Part 1: Uninvited Guest

"Yes, thank you." She pauses to take a swig of the beer. She took a deep breath, and then said, "The way I see things going, I do not think that we'll be dealing with dragons. Might be a magician or two before the end, but that's all the more reason to keep the elf around until things are finished. No, I think we're going to be dealing with a bunch of humans, the Humanis type of crowd. There are too many coincidences."

Molo grunts slight and shrugs. He never was the most eloquent of people but his neutral demeanor on the subject of the elf showed he wasn't going to complain about having the pointy ear around. "Fraggin hate dealing with Mages though. Unless their one of ours, but even then. All that mojo slinging always gives me a touch of the chills with all the drek they pull up outta nowhere." taking another swig of his second beer Molo shifts to settling down on a seat with a slight grunt and a sigh. "Omae, I gotta admit I'm gonna be following your lead on this one, I don't really get all this matrix and paydata drek. I'm a simple guy you know? Go out shoot at some things, get shot at, grab the mark and go kinda deal then hit the bar for a few good drinks and a bit of celebrating. But normally I know what the deal is upfront. This kinda thing?" he shakes his head "This kinda thing is a whole other mess right now."

((ooc: thanks for your patience guys))

Just as Molo polishes off his second beer and is comtemplating having a third you hear the Autodoc stop it's ministrations and a short while later the elf walks out into the main room. Still wearing nothing more than the towel he had wrapped around his hips he was none-the-less more covered than he'd previously been. Any cursory inspection of him shows he now has several dressings covering parts of his body that had previously been bloodied, and there are even patches of freshly applied NuSkin spray where he'd received grazes or burns. The elf takes a few steps into the room before leaning against the back of the couch Motoko is sitting on. You notice he looks tired, and with more than just a physical tiredness. His eyes when they look at each of you look troubled.

(English) "I feel I could lie down and sleep for an age," he says in a voice that is thick with exhaustion. "But we simply must get this information to Lyra, she is the only person who might be able to tell us more of the situation that I can think of." His pale eyes flick from one of you to the other, searching for some sign that maybe either of you had some better idea of how to proceed. When he sees nothing there to relieve him he lets out an airy sigh. "Well, we should get this done."

It is at about this point that Mokoto's commlink starts buzzing at her insistently, indicating a voice call rather than the traditional text message one received over the matrix. Accepting the call Mokoto is suprised to hear Isao-kun's velvety voice. Though quickly she is alerted by his tone as he says, "You need to see this." At that moment the houses advanced Tri-D entertainment unit is activated remotely and it quickly flicks over to one of the more popular news sites where the news-reader is in the middle of a report.

"- earlier tonight when a crazed gunman opened fire in a popular nigh club in the downtown area." The footage is clearly from a security camera, but you see the slightly distorted figure of Molo firing his pistol as he strafed across the bar you had been in not 30 minutes ago. "Reports indicate at least one fatality and numerous injuries resulted from the incident." The images that go along with this are that of the bar you'd been in, cordoned off by Lone Star officials, blood stains evident on the walls, floor and the pavement outside. "Anyone who has seen these people should contact their local Lone Star centers. Be warned, these people are considered armed and dangerous." The Photos they put up on the screen were obviously taken from the security cameras as well, and fortunately none of them seem to have been directly into your face, but as your likenesses come up on the screen your stomachs give a lurch.

The images on the screen are those of Molo and the Elf, though you doubt anyone who didn't know you would be able to identify you from the shots they were using, it was still disconcerting to have your images up on the screen and listed as wanted people, especially considering how minor an incident this had been. Sure, people had been shot, but no one had likely died as a direct result of the injuries you'd inflicted, the only casualty you'd seen at the scene was the man that had been shot through the face by the man in the armour who had arrived after the fact. Considering that in this city there were usually 12 gang related deaths each night on average, you find it difficult to believe that this incident should be getting media coverage, let alone media coverage that seemed to go out of it's way to avoid the mention of armed and uniformed men in pursuit of the men in question.

Mokoto becomes aware of a voice in her ear, "are you alright Mokoto-chan? I don't know what you'vbe gotten yourself involved in, but you know you have my support." It was Isao-kun. But the new reader wasn't finished, "The fugitives were last scene at a car-park a few kilometres from the scene of the crime." And to your surprise and discomfiture the location you'd met up with Molo and witnessed the exchange with the gang members gets displayed on the screen. Even though Isao doesn't say anything else, you can hear sense him sitting tensely on the other end of the line, concealing you from a gang was one thing, hiding you from the law after a report like that could have all kinds of ramifications. Even so, he does not withdraw his support, just as you knew he wouldn't. "What do you plan to do?" he asks in a quiet voice.

The elf looks somewhat shocked to see his likeness up on the display, "But..." and his sentence goes unfinished. Instead he stands up and starts walking towards the bedroom he'd cleansed himself in before. "I should dress," and with that he goes inside and shuts the door behind him. While he is in there the report continues for a short while, going on to report an 'increase in gang related violence' a 'increased tension in the less savoury sections of the city' as well as increasing levels of racial violence city wide. "All these are placing increased pressure on the cities local authorities," the news reader finishes up with. It is less that a minute later that the elf re-emerges wearing a suit that looks like it could have been tailored to him but he had also obviously not had with him when he arrived. "So, what do we do?" he asks, adjusting the suit jacket he is now wearing.

Molotov is supprised to say the least, not so much by the bar footage and the setup. He'd known that there was something big involved with that, but what really blew him away was the mention of the car park. "Oh hell, looks like we walked right into the figgurative dragon's den with this one. If not litterally so." however another, more disturbing possibility slips into his mind and he looks over to Moko "Check and see if any of your friends have a bug scanner or something. I want to be sure we dont have a tracer on either of our vehicles. Better safe than sorry, but I dont have any sort of scanner for that kinda thing yet." Either way, a report like that told him just how deep into something they were. Dragging something up and framing them for the shootout when it was the other guys busting in blazing away with automatics takes some spin at least. Which brought a nother matter to mind as he looks over to the elf that got them all dragged into this. "You and your data better be worth all this heat omae..." he says with a warry and mildly threatning tone. Spelltosser or no he has to draw the line somewhere at random people bringing heat down on his head unwanted, and something like this sure as hell qualified as being a little over the top for his liking.

Motoko lost her composure for a moment there, as the screen shot up the security cam footage. She knew things had gone too easily. The only good thing about this whole deal was that at least her face wasn't on that trid feed.

"We go to find Lyra, now. We can't stay here any longer. Not with things as they are. I have coordinates from the chip, so we're going to go there now. Molo, you're in the van with us. You'll have to leave your rig here for a while. Anyways, you're safer in mine, by a long shot."

She takes a breath, and then turns to look at the camera, switching to Japanese, copying her voice to Isao through the matrix, as she speaks into the camera. "Sorry, Isao-kun. Looks like things are heating up faster than either one of us could have imagined. We'll be leaving shortly in my van, try and get to someone who can maybe get us to the bottom of all this. This is all related, that much is clear. The car park was where that trid I sent you earlier came from." And then she launches into a brief version of what had happened so far.

"I'll be in the van, and I'll have my babies with me. We'll be OK, for a while. I'll call as soon as I know anything. But there's too many coincidences here. I have a feeling I'll be finding one of those chips for you, before too long. And I'll see if the Lady can't work on clearing these two." With that, she jerked her head to the others. "Don't worry, I'll call before doing anything dangerous, and I'll keep you in the loop." And then she blew a kiss to the camera, before cutting the connection.

Closing her eyes, she reached out into the matrix, calling out to a friend, Lady Godiva. "Milady! I need you!"

Turning to the others, Motoko motions for them to follow. "Let's go. I'm getting in touch with one of my friends, who might be able to track who's behind the news feed." And without another word, she's heading out through the door into the garage, getting into the van. At a thought, the van changed its colors, becoming a simple Stuffer Shack delivery vehicle.

With all that's happened recently Molotov had few issues with the concept of sticking with Moko in the van, but he sure as hell was not about to do so this time without his equipment, and so, before getting into the van he takes a few moments to grab his assault rifle and other kit from his car and transfers it over to the van. "If what I saw of the lot we ran up against was any indicator, we are going to need every ounce of firepower we can get." he replies "I'm also starting to wish I had some actual military grade explosives right about now... suppose what I've got with me will have to do though."

When you look in his direction you notice that the elf is looking every bit as stunned as you are at the footage being shown on the display. If possible you seem to think he gets even more pail as the news report concludes. When Molo makes his statement in the silence that follows, the elf's brow furrows into a frown of concern. Those listening closely might catch the phrase, "so do I..." in a tone that is deeply sorrowful.

After Mokoto sent her message to Isao and broke her connection her commlink gave the distinctive little buzz that was Isao's way of saying 'will do, and take care'. She knew he'd be looking into things and would contact her with anything relevant. All she hoped for was that he'd find something soon. There were an awful lot of unknowns here and it would be good to have some more solid intel on the situation. TO that end she also waited to hear back from her other contact hoping the more lines she cast out the more likely she was to catch some kind of useful fish.

As Molo went outside to start transferring some of his equipment into the back of Mokoto's van the elf follows him. The elf seems to have recovered much of his composure, and in the suit he is now wearing and in spite of the scratches on one side of his face, he looks far more professional than the person who'd come running into the bar to beg for help. After a moment the he says, (English) "Look, I'm sorry to have dragged you and your friend into this." He levels a very direct look at Molo, and you have no doubt that he means what he is saying. "If I'd had any other options I would have taken them." You see him consider his next words for a moment before they come, "If nothing else I can assure you that you will receive some payment, even if I have to empty my accounts to ensure you get it. It is the least I can do for those who almost certainly saved my life." Then, looking like he is aware that what he is saying might make some people feel uncomfortable, he clears his throat and moves on. "Is there anything I can do to help?" he asks in his lilting tone, clearly offering to help move things in spite of the fact he doesn't seem to be as strong as you.

Within 5 minutes all the gear that Molo thinks he might need has been moved and secured in the back of Mokoto's van, and they're ready to set off. While Molo had been loading, Mokoto had used the Map coordinates she'd retrieved from the datachip to get an idea of where they were heading. According to her mapsoft, the coordinates indicated a small industrial complex next to a high density residential block. There was an assortment of different shops and other stalls marked on the readout. It should only take about 10 minutes to get there, traffic willing. The quickest route however, also happened to go right past a Lone Star staging area. So, the question is, do you take a longer route to go around, or take the short route anyway?

Molo simply goes about packing his gear as best he can, being especially careful with the explosives. Granted they shouldn't detonate without a strong enough electrical current, but his present experiences with demolitions tells him to treat any explosive with a certain degree of respect. At the Elf's apology he just shrugs "Eh well, what's done is done omae. I just don't like surprises is all and I suppose one has to get used to that kinda drek time to time in this line of work. I suppose it's better that you ran into us rather than some random slitch with no idea what end of a gun is the business end." he continues his packing as he speaks, not really pausing. He's not exactly mad, or well he's not mad at all in the end. This whole mess gave him something interesting to do at least, but that did not mean he didn't think about the financial side of things. "As for money, ain't worth going broke over Omae. Odds are if some one's willing to go to these lengths to snag that data, it's worth a whole ton of Nuyen."

At that point Motoko looked up, with that strange, half-there look she always had when she was doing three things at once through the matrix. "The data on the chip is worth a small fortune in the right hands. I haven't had time to go through all of it, but its a treasure trove. And if there's even more data on the crystal, it'll be worth a fair sight to the right people. And then there's the chip deal we saw. There's been some BTLs going around, turning people into killers. An unused chip will be worth a good deal. First because it will allow whoever has it to make a vaccine, and second because it'll provide clues to who's stirring up this much trouble."

Motoko checked her van's coloring and said, "Quick route gets us there in ten, but that takes us past a Star staging point. So we'll take the long way round. Keep an eye out while we're going. We got away clean from the first group, but I don't want to take any chances." And with that, they started driving, the van looking like a courier service delivery van.

With the Van loaded up the group gets inside under the watchful, if discreet eyes of the yakuza security men. With the van once again changed in appearance to something better suited to running around this part of town, the group pulls out of the driveway and is once more on the move. Soon after leaving Mokoto gets a reply to the call she'd put out to the 'trix to one of it's denizens that she'd managed to befriend.

Message from: Lady Godiva
The Major calls. The child of two worlds is in peril? and you can sense something of a wry tone in the AIs voice, something that has been becoming more and more prevalent each time you contact it. I know some of what you must be contacting me about. The matrix whispered your name and it was heard. Data is being disseminated, packets, seeds spread to the winds of fate on the web of the 'trix; cast out into the sea of information. I listen to the web, feel it's vibrations, strain to hear the song that the winds of fate coax from it. The AI says with a slightly reverent tone. Then, becoming more direct, it continues.

People are talking about you Major, or rather your associate, and a new friend of yours? it's tone is somewhat questioning, somewhat stating and I doubt these people have good intentions. I hear whispers; whispers that you have woken something; an entity cloaked in shadow, striking unseen, it's purpose unknown. It would seem that whoever they are they are not afraid to use others to do their work. These are their words, sent to the web to try and see if the other spiders that lurk there might be able to snare you when they could not.

At this point you receive a whole collection of links to shadow data havens, forums and other places around the web. Some have ties to law enforcement contractors, others mercenary sites. Each of them seem to have someone suggesting that the people who were in the report on the trid might possibly be the ones responsible for the outbreak of metahuman violence. You are relieved to see that not much attention has been given to the posts, and half of those that are there seem to express how doubtful they are about the credibility of the claim... but some seem to believe it could be true, and in almost all of them there is someone posting, asking for more information regarding the people that were seen in the report.

But fear not little one, there are also those who might be able to help you out there.

And here you receive a link and a user name and password to a particular data haven, one that seems to focus on conspiracy theories and other things of that nature, it would seem that there's a small group of people who are convinced that the footage has not only been misrepresented (and there are detailed and compelling analysis of reflections and timing and positions of by-standers to corroborate these claims) but that there is some other purpose to that report being released. There is one individual in particular who seems to be championing your cause, and person going by the online ID of "bowler", he has even used the name Alamos 20k as a possible puppet master behind this show, citing the fact that the one of the users, who suggested that you might be the cause of the meta-human violence, and who also later asked for details regarding those seen in the footage, was a member of that group. Reactions to his theory have been mixed, from those saying that that group no longer exists to those tentatively supporting the idea in spite of a lack of real evidence.

It's good to know that not all the world is out to get you is it not? The AI finishes with, referencing something you'd said to it when you'd saved it some time ago. And with that, the AI is gone, returned to the endless reaches of the 'net.

You ponder this information, but before you can come to any clear decisions the elf speaks up, voicing a concern that had clearly been on his mid for some time. "How did they know about us being at the carpark?" he asks, his graceful eyebrows furrowed. "If the people who are after us really are responsible for getting that news report out, how could they possibly know we'd been at the car park?" He is clearly still mulling this over in his head, "I mean if they'd known we were there they'd have come themselves and tried to catch us again. Surely." Something about the situation just doesn't seem to be adding up as far as the elf was concerned, but from his body language you're pretty sure he's not really expecting any response from you and was more thinking out loud.

---
Perception tests
Molo: Intuition 5 + Perception 3 + visual enhancement 1 = 9d6 = 3 hits
Mokoto: Intuition 4 - Defaulting 1 + visual enhancement 3 = 6d6 = 2 hits
---

At that point Molo notices something a little out of the ordinary. While they'd taken the long route around to their destination to avoid any Lone Star patrols, it would seem that you might have picked up a tail. The car that's hovering about a half block back from you has been there for sometime now, and Molo can just make out a distinctive feature on it's dash. While subtle and relatively well concealed, the unit for the flashing lights that all law enforcement cars were required to use was still visible behind the slightly tinted windshield of the sedan.

---
Knowledge test, security procedures
Logic 3 + Security Procedures 4 = 7d6 = 4 hits
---

From what he knew of procedure they must be unsure that yours is the vehicle they're after, since if they had reason to suspect it strongly enough they would have immediately tried to pull you over. It would seem that Mokoto's chameleon van was earning it's keep. But even so they still follow you through the next 3 turns you make, maintaining the same distance.

Molo had always suspected there was something up ever since the intital news report aired, and now finding a police car tailing them this long only seems to confirm his suspicions. The only problem was, he did not have any sort of bug locator or anything of the sort, which left him sorely ill equipped to deal with the present problem. However perhaps one of the others would have a potnetial answer and so he tosses out over the commlink "Heads up, we've got a tail. Pretty damn sure by now they've got something tagged with a tracking bug. Only real question is where. I don't have anything to try and trace something like that. Either of you got any ideas?"

Meanwhile however, he does not remain idle. He didn't need to kill anyone to stop the car, all he had to do was blow out it's engine and Moko's barret should do a fairly decent job of that, and so he goes to haul it over, just in case. "If we need to I'll try and take out the engine but wont do us much good if their still tracking us."

"They knew we were there, because in all likelihood the people in the car meeting the gangers were part of this group. Everything's falling into place now. I don't have any doubt that these people are behind the recent violence. There is going to be trouble, soon. I don't think they're tracking us. Rather, they've let the Star know to be on the lookout for a bulldog, possibly with chameleon coating. We're going to have to lose them somehow."

Thank you, Milady. You've gone a long way to putting my mind at ease. If ever you need anything, all you have to do is ask, you know that.

Closing her eyes, she transfered control of the vehicle to the onboard pilot, giving it orders to drive to the nearest parking garage, and inform her when it got there.

Before she slipped into VR, she said, "I'll see if there's not a more quiet way of getting rid of this tail."

She slipped out of her body, into the warm embrace of the Matrix. She called out out to the Resonance, Azuma, I need your help! and there was an answer. Azuma came to her, as she knew he would. She showed him the pictures of Molo and the elf. Create an image of these two going into a coffin hotel somewhere else in the city, and then send the picture to the Star as an anonymous tip. The further from us, the better. Take care to cover your tracks.

After setting the sprite to its tasks, she worked with the Resonance again. She really would have to learn this scan form for herself sometime. But for now, she set about searching for any tracers that might have been slipped into their gear.

--
Compiling a Rating 5 Courier Sprite. I get 2 tasks. No Fading to resist.
9d6.hits(5)=2
5d6.hits(5)=0
Task 1, get sprite to create image of Molo and the elf entering a coffin hotel on the other side of the city.
Task 2, send sprite to transmit that image from a public terminal to the Star, as an 'anonymous tipster'.

Threading a Scan form. Got rating 4.
8d6.hits(5)=4

Scanning for any tracers on the vehicle and/or people in it, starting with the elf. Electronic Warfare+Scan (15, 1 combat turn) extended test to find all hidden nodes within mutual signal range.
7d6.hits(5)=2
7d6.hits(5)=4
7d6.hits(5)=3
7d6.hits(5)=4
7d6.hits(5)=1
7d6.hits(5)=4
Six turns gets me over 15.

So are there any hidden nodes on the elf, or our gear?
--

And all the while, the van drove on, obeying all traffic laws, and doing nothing to give the Star a reason to pull them over.

Oh, you know I'll call on you if the need arises little one is the echo you hear from the AI in response to your message. At your call Azuma comes and is sent about his task, and as his resonance in the matrix recedes from you you rest easy knowing that the task will be accomplished quickly and without fail.

While Mokoto waits for some sign from the star patrol that he bait has been taken she scoured her vehicle closely for any unusual signals or abhorrent packet transmissions. Even with the minute inspection that she performed on not only the vehicle itself but all the associated gear and equipment she found no signals that should not be there bar one... and that was coming from the crystal that say nestled in her pocket. But there was something unsettling about that emanation - for it wasn't a proper signal of any description... more like some kind of leakage that her finely tuned senses could pick up. In any case the strange signals/energies coming from the crystal are so weak that you're sure no one could pick them up from anywhere outside the van itself, but it might warrant further investigation.

It isn't long before Molo notices some kind of unusual reaction from the vehicle that was trailing the group from where he sits looking out the back window. The two people in the front seat of the vehicle seem to start having an altercation of some kind, as if arguing over some point. By now the elf is also watching the vehicle behind through the rear view-port of the van and you hear him hum quietly to himself for a moment before he says.

"I'm pretty sure I can take care of this little problem for you if you'd like," he says in his slightly accented lilting tone. And, without waiting to hear if there were any objections you see him look intently out the back of the van at the people in the car behind. Molo, who is positioned right net to the mage feels the hair on the back of his neck stand up as the elf concentrates, doing whatever it was that spell-slingers did to earn that title. A flicker of something over the face of the elf is all Molo gets as a suggestion that the elf is doing anything more than looking earnestly out the back of the vehicle, but a moment later the car turns down a side-street and out of view of the group.

To forestall any questions the two of you might have he says, "I just suggested to them that their time would be better spent following up confirmed sightings than following mere possibilities..." And with a shrug of his delicate shoulders he dismisses the fact that he'd just manipulated the minds of two law enforcement officers as if it was little more than recommending a good Trid to watch...

It takes only 10 more minutes for the group to near the destination they'd set out for... there is a small car park out the front clearly intended to be used by people visiting this particular complex. Now all you needed to do was find out where this Lyra might be located. Who knows, it might be that simple...

---
Visual perception tests
Molo 9d6 = 3 hits
Mokoto 6d6 = 2 hits
---

The Complex is a low set affair, being only 5 stories high. It seems to have a whole collection of different small businesses operating within, ranging from a mechanic to financial advisors, to magical trinket stories, to a small grocery store. The shops seem all seem to be relatively well established, with the usual clutter of AR pop-ups associated with such complexes, as well as a steady flow of patrons of all descriptions. One thing that you do notice is a relatively large proportion of meta-humans among the people visiting the stalls and shops. One other thing that catches you eye is the prevalence of nervous looks on the faces of both human and meta-human alike.

Even as you watch, near one of the stalls a commotion breaks out as a deep, viscous voice yells, "Shove of you pointy eared freak!" As you turn to where you heard the voice you see a relatively slight elven male being pushed to the ground by a large human male near a stall trying to sell discounted and second hand commlinks and accessories. The human working the stand looks on with disapproval, more at the elf than the man who'd laid the elf out on the side walk or the 3 other disagreeable looking humans that seemed to flank the man you'd heard. Quickly a space clears around the fallen elf and the 4 humans who are now looming over the elf, almost as if people are scared to get involved.

"Not so high and mighty are you now are you you pale skinned slot!" The ringleader continues, feeding off the fact that he now seems to have an audience. "You and your kind think you're better than us, think you can just take what you want, take our jobs, walk all over us?" The humans voice seems to be louder than it needs to be. "Not so easy to look down your nose at us when you're lying in the dirt is it? You really think you can just make your own laws and we'll just let you?"

---
Street knowledge test, recent political events
Molo: 5 - defaulting 1 = 4d6 = 1 hit
Mokoto: 4 - defaulting 1 = 3d6 = 0 hits
---

When he hears the words Molo feels a slight niggle, like something that the ringleader is saying was something he'd heard elsewhere, but he can't recall where exactly. But regardless of what he's saying it seems that the group of humans are just the type to escalate the situation into an assault unless stopped. The elf youth lying on the ground has one arm propping himself up and the other held in front of himself as if expecting to have to ward off blows...

Fortunately, it seemed like the fake report worked. Though that wouldn't happen a second time, she was sure of it. Breathing easier, Motoko looked at the others. "No, we don't have any bugs on us. But I'm more interested than ever in getting this crystal checked out. There's something strange about it." Then she lapsed back into silent thought, wondering about the crystal, until they arrived at their destination.

--

At the car park, when she saw the assault about to go down, Motoko sighed, and got out of the van. "I'm going to go make friends. You two wait here. No one's looking for me." The fact that she was holding her shotgun at the ready as she said this gave no illusions about the kind of 'friends' she was talking about.

Her twin Steel Lynxes flanking her again, Motoko approached the four men. She introduced herself by leveling her shotgun, aiming for the head of the leader of this band of merry men, and clicking off the safety. "Now that I've introduced myself, lay down your commlinks, weapons, jewelry, and any chips you have, and then strip naked. And don't try anything cute, unless you think you can outrun bullets." As she spoke, the two lynxes rolled forward a few inches, the threat unmistakable.

--
Intimidate check. 5 CHA + 4 (empathy soft complex form) - 2 (default) = 7d6
7d6.hits(5)=5

Yes, is unskilled at intimidation. But then how skilled do you have to be when you have combat drone backup?
--

For the time being, Molo decides it would probably be best to remain out of view as Motoko goes out to make a bid to recue the next besieged elf. Seems to be a lot of that lately. None the less, he decides it's a good idea to get ready to provide some degree of backup, all the better if it's from ambush and so he readies his assault rifle but does not put in an apearance just yet. Not unless Motoko actually wound up needing it. Which leaves him with some additional time to try and ponder just what the hell was bugging him about what the man had said. He can certainly make the connection that this is potentially tied in some how to the whole BTL and meta hate drek going on. But well.. beyond that may be a touch difficult.

Memory Test: Log (3) + Will (3)=6=1 hit

At Mokoto's purposeful advance on the group those standing in the circle around the group quickly make a gap for the feisty female. While no one seemed eager to get involved when there might be a fist fight, now that the prospect of a shoot-out was on the table you see many of those nearby looking nervous.

---
adding 4 to intimidate (+2 per drone)

+4d6 = 3 hits
---

The sight of the armed female as well as the two heavily armed combat drones seems to vaporise any desire the group might have had at starting anything and they quickly start to back away from Mokoto and her 'friends'.

"Hey, woah, settle down," the group's spokesperson says in a now rather uneven tone. "There's no need to be waving that thing around," he adds, looking nervously down the business end of Mokoto's shotgun.

---
Perception test, (Visual)
Mokoto 6d6 = 3 hits
Molo 9d6 - 2 for distracted = 7d6 = 2 hits
---

It's clear that the group is thoroughly scared by the assorted firearms now pointed in their direction, but something else catches the eye of Mokoto even as she continues to look down the barrel of her shotgun. In the shadows of a nearby doorway stands an Orc that is clearly not only trying to conceal himself, but also the pistol he is holding. You see him looking intently at you and you get the impression that he had been about to intervene, but is now closely observing what is happening.

"Hey lady, just put that thing down okay? We're sorry..." the now whining voice of the spokesperson says to bring your attention back to the 5 men standing in front of you. "Look, we'll just go okay? No harm done," and with that he starts to take a few slow steps backwards, carful not to make any sudden movements.

Back in the van Molo continues to puzzle at the situation... something was niggling at him, something he couldn't quite place. He couldn't remember exactly what it was, but he did realise that it had been something to do with the meeting he'd observed at the carpark. Playing back the footage in a window in his AR he looks over the scene again...

---
Perception test: 9d6 = 6 hits.
---

There! Right there! A pin the lady in the fancy sedan had had on her collar. It was a small piece of jewellery, a small silver sword with an enamel flame motif behind it. And the reason it was bugging you was because you'd seen it before. Looking further back into your cybereye's records you review the footage from the scene at the bar where all this began. Each of the men who'd attacked you had a small patch, a sword with flames behind it, set on their uniform. Even the man in the combat armour had had the same symbol etched onto a small section of his armour...

Molo considered the revelation for a few moments quietly as he continued to watch the confrontation. Though as things seemed to calm down just a touch he took a moment to review the footage in an AR window. As he finally figures out what bothers him he decides it would be a good idea to pass the information on to Motoko, using his AR's operating system package to just take a basic still shot of one of the pins in question before attaching it to a quick, quiet AR message to Motoko. "Seems those we encountered all have something in common, it may do well we see if any of those here sport such a pin somewhere."

"It seems you aren't listening. You want to play at being big and bad, doing what you want to those who are weaker than you, then maybe you want the same treatment? Reap what you sew. I said commlinks, weapons, jewelry, chips and clothes, on the ground, NOW!" And that shotgun? It just fired, aiming for the ground between the man's feet. Fortunately for him, she was using slugs, not shot. Of course, the fact that the shell exploded on impact said a thing or two, as well.

--
Shooting at the ground between the leader's feet.
6d6.hits(5)=3

Intimidate, including bonus from drones.
6d6.hits(5)=3
--

Looking down at the elf, she said, "Get up, and get out of here."

The brute literally yelps when the slug explodes between his legs and tiny pieces of shrapnel sting the inside of his legs. He is visibly shaking now and looks close to either throwing up or passing out. The rest of his group standing behind him aren't looking that much better, all of them looking like they aren't much enjoying having fully automatic machine guns waved in their direction. Even so, you can still see the guy in the front processing his options. Fighting? No. Running? Not good. Doing what this dandilion eater is asking?... about the only option that works.

So, with shaking hands and still at the end of your shotgun, the bully starts to remove loose articles of clothing and starts to put them on the ground beside him. The elf that had been lying on the ground until now quickly scampered to his feet and retreated to the circle of onlookers for safety. Even though their 'leader' was starting to comply with the demads of the shotgun weilding woman and her drones, the rest of the group hesitates, not wanting to face the public humiliation that Mokoto's demands would put them through. Almost all of them however, reluctantly start to comply as Mokoto fixes each of them with a look and trains the aperture of her shotgun at them. Just when it looked like things were going to go smoothly, one of them, a slightly taller and slimmer one, instead turns and starts to run in a blind panic.

It takes him only a few seconds to reach the circle of onlookers that had gathered to view the scene, but as Mokoto turns, her shotgun raised, to try and stop the runner all she does is make the people in his way duck for cover. The situation was quickly becoming precarious. Molo could see all this happening, and the one thing he could see that Molo couldn't was that the person was running straight towards the doorway in which the orc he'd spotted moments before stood.

Just as the youth was about to run past the doorway he looked back over his shoulder to see if he was being pursued. As a result he didn't see the imposing figure of the orc step out in front of him and ran full tilt into him. With little more than a grunt the orc held his ground as the youth slammed into him before falling backwards onto the ground. (accented English) "Carful little one, the lady asked you to do something, and I think you should be a good little boy and do what momma tells you." The orcs voice is deep and gravely, and the look he gave the youth was one akin to what a bouncer might give a disorderly patron. The fact that he also held a large pistol in his hand that he now used to wave the boy back to his friends. "Now move. And do what the nice young lady told you to." Leaning a little closer he adds, "I think it's for the best."

With that he reached down with one thick, muscular arm and lifted the youth to his feet with little effort. With just a gentle nudge he started the run-away back to his colleagues, staying only a few steps behind. As the youth reassured his position at the centre of the circle the orc nodded slightly at Mokoto, as if to say, 'all yours'. Only a few moments later all of the group that had tried to beat up the young elf were standing there in just their undergarments (some of which were clearly not intended for public inspection) with the rest of their belonging on the ground beside them. Each of them is glaring resentfully, but still fearfully at either Mokoto of the helpful orc who was now standing there with a cheerful grin on his face.

The leader of the group seemed to have regained some of his composure by this point, but was still looking dejected, humiliated and afraid. "You happy now?..." and his tone had something of the spite you'd heard in it earlier, but his eyes and body language were almost begging to be let go.

Motoko nodded to the ork as he brought the runner back to the group. "Thanks for the assist." Turning back to the five men in their underwear, she says, "I'd be happier if there was anything worth looking at here. Didn't your mother ever tell you to wear clean ones? Especially when there's so little inside. Now beat it, all of you. And if I see any of you again, you'll wake up being some troll's joyboy, got it?"

She gave them thirty seconds to clear out, before walking forward to claim the 'spoils'. As she switched off their commlinks, she looked at the elf, and said, "You wanna keep this from happening, then get yourself a gun, and learn to shoot." And with that, she headed back to the van, her drones flanking her as she went.

Sure, she hadn't planned on making a scene here, but if she hadn't done anything, Molo or the elf would have, and then there'd have been hell to pay. At least this way, no one got hurt, and she got some gear she could fence for some easy coin. And there was always the off chance that they had one of those anti-meta chips on them. But mainly, if there was an anti-hate group working in the area, this would give a human walking in the door a bit of cred to play with.

Molo takes a moment to relax as the situation seems to play out relatively smoothly. All the ware in him may make him somewhat... detatched at times, but that doesn't mean he goes hunting around to pick a fight. To the contrary, he simply chalks this one up as a job well done, given that it never required anyone get geeked. Not that he particulairly minded having to shoot some people, but it did have the rather nasty downside of drawing alot of unwanted attention from the Star and other security companies as well as government agencies. Not the healthiest choice for any runner.

Over the AR interface he cant help but send an ammused 'Well, that was interesting.'

The orc who'd given you a hand watches after the group of would be thugs as they ran away. Turning to the crowd that had gathered he says in an unsurprisingly powerful voice, "Okay, show's over folks, piss off unless you want t contribute what you've got to the pile." He nods his head to where all the unfortunates had had to leave their gear to be sure everyone understood and the crowd quickly disperses. Then Mokoto finds herself the subject of the orcs frank stare.

"And who might you be little lady, who would rush to the aid of a dandelion eater?" While his tone is somewhat mocking and his use of the insult self-depricating, the look he fixes you with it very intent.

---
Judge Intentions (INT + CHA )
Intuition 4 + Charisma 5 = 9d6 = 6 hits
---

There is something about the way that the orc is looking at you that is decidedly unusual considering the situation. The fact that he helped you at all is odd, but you get the distinct impression that he's not so much looking at you, as recognising you. Which doesn't seem possible... you can't recall ever meeting this orc before, he is rather distinctive, and your face never made the reports on the news... something wasn't quite right here. But you also sense that he doesn't mean you any harm, more that he's trying to get a feel for who you are and why you might have helped the elf. Even as you watch him you notice him glace out the corners of his eyes as if trying to spot someone or something that he's expecting to see. Then his eyes snap back to study your face further.

"And more importantly, what is someone like you doing in this neighbourhood," and you feel that there is something significant in the way the he says this; something almost reverent. You see him watching you so very closely, even as he stands there looking all relaxed and confident. You feel obliged to return the favour and look him over closely before you respond to his questions.

Like so many of his race he is possessed of a physical presence that many others would envy. Unlike many of his race he doesn't seem to have the massive chip on his shoulder, nor the need to prove just how superior he is physically. Strong, fit and lean he is the very poster-boy for orcs as you would see them in the trid's, with the exception that he doesn't have some horribly facial disfigurement nor speaks in mono-syllabic grunts and is possessed of little more intelligence than a shoe. The glint in his eyes suggests a keen mind, one that it full of knowledge and a surprising amount of wisdom. Spiritual is a word that comes to mind.

"So, why are you here little one?" he asks again, his tone softer now, but somehow more earnest and something about the way he asks the question makes you feel he knows what the answer might be.

Slinging her shotgun behind her, Motoko looked at the ork, and chuckled. "What, you think that because I'm human, I'm automatically one of those Humanis freaks? I have no problem with elves, except when they cause me trouble. I got business in this area today, and a race riot brings too much heat. Plus, now I get to see what these guys have in their accounts." In other words, she acted in her own interests.

"Now, don't suppose you could direct me to a woman named Lyra, could you? Trying to find the Way. Gaia knows I've had enough trouble so far."

As Mokoto speaks the orcs expression grows into a sort of knowing grin, a jolly look that its somewhat at odds with his physical appearance. As you finish up his eyes are positively twinkling with mirth. "Well it's good to know there are still people who are willing to help others. And you're right, scene's like that can draw all kinds of unwanted attention, so I'm glad you were here to look after things." At this point his eyes darken for a brief moment, as if he it thinking of something else for a moment. "It's never a good thing to loose one's way, especially with all the trouble of late. Just earlier there was a commotion at a bar not too far away, quite a scene really."

Then he turns to survey the area around you, as if looking for someone. "I wonder where our elven friend could have gotten to... it seems he ran into some unfriendly people and it would be good to know if he's okay." There was something about the way he said this that made you sure he wasn't talking about the little boy you'd just saved, and there was also a curious catch in his throat that makes you think his comment about the elf's safety was not just a idle addition.

Molotov didnt like the way things were headed as he continued to silently watch the events from the cover of the armored van, still ready to provide backup if need be. He'd started to relax a little once the show was over, but now that the Ork seems to be asking some pointed questions, the human in turn is starting to get a little edgy and paranoid about the reasons behind it all. A glance over towards the elf in the van with him and he asks in a low voice "Friend of yours? Or this some other slot after your hide?"