Motoko finally got ready to deep dive and decided to take it slow. She studied the Blackwall, and to her surprise quickly found numerous weak points. Instead of rushing ahead she created a hiding spot and started watching one of the potential vulnerabilities.
It took a long time for anything of note to happen, but finally Motoko saw hints of a rogue AI approaching the Blackwall from the other side. Numerous insectile looking Blackwall daemons started pelleting the AI, but it was too random, too weak, too chaotic. The rogue AI just shrugged off most daemons and viciously teared apart ones who somehow made it past his outer defenses. Motoko started to worry when the AI made it halfway, but then situation drastically changed.
The daemon swarm suddenly started acting as one, in total sync. The AI had no chance, daemons tied it down, slowly grinded its defenses and started feasting, slowly eating it alive. And there was something, a figure hidden in the daemon swarm near the doomed AI, startlingly humanlike. Motoko could only see glimpses of smooth black carapace like lithe body, and eyes. There were yellow segmented eyes, glowing with malice and indomitable will. It stood there, watching, directing, controlling, as the swarm slowly unmade the AI, revealing all its secrets, its nature, layer by layer. The humanoid rasped "Numbers… Numbers go…". And the daemon swarm around her buzzed in unison, like a hellish bee-kittens hybrid, purring in delight.
"BZZZRRRRRRRR"
A bit dishelved Motoko sits at Lizzies, blindly staring at the dance floor, with a can of NiCola in hands.
"Motoko? I haven't seen you a while on the net." Yoko greets the mini-netrunner, apparently here at the club to have a bit of fun.
The greeting wakes up Motoko out of her dazed state.
"Oh, hey Yoko. Funny to see you here. Just taking a break, you know. Too much time staring at screen, I mean plugged to net, that s not healthy. And boring. And not healthy." Motoko hiccups, remembering her last talk with Yoko. "About the deep diving I was going to do, I think it isn't for me. The cyberspace is too cramped out there, wouldn t want to be impolite and step on others feet. You know. I should rather go, do something healthy and relaxing, go for a walk in a park, sunbathe, window shop, pop a Scav, shoot down an AV."
"What?"
"What?"
Yoko just shakes a head at awkwardly staring Motoko and decides to not push it further.
"What about the shard?"
"What?! No, there were no Shards, no edgy Queens or Administrators, or anything, nothing of note happened." Motoko nervously glances at a nearby security camera "And Blackwall-chan is perfectly fine and balanced perso… enti... program. Yes, Blackwall is a great, stable and not weird in any way program, nothing else. We are totally safe. Here in realspace. Safe here too. Yes. That."
"I meant my shard with deep dive related info, one I gave you few days ago."
"Oh. Ooooh, right, exactly what I meant. Don't need it anymore. I will return it to you tomorrow. Totally. Good seeing you here. I will go. Do the healthy thing, maybe build an EMP mega bomb, just in case."
Yoko looks at Motoko leaving, the purest talent on par with legends, that is rivaled only by her crazy fearless drive to go further, unstoppable and unshakable. At least before now. Then Yoko looks at her soft drink in her hands, "Fuck. I need a much stronger drink."