In the busy corner of the Scilabs plaza, a crowd of people stand at the bus stop, some chatting, others busily reading books and newspapers while actively ignoring the more noisy ones. The monotony of the people around the stop breaks briefly as the bus comes, and people back away from the ledge instinctively in spite of being a safe distance to start. As the lumbering bus rolls to a stop, the crowd parts to allow the exit of current passengers, but spread wider as a single man almost the width of the bus door manages to move through it with a sideways tilt. Simon steps out, a stark contrast from the bookish people around him in his gritty wifebeater and green cargo pants. He takes a deep breath through his nose and exhales softly before moving out of the small crowd and up the stairs to the main plaza. A crackle and fizzle in his earpiece precedes a deep voice drawing his attention.
"Simon, have we arrived? Is this Scilabs?" The voice was Militiaman, Simons trusted netnavi calling to him from his PET which was safely stored in his pocket at the moment. With a flick of his wrist he flips open his cargo pocket and pulls out the rather bulky PET, covered in military binary patterns.
"Yeah, we're here soldier, we've got a lot of work to do too, so lets find a public access point to make use of," Simon turned down his earpiece a bit to accommodate Militiamans voice and turned down the music he'd had playing in the background, "Here, this looks like it should be a good enough place, I'm getting a usable signal from here." Simon took a seat on a bench near a phone booth and pulled out the PET in full, extending it's screen and bringing up Militiaman to get a good look and operate it, "Now, if you're prepared, please make your way onto the labs net." Militiaman took a breath as his shoulders fell and he shook his head slightly.
"Simon, sir, I still don't fully understand what your aim is here...Where am I going, why are we back in scilabs of all things? Where exactly am I-" Simon raises his hand and pulls up a screen, displaying the data he'd received from his son and saying,
"That's funny, I don't see a 'backtalk' chip among this folder my son left me..." He went no farther than that, merely looking over from the folder to the expressionless face with a snarky smile crossing his stubbled chin. With another exhale, Militiaman turned to the side of the screen, looking away from Simon and getting ready to go.
"No sir...ready to operate," The disdain could be heard in his voice, laced over determined grit. Simon reached behind him, pulling up a thick brown cigar and placing it dutifully between his teeth, lips curled in a cocky smile.
"Hey", Militiaman turned only his head slightly to look at his op, "Give me a reason to light this," he said with a chuckle before Jacking in, and downloading his navi to the networld.
<(JACKING IN MILITIAMAN.EXE)>