Chapter 1 SNAFU - Situation Normal All Fragged Up

Greet snarls an old man grumble as he crouches with his taser drawn.

Wyvern roars as she bursts into VR space.

Immediately after firing the shot, the Colonel felt the presence of the decker again.

"Son of a Drek!" he snarled in frustration at not being able to engage a hostile target.

However, in a moment of pure serendipity a middle aged Eugene Snow, from apartment 4E in the room directly below the Colonel, had finally gotten access to "VR Chicks XXX". He had been trying to get back door access to for so long...but the VR experience wasn't what he was hoping it would be.

Eugene was a lonely man and spent much of the day, when he wasn't working janitorial duties at the local burger joint, hooked into VR through an elaborate jury rigged and illegal set up he had twisted and plugged together himself form various components he had collected....all for the sole purpose of questionable gentlemen's entertainment. Little did Eugene know, "VR Chicks XXX" wasn't the holy grail of gratuitous satisfaction he had been led to believe. Instead it was a scamming op run by a group of ill-intentioned anarachist deckers from downtown Seattle and Eugene had walked right into their trap.

Rather than be shown to a VR room of tantalising delights, Eugene was shown to a VR room of digital advertisements all promising to elongate and prolong all manner of things. Lost in the cloud of overwhelming spam Eugene didn't see the matrix forms of the deckers pass through the door the other way, into his VR device. Now they had access to an illegally powerful and blackmarket VR machine they intended to use to hack one corporation or another. But Eugene himself was a crafty if not creepy sod and had built in countermeasures to anyone who would threaten his beloved love machine. This countermeasure was unkind to both parties. For the anarchist deckers biofeedback zapped their bodies at the other end of town leaving one with neural dysfunction, promptly soiling himself. Eugene hadn't banked on the countermeasures also 'locking the door' he had used to enter this room of sensuous spam. In a stomach dropping moment he realized his error as the exit disappeared. Looking about himself Eugene realized he was going to be stuck in this room for a very long time.

The saving grace for the Colonel came at the exact moment the Creepy Decker attempted to brick his cyber eyes as a wave of matrix code seeped from the VR machine as the countermeasures kicked in. At the precise moment this feedback acted as an unlikely shield for Frank before it dissipated.

The Colonel, not realizing this of course, simply put it down to good luck and set about taking down those hostiles he could see.

Wyvern flies up to the creepy decker and blasts his shield with crackling fire.

Greer steadies his breathing as he looks down the tiny stub barrel of his taser and pulls the trigger again.

The Colonel, takes a long look at the crumpled form of the bullheaded biker and notes he isn't moving.

Rat Pack, this is Overwatch, he says keying the comm link. Incoming bullheaded hostile is down, no signs of life. Threat appears neutralised. Overwatch position is compromised, relocating to restaurant. We need an exfil mission for The Johnson. I count one bogey still active from matrix activity. Can we get a lock on his meat body so I can locate and destroy?

Concluding his transmission, The Colonel stood up, shouldering his assault rifle and unholstering his Colt as he prepared to slide down ladder.