5373/A Test for Talon
From Multiverse Crisis MUSH
A Test for Talon | |
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Date of Scene: | 13 July 2017 |
Location: | Overwatch Earth <OWE> |
Synopsis: | Sombra thinks back to the first mission she did in order to prove herself to the terrorist organisation. |
Cast of Characters: | Sombra, Reaper |
- Sombra has posed:
Quiet days like these are the worst. Sure, it's not like she can't read up on intel, snoop into other stuff as she works on the task that was assigned to her for the day. Her work room that was at her disposal is rather blank and boring compared to her hideout in Dorado, but it's not like she needs to hide when she's working on stuff for them. Things are a bit more complicated, now... but at least they're safer than they used to be.
- FLASHBACK -
The meeting place had been set to a busy bar. Lots of people, noisy, lots of places to slip out should this prove to be something risky for her. Yet it was worthwhile gamble. Even with her upgrades she couldn't feel entirely safe with nobody watching her back. So far she had made many enemies, especially after the whole deal with LumériCo. Dorado was still reeling from the entire scandal, with Los Muertos taking advantage of the unrest and chaos left there. Perhaps it was time to try to make some friends, at least get to know people who would see it more beneficial to keeping her head on rather than slicing it off.
The lone woman sits up by the bar, nursing her drink as she waits. Who knows if Talon got her message or not. Or who they will send to listen to her suggestion...
- Reaper has posed:
Momentum was important. An organization was either growing or it was dying, there was no in between, and Talon had done well in that regards - a lot better without the tape that had bound Overwatch to its grave. Still, there was always the call for talent - and in an organization like Talon, talent was more precious than gold. You could always steal or kill for gold, after all. So when someone as infamous as -the- Sombra makes contact, looking for some back scratching? The council was convened fairly quickly. With rumors of vigilantes seeping through the cracks, it was time to put the boot down hard - if it was a trap, then whoever set it was about to get a lot more than they bargained for.
Thus it is as Sombra sits among the crowded bar, the low roar of conversation wobbling about, that there is a loud revving sound from outside. A screech that hits a high pitch and just starts climbing higher before an explosive crunch of metal and rubber. Shattered glass pinging and bouncing off the bar's front. There's a general shout of alarm, as people begin crowding around the windows to look at the mess - one car having just pancaked another, both of them tangled balls of metal and misaligned wheels. Hand comms flip out, pictures snapped as voyeurs do what voyeurs have always done - watch the train wreck.
The bartender is even leaning forward, chin up as he tries to look over the crowd towards the mess outside. Lights flicker over the counter , go out-
Crunch.
-come back. A figure there where the bartender once stood, features cowled - taking advantage of the distraction and the nature of rubber neckers. Metal gauntlets flex briefly, the cowled head turning towards the bright blue drink Sombra had. Practically glowing in the sublights! Head lifts slightly, light cutting an edge along his sterile white mask. His voice rasps out, low and dangerous as a caged monster. "... Not what I was expecting..."
- Sombra has posed:
The sound of something rough happening outside does catch Sombra's attention, and the latina glances over her shoulder with a slight frown. Some people really can't handle their alcohol. Even as most of the patrons file out to look at the accident she remains seated, sipping her exotic drink. Not too bad, but it should make it easier for the Talon agent she's meeting to recognise her amidst the others.
Of course it's pretty obvious who that is as the sinister figure appears behind the bar as the lights flicker. In response the hacker, Sombra, arches one eyebrow calmly, her eyes looking him over even as he states his surprise upon the potential new agent. Nobody knows who Sombra is, after all. Her voice is slightly quiet as she speaks in return, raising the drink up towards her lips. "Well, some of us prefer to be less obvious than others," she responds. "I mean, seriously...? This isn't día de los muertos. A /mask/?" A slight chuckle leaves her as she sets the glass back down on the bar. Perhaps it would be prudent to go somewhere else before officials arrive to the scene to take care of the accident outside.
- Reaper has posed:
There is a low, hissing breath from the figure as his totally awesome and well thought out plan utterly fails to impress. Before something like dark, brooding laughter bubbles up from a 'throat' and he tilts his head. "Every day is a day for the dead." He states in his snarling fashion, before gesturing towards employee door off to the side of the counter. Taking a moment to step over the hidden bartender's unconscious body as he moves ahead. "And some of us.. prefer not to waste time." A slither of -something- coiling out from his cowled form as he passes out from beneath that overhead light -
-gone again. A faint click, and the door opens from the inside. The wraithly 'greeter' opening it enough for Sombra to move into - what a gentleman!
"And wasting my time is a deadly sin.... Sombra."
The interior of the small room is a simple 'break room' of sorts. A small, ratty holovid, a beaten up old couch, and a few shelves with cleaning supplies. The wraith figure stalking towards the shelves themselves, pulling a small bit of equipment from beneath his jacket/cloak thing. Stabbing it into the wooden surface, where it pops up and runs a beam of light along the walls and ceiling. Scanning for bugs! Even though this is a randomly picked room in a place Sombra choose. Someone's paranoid. It's also not.. -great-. It's pretty good for an on-the-fly situation, but not cutting edge. Sombra herself could probably do better.
- Sombra has posed:
No response is given to the morbid joke that her contact offers, though she does glance towards the back door and nods in response. A good plan for now, as neither of them would want too many people to see them. Even if nobody knows her face, it's better to be careful.
Picking up her drink, the woman stands up and then easily slides over the counter with only one hand, making sure to not spill her drink. The flickering lights, the way her contact seemingly disappears... huh, that's a neat party trick indeed. Though the moment the door opens for her, Sombra does look amused, offering a slight smirk up at the man. "Gracias... and do not worry, my time is precious too."
Making herself at home, Sombra walks over to sit down on the couch, crossing one leg over the other as she reclines. Yet an amused snort leaves her as the cowled man uses the scanner, and Sombra gestures towards it with her drink glass. "How old is that thing? Eight, no... nine years old? It's hardly up to date to catch the newer bugs. But don't worry, I checked this place out before I told you to meet me here... Reaper." Her free hand raises, and then... a holoscreen appears in mid air, information and images running down the interactive projection. "I never imagined that they would send /you/!" she smirks, touching a part of the screen to create yet another one. Sure, she might have been impressed before, but now? The latina almost looks /giddy/. "Should I be honoured? Getting one of the council leaders themselves instead of a random errand boy..."
- Reaper has posed:
The cowled head snaps towards Sombra at the sound of both his name - and the fact that he's on the Talon council. Let's just say it's not exactly a democracy at the top: Everyone has their place and their specialty. A low hiss escaping the owl skull mask, but that was the reason he and the others decided to accept the offer. Talent. He doesn't comment on the scanner itself, beyond plucking it back up once it chimes an all clear. Letting it rest in his metal claws for a moment as he speaks a single word for it's existence.
"Adequate."
The thing is then tucked back inside the jacket, Reaper considering his next move. He had plans for all sorts of contingencies, of course - but having someone steal his thunder before he can even get started has put him on the off foot. He takes a moment to regather his initial assessment, legs spread to shoulder width and thick arms crossing. Let her think he's silently glowering while he adjusts. "I'd ask how you know that - but there's a reason we even considered your offer." He begins, deciding for the usual blunt track. They both knew what they wanted, after all, and Reaper doesn't like to dance. Maybe tap a foot here or there.
"Someone using your callsign to set a trap for my agents - would have found Death waiting, instead." He begins as way of edgy explanation, that rasping growl dipping an octave as his mask turns. Watching the datascreens pop up in mid-air - integrated holoprojection. Someone's been playing with the chop-shops. "What can you offer - and what do you -expect-?"
- Sombra has posed:
That got a reaction, indeed. The hacker looks rather smug with herself as she glances up towards him from the screens she's scrolling through. "Perhaps for you it's adequate... a girl like me requires the latest tech." Why stick with outdated equipment when you can have the best of the best?
Let him sulk if he wants to. Sombra herself sips her drink casually. When he comments on her knowing, she shrugs. "What can I say? It's my job to know." And just the reason why she thought they might want her as a member. She is infamous, and well... it wouldn't be strange for somebody to try and impersonate her. It's happened before. "Trust me, amigo... if somebody tried to pose as me I would deal with them myself. It's all I am now, after all. I can't let some wannabes ruin my stellar reputation, now can I?"
Let's get to business.
The question makes the latina sigh slightly, and she brings up another screen... a map with various waypoints set on it. "You know very well what I can offer, Reaper. Top notch information, and the very best tech support that Talon can hope to get. I mean, if you're stuck with using /that/," she states, gesturing to Reaper's coat and where he stashed the scanner, "you certainly can't hope to keep up with the latest security systems on this planet. Trust me, I know what's out there. And without proper help you can't even get past their door step, Gabriel." Let that sink in for a moment. As for what she herself wants...? "I've made some enemies from what I've done these last years, so perhaps it's time I made some friends. Friends with firepower that I lack. Some people think that Sombra is a group, but it's only me. And well, I'm more brains than brawn."
- Reaper has posed:
There is a slow, dangerous pause at THAT name. A freeze of subtle ticks and shifting of weight, even the slow hiss of air through the mask stopping. Bits of his cowl peeling away into lazily coiling tendrils of smoke, before he rests his hand atop the tacky holovid. "The last person to say that name to me.." He begins, before he begins to casually squeeze. Metal talons pierce the alloy of the holovid, which sparks and dies as its frame strains and ruptures. ".. was buried beneath several hundred tons of rubble. My name - is Reaper. Amiga." The last word is practially bitten off like a bitter onion, and spat. One by one he extracts his gauntlet claws with faint 'pings', before returning his arms across his chest again. The masked face tilting slightly.
".. If you know me, then you know there's no where to hide from Death's shadow. Where you draw breath, there I am - Pray that you are as uniquely talented as you state." He begins, as a preamble, before he reaches up to tap at the side of his mask. No words - just two clicks on a monitored channel. Before he begins his growling speech again. "A weakness to correct as well - in time, and with will. Unless you mean to be helpless beyond your talents... " A slow indraw of breath, before his growling voice takes on a slightly milder tone.
"Offer's accepted. You'll have a blind drop - give us a taste of what you can deliver. If it pans out, we'll bring you on board. You'll never have to worry about your ... back ... again."
- Sombra has posed:
Well well... somebody certainly is haunted by ghosts of his past. Sure, Reaper gets attention from the hacker seated on the couch, but it doesn't look like she's scared where she sits and watches him. And her eyes fall upon the poor holovid as it meets its death. Two years past its prime. Sure, the owner probably needed to replace that old thing, but still...
Who would have known that Gabriel Reyes would be so high strung? And the fact that he reacts so strongly... well, this is kinda fun.
"Relajate... I'm just showing you that I've done my homework. On you and all the other Talon agents I could dig up info on. You and the dear Araña did make some noise in Numbani when you tried to get the gauntlet, didn't you?"
Nobody can hack like she does. But fine, she did expect that they would require some proof of her abilities. "I'm not helpless, I'm just stating that there are things I don't do as well as you and other Talon agents can do. But then again, there are things I can do that you can't."
A blind drop... a mission to do for Talon before she's accepted as a full member. "Sounds good to me. Just initiate contact through the channel I contacted you with, and I will get it done. Just know that I prefer to do things more quietly than you and the spider does," she adds with a teasing wink, all before she raises the glass to empty the rest of it in one go.
- Reaper has posed:
YOU try being caught in an explosive blast after reaching an epiphany as to the state of the world, then crawling back from the grave as a ravenous techno ghost-demon-zombie thing caught forever between life and death! Then see how high strung -you- get! Ahem. 'Gabe' - The Reaper - remains silent for a moment longer, stewing over what she just revealed. It was a rather impressive bit of homework, to be certain; Talon kept its inner workings hush hush for a reason, after all. Overwatch's mistake was submitting to a higher power's control and review. Talon wouldn't make the same mistake.
"Just focus on the mission. By any means possible." He growls at last, the coils of black smoke rising once more about his form. As if he held a hidden, heatless fire somewhere beneath his jacket. And then his dark chuckle ripples outwards once again, before he opens up his clawed hands. "Your target's already been selected. Find a safe place and wait for my data dump - you'll have it in three hours. We'll be watching."
And with that, Reaper - explodes? Well, dissolves, black smoke swirling out in all directions. Only to slowly dissipate, leaving nothing behind but a broken holovid and an unconscious bartender behind the counter. Oh, and Sombra.
- Sombra has posed:
Focus indeed... it's not her fault she's able to focus on several things at once, now is it? Though her interest is clearly shown when he mentions they've already selected a target for her. In three hours. She smiles, looking rather amused. "Bueno." That she can work with, plus it gives her more than enough time to prepare for whatever they have decided for her. "Just let me know, and I'll prove just what Sombra can do." A place where they will be watching. Interesting.
It's easier to imagine just how Reaper appeared and disappeared at the drop of a hat earlier, and seeing it in real life is something else than seeing it on security tapes from various Talon missions. "I'll be waiting," she says, certain that he can still hear her in that form.
- Three hours later -
Well, the data she was sent certainly was something else. But it's not strange that Talon decided this sort of mission for her. A place they can't get easily to without drawing attention. Everybody knows Sombra works in the shadows, going unseen before the information suddenly pops up to incriminate certain people. This will require focus, speed and finesse. Good thing that she has all three of them, she thinks as she looks up at the building before turning her attention back to the screen displaying the data that Reaper sent her...
- Reaper has posed:
The location? Viscar, of course. Of the many bad things about living in an organization that dedicates itself to controlling your life for your own good - one good thing is its very, very difficult to infiltrate. Every moment of every day perfectly planned, perfectly coordinated, perfectly controlled - and a lack of perfection noted immediately, a misgrain in a smoothly polished table. Their penchant for hunting only for talent put any disposable assets off the market - and made any proper infiltration too risky for the resources available. This particular faculty formed of hard light, matter drawn into being by realignment of photons in a manner so far off the map it's still magical to behold. There are no guards - only turrets. Turrets, and cameras, everywhere, with the Viscar employees moving like perfectly orchestrated bees in a particularly bright, light-weight but suprisingly strong superhive.
Of course, hornets live in superhives too.
The payload was a simple bit of information, but kept away from any outside connection by virtue of the strange structure. One would not only have to get inside, but deal with a building that wasn't just housing the data - it -was- the data, in some ingrained manner that wasn't quite understood.
- Sombra has posed:
Viscar... an organisation that Sombra didn't have any qualms about messing with. Too much control is never a good thing, especially if it limits people.
But if Talon wants her to gather data for them... then so be it. If that's what it takes for Sombra to get the backing of the terrorist organisation, she'll be their errand girl for tonight. Activating her thermoptic camouflage, the hacker leaves a translocator behind for quick and easy extraction. It's time to sneak in.
The good thing about things being orderly? It's so easy to read, so easy to predict. For a hacker who looks for patterns and similarities, it becomes easy to understand the employees and their movements. Likewise, turrets can't target what they can't pick up... so Sombra takes her time as she approaches the building. Let's see... many turrets in one area, but it's all worth it when she spots a potential backdoor. Sneaking up behind a pillar, she extends her arm towards two turrets that might be a problem, hacking them before she touches her hand to the door, causing it to open before she once again turns invisible... Now she just needs to find a safe spot to hack into the central system of this place, and then localise where she can extract the information that Talon wants. Silently she heads deeper in, walking down the corridors on light feet to make sure she doesn't draw attention nor set off any alarms. Hard light is a bit harder to deal with, but it's still something she can handle... she hopes.
- Reaper has posed:
The lower levels of Viscar are designed to host the few public reviewers - and the lower tier Architects. Practically just engineers, in fact, little more than box placers. People who handle the decoration, once the decor has been decided upon, who smooth out the roads and put down the blocks. The trainees, the interns - those who are just beginning their new life, their better life, with Viscar. Because everything down here is already built and waiting. Sombra's interaction with the doors and the turrets works as she expects, but here's the curious part - the programming she interacts with? It -is- the turret. It -is- the door, written into the very structure itself. And it brings with it another set of challenges;
In order to find the payload she's hunting, she'll have to physically hunt down its location in the building, where its written into the matrix of matter itself. It could be a chair in the lobby, a house plant on someone's desk. Of course, it'll probably be in a secure location as expected, but what she really needs more than anything else..
Is some sort of index.
There's an elevator that leads up a few floors, but everything above that gets complicate. Whole floors as missing, staircases, even walls - the mid-level managers and architects building and altering the minor internal structure as needed with their hard-light constructions. Need to go up? Make a staircase. Need to sit? Form a chair. Always with an eye towards the balance expected.
- Sombra has posed:
Of course Sombra can appreciate digital items... but this? This is getting kinda ridiculous, isn't it? Even as she quietly stalks the hallways, she can't help but be aware of the fact that she's stepping on /light/. It will take time to hunt down the code that she's looking for as well, and to do that she needs to interact with the coding in this place in various locations, it appears. It's time to work her way upwards. If she does a scan on each floor, then perhaps she can get a clue if she's getting close.
First she finds herself an empty office on the current floor she's on, hacking a camera inside it to make sure it loops the previous minute before her entering it. And so she places her hand on the wall, frowning a bit at the overflow of information that this place has. Okay, let's take it quietly... after half a minute it's easy to tell that no, the information that Talon requested is not here. It's time to move on, and so Sombra heads up to the next floors...
So far, so good. Relatively speaking, that is. While she hasn't been found yet, she's still not found what she came for either. The elevator doesn't go up further, and well, the staircases aren't complete. What's good is that there are no cameras in the unfinished areas either from what she can tell. So it's time to get climbing.
Moving to the unfinished staircase, Sombra sighs as she reappears, looking upwards. "Time to get to it..." It's a good thing she got the practice running about Dorado when she joined Los Muertos all those years ago. Stepping back a few steps, the hacker prepares herself... then rushes forward, leaping toward a wall that she kicks off of, turning midair to grab at the top of an unfinished wall with a grunt before she pulls herself upwards. It's not too hard to pull one leg upwards, and Sombra gets up on her feet, keeping her balance as she begins her ascent. Climbing up unfinished walls, leaping large gaps... it's risky, and she doesn't look entirely comfortable as she does it... there are even some times she nearly slips, but eventually after lots of effort... Sombra pulls herself up to a finished floor, heaving for breath before she rolls over onto her side, glancing down to where she started from. "... man, they better appreciate this..." she grumbles for herself, then places a hand on the floor as she begins searching the nearby data. Could it be close by?
- Reaper has posed:
Don't think of the upper floors as unfinished - just think of them as 'left to their potential'. And it's no longer quite light that one walks upon, but quantumly stabilized matter. Lighter, stronger, more compact without all the dirty business of forging. All it requires is power to initiate the process! And since the Architects can design and construct decor on the fly, there simply was no need to walls where not needed, stairs where not needed.. floors where not needed. Simply the interior of the structure itself, and the more 'permanent' support frame that kept this from looking like a giant business sandbox for people who weave matter from light. The Future, brought to you by Viscar. The few upper deck 'Instructors' who run the nearest Academy and recruitment office simply creating weaker, less compact structures as needed. And unraveling them afterwards.
Sombra's parkour scrape upwards goes rather smoothly for the first few floors, and looking up through the occasional patchwork of floors being woven and removed shows a much more solid 'floor' at the top - likely the residence of the current regional Director. Or security. And her mind, so attuned to patterns, at last reaches one - the objects which contain their own data, such as light switches which hold their own programming for interacting with the lights - no wires necessary - woven into the strands of their construction, are referencing one location again and again. Top floor. Index cache, the way to find anything and everything. Which is precisely when the roof suddenly forms above her, cubes of light rapidly weaving around one another as an Architect approaches. Walls beginning to form as well, a simple construct of shapes that requires very little thought. Nothing as complex or smooth as Symmetra could create, of course. But it does means she's about to get boxed in, albeit inadvertantly.
- Sombra has posed:
As she takes her brief break to look for telltale signs of the intel she's after, Sombra breathes slowly, letting her limbs rest for a moment. There, she needs to get to the very top? Ugh, what a bother... but expected. If she had some contacts, perhaps she could have arranged a drop or something. But fine, she can climb.
And it appears she needs to climb faster than expected when she hears somebody approaching, with a floor forming above her. Sombra quickly activates her thermoptic camouflage again, and then she begins running ahead down the framework of the floor, building up speed so she can leap sideways to a wall and kick off from that, scrambling up a ledge with a grunt that she bites back. And then she continues upwards, hoping to get up and away from the architect. It's too risky to stay near them, but perhaps she can follow one of them if they're about to head upwards. She can be stealthy enough to do that, so she looks around, and also tries to figure out if the current architect or anybody nearby is heading up to the top floor.
- Reaper has posed:
It would appear the luck..
Is on Sombra's side. Death's shadow fades away as the pathway forward comes a lot easier. The Architect, using a bulky dual arm contraption with thumb controls to help her visualize the construction, is putting together a hallway leading towards the southeast round. There, a thin staircase begins spiraling upwards towards the top floor - obviously in preparation for some VIP or other, as a projector is used to pull, destabilize, and thin the matter on non-load bearing walls. Creating 'windows' to the outside, clear as crystal. Leaving the bulk of the work to the less technically minded Engineers that follow afterwards, shoring up and rounding out the elegant structures like spiders laying silk upon a cocoon. It's a laborous process, the Architect's brow furrowed in concentration.
No one creates as effortlessly as Symmetra, after all, pulling the sweep of mathematical perfection into reality with the simple flick and turn of a wrist.
By following the 'roof' towards the edge, she can move behind the Architect as she sets the base skeleton for the staircase leading upwards. Long, broad steps designed to let one pause and regail each other without having to worry about tripping, nearly a ramp. Nothing so gauche as to create -sweat-.
The top floor itself isn't reached, alas, just one floor below it. The vast space being widened, walls thinned and disappearing beneath the projector's ripping light as the matter is broken down. 'Vaccuumed', without the annoying sound. Harsh corners removed, everything designed to guide the flow of foot traffic like water. The upper floor itself mostly covered, save for a few spots where superstructure allows the filtered sunlight through.
- Sombra has posed:
Well, who's she to complain about things making it easier for her? Sombra watches idly, unseen as the architect moves on, and she drops down on silent feet, landing in a crouch to ease the stress on her knees, her hands helping support her as she gets back on her feet. Sure, she keeps her distance to the architect as she works, but she also doesn't fall too far behind, looking around. If she didn't have to keep hidden she could be hacking, but no... she knows where to go now. Up... but how to get there? Hmmm. These Viscar, making things so annoying to get to!
Well, it's time to do some parkour again. Sombra sighs quietly for herself, then traverses the framework, steady on her feet with near feline grace as she moves. Though near the end she builds up speed, leaping to grab onto a beam with both hands, gritting her teeth as she begins pulling herself up. The info better be worth it, damnit...!
The last bit is a rough climb considering she's already worn from climbing, but finally she makes it, stealthily moving onto the top floor, eyes looking around for any architects, guards... or business people. If not, she can hack any cameras and then begin scanning.
- Reaper has posed:
Guards? Well, one guard. This is Viskar, after all - effeciency prime. The top floor is dedicated to security itself, a trap-bug sitting atop its web. A single man, seeming to meditate upon his knees, eyes half lidded as his hands are outstretched. Fingertips touching not screens, but small, almost delicate glass-like projections off the wall. Tactile sensitivity. The walls themselves, around him, also flicker with lights and colors, with the occasional chime that draws a slight turn of the head. Doubtless there are more traditional security rooms elsewhere in this facility, but here is the master.
After a moment of silent, he finally speaks, his voice seeming as if it could belong to a sihk.
"I know you are there. I can feel the steps upon the ground. I can feel the wind of your lips, the blurr of your passing. This is my body. Come into the light, so you may be processed and arrested for trespassing."
Half lidded eyes turn again, just a little. Following the trickle of colors across the wall - a pattern. THE pattern. Fingers twitching, shifting as they 'feel' the tiny, delicate rods. Reducing all inputs from a blurr of single perceptions into an artwork of perceptual mass. Just program the cameras to look for recognizable faces, then become puzzled when reality doesn't match up to what it senses. Have the beams and walls and floors sense pressure change. Have the air conditioner recognize unusual elevations in local areas.
Viscar, right? The future.
But for what it's worth, he doesn't seem to know -precisey- where Sombra is yet. Like a giant eye, he can see all, but he can't see particulars very well. And behind him? Why, behind him is a spinning top made of hard light. Matter formed from photons, quantum stabilized, thicker than platinum as it spins effortlessly above a projector. Index! Only something as thick and folded on itself as that could hold all the references the building has.
- Sombra has posed:
Finally at the top...
But here is the challenge, it appears. There's no way that the others would be able to get in here unseen. And when the guard speaks up, she can understand why they sent a shadow that doesn't draw too much attention to herself besides her actions.
Come into the light, he says... but a shadow cannot step into the light, now can it?
Sombra holds still for the most part, though she does reach for her belt. It's a chance that he might deconstruct something here... so killing him seems like it's not an option right now unless she can be sure she can land a killing shot. If she moves closer to him chances are he might notice her easier, sadly. Then again, there is no way that she can hack the index without being seen... or is it?
Her fingers takes a round of ammunition from her belt, then flings it over the floor where it eventually becomes visible as it slides across the floor. A distraction perhaps as she quickly rushes forward to a wall, kneeling down next to it... quickly she charges up her graft, and just as the thermoptic camouflage drops, a powerful EMP charge runs throughout the floor, knocking out the nearby technology. The hardlight constructs remain, but now there's nothing the man can do to construct or destruct items.
The very next second Sombra rushes across the floor, aiming her gun at the guard... and pulls the trigger.
- Reaper has posed:
In point of fact, the small bit of ammunition doesn't even have a chance to slide out of Sombra's thermo-cam - laser beams pinpoint it immediatly, as soon as it moves faster than the surrounding air. As soon as it tickles the floor with its miniscule weight. The Great Eye moves upon it, and the Master's fingers twitch like a spider's shiver upon the delicate rods. It isn't vaporized so much as -deconstructed-, the same process used to quantumly stabilize photons into matter reversed. The molecules freed from their cruel and grotesque forging, neatly plucked like one would return a sweater to a ball of yarn. The Master's own eyes remain half lidded, a faint tremble beneath one - his mind fully engaged with his OTHER body.
A falsehood. Beams sweep, hunting Sombra as she kneels, preparing to return -her- to her base components as well - or, at the very least, grant her the peace of sleep through pain. A few micro-layers of skin should do the trick, and leave her a fresh, pale pink as well.
Viscar - the Future. And all that implies.
But the EMP blast was unexpected - for all that Viskar is, they still utilize digital signatures, even encoded into the matter as it is. Their weakness isn't technique so much as human. Control, built into the very structure like veins beneath the skin, are ruptured and jammed with static. The Master actually moving beyond a meditative twitch as he flings his hands up with a cry of alarm. Pain - pain for someone tuned so hard to the moment that he could feel ammunition clinking along the floor -
The sudden explosive rattle of a sub machine gun, explosively loud in the quiet surrusses of deployment and resolution. It's still ringing in the air when Sombra can practically -feel- the queries rolling up from lower floors for status updates, carried in channels built into the wall. Why lay circuit, why lay cable, when your walls and floors can serve as both?
Spots of sunlight stream a faint red from the crystal windows.
- Sombra has posed:
As the body hits the floor Sombra rushes towards the index, working quickly while the cameras are still knocked out and unable to record her. The only witness to her intrusion is dead... so now she only needs to get the data. Her hand is placed on the index as purple lines overtake it, and Sombra half closes her eyes as she scans the info, letting the graft lead her as she herself focuses on the combination of neurons and tech... where are you, information? Seconds pass by as she searches, her expression calm despite the fact that she does notice the lower floors asking about what's going on up here. Let's feed them some wrong information. Intrusion to somewhere she /knows/ the item isn't, to draw people away from her track. It's worth a try.
And once she figures out just where the item is, she pulls her hand away from the index and brings her hand up, activating her thermoptic camouflage again as she makes her way towards her final goal.
- Reaper has posed:
In a place like Viscar, where the data could be anywhere, it might have been impossible to find. A certain floor tile in the lobby. A particular bit of relief along the walls. A particular decorative coin in a pile of decorative coins up atop a shelf. But the human mind follows directives, and part of that directive is 'keep secure things away from the public'. An AI might write a secure bit of data on a single pebble then place it in the ocean - as secure as it will ever be, forever, utterly inaccessible. A human would put it in a vault under lock and key, the most obvious place - but 'secure' and 'accessible' were always the yin and yang of data, weren't they?
The Index has records on it all. Every bit of interactive matter in the building reports its status to the Index, and the Index touches all of them in time. If Sombra didn't already have an idea, a pattern to look for, even this sorting would take longer than she has. As it is - when she finally learns the location - the interior of the building is already pulsing a soft blue color with faint chimes. Like bass bells in the air. Nothing so garish or disorientating as flashing lights and clanging alarms. And the payload? One of the other rooms here at the top floor - apparently filled with strange, twisting glass sculptures like a modified Chihuly exhibit. Each colored vein of the graceful bend holding data configured for zero interaction - read only. A vault as a museum, data as art, mathematics brought into reality with graceful sweeps of some Architect's hands - perfect. Accessing it's going to be trouble, though - no doors. It's beyond the partition on Sombra's level, with the only entrances being the carefully placed holes for the filtered sunlight to drift through, little motes of dust dancing.
- Sombra has posed:
The information runs through quickly, and Sombra uses her graft to quickly scan them and figure out where the desired data is. If she were to read this all by herself it would take ages. But thanks to her tech she's able to figure it out soon enough, and the hacker turns her head slowly as she /glares/ at the wall. "Of course they couldn't make it /easy/..." she mutters for herself. How is she supposed to get in there? Also, what's the point of art that can't be admired?
Walking over, Sombra inspects the holes to see if they're safe to stick her arm through. If it is, then she can probably stick her hand through... Because she can hack from a distance. They might be read only, but since when has Sombra ever cared about limitations like that?
- Reaper has posed:
What use is art that can't be admired? Ah, but what is the use of a mountain that can't be climbed? Oh, but it can - for those who are trained in Viscar's arts, changing the reality around them to access it. Lack of doors, lack of stairs, bridges, elevators, tables or chairs are minor inconvienances to those with hard light projectors and the talent to utilize them! All you need is power, patience, and intellect. And, of course, to subscribe to Viscar's vision of the future.
The holes are large enough for Sombra to get her arm into, although it'll be uncomfortably tight. There's also the faint humming sound of hard light manipulation from below, steps rapidly formed into being as an Architect reforms pathways to allow access to the Master's 'sun chamber'. They'll be on her in moments - but she's got it. The data is buried deep in a plethora of minor projects, a new bit of projective technology - teleportation. Based on the space-temporal research of one Wilson, of the original Overwatch mission.
There's a prototype scheduled to go on a train. It'll need a bit more data to be viable - preferably some of the original notes from the great ape himself, now in hiding - but just think; No more parkour for those hard to reach places. Or whatever Talon has planned for it.
- Sombra has posed:
A grunt escapes the hacker as she leans further in, activating her hacking as she presses her cheek right up against the wall, trying to look through another hole than the one she has her arm stuck through. These silly Vishkar people, doing things like this... and they wonder why people don't like them? People with skills and power, but using it all wrong... thinking everything can be as they wish...
Even as she works on hacking the various objects inside the room she hears the footsteps and early warning of somebody coming up the stairs... probably to check out the sound of gunshots. But this, even if Talon wasn't hiring her for this, it would still be worth it. Space-temporal data and research... such possibilities. The images of the blueprint for the prototype was also interesting, this... this is worth it all!
Sombra's fingers move quickly as she presses up against the wall, her eye staring through at the items as she hacks them, reads the data, copies it over to her graft... quickly...!
Once the transfer completes, Sombra yanks her arm back forcefully, all while she activates her thermoptic camouflage. Being seen further is out of the question. But hopefully it should be easy to leave now that she can just drop herself down a few floors here and there. And once she gets to study this blueprint further, then it should be even easier to get what she needs here and there...
Quickly and silently, the latina moves from the partition, staying relatively close to the wall and the shadows as she makes her way towards the staircase and the way she came in.
- Reaper has posed:
Getting in was difficult; Getting the data would've been darn near impossible - for anyone else. Talon had people who could get in, but no way to access the data - or they had people who could access the data, but no way of getting in. The best of both worlds.
Getting out proves to be much easier. The Architect opens the path towards the top, standing aside while security consultants rush forward. One checking for the Master's pulse with a grimace and wet eyes - the other sweeping his projector weapon in an arc about, hunting for the intruder. The Architect herself quietly studying the bullets embedded in the walls - a faint glow as she begins weaving matter beneath to push the shells out.. No one notices the faint shimmer of Sombra leaving. And with the path open, no one will stop her.
It will be nearly an hour before her response arrives to her successful call - a dropship that literally drops out of the sky, using speed and small size to its advantage. It sweeps by once or twice on fast approach, before slowing down for a final scan. And then? Then it begins lowering itself towards their secluded meeting place, the hatch swinging open as the engines remain hot. Kicking up a stiff breeze and debris. And there? There, standing in sillouette with his cowl-jacket flapping, is Reaper. One hand above his head to steady himself against the dropship's frame, his sterile white mask revealing nothing.
"... The payload?" Comes his leaden, growling voice.
- Sombra has posed:
After quietly and quickly making her way out of the building, Sombra had been careful to move some distance away from it all to make sure that nobody intercepts the signal, even if she doubts that they can. It helps be cautious, and chances are security will be extra high in the nearby area now as they hunt for the murderous intruder that eluded them tonight.
Sitting on top of an old broken down wall, Sombra kicks her legs as she spins a screen around and around, a slightly bored look on her face. Looking over the dark night sky is hard, which is proven further as the dropship arrives before she even notices it. Arching an eyebrow the hacker studies it, all before she slips off the wall as it finally begins lowering itself towards the ground. When the hatch opens and reveals the dark figure she spoke with earlier, Sombra can't help but smirk in a satisfied manner, nearly sauntering up as she twirls a digital datacube on her fingertop. "I got it, of course. No witnesses, no clues left behind."
Why, it appears that she intends to get onto the ship as she snaps her fingers and the digital datablock gets broken down into a rain of falling pixels. "I can transfer the data to your systems easily enough." Or make a copy, because this she intends to keep for herself too.
- Reaper has posed:
There is a moment when it appears Reaper is going to impeded Sombra's progress into the drop shuttle, smoke curling away from his shoulders - peeling from the top of his hood. But then he simply shifts aside with a low growl, slamming a fist into the button to lower and seal the door. His heavy boots thudding along the metal plating as he makes his way towards the cabin, jamming a metal claw into the access panel before he pauses. And looks over his shoulder, breath hissing slowly. The silence is a tell tale of him considering something slowly - perhaps whether or not he can have forensics retrieve the data from her implants if he shoots her now and saves himself a future of trouble?
Before he at last grunts. "Oye. Good job.. amiga." And back towards the cabin itself. "Make sure it stays that way." One part cajole, one part threat. Classic Reaper. The engines kick back in with a vibrating rumble, and gravity tugs sharply down at insides as the Reaper accelerates away..
Mission Complete.
BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-urUsFsN8E
- Sombra has posed:
When her path is blocked Sombra doesn't advance, but she doesn't pull back either as she cants her head slightly up at Reaper, giving him a calm smile as she watches him intently with purple eyes. And once he shifts? She isn't slow to get on board, looking around at the tech heavy ship as if she's considering something as well. When she becomes aware of him watching her over his shoulder, she merely smiles. "I didn't make you wait for long, did I? The climbing took the longest..." And just to demonstrate this, she flops down in the nearest available seat. "Aaah, you better have somewhere comfy I can relax after this. I got whatever I could, though after scanning their index I can give a brief overview of what knowledge that place posesses," she assures Reaper. The praise does make her let out an 'awww', and she mock waves it off. "It was nothing...! Hacking LumériCo took longer!" Not all that long, but still longer.
As the craft ascends the latina begins bringing up various screens with intel on them, as if she's using this like magic. "Now let me get started on decoding this and matching it against the intel I already have...." she murmurs to herself, looking relaxed in her seat despite the fact that she just walked onto a plane with one of the Talon Council's leaders. Sure, it might be dangerous, but the information he wants from her is something he can't get from her if she's dead. So this game is already hers.