FIRST REPLY Player 2 - insert coin

Xasha Callisto

5th World Netrunner
Xasha Callisto
Eddies
7,347
Character Bio


aW6NfSS.png

Active Location: City Center
Physical Location: on site
Objective: Assault on Araska tower
Tags: OPEN

Xasha leaned left as the corporate AV team she was leading banked left over the edge of Night City. A warning flickered on her HUD that she was being targeted by a drone and she was quickly able to jack into the defence turret and blast it and three of its buddies out of the sky sending them careening down into the streets of the slums below. Another of the AVs not far from her was less lucky and she saw it take a direct hit from the ground and burst into flames, there was no doubt that it was going down with all hands but they couldn't stop, this was the last push on the Araska tower and they had to succeed, failure was not an option. Callisto pulled iced cold liquid from her drink during the brief lull as the AV came to land before grabbing her gun and stomping out into the blasted landscape of the ruined concourse.

Staccato gunfire rang out and immediately one of her squadmates went down. She spared a second to reach down and try to patch him up but he was already gone. Red flickered as her HUD registered a glancing blow on her armour and she decided to move, taking the fallen man's C4 charges as she went. Left and right came the foes and Xasha put them down in turn before having to once again duck out of the way to avoid the ministrations of a prowling Arasaka AV that blew chunks out of the wall.

"Three... two... one..." she counted down before sprinting the short distance into the atrium of the building. "Xụ!" || "Shit!" she exclaimed as a heavy walker caught her off guard and opened fire, destroying the wall behind her and causing her HUD to show all kinds of error messages. She saw the walls and the ceiling tumble past her as she went down showering blood into the air from multiple hits. Her heartbeat sounded loaded and louder in her ears as the world went dark... until there was nothing but a thin green line on her projected HUD.

"Fuuuuuck!" Xasha said to herself pulling her headset off and grabbing for her cola. She looked across at a couple of spectators who had joined to see her performance and then broke out laughing as she could feel her heart returning to normal. "That's got to be new? What edition they running?" She asked the person in the chair next to her who was playing on their phone. "Battlefield 23: Corporate Wars.... erm... release version 2.6.3" the other person shrugged without looking away from their device.

"Yeah, definitely new, I'll get it next time."

"Uh huh... I'm not getting much connection here, I'm gonna go outside." The other person relied without much focus on the Thai woman before stepping out and leaving the player two chairs empty. Not that he had been much help before, Xasha would probably do better off without him sitting there checking his gambling accounts anyway. The woman leaned back and put some synth-choc into her mouth to give herself a little breather, she glanced around her a bit. The arcade was busy and between her contact-phobia and her need to find connections for business, she was always a little on edge in these places.

But gods these retro games were too much fun to miss.


OOC Looking for some who either wants to recruit her for work, wants to try and socialise with her or simply thinks they can help win the game.

The arcade has heard of netrunners so it is well protected against cheaters.
 
Arcade...


This was her kinda vibe, most definitely. She was gangly knees and elbows when she was in the "grown up" clubs. Those places where sex, drugs and big money called the shots. Usually it was just money, the sex and drugs helped you swallow your humanity and feel better about being a parasite on humanity. Omega wasn't to that level yet. This? This was flashing neon lights, the competing cacophony of game tracks and music blasting somehow all coalesced inside her and gave her the warm fuzzies like little else.

With a confident smirk, she meandered around. In no hurry, she stopped behind a couple teenagers playing "modern pinball". It was still pinball, in theory. Minus the ball, flappers, and the haptic input you used to get from your hands slapping the buttons madly cause the ball was ricocheting like Ole Ivo the Cyberpsycho did in the bank. No, this morning bs was all holographs and VR. Omega had heard of an underground arcade somewhere. Had a couple of the OG arcade games. Stuff like PacMan and Galaga. She's heard from a choom's baby mamma's uncle this arcade even had legit, real pinball machine. Omega was on a quest to find it. Than secret was tighter than @Yorinobu Arasaka chocolate starfish, and she was no closer to learning the location.

A loud "Fuuuuuck" grabs her attention. Shifting her optics towards the source, a brow arches up. Someone was trying their hand at the Arasaka game. And had been curbstomped same as her. If the damn arcade wasn't so suited against runners, @Xasha Callisto would've blazed thru and came out with the 2nd high score. The first name on the high score list was shown as "LittleJay". Omega slipped thru and over to the big comfy gaming center. Then flopped herself into the Player 2 chair with a bright gron. Her bag crumpled forgotten on the floor at her feet as she gave the other runner a once over.

Name's Omega. They installed updates a couple days ago. Like they gave the Arasaka pukes an infinite health cheat or some kinda autohit. The bastards never miss.

​
 


aW6NfSS.png

Active Location: City Center
Physical Location: on site
Objective: Assault on Araska tower
Tags: @Omega

As Xasha put her failings behind her and finished swigging on her sugary soft drink she cracked her fingers just time for a woman to dump her bag down and sit next to next to her. She eyed her over the woman was long and slim with cool white hair, it was a strong look, Xasha smiled as the other introduced herself. She tried to pick up on an accent if there was one, having a quite pronounced Thai accent herself.

"Oh god I know right." She laughed "I used to be able to blow through and save a couple of lives for the last mission but...

Oh, and they added this mech in the atrium after the Araska concourse, it completely took me apart a few minutes ago." She shrugged with one shoulder it didn't really matter and a challenge just made the victory more rewarding. "I'm Xasha, if you like to play too? Want in?" The dark-haired woman raised her eyebrows teasingly and gestured at the player two controls for her to tap in.

They would start with the first couple of missions, Xasha had enough progression points on her account to skip half the game, but the first missions were fun, and a good idea to run through, particularly if you had a new player 2. If you could work out each other's strengths, weaknesses and habits, you could be on your game before Arasaka started hitting you with the really hard stuff later on. Xasha's armoured avatar appeared on the screen and she quickly began selecting her starting equipment.


 
Omega did have an accent, Russian, and spoke English like she'd been doing it her whole life. Which she had, and that lead to some confusion in people hearing her speak when she's excited and natural, just flowing. Like now. She doesn't try and hold her accent back, so it shines thru bright and clear for Xasha, and anyone else. By-product of her being happy is she's kinda loud, too.

She bobs her head when @Xasha Callisto mentions there used to be the possibility for being a hero before the Arasaka ninjas came outta nowhere. The newest updates, it was almost like the ninjas doubled. Number, speed and lethality, the poor chooms playin' didn't stand a chance. She groaned, dropping her chin to her chest in commiseration bout the mech. Omega wasn't gonna admit it, but she hadn't been able to get past the damn abomination yet. She gave Xasha a side-eye equivalent of an attaboy followed by a broad grin at the invite.

Hell yeah, maybe I gotta chance now

Wasting no time whatsoever, Omega jumped right in. She loved a challenge, especially when she didn't steamroll it first try. Alotta people looked at video games as nothing more than an idle wast of time with no positive value. Omega whole-heartedly disagreed. Duh, becoming one with your sofa and needing adult diapers to play video games, bad. Balance people, balance. When you approached video games as a tool, they can be incredibly useful. Gotta think outside the box in this city and expect the unexpected. A nuanced system of survival requires nuanced training.

Or at least, that's the BS Omega uses to make herself feel better for vegging out. Fake it til you make it

Not used to a partner, she takes a little more care grabbing her starting gear than usual. She prioritizes communication and defensive capabilities, then stares at the weapon options. She's got the atrium mech in mind, her arch-nemesis of the day. Her other loadouts didn't get the job done, so it was high time to try something new. She leaned back in her chair, deep in thought. Absently, she began tapping a finger as her mind tried to find the preem way to annihilate the mech. Fingers snapped as the lightbulb of genius burst forth in her poor lil pea brain! Back to the menu, she selects an average SMG for her primary, then flips to the melee choices. Why the thought hadn't smacked her already, she was truly flabberghasted over. Maybe she was just tired. Last few weeks had been intense, to say the least. yeah, she was worn out, that was it.

She scooped up the stun baton with a savage, audible WHOOP!!! Quick glance over to Xasha, then she she focused, Turns out, she and Xasha had similar thoughts. Omega wasn't used to a partner at all, so she was appreciative for those early missions. They definitely helped her figure out how to not be an absolute liability for you partner, just by remembering "Hey dumbass, stop getting your partner shot at!!!". She made a mental note to apologize afterwards. First 2 missions alone, she managed to get Xasha shot at 3 times.

She sucked at the whole partner thing, but she gets better after a few rounds. She even manages to cover Xasha's back effectively before long. Her heart rate is up, she's breathing fast and top it all off, she's grinning like a loon. Maybe the idea of other people being parasites doesn't have to be a blanket policy after all.​
 


aW6NfSS.png

Active Location: City Center arcade
Physical Location: on site
Objective: Assault on Araska tower
Tags: @Omega

She had played with good partners and she had played with bad partners and in this instance she found the other woman to be very competent and they quickly found their groove, both of their hands moved rapidly on the controls and they took it back and forth taking out the Arasaka henchmen and the various implements of war that filled the Battlefield of Night City half a century ago.

"So you're a runner, right? Got a speciality?" she asked making small talk as they played towards the end of the game and grabbing at her cola to hydrate mid-game. A rocket flew past her in the game and she flinched before laughing at herself, she loved the feeling of these games and how the skin prickled up on her arms at the wide-open vistas that they moved through. "I do a lot of cooperative running, I'm pretty good." she added to her question. She was, she was really good and with her access to 5th World, she had become adept at working in tandem with other netrunners to accomplish things that might otherwise be impossible alone.

It wouldn't be long before the pair were at the final mission, battling across the concourse together. And taking fire from all angles around the room. "Meg, you go left to get in close and I will push back the third wave. Then we hit that mech together." she muttered to herself a partner. There were a few people gathered who eagerly wanted to see the talented pair complete the game. "We do this I'm getting us drinks." Her louder English communication was interspersed with murmurings to herself in Thai that helped her concentrate

 
To Be, or Not To Be...

A Parasite

That was the thought hanging round the back of Omega's mind, while the front was working like a crackhead 30 seconds after a fresh rip. The whole having a partner thing was uber stressful, but nobody tells ya that part. Get a partner, they said. It'll be good, they said. Good for who? Cause right now, it ain't good for Omega's cortisol levels. And she'd put money on her blood pressure being twice the max stroke levels. She wouldn't have it any other way, either. In a video game, anyways. Well, ok, this one time, it isn't sucking butt.

She was grinning big and broad, grabbing a mondo sized can outta her bag. Whatever the current energy drink that has the most get up and go, she guzzles it. Chugs almost half of it before coming up for air, gasping like a fish. Wipes the chin dribbles with the back of her right hand, forgetting to also use said hand to stifle the belch that rips forth. Whether caught up in the moment or she's got the manners of Tarzan, good question.

Runner? I gotta sign on my forehead or somthin'? She laughed a lil but nodded to Xasha, lifting the crack-in-a-can to her lips once more. Pacing herself this time, she takes a normal human drink. Yep. Dunno much bout cooperative anything, really. Not anybody worth the risk.

She shoved her can into the drink holder, and then buckled in. hearing Xasha's direction, Omega works a sweeping pattern to the left. The SMG tucked to her shoulder, she utilizes hit-and-run tactics. Move, down, shoot. Move, down, shoot. Until someone else went shoot shoot shoot and popped Omega's left shoulder. The SMG fell loudly from her hand while she let out a long and very high decibal string of multi-lingual curses, in a very unladylike manner. Tuck and roll and a lil run like hell, she dove for cover behind what remined of a pillar. Thankful for her smarticle particles today, she grabbed the first aid kit she'd chosen earlier and pilfered it with her left hand, growling with every motion. With her right hand, she reached behind her and grabbed the stun baton. Yanking it off the clip, her finger snapped the metal to life. The pad of her thumb found the Intensity dial and jacked that bitch to Max.

She made a mental note to get the gold tier first aid kit next time. This basic one had a couple gauze pads, saline and an adhesive (ACE) wrap. Rolling her eyes, she worked to wad up the gauze pads. She lacked both the time and capacity to do much more than plug the hole, so she set to her task, while her eyes tracked Xasha and the Araska that the dynamic duo hadn't obliterated yet. Omega didn't really like the idea, not at all. Xasha had proven herself capable, that was for damn sure. But more importantly to Omega, she was showing the kid who didn't believe in the idea there were any humans left working with for any reason...Maybe they ain't all parasites.

Maybe.

She got the gauze stuffed into the hole, growling like a feral cat in heat the entire time. Holes plugged, she took the stun baton into her right hand. Her left was useless now, she cradled her forearm tight against her belly. Thank the gods this was just a game, or she'd be looking at one hell of a repair bill. She had a fat stack invested in her left arm, and was super grateful she did her own maintenance. But the shoulder joint getting blown out? I'm a doctor, not a magician!!!

She got into a low, ready crouch. Xasha was across the atrium, and with any luck, the mech should make his debut roughly in between them. Always one to stack the deck when possible, she shifted a few feet to the side and slightly back. Taking advantage of shadows and forcing the mech to focus on one or the other of them. Unless the damn thing could stop time, Omega knew he couldn't get em both at once. Whichever way he went, they were ready.​
 


aW6NfSS.png

Active Location: City Center arcade
Physical Location: on site
Objective: Assault on Araska tower
Tags: @Omega

The mission was going beautifully and both women were synchronised well, for someone who didn't do cooperative well she was taking the lead where necessary, and yielding where necessary, an important skill. Xasha's lip curled with a little menace as she considered her. She slurped her own drink mirroring Omega before the final assault, launching them both into battle. The mech rattled with its overcharged machine gun, the one that had blown her apart half an hour ago. This time though Xasha was both expecting it and able to dodge out of its way while her partner swept in and did a crap ton of damage.

Then it was Omega's turn to draw its ire, the mech turned and with a crackling arm, it lashed out towards Omega trying to put her down. Xasha leaned out and felt the haptics of her bolt action sniper crack a shot towards the weaker joints of the machine, a first, second and then third shot went in causing the health bar on the bot to drop significantly and disabling the weapon on that side.

"AOE spike!" The mech was new but the game designers were old school, she could see a final phase AOE attack coming a mile off. She hid behind the pillar as a spike of radiation burst forth from the bot, instantly killing any NPCs (or PCs) unlucky enough to miss the warnings. After this the back and forth continued and finally, the heavy mech was down and Xasha issued forth a "Fuck yes!". The mech fight had been fantastic fun and they were through to face Arasaka for the final boss.

The one complaint everyone had with this game, and a thousand others like it was the disappointing and formulaic final boss, a Japanese guy in a suit with enough upgrades that he should have gone psycho years ago, soaking up an inordinate amount of bullets as he ran around the room shouting obscenities.

"They should make the mech the final boss" she said to Omega as they finally finished and she breathed a sigh, blowing off some of her adrenaline.


XASMEG________ 55'268'363
LITTLEJAY_____ 53'883'368
MIKEOXLONG____ 52'777'637
XASHA_________ 52'776'849
XASHA_________ 52'521'426
...

They had done it, completed the new version of the game. She was very happy and smiled towards the younger woman, she could feel her heart beating hard in her chest, not being able to hack the games made feel so rewarding, her chrome was still cool and yet she was the champion.

"That was fun, we should do something like that again some time?" She raised and eyebrow and reached up to run her finger around her currently empty cervical data port.



OOC: it's time @GehennaUponUs
 
The unmarked black Chevillon rolled to a stop a block away, its engine humming low and steady. Inside, like predators lying in wait, Arasaka agents exchanged brief glances, their faces unreadable behind sleek sunglasses. Each one wore the company's signature black suit, ties perfectly aligned, and hair slicked back to a mirror-like sheen. The call had come through, and the next target's location was locked.

Kaito, the lead agent, adjusted his tie with a practiced motion before signaling the others. "Move quickly. No complications."

The van doors opened silently, and the agents stepped out with precision, moving almost as one. Their polished Oxfords clicked against the pavement, the sound swallowed by the ambient street sounds of Night City. They entered the arcade with the swagger of men who owned the room before even stepping inside.

Omega would have little real chance to act. Two agents seized her arms with iron grips, their augmented strength rendering her own useless. Any curses or protests echoed through the neon-lit space would be useless other to grab the attention of those around as they began dragging her toward the exit. One agent produced a sleek injector from his pocket, pressing it against Omega's neck. The sedative would work fast, her resistance fading as her movements became sluggish.

As the agents reached the door, Kaito stopped, turning to Xasha. His cyberoptics flared briefly, the transaction complete in a blink. "20,000 as promised. You've been compensated." His voice was calm, devoid of emotion, as if this were just another routine task.

An encrypted message flashed on Xasha's HUD a moment later: "Coordinates sent. Rendezvous required."

Without another word, the agents would move to try and load Omega into the van, where they would secure her in the back as the vehicle peeled away, tires squealing. The sleek Chevillon melted into the chaos of Night streets, leaving the arcade behind.



@Xasha Callisto | @Omega
(Feel free to play out the remainder or the struggle as Omega is kidnapped)​
 

Abra, Abracadabra...
Omega really wants to reach out and stab ya...

There she was, folks. Happier than a pig in shit and bending the code she'd made it this far by never bending. Yeah, that got blown to shit as the adrenaline built higher and higher while the duo gelled well. In bout 3 minutes, she'd start wondering if maybe they'd gelled a little too well. But right now, the mech was dead and Omega wasn't even mad to see Xasha put her name first. hell, Omega still had bout 27 seconds to ponder the mystery of life as she slugged down another energy drink she snaked from her bag. That gave her a full 7 seconds to grin to Xasha. With a touch less suspicion than one dead mech prior.

Yeah...About that...

The Arasaka goons had no trouble grabbing the rabbit. Omega had let her guard down completely, she had been focused on the game and...Before the payment was even spoken of, Omega found herself finally with a reason for that eyeball gun mod thingy she'd been kicking around in her head a while back. The Goons had her dead to rights, even without their mods and boosts, she was no match for a single one. Only chance she had now was to squirm loose. Oh, yes, she damn sure tried. After she gave Xasha a glare of nuclear death, Omega used the one trick she did have left. She was the Combat Zone Canons Rabbit for a reason, and that was cause she was fast. Living on borrowed time, she set out to inflict maximum carnage before she was "disappeared".

Allowing her Kereznikov implant and the reflex co-processor to do what they do best, the Arasaka goons found they went from holding a compliant noodle to grappling with a feral honeybadger having a grand mal seizure after railing an 8 ball from a hooker's ass. Legs and arms thrashed whichever way they happened to go. And whichever poor shmuck got wracked with her left arm, ouch. That's the cyberam, and heavier. Her legs do some cracked out version of the Hokey Pokey while she headbangs hard enough to make a Red Chrome Legion ganger proud.

Uuuntil she feels the poke. Having no biofilters, and all jacked up energy drinks, adrenaline and hate, the drugs work fast, aided by her racing heart. And just like that, Cyclone Omega is knocked da fuck out and no longer a threat to life or limb. Til she wakes up.

@Xasha Callisto @GehennaUponUs ​
 


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Active Location: City Center arcade
Physical Location: on site
Objective: Assault on Araska tower
Tags: @Omega @GehennaUponUs

The next few moments happened so fast as the gangoons jumped Omega and grabbed her hard. She saw the woman panic and she saw the death stare that omega gave her, looking right into the eyes of Xasha, that definitely wasn't going to come up at a later date. Xasha shrugged gently and raised her eyebrows "It's nothing personal" she smiled then nodded towards the woman who was paying her. The rest of the arcade seemed to have taken a few steps back now, clearly not wanting to be involved in this transaction.

Omega was thrashing around like a cyberpsycho as she tried to resist, hoping she might throw of these trained "grabbers" As they bundled her into the van Xasha picked up the last of her cola and tucked at it as two more gamers moved in on the now vacant machine.


Gotta be somewhere, catch you next time yeah X

She dropped a quick message to the person she had initially been playing with before their gambling dragged them away. Then without any further fanfare the Thai woman walked out, got into her car and drove towards the rendezvous point.

 
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