[Tecumseh]

Your sheet has James' Social limit calculated as 9. I make it as base 6 + 2 for the Tailored Pheromones. Is there another point other than from worn clothing or equipment? When you have a chance, would you please change it to "6 (8)" (or "6 (9)" if that's correct)? Either way, you keep all the Con hits.

IC is up. James feels good about his story. The cops leave and he is free to go.

James is at 4/5 Edge.

What's your plan for the next 15 minutes, then the rest of the day?

[rednblack]

Social Limit is 6 base + 2 for Tailored Pheromones + 1 for the Rapid Transit Elite.  I've fixed the char sheet to 6 (8) since James won't always have that kind of gear on. 

Let's do a Judge Intentions roll.  James is doubtless curious if the pawn is telling the truth.  This is a good one to be throwing 14 dice at.
Judge Intentions: 14d6t5 6

James will want to put some ground between them and this den of Ares paranoia, so back across in a water taxi.  Instead of boarding Stevens, though, James will want to get a taxi to a mall of some sort, or really anywhere with a parking garage, send the Shin-Hyung there ahead of them, and then reconnect with Stevens from their own vehicle. 

After that, either back on the road, or maybe James and Illeana could take in a trid flick. 

OOCly, how did KE see James' smartlink if he was running his cyber eyes Wireless Off?  Feel free to decline to answer, if you want to ramp up the paranoia even more. ;)

[Tecumseh]

Some of James' interpretation is already in the IC post. He definitely feels that they've been summoned away, but they don't seem to be setting up a perimeter or backing up with their hands on their hips or anything obvious like that. He feels suspicious, partly because it is in his nature to be suspicious, but nothing immediately validates that suspicion. The encounter ended abruptly, which is unexpected, but also what was best given James' discomfort with Ares employees. So isn't a good thing, really? But still, it nags. Illeana confirms that they still are not hostile.

As for the smartlink, I picked something at random. The scanner tied on the SIN check so the cops had to investigate something. In my head, the cyberware scanner in the drone picked up on the smartlink system. Now, to a scanner, does the smartlink system look meaningfully different than low-light vision or vision magnification or any other visual enhancement? Perhaps not. But I had to pick on something and the smartlink was the easiest RP choice, or at least easier than an exchange along the lines of, "Sir, why don't your biometrics match what's on file?" So I went with the more RP-able scenario.

It may take a while for me to get the next IC up since it will be longer to push the story forward. If I am lucky, it will be tomorrow. Sunday I will be traveling a good portion of the day; Monday will greet me with the pent up demands of seven days out of the office. We'll see how it goes.

[rednblack]

Re: Judge Intentions: cool.  I'm going to toss some Perception tests in too to see if they're being tailed.   Let's call the first in the water taxi, the second in the taxi on the way to the mall, and the third at the mall before they jump in the Shin-Hyung.

For each I have: INT (9) + Perception (6) + Specifically Looking (3) = 18 dice.  I'm not including any visual mods, auditory mods, etc. just for ease of use.
Perception + Specifically Looking: 3#18d6t5 6 4 6
Pretty good. 

Re: smartlink: also cool.  That's a nice way to handle it.

I may get an IC in before you.  If I push things along too far ICly, just let me know.

 

[Tecumseh]

IC is cool. If so, take it up to the water taxi. James doesn't notice any tails and feels like he did a good job checking the angles. Some security drones occasionally track at him, but those drones track everybody.

[Tecumseh]

A short IC is up to help cover the walk to the water taxi. The next post will be longer. Feel free to work yours in if it fits. I just wanted to give voice to a few thoughts Illeana might have. I wish I did it more, but it usually gets pushed to the back of the line with all the other posting requirements in all the other games.

Illeana will summon a medium (F4) water spirit to help keep watch.

Illeana summoning: Magic 7 + Summoning 4: 11d6t5 3 hits

Spirit resist: Spirit Resist: 4d6t5 1 hit

Two net services. Optional Power will be Guard.

[Tecumseh]

IC is up. Dramatic reveal, etc. etc. Go ahead and post James' reaction and any rolls you want to make.

[rednblack]

So . . . wow.  Sorry it took me a bit to get an IC up, but I there was really like a million different directions to go in.  rnb the player really had no idea.  Nice.

James is intentionally using the "Kat" pet name to try to put Illeana a little more at ease, or at least reinforce his own loyalty to her. 

Despite Analyze Truth being cast, James is going to use Judge Intentions on Rhodes. 
Judge Intentions: 14d6t5 6

He's also going to keep his eyes peeled on the immediate area outside of the water taxi, checking for approaching boats, drones, funky looks in the waves that may betray an underwater craft, etc.  I will be including the vision spec and Vision Enhancement, as there's no real reason to run Wireless Off a this point.  The Tempest will be Running Silent.  I have: INT (9) + Perception (6) + Vision Spec (2) + Vision Enhancement (2) + Specifically Looking (3) = 22 dice.
Perception + Specifically Looking + Visual: 22d6t5 8
Mental Limit is 8.

I'm also going to do a Matrix Perception test to check all MARKs on James' links.  I'll include two rolls, the first for his implanted Tempest and the second for the Ikon.  I have: INT (9) + Computer (4) + Perception Spec (2) = 15 dice.
Matrix Perception: 2#15d6t5 2 4
Well, probably should've used the first roll for the Tempest.  Each roll is under the DR rating of the link, so all hits are kept.

[Tecumseh]

IC is up. I tried to cover the results of all the dice rolls there.

[rednblack]

IC is up. I tried to cover the results of all the dice rolls there.

You did so very clearly.  Given the lack of backup in James' view, he's going to assume that Rhodes/Ares is still getting assets in place.  6 Instigators + Rhodes is a tall order on such short notice, and if they don't have security drones on James at the moment, that most likely means that they have the intel they need and fire support is incoming.  Likewise, the assets that Ares is bringing in will most likely be at a distance and near the taxi port -- or whatever it would be called -- on the far side.  James is also likely to assume that they're going to treat him with kid gloves and not make their support known unless James indicates that he doesn't want to play ball. 

Last, and perhaps of the most importance, James knows that they need him if not unharmed at least alive and not disabled.  If it comes down between killing him or letting him go, Ares will most likely play the long game, especially now that they know for sure that new James is alive.  Illeana's survival will not be important to Ares, or more appropriately, her survival and well being will only be important to Ares to the extent that it will keep James happy and compliant. 

Given the water taxi's current speed and trajectory, how long do they have before it docks?  Would James be aware if this is a AAA or AA locale? 

I'm going to roll both Security Design (Corporate) and Security Tactics (Rapid Response/Corporate) partly to see if my above summations are correct, and to see what I'm missing that James might not, where the chinks in the armor are, etc.
For Security Design I have: LOG (4) + Security Design (5) + Corporate Spec (2) = 11 dice.
Security Design: 11d6t5 4

For Security Tactics I have: LOG (4) + Security Tactics (5) + Corporate/Rapid Response Spec (2) = 11 dice.
Security Tactics: 11d6t5 4

Pretty good all around.  I'm not sure which spec on Security Tactics is a better fit, so that's up to GM discretion. 

OOCly, I think the best course of action is to dip out sooner than later while the dipping out is less awful -- though admittedly still pretty bad.  With the Water Spirit's Movement power James can power along at 12.6 m/s, while Illeana can only manage 9.3 m/s.  That's only about 20 mph, not near what we'd need to outrun any boat, but it has the benefit of breaking any electronic detection of the pair -- Noise in saltwater is pretty intense.  Unless Illeana crazy overcasts on Levitate, and then summons a high Force Air Spirit, I don't see how they're going to be making any better time than that. 

Also, OOCly, there's a part of me that would like to make a break for it after docking.  This is tactically much less workable, but has more Bourne Identity possibilities with evading Ares agents in crowded city streets.  I just don't see a way of making this successful.

What are the limits of a car's autopilot v. GridGuide?  If James sends directions to his Shin-Hyung to converge on the location they're heading to, can he do so in a way that would avoid speed limits, traffic laws, send it over the pier, etc?  James is considering sending a message to his sedan to head in the direction of the water taxi's heading in a not-so-subtle manner.  Ideally, converging corpsec will think that the car is carrying support for James and Illeana -- possibly Blue Team from Tabula Rasa but whatever -- and will need to spread their assets thin to deal with both, even if that just means peeling off a secondary team to check it out.  How long until the Shin-Hyung would make it to the pier?  We didn't discuss what was done with the Shin-Hyung, nor what standing protocols are for the secondary vehicle, so this totally in the realm of GM fiat.

Last, I'd like to use Leadership to help Illeana pull her shit together.  James is going to reach out with spoken words as well as text here.  I have: CHA (5) + Leadership (6) + Tailored Pheromones (2) + Subject is Devoted to Character (2) + Subject's Attitude is Friendly (1) + Result is Advantageous to Subject (1) = 17 dice.  I don't think that "Subject is Devoted. . ." and "Subject has Romantic Attraction. . ." would both apply, but if you want to give me 2 extra dice, I won't complain.
Leadership @ Illeana: 17d6t5 6
and thankfully not enough 1s to trigger Social Stress. 

Next steps are largely dependent on the read of some of those rolls, so I will either put in a short IC soon, or wait to put in a longer one until I've heard back.  I don't want to put in a whole monologue of James stalling for time if they need to bug out on the quick.

[Tecumseh]

James has a solid grasp of the situation.

From a tactics perspective, he would assume the Rhodes is the holding/pinning attack meant to fix you in place. Then, any number of other forces could smash into you from any other direction.

James isn't entirely certain that the kids are Instigators. Illeana implied that they had bioware instead of cyberlimbs. It's possible that they were all that was available on short notice. Perhaps they are promising K-E cadets, or young members of FireWatch that haven't lost their limbs yet. James himself served in Knight Errant for 5 years in his early 20s before being promoted to FireWatch, where he was blown up at the tender age of 28. Who knows where they got the suits on short notice, or if they were wearing them for some other reason. It might be reasonable to assume that they are not heavily armed.

On land, you will have to contend with the full weight of Knight Errant, including drones. Per Doc's earlier advisory, you can assume that this is an AAA area. In the water, you will have to contend with whatever assets Ares can put into the harbor, be they water spirits or submersibles. And even if you get away, you can assume that K-E will have an APB out that will potentially complicate life going forward.

Regarding the Shin-Hyung, it will obey commands - however unorthodox - that don't have it harming others. It will not collide with pedestrians, buildings, other vehicles, etc. You can't send it plowing into a crowd but you could launch it off a pier into the water, which would be pretty spectacular. It would only take a minute for it to get to the pier.

The water taxi is about halfway across the harbor. It will be another six minutes before it reaches the other side. On this map you are going from Point 11 to Point 17. Transit time is 12 minutes. (The schedule allows for a separate 6 minutes for passengers to disembark and new passengers to embark.) You are actually headed for Fort McHenry, which is a open green space that would be pleasant for a picnic and questionable for a firefight. The bad news is that there isn't a ton of cover, but the good news is that there aren't a lot of elevated positions for snipers. But you'll also be trapped on a peninsula.

Go ahead and IC post, but give Illeana an opportunity to respond before you initiate anything.

[rednblack]

And even if you get away, you can assume that K-E will have an APB out that will potentially complicate life going forward.

Yeah. . . Just a little, I'm sure. 

It looks like waiting to reach the other bank is off the table.  6 minutes is just way too long to wait to allow Ares to set up camp for themselves something fierce.  Besides, while magical support is certainly on its way, it will be easier to avoid spirits, astrally projecting mages, etc. before they have the opportunity to Assense James and Illeana, and get a good read for a Spirit's Search power.  Assuming this hasn't been done already, of course. 

IC response will have to wait until tomorrow.

In other news, how's dadding around with Tec Jr. solo going?

[Tecumseh]

The Solo Dad project ended yesterday when my wife got home. Overall it was a success. The biggest challenge was the 4:30am feeding. My wife can just grab him and feed him but I have to go downstairs, get a bottle from the fridge, heat it up, etc. so that by the time I'm feeding him he's been crying for 10 minutes. Naturally the entire process wakes me up as well, so when he's done feeding I have a hard time going back to sleep. Outside of that, everything went well. Tec Jr. makes it considerably easier by being a good-natured baby, although he is highly active and prone to climb/grab/break whenever there is something to climb/grab/break.

Zweiblumen used to live at point #11 on our map. He chimed in and said that kayaking on the harbor is popular. So, there are kayakers around the water taxi. Do with that what you will.

[rednblack]

Yeah, I was pretty lucky that I never had to do night feedings with a bottle.  It was difficult enough just in the afternoon sometimes.  Glad everything went smoothly.

IC is up.  I wanted to make use of the kayaking but couldn't find a way to blend it in seamlessly.  Maybe next IC.

James will happily wait for Illeana's response before doing anything, and I would like the opportunity to make one last comment to Rhodes before going overboard, if that is indeed the play.

[rednblack]

Will Rhodes be addressing James' question about the other James and his body? PC James is making his concerns known and is being pretty straightforward here. Of course, if there are story reasons for not having Rhodes answer we'll play that as it goes.