Spikey844
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Posts posted by Spikey844
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On 4/22/2018 at 7:24 PM, Drakeardian said:
Dmitri frowned and then looked to Alad before returning his gaze to Annika with a raised eyebrow "Where does Nef get this money?" he asked curiously to her. An operation this big had to have some sort of financial operation.
"From what I can tell, tariffs, protection rackets and rigged casinos. There may be more but I didn't get the opportunity to do much questioning about where his finances come from."
Annika shifted her gaze to Alad, not bothering to hide her disdain for the scientist. "No, we aren't going to blow it up. At least, there is no plan to." She frowned slightly. "It does worry me that Nef could export virus material. It could cause a second wave of infections, and I doubt this time it will be contained to one country."
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23 hours ago, Drakeardian said:
Dmitri frowned at that pause "What exception are you talking about Alad, You got out of that airport and that means there's a way in and out." Dmitri answered assertively, gripping the handles of Alad's bags rather tightly...
He was slowly disliking Alad again after giving him a hairbrush to clean himself up.
"He means the plane that leaves once a month," Annika cut in. She'd had her door propped open, and had overhead the conversation. Now she stood in the hatch to her room, glaring at Alad. "The same plane that I won papers for a small package out. Though I'm sure Alad wouldn't mind sharing what else comes and goes on that plane."
Her tone was mild as she spoke, but it held an undercurrent of steel. Dimitri would likely recognise it as the type of tone used by sergeants and senior NCOs to get their troops to fall in line without actually giving them an order.
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Debating about which game to get, and only able to get one currently. I'd be playing on Xbox One.
Recommendations? I've played previous games in both series.
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It was probably fortunate for Alad's health (or his sanity) that Annika exited the washrooms and was in her room before he appeared in the corridor. She pulled on her shirt and trousers, but didn't put her boots back on. They needed to air. Sitting cross legged on her bed, she opened the notebook, one of her most important tools during her time as an Intelligence officer, and began to write furiously, making a note of all that she could remember. She would need it in the event she did sent a report. She kept up her mental radar, noting Tara leaving on her recon mission, and picking up the irritation of Alad at his lack of sleep.
Naturally, she had precisely zero sympathy for him.
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After leaving the CIC, Annika had secured her weapons in the armoury before heading down the ladder to the crew deck. She went to her room, then stripped down to her underwear, pulling her hair loose as she did so. Rummaging through her webbing, she plucked out the shampoo and shower gel that she had bought in the Captial before they left, then picked up her towel and headed to the showers. She hadn't had one while in Shikari's flat, but now it beckoned to her. The humanising effects a good shower could have should never be understated.
It also gave her the opportunity to think.
As the water ran through her hair, she cast her mind back to the casino, grimacing slightly at her inability to extract the information wholesale from Davis. Her rational mind pointed out that she was trained in CPS, not interrogation and manipulation, something her pride only grudgingly accepted. The rational part of her mind also reminded her that the mission hadn't been a completely failure. They had, after all, gained a small fortune, a way to get information out of Lasria, and a potential in with Glass Perrin.
She considered the other mission as she washed, wiggling her fingers between her toes to clean them (infantry she was not, but she didn't want athlete's foot (again)). This cult that had sprung up was worrying. She didn't need to have the potential consequences explained to her. She'd seen the lengths that religion could drive one to in the Middle East. She wasn't interested in a repeat performance.
She continued musing to herself as she showered, her mind simultaneously analysing and wandering the Liset, keeping an eye on what else was happening on the vessel.
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10 minutes ago, Cyriann said:
"It's just... Something private linked to my... Nightmare shall I say..." I keep on fidgeting. "There are just things I need to talk about with him. To wipe out the lies that thing tried to implant in me." I show her my shaking hands. "And the worst thing is that it has managed it to an extent. I'm freaking terrified, terrified by a person I respect, and that's a thing I can't let slide on me."
I sigh trying to keep my composure in check. "I guess you could take a dip in to see the extent of what I went through, but I think you already get my problem." I conclude looking at her in the eyes.
Annika said nothing. Physically, her only action was to take a sip of tea. Her mind was another matter. She reached out towards Cyriann's conscience, gently pressing against the walls of his mind until he let her in to view his memories.
And so she saw into Hayden's sordid past, his sins (or some of them anyway) laid bare before her. Some it she expected. But not all of it. She knew, she didn't know how, that it was all true. There was a certain... quality to them told her that they were true, not visions brought out by delusion.
She finally pulled out, her face guarded. Then she looked at Hayden. For several moments, she said nothing. Her head tilted to one side, her sapphire gaze boring into the American. "You aren't that man any longer," she said at last, "else you wouldn't be here now." Then she turned and left the room, her empty mug of tea sitting on a console.
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4 minutes ago, Drakeardian said:
"Or we try and strengthen our relationships with our allies in these syndicates" replied Dmitri as he hummed "This Glass Perrin, any idea in their stance on the Tenno?" Dmitri inquired as he stroked his chin.
He also glanced at Tara then back to Annika and the others with a hum before asking Emet "What's your thought on this? May as well get an idea from one of the voices in here."
"I'm pretty sure that all the syndicates are against us," Annika said, "but if I could approach her as du Bois, I may be alright." Her face soured slightly. "Though I'll probably have to wear another dress to do so."
She shifted her gaze, both physical and mental, to Cyriann. The Frenchman was.... unusually off balance and twitchy. Regarding Hayden?
"What's wrong Cyriann?" She asked, eyes narrow. "What is it about Hayden that's making you twitchy?"
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On 2/8/2018 at 5:22 PM, 404Cygni said:
When Jean's eyes opened, they weren't the usual chestnut anymore. They were silver. And the voice, while patient, definitvely wasn't Jean's. Nor really human. Emet was running the show, which clearly said things about Jean's state to those who could reading between lines.
"Hello. Terribly sorry but my Host isn't quite feeling well, at the moment. Can I help you with anything ?"
Meanwhile, Alpha had taken position on Jean's lap, somewhat between her and Annika. He made something that sound like a huff and stared at her accusingly.
Annika raised her eyebrows at Emet being in control, then moved on. "We were wondering what's up with the computer Jean/you were given," she said, folding her arms. "Its not everyday you get someone walking up to you and just giving you a laptop."
Her eyes switched to Dimitri. "Yes, a bit over a million. Plenty of money for equipment." She sneered slightly. "I suppose Alad can use some for his research."
Her gaze shifted to Cyriann. "I'm not contract lawyer, but the documents look genuine, and Davis seemed annoyed when he lost them, so I'd assume so." I need to hope its real, she added in her head, only way I can get a report home.
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Annika was quiet for a moment, then glanced at Jean. "Someone approaches us as we left and gave Jean a laptop, called her sister to boot." She looked at Jean with raised eyebrows, then, realising she was completely spaced out, walked over to the other Brit and poked her gently in the arm. "Jean? You with us?"
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Annika's eyebrows shifted upwards as she listened to Dimitri, Cyriann, Hayden, giving the latter a mug of coffee once it was made. "Well at least you had an interesting time. Not that ours was boring either." She pursed her lips, thinking for a moment. "Travel to the capital was easy. A few infected tried their chances, but they weren't hard to deal with. When we reached the entrance we followed the wall around until we met Shikari. She spoke to use over the comms before we left the Liset." She straightened slightly, hands going behind her back, legs shoulder width apart. Dimitri would recognise it as a parade rest position. "She led us down a side entrance, through the sewers. It was down there that we met up with Shane again. We... ended up having a disagreement." Her tone was flat, almost monotone. "Shane provoked memories, ones I'd rather not talk about. I lost my temper and invaded his mind, forced him to obey my commands for a few moments." Her eyes were locked forward. "When I released the control, he tried to kill me. Tara and I stopped him." She blinked, then seemed to relax slightly.
"We left his body there. We had no way to safely destroy it that would not also draw undue notice. Shikari guided us to a safehouse of hers, and informed us of Nefaniel Anyo. He essentially runs the Capital, running something of a protection racket. There are also 5 groups, syndicates as they are known, who the next level of power." She fills them in on each of the groups and their attributes. "Shikari also infromed us that Nef wants to get out of Lasria, and so has been funding research to wipe out the virus, and presumably us along with it. She'd come across a rumour that he'd found an option that wasn't simply nukes, and was apparently more disturbing and with easier reach. The only way that we were going to be able to investigate would be by getting into a private poker game with his son, Davis, at their casino. Shikari could get us access but couldn't get behind the table herself. Since I've played poker before and I can read minds, I volunteered to play. I posed as a rich snob, which meant abiding by the dress code, Tara and Jean went along as my bodyguards."
Annika paused, took a sip of coffee, then continued. "I wasn't the only player at the table, besides Davis. Glass Perrin was there, as was one Dustin Weber, a representative of New Loka, along with an Chinese man by the name of Nako Xol. He had a brother, absent from the game, who according to Anyo were hired as security. However, Anyo cut Xol off, so there may be more to it. While I was not able to extract much information with coming across as overly curious, there were few things that caught my attention. Firstly, Anyo claimed that the Technocryte situation had been 'practically dealt with'. Xol also seemed extremely confident that he could deal with us, referring to the Tenno as 'trophies'." The word came out as a sneer.
"Towards the end of the game, Anyo began to run low on money, so instead.." Annika pulled out the documents she had won from Anyo, placing them on the table. "He bet this. These documents would allow us to send a message out the country, as well as receive one in reply." Then she smirked and drew out the money. "I also manged to quadruple my starting money. We now have over 1 million rubles to play with."
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This is one of my on and off games now. I started playing back in 2013 I think it was (about U8 with that Grinner event that rewarded the Snipetron) and I've put a quite a lot of hours into it (Steam puts my total over 1100 hours, but I've had to deal with fairly slow internet speed for many years), though compared to some I'm a lightweight :3.
What's kept me playing has been a mix of the fun and fast gameplay, the community and, believe it or not, the story. I'm a fanfic writer and I spend most of time on the forums now in RP section, and I've been really enjoying the story. Yes it has its ups and downs, but it is still great, especially when done incrementally. I remember arguing on the forums about what Gradivus and whether we should side with the Grinner or the Corpus (I was a Grinner supporter myself). I remember grinding furiously for the Brakk at the time, and the genuine reward I felt upon reaching the 100 mission mark for it. I remember having spare Plat after having bought a large amount thanks to a 75% coupon, spotting someone in chat wanting the Nyx Nemesis skin, and buying for them on a whim. They promptly tracked down my user name and thanked me profusely, leaving me with a warm glow in my heart.
Playing the story quests... oh my. My oh my. Hearing about Mirage, discovering who Natah is, and above all, the Second Dream. The YouTuber Skill-Up described The Second Dream as a masterstroke, and for I certainly have to agree, even if others do not. To keep somthing back for so long is a genius move, and one that was even more impactful when few people had done it and it was still under tight spoiler wraps.
That's why, to this day, I keep coming back. Perhaps this isn't my play-every-day game anymore, but I'm can't see myself dropping it any time soon.
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Just now, Cyriann said:
At first I reel back seeing Hayden, but Sereena's presence by my side is enough to not have me go hide immediately. Swallowing hardly I give the coffees I had made to those having nothing before seating as far as possible from Hayden and right next to Sereena.
My breathing is rapid due to the stress but at the very least I manage to show to much of my anguish directly, pushing me to remain silent for now.
Annika's slight smirk became a calculating stare at Cyriann's reaction upon spotting Hayden. The Frenchman had nearly recoiled, as if jerking away from a foul smell, and was now breathing fast as if under stress. His emotions were all over the place, and he took up a spot on the opposite side of the room to Hayden. She tilted her head slightly in thought, considering whether or not to question him, then decided against it. She took a sip of coffee. Perhaps it would come up in the debrief.
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"Should probably start with you," Annika said, "my debrief will probably be longer and a bit more complicated." She add instant coffee and sugar to her mug, then the boiled water, with some milk on top of that. She glanced at Hayden. "Want some?" Then she eyed his helmet, "and why do you have your helmet with you?"
She gave Seerena a look as she entered with Cyriann, and smirked slightly. She didn't have to read their minds to know they were closer than before, just their body language. She refocused on organising her thoughts. The documents weight heavily in her pocket, and on her mind.
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11 hours ago, Cyriann said:
As I was preparing some chocolate for myself and Sereena I see Jean, passing by and making herself a tea before returning back from where she came.
"Huuu..." I look at her leaving, as she clearly hadn't noticed neither me or Sereena. "I guess the others are back then..." I turn to Sereena giving her a lightly hot chocolate. I spin my own cup a few times in my hands before returning to the board and start preparing coffees while sipping my chocolate.
"How about we go get them with a few cups for them all ?" I say looking at Sereena as I go to the exit of the room with the cups on my hands.
"I'm a little ahead of you on that front," Annika said, the kettle already beginning to boil away. Several mugs were already out on a plastic tray, along with sugar, small bags of instant coffee and a box of tea bags. She was still armed, rifle now slung over the back instead of front, her pistol on her hip. The kettle clicked off moments later, and she placed it on the tray. She balanced the tray on one hand, thanking her virus enhanced strength, then reached in front of Jean's face and snapped her fingers. Loudly. Twice.
"Back up," she said, firmly but not unkindly, "we gotta debrief, and I want to know what's going on with that laptop you got given." This was quite deliberate. She could feel the negative emotions emanating from the younger woman. She moved past the others, and managed to scale the ladder with just one hand, still carrying the tray. It was tricky, but she managed.
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4 minutes ago, Drakeardian said:
Dmitri raised an eyebrow as he thought he heard Annika's at the door before he proceeded to head up and open the hatch after grabbing his Sawn off shotgun and opening it up slowly before sighing with relief, he then yelled "Annika's team are back."
He quickly dangled from the ladder, holding onto it whilst he let Annika, Tara and Jean get past, he raised an eyebrow then asked "Hey, Did you find Shane?"Annika hesitated for a moment as she climbed down. "He's dead," she said after a moment, her voice flat, then continued down the ladder before dropping to the deck. "Let me get some coffee and I'll do a proper debrief." She twirled her new ring around her finger as she walked, heading down to the galley.
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Annika felt a weight rise of her shoulders as they reached the coast where they had left the Liset. She'd been on edge ever since leaving the capital with Jean and Tara, Shikari having vanished somewhere and not reappearing when they left the Index. She'd worried about it for a moment, then dismissed it down her list of priorities. Shikari seemed capable of watching out for herself.
What had occupied her mind the most was the evelope that contained the documents for the flight out of Lasria. She had yet to mention them to the others, deciding to wait until they were all together to reveal them. She was still debating hard as to whether or not to write a report or not and send it home. She was oath bound to do so... yet the dangers of doing so...
She put the issue to one side.
Her eyes flicked down to the ring on her left hand. It was the same one she'd worn to the casino, and since Shikari hadn't been around to stop her taking it... well, it was probably already stolen at least once. The emerald glistened back at her, set into the pewter and gold metal around it. It made her think of her grandparents in Ireland. She'd only met them a few times, but they'd been close.
Reaching out with her mind, she located the minds of the others on the Liset. 'Knock knock, we're back. Open up', she said mentally. The message would reach all those inside the submarine.
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21 hours ago, Denny2669 said:
--- The Index ---
"Oh, Tenno, you have such a straightforward view when it comes to the use of information." Darvo kept chirping to Tara "Such embaresing secrets like the ones I just shared can get you aaall the friends - or enemies - in the world. But tell you what: I'll give you all the info I have later through the liset's comms. I've still got deals to make, and I'd preferably be done with it before these here princesses wake up."--
Neither the duo of Jean and Annika, nor Tara would meet any resistance on their way out of the casino. Even after meeting up, they'd only hear the words of the exit guards saying "We hope you enjoyed your stay." before smelling the cold, clean, and enferon free air outside... as clean as the air of a ruined country can be at least. But before they would get too far from the entrance, and the chatter of people would grow to silence, they were approached by someone. The man only wore cargo pants and a black hoodie - not something comfortable for the cold - with a bag on a sling. He wasn't approaching Annika, or Tara, but Jean."Excuse me, miss?" he said once he was close enough to stop them, face obscured by the hood and the dark to the point only white skin and a short beard could be made out "A friend of ours says you've earned this." he took the bag off of him and offered it to Jean. She would notice it was a laptop bag "Well... I guess that means: welcome to the pack. See you around sis'." before she could question him, he already started running back, rubbing his shoulders to warm himself up as he jogged.
Annika sighed once they were beyond the walls of the casino and into the, relatively, fresh and enefron free air. She noticed that her skin on longer felt like crawling, especially around her shoulders, arms and back where the technocryte was. She glanced around, looking for Shikari, when the hooded figure approached them, or rather Jean. She raised an eyebrow at the short conversation, noting the laptop bag that was handed to the younger woman.
"And I thought I had the most interesting time in there," she murmured, then shook her head slightly. "Lets get back to the house, then we'll talk." She began to move off, trusting that Shikari would find them.
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On 28/12/2017 at 3:16 PM, MetroFallout said:
"Darvo owes us a solid... well owes me personally but yes. I'm trying to ask him about what he knows about the Syndicates that we don't currently know." Tara sent back along the same way back to Annika.
'Can you walk and talk?' Annika sent back, 'I've finished the poker game. We're far more wealthy than before, but I wasn't able to tease out what Anyo has on us, not without blowing our cover wide open.' Cash collected into a briefcase, promptly handed to Jean (a women of her status would not carry such a thing), she began to meander her way towards the exit. 'Anyo gave me an odd look as he submitted, and if he twigs I do not want to be here when it happens.'
The blonde gave Jean a sidelong, somewhat cold, look. "Do keep a tight grip on the case," she spoke mildly, "wouldn't want some ruffian taking it off you."
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Oh yeah, these are great skins. I'm tossing between Trinity and Banshee personally. Both are amazing. Rhino is great, but I'm not too sure about Oberon. It's a lovely skin, but something I can't quite put my finger on is making me go a bit eehhh..... Those overly saturated gems or somewhat odd looking horns maybe?
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This is great stuff. Reminds me somewhat of the Athena Nyx skin, which is most definitely a good thing since I love that skin :3.
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4 minutes ago, Airwolfen said:
Woah.... that is one amazingly coloured warframe. Lovely work dear sir/ma'am.
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9 hours ago, 404Cygni said:
Annika was back. Tara was still absent. They needed to get moving. Rule seventeen, as evocated by Uncle David, was clear on, that. 'Even if it all seems safe, don't stay so much as one second more than needed in a place where things might turn in your defavor.'
She stashed all the rubles she had managed to get from theslot machine and walked up to her fellow British, a genuine smile on her face. hey. How did it go? I made a bit of a pretty penny there. Though less than you managed, I'd bet!"
Meanwhile, she let go of her mind's resistances. And thought what she needed Aniika to gear.
'Tara has been missing for a while. I'm starting to get worried there, even if I didn't hear the sort of fireworks one should get by placing problems and Tara in the same room. Alpha says she's in...The men's bathrooms.You're the military one here, how do we deal with this?'
'She's in there with Darvo,' Annika sent back, 'lord knows why... ah... a fight of some sort.' She winced slightly as the enefron in the air reacted to her power usage. Passive scanning was one thing, but sending messages required more power. At least she wasn't glowing.
'Tara, what's happening in there?' She sent, heading over the cashier to exchange the chips for rubles.
A Shimmering Light In The Dark Sector [IC, Invite Only, 18+]
in Role Playing
Posted
Annika cocked an eyebrow at Cyriann's words. "Common room, five minutes, try and remember all that you can." The words were not a request, but an order. A solider Annika was, but she was also an intelligence analyst. Her former skill set had been in action recently. Now it was time to employ the latter.
She slipped back into her room, grabbed her notebook and pen, then headed to the common room via the kitchen. More tea was required for this.