlight’s van.

Diana winced as she stepped back into the nightclub. She couldn't imagine spending any more time in places like this than she needed to. It was loud, disruptive, filled with temptations and indulgences of all sorts, and most importantly harboured dangerous drunkards and other such scum of society. At least, scum for the moment. There really was no reason for her to be there at all.

Only business. And she would have business, because it gave her the money she needed to survive. And other luxuries, of course.

She followed the other two out of the club. "A ride would be nice, yes," she said as she climbed into the van.

A ride with her?

We need the job, we need the money. She will be useful.

I didn't know bitchiness could be used as a weapon.

Can it?

You never know.

Castle slinks out of the crowded nightclub, her ears ringing uncomfortably from the blaring music. She hated it. Her preference was a quiet library, with lots of books. Sadly, that was unlikely.
Spotting the van and her companions, she went over and climbed in after the others.

(Inserting convenient GMing because Lolk has decided to withdraw from this game) Or Castle would have gotten into the van had she actually made it through the thick crowd of ponies in the club.

Meanwhile, back at the van Starlight would only wait for a short while before shrugging and just driving off, leaving with just Diana and Ampera in the back of the shoddy vehicle. It took quite a bit of driving, but as part of the provided data file, a map was provided and easily led the small group to the small ramshackle like building. Out in the middle of a fairly flat desert like area, there stood a small shack like building with lots of 'keep out' signs and other similar warning signs. Past that though, there was just a door and building there, out in the middle of a desert. If it wasn't for the abundance of signs even, the shack would actually look rather abandoned.

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OOG: alright, let's get this dang show on the road again, also yes, Lolk told me they wish to drop out of this game.