[center][b][h1][color=#44F03E]𝔽[/color][color=#42E93C]𝕦[/color][color=#40E33A]π•₯[/color][color=#3EDD39]π•š[/color][color=#3DD737]𝕝[/color][color=#3BD136]π•š[/color][color=#39CB34]π•₯[/color][color=#38C532]π•ͺ[/color][color=#36BF31]:[/color] [color=#32B32E]𝕋[/color][color=#31AD2C]𝕙[/color][color=#2FA62A]𝕖[/color] [color=#2C9A27]𝔾[/color][color=#2A9426]𝕣[/color][color=#288E24]𝕖[/color][color=#268823]𝕒[/color][color=#258221]t[/color] [color=#21761E]𝔾[/color][color=#20701C]𝕒[/color][color=#1E6A1B]π•ž[/color][color=#1C6419]𝕖[/color][/h1][/b][/center] [center][hider=Hoist the Black Flag, Broadcast to the Masses!][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hL_ck7injw[/youtube][/hider][/center] [h3][color=gray]π•Šπ•¨π•’π•₯𝕙𝕖 π•Šπ•₯𝕣𝕖𝕖π•₯ β„‚π• π•žπ•žπ• π•Ÿπ•€[/color][/h3][color=008000][b]β„π•–π•”π•π•’π•šπ•ž β„€π• π•Ÿπ•–, π•Šπ• π•¦π•₯𝕙 β„‚π•šπ•₯π•ͺ π•Šπ•‘π•£π•’π•¨π•[/b] [b]π”Έπ•‘π•£π•šπ• πŸ™π•€π•₯, 𝟚𝟘𝟞𝟝 πŸ™πŸ :𝟚𝟘[/b] [b] [β„‚π• π•žπ•–, π•Šπ•™π•’π••π• π•¨ β„‚π•’π•£π•’π•§π•’π•Ÿ] 𝔼𝕩𝕖𝕔𝕦π•₯π•šπ•Ÿπ•˜...[/b][/color] [right][sub][@DeadDrop][@Jarl Coolgruuf][/sub][/right] Serena seated herself in the kind of generously large leather armchair that had to be a century old, and if it was a century old, then it was kept in pristine conditionβ€”like in a senator’s house or something. She practiced her poses in the array of screens and battery of lenses forming a wall in front of her, sent a devious grin into the cameras, a grin which became even [i]devious-er[/i] when she caught sight of her reflection of her reflection in her oversized cool-gal sunglasses. Her associates were the only others in the room, though there were to be plenty more spectators soon. [color=black][b] β€œAssociates,”[/b][/color] she said.[color=black][b] β€œLawyerman.”[/b][/color] She contorted her body in a way that only the unnecessarily augmented might be able to so she could face him. [color=black][b] β€œYou’re job is to deal with… lawyer things.”[/b][/color] It was always hard to keep Petrukov’s focus, even in times of great importance. Even then, she fiddled with the control panel on her microphone board, not content to start speaking again until her voice had an overlapping resonance to it, you know, like a god. [color=black][b] β€œIf someone wants to take the stream down via, you know, the law.”[/b][/color] She nodded to Johnny and gave him a thumbs up. [color=black][b] β€œKill β€˜em...”[/b][/color] [color=black][b] β€œAlso, I’ll count on your advice. I hope you read the speech ahead of time. I forgot to email it to you.”[/b][/color] [color=black][b] β€œBodyguardman!”[/b][/color] Petrukov twisted once again until she was facing the door. A lone burly man with cybernetic arms stood in front of the door in that classic bouncer-surveying-the-place, arms-crossed, not-looking-too-happy sort of way. Despite the protests of her media manager, Serena had demanded that he be in the background of the cameras’ footage, mostly because he was the biggest person in the room. [color=black][b] β€œLook menacing.”[/b][/color] She hit him with akimbo finger guns. [color=black][b] β€œAnd Hackerwoman!”[/b][/color] Serena twisted, paused, sipped from a cocktail glass of some fizzy, very-likely non-alcoholic drink. [color=black][b] β€œI’m sure our collective enemies don’t want the masses to hear the manifesto of the Pirates, but someone—”[/b][/color] her voice wavered a bit, as though she were actually getting emotional. [color=black][b] β€œSomeone must address them. It must be me. So… Action stations! Send the blasts on my massive social media accounts.”[/b][/color] In her call to action to her employees, Serena had completely forgotten (or disregarded on purpose) her media manager as well as the small press team that was allowed on scene, relegated to a mostly empty corner save for a few folding chairs. Serena spent the next few minutes screwing with the modulation and pitch of the music on her control board. After all, it was the centerpiece of the whole broadcast. What was her loyal following without [s]p[/s]Pirated music. When the minute-long countdown clock started, she finally settled on a song, satisfied with her masterfully-mixed queue. A tension blossomed in the room where the silence then festered. 20 seconds. [color=black][b] β€œNow,”[/b][/color] she twisted again in her seat, mirrorshades facing off with the cameras. Petrukov was the sort that never quite sat right in chairs, but she was assured she looked regal and Pirate-y nonetheless. [color=black][b] β€œHoist the Black Flag!”[/b][/color] 10 seconds. [b] β€œMiss Petrukov. Uh, there’s no place to hang it up, and all you brought was the flag…”[/b] The voice of her publicist seared into her brain and made her boss’s steely gaze falter for just a second. Serena knew just what to do. [color=black][b] β€œBodyguardman!”[/b][/color] 5 seconds. 4 seconds. 3 seconds. Action… [color=green]>>>𝔹𝕣𝕠𝕒𝕕𝕔𝕒𝕀π•₯π•šπ•Ÿπ•˜... >>>... >>>...[/color] [color=black][b] β€œPeople of the Twin City Sprawl and greater America,”[/b][/color] the Pirate Captain spread her arms wide in a grand gesture. Those waiting in the broadcast chat were already flooding the window with spammed messages. [color=black][b] β€œAs you know, the final debate for Twin City Sprawl Councilwoman candidacy is fast approaching. My crew has just arrived in the Reclaim Zone to prepare ahead of time and ensure our enemies are playing by the rules.”[/b][/color] [right][b]π•Žπ•™π•  π•šπ•€ π•₯𝕙𝕒π•₯ π•˜π•¦π•ͺ…[color=green]<<<[/color] β„™π•šπ•£π•’π•₯𝕖 ℙ𝕒𝕣π•₯π•ͺ π• π•Ÿ 𝕒 π•“π•¦π••π•˜π•–π•₯[color=green]<<<[/color] π•Šπ• π•žπ•–π• π•Ÿπ•– π•šπ•€ π•™π• π•π••π•šπ•Ÿπ•˜ π•₯𝕙𝕖 π•—π•π•’π•˜[color=green]<<<[/color][/b][/right] [color=black][b] β€œBut the Pirate Army is quite an observant group, and it is as you suspect!”[/b][/color] The broadcast hit a spike of Labyrinth interference, though its cause was rather unclear, particularly due to the spike of 3D viewers in the net. With the projection array in a once quiet, calm, blank space of Labyrinth, it was suddenly swarmed with signals and signatures, all prying eyes, all with varied intentions. [color=black][b] β€œAnd they’re not the most careful bunch either. Information was once a commodity best left to anarchy. Now, the attempts to regulate and protect the Labyrinth to hide the secrets of megacorps is muddying the space for its base users.”[/b][/color] Stray signals shot from the growing horde of black code-streams now swarming the broadcast. It was hard to tell who was trying to access what, but the number of viewers continued to climb. [color=black][b] β€œEven now, their secrets are hidden behind complex security protocols… No match for any Pirate with half a brain. So the debate in the Reclaim Zone will be quite an important one. For those of you that cannot attend live, please ignore the censorship of the mainstream media and direct your attention once again the Pirate-streamed broadcast free of charge. Gatch, Faren, Washington,”[/b][/color] she paused. [color=black][b] β€œThe other guyβ€”they’ll all have secrets to reveal at the debate, I’m sure. If not...”[/b][/color] Petrukov sighed and shrugged. [color=black][b] β€œPerhaps the Pirates will help them along the way on that matter…”[/b][/color] The Pirate Bodyguard was as solid as a rock with his arms spread wide to proudly display the jolly roger. This was what he lifted for. Not a single of his rippling muscles moved. Like steel. [color=black][b] β€œBut the point is the Pirates will have a gambit of their own prepared. Something bigβ€”something you’ll all love, I’m sureβ€”is coming. Something that will rock the entire election, the entire system even! All we can say now,”[/b][/color] Serena sent an off-camera smile to her lawyer. [color=black][b] β€œIs that you’ll all have your minds made up. Only days away. Await the revelation of the Pirates in the Reclaim. Here for the people in a time of danger, there’s no way to vote. Cast your ballot black.”[/b][/color] Petrukov let the message simmer for a bit, playing with her control board so that her image faded to a silhouette. [color=black][b] β€œThat’s all for now my faithful free spirits. I must attend to ensuring the freedom of the people, but the stream goes on! My staff will remain to answer questions from the masses!”[/b][/color] She snapped her fingers and the black flag fell over her visage, concealing her in an [i]even darker[/i] blackness. That was the signal. A horrible screeching sound resounded through the mics as her Bodyguard started pulling the large chair back and then offscreen. It certainly wasn’t as dramatic an exit as she’d hoped.