Shadowron: Chapter 2
What a day this has been. It started out just like any other: wake up, take a lukewarm shower to conserve the Jade, eat some soylent green slop while doing your best to imagine it's actually scrambled eggs with chunks of real bacon. Get dressed, head to a Soul Shrine, hope you can get into the zone today and walk out with enough credits to procure some entertainment and decent food for the evening.
At least that was the plan.
The... explosion? That's what it was, wasn't it? Bad place, bad time. Story of your life. But also the silver linings. That feels somewhat par for the course, too. In a city this peaceful you somehow manage to get hit by a huge blast, yet you're just barely far enough to walk away with minor bruises.
The hooded girl said they got 'raided'. By whom? Why? And how does it line up with what Ana said? Apparently the girl belonged to some terrorist organization trying to damage NAGA's megastructure. Were the terrorists responsible for the bombing? Why bother rescuing you afterwards then? Guilty conscience? Or an attempt to Stockholm syndrome you into taking their side?
So many questions and no answers in sight. Though maybe the most important one of them all is: does it even matter? It's got nothing to do with you. You're just minding your own business. Let the police worry about it.
After you left the station your legs carried you on their own while your mind was elsewhere. It's gotten quite late but finally here you are: a Soul Shrine.
You know the drill. You head to one of the terminals and scan your palm. The terminal spews out a small data crystal and tells you what room to head to. All the rooms are the same: tiny, no distinct features, just enough space for one person. You sit down and enter the data crystal into the slot on the table. The tablet lights up. Time to play.
You're a slow starter. Tend to take a while to warm up. Somehow you just can't seem to find your groove right off the bat.
First game didn't go too well. 88,7%. Pretty low. Not low enough to get you in trouble with Viper Sentry - not that this hasn't happened to you in the past - but low nonetheless. This won't earn you anything.
Again.
91,2%.
Yeah, this one felt better. This time you check the logs to confirm where you've gone wrong. Ahh, right, that makes sense. Well, some of it also doesn't, and you feel you're gonna make the same mistake if you run into a similar situation. But that's the limit of human beings. We can't be perfect like NAGA. You wonder if a human can even hope to comprehend NAGA's decision making criteria, much less replicate them.
Again.
93,1.
You did it. Kinda. I mean yes, you broke the 93% threshold. That means you've entered the Jade reward territory, but at mere 0,1% above it you've earned enough for a chocolate bat. After breaking 93% the Jade rewards grow exponentially. That means those who are gifted at reading into NAGA's mind can play a few games and live the high life for a week. Those who struggle to break the 93% mark can grind in Soul Shrines all day just to get enough Jade for a warm meal in the evening.
You check the logs again. You busted in S3 after you dealt in into a haneman. Your hunch was telling you that it's definitely going to deal in but the rational part of your brain told you this is the most efficient play. And you were right, on both accounts. That deal-in was NAGA's highest rated choice. Good.
Again.
As you play you can't help but think back to those terrorists. What was their deal? Those things at the table, those were physical tiles weren't they? What were they trying to achieve? It looked like they were playing the game just like you are now but for what purpose? You're not a member of Viper Sentry but their efficiency looked terrible. They weren't connected to the Matrix so there was no way to evaluate their games, even for practice purposes. Nevermind actually earning the Jade.
90,9%
You let your mind wander too much. Who cares about the terrorists. Maybe they are just nuts? Completely insane? It's a simple explanation but a fitting one. Shady group of people act out against NAGA, gather in some rundown abandoned building and play mahjong in there, just physical tiles on a plain old table. That certainly doesn't make it seem like they are sound of mind. You have more important matters to focus on.
Again.
And then it happens. It's... Weird. You can't quite explain what's going on. But you've had this feeling before. The tiles on the display, they're supposed to be uniformly colored but every time it's your turn it looks like one of them is glowing a little. You don't even look at what's happening, you just keep pressing the glowing tile. One at a time. You feel a little weird, your sense of time gets warped and you're lethargic, distant, as if you were on the verge of falling asleep, as if your body wasn't your own...
Before long you come to your senses. The game is already over.
100%.
One hundred percent. It takes you a good minute to realize what is going on. You just got a 100% rating in an official game at a Soul Shrine. You can't believe it. The actual jackpot. Forget cold water and 'Breakfast of Champions'. You get to eat all the meat, fruit, bread, noodles, get to drink all the juice, soda, tea, coffee, all you can fit into your stomach for a couple of weeks. You can splurge on holomovies, stimpills, audiopacks, virreels and neuraverts without worrying about anything.
Silver linings? Forget that. Regardless of how it began, today is your lucky day.
You remember it's not the first time though. A year or so ago the same thing happened. You zoned out, saw the weird glowing light, and netted a 100% rating. Way above your usual grade. Jade doesn't love you - easy come, easy go. You blew it all in no time but who cares, it was worth it. 
You bask in the afterglow for a few minutes. But greed is a scary thing. Once we get what we want we don't just stop there. It's never enough.
Again.
85,7%
Ouch. The glow was nowhere to be found. You lost your concentration and your game started to unravel immediately. You tried your best to regain your composure and focus but it was no use.
Well, who cares. You got what you came here for, and so much more. Time to leave. You've got food to gorge on and virreels to enjoy, and they won't buy themselves.
>"STOP. A SOUL SHRINE MARSHAL WANTS TO SEE YOU. I WILL GUIDE YOU TO THEIR OFFICE."
As you try to leave a large guardbot is blocking the exit of the Soul Shrine. This... is a mistake right?
>"Sorry, I think you've got the wrong person. I'm in a bit of a hurry here, could you please move?"
The bot extends one of its six robot arms towards you, this one with a glass screen on a flat surface.
>"SCAN YOUR PALM."
You comply, wanting to leave as soon as possible. No time to waste.
>"A SOUL SHRINE MARSHAL WANTS TO SEE YOU. I WILL GUIDE YOU TO THEIR OFFICE."
What. So it's not a mistake? It's actually you they want to see?
Is it about the 100% game? Nobody really bothered you the last time. Maybe it's the last one then? 85,7% is pretty low, but just barely good enough to avoid mandatory reeducation training.
What do they want from you then? And why the fuck did it have to be now? You were about to celebrate, finally live it up after being broke for the better part of the week.
A: It’s no use. Mistake or not, you can’t leave the Soul Shrine without seeing the Marshal. Let’s just get this over with fast and fuck off. >”Fine, asshole. Let’s go.”
B: Screw this. You’re not wasting your time here. Time to roll a natural 20 on the persuasion check. >”Look, I uh, I forgot I left my iron on at home. I’m in a hurry here. Bye.”
C: Maybe it’s an opportunity? Silver linings, right? Being held up here sucks, but you might never get a chance to talk to a Soul Shrine Marshall again. Not in official capacity, anyway. >”With pleasure. Lead the way.”