Power Play: Good Help
| Power Play: Good Help | |
|---|---|
| Date of Cutscene: | 27 January 2014 |
| Location: | Purgos |
| Synopsis: | The aftermath of a fight on the streets of Purgos has some hired muscle checking in with their boss. This doesn't go so well. |
| Cast of Characters: | JAVA, Gang Leader, ??? |
| Tinyplot: | Power Play |
In the cramped streets of Purgos, this shop looked like one of many. A storefront dealing with minor cheap odds and ends. Below, store shelves were lined with code snippets and tools of varying quality. Sometimes people could find a good deal there. More often, you just went there to pick up cheap junk.
The more interesting place was the loft, a spartan place where a number of wounded Programs were nursing their wounds. Discs were out as they tried to perform first aid on the gridlike, pixellated scars on their bodies. Every so often, one of them looked up at the man on the couch who watched them. He was thin, very thin, with a long face and a simple blue lightsuit with occasional green highlights. He looked like an accounting program, but one look at the eyes could tell you there was something worse in there. He simply waited quietly while the gang programs attended to themselves.
It was the gang leader who spoke first. “We’re going to need more weapons.” He said simply.
“Oh?” The thin program replied. “Was there a problem with the ones I supplied you?”
“Are you kidding? They brought in an army! And there was that Renegade, the one they say is TRON!” The leader got more agitated every time he spoke.
The mention of TRON made the eyes of the thin program narrow. “The Renegade, here in Purgos? Doesn’t he have a governor to overthrow?” He pauses. “Anything else?”
The gang leader pauses, and then shrugs. “There was a User.”
Everyone goes silent, and the thin program stares straight at the gang leader. “Did you say… a User? That’s impossible. Flynn’s been gone for-”
“It wasn’t Flynn. They were hurt, they didn’t drop voxels, it was…”
The thin program’s eyes narrow… And then he smiles. “Look, this is for your own good. You didn’t see anything, got it? You were just mistaken. I’ll go get you all some tools from downstairs.” He turned, walking towards the door. He pauses there. “What happened to the rest of your group? I didn’t see them come in.”
The gang leader grimaces. “Derezzed. We’re going to go make them pay for that.”
“See that you do.” The thin program replies, casually placing a small, spiky Bit on a table next to the door. “Let the Bit know if you need anything else while I get the stuff.”
The door hissed closed… And then it locked. The gang looked up. “What happened?” The leader yelled. “Open the door!”
“NO.” The Bit replied. “What’s going on? Let us out!” “NO.” “Try the window!” “NO.” The Bit began to spin, lifting up and growing spikier by the moment, “Oh frag, that’s a Prankster Bit!” “YES!” The Bit replies. Discs came out as they tried to strike at the Bit, cut through the door, anything. The Bit wove through the room, ducking and diving at high speed. The door showed it was reinforced.
And then someone said it. “We’re all gonna get derezzed!”
The Bit almost “YES! YES! YESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYES….”
Below, the thin program walks out of the front of the building just as a dull thud is heard. Shrapnel tears through the front of the upper floor, the window shattering as a spray of voxels falls around him. He smiles faintly, and then walks away.
As he does so, there is a low beep. A transmission line opens to the thin man, who frowns and holds up a device up. It emits a small window which normally shows who he’s talking to.
There was no picture. “Those men came highly recommended.” A distorted voice speaks.
“Spying on me? I thought you trusted me.” the thin man replied, as he turned a corner into another alley. It wouldn’t do for him to be listened in on.
“Oh, but I do trust you. Why else did I give you all of those weapons, JAVA? Why did I provide you with dependable street-level assets? Assets that you are now apparently derezzing.”
The thin program, addressed as JAVA, frowns. “One of them said they saw a User.”
There is a pause. “Oh really… That is impossible, I thought.”
“Don’t patronize me. You told me yourself that there were other ways in. You brought me weapons that aren’t even from the Grid. And then there’s the Renegade. This is getting too hot.”
Another pause. “You’re close, JAVA. Very close. All you need is a little longer. I will send you some additional help.”
JAVA mutters for a moment. “This better be better than your last help.”
“Oh trust me.” The voice replies. “This will make a very distinct impression on them.”
The call terminates, and JAVA curses, crushing the transmitter into voxels. A grimace of unexpected anger crosses his face as he does so. “I’m not going to be your fall guy.” He turns, leaving the voxels on the ground as he heads out into the neon darkness of Purgos.
