007: Old Friends/ Bookends

"A time it was, and what a time it was, it was"

*- Old Friends/ Bookends* by Simon & Garfunkel

## Session Summary

Our day started where it so often does: In the rooms of Doc Hazzard's practice. Bit Chaos noticed that her van had picked up some damage in their junkyard adventures, and took it to get repairs before it could get much worse. After safely delivering Pusik to the doctor's care, the remaining Runaways (Fridge, K2, Nova, and Smoke) all settled in to wait for the doctor's prognosis. He soon revealed that he would be able to help, but that Pusik herself would not be able to pay since she had not assets in her name, monetary or otherwise.

The Runaways needed a gig. After K2 quickly ran next door to CHAPEL, and came back with food, the Runaways sat down to brainstorm. The idea was that, perhaps, K2 could play a gig. Smoke brought up that Kerry had offered a jam session with K2 and suggested that she give Kerry a call. It didn't take much persuasion for Kerry to be all in on it, and offered to make a few calls to get some other artists in on it, mention he could find a drummer and would also call up GHOST for keyboard, and to call up a possible venue. The rest he left to K2, who turned to Smoke, Nova, and Fridge for help, both as roadies to move supplies and Smoke even taking on the role of unofficial manager. K2 sent Kerry a demo, who shared it with some artists who might be interested in performing. The Runaways met with Kerry at Villa Eurodyne, where Kerry had kept some older supplies in his storage from the earlier Samurai days, when Smoke had been a roadie. They handed up plenty of crew blacks for everyone before Kerry piled everyone into his car to drive up the road to meet his neighbor.

Arriving at the home up the hill, they got there to a party already being in full swing. The outdoor pool party featured some well known celebrity faces, among them being Potion, who made sure to lift a glass to them as they entered. It was the hostess of the party, though, that Kerry introduced: a woman named Denny, a legendary performer, and of Samurai fame. She stepped forward to embrace Smoke, who embraced her back, teary-eyed and emotional. Denny apologized that she was out of town the past few days, she didn't know Smoke was back in town, otherwise she would have reunited with them sooner.

What came next we a philosophical discussion about the nature of music and fame. Something about the meeting seemed to satisfy her, because she soon agreed to take on the performance. She would meet everyone at The Hammer that night, suggesting she was even abandoning her own party to come along on the ride.  Before the Runaways left the party, Potion stopped them, loudly pointing out to everyone there that they were his friends.

The group proceeded to journey to The Hammer, where they met with Ernie, owner of the Hammer, and general manager for the location. As always, he was excited, not only for the arrival of two rock legends returning to his stage (as Denny arrived on her motorcycle some time later) but excited to see what K2 could offer to the music scene. His passion for music was obvious, though he seemed to suggest him, himself, just didn't know how to play or write himself. Smoke excused themselves to take a trip to Pacifica (coming back in time for the show,) and everyone got to work setting up the stage for the performance. Everyone went through their preshow rituals, and then, it was showtime!

The manager introduced the group, with K2 headlining, back by Kerry, Denny, and Ghost; and the set began: Chippin' In, followed by Archangel, both of Samurai fame. After warming the crowd up, they spilled into K2's demo, and then into the finale: a premier of K2's new song, Immoral/Immortal. Even though they had never had a rehearsal as a group, they truly all demonstrated how good they were as a group, improvising where needed. In other situations, it might have been a jam session, with their skill and the crowd's energy, it was a roaring success. Smoke livesteamed the whole show, not only giving Bit Chaos an opportunity to watch her friends perform, but also exposing the performance to an audience larger than just those at The Hammer. The Runaway's contacts with Potion also paid off, as Smoke sent the stream to him, allowing it to be broadcasted to his audience as well.

The show was an overall success, with the crowd responding overwhelmingly well. As the crowd cheered, though, K2 caught a person in the crowd: a hooded figure who held a sign, among the signs declaring love for the people on the stage, that read "Never Forget Ink." While this unsettled them, they were quickly swept up into the afterparty. Kerry took everyone to the green room, a site of many a past afterparty, but immediately opted to change venues. Smoke and him seemed to agree quietly about the reasons, while Denny excused herself so that she could get back to her party. The Runaways plus Kerry departed to Club Eden,

The afterparty continued long into the night, and into the early morning hours. The closed Club Eden down, and were walking the streets afterwards, when a hooded figure crossed their path; it was the same person K2 had seen in the crowd before. K2 identified the person as Ink to everyone else, and as a former associate of sorts. There was little time to elaborate. Smoke told Kerry to duck back inside the Club and go out the back, and that they would meet at his house later. Ink then charged at the Runaways, who fled into a nearby parking garage.

Ink proved to be a formidable foe. Her reflexes were more than human, greatly augmented by cyberware, as was her netrunning. While chasing and gaining on the Runaways, she was able to lock up Fridge's mantis blade. Smoke attempted to maintain security on the net from Ink, but was assaulted by the AJ4X code. Nova and K2 attempted to offer some sort of defense, but found it better to just press their flight harder. The group made their way to the stairwell, and Ink jumped over the side of the garage, running up the exterior side of the building to cut them off at the roof. But Smoke, leading the group, changed direction and ran down the stairwell, breaking out on the street.

Under the street lights, they looked behind them, and found Ink standing at the top of the parking garage, looking down on them, face still buried deep in her hood. While in the real world, she looked calm and dangerously stoic, on the net she was surrounded by red coding and screaming into the world. Her rage unleashed as a close wave EMP blast, shutting down the lights and systems within a 30 foot radius. She seemed to accept the stalemate, though, and the Runaways disappeared into the streets of Night City.