Durandal Military Industries Inc.

((yeah i think that should do))

((Sent.))

Huh. Someone's actually stupid enough to... Alright, going dark for a few minutes. Nothing to worry about.

-Outside of your knowledge-

*Fights back against a skilled hacker* ... Console... Cancel. Cd sys.. Recover...

Thirty minutes of hacking, counterhacking and complete and utter radio silence for all later:

*The entire base is in chaos, the main database has been wiped clean off the earth. All screens have been filled with one specific message as everything automated in the base runs crazy. Gates opening and closing erraticly. Defence systems seeing anyone as an enemy. FRIDGES GOING OUT! Oh the food, the food!

Raider is hiding in a maintenance closet, shot twice in the arm by a turret before he could blow an emp grenade from the armory. He´s using a lamely weak 1qh modem trying to fix the situation.*

((Yes bitches, shit just got real. Got story of it worked out already but I won't kiss and tell. Find out on your own ;P))

....*looks at the base*
This is our welcoming party after we gone to the oil rig?

What a day

-on a plane bound to Germany-

*sighs as he puts down laptop screen*
So even after all the work I put into it, the base's firewalls are still too weak, well, at least Raider could hold out on for a good half an hour. . .

*gives a smirk before stewardess comes and asks him to pack away his laptop*
Ah, sorry, I didn't realize how long I would be on
*packs his laptop into his carrybag*

*plane lands in Berlin and passengers disembark*

*exits the airport and boards a personal limousine*
Well then, time to get to work now
*unpacks laptop and starts typing*

This just isn't my day. -_-

*waits outside of the base's defense radius and tries to think of a way to get in*

Any ideas?

*It's impossible to actually get back into the system - the hacker was a skilled one and slowly did a complete database wipe including the boot, kernal and os.sys files, causing a complete system failure.

The only way to reactivate anything is by reapplying those three files from a back up but the security devices won't recognize those, and thus cannot be turned off quite so easily.*

((I love having played Uplink. F*cking awesome stuff.))

((Nice. Another Uplink fan! :D ))

Hmmm...that could be a problem...

*thinks a little, then boards the driver's seat of the truck they came from*

Guys, hold on for a little while. I need to find a safe PC somewhere with a stable internet connection. I might be able to solve it. If that doesn't work, be prepared to relocate.

*drives off in search of a PC*

Should be one in the mainland...

((he's taking a truck to Greece from our base?))

((Our base is just part of an island. I'm gonna drive around a little to see if there ARE any other PCs here. If not, I'll come back and take a boat to the mainland.))

Edit: *On all outside monitors just as well as inside, you can read one single message:

"You are done for.

-Chameleon Military Corp."

((Yarp, thats the name of the bad guys. Took me ages to find one. Should've saved Innodog for them IMO XD Still, CMC, not bad.))

These the bastards that tried to take us down in the rig? The Cerberus guys?

((If so, Chameleon seems a little retarded for them.))

-In the Limousine-

tch
*reading up on Chameleon's dossier*
if these guys want a challenge, they're gonna get one

*takes out his mobile phone and selects a number of contacts for a conference call*

*drives back to base and quickly boards a boat*

No good, not a single PC outside the base. I'm going to town now. Keep me posted!

*sails off*

((I know, but I go from the idea that they weren't expecting to become this large and strong when they picked that name, hence a name like Cerberus would just come over as overly grandeur.))

((Edit: I'll be gone nearly all of today, btw. Make do without me :P))

((Will do. You're hiding in a closet anyway. Just be online when we fix this mess.))

*docks nearby and steps off from the boat*

Alright, next step...

*yells out in Greek*

ΤΑΞΙ! (TAXI!)

*a taxi stops near him and he enters it*

Από την πλησιέστερη καφετέρια στον κυβερνοχώρο. Θα πληρώσετε περισσότερο τόσο πιο γρήγορα θα φτάσω εκεί! (To the nearest cyber cafe. I'll pay more the faster you get me there!)

*the taxi speeds off*

-Back in Berlin-
*after a brief discussion wit his contacts*
Right then, you guys know the score, we'll meet at the designated point. I'm counting on all of you
*hangs up*

*limousine stops and the chaufuere turns back to Kei*
"Sir, we've arrived at the safehouse"

*Kei closes his laptop*
Ah, thank you Hanz, I'm going to need your help after you're down with the procedures

*Kei exits the vehicle and enters the office building that it was parked in front of*
well then, let's set the stage

*taxi arrives at a typical cyber cafe*

*Art exits the cab and pays the driver in Euros*

Εδώ. Κρατήστε Ï„α ρέστα. (Here. Keep the change.)

*the cab drives off as he enters the building. He approaches the receptionist, a 20-something woman seeming like the "rebel-girl" archetype, who's silently sucking away on a lollipop.*

Πρέπει να χρησιμοποιήσετε έναν υπολογιστή για όσο χρονικό διάστημα χρειάζεται να. Τα χρήμαÏ„α είναι κανένα αντικείμενο. (I need to use a computer for as long as I need to. Money is no object.)

*the receptionist, while still sucking on the lollipop, takes a glance at Art, and nonchalantly points to the nearest empty cubicle*

ΣαÏ‚ ευχαριστώ. Θα πληρώσει το ανάλογο ποσό όταν είμαι γίνει. (Thank you. I'll pay the appropriate amount when I'm done.)

*as Art walks to the cubicle, he hears a female voice, with a thick European accent, coming from the direction of the front desk*

"You better."

*he spins around to see the girl look at him, and then wink*

Hmm...

*resumes walking to the PC*

Alright, let's do this.

*starts up some storage websites, and plugs in a USB pen-drive*

Now, let's see how long this takes...

*begins downloading a file*

...

...

-_-

Nothing...

*after a whole minute, 1% is complete*

>_<

This is gonna take a while...

-Back in Berlin-

*Kei enters the building, inside is quite normal*
Hey there
*He greets a few of the workers as he passes by*

*He goes down the stair case to a basement floor (only accessible through the stairs) and enters a code into a pad*
*a door opens to an old elevator and He goes even further down*

*elevator dings as it reaches the lowest floor and the doors open revealing a large high tech room full of weaponry, computers and a lounge*
Ah, my home away from home
*He enters the room setting down his carry bag on the nearby table*
"Good to see you're finally here Sir"

*Hanz greets Kei from the lounge*
Nice to see you as well Hanz, and as always, its amazing how fast you are

"A pleasure Sir, so then, lets get started on the project then?"

*takes off his coat and connects his PDA to the room's system*
Ah yes, we better start on that quickly now

*Hanz takes Kei's coat and puts it on a coat hook*
"But may I ask Sir, why the sudden rush? you've been putting this project on and off for the past few months now, why the sudden urgencey to complete it?"

*Kei turns to Hanz after connecting his PDA*
Because. . . somethings come up and we need it now

*T.V monitors display pages from Chameleon's dossier and photo's from the Oil Rig Op featuring some of their soldiers*
"I see, well then Sir, let's get to it"

*Hanz reveals a hidden room behind a wall with a large object covered by a sheet*

*BEEP! BEEP!*

Huh, humanawha-?!

*suddenly wakes up to see the screen saying "Download Complete"*

*slowly rubs eyes and looks at the screen again*

...took long enough.

*starts typing some more, before logging off from the PC and unplugging his drive, putting it back around his neck*

Well, guess I'm outta here now.

*goes out of the cubicle to see the receptionist still there, this time listening to a Walkman and reading what looked like an imported porno magazine*

Hmmm. Kinky.

*approaches the desk, seeing that she still doesn't notice him*

Hello? Anyone there?

*she finally looks up, puts down the magazine and turns down the volume of her earphones*

"Took your sweet time" *again, in the same accent*

"What wrong, not stand up quickly?"

*she smirks at the last statement*

Ha ha. Real funny. How much do I have to pay anyway?

*takes out his wallet*

"For how long you use, it close to thousand Euros."

*as he starts counting the bills, she takes a closer look at him, silently examining him from head to toe*

"Although..." *this causes him to stop and look at her*

"I let it pass for 500 Euros, and little...extra."

*she licks her lips at the last part*

And...what may this last part be? *raises an eyebrow*

*slowly, she gets up from her chair behind the desk, walk over to the door, and closes the blinds on the windows*

"Now...you pay me, in "back room"

*she flips the sign from "Open" to "Closed" and turns around to face him, with an obviously naughty grin on her face*

*now, it's HIS turn to check HER out*

Hmmm...long, partially dyed hair, tied in a ponytail; slender figure; average, yet perky "pair"; seems clean and healthy; and looks like she's housing at least 3 tats, EXCLUDING the little tramp stamp I just saw on her. I'd give her an 8.

*both stare hard at each other for a moment*

Yeah, I could go for an 8.

Sure, lead the way.

*smiling, she struts over behind the desk and opens a door*

"Don't worry. I don't bite..."

*before she enters, she takes one last glance back*

"...much." *adds another grin before before motioning him to come in*

Yeah, I could definitely go for an 8.

*follows her in*

((Don't judge me. After all the shit happening, I deserve at least this much.))