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Mailing List Logs for ShadowRN

Message no. 1
From: Jett zmjett@*********.com
Subject: Worry
Date: Sat, 12 Jun 1999 14:17:54 -0400
*****PRIVATE: Jazz, Faedra, Scrape
>>>>>[Have any of you you talked to Jett at all lately? She was supposed
to meet me and a colleague for dinner the other night...she never
showed. My van is in the shop...otherwise I'd take a run up to her place
to see what's up with her. I hope she hasn't been on a bender
again...she's been doing fairly well lately, the best I've seen her, but
no one downtown has seen her recently and her headcomm is off. We're
starting to get worried. Get back to me at <<LTG number>> when you get a
chance?]<<<<<
-- Snookums <13:47:32/06-12-60>


*****PRIVATE: Ricochet Rita
>>>>>[Well, I've contacted every mutual friend I can find...but I'm
starting to get worried. She still hasn't answered her comm OR her home
phone...I'm not getting my van back until tomorrow afternoon, no one I
know has a car I'll fit in, and buses don't run to her house. If you
hear anything, gimme a call at <<LTG>>? Terrible as it sounds, I'm
hoping she just went on a bender and is just passed out drunk in her
ritual circle again...at least we'd know that everything was okay...but
I have a very bad feeling about this.]<<<<<
-- Snookums <14:02:32/06-12-60>
Message no. 2
From: Bredget Stroud bstroud@*********.com
Subject: Worry
Date: Sat, 12 Jun 1999 11:45:19 -0700
*****PRIVATE: Snookums
>>>>>[Haven't seen her for a while. I've been out of touch lately, but I
can
give her a buzz and see what's up. If she doesn't answer her phone, want me
to drop by and pick you up? We can go to her place and see if we can't
locate her. I've just bought a new toy, so I don't think there will be a
problem with you fitting into it.]<<<<<
--Jazz <11:48:42/06-12-60>


*****PRIVATE: Jett
>>>>>[Hey partner. Where are you hiding these days? Leave me a message or
give me a call... Snookums is all upset cuz he hasn't heard from you in a
while. Besides that, I'm ready to be social again and go hang with a friend.
Give me a call ASAP.]<<<<<
--Jazz <11:51:02/06-12-60>
Message no. 3
From: Logan Graves logan1@*****.intercom.net
Subject: Worry
Date: Sat, 12 Jun 1999 15:35:44 -0400
*****PRIVATE: Snookums
>>>>>[Good, I'm glad someone else has a bad feeling. Jett's not returning
any messages either. Don't know if she mentioned to you, the three of us were supposed to
dine together this weekend. She messaged me and suggested an uptown spot, about 11 pm two
nights ago. That was last time I heard from her.

Apologies if I'm not *up* on Jett's current mood(-iness)--been out of the
country the past few months--but her tone was upbeat and didn't strike me as
someone about to get rip-roaring drekfaced.

Can't help you with transport either. Gus has his van today or we could
probably commandeer it. He should be back later, tho. Meantime, I'm gonna buzz
Jett's place on my cycle. Should take me about half an hour to get out there.
Give you a call after I recon the grounds & mansion proper.

Oh, I've got a new headcomm, so call me at <<LTG-NUMBER>> if you hear
anything.]<<<<<
-- Ricochet Rita <15:29:33/06-12-60>
Message no. 4
From: Jett zmjett@*********.com
Subject: Worry
Date: Sun, 13 Jun 1999 08:34:47 -0400
*****PRIVATE: Ricochet Rita, Jazz
>>>>>[See, that's what worries me. Jett was in good...ah...spirits, last I
talked to her. Unless something bad happened between when I last talked to her and now, I
don't think she's gone on a spree. She hasn't been at any of her usual haunts, and
everyone who's seen her in the past couple weeksThe past few
weeks have been a real improvement for her: she's got an ally spirit now (vicious, nasty
thing, but she seems to love it to death) and the bounty business has been good for her.
She told me about us all going out to dinner, Rita, and was going to get back to me the
afternoon before we went out, but she never
did.
Rita, let me know what's up at her house if you get there...and pray everything's
okay...]<<<<<
-- Snookums <08:17:43/06-13-60>


*****PRIVATE: Snookums
>>>>>[Saw her last week at the Rusty Keg doing bouncer duty. We talked for
a little bit, had a couple drinks, but that was about it. I don't talk to her much anymore
since she...changed. Plus, Lilith and I have been spending a lot of time together the past
few months.]<<<<<
-- Scrape <23:21:54/06-12-60>


*****PRIVATE: Snookums
>>>>>[I haven't seen or talked to her in a while. Last I heard she was
working as a bounty hunter. She calls now and then to say hi, but he haven't hung out in a
long time. But then, I've been busy with Eric so I've been out of the loop for months now.
Hard to do a shadowrun when you're 8 months pregnant and
swelled up like a leviathan.]<<<<<
-- Faedra <03:34:21/06-13-60>
Message no. 5
From: Logan Graves logan1@*****.intercom.net
Subject: Worry
Date: Sun, 13 Jun 1999 11:34:44 -0400
*****INTERNAL: Rita's headcomm
>>>>>[Oh, drek.

+++++Include Headcomm track
+++++CommCmd: DIAL >>LTG-number<<

+++++Dialing ....

+++++Connect.
[The receiving comm barely chirps once.]

+++++Start telecom linkup recording
S:Snookums
R:Rita

S: "Hel- ..."

R: "DEREK! Don't talk! It's Jett, she's.. jeezus, just watch."

+++++Include Cybereyes video (Merged)
[A cybereye perspective forms, suggesting that the "viewer's" height is well
under 6 feet. The grainy video has the tell-tale signature that accompanies
real-time recordings with too much bandwidth for standard tel.]

The view is from the front porch of Jett's mansion. The front door lies open,
yawning, & forbidding. There's a long, thick smear of blood crossing the
threshold & running well into the carpeted room beyond. It's already dried, but
the color is wrong, unnaturally dark. Jett's blood.

The angle blurrrs...as the "viewer" pans right, far too rapidly.

+++++Tracking . .

Then it settles on Rita's Harley-Davidson, parked several meters behind her on
the cement driveway. The trail of blood continues down the drive, then abruptly
halts.

The view of the bike freezes, then blurrrrrs again...

+++++Tracking . . .

The scene refocuses on the doorway and stills for a second, then redraws the
top-half from a slightly different angle and freezes half in, half out.

+++++Signal Lost.

R: "Drek!"

+++++CommCmd: -FRAMERATE
+++++Rate: .333 fps
+++++Tracking .
[The image resumes, this time as a series of "slides," instead of live video.
Augmented reflexes carry the "viewer" through scene after scene. She's moving
purposefully--too rapidly--making the shots seem disjointed, as if they were
photos in some serial killer's scrapbook.]

The "viewer" seems to hesitate at the threshold, unsure of whether to enter.

The scene shifts to a living(?)room, several meters deeper within: It looks too
dark, even by Jett's standards. The barrel of a Predator II appears, bobbing in
& out of the lower right corner, tracking her field of vision. The dried smear
leads to the staircase.

+++++Engage: LowLite
[The room brightens eerily, as it backlit from odd corners & surfaces.]

The scene shifts again to the base of a grand victorian staircase: Signs of a
struggle are visible, even from here. Portions of the railing are broken out.
The blood seems to have pooled at the last step. A lighter blood, mingling with
Jett's. A partial footprint--calling card signed in crimson.


A new scene: the first flight. The view is halfway up. More blood, not Jett's
this time. Lots of it, smeared across the wall waist-high. A blood-spackled
hanging mirror is partially visible. Dark spots down the center of the stairs
and on the railing too.


Second flight: A damaged wall off to the left, the source of the lighter
blood. It's man-sized hole--obviously the recipient of one of Jett's assailants
& and her fury.


Second floor landing: No sign of movement. Dark blood is everywhere, as if
lovingly airbrushed by a drunken madman. Every corner of the scene reveals
massive damage. This is where it took place. The door to Jett's room is
splintered outward. Another broken wall, the jagged wood within clearly
bloodsoaked. A small writing desk lies in pieces to one side. Jett's imported
bonsai looks crystallized and very dead. She made her stand here, and lost.

+++++End video


R: "Derek, I hope to _FRAG_ you're already on your way out here!!"

+++++CommCmd: HANGUP

+++++Connection Terminated.]<<<<<
-- Ricochet Rita <15:53:21/06-12-60>
Message no. 6
From: Jett zmjett@*********.com
Subject: Worry
Date: Sun, 13 Jun 1999 17:05:24 -0400
*****PRIVATE: Jazz, Scrape, Faedra
>>>>>[Can't talk much, as I'm recording this and rigging at the same
time. I'm on my way to Jett's place.

Jett's friend Rita checked out her place, and things look very bad.
Jett's car is in the driveway. The front door of the house was open.
There was blood everywhere, and signs of a big fight. A lot of blood.
And most of it was Jett's.

I'm worried sick. What the hell could hurt her like that? There was so
much blood...]<<<<<
-- Snookums <13:34:21/06-13-60>


*****INTERNAL: Snookums' Head Comm
>>>>>[
+++++Start vid

The reflection through the sensors of a large vehicle, a van, as it
rolls up to a concrete gate. Almost before it comes to a stop, the point
of view changes to the driver as he jumps out of the van. Judging by his
point of view, he's well over 9 feet tall, and rough, massive hands are
visible at the corners of his vision.

The camera pauses a moment to capture the spatters of blood on the
driveway, the last drips of blackish-crimson in a trail that goes up to
the house. "ohgodohgodohgodohgod"...in the faintest whisper of a deep
basso voice as he bolts up the driveway toward the house itself.

Rita's bike is parked next to Jett's sports car, and Rita herself is
standing on the porch, face creased with worry. She's a Japanese elf,
short for the metatype and sturdily built."I'm here, I'm here," Snookums
says, his face a mirror of Rita's expression. "You're right- It's Jett's
blood." His gaze drifts to the open door. "No sign of anyone?"

Rita shakes her head. "Whoever they were, came and went."

Snookums cocks his head, tilting the view slightly. "I'm going to have a
look myself upstairs." He glances again at the door. "I already called a
couple of close friends. I want to get Faedra or another mage in here
soon as possible...she'll be able to tell..." he trails off a moment.
"She might be able to tell if Jett is still alive or not." The big
trolls' hand comes up to the side of his head. "Dammit...dammit. I'll be
back in a minute."

The camera slides and pans, taking in the darkened interior of the
living room...the streaks of blood marring the blue carpet with dark,
forbidding stains...The stairs creak slightly under the big troll's
weigh as he makes his way up them, to the second floor. Past the broken
mirror, the shattered bonzai plant, the crushed writing desk...he pauses
at the man-sized hole in the wall. It's QUITE obvious that someone's
been through it the hard way. He turns to the door to Jett's bedroom,
hanging half off its hinges and cracked clean in half. A deep breath,
and he steps inside...

+++++internal chemical analysis running

++++smoke filters: on
++++Internal air valve: ready

+++++internal chemical analysis complete. Result: unknown. Recording
sample for further analysis.

Snookums is driven back, choking and coughing on the thin, lingering
gray vapor gathered near the ceiling. The internal headware colors it
with a soft red glow, a warning light appearing in the lower corner of
his vision.

+++++Internal air valve: on. Switching to internal air tank

Snookums tries again, stepping into the room. Everything seems peaceful.
The covers on Jett's bed have been thrown back, and are half on the
floor, but other than that, the room is undisturbed. The weapons cabinet
is locked, and her Predator still hangs in a holster on the headboard.
No signs of blood in here, nothing broken. The only thing out of place
is a metal cannister laying at the far corner of the room, gleaming
faintly in the afternoon-light seeping through the curtains.

Snookums walks back out, careful to avoid the blood-soaked patches of
carpet, and moves back down the stairs to the porch. His internal air
shuts off, and the hazard lights switch to green, then go out
altogether. Rita glances up as he returns. "They gassed her out,"
Snookums says grimly. "Then attacked her in the hall, looks like." A
long pause. "I'm going to go get Faedra. I'll be back in a
bit."]<<<<<
-- Snookums <14:58:03/06-13-60>
Message no. 7
From: Jett zmjett@*********.com
Subject: Worry
Date: Sat, 12 Jun 1999 14:17:54 -0400
*****PRIVATE: Jazz, Faedra, Scrape
>>>>>[Have any of you you talked to Jett at all lately? She was supposed
to meet me and a colleague for dinner the other night...she never
showed. My van is in the shop...otherwise I'd take a run up to her place
to see what's up with her. I hope she hasn't been on a bender
again...she's been doing fairly well lately, the best I've seen her, but
no one downtown has seen her recently and her headcomm is off. We're
starting to get worried. Get back to me at <<LTG number>> when you get a
chance?]<<<<<
-- Snookums <13:47:32/06-12-60>


*****PRIVATE: Ricochet Rita
>>>>>[Well, I've contacted every mutual friend I can find...but I'm
starting to get worried. She still hasn't answered her comm OR her home
phone...I'm not getting my van back until tomorrow afternoon, no one I
know has a car I'll fit in, and buses don't run to her house. If you
hear anything, gimme a call at <<LTG>>? Terrible as it sounds, I'm
hoping she just went on a bender and is just passed out drunk in her
ritual circle again...at least we'd know that everything was okay...but
I have a very bad feeling about this.]<<<<<
-- Snookums <14:02:32/06-12-60>
Message no. 8
From: Bredget Stroud bstroud@*********.com
Subject: Worry
Date: Sat, 12 Jun 1999 11:45:19 -0700
*****PRIVATE: Snookums
>>>>>[Haven't seen her for a while. I've been out of touch lately, but I
can
give her a buzz and see what's up. If she doesn't answer her phone, want me
to drop by and pick you up? We can go to her place and see if we can't
locate her. I've just bought a new toy, so I don't think there will be a
problem with you fitting into it.]<<<<<
--Jazz <11:48:42/06-12-60>


*****PRIVATE: Jett
>>>>>[Hey partner. Where are you hiding these days? Leave me a message or
give me a call... Snookums is all upset cuz he hasn't heard from you in a
while. Besides that, I'm ready to be social again and go hang with a friend.
Give me a call ASAP.]<<<<<
--Jazz <11:51:02/06-12-60>
Message no. 9
From: Logan Graves logan1@*****.intercom.net
Subject: Worry
Date: Sat, 12 Jun 1999 15:35:44 -0400
*****PRIVATE: Snookums
>>>>>[Good, I'm glad someone else has a bad feeling. Jett's not returning
any messages either. Don't know if she mentioned to you, the three of us were supposed to
dine together this weekend. She messaged me and suggested an uptown spot, about 11 pm two
nights ago. That was last time I heard from her.

Apologies if I'm not *up* on Jett's current mood(-iness)--been out of the
country the past few months--but her tone was upbeat and didn't strike me as
someone about to get rip-roaring drekfaced.

Can't help you with transport either. Gus has his van today or we could
probably commandeer it. He should be back later, tho. Meantime, I'm gonna buzz
Jett's place on my cycle. Should take me about half an hour to get out there.
Give you a call after I recon the grounds & mansion proper.

Oh, I've got a new headcomm, so call me at <<LTG-NUMBER>> if you hear
anything.]<<<<<
-- Ricochet Rita <15:29:33/06-12-60>
Message no. 10
From: Jett zmjett@*********.com
Subject: Worry
Date: Sun, 13 Jun 1999 08:34:47 -0400
*****PRIVATE: Ricochet Rita, Jazz
>>>>>[See, that's what worries me. Jett was in good...ah...spirits, last I
talked to her. Unless something bad happened between when I last talked to her and now, I
don't think she's gone on a spree. She hasn't been at any of her usual haunts, and
everyone who's seen her in the past couple weeksThe past few
weeks have been a real improvement for her: she's got an ally spirit now (vicious, nasty
thing, but she seems to love it to death) and the bounty business has been good for her.
She told me about us all going out to dinner, Rita, and was going to get back to me the
afternoon before we went out, but she never
did.
Rita, let me know what's up at her house if you get there...and pray everything's
okay...]<<<<<
-- Snookums <08:17:43/06-13-60>


*****PRIVATE: Snookums
>>>>>[Saw her last week at the Rusty Keg doing bouncer duty. We talked for
a little bit, had a couple drinks, but that was about it. I don't talk to her much anymore
since she...changed. Plus, Lilith and I have been spending a lot of time together the past
few months.]<<<<<
-- Scrape <23:21:54/06-12-60>


*****PRIVATE: Snookums
>>>>>[I haven't seen or talked to her in a while. Last I heard she was
working as a bounty hunter. She calls now and then to say hi, but he haven't hung out in a
long time. But then, I've been busy with Eric so I've been out of the loop for months now.
Hard to do a shadowrun when you're 8 months pregnant and
swelled up like a leviathan.]<<<<<
-- Faedra <03:34:21/06-13-60>
Message no. 11
From: Logan Graves logan1@*****.intercom.net
Subject: Worry
Date: Sun, 13 Jun 1999 11:34:44 -0400
*****INTERNAL: Rita's headcomm
>>>>>[Oh, drek.

+++++Include Headcomm track
+++++CommCmd: DIAL >>LTG-number<<

+++++Dialing ....

+++++Connect.
[The receiving comm barely chirps once.]

+++++Start telecom linkup recording
S:Snookums
R:Rita

S: "Hel- ..."

R: "DEREK! Don't talk! It's Jett, she's.. jeezus, just watch."

+++++Include Cybereyes video (Merged)
[A cybereye perspective forms, suggesting that the "viewer's" height is well
under 6 feet. The grainy video has the tell-tale signature that accompanies
real-time recordings with too much bandwidth for standard tel.]

The view is from the front porch of Jett's mansion. The front door lies open,
yawning, & forbidding. There's a long, thick smear of blood crossing the
threshold & running well into the carpeted room beyond. It's already dried, but
the color is wrong, unnaturally dark. Jett's blood.

The angle blurrrs...as the "viewer" pans right, far too rapidly.

+++++Tracking . .

Then it settles on Rita's Harley-Davidson, parked several meters behind her on
the cement driveway. The trail of blood continues down the drive, then abruptly
halts.

The view of the bike freezes, then blurrrrrs again...

+++++Tracking . . .

The scene refocuses on the doorway and stills for a second, then redraws the
top-half from a slightly different angle and freezes half in, half out.

+++++Signal Lost.

R: "Drek!"

+++++CommCmd: -FRAMERATE
+++++Rate: .333 fps
+++++Tracking .
[The image resumes, this time as a series of "slides," instead of live video.
Augmented reflexes carry the "viewer" through scene after scene. She's moving
purposefully--too rapidly--making the shots seem disjointed, as if they were
photos in some serial killer's scrapbook.]

The "viewer" seems to hesitate at the threshold, unsure of whether to enter.

The scene shifts to a living(?)room, several meters deeper within: It looks too
dark, even by Jett's standards. The barrel of a Predator II appears, bobbing in
& out of the lower right corner, tracking her field of vision. The dried smear
leads to the staircase.

+++++Engage: LowLite
[The room brightens eerily, as it backlit from odd corners & surfaces.]

The scene shifts again to the base of a grand victorian staircase: Signs of a
struggle are visible, even from here. Portions of the railing are broken out.
The blood seems to have pooled at the last step. A lighter blood, mingling with
Jett's. A partial footprint--calling card signed in crimson.


A new scene: the first flight. The view is halfway up. More blood, not Jett's
this time. Lots of it, smeared across the wall waist-high. A blood-spackled
hanging mirror is partially visible. Dark spots down the center of the stairs
and on the railing too.


Second flight: A damaged wall off to the left, the source of the lighter
blood. It's man-sized hole--obviously the recipient of one of Jett's assailants
& and her fury.


Second floor landing: No sign of movement. Dark blood is everywhere, as if
lovingly airbrushed by a drunken madman. Every corner of the scene reveals
massive damage. This is where it took place. The door to Jett's room is
splintered outward. Another broken wall, the jagged wood within clearly
bloodsoaked. A small writing desk lies in pieces to one side. Jett's imported
bonsai looks crystallized and very dead. She made her stand here, and lost.

+++++End video


R: "Derek, I hope to _FRAG_ you're already on your way out here!!"

+++++CommCmd: HANGUP

+++++Connection Terminated.]<<<<<
-- Ricochet Rita <15:53:21/06-12-60>
Message no. 12
From: Jett zmjett@*********.com
Subject: Worry
Date: Sun, 13 Jun 1999 17:05:24 -0400
*****PRIVATE: Jazz, Scrape, Faedra
>>>>>[Can't talk much, as I'm recording this and rigging at the same
time. I'm on my way to Jett's place.

Jett's friend Rita checked out her place, and things look very bad.
Jett's car is in the driveway. The front door of the house was open.
There was blood everywhere, and signs of a big fight. A lot of blood.
And most of it was Jett's.

I'm worried sick. What the hell could hurt her like that? There was so
much blood...]<<<<<
-- Snookums <13:34:21/06-13-60>


*****INTERNAL: Snookums' Head Comm
>>>>>[
+++++Start vid

The reflection through the sensors of a large vehicle, a van, as it
rolls up to a concrete gate. Almost before it comes to a stop, the point
of view changes to the driver as he jumps out of the van. Judging by his
point of view, he's well over 9 feet tall, and rough, massive hands are
visible at the corners of his vision.

The camera pauses a moment to capture the spatters of blood on the
driveway, the last drips of blackish-crimson in a trail that goes up to
the house. "ohgodohgodohgodohgod"...in the faintest whisper of a deep
basso voice as he bolts up the driveway toward the house itself.

Rita's bike is parked next to Jett's sports car, and Rita herself is
standing on the porch, face creased with worry. She's a Japanese elf,
short for the metatype and sturdily built."I'm here, I'm here," Snookums
says, his face a mirror of Rita's expression. "You're right- It's Jett's
blood." His gaze drifts to the open door. "No sign of anyone?"

Rita shakes her head. "Whoever they were, came and went."

Snookums cocks his head, tilting the view slightly. "I'm going to have a
look myself upstairs." He glances again at the door. "I already called a
couple of close friends. I want to get Faedra or another mage in here
soon as possible...she'll be able to tell..." he trails off a moment.
"She might be able to tell if Jett is still alive or not." The big
trolls' hand comes up to the side of his head. "Dammit...dammit. I'll be
back in a minute."

The camera slides and pans, taking in the darkened interior of the
living room...the streaks of blood marring the blue carpet with dark,
forbidding stains...The stairs creak slightly under the big troll's
weigh as he makes his way up them, to the second floor. Past the broken
mirror, the shattered bonzai plant, the crushed writing desk...he pauses
at the man-sized hole in the wall. It's QUITE obvious that someone's
been through it the hard way. He turns to the door to Jett's bedroom,
hanging half off its hinges and cracked clean in half. A deep breath,
and he steps inside...

+++++internal chemical analysis running

++++smoke filters: on
++++Internal air valve: ready

+++++internal chemical analysis complete. Result: unknown. Recording
sample for further analysis.

Snookums is driven back, choking and coughing on the thin, lingering
gray vapor gathered near the ceiling. The internal headware colors it
with a soft red glow, a warning light appearing in the lower corner of
his vision.

+++++Internal air valve: on. Switching to internal air tank

Snookums tries again, stepping into the room. Everything seems peaceful.
The covers on Jett's bed have been thrown back, and are half on the
floor, but other than that, the room is undisturbed. The weapons cabinet
is locked, and her Predator still hangs in a holster on the headboard.
No signs of blood in here, nothing broken. The only thing out of place
is a metal cannister laying at the far corner of the room, gleaming
faintly in the afternoon-light seeping through the curtains.

Snookums walks back out, careful to avoid the blood-soaked patches of
carpet, and moves back down the stairs to the porch. His internal air
shuts off, and the hazard lights switch to green, then go out
altogether. Rita glances up as he returns. "They gassed her out,"
Snookums says grimly. "Then attacked her in the hall, looks like." A
long pause. "I'm going to go get Faedra. I'll be back in a
bit."]<<<<<
-- Snookums <14:58:03/06-13-60>

Further Reading

If you enjoyed reading about Worry, you may also be interested in:

Disclaimer

These messages were posted a long time ago on a mailing list far, far away. The copyright to their contents probably lies with the original authors of the individual messages, but since they were published in an electronic forum that anyone could subscribe to, and the logs were available to subscribers and most likely non-subscribers as well, it's felt that re-publishing them here is a kind of public service.

Thwap!