//------------------------------// // \\C:\Users\BigBlue\Video\30432306ZG.ZIP // Story: Grey Hat // by Journeyman //------------------------------// Shadowlands Lounge, Magnasanti Hub, The Matrix Personas Present: ~Adam ~Blackjack ~Captain Chaos ~Eve ~Grease Monkey ~Hesperides ~King Kludge ~LaLiLuLeLo ~Ozymandias ~Rasta Blasta ~Sid the Kid ~Synergy ~The Crooked Man ~Valentine ~ZomZom King Kludge: Can’t sleep... ponies will eat me... Sid the Kid: Kludge, take a nap already. YOu’re weird enough when you’re lucid. Rasta Blasta: Sid’s got sticky fingers. Sid the Kid: Excuse me for capitalizing the wrong letter. Ozymandias: Anybody catch the last race? Hesperides: Adam. Rasta Blasta: Ask Chaos. Ozymandias: Captain! Wake up! You AFK? Captain Chaos: I’m here. Ozymandias: Catch yesterday’s game? ZeroG League? Captain Chaos: Nope. Sorry. Grease Monkey: The ponies are coming! The ponies are coming! Grease Monkey: Seriously, why are they in Magnasanti? ZomZom: Curiosity more than anything. Hesperides: Who doesn’t like a little zest to spice things up? Adam: It was a ZeroG League Classic match and Kane won. Piloted a VX-Nova crafted by Deus. 2.8L V10 with a top speed of 375 km/h.  Modified dimpled chassis for decreased drag and lower weight, making it light and fast, but brittle as a pinecone and likely to get wrecked to shit at high speeds. Purrs like a kitten, but I’d bet 2000§ that he’s using exotic alloys for the engine. Rasta Blasta: Adam, where have you been all my life? Adam: Sorry, I’m taken. My one true love requires far more maintenance, needs tools to get at her goodies, and squirts if I press the right thing. Sid the Kid: OMG Rasta Blasta: Hahahahahaha! Ozymandias: lolololol         LaLiLeLuLo: We got a wise guy. Good; we never get noobs with a sense of humor. King Kludge: Thanks for showing me. Sid the Kid: Damn it Kludge; go to goddamn bed. Noone sent ou nothin Rasta Blasta: Tweet tweet, time to sleep. Let the king lie and weep. Grease Monkey: Catch some Zs, kludge. See you in a few hours. King Kludge: Yeah. Night. --King Kludge has disconnected-- Eve: Every time he speaks is like watching a drunken leprechaun completely blitzed on Rampage. Hesperides: Good night Synergy: I bring munchies everytime i log on. More fun that way. Free show. --Hesperides has disconnected-- Rasta Blasta: It’s getting late for me too. Heading out. Synergy: Awwwww. Kludge & Hesi are gone. Don’t leave too! Rasta Blasta: It’s 7 where I am. Sid the Kid: Chica, your night hasn’t even begun. Rasta Blasta: In the morning. I’ve been logged in for 8 hours. Sid the Kid: Well, see ya then Grease Monkey: Night Rasta. Captain Chaos: Get some sleep, Rasta Blasta. Synergy: goodnight. Eve: Night Adam: Night Rasta --Rasta Blasta has disconnected-- Eve: What’s the topic for tonight? Captain Chaos: I haven’t set one yet. Adam: I can gush about the ZeroG League for a few hours. Ozymandias: oh god yes. Grease Monkey: I’m game. ZomZom: I had 300§ on Xia for last Saturday’s game. Close but no cigar. Eve: Ah, XenoKilla as she calls herself online. Grease Monkey: What a shitty name Captain Chaos: She’s in the Shadowlands queue for new arrivals. I’m ready to invite her through my VPN, like how I invited all of you. Valentine: She’s a good racer. I enjoyed her little spar with Rainbow Dash. LaLiLuLeLo: Watch it, Captain. I got a file on her. She’s a little too impulsive for the kind of subtly and confidentiality we need. ZomZom: Wait, back up. That Rainbow Dash? Valentine: Of course, dearie. The self-proclaimed fastest flyer in Equestria joined the ZeroG League. She’s an official racer now. Adam: She lost her first race. She was doing well, but there was something funny going on behind the scenes. Ozymandias: Funny as in ‘HAHA’ or funny as in ‘Holy shit, my car’s on fire’? Eve: The latter. We’re pretty sure someone was cheating. LaLiLuLeLo: I can confirm the cheating. Adam: Really? LaLiLuLeLo: Yes I can. Nothing tangible, but I have the word of people I trust. They can confirm. Adam: I admit... i had thought only DaemonJack, Kludge, and Captain Chaos were the ones to be reckoned with. Looks like I was wrong. Valentine: Honey, you have no idea what this collective can do. Adam: I’m starting to see that. What are you LaLiLuLeLo? Info Dealer? Racer? Media? Blackjack: It’s not good for your well being to pry. LaLiLuLeLo: Come off it, Blackjack. He’s harmless. Adam: Am I? LaLiLuLeLo: I’m fairly certain I know who you are. Adam: Really now? Eve: Only the Captain knows everyone. ZomZom: Nope. Captain Chaos: Some of us are only known by our Matrix handles and I invite those types through other means less personal. I am okay with that. I don’t know everybody, and to keep anonymity for all, I will keep it that way. Blackjack: Some value their secrecy quite highly. It’s unwise to stick your dick in places where it doesn’t belong. LaLiLuLeLo: Let’s just say I know people Adam. Adam: Advice taken, Blackjack. Eve: Where’s the fun in that? ZomZom: Blackjack’s right, Eve. We’re all pretty chill when we want to be, but we all have our secrets. As Kludge said a few days ago, we need to keep a little bit for ourselves. Press too deep, someone’s going to stomp a mudhole in your ass. Ozymandias: Wait, what the fuck? Captain Chaos: They’re words to take to heart, Oz. Ozymandias: Not that. I agree with Zombie. It’s just that I saw something weird as hell. The Crooked Man: As events truly tend to be. Eve: Where did you come from? The Crooked Man: I have been here for some time. Adam: What did you see? Ozymandias: A pony under armed escort. Grease Monkey: Told you. They’re here in the city. Ozymandias: Didn’t believe you. Blackjack: I’ve located no less than fifteen. Ozymandias: Make that sixteen. Oh shit, seventeen. ZomZom: Great. Just great. The Crooked Man: Why such despair? ZomZom: You’re not my shrink. Get lost. The Crooked Man: They have fought with honor and proven noble allies. I see no reason to take up arms against them. ZomZom: Arms? You got me wrong. Don’t want to kill them. Don’t even want to maim them a little. But just because I don’t hate them, that doesn’t mean I like them either. Adam: You took an interest in Rainbow Dash just a moment ago. Valentine: Can I have a glance, Ozymandias? I would be ever so grateful. Ozymandias: As you wish, My Lady. ZomZom: I know her by reputation. I just didn’t know if the racer and her were one and the same. Ponies have a weirdass way of naming their spawn. Grease Monkey: I wish pops really named me Grease Monkey. ZomZom: I swear you are all doing this to me on purpose. Blackjack: It is a wee bit of fun to grind your gears. Grease Monkey: Upon heat death of the universe, the one thing still burning would be ZomZom’s hatred of everything. > Ozymandias Transmitting to Valentine: June 23, 3043 Posting includes 386 kb of attached files Valentine: My, my, they are lovely. Adam: Can I see? Ozymandias: Sure. Blackjack: Me too. Grease Monkey: Same. Ozymandias: Okay. I— Captain Chaos: I’d like to see as well, if you don’t mind. Ozymandias: Ah fuck it. You all can have it. > Ozymandias Transmitting to #CHAT: June 23, 3043 Posting includes 386 kb of attached files --The Crooked Man has disconnected-- Sid the Kid: See ya, weirdo Adam: Shit, that’s Fluttershy. Eve: And applejack! LaLiLuLeLo: And now I know who you both are =) Captain Chaos: Jack was right. Those two truly are coming. Blackjack: The hell? That’s a shitload of guards. CSS private contractors, OrC. Op. security, and Alliance marines. Standard anti-personnel loadout for protection against unarmored targets, but what the hell were they expecting? Armed resistance the moment they stepped onto the dock? --VolTecha has joined the chat-- Ozymandias: Dem specs, plz. Blackjack: Eight man squad loaded out with what i guess are FMJ munitions. The same for the Alliance blokes, but I don’t see any NCO. ZomZom: MP-Laser system? Not bad. I prefer the SGL myself, but I’d use good old fashioned bullets over a laser any day. I see the Latino dipshit behind the nav-tech is juggling a nonlethal Hi-C Plastic Round, so points there for variety. ZomZom: And their body armor designed by Eden. Weird. Sid the Kid: Hey, Eden Enterprises has some pretty good shit. ZomZom: Whatever. I’m not a fan myself. I get my gear from NOMAD and Zenith suppliers. Valentine: They’re naked. They do realize Magnasanti enforces a dress code, right? VolTecha: Thank you for the invite Captain Chaos. Captain Chaos: You’re more than welcome. Synergy: That’s a fancy rifle she’s got. The tall chick. ZomZom: Nice... FAM S-700 semi auto with an effective range of 800 meters. That’s an Espa Robo make. Designed to be a lightweight medium-range rifle. --SecondSon has joined the chat-- VolTecha: I’m afraid I don’t know what’s going on right now. Sid the Kid: Bottle that rage, Zombie. He’s just a noob. Captain Chaos: I’ll send you the picture. > Captain Chaos Transmitting to VolTecha: June 23, 3043 Posting includes 386 kb of attached files VolTecha: Ahhhhh. An honor guard, I see. Captain Chaos: Those two are one step below nobility. Maybe even knighted. It’s no wonder they would have such security. Synergy: Is that a bandolier of HKGs? VolTecha: I think those are Fireflies. The surface looks a little too dimpled for an HK grenade. Synergy: i think youre right. Blimey... Sid the Kid: Oz, follow them. Ozymandias: Hell no, frager. I’m on my break. I’d get my sorry ass fired. Captain Chaos: Where are they going? Where are you? Ozymandias: I think they landed in the OCO private landing bay. South of the Bay Area. Sector 7. Captain Chaos: That’s isolated... ZomZom: Odd. I expected them to be in a little more public area. Magnasanti officials and corps would want to show them off a little. LaLiLuLeLo: You bet your ass they would. This... something smells wrong with this. I’d expect this treatment towards any civilian, pony or otherwise, but these are national heroes. Why shove them into a place to grow plants and shit? Eve: Ask DaemonJack. He seemed to be in the know. Kludge as well. Captain Chaos: Good luck getting a hold of either. No one ever sees Jack unless he wants it, and Kludge deals with money more than info mining. VolTecha: The easiest way would just be to ask the girls. Valentine: Where is the fun in that? ZomZom: Everybody lies. VolTecha: Ponies aren’t fond of lying. Sid the Kid: Doesn’t mean they don’t know how. VolTecha: I’m just saying there are better ways. Synergy: Of course there aer love, but don’t be daft; none of us are gettting close to them until they get settled in.. Give ti a few weeks. At least a few days. Ozymandias: Let them settle in. We can meddle later. Yeah, having them working with agrarian developers is weird, but we can wait and just let events unfold. Captain Chaos: I think I know the answer to this. Ponies are quite skilled in agrarian development themselves. ZomZom: I don’t buy it. That only applies to these so-called Earth Ponies. I can see our dear Fluttershy has wings. What would a pegasus being doing for OCO? Eve: Weather manipulation. Good shit right there, something OCO would kill for. LaLiLuLeLo: Fat chance. I bought a file off of Jack. Fluttershy is absolute garbage on the weather front. Her skills are subpar at best. If she’s there to work with OCO, it’s not because of that. Sid the Kid: So back to square one: Something’s going on behind the scenes. VolTecha: There’s another reason: Fluttershy is just being there for her friend. Applejack is an Earth Pony and still able to help OrC. Op. LaLiLuLeLo: I smell personal investment in this on your end, VolTecha. VolTecha: Pragmatism. I’m a scientist. Every option needs to be tested. Synergy: he does have a point Sid the Kid: Syn, you’ve been misspelling shit all night. VolTecha: She. I’m female. Synergy: Suck my dick. I’m bloody tired. I finished working a double and trying not to pass out. Captain Chaos: I will pull a few strings and make a few calls. See if I can shoot a few bullets and see who runs and who stops to watch. There might be something to these two coming here. At the very least I can trace the paper trail and see who authorized this co-op in the first place. I think this is just nothing, but I want to be certain. LaLiLuLeLo: Give me a call if you need me. Blackjack: What kind of scientist? VolTecha: A good one. I build things. Blackjack: Industry? Construction? R&D? Military? VolTecha: Secrets ZomZom: The recruits are learning. Ozymandias: I didn’t know it was possible to smell condescension. ZomZom: You got me all wrong. I’m pleased. Perhaps the three rookies aren’t sheep after all. Sid the Kid: Holy crap, a compliment from the Zombie. Eve: Thanks. Adam: We think? VolTecha: I’ll take it for now. Captain, I knew your comrades were unorthodox, but... this isn’t quite what I had in mind. --Dutchess has joined the chat-- Ozymandias: Welcome home, my friend. Sid the Kid: We’re a rowdy bunch, but we’re ok. VolTecha: I’m not... comfortable with what may be going on behind the scenes here. Captain Chaos: I give you the same offer as I gave everyone. You’re free to make friends and contacts, or go. However, you’ll be blacklisted from the Shadowlands for leaving. You are free to speak with everyone here, do anything, hire anyone, or allow yourself to be hired. Our words are gold here. We may protect our identities, but we’ve got each other’s back. When we make a promise to each other, we stick to it. Blackjack: Hear hear! Captain Chaos: This is my territory. I make the rules, I enforce the rules, and I make sure that the most important part of the collective is the bonds we have with each other. Yeah, we’re not perfect, and sometimes we do a few questionable things. It’s not safe out there, but we got each other to keep us strong and pull us out of the gutter. Valentine: You’re making me blush... Sid the Kid: Wow. Good speech Captain. VolTecha: I’ll... stay for a while. Don’t want to jump to conclusions too quick, after all. Eve: I look forward to getting to know you better. ZomZom: Welcome to the Shadowlands. Wipe your feet. Adam: Or hooves. Or claws. Or fins. Whatever. ZomZom: Stuff it Adam. I’m trying to have a moment. Synergy: I’m touched. I really am. Thanks for the vote of confidence Captain Chaos: You’re my friends. What can I say? Valentine: I’ll give my screen a little kiss for you, oh captain my captain. ZomZom: Don’t any of you say it... Sid the Kid: Friendship is magic! ZomZom: That’s it, I’m out of here. Synergy: i’m gonna sod off now. Tired, gonna eat, and then get railed until i can’t walk straight. Ozymandias: TMI, Synergy. TMI. Synergy: you know, I’ve thought about meeting 1 of them equines in a dark corner. THey’re a lot bigger than my limpdicked neighbors. ZomZom: No. NO. Grease Monkey: trololololo Sid the Kid: Channel your anger, Zombie... Yes... ZomZom: Fuck you Syn. Fuck you, fuck your thundercunt, fuck your life, fuck your neighbors, fuck the horse you rode in on. Synergy: Oh, Zom supports the idea, huh? ZomZom: Wait... Ozymandias: HAHAHAHAHAH!!! ZomZom: Damn it... Captain Chaos: You walked right into that one. For chapter commentary and my ramblings, visit my page HERE Chapter Commentary: LINK Edited by: TheSynn, Midnight Spark