Cyber Wars 2.0 Chapter 6: "Oh what a tangled (world wide) web"

[Wolf99x]

OOC: New chapter

BIC: Jason was about to respond to Thomas when his PDAP rang. He looked at it.

"Damn...the Joint Chiefs are complaining again, I have to go quell whatever fears they have this time."

He took off for his office. Sitting down, he plugged himself into his computer and jacked in to the JCS briefing room.

As he materialized, he noticed that General Wesson looked a bit distressed but otherwise calm, while the Admiral and the Air Force General were looking quite shocked, and Stoyanovich was pacing the room with a nervous tic in his eye.

"Ok, what minor isolated incident has happened that has you all in a tizzy?" Jason asked.

Stoyanovich leapt up onto the briefing table, stopping just short of landing on Jason. "Do...not...assume...that...we...are...wasting...yo ur...time..." he said through clenched teeth.

"Director, you're overreacting a bit," General Warner said. "Sit down."

Stoyanavich glared daggers at Jason, but he eventually sat down at his seat.

General Wesson began. "Earlier today an alert went off at the Los Angeles information terminal regarding a dangerous rogue virus type AI. This AI promptly escaped from security forces and hijacked a data transport carrying a well-known socialite and her boyfriend."

Jason blinked. "and?"

General Warner stifled an angry groan "Christ man, do we have to spell this out? Fine, I will, General MacKenzie. The target was identified as Coyote."

Jason's eyes widened for a split second, but then he looked puzzled. "Wait, that's impossible. He was deleted. Mastermind eliminated him."

Warner shook his head. "The computer does not lie."

"And why did you even keep his name in the system? I thought Jade and I made it perfectly clear that Coyote did not survive the war."

Stoyanavich spoke up. "Would you believe that the Devil had been killed even if you saw it with your own eyes?"

Jason paused. "While i don't appreciate the anaolgy, i can see your point. Ok, what needs to be done?"

"We've tracked the data transport's IP to a location within the Cyber World. Currently it is not moving. Take whomever you can and get out there and bring that rogue in."

Jason was going to complain that his team was in no shape to move out, but that wasn't true, only 2 people had been injured in the fight to any serious degree.

"Very well, I'll do what i can."

He saluted and logged off.

***

Jason walked back to the Infirmiary

"What was that about?"

"Apparently reports of Coyote's death were greatly exxagerated. I'll explain when i get a strike team together."

He quickly fired off an email to Rose to meet in the briefing room, then he turned to Tomas and Jax.

"You two in good enough shape to go on another mission?

[Squishy Cheeks]

"Now remember, you behaving like a total whore does nothing, but make you look like a whore."

"Yes, Mr. Coyote." the blonde heiress said demurely, like a child scolded by a parent.

"And you, do something meaningful with your money. Like help people."

"Yes, Mr. Coyote." the shipping heir said.

"Now I'm going to take this suit case full of booze and make my escape. I programmed this thing to land you in thailand. "

"Ok" they said in unison. "good luck."

Coyote Sat on the suitcase and put on a cowboy hat. He smiled at the two kids.

"Catch you later carcass-codes." He opened the access door and was sucked out into the digital void. The door closed behind him.

"YEEEEHAW!!!!" He whipped his cowboy hat around as he rode the booze down

[Raiden]

Thomas got off the wall and stretched.

"Of course, Meester Ahmployer."

He was being paid to do a job, and until they ran out of money, he died, or a better offer came up, he was to go on missions regardless of his health.

[Squishy Cheeks]

Crow pulled out a retro looking floppy disk he put n the table.

A hologram 12" scale miniature Raven appeared. He turned to Jade, and bowed, then bowed to wolf too.

"I wish I could have sent this message anyother way, but i had to ensure that it was not intercepted. Crow, verify that the location is secure."

Crow nodded to the hologram.

Cyber Eden is under attack, a terrorist attack took out one of or communication platforms. We have since followed our protocols and activated a defensive matrix, however while we performed the maintenance and upgrades our communications have been interdicted. We have in essence forced the gates open, but it is only a matter of time before our enemies launch a strike in the form of an invading army or bombing strikes. I fear for the continued survival of my nation. I ask you for your help."

[Darth SS]

Jax shrugged and winced.

"I'm good for sniper cover, but I'm not gonna' be any good hand to hand. I also need to reprogram my gear again."

[Wolf99x]

"That's ok," Jason said, "we could use someone watching over us. I have a feeling this is going to be quite complicated. Get your gear reprogrammed and meet up in the briefing room in 20 minutes."

[CelesJessa]

I wonder what's going on this time...

Rose shrugged as she closed the E-mail from Jason. She had been resting up until now, so now she felt rested and ready for whatever they were going to throw at her, or at least as ready as she was going to be.

About twenty minutes from the time she checked her e-mail, Rose found herself in the breifing room waiting for the others.

[Wolf99x]

Beowulf contacted Jason during the interim time before the briefing

"I took the liberty of acquiring the security video for the LA terminal at the time Coyote tripped the alarm. It's uploaded to the computer in your office."

"Thanks for thinking ahead. I'll be right there."

***

Back in his office, Jason had dove into the reconstruction of the security videos, represented in a full virtual environment. Currently he was standing at the metal/viral detectors just before the alarm was tripped. He saw as the last schoolchild walked through and the alarm went off. He paused the video and looked at the young boy.

So this is what you look like now, Coyote...if it is you. How did you escape your fate on Torishima, and why would you show yourself here?

He saw "Coyote" knock down the security guards and run down the hall, before stopping and staring intently at 3 people, then hurriedly running off in another direction, the three people chasing him.

They don't look like security, why is he fleeing them?

Soon 6 more people were spotted converging on his position, then the recording ran out.

Jason watched it two more times and logged out.

"What do you think?" He asked Beowulf

"I think he's in a panic. Those three people he ran from clearly spooked him, and if he was in such a panic to escape it explains why we even have this recording."

"I agree, but the question is still why? Namely, why was he there and why did he decide to show up if he's been alive and hiding all this time? And also, where is he now?"

"Well, he usually shows up if there's something that's not only damaging and threatening to most of the world, but himself and his plans as well. Clearly he knows something, and there are people who are out to stop him from telling what he knows. But this at least helps us answer where he is now, which is not on that data plane."

"Yeah, if he's being followed, he doesn't want to show up where he'd be expected. Still, we should investigate that plane when it comes in." he thought for a second. "Get in contact with those mercenaries Knight provisioned for us, and have them go to the plane when it shows up, get as many scans as possible and all the relevent manifests, and have them turn that data over to us."

"Well, I already found out where the plane landed, apparently an unscheduled landing occured at the Bangkok data terminal from the plane that Coyote absconded with."

"Good, run a trace on the flight path as well, try to see if there are any places Coyote could have bailed to."

"No problem. All that should be done by the time you're ready to begin breifing."

"Excellent."

[Raiden]

Thomas had taken a seat beside Rose in the briefing room.

"Aht leest zis won't be bahring. Keep close to me, cheri. Ah'll protect you."

He was looking at her from beneath the brim of his hat, giving a charismatic smile.

[Squishy Cheeks]

Coyote landed on his feet like a cat as the bag of booze collided with the ground hard. The bag was riddled with broken glass and the alcohol smell rising high in the air. Coyote covered his tracks so it appeared no one had landed with the bag, if they found the bag they would only find the bag. soon he reached a creek, which upon crossing he threw caution to the wind and upted more to put as much distance. he ran as fast he could through the jungle, running towards civilization.

[Darth SS]

Jax was sitting beside Thomas, and had his legs up on the table. He'd already gone and reprogrammed his stuff to something a bit more sensible for the situation.

"Oh, keep it in your pants. It's a baaad move to sleep with coworkers. Especially after one hell of a first day."

[Wolf99x]

Jason entered the briefing room about a minute later, with Kaitiln following him, and he began the breifing.

"I'm going to use my version of events rather than what the JCS told me and probably wanted me to tell you because as usual, their facts are distorted."

he punched up the security footage, with Coyote clearly highlighted.

"Earlier today a long thought dead AI known as Coyote tripped a virus scan alarm at the LA Data Terminal. He promptly escaped security teams, but at his initial mode of escape was threatened by unknown persons, as you will see."

He ran the footage, taking the time to point out the unknows that Coyote had fled from.

"Whatever the case, the data plane he hijacked later appeared over the Cyber Pacific and made a landing in Thailand. Coyote was not on it, he had abandoned it far before. The merc squad that Knight has on-loan for us scanned the data plane and found nothign out of the ordinary, save for a case of booze listed on the manifest but missing in all forms from the plane. My guess is Coyote took it with him when he bailed. According to the flight path there is a small chain of islands with a digital city that he could have wound up on. That's where we'll begin the search."

he paused. "The JCS wants us to find and bring coyote in for kidnapping and theft, plus various other crimes he committed before his apparent deletion that he's returned from. However, we are not going to do that. I have a feeling that if coyote spent 3 years hiding after his apparent death at Torishima, he must've learned something now that has caused him to come out of hiding. I want to know what that is and I want to know straight from him. So our mission is going to be to find him and ask him what he knows."

he made one more pause to let it sink in.

"Any questions?"

[Zephie]

Hours later and Wraith hadn't moved.

Nobody had bothered him... but he still hadn't moved. And he didn't plan to, not until he knew for sure she's be all right.

Inside the operating room it was a different story... Doctor Oedupe barking orders and directing his people in frantic overtones, doing all he could with what he could. The noise, though muffled, could be heard outside, and Wraith caught a little of it every now and again, and could hear the names of certain tools, or certain places where the good doc wanted an incision made. Suffice to say he didn't fancy the images they gave him.

He glanced up at the clock in the hallway... 1400 hours, Eastern time. It would be a long wait.

[MC43]

OOC: Uh... I thought we already had the operation scene. In fact... I remember taking care of that Zeph...

[Zephie]

(( You didn't definitively take care of it, you just started the operation and never offered a finish. This is the middle, from Wraith's P.O.V. ))

[Raiden]

Thomas raised his hand.

"Vat eef he rezists? Should ve get...'ow you say...pheezikal?"

Thomas cracked his knuckles to accentuate what he meant.

[Squishy Cheeks]

ooc: lol Wolf you should tell them about the last time cyber forces tried to capture coyote.

[Wolf99x]

OOC: Now what makes you think i'd omit such a detail?

BIC: Jason winced slightly at the prospect of going another battle against coyote. "I don't think he will resist unless we provoke him, and if he does resist...we are quite screwed. Let me explain. During the war we, by which i mean the original team, were dispatched to Coyote's mansion in the Cyber World to apprehend him or at the very least disarm a cyber WMD called the "404 Device". The device was pretty self-explanitory, it deleted everything the laser fired by it touched. Sort of like Goldeneye only used on the Cyber World. He mostly kept to not using it on actual civilian targets...save for Cyber Monterrey, an action which still puzzles me since all of the other attacks Coyote made did not implicitly kill people. But I digress. The point is we weren't even in the mansion more than 5 minutes before shit went wrong fast."

"The thing to understand about Coyote is that he is an anomaly among AIs. He has unparalleled knowledge about how the Cyber World works and functions, and he's quite capable of bending it to his whim. The Cyber World is pretty much his plaything. hence why he had an improbability drive installed in the confines of his mansion...as well as a whole room that was a walk through Escher painting. I got caught in both of those, the latter for most of the time we were in the mansion. I was also trapped in that room with two of Mastermind's system agents who had been horribly damaged by the effects of Brittney Spears. Don't ask, it's better if you don't know that it stays that way. Afterwards i found out that the main reason Coyote got us into the mansion was to have a face-to-face chat with Colonel LaFleur. All he wanted was a place of his own where he wouldn't be persecuted...so she gave it to him. And he took the weapon offline. Of course, he probably also acquiesced to helping us again after Mastermind sent a massive army to destroy him and we helped repel the attack but i don't know for sure. Point is, he went from being a bit of a thorn in our sides to the best ally we had against Mastermind. The help he gave us at great cost helped end the war, and that, dear rookies, is why Cyber Eden is here today."

He realized he accidentally went off track.

"The point is, we don't want to fight him, and i don't think he's looking for a fight, at least not from us. And if we did have to fight him, i'd suggest we'd be better off not doing so. cause we're no match for someone who can bend the Cyber World itself if he felt like it."

[Squishy Cheeks]

The security video warped and an anthropomorphic coyote stepped on screen.

"If you're seeing this, then one Mr. Jason "Wolf" MacKenzie is in the room." The coyote said with a bow.

"SUP SON! Bet you thought I was dead. Well I ain't. I put this message into your computers years ago in case I needed your help. You can either find me, or a message at Suryavarman II's house. see you in Khmer."

[Wolf99x]

Jason blinked for a second.

"Case in point." he said gesturing to the video as it returned to normal. "The good news is he's at least eliminate most of the searching...save for who this Suryavarman II is. Though judging by the Khmer line it sounds like he was some noble in that region. Also this tells us that he isn't looking for any fight, rather he needs our help. And believe me, when an AI capable of turning the world on its ear needs your help...he isn't kidding."

[Darth SS]

Jax leaned back and winced a bit as he put his hands behind his head.

"So...what are we? Are we going to collect him, or are we acting as CSD, Close Security Detail? It seems like he's not going to fight us, which makes me question the neccesity of three of us going to get him."

[Wolf99x]

"The reason the 5 of us are going," Jason said correcting Jax's minor error, "Is because Coyote was running from someone who wanted to harm him, and I'd like to be able to defend him and ourselves if we need to."

Beowulf appeared onscreen.

"Sir, I ran a search on Suryavarman II and Khmer. Both point to Cambodia, and more specifically the temple the former emperor built, Angkor Wat."

"Then we know exactly where to go. Angkor Wat's cyber duplicate. Coyote, or at least a message from him, will be waiting there. To be safe we'll have a Phantom in flyover over the temple. Jax, you'll be providing sniper cover from up there, in case anybody tries to break up the meeting. Thomas, Rose, and Kaitlin will accompany me inside. We've got no time to waste so let's get to it."

As Jason headed for the ops room, he sent a message to Wraith and the others who weren't going with him keying them in to the situation and warning them he may need them for backup if something went wrong.

***OOC: speeding things up a bit for the sake of story progression***

BIC: About 5 minutes later, in Cyber Cambodia, a Phantom jet in cloaked mode touched down outside Angkor Wat, and Jason, Thomas, Rose, and Kaitlin debarked. The jet, piloted by Beowulf, then began to do a close patrol of the surrounding area.

Jason led the team into the temple, until he reached what he believed to be the great hall.

[Squishy Cheeks]

Several monks dressed in orange robes were tending to various tasks. a young monk no older than 12 looked to the new comers and turns back to his task. He whispers something and hurries off.

He was near an ancient looking statue in the corner, before he left.

[Wolf99x]

Jason thought-commed to Beowulf.

"Beowulf, if you can, use the FLIR and Enhanced Imaging cameras to track the young monk who just ran off. I'm not sure he is Coyote or not, but still, keep tabs on him"

Beowulf sent a quick reply of affirmation, and then Jason walked up to inspect the statue that the young monk had been near before he ran.

He stared intently at it, not sure whether or not he should touch it. He decided that making physical contact with it might not be the best idea.

Besides Coyote was more for being the one to make his greetings first. he thought.

[CelesJessa]

Rose surveyed the room with piercing eyes as she stepped forward, looking for any sign of Coyote or his message that was waiting. From the sounds of things, this opponant was their more formidable yet, so she kept alert, her hand ready to perform her nanite manipulation trick if a threat appeared.

[Squishy Cheeks]

The statue winked at wolf and leapt flipping in the air. The form shifted and changed to a handsome middleaged man in a flawless tuxedo. He landed behind Rose as his nails grew into canine like claws. His arm was around her neck in a flash and his nails pressed to her juggular.

"Sorry about the theatrics, brothers." Coyote said to Beowulf and Wolf "You brought n00bs and they haven't earned my trust yet."

[CelesJessa]

Dammit Rose cursed in her head at her inability to react fast enough, and now she was a liability to the team. She had to find a way for him to possibly drop his guard, then she might have a chance at her ability. However, if she moved a muscle there was no doubt that she would be dead very quickly. So she would have to talk.

"So..." Rose began boldly, "This is supposed to be the famous Coyote?" She scoffed, "taking hostages seems rather low for the legend that you supposedly are, if you ask me."

[Squishy Cheeks]

"Little girl, you are through the looking glass. Forget what you think you know, and prepare for anything when you deal with me. Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and taste."

[Raiden]

Thomas had his gloves on and ready.

"Naht much 'oner een zis vone, eh?"

His gloves gave off a small spark. His software alteration software was already running in his clothing. While he couldn't alter cyber world's reality on a whim like this creature...you could still alter software enough to block out a normal AI from changing it. Of course, from what he heard, this isn't any normal AI. But still...he'd put up a fight against it.

[Squishy Cheeks]

"Of course I have no honor, Honor is a meaty concept, now shall we discuss this rationally or do you want to do this the hard way?"

[Wolf99x]

Jason decided the show had gone on long enough.

"I would suggest the rational discussion, but if you really think, Thomas, after what i've said before, that you can handle Coyote in a fight...nah I'm still going to go with the rational one on this. There will be other times for object lessons on when you should and shouldn't fight. So, Coyote, if you will gladly stop pressing your claws against Rose's jugular, we will be able to get down to business. You said you needed my help, correct?"

[Squishy Cheeks]

Coyote let rose go without a single scratch, or bruise.

"i figure we can help each other. I have an assassin problem, and as good as I am, I'm not going to compromise my son and grand son for my pride, So I ran here and sent you a message. I'm not sure if the assassins knew before who they were deaping with, but they do know, and well I don't have a fortress to hide in anymore, and I'm persona non grata with my grandson's people. So you see my Dilema. Me, a cyber god, stuck between a rock and a hardplace. If I die the information about what's really going on dies with me, and I doubt I'll be able to pull off a ressurection again."

[Raiden]

"Ah 'ad no eentenshion of ah fight. Just prepahring een case 'e tries to 'urt an innocent."

His gloves sparked within his sleeves. He had been hired to come on some kind of rescue or recon mission, and the target threatened the life of a teammate. If the target paid him a higher amount to switch sides, then he wouldn't care what he did. But as long as the team he was on signed his checks...he had to do what he could.

[Wolf99x]

"All right. It would be good to have a clue about what's been going on ever since Mastermind's army resurfaced. How are we going to find these assassins that are tailing you? I mean, assuming that you were able to ditch them when you fled the LA data terminal."

[Darth SS]

Jax was on an overlooking hill, flat on his stomach. With him, he had a wind speed sensor, a water bottle, a calculator, and his canadian army issue sniper rifle. He'd already worked out the effect of the wind on his shot, and every once in a while he'd use his binoculars to scan briefly. Conveniently enough, Coyote was sitting right in front a window, and the little night vision lens that fit onto the back of scope lit him up like daylight.

Now, however, Jax was experiencing the part that he'd hated of law enforcement sniping. Boredom. There wasn't even an edge of confusion about what was going to happen. Option A, they get what they want, they're good, no shooting. Option B, Jax has to pop people, everyone gets out, lots of shooting. Even though his earpiece and safety glasses were letting him A) See the events through Thomas' eyes, and B) Letting him listen, Jax was still bored. And hot. Unfortunately, he'd reprogrammed his stuff to be his dark blue windbreaker, and that was just broiling. Even under the shade of his ghillie suit, it was boiling.

So, Jax did something Wolf would not approve him. He read a book. Specifically, "The Witches of Chiswick" by Robert Rankin. It was most humorous.

Speaking to no one at all, Jax stretched and said "Can we hurry this up, please?"

[Squishy Cheeks]

"You're in bed with the enemy, but that always was your stong suit." Coyote looks at Kaitlin. "Good to see you again, Kaitlin. At least this time you aren't trying to kill me or my children. Could you be a dear and ask your friend on the hill to come down here, I don't much like having a gun pointed at my head, it's not like I'm not prepared for all eventualities, but it's ever so rude."

[Wolf99x]

Deep in her mind Kaitiln heard a voice calling out to her

Snap that goddamn furry's neck right now. Do you realize what an insult to your integrity that was? It's not like you wanted to lead the force against his wretched clones. Kill him. You have your information.

but just as quickly as that thought came, she shunted it out. Getting real tired of you, voice. I am not going to bring harm to him just for him making a small verbal jab.

Soon you will see things my way. the voice quietly hissed. and then it was gone.

She showed no discernable annoyance as she activated her communicator. "Jax, stand down and get in here, the sniper cover won't be necessary as of now."

Jason, while sort of comprehending what Coyote was saying, needed to know more. "So there's someone whose working against us? Are they with 'Mastermind', or are they acting on their own agenda? Or is that something i don't need to know yet?"

[Squishy Cheeks]

"you'll know more when you move me to a safer location. The name of the game is get me to safety and you have about 2 minutes before the enemy gets here."

[Wolf99x]

"Well, there's no doubt me and the others are going to get you to safety. I just need to know what constitutes as "safe" to you." Jason said as he radioed Beowulf.

"Bring the Phantom in for extraction we're going to have to get away from here and put Coyote somewhere he can't be touched. We've got about 2 minutes."

"You got it."

He turned back to his team. "The rest of you, get ready, we're probably going to have a fight on our hands."

[Darth SS]

Jax was starting to stick his stuff back into his ruck when Wolf annouced they were probably going to have a fight on their hands.

"So...should I stay out? Or should I come in?"

He was getting mixed messages, and it was confusing.

[Wolf99x]

"Keep packing Jax, and move towards the temple, the Phantom will pick you up. We're going to try and pull out of here before whoever was tailing Coyote gets here. We've got 2 minutes."

he turned back to Coyote. "Who exactly was tailing you?"

[Squishy Cheeks]

"Looked like agents only not as stupid. Probably enhanced First orders."

[Raiden]

Thomas tightened his gloves on his hands, and placed them on the ground. He closed his eyes.

"Two meenuts? Naht much tahm for a deefanse."

His gloves rushed as they activated his software reading program, giving him instant info on all programs in use or deactive. He was tempted to check out Coyote's profile...but decided that was way too hard a crack job at that time. Maybe if he had a day to kill...but not right now. Right now, he was checking for an exact location on any incoming hostiles.

[Darth SS]

Jax shrugged and kept going. The gillie suit, extra clips (not magazines), his binoculars, and all the other fun stuff went in the bag, which was hung so it dangled right across Jax's butt. With much care, the rifle was closed down and then slung right on top of that, and Jax started to walk down to where Wolf was.

He tapped the temple of his glasses, and they polarized. They were indeed the same model that Angel had trial tested. Also, as a way of spiting authority, Jax kept his finger in his book as he headed down towards the temple.

[Wolf99x]

Jax was about to learn tempting fate was not a good idea. A twig snapped near him. He turned but saw nothing.

However, what kicked him in the chest and sent him flying 15 feet into a tree and knocking him senseless, was anything but.

In the jungles surrounding Angkor Wat, 9 camoflauge devices disengaged revealing 9 First Order assassins in stealth suits. While no armor was visible, they didn't need it. Their augmentations were their armor.

"One down, he's unagmented and unconcious, he is no threat to us." the one who attacked Jax said.

"There are 4 plus our target in the temple. Only 2 seem to be augmented. Those two are heretics that contributed to our lord's downfall." said another

"He will be avenged. And they will be destroyed."

The assassins closed in on the temple running at nearly 50 miles per hour.

***

"Jax just got taken down. His vitals are stable though. There are 9 unknown possible First Order contacts closing in. Coyote's trackers seem to be a bit early."

"Shit." Jason said. "All right. Plan has changed. Coyote, we're going to fend them off until you can figure out somewhere for us to take you to hide. Rose, whatever weapons you can come up with would be helpful. Anything that can give an EMP off would be perfect since it would take away the advantage of their augmentations. Thomas, time to find out what effect your gloves have against these fanatics. Kaitiln, you up for a fight?"

Kaitiln produced two kris knives in her hands. "Against the first order? Always."

Jason smiled a bit. "Ok, we need to use squad tactics to take them down. Beowulf will hound them in with the Phantom's guns so that they only come in one way, and that will increase our odds against them. Above all, no heroics. Those won't save you against the First Order."


***

Back outside, Beowulf began raining machine gun and missile fire on the assassins, forcing them into taking only the front entrance in. Two assassins fell to the ground from explosions and bullets, but got up again, their wounds resealing from their augmentations. The only ill effect seeming to be that they were going to get to the temple a couple seconds earlier.

[Squishy Cheeks]

Coyote bowed to the monks. "You should find somewhere safe, thank you, namaste" Coyote began to wamine the connections windows and dialogue boxes popping up around him he opened some touched other closed many eamined some he walked calmly to a hidden location so he could work in peace.

_______________

Crow grabbed his head with one hand and pulled out a chair with the other. He felt something try to contact him it was both alien and familiar. He knew it in an instant what it was.

"May I turn on the news?"

[Raiden]

Luckily, Thomas's hand was still on the ground. His eyes opened, and thousands of streams of data could be seen going through his irises. As he worked, data seem to be coming from his mouth, with no hint of an accent at all.

"Access:Passcode-Passcode alterations for temporary maintenance-Access Granted. Identifying ground sector 9323444-AB, altering original programming-replace the X with A and insert this request combination into the third line of commands. Compile-Operate-Manifest.

As he accessed the software of the temple, a strange large transparent film appeared over the front entrance. It was so transparent that you wouldn't see it unless you knew it was there. A few of the First Order were going to have a surprise when they broke through it.

"Ah'd reccamend zat you all steep avay from ze frahnt eentrahnce."

[Wolf99x]

It turned out that what Thomas had put up was an EMP barrier. That became obvious to Jason when the first three assassins ran through the front door and suddenly slowed down, one of them even tripping over his own feet at the sudden loss of speed.

Jason shot that one through the skull with his .45 "Hmm...seems they sent ill-knowledged assassins" he said.

Kaitlin hit the two others in the head with throwing knives while they were still trying to comprehend what was happening. She was about to respond with something equally over-obvious when the remaining 6 assassins poured through the door with no ill effects.

"...or not." Jason said as he drew his katana. Next to him Kaitlin did the same.

[Squishy Cheeks]

"I got us an exit but I'm going to need to clear the way. You have to hold them off for 5 minutes." Coyote shouted closing all his windows. He began to pixelate and disintigrate. "When i'm gone completely we all go."

[Wolf99x]

5 minuntes? shit if we're not careful this fight could be over in 5 seconds!

Jason cleared his head of negative thoughts as he took a swipe at the first assassin. the assassin merely slid aside, letting the blade pass harmlessly. Jason's next swipe attempt resulted in the assassin catching his sword and throwing him into a wall. Two assassins attempted to double team him while he was still getting back to his feet, but he shot one in the knee with a lucky quickdraw shot and swept the other leg. He snapped his sword up to the other one and the assassin barely got out of the way, suffering only a cut on the face.

"Just because you guys think you can beat me doesn't mean you will." Jason sneered a bit as he leapt back at his first attacker and brought him to the ground with a running lariat neckbreaker. The assasin wasn't down for the count though, as he could hear the nanites reattaching and realigning the vertebrae.

Damn, didn't get the brainstem he thought as he blocked a kick from another attacker. This is going to get ugly...real fast.

[Squishy Cheeks]

Coyote disappeared completely. soon Kaitlin noticed her arm pixelating, the pixel moved off shrinking and more started to follow.

"JASON!!! she disintegrated more.

[Wolf99x]

Jason looked and saw Kaitlin beginning to vanish. Not exactly sure what was happening he let his guard down and was kicked hard in the head. He spun with the blow and staggered over to where she was, firing his gun to keep the assassins at bay.

"Coyote is probably downloading us out with him...this is going to sound dumb but try to stay calm!" he said.

Kaitiln whipped a knife into a nearby assassin's chest, allowing Jason to cleave the First Order's head off while he was stunned. "Not making any promises, but if you say so. See you on the other side, dear."

"Of course," Jason said as he gave her a quick kiss before she vanished almost completely. He turned his attentions back to the assassins. "Almost half of you are dead, last chance to cut your losses and get out of here." he said.

One of the assasins charged him, he grabbed the enemy soldier and hip tossed him to the ground and shot him. he wasn't sure he was down and out but he'd be down for a bit.

"Guess that means not."

[Darth SS]

That is when an incredibly pissed off Jax came in, his sniper rifle shouldered. The muzzle velocity of the C6(M82) Parker Hale rifle was in the range of 900 meters per second, about Mach 3. It was a .308 armor piercing round, non metal jacketed. To succesfully dodge the round would literally tear the First Order apart, as they had shown that they didn't have more resilient skin, just faster regeneration.

Couple in the fact that the First Order assasins had to react first, and one horrible fact was revealed. That assasin that Jax shot at? Fucked.

The assasin's head exploded. Normal metal-jacketed rounds kept the head intact, but the fragmentation round Jax had fired did not. Hurriedly, he worked the bolt, hoping for two things: 1) That would could deal with the remaining two, or that 2) He could get off another shot.

[Squishy Cheeks]

Kaitlin was soon completely downloaded. It was Jax's turn, his legs began to disintegrate.

_________

"Hello, hello" a folder titled Coyote said to a folder titled Kaitlin. A folder named jax was greyed out and a progress bar slowly ticked up.

[Raiden]

Thomas's gloves were sparking furiously. As an assassin came running toward him at high speeds, a blast of electricity went down and shocked its legs, making the augmented assassin's limps go numb.

As the limping assassin stumbled forward, Thomas reared his fist back. Thanks to his gloves, his strength was increased to the levels of those with augments in them. As his fist went forward, it struck into the killer's chest, sending him flying back and crashing into a wall.

He tipped his hat, and rushed off to keep an eye on Rose.

[Wolf99x]

Jason shot the assassin Thomas had smashed into the wall, pulping the First Order trooper's brain. Coupled with the assassin Jax had shot that left only 2.

or so he thought.

"Enemy transport inbound. Most likely carrying more first order. ETA, 1 minute. I'm going to try and slow them down." Beowulf reported.

"Got it." Jason said as he hacked into the shoulder of one of the assassins and kicked him aside. "Keep me updated on that."

He looked around. Jax was almost downloaded out, it was just Rose, Thomas, and himself.

[Squishy Cheeks]

Jax finished up ahead of schedule. Soon rose felt a tingling in her feet as they started to disintegrate

______________

"Well the Que is moving along nicely."

[Raiden]

Thomas's fists were up in a sort of boxing procedure. His gloves were sparking, shocking the assassins each time he punched. The numbing of their bodies through the electricity was the only thing giving him an edge over their speed. His strength, as shown by the uppercut he gave that crumpled a jaw, was on level with theirs.

He moved his way back to Jason.

"See eef you cahn git moved first, sahr. Ah've got a zurprise een store for zem."

[Wolf99x]

"No offense Thomas, but something tells me you might be the last one out of here. Call it a hunch. In any event I hope they enjoy your surprise."

He hit one of the assassins with a step-up roundhouse kick to the head, watching the assassin fall hard, probably from an earlier numbing of his nanites. He also fired two .45 slugs into the assassin's chest, dropping him.

Outside there was a loud crash and then an explosion

I took down the transport but 5 assassins bailed, they'll be on you in 30 seconds.

"Got it. Beowulf, get yourself out of here and apprise Wraith of the situation. We can handle this and I'll make contact with you once we have Coyote in a safe location. Also, tell Wraith to be wary of any orders the JCS gives while I'm away."

"Affirmative"

OOC: i figured you needed something to do, zeph. i sorta forgot about ya in this :sweatdrop

[Darth SS]

Jax looked around as best he could. Part of him was spasming inside, and at long last he finally expressed with his frustration with a great rage-filled cry.

"I'M A FUCKING FOLDER!"

[Squishy Cheeks]

"What did you expect? This is Arpanet."

[Raiden]

Thomas left the rest of the assassins to Jason to handle. His hands were already on the ground. His eyes were filled with glowing data, and the words came from his mouth again in a silent mumble.

Within a 30 yard radius around Thomas, six small towers rose from the ground, the altering software quickly at work.

[Zephie]

(( That's all right dude, I've been wanting to do something with our other First Order guest, but I've been short on ideas like, a month running... ))

~Cyber Force~

Wraith got Beowulf's communiqué and outright frowned. Good that they were getting out, yes, but bad that there're still so many First Order left and that they can organize so quickly and efficiently. On the other hand, there was still a bit of humor to be had.

Jason says to be wary of any JCS orders you may receive in the meantime.

Wraith had to smirk at that. Given his experiences with the suits, he was always wary of their orders.

"Tia?" he asked, turning to face her.

"I think they're almost out..." she noted, checking all the readouts. "I can't be sure, Coyote's hacking's fucking up the construct pretty bad. It's getting sloppy in there..."

(( :p ))

Suddenly Jax's folder image flashed across the screen. "I'M A FUCKING FOLDER!"

~Miami, Florida~

"Miami..."

Heavy footsteps on the deck foreshadowed the boss' arrival. He laid his hands on the railing and leaned heavily on it, muttering, "Still as decadent as I remember it."

The woman next to him glanced, but then turned her attention back to the harbor, pretending to ignore him. In turn, he ignored her ignorance of him. Let the confusion begin. Suddenly he leaned off the railing again and went back down below. "Let me know when we pass customs. I have to prepare."

(( THERE. FINALLY. IT SUCKS BUT IT WORKS, HA! ))

[Squishy Cheeks]

Rose's download was complete and the que moved on to Wolf. Wolf's back tingled first as parts broke off and disappeared.

[Wolf99x]

Better wrap this up to give Thomas a fighting chance, Jason thought as he felt himself continuously leaving the area. Two assassins attempted to surround him, but they were distracted by the fact that he was coming apart pixel by pixel. He took that distraction to cleave them in half with two quick swings from his katana. The second one managed to stay alive for a few scant seconds longer though because he saw Jason's sword coming at him after witnessing the death of his comrade. However, he was struggling to stand while his organs were still being repaired, and Jason shot him in the head at point-blank to keep him from getting up.

The last three made a charge at him, even though his upper torso was all that was visible right now.

Jason expended the last of his ammo in both .45s as he vanished. The last thing he saw was the assasins getting back up and making a dive at him.

"Better luck next time..." he said as he disappeared

***

and found himself bent a bit painfully. looking at 4 folders marked rather obviously as his team members and Coyote.

"Guess you found an old system to hide in...really old" Jason said to the Coyote folder.

[Squishy Cheeks]

"No one ever remembers the past, there is lots of power to be found in these old pathways. It's like Wheaties, breakfast of champions."

[Wolf99x]

Jason chuckled a bit. "Guess that makes sense. So, is Arpanet safe enough for you?"

he paused for a sec. "And are you going to evacuate Thomas despite him giving you lip or are you going to let him suffer a bit as punishment then evacuate him? Knowing you I'm guessing the latter..."

[Squishy Cheeks]

Thomas' head began to disintigrate first, starting with his eyes, it was an odd experience, like having dead pixels that got bigger randomly.

_________

"oh he's coming" Coyote chuckled

[Raiden]

Thomas swore under his breath. Since he was altering software, there was no accent in his voice.

"Damn AI. Going to delete his memory when I get a chance."

He now had to go out of his way to alter the software even more. Two glowing eyes floated in the air where his eyes normally were. The eyes weren't much more than glowing pockets of energy, but they allowed him to see the data he was altering.

He was almost finished with his job. Just a little bit more, and hopefully having all the assassins nearby...

[Squishy Cheeks]

"Are you sure you want to wait for that one?" Folder coyote said. "We should probably get a move on."

_______

Thomas's disintigration sped up his arms fell to the ground as his upper torso disintigrated first. Soon the arms began to disintigrate too.

[Wolf99x]

"While I'm well aware of the fact that he has issues with picking his battles, I'd rather keep my team mostly intact. Don't worry, I have a few choice words for him about antagonizing the people and AIs we're supposed to be guarding."

[Darth SS]

Jax's folder was moving about erratically, and screaming. Mostly what was discernable was, "Motherfucking folder!"

[Wolf99x]

Jason did his best to ignore Jax's cursing, though if he himself were not a folder he'd be grinning a bit. A little ways away he could see Thomas' folder beginning to download into the system

"So anyway, about that further information..." he said to Coyote.

[Squishy Cheeks]

"now is not a good time."

Thomas' folder was completed. This place is hardly secure and we better get moving, it won't take them long to figure out what happened to us.

[Wolf99x]

Don't see how a bunch of folders could kick our ass but he's right. "Ok, you probably know best where we should go, so lead the way."

[Squishy Cheeks]

___two hours later_______

The downloads completed dropping the cyber force back into the cyberworld in a garden. The garden looked typically english. Coyote now dressed very British was holding a blue door open. You suddenly realize you two are dressed very formally in a british fashion.

"Hurry it's almost tea time."

the sign next to the door says. "Mrs. Miggens Tea Shop"

[Wolf99x]

Brilliant, Jason thought Who would think of bugging a tea shop?

He, Kaitlin, and the others quickly got seated in a corner out of major sight just to be sure.

"I'm guessing this is where you'd feel it's safe enough to talk" Jason said to Coyote.

[Squishy Cheeks]

"Avalon-in-the-fields is a tiny town in the middle of no where, and Mrs. Miggins' is a small tea shop in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere."

He ordered for them in tea jargon and the elderly lady smiled and walked away.

"So what do you want?"

[Darth SS]

Jax was dumbfounded, and decided to actually respond without cursing.

"A green tea, please."

He sat down at a table, and immediately took on appropriate table manners. His mother had been big on those.

[Wolf99x]

Jason decided to be equal parts random and parody, though not entirely by choice, he actually did like the tea he was ordering.

"Tea. Earl Grey. Hot."

Then in a lower voice he said to Coyote. "I know I must sound impatient but...again about that info you said you had for us."

[Squishy Cheeks]

"one or more of your bosses has caught 'sick' Which is not as sick as the rest of the world will be if they continue to bully my children." Coyote handed Jason two hand made paper envelopes. both with calographic writing on it. One said "classified" the other was marked "grey death"

[Wolf99x]

Jason took both envelopes.

"I'm guessing whatever this Grey Death is," he said. "Your children may be apt to use it a bit more than they should if any threats to Cyber Eden occur?"

he opened the envelope marked Grey Death and found merely an electron microscope photo of a simple looking nanite. "What's this?" he said.

[Squishy Cheeks]

"A virus in the most basic sense. It makes no distinction between good and evil, living and not, person or object. All it does is turn any available matter into replications of it's design. for safety it is stored dormant in a magnetic canister suspended in a vacuum. However this canister can be launched by the rail guns Eden has recently built into orbit and from there the canister will reenter at the designated point where rentry will activate them and spread them significantly. initial symptoms will be growing sores with a metalic tint, that will not respond to conventional treatment. Eventualy the veins will turn grey and the virus will spread to the rest of the body, time from initial infection to death is anywhere from 4 - 8 hours. If exposed to higher concentrations death can come as quickly as 5 seconds. The nanites are programed to self terminate after 48 hours. which is enough to time to level a metropolitan area down to a desert of grey sand." He took his tea, chamomille, and sipped it and bit into a currant scone. "I designed it as my ultimate weapon, but I never dreamed anyone would build it. My son is worried, and I can't say in the same situation I wouldn't do the same."

[Wolf99x]

He's worried? Jason thought fuck, I was already worried, now i'm doubly worried because he's worried.

"Well, that certainly is chilling news indeed. There's just one problem. Despite the fact that I've taken one corrupt general down, if there's a massive anti-Cyber Eden movement within the administration, or, god fobid, the UN, there is no way i'm in any position to take it down. And if i open this second envelope, even if i know who is behind all this i still won't be able to stop him necessarily at this time." he put the second envelope in his jacket pocket "However, I will pledge to not only disobey any orders to spy on, attack, or take any other kind of hostile action against Cyber Eden, but I will also pledge to defend Cyber Eden from any attacks if it becomes necessary. I'm not going to have the world made a barren desert because of political machinations."

he knew at some point, someone was going to protest what he just said, but as of right now, he knew where his allegiance had to lie.

My allegiance is to all of humankind, all of AI-kind, and to the Earth he thought.

[Squishy Cheeks]

"And this is why I always liked you."

[Zephie]

(( *cue Chrono Trigger theme music* ))

(( DRAMATIC POSE... GO! ))

[Raiden]

(OOC: ...work sucks. That is all.)

Thomas waved away the tea. He wasn't much for that kind of drink. A nice black coffee was all it took to make him happy. Well...that, and remembering the nice present he had left the assassins back at the temple.

-Some time before-

The four assassins wandered about the temple, searching for the agents that seemed to disappear into the air. They were spread out, not leaving a single thing unturned. And then, one of them came across a small rod poking up from the ground. It was one of several that circled the area. A few lights flashed on them, giving a silent beeping of light. The killer reached down to touch it...and a different light turned red. All the poles activated, spreading an EMP field throughout the area, knocking out any augmentations the assassins had.

They didn't have time to wonder why that had happened when they noticed they were unable to move their feet. As each looked down, thick vines were rapidly growing around their legs, moving up their lower bodies. If they had their augmentations, they might have escaped. But sadly, that was not the case.

The thick plants grew larger, wrapping themselves around the limbs of the assassins. Soon they were each wrapped in a giant coccoon of plants, which crushed them.

Of course, Thomas was all about the beauty in everything. Even death. Which was why the rose buds that began to dot the coccoons would come as no surprise.

This all happened in less than five minutes, leaving nothing but four beautiful rose sculptures.

-Present Time-

Thomas was no diplomat or negotiator. Hell, he couldn't care less about this Eden place. He just wanted his money.

[Wolf99x]

Jason took another sip of his tea. "So," he said to Coyote, "Do you have any idea where you can hide? I doubt whoever sent the first order on you is going to let up even after you've given me what you know."

[Squishy Cheeks]

"Zounds, Holmes, what a brilliant deduction." Coyote became an overweight man in period garb. He held an ivory pipe in his hand and had a walrus like mustache. "How should we proceed, Proffessor Moriarty is sure to be on our trail, and the Hound of the Baskerville shall soon be on our heels."

[Zephie]

(( Jason: "You tell me, this's your show now."

;) ))

~Cyber Force Ops Room~

"You still can't get a fix on 'em?" Wraith asked Tia.

Shaking her head, she answered, "No... it's like they're there, but they're not... I'll keep trying, but they don't look like they're in any danger, really..."

"I hope not..." Wraith muttered to himself. Then, without warning, he rose to his feet and stretched. "Well, since there's nothing here for me to do, I'll... uh..."

Tia turned around and glanced at him, then wordlessly nodded while blinking. The silent moment of understanding passed quickly between them, as Wraith left the room after a short nod and headed for the emergency ward.

~Private Quarters~

Devin just got out of the shower, to find Shahdee knelt over the bed in prayer. He watched her silently for a moment, and then when she seemed to be done, he went over to her. "I didn't know you prayed..."

She looked up at him, slightly startled, then smiled. "I don't..."

"I guess in this case you can make an exception, huh?" he asked, sitting on the bed next to her.

She got up on the bed too, and nudged close to him. With a nod, she told him, "I hope she'll make it..."

"She will," Devin answered with hesitation. "She's been through worse. I mean, this's fucking Scrya we're talking about."

Shahdee gave a little giggle to that. "Yeah..."

Devin smiled as she did, and took her chin gently in his hand. "That's my 'Dee."

He gave her a little kiss then and released, although she let herself fall into his arms. He held her for a little while, giving her a reassuring hug, but silence didn't suit him at the moment. "...So... you ready for bed?"

"Mmm..." she hummed indecisively. "Maybe... I am getting tired..."

"Then let's go to bed," he mused, kissing her hair.

She smiled again, and let him lay her down.

[Wolf99x]

OOC: Ok, we get it, you're bored! lol. i promise, good things are coming this way...soon.

BIC:"Well," Jason said "if they're going to pursue you up and down the entire Cyber World, the safest bet would be to take you off the network...by which i mean download you into a computer that's not conncected to the net in any way, and you'll just have to live like that for a while."

he paused. "Something tells me you're not going to be very keen on that idea though."

[Zephie]

(( Actually, I'm suffering from an acute case of Busy Fucking Mexican. x.X That post was an OHSHITINEEDTOPOSTSOMETHINGZOMG filler... :sweatdrop ))

(( BUT I WILL FIND SOME WAY TO DO SOMETHING IMPORTANT.

...Later. ))

[Squishy Cheeks]

"I don't like it, but we'll discuss the particulars alone, just you and me. I have a few conditions."

[Wolf99x]

OOC: I'm exercising some GM power (esp. since batgirl is away in Israel for a bit) in order to get this plot moving. Don't worry, i have a plan.

BIC:

Jason was not too surprised by Coyote's request to speak to him alone. After all, he was with three rookies (one of which was an independent contractor), and his wife, which sadly enough Coyote knew her more as an opponent than an ally.

he let out a small sigh. "Ok."

he looked at the other 4. "You all need to log out, right now."

They all showed varying degrees of protest, but he held up his hand. "Right now it's important we protect him, and if he's not comfortable talking to people he doesn't know...or doesn't trust, then i have to abide by it. I'm sorry but this is the way it has to be."

Kaitlin nodded a bit. "He's right. Besides, Jason can take care of himself if anything goes wrong." she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek "I'll see you soon, dear." and with that she logged out.

The other three logged out as well.

Jason turned back to Coyote. "Do we need to go anywhere more private or will this do?"

[Squishy Cheeks]

The flash was blinding. it took several moments for Jason's eyes to adjust to the blinding light. A loud cracking sound nearly deafened him with the white ness.

" This is a compiling server for cyber space" Coyote pointed up as little pixels seemd to shift and move forming cyber reality above. "You could say we stepped into a shadow out of time. I'm willing to bet this is like the place you want to stick me."

[Wolf99x]

Jason took a couple seconds to adjust before he answered Coyote's question.

"Yes, I did technically want to stick you somewhere like this, except it'd be off the network entirely. But again, i'm not forcing you to do anything. It was just an idea, and probably not a good one. Hiding AIs isn't exactly a specialty of mine."

[Squishy Cheeks]

"I'll need a few exits. a foolish rabit only has one hole, a smart one has dozens."

[Wolf99x]

"True. Well, I can get that set up for you no problem. Any other conditions you need met?"

[Squishy Cheeks]

"something to do. you know I have a short attention sp... oooh shiny."

[Zephie]

(( Stick him in a game console with a built-in dev kit... that way he can play an assortment of thousands of games, and when he's done with them, program his own! :D Candy for geeks, it is. ))

And in Miami, the boat finally docked.

Uneventful was its registering, and uneventful was its unloading, as the drug cartel's minions adeptly went about bribing customs and hiding the cargo from sight. A seamlessly perfect transaction for all involved.

But the First Order boss couldn't care much less. All that mattered to him was the fact that he and his companion had made American soil, and they were about to take the next step in their schemes. But first, he had to begin dispatching orders. While walking he activated a short-range burst transmitter embedded in his head, connecting with Thashiya. "Meet me at the following coordinates, and bring the rest of our cell. Gather them Konachi's on Third and Wesson."

She nodded, which hardly mattered since he didn't look.

"Our next target is Senator Mitchell. I have all the information we need on him."

He looked off towards the city then and paused, feeling a bit of hunger in his stomach. "But first... I have business to attend to. Now go."

She nodded again, but before she could leave him a kid hanging around the docks looked up from his work at a boat and spotted them. "Damn, what are two, Kiss tour rejects?" he laughed, referring to their dress.

The boss looked over at him with a glare that could cut stone, but just as suddenly he smirked and retorted, "Yeah, something like that."

And without a glance he stepped hard on a loose board, flinging a loose block up towards the kid. Although he didn't look back, Thashiya watched as the kid was knocked cold by the block and fell flat over in the boat.

[Wolf99x]

OOC: New Chapter