From: phyllis@amc.com (Phyllis Rostykus)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: STORY : Much Ado About Nothing / Saraquael (Part 5 of 6)
Summary: Shadowrun Writeup
Date: 9 May 91 00:43:58 GMT
Reply-To: phyllis@eld.amc.com (Phyllis Rostykus)
Organization: Applied Microsystems, Redmond, WA


    Raven Two Shadows was about 180cm tall, razor thin and as ribby lean
as a greyhound.  Her short night black hair matched the color of her eyes,
which were round even though her coloring suggested an Asian background.
Her black leather jacket had its arms raggedly ripped off and her right
arm gleamed pure liquid silver under the lights.  The leather pants hugged
her rangy musculature and her belt was studded with iron, with a buckle
that glinted of beveled edges and blades.

    Raven stepped into the room, moving as swiftly as Saraquael had seen
Hachiman move, with the same lack of haste.  Sara was surprised at the
comparison and saw the collectedness of Hachiman as he and the Raven bowed
to each other.

    The razorgirl nervously banged on her vidset as she tried to make it
change the channel and snapped her gum.   Raven looked at the girl and the
girl wilted into a quiet puddle.

    Miller hissed in anger, "Why are we talking to her?? She... she's," she
threw her hands up in frustration, "Can't you see?" 

    Raven ignored her and smiled at the group.

    "Thank you for meeting me here." she said in her soft-rough voice.  
"You have it?"

    "Hai."  Hachiman pulled the silk lined box out of the pack the
razorgirl had brought it in. 

    Raven's black eyes blazed with her interest.  "Mmmm...." she said
as she opened the box.  "As I thought..."  In front of their incredulous
eyes, she reached into the box and pulled the Emptiness out.  Then she
poured its slow motion between her hands.  She played with it.  Sara was
fascinated by how it flowed between Raven's hands in slow, smooth ropes of
fluid grace.

    "Do you know what it is that you have here?"  Raven asked with humor in
her husky voice.

    They all shook their heads.  Saraquael realized her mouth was open and
quickly shut it.

    "Have you ever heard of an old substance called Silly Putty?"  She
laughed at the puzzled expressions.  "It was a strange substance with many
interesting properties, but one of them was the capability to lift print or
pictures through physical proximity.  One would simply lay the substance
over what one wanted copied and it would lift an impression from that
surface.  This does much the same thing, but only with magical experiences."
Sara saw that Raven's human hand was starting to look raw, red, and abraded.

    "Like a memory?" Renowyn asked.

    Raven thought a moment, "Somewhat.  But it only remembers magical
things that happen near it.  Also, as all things magical can only reside
in something alive, this is alive.  Alive and hungry for experience,
memories."  Her human hand looked like the skin was being eaten away by the
Nothingness, but Raven didn't seem to notice.

    Kilroy looked troubled, "That's been near a bit of nasty magic.  Is
there any way to erase that bit of memory?"

    "You would take a memory away from it?  That is all it has..." the soft
voice sounded regretful as the Emptyness flowed from quicksilver to
steadily redder hand.   Slowly, regretfully Raven poured the Emptyness
back into the guarding box.  Thoughtfully, she said, "There is much that I
and mine could do with the capabilities of this substance.  I will offer
10,000 nuyen better than your second best bid for it, whatever that may be."

    "Thank you for letting me examine this for myself."  Raven closed the
lid to the box gently and patted it like a pet with her quicksilver hand.  

    "We do have other bids." Hachiman said, as he stood up.  The others
followed his example hastily.

    "Yes, I understand."  Gracefully, she bowed to those in the room.  "Good
afternoon."  They bowed back and she swung out the door, looking with
interest at the bright red palm of her human hand.

    They all sighed one sigh of relief.  The razorgirl bounced up off the
ground and her swagger was back as she popped her gum.  "Ya done?"

    "Yes, we are done.  Thank you for your service."  Hachiman said.

    "Chur t'ing." She hefted the pack and went out the door.

    "You CAN'T be thinking of selling the box to her, can you?"  Miller's
voice was shrill.  "Couldn't you see?  Can none of you see what she is
made of?"

    Kilroy shook himself.  Then slowly, he said, "There's rumors.  Rumors
that she once belonged to a Circle..."

    "Once upon a time..." Saraquael said softly, in a little girl's voice,
invoking the old beginning that would make the terrible only a story for
children at night.  "There was a Circle intertwined, lover, friend, soul
brother, heart sister.  They were bright with power, arrogant in their
assumption of doing what was right for the Earth Mother...."

    "Ecoterrorists..." breathed Kilroy.

    "And she was an arc in that Circle, part of the wholeness.  She broke
the Circle, broke all their lives, gave them over to their enemies who
killed them all, but for her.  She is now a hound to her masters.  The arm
is a reminder, a token of her obedience to them."  Sara sighed, "That and
the other are the stories I was told about her."

    "But do we have any choice other than the man who made it and probably
used it to destroy that piece of forest?" asked Renowyn.

    Hachiman was working over his wristphone and a man's voice suddenly
spoke from it.  "I would be VERY interested in seeing your merchandise.  If
there is a second one out there, I am very interested in obtaining it."

    Catskill chuckled, "You mean he *still* hasn't found that it's
missing?"
 
    "Or are there two?" Ben looked troubled.

    Another man's voice, "I'm just checking on what the lastest bid value
was.  Could you please call me with the information?"

    Then a clear woman's voice spoke, "I hear you have a hot item.  I am
very fond of hot items.  Call me at this number..."

    Hachiman first called the one asking for the bid, and left the voice on
broadcast to allow everyone to hear it.  

    "Hi."

    "Hello.  I am calling with the bid information.  Our last bid was
120,000 nuyen.  Are you still interested?"  Sara blushed for Hachiman's
audacity.

    There was a slight hesitation on the other end of the line, "Yes.  I am
still interested.  I would like to enter a bid of 130,000."

    Those in the room went quiet in shock.  Sara started to quietly giggle.

    "Thank you for your bid." Hachiman said with utmost aplomb.  "I will
keep you updated as to our auction."

    "Great.  Thanks." and the speaker clicked quiet.

    "That," said Hachiman, "was the gentleman that offered the 10,000 just
the other night."

    "Shit." said Kilroy with feeling, "Are we ever in trouble..."

    Hachiman called the second number while the rest of the group was still
talking over the bid.  He spoke for a while and then took down an address,
entering it with quick, precise fingers on his wrist as he listened. "There
is another who is interested in the box as well.  She would like to meet us
in downtown Seattle in half an hour.  I believe we shall be able to make it
with time to spare."

--------

    They pulled into the underground parking lot of one of the business
buildings in the business district of Seattle.  It echoed their steps as
the seven of them walked to the elevators.

    The elevators were mirrored, panelled and had plush, smooth carpeting
that swallowed their footsteps.  The ashtrays were lined with marble, and
the railings were of brass.

    When the door slid open, they opened to a reception area.  There were
six masked figures, tall and slender, in robes of purest white.  The masks
were detailed renditions of the Seven Elven Virtues.  They bowed with a
movement as graceful as water to the seven that stepped out of the
elevator.  Hachiman's bow was precise and lithe.  Saraquael felt clumsy
compared to them, but she politely bowed with everyone else.

    One of the masked figures gestured toward an open door.  They all filed
into the office.

    A shockingly human woman sat at the desk with her booted feet on the
desk.   Her hair was the color of new grass, and her eyes the color of
mid-summer leaves.  Behind her in the corner was another tall, slender
figure in white robes, but the mask that it wore was entirely blank.
There were slight indentations for where the eyes might be, a slight
bump suggesting a nose.  

    The woman casually waved at them, until Miller entered.  The woman
threw her feet to the floor and stood up abruptly.  She bowed a formal,
deep bow to Miller, who was oblivious to it.  With a smile the green
haired woman sat back down and put her boots back up on the desk.  There
were seven seats in the office.  Each of the group took one, except
Miller, who wandered about the office examining things, looking as if she
were perfectly at home.

    "Hi, you may call me Deciduous.  I hear you have something that may
interest me..."

    It was Hachiman that described some of how they had come by the box 
and most of what they knew about it.  Deciduous listened intently, asking
intelligent questions.   Sara watched, and soon became aware that there
was almost a conversation going on between the two in body language.  All
the words were almost monotonic, but the subtlety of movement, of phrasing
seemed to actually make a difference in how the other responded.
Fascinated, Saraquael watched the utterly silent by-play.

    Finally, Hachiman ended by looking directly into Deciduous' eyes and
softly said, "We are also quite interested in keeping this artifact out of
the wrong hand."  Deciduous' eyes widened just the barest fraction.

    Hachiman fell silent, and Deciduous thought for a long moment.  Then
she said, slowly, "I guess then, that this is an interview to allow you to
determine if you would feel comfortable with selling the box to me." The
group looked at each other, Sara knew that she hadn't really thought of it
that way until now, but it was true.  "Well, do you have any questions
for me?"

    There was a long silence as the 'runners thought about what they could
ask.  Seeing that no one else was going to jump in, Saraquael hesitantly 
asked, "What will you do with it?"

    "It depends on the price.  If I could afford it, I have some personal 
plans for it.  If I cannot, Open Range Security would have to buy it.  If
the corporation bought it, the first consideration would be the
profitability of the corp.  This substance looks like it could have a
great number of commercial possibilities.. but... in the interest of
long-run profitability, it would be..." she hesitated, "unwise to use the
destructive capabilities that are inherent in it."

    This time Saraquael's voice was a little more sure, "I will ask again.
What would YOU do with it?"

    Deciduous met Sara's mismatched eyes and smiled, "I would use it as 
bait.  Use it to attract those who are interested in it and find out their
intents.  I would research its capabilities and find out not only what it
can really do, but how to work with it safely."

    There was a another long silence.  Then Kilroy asked what was on all
their minds, "How much can you afford?"

    Deciduous leaned back, "Adrian," she addressed the blank-masked one,
"What am I worth?"  The blank one spoke with liquid vowels in long,
musical phrases.  Deciduous laughed, "Love, that's very nice, but I meant,
what are my material assets?"  The figure spoke again, just as musically,
but rather more shortly.

    Deciduous leaned back forward, "All I have in the world is worth 92K
nuyen.  Four thousand of that is tied into debts that I must pay.  I can
offer you the rest."

    Hachiman stood up, "If you will excuse us..." he said politely to
Deciduous and Adrian.  The two nodded.  Then he turned to the 'runners, 
"Well, what do you think?"

    "I like her a hell of a lot more than any of the others." said Renowyn.

    Small mutters of agreement from everyone.  Renowyn touched Miller
on the shoulder as she wandered by.  "What do you think?"  

    Miller just looked at them with a smile and wandered onto another
picture.

    "She looks really comfortable here." said Renowyn thoughtfully.

    Catskill said, somewhat worriedly, "I don't like the thought of 
taking everything that she owns."

    Everyone nodded.

    "How about 70,000 nuyen?" asked Kilroy.  "It'll leave her quite a
lot more, it's far less than we could get for it, but, heck, at least
we'd know that it was in the right hands."

    "Yeah..." said Ben, "I agree.  Let's sell it to her."

    "A vote?" Kilroy asked.  "All in favor?"  All six hands raised.  "Good.
I guess that's that."

    Hachiman went to tell Deciduous their decision to sell it to her.

    "There's one more thing..." Kilroy said, somewhat morosely, in a
half-whisper to the 'runners.

    "What's that?" asked Saraquael, curiously.

    "We gotta get it here."

-----
Phyllis Rostykus     | "Looking down on empty streets, all she can see are 
..!sumax!polari!li   |  the dreams all made solid, are the dreams made real."
phyllis@eld.amc.com  |  - "Mercy Street" by Peter Gabriel