Shadowrun

Shadowrun Play => Play-by-Post => Topic started by: Ren on <07-09-13/1605:56>

Title: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <07-09-13/1605:56>

Prologue

Into the waves

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <07-09-13/1612:58>

[Signal playing, the silhouettes of the Space Needle and the Horizon logo in the background. Pleasant female voice greets the viewers.]
Welcome to Seattle Now, the show which provides our faithful Viewers with fresh news from all around the Sprawl. I’m Janice LeCrouse and I welcome you all in the name of the whole crew.
Today’s hottest topic around Seattle is the long-awaited grand opening of our City’s newest crown jewel, the magnificent WaveRider Shopping and Entertainment Center, which is promised by the management to be the “meeting place of the decade”. It is advertised as the glass-and-plasteel palace of fun and leisurely activity, aiming to take over as the most visited place in Bellevue. And I say, it is bound to make a head start, seeing the program for the opener.
But don’t let me jump ahead, as today’s show presents you not only with management interviews, shop lists, but you get an exclusive sneak peek at the interior design, and we have an interview with the opener’s main performer to be.
We’ll be back after a short break and will start with all the trivia about the Center’s past and brightly shining future.

[Ads]

We are back, going on to the center itself. While you hear our own Kate Lockwell’s interview with CEO James Kendrick, the background will show you what magnificent and glorious environment will open to you on the 8th of July. [And that happens. The interview is obviously cut for maximum effect: less dry facts, more grand promises and goals. The interior tends to be tres chic, with names of top designers thrown in by the CEO.]

[Ads]

As you heard, the management didn’t spare any trouble for themselves, for you, happy customers, to feel fun for your heart’s content while you are in The Rider. And they did extremely well by themselves with the grand opener as well. A whole days worth of fun awaits those who wish to take part in the event, with hourly lots where priceless prizes will be handed out to the lucky winners. Those who wish to hear the views of our respectable leaders will be enlightened by Rupert Avery, the Mayor of Bellevue and Emmelyn Richter, the Head of the Bellevue Cityscape Regulation Committee between 10 and 11 am. Those purchasing a VIP ticket to the event will receive a tour throughout the Center, having a first opportunity to visit Berwick’s newest shop, and will receive a small present courtesy to the company sponsoring the event. Restaurants will open at 11 am, Bella de Mare among them, where the award-winning star chef, Lulu Verdice will perform and serve the guests. Meanwhile the shops await all with glamorous merchandise and grandiose sales to introduce the new place, and various performers will give their best for all visitors to enjoy. You can access the full list by following the flashing icon.
But I’m sure all of you want to hear about the big surprise now, who the mysterious top performer of the evening will be – and it will be revealed to you after just a short break.

[Ads]

And now, the time for a long-anticipated revelation comes: Kate Lockwell interviews one of the hottest novas of today’s music scenery.
[Standing in front of the Center, the camera shows a stunningly beautiful human woman, with long, flowing black hair, perfect body under a black and orange designer dress, everything what makeup, clothes, and surgery can buy.]
- Thank you, Janice. I greet you all on this occasion when anticipation mounts almost as high as last term’s presidential election. We stand on the edge of a discovery that, I believe, will attract even more people to the grand opening as those events and opportunities enumerated before. I’m standing here, in front of the building of The Rider, accompanied by none other than the great Johnny Silver, lead singer and keyboard player of the hottest electronic music band of this era, the SilverSpike, which will certainly provide a humongous spike in the grand opener’s mood levels. Hey, Johnny, what’s up?
[The camera centers on a guy in his mid twenties, smiling at the viewers, wearing tight-fitting, neon-colored clothes, with top-quality AR enhancements]
-Hey, Kate, hey, Fellas, it’s spectacular to be here in Seattle Now.
-Thanks for coming, our viewers are absolutely happy to have you on screen. But more importantly, I heard you will indulge us in a well-kept secret that will surely cause an outburst of joy from your fans.
-Yeah, we kept it secret until now, but I’m sure the rumor mill already took it up, so it’s finally time to make it official: we have been working on a new album for months now, and the grand opener will be the perfect opportunity to present our first single, Soar Above.
-After your last album hit the market, you promised that the next one will be on a whole different level.
-Absolutely. We will be able to use all the wiz tech in the WaveRider, which is thankfully well up to the task. The new songs will have a fully embedded simsense layer, with a partial limiter so that the user will be aware of his body and those surrounding. It will be a huge party, like really sharing the same experiences with others. The Center will provide a live sim broadcast for us so those present will be able to share what we, the band feel during the performance.
-Wonderful news, Johnny, thank you for sharing it with us first.
-You’re welcome, Kate. And for you, faithful fans, I can just say: come and let us Spike you!

[Back to the studio]

As you all can see, it will be the Event of the Year so far, so don’t let it get past you, be there, and let the Waves carry you away. I thank you all for your honorable attention and I’m happy to share that we will have the exclusive rights for live coverage of the event, so if you can’t be there in person, follow us live on the 8th of July, all day long, our own Kate Lockwell reporting from the grand opener of the WaveRider Shopping and Entertainment Center.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <07-10-13/1150:13>

8th July, 2072. It was a fabulous day and not only by Seattle standards. Light seaside drafts softened the strength of the seething sun, making it 23 degrees Celsius although it still wasn’t midday. The forecasts showed a high possibility of rain early afternoon, thankfully not acid rain, so light coats were in order at most. It seemed every higher power wanted this day to be perfect.

It was the long-awaited event, the grand opening of the WaveRider Shopping and Entertainment Center, or as most of the media took to calling it last week, The Rider. A mass of people were gathering in front of the brand new, glass-and-plasteel marvel that was bound to be the hottest gathering place in the following decade. Far in front, right at the entrance, the opening ceremony just finished, as Emmelyn Richter from Cytiscape Regulation and CEO James Kendrick cut the ribbon closing off the great revolving doors. People cheered as they led them, quite an unlikely procession, into the embrace of The Rider.

It all became a semi-coordinated stampede almost immediately. Even though everyone was bound to get in, all wanted to be there before the next person. Families laughed as the kids talked about the prizes they would win in the Great Vault, the arcade that included the most wiz tech available this day. Gangs of youngsters gathered, to hang out and take advantage of anything the place offered. Determined fans tried to push their way past others, in order to get the best places for the evening’s show. As they entered, the crowd waved through the plazas and the corridors of the place just as water through tunnels and crevices.

Everything was flashy, designed to attract notice, to steal away the limelight, to be the most visited place on the first day. Unbelievable introductory sales waited for those prepared to empty their virtual purses. Most represented were clothes shops, electronic stores, restaurants and simple food stalls, but you could find almost anything in the winding corridors and the deepest recesses. Excitement permeated the gathered people, you among them.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <07-10-13/1241:29>

"So you all know where you have to be," the chief of security said, "to your posts then, we open in ten minutes."

Jade and nine others of her company had been hired as additional security for the opening of the latest corporation tool to get the people's money.  For her it was just a job.  She would be on guard at the backstage, where some more visible security might deter the more fanatical of fans from going where they shouldn't be.  So while her bow was still at home, she did bring her Warhawk and her taser and she had put on her armoured jacket with her form-fitting suit beneath.  She even had managed to conceal her whip on the inside of her jacket.  She really didn't expect to need all of that as mostly the mere sight of a big troll standing in front of an entrance calmed people down.  But one could never know.

So she went to her assigned spot, nodded to guard from the SilverSpike and stood at the other side of the door.  There she was standing when the wave of people entered.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <07-10-13/1429:57>

This looked like a long, boring day ahead of you. Even though part of security detail for the SilverSpike was already here, they weren't scheduled to arrive until 18:00. It was a hassle to guard something that wasn't there, and the guard next to you, although not openly hostile, wasn't inclined to talk to you except when needed. If it was racism or he just thought you beneath his status, you couldn't be sure.

As the crowd flowed in, your thoughts were mostly confirmed. For the next few hours, noone dared to get too close to an obviously armed troll, even if she was a woman. Lunch break was too short to get a good look around, but at least you got some local corp scrip to spend on food as part of the payment. And it was enough to get something real.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <07-10-13/1449:56>

//Oi hunter, come on, you haven't got long. Get a better angle on that joint. Try the north side maybe?//
Hunter could sense the crosswind tugging at his rotors, dragging him inland. it took a fair bit of wrangling with the thrust to even keep it steady, the angular shaping of the roof of the brand spanking new build creating odd wind-shears and eddies that toyed with his small craft.
After some fiddling with the trim, Hunter upped the zoom level, dialed up the enhancement algorithms and began recording for the last section of what was to become Seattle's first fully interactive building management system, complete with holographic projection and self diagnosis modules. Much of the building had been built as art over engineering, but Evo had lapped up the drone maintenance contract, probably graciously thanking the architects for their foresight in making most of the building's structure inaccessible to human engineers.
The building was the swankiest Seattle had seen built in a long time and someone had spent some serious cash on it, marble floors shone under foot. millions of litres of AR paint had been used to create huge advertising boards, all vying for your wallet. It was all pretty impressive, but Hunter still had work to do.
The building was due to open in a few hours and the recording work had been delayed due to overrunning repairs to some joints on the titanium spars that held up a couple of sections of the roof.
Hunter didn't need his boss crunching his balls over the comms all day, but apparently Hunter had a lot more of that en-route.
//Jesus H Christ Hunter, will you keep it steady???//
It might be worth sticking around for the opening after work actually, see what the new Drone Shack has got in store while I'm up this end of town..

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <07-10-13/1546:16>

When finally done with the recordings, and turning in the results to the always-grumbling shift manager, Matthew was richer by a virtual bundle of corp scrips. On the up, the job paid well, considering other recent ones. The rest of the day might even be fun. On the down, the scrips were only valid inside The Rider. Altogether, considering the sales the grand opening was bound to have, it would still be money well spent.

Closing every angle took an hour and half, so people were already teeming inside, when Matt stepped out of a maintenance corridor door.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Gustovness on <07-10-13/1839:13>

Leroy hopped out of his fire truck and stretched.  He took a deep breath of the fresh air, held it in, and let it out.  The dwarf scratched his side and yawned. He looked around one of the new shopping center's utility entrances where he and his truck were parked.  He regretted not being able to join the stampede of people... there were bound to be deals to be had in there; especially on a new pair of boots.

At least it's Friday... Maybe I can make it tomorrow...

The obvious stampede of people trying to get their hands on those deals was the reason he was there after all.  His engine had been assigned there as a precautionary measure should there be any injuries at either the rush that followed the grand opening or the occasional fainting that accompanied every Silver Spike concert.  He was there as a paramedic more than a firefighter, so he was wearing a polo and his loose fitting dark blue baggy cargo pants.  All of his standard firefighting gear was tucked away neatly inside the truck beside his medical supplies...

... which I've taken stock of three times today already to make sure everything is there...

[spoiler]Note to GM: I haven't specified any firehouse equipment in character creation as Leroy doesn't own it.  If I'm going to use anything from the truck, please let me know the attributes and ratings of each as soon as you can![/spoiler]

He walked around, stretching his legs, never venturing too far from the engine.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <07-10-13/1903:52>

Preacaution paid for the crew of The Rider in the first hour. Two glass cuts, an ankle sprain and a nosebleed caused by extremely high blood pressure made it very interesting, indeed. Most of the cases were handled by the medical stations inside but they needed some help with the somewhat difficult patient suffering the sprain. The paramedics of the building were pretty much freeked out, the facilities were not designed for this many visitors. After two hours of making ends meet, the Chief of Staff called Leroy.

"Mr. Jenkins, i'd really appreciate if you could come inside. We are hard pressed to reach everybody in time, and Sector C has just seen an event i'd call mass hysteria in other circumstances. They just announced some spectacular sales at Zara, and people are... well, let's just say they might be in need soon, if enthusiasm doesn't drop a few notches. You can use Storage 2C for anything that's too bulky to carry around. And sorry about the car, but you will have to park somewhere near, the garage levels are almost constantly full now."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Gustovness on <07-10-13/1921:26>

Leroy replied to the chief,

Don't worry, the engine has made it's own parking spot where it won't block anyone's way.  We'll be right there.

Leroy grabbed his medkit from the truck.

"Hey Leroy," shouted one of his comrades from the truck, "I'd better not see you wasting time on the company's dime pickin' out new lingerie for yourself."

Leroy laughed and shouted back over his shoulder, "Maaaan, kiss my short black ass!"

He made his way to the designated area where the sprain victim was inside the mall.

[spoiler]Gonna need the rating now for the company/fire station medkit.[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <07-10-13/1940:04>

Joel did his best not to get trampled by the crowds as he made his way into the Rider. he and a few other Azzies were there in plain clothes, mostly just checking the place out. A couple reports would go back to Aztechnology over the contents, but there would be some distraction over the contents of the stores. They had been given a bit of a free hand here, and some were happy for it.

Good grief, there are people everywhere. Why did I agree to this again? I get most of my resources from Ms Steele anyway. I mean, I suppose no-one really says 'no' to the higher-ups, but still. Joel wasn't really one of them.

@DrStills: Be careful. People probably have already been trampled in this mess I suspect. I doubt the higher-ups would accept being turned into a doormat as a reason for a late report.

He knew Dr Stills, who had become a bit of an acquaintance, was there as well and probably scoping out a pharmacy. Joel wished he himself was back in the training room; giving himself nosebleeds was preferable to this insanity. Still, perhaps he could find a gift for his parents around here, maybe something to remind them of England.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <07-10-13/2013:34>

--Joel--
As time ticked away, people started to gather around certain parts of The Rider. This gave the illusion that those shops Joel was intent on visiting, were not crowded. Of course there were several gift shops in the building but the first hour gave nothing satisfactory enough, and definitely nothing related to his previous country.

The others quicly became bored with Joel's intention to spend most of the time in places they called boring, dispersing throughout the place. "We can cover more this way." Rick told him almost apologeticly before leaving. And the good doctor's enthusiastic answer was giving the impression he didn't care so much about the crowd. @Joel: >>What doormats? You're joking again, young man. You should see Evo's new critter shop instead. They have everything what one needs for paracritter treatment that can be acquired legally.<<

--Leroy--
You almost reached the patient with the sprain, though wading through the crowd was pretty taxing. Most people weren't looking out for danger at your height. And when you arrived, the situation just went for the worse.
"What the frag is this? I asked for a trained medic and you get me half?" The patient's - an elderly human woman's - eyes almost plead for a painkiller, while a man in his mid 30s, obviously related according to facial features, stands protectively between Leroy and her. He is short and stocky, though not as much as a dwarf, and wears pricey black synthleather clothes. He watches your every move with caution, directing his words toward the comm-drone hovering next to him.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Gustovness on <07-11-13/0004:36>

Leroy did little to hide the offense he took from the comment, cocking one eyebrow up and squinting the opposite eye.

"Maaaaaannnnn... If you LIKE, I can get you ANOTHA medic, make yo momma WAIT more, and put in my report on how yo ray-sis-ass was the reason I couldn't perform care on the patient no SOONAH."

Leroy threw his stubby arms in the air, letting his medkit fall to his side.

"So what's it gonna be, beanstalk?"

[spoiler]As you can tell by how Leroy handled the situation, I'm not expecting this to go too well :) CHR 2 + Etiquette 1 = 3 (3d6.hits(5)=1) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4126112/)

1 hit! Might not be an automatic fail after all![/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <07-11-13/0113:18>

"Oh, uh, sorry. Yeah, that'd probably be best. I'll see you guys later." He looked a bit sheepish at getting distracted as the group separated. It was unfortunate that there was nothing from England. He was wondering what to do next when the Doctor's voice cut through.

@DrStills: Wait, really? That stuff would be great back at the pens. He was a bit excited, having taken care of some paracritters himself. Some paracritter care products weren't usually easily obtainable, having it available here would make his life significantly easier. He began looking around for where the aforementioned store might be.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <07-11-13/0125:20>

"Finally, where did you stay," Jade grumbled when her replacement finally showed up so she could take some lunch.  On the other hand, the fact that is was a bit later might not be a bad thing, as now the rush would have died a bit.  At least she didn't have much trouble walking through the crowded hallways as she was still wearing an RFID tag and ARO that identified her as security.  And one of the few advantages of being a 2m something troll was that people would step aside for you.

After buying some soydogs (she would keep the rest of the money to check out one of the lingerie shops on the second level later, if there was time) she moved back towards her post, doing some window shopping while she walked.  Another advantage of being a troll, she thought, you can look over all the shorties.  She also looked around a bit, as a security officer should.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <07-11-13/0226:04>

man am I glad that's done! Time to go shopping.. I need some new threads, something more summery than.this bloody jacket
Matt pops his piloting helmet off, gives his head a good itch and stashes the helmet in his satchel bag, folding his heavy jacket over his arm and pumping his shirt to move some air over his sticky feeling body.
well this scrip aint gonna help me with the bills so might as well spend it!
Matt swipes his contractor pass through the maglock and heads out into the crowds, Drone Shack and Zara his first ports of call.
The security door slammed behind him with a heavy thud and he was greeted with a cool blast of air conditioning, marble and a blaze of AR. This place looked even better 'in the meat' than through the sensors of the company's drone fleet.
Skipping brealkfast meant Matt was bloody starving. The smell of the nearby noodle bar catching his nose and leading him in.
A large ARO hovering above the stand advertised the introductory deal, free supersize upgrade with every large noodle box purchased today.
Deal!
The queue was dying down as Matt made his mind up, and. It wasn't long before he took a seat with a veritable box of sticky chicken noodles and people watched for a while

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <07-11-13/0455:42>

--Leroy--
As you ranted on, the human took on the characteristics of an overgrown turkey. Face puffed and red, his breath came heavier by every word. The comm drone tried to get his attention back, but the voice coming from it was drowned in yours, and finally the man swatted it away with a sweep of his hand.

It could’ve gone well, some inevitable shouting match closing the whole incident. But as Leroy used the keyword – beanstalk – the man burst out. “Impertinence! How dare you, you little runt! Where have the standards of this place fallen? ‘Customer first’, sure. Now you apologize unless you want your squat little ass handed to you and then call the manager, understood?” And as if it was an afterthought he added “And call a real medic to take care of my mother!”


--Miko--
The warm and better-than-usual food made your day. You couldn’t even be bothered by some of the sneers and snide comments you overheard, commenting on your skin and well-groomed outlook. As you neared your post though, this semblance of calm shattered as you heard raised voices form nearby. Directing your attention there, almost subconsciously, you heard the last few shouted sentences. “Now you apologize unless you want your squat little ass handed to you and then call the manager, understood?... And call a real medic to take care of my mother!”

You saw that people already started to avoid the immediate vicinity of the two arguing men, a dwarf in simple clothing and a human, not too much higher than the other, in black synthleather. There woulds someone on a bench behind the human but you couldn’t see from here.


--Matt--
Zara was a piece of cake. Most people gathered now at the food stalls, and though it was still crowded, you’d have hated to be here earlier. And the DroneShack was worth looking at, even though they mostly sold basic stuff. Their offer on coolant fluids was such a bargain that you even thought of sending a rack of it Danny’s way – he’d surely be thankful.

And the Shack wasn’t the only place to look. You noticed a shop of a rare brand, Companero de Rotor, in a somewhat remote corner in Sector C. As you came near, you noticed that this was a rag-tag collection of shops: the one you were looking for stood right next to one selling pharmaceuticals for paranormal critters. As you passed the other shop, the door slid open. You realized too late that the photocell didn’t sense only you but also someone coming from the inside, and you couldn’t avoid collision. You both fell down, two boxes of merchandise scattering around you.


--Joel—
You found the Evo ParaPharma in Sector C, in a somewhat remote corner, among a rag-tag collection of other shops. A rather strange combination, a pharmacy and a drone parts shop standing next to each other. Dr. Stills was inside, browsing the wares, and firing away a series of questions to an employee, who answered them with a slightly apprehensive smile on his face.

As you arrived, and the doctor finally noticed you, his expression brightened. “Good, you’re finally here. Help me with those boxes, will you?” With no place for objection, you stood there, waiting for the employees to finish filling the boxes. You took two out of three – fortunately, they weren’t heavy at all.

Exiting the shop, you turned to the doctor. He just started to talk about where you should take the boxes, when you felt a hit, and you were sprawled on the ground, the boxes out of your hands, their contents scattered all around.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Gustovness on <07-11-13/0925:22>

Leroy smiled, looked around, knew he had been wronged first, and shouted, "SECURITY!"

When the security guard would arrive, the man would have to explain to the guard (hopefully not another human), that he wasn't allowing Leroy to do his job and why.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <07-11-13/1005:17>

Joel yelped as he was knocked back, the two boxes he was carrying opening as the landed around him. "Oh, frag." He cursed quietly as he landed. "I hope nothing in here was fragile... Sorry Doctor." He began quickly attempting to repack the boxes, muttering under his breath before looking up belatedly to see whom he had collided with, noting the appearance of the older male human briefly before returning quickly to repacking the boxes.

This is why I hate crowds. Oh well, if this stuff isn't fragile, we've got some nice supplies for the pens back at the pyramid.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <07-11-13/1132:26>

"Shit, I am so sorry. are you ok? here, let me help you with those"

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <07-11-13/1150:17>

--Joel and Matt--
Dr. Stills neatly sidestepped the whole scene and looked at both of you getting up, a bit worried. "Not so quickly, Joel, be careful with those. Hope you didn't hit yourself too bad." Fortunately most of the stuff was in plastic casings, and even the glass pastilles were wrapped in polystyrene. Nothing seemed to be damaged. The doctor then turned to Matt. "Thank you, mister, i'd be grateful for your help, it is... OH MY GOD, WHAT IS IT DOING, SOMEBODY STOP THAT DRONE!" The old man's voice alarmed both Joel and Matt, it carried so much anger and shock. He pointed at a maintenance drone closing in almost soundlessly, tools for cleaning up what it undoubtedly - and mistakenly - sensed as a mess at the ready.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <07-11-13/1204:53>

Matt spun on his heels and saw the drone heading over unnecessarily. Realising he'd be locked out of the drone maintenance system now he'd swiped out for the day, he had to get a message through to the on-duty rigger.
//Matrix Message Protocol 1.0.2b//Duty rigger, we have a clean-up drone in sector C outside campenero de rotor showing signs of inappropriate response. Please can you jump in and override its pilot before it hurts someone? Thanks -Hunter//

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <07-11-13/1242:38>

Just fracking great, Jade thought as she stomped over.
"What's going on here," she asked when she arrived at the scene.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <07-11-13/1254:04>

--Miko and Leroy--
"I'll tell you what happened... here..." The voice of the human trailed off somewhat as he turned towards Miko. He certainly didn't expect a person more than one and a half time bigger to appear. Although it didn't seem possible a few seconds ago, his face became even more puffed and red, but the momentary surprise took the wind out of his sails.
Behind the man, Miko could see that an elderly human woman, probably a relative of the former, was sitting on the bench, clutching her left leg with a pained expression, eyeing the medkit hopefully.

The arrival of the troll security guard opened up the way to the patient, and Leroy couldn't miss the pleading in her eyes.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Gustovness on <07-11-13/1649:38>

Leroy shot a grin at the racist human, then looked over at the large troll who showed up to help him,

"Would you mind sticking around to make sure that this kind lady gets the medical attention she needs?"

Leroy put enunciation into certain parts of his request of the security guard to send the subtle message that something was up and he wasn't keeping her around without a valid reason.

"Alrighty, ma'am, we're gonna go ahead and get you patched up, okay?  First, let me ask you a couple of quick questions to make sure I don't end up making any injuries worse..."


As Leroy began to touch and feel the woman's injuries, he asked her about current medical conditions and allergies to ensure he wouldn't end up giving her a painkiller that would have an adverse affect.  Once he isolated the sprain and confirmed that that's what it was, he handed the woman the appropriate pain killers and began to apply the required medical dressings to treat the sprain and prevent any further pain or damage.

[spoiler]LOG 5 + First Aid 7 + Medkit 4 - 1 Average Indoor Conditions = 15 (15d6.hits(5)=3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4126829/)

Wow, 3 hits on a 15 dice roll! No glitch, but I did have eight 2's!

Anyways, the usual threshold is 2 so I got one net hit, right?  Just asking cause I've never played a healer before :P[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <07-11-13/1751:16>

--Miko and Leroy--
Under the forbidding stare of a troll, the human proved far less brave. He restrained himself by force of will - a miracle, really - and switched to look at the troll and the dwarf frequently. At the end of the treatment, when the man's eyes were at Miko, the woman gave an uncertain smile and mouthed a silent "thanks" to Leroy. He wasn't able to work as well as he expected but this place was full of distractions.

The receiver in Miko's ear came alive just as the pair of humans left the scene, the woman leaning heavily on the man. "A good one, Miyazawa. Make sure everything's all right then get back to your post." The shift manager's voice radiated mild satisfaction, just as when you did a good job in a task where everyone expected you to do so.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <07-11-13/2042:21>

"I'm fine, thank you." Joel responded to the concerns as he carefully began repacking the supplies, jumping slightly as the Doctor's voice suddenly changed tone. He looked up to see the maintenance drone approaching, and hoped one of the others knew how to deal with it. His knowledge of drones was mostly lacking, so he attempted to speed up the packing to hopefully make the drone go away.

"Thankfully these are packaged, or this would be more inconvenient."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <07-12-13/0432:11>

--Joel and Matt--
The drone was about half a meter from where the goods were scattered when it finally let out a barely audible beep, then stopped dead in its track. A few seconds later, it started up again and turned around, leaving you behind. The face of the maintenance rigger appeared in an AR overlay for Matt. ”Hey, I owe you a beer, chummer. And if I see Stetson from maintenance, I’ll give him a good whack on the head for both of us, I told ‘em to double-check these little buggers. Third fragging hiccup since zero hour. Lucky you are still registered in comms as local workforce, we are prohibited from taking personal calls during work.”

Meanwhile, the Doctor was slowly calming down, and with two people packing, the boxes were back together in no time. The old man offered his hand to Matt. ”Thanks again for your help. My name is Dr. Jason Stills. If it is not too much trouble, could you please help us carry the third box to my car? I’m afraid I was a little inconsiderate when I let Joel pack those two high.” He had a pleasant voice when he didn’t shout at the top of his lungs.

The few people, who started to pay attention to the shout, turned away and went on with their business again.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <07-12-13/0440:49>

//Heh, yeah he's got his work cut out for him this week. Have a good one pal.//
"Matt Hunt, good to me you. Yep, no problems, lead the way"

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <07-12-13/0545:08>

--Joel and Matt--
 Dr. Stills thanked again and started towards the elevators leading down to the parking levels. He seemed to be deep in thought during the whole way, so you had the opportunity for a little chat.

 When you finally arrived to a green-and-grey, middle-sized Chrysler, and put the boxes in the trunk, he thanked both of you for the help. Sensing, that Joel might start to object being left behind, he held up his hands. ”No-no-no, I can manage from here. The guys at the department will be able to help pacing out. And you don’t have a pack so that means you didn’t get what you came for so you better go back. Have fun, Joel. And thanks again, Mr. Hunt.” The last words already came through the open window of the car, and without further hesitation, waving once, he ordered the autopilot to go.

That left Joel and Matt standing beside the empty parking space.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <07-12-13/0605:24>

Seems like a decent chap. You heading back upstairs?

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <07-12-13/0609:47>

Joel resisted the urge to feel betrayed at the doctor's alleged abandonment. "May as well, haven't really had a proper chance to look for stuff." he turns to you, holding out a hand hesitantly to shake. "I should introduce myself now I have a chance to do so. Joel Smithson, thank you for your help earlier."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <07-12-13/0657:06>

Hey, I'm Matt, good to meet you. It's no problem at all. The Dr seemed pretty twitchy about that stuff hitting the deck, figured it was either expensive or fragile!Yeah that drone system has a few kinks that need straightening out. They'll be fine in a few days. You after anything special today?
Matt follows Joel back to the stairs and heads to the main shopping level

//Danny boy, coolant is on offer at the rider today, you want me to grab a couple of litres for you?//

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <07-12-13/2107:03>

"Not really. Took a look earlier for stuff from Wales, but nothing is here so I'm just browsing currently.  You?"

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Gustovness on <07-12-13/2328:47>

"Thanks, babycakes! That asshole is still livin' in the 20th century it seems."

Leroy looked around and wondered if he had time to check out some of the stores on his way back to the truck.  He really didn't want to go back.  He was bored as all hell.

Quick Message: Chief of Staff >>: Any other issues you need our assistance with, sir?

"This place is crazy... look at all these people..." he said, half to Miko without making eye contact.  He suddenly realized the irony of his statement. "Well, I mean I know you're lookin' at 'em, that's your job, but I mean like the bigger picture.  It's not just crowded... it's A LOT of people in a BIG space!"

NEW MESSAGE >> FROM: CARL_WORK: Yo, Leroy, what's the hold up? Are you preformin' open heart surgery in there or something? Get your ass back out here when you're done.  I swear to God if I find you in that damn lingerie store...

Leroy put his hand on his head, careful to not mess up his corn rolls, tilted his head back and let out a sigh.

QUICK REPLY>> TO: CARL_WORK: This'd go a lot faster if you'd remind me what your wife's size was.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <07-13-13/0432:45>

"It's a mall, what do you expect," Miko  said as she looked down on the dwarf (not that were was any other way), "well, I have to get back to my post.  names Miko by the way."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <07-13-13/0437:14>

Just having a mooch about after work to be honest. I wanna head back up and have a look at some autosofts and drone sensors while I'm here though, while everything is on offer I'd be daft not to. You from the UK then?

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <07-13-13/0652:35>

--Leroy--
Quick reply >>From: Chief of Staff: Currently none, but we could use another set of eyes and ears inside. I'll arrange that with your colleagues, so please stay in Sector C.<<
And then, just as Leroy looked around, and got the message from Carl, he noticed a big AR sign showing the way to the Victoria Secret shop, just in the sector.

--Matt--
>>From: Danny boy: Thanks, man, send a 10-liter-can or two my way. I may have just the software upgrade you could use in return, we discuss this when we next meet.<<

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <07-13-13/0718:14>

//Great stuff. Will do, are you around this weekend? I'll swing by and drop them off//

Matt opens a terminal on the Drone Shack's node and places an order for 3 10litre Containers for pickup in-store, whilst continuing to shoot the breeze with Joel as they traverse the stairs back up to the main shopping level.
Matt wanted to check out the de rotor store as well, maybe he could find some new sensors for his car, or some decent autosofts for his drones.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <07-13-13/0732:45>

"Yeah, came over here a bit before the last Pendragon appearance. We wanted to get away from the madness." The influence of his mentor spirit had been present even back then, persuading Joel to be loyal to his family. "We could go back, but we're more or less set up here, and I'm employed now so I couldn't  really  go back." He shrugged as they continued walking, stopping  briefly by the drone shack before continuing to wherever Matt wanted to go.

I suppose I could look for magical goods, but Steele tends to have what little I need anyway. Still, I suppose I could take a look at the magic departments later just to browse their stock. He was enjoying chatting with Matt. The young mage didn't get to socialise much, so it was always a pleasure to do so; at least it was a pleasure when it wasn't for business.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <07-14-13/0643:14>

Yeah I remember reading about that on the news. Some crazy stuff happened over in Europe. How old were you when that was all kicking off?
Matt transfers the funds over for the coolant and requests a drone transfer it to the holding bay in the contractors car park reading for loading. He didn't fancy lugging 30litres of fluid through the mall and across 350metres of access road to the car park on a hot day like this.
Matt wanted to swing by De Roto before heading home for the day but fancied a swift pint too.
Fancy a cheeky beer on the way back?

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <07-14-13/0647:01>

Act I

Darkness Rising

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <07-14-13/0648:20>

--Leroy--
Leroy was lying face down, on a hard surface. His back hurt something savage, but he couldn't tell why. His last memory was some angry chat with a troll about some crazy human asshole, who didn't want to let him take care of his injured mother. As he opened his eyes, he noticed that the lights have changed: he would immediately identify emergency lighting in any kind of situation. As he turned his head to see what's up, he found himself staring directly into the eyes of a woman lying next to him - unmoving, hazy, dead eyes. He couldn't keep the scream inside.
[spoiler=Leroy's state]Take 2 Physical and 4 Stun damage. You are currently in somewhat of a shock.[/spoiler]

--Miko--
Miko remembered some kind of a stampede. Not the kind which was happening when they opened the building for the public. The kind where everybody runs for their lives, and to the hell with anybody who gets in their way. She was curdled up next to a wall, feeling some insignificant bruises about her body. She also remembered the screams... or did she hear this right now? She opened her eyes to look, and froze for a moment, not wanting to believe what they showed her. In the immediate vicinity, there were bodies sprawled in every position: on the ground, across a railing, on top of other bodies... What the hell happened here?
[spoiler=Miko's state]Take 3 Stun damage.[/spoiler]

--Joel--
Joel remembered a dream. A mixture of some predators and lots of prey were milling around, in a confined place, still not separating or fighting. Their actions were seemingly without sense or purpose, still, they gave a sense of some order on the whole. Suddenly, a wolf howled somewhere in their middle, and all became quiet, motionless. The howling repeated, and Joel realized that it was rather a scream, from somewhere near. He found himself lying across a bench, knee hurting where he probably hit it... but when, why? Opening his eyes, he saw that he wasn't the only one not on their feet. His hand almost touched another body, one lying face down in one of the fountain pools. It rocked on the water, to the rythm of the song the fountain was still playing and this was more than Joel could bear: he threw his stomach's content among the waves.
[spoiler=Joel's state]Take 2 Phyisical and 4 Stun damage[/spoiler]

--Matt--
Matt couldn't remember where he was and why. I was spacious but lit unwell. He was lying on his back, and the back of his head hurt. Reaching there, he felt clotted blood. Doing so, however, entailed raising his head, which left him speechless for a moment. There were bodies lying everywhere, motionless. No, one of them, leaning against a bench, was stirring. He seemed somewhat familiar but Matt couldn't remember from where - and while his mind went on this line on its own, probably just to close off other lines of thought, he saw the man vomiting into the fountain next to him.
[spoiler=Matt's state]Take 2 Physical and 4 Stun damage. You also can't remember what happened to you earlier this day.[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <07-14-13/0700:09>

Slowly, to avoid agravating the bruises, Miko got up and looked around.
"Miazawa to security center," she said, "emergency in... well, everywhere I guess.  Anybody there?"
She couldn't quite remember where she was in the big mall, but when she saw this, she figured there would be a general emergency.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <07-14-13/0713:10>

--Miko--
The answer on the comm didn't help Miko to calm down. "This is an automated reply played on all security channels. General emergency protocols active. To all general personnel: report to your appointed evacuation points. To all security personnel: take your posts according to emergency protocol C/2 and guide visitors to emergency exits in an orderly manner. You will be contacted by the Chief of Security with further orders. Repeat. This is an automated..."
While she listened to the answer, she heard the scream again. Looking around, she also remembered that this must be Sector C.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <07-14-13/0725:57>

As the haze and the fog began to clear, Matt's senses began to return. Looking at his hand showing blood, Matt realised something bad, really bad must have happened.
Turning over onto his front, he pushed himself up onto his knees for a better view of his surroundings.
The scale of the carnage was only just becoming clear;
Windows smashed everywhere, small fires breaking out, dead and wounded groaning for help and bleeding out onto the polished marble concourse. Whatever had happened, Matt was embroiled in a major gang-fuck of a day out.
Matt began to pat himself down, checking for his gear and any other injuries he'd not yet found.
Matt puts on his armoured jacket, pull his helmet out of the satchel bag and dons it, and pulls his taser out, making it ready "just in case". Thankfully his fly-spy was still in it's miniature container on his tool belt.
He initiates a DNI through the trode net to his commlink and contact lens image link, activating the AR feed and checking for matrix signal.
//Duty rigger, This is Matthew Hunt. Contractor number 322 Reporting major incident at my location. I'm available to assist as necessary//

Matt looks to his right at the familiar person, trying desperately to place his face.
Hey, you ok? you hurt?

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <07-14-13/0745:09>

--Matt--
Doing something helped putting himself back together. Matt realized, that he must've mistaken the sounds of fountains and machinery for the groaning of the wounded, as there was no such thing. Everyone except him, the person being sick next to the fountain, and the one that was screaming somewhere near earlier, was lying motionless where they fell. Even if they were alive, none showed any signs of it. While checking for injuries, he felt his right shoulder being a bit tender but he found nothing serious.

The message playing as an answer from the duty rigger was making things worse. "This is an automated reply played on all security channels. General emergency protocols active. To all general personnel: report to your appointed evacuation points. To all security personnel: take your posts according to emergency protocol C/2 and guide visitors to emergency exits in an orderly manner. You will be contacted by the Chief of Security with further orders. Repeat. This is an automated..."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <07-14-13/0745:53>

Joel heaved as he emptied his stomach of just about everything he had eaten that day into the fountain, his mind mostly blanked out beyond the sick feeling of all the bodies in the area. He gsve one last heave as he spat out some bile, finally feeling his stomach settling, panting  heavily as his mind helpfully replayed the events where he had been following that other guy around, talking about his homeland, when everything  was blank. The only thing after that was the dream, then waking up to this.

What... What the frag happened...? His heart was hammering as he controlled the urge to give in to panicked hysteria. He looked away from the body in the fountain, not wanting to throw up even more bile.

A voice spoke and he letting out a surprised yelp, his head turning to look at Matt suddenly. Recognition set in and he relaxed in a slump against the fountain, managing to get some words in between his panting. "...You're Matt... right? I'm... Fine. What... Happened?"

Should look at the Astral perhaps... His eyes unfocused slightly as he peeked into the Astral plane, just taking a glance of the general surroundings. He didn't expect much, but any bit of information was better than nothing. He could take a more detailed look when he felt better.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <07-14-13/0800:49>

Shit, I don't know. Security is broadcasting a general emergency automated message. Everyone is to evacuate.
Groaning under the stress of the effort, Matt pulled himself to his feet and dusted himself down. He walks over to the familiar man, trying his beast to avoid the dead stares of the corpses scattered about.
My head is all over the place mate, I know your face but I can't place your name. Can you walk? We need to get the hell out of here.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <07-14-13/0851:09>

"Fracking great," Miko said to herself.  She called up emergency protocol C/2, while reading she also called 911.
"Emergency of unknown kind in the WaveRider," she said when she got connection, "multiple wounded and I also see some small fires.  please send assistance immediately."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <07-14-13/0959:18>

--Miko--
Her reactions got the better of Miko. She was already in the middle of the sentence, when she realized that the click didn't mean a connection. Another automated reply played, this time by her own commlink. "There's no service currently available in tis area."

--Joel--
Joel could tell that it wasn't his best idea, taking a look at the astral while he was this shaken. The horrors he has seen on the physical seemed to strengthen his resolve though, so shutting his astral senses was not the first reaction. This side looked almost worse than the other. An emotion felt by thousands tended to leave their mark, and now he knew exactly how people felt a short while ago. Fear seeped into him, and though he could master himself, taking a step back to separate himself from the other's feelings, he was sure that whatever happened would leave its mark for a long time. He could already see the scavengers of the astral world, never-formed creatures that lived off scraps of emotion and disappearing life force, gathering around and feeding thoughtlessly. It would be wise to rein in the power he tried to harness while in the building.
[spoiler=astral]Astral visibility is at -2.[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <07-14-13/1035:19>

What little colour that had returned to Joel's face after he finished throwing up fled again as he peered into the Astral. The sudden onslaught of emotions informing him of his colossally poor idea. Nevertheless, it was good to be reminded now that using astral power would be dangerous in his current location. Joel stood unsteadily, still a bit weak from emptying out his stomach and the shock of emotion from astral space. His breathing had returned to normal while he sated his curiosity. Needing to focus on meatspace, he pulled himself away from his peering into the Astral, his eyes focusing on Matt's face.

"I can walk, I think... " The young male responded to Matt's concern. "You know me as Joel. But as you said, we need to get out of here." A pause. "Should we check for other survivors? I think I heard a scream before I started throwing up." He adjusted his trodes, then re-engaged the DNI with the commlink, attempting to place a call to Dr Stills. The commlink's report of a lack of service in the area was not reassuring as the AR image link in his glasses came online.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <07-14-13/1101:06>

--Matt--
Checking matrix signals gave mixed results. It seemed that the service within the building was working and good (and this gave him the bonus of finally knowing, if not remembering, the name of the place where he was). On the other hand, no outside connection could be found.

--all--
The AR feed confirmed that an emergency situation was going on (if it wasn't obvious before) and it showed the way to the nearest emergency exit and asked for cooperation with security staff.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <07-14-13/1314:46>

The Matrix connection was re-assuring, at least it gave Matt a life-line. Matt pulled up an AR message terminal:
//<<911>> Reporting major emergency at Wave Rider complex. Please send Police, Ambulance and Fire services ASAP. many killed and wounded//
"Yeah, we should do. We spot anyone armed and I'm out of here though, I'm no soldier. You got a weapon on you? You seen any med stations? I'm just gonna have a scout about with my drone, bear with me."
Matt pops the cover on the Fly-Spy's belt clip and pulls out the mini-drone, holding it in his palm while he establishes a link.
Connecting to its node and subscribing to it, its miniature motors fired up and it took to the air, establishing a trideo feed in Matt's helmet Image Link and an audio link to Matt's earbuds.

Matt mentally expanded it's trideo feed to dominate his AR overlay, summoning his command program to manipulate the drones actions.
He grabbed the virtual sticks and drove the drone down the concourse back towards the main hall, gaining what altitude the ceiling allowed and looking for survivors.
Matt was twitchy. Not knowing whether this was an accident or some sick terrorist plot meant he was keeping a keen eye on the motion sensor for any signs of life, friendly or otherwise.
[spoiler]
Piloting test if needed (not doing anything fancy): pilot air 3, command 6, AR 1. -1 wound (9d6.hits(5)=1) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4130530/)
perception test through drone's sensors. (camera, mic and motion sensor)camera R4, vision enhance 3, percept 2(4 visual) (11d6.hits(5)=4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4130309/)
EDIT: forgot my cyber: extra for coproccessor 2, -1 for wound (1d6.hits(5)=0) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4130541/)[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <07-14-13/1539:10>

Well, seeing the cargage around her, Miko decided that following orders might not be a bad thing.  But first she fished in her pocket and took an ibuprofen she always had with her.  While it wouldn't repair any of the bruises, it would at least make the pain go away.  She remembered that the dwarf that should be close had been a medic, maybe he had something that would help more.  And if he hadn't survived, she could at least take his medkit and help others, if there were any.  She looked around to see if he had survived.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Gustovness on <07-14-13/1935:01>

As soon as Leroy realized he was an all fours looking down at the ground, he jumped up on his two feet, powered mostly by fear and ignoring the pain in his body.  He immediately regretted this decision as a great wave of pain crashed into him and he felt nausea overtaking him.  Squinting his eyes, he looked around at the destruction and death around him and despite not having clear picture of his own condition or of anything that was going around within arms reach, he knew that something had gone terribly wrong.

...am I hurt?

Leroy, after establishing his own condition as "fucked up" but mostly okay, pushed the fear and confusion out of his head and replaced it with his training.  He didn't know what happened nor did he care.  Right now, there were people hurt and they needed him.

Ok, ok, ok... step one... find the people who are most in need of stabilization and treat them first before any other superficially injured.

Leroy took in his surroundings, surveying for any injured and their condition so as to know who was in most need of medical attention.

[spoiler]Perception 0 + INT 2 + Actively Looking 3 - Defaulting 1 = 4 (lol I can't believe I forgot to put a point in perception!) (4d6.hits(5)=2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4130820/)

no glitches[/spoiler]

Leroy half checked his commlink for any orders or messages that may have come in.

If there are orders they'll make themselves apparent soon enough.

He grabbed his medkit.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <07-14-13/2025:11>

"Technically armed, but it'll be risky to use my weapons here. Let's hope we don't find someone armed." He looked around briefly, before straining his ears to try and listen for any sounds of people moving, the spatial recogniser in his headphones helping pinpoint the directions of sounds. At the same time he made use of the magnification function on his glasses to try and see any movement. "Haven't seen any medical stations around either. Hopefully security has medics with them, wherever they may be." He winced slightly as his wounds reminded him of their presence, but they were minor for the most part. "You have a weapon I assume?

[spoiler]Hearing: Perception (4) + Intuition (5) + Audio Enhancement [Headphones] (3) + Hearing specialisation (2) - Wounds (1) (13d6.hits(5)=6) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4130831/). No glitch. Spacial recogniser available.
Seeing: Perception (4) + Intuition (5) + Vision Enhancement [Glasses] (3) - Wounds (1) (11d6.hits(5)=6) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4130835/). No glitch. Vision magnification available.[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <07-15-13/0115:54>

I've got a taser with me, not allowed firearms on-site unfortunately. What've you got that's so risky to use?

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <07-15-13/0218:09>

"Magic." Joel commented blandly, not looking at Matt as he continued to strain his senses. "And all this death has brought scavengers from the Astral plane so I'll need to be careful if I need to use it."

Once I fix myself up a bit I'll probably have to take a proper look at the Astral here... Why haven't we seen any emergency services here yet? Surely some of these people had DocWagon contracts... He paused, considering the dream he saw before. A message from Wolf? Predators and prey... If the howl represents what happened here... Then I wonder if this was an attack that caught some of the instigators as well? Maybe one of the Magicians back at the pyramid knows divination.

"... For what it's worth, I don't think this was a simple accident. Be careful."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <07-15-13/0224:47>

Oh. Right... Never met a mage before.
Have you seen any police yet? I haven't, you'd think there would be an automatic link with the services when the alarm trips. Ive tried to send a 911 broadcast but the trix connection outside here seems to be spotty at best. If we can find an optical line, I'll try again. I think you're right. Its too much of a coincidence for this to go boom on its opening day.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <07-15-13/0549:27>

--Matt--
Looking around with the fly-spy gave results. As Matt maneuvered the little drone, still wobbly, along the corridor to the main area, he noticed two people there: a slightly panicky-looking dwarven man standing in the middle of a sea of bodies, and a troll in security uniform closing in on him, carefully avoiding stepping on those lying on the floor.


--Miko--
Miko had to be careful where she stepped. Sometimes the bodies were so close-packed she had to take a longer route, otherwise she would have had to step on somebody. And because she was so intent on checking what’s in front of her, she noticed the dwarf standing there only when she was about 15 meters away. He seemed to be well, considering the circumstances, although he hyperventilated and his look was slightly unfocused. But the medkit was firmly in his grasp.


--Leroy--
Looking around, the severity of the situation slowly started to sink in. There was no moaning. There were no screams. The bodies lay motionless on the ground, without the least of stirring. Everything shouted at him they must be all dead.

As he started to fiddle with his ‘link, mainly to prevent the full impact of the situation to hit him, he first didn’t notice the footsteps. Then he gave a small jump as he realized, that someone was getting closer. Looking up, he saw the troll security guard he met earlier, about 15 meters from himself, standing up among the bodies on the ground.


--Joel--
Joel heard some signs of movement, from the direction of where Matt sent his drone. It seemed more than one person was moving around, just over the bend of the corridor, about 70 meters from where they stood.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <07-15-13/0603:03>

Joel, I've got two contacts on sensors: security and a medic. Jeeesus, this gets even worse in the main hall! Its fucking carnage in there. What do you want to do? Help or bail?

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <07-15-13/0614:13>

"I hear them, let's help out. Safety in numbers and all that."  Joel responded. "Can't hear anyone else. It's creepy." His nerves had steadied somewhat, but he still sounded nervous. "What's their status?"

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <07-15-13/0620:41>

Active and mobile as far as I can tell. Ok, let's move
//drone command: patrol your area. Report all new contacts to me//

Matt re-readies his taser, minimises the trideo feed to standard size, takes a deep breath and readies himself to move toward the main hall

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <07-15-13/1039:46>

Joel steeled himself, hesitated briefly, then began moving towards the main hall, making sure that Matt was keeping pace with him. "You said that you're not a soldier, but have you had much combat training or experience nonetheless?" Joel himself only really had training, and combat magic was risky at the moment anyway. Plus he preferred to summon a spirit to assist. Hopefully Matt would be able to cover for that, or the member of security up ahead.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <07-15-13/1213:03>

Matt keeps pace with Joel, switching the laser sight on his taser and keeping an eye out for trouble as they close the 70 metres to the main hall.
Joel keeps intermittently checking the drone's Trideo feed in his Image Link for signs of any new contacts as it patrols the main hall.
[spoiler]Perception test as walk down corridorint 3, percep 2(4), audio enhance 3, active search 3, co-processor 2, -1 wound (14d6.hits(5)=6) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4131600/)[/spoiler]
 
I did the mandatory gun safety courses when I got my gun ownership license, and I've been down to the range plenty. I can hit a static target at long range with my pistol but I've never used one in anger.
How about you? The trids show mages decimating columns of tanks with a glance and defeating battalions of troops with a click of their fingers. You been involved in any of that stuff?

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <07-15-13/1330:33>

[spoiler]Perception test as we walk down corridor: Perception (4) + Intuition (5) + Audio Enhancement [Headphones] (3) + Hearing Specialisation (2) + Perceptive Quality (1) + Active Search (3) - Wounds (1) (17d6.hits(5)=7) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4131762/). No glitch. 5 successes if Active Search is incorrect. Or if counting as distracted. Or both.[/spoiler]

Joel laughed softly, feeling some of the tenseness ease, slightly amused at the thought of being that powerful. "Hardly. That might happen one day, but I'm not nearly that powerful yet. I more conjure a spirit to fight, and then either cower in the corner or take potshots with spells." He kept listening carefully for any new sounds beyond the movement he heard earlier, causing him to sound somewhat absent in his replies. "Most of my combat magic, what little there is, was taught when I was discovered as Awakened."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <07-15-13/1409:13>

Taking care to keep his voice down and his vigilance up, Matt replies:
"So the trids arent too far off then? People can actually do that stuff?
What does a spirit actually look like? sorry for all the questions, but I'm really intrigued!

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <07-15-13/1521:04>

"You okay," Miko asked the dwarf as she came closer, "I think we better get out of this place as quickly as possible."
She activated her echolocation system, using it as as an ultrasonograph.  The same thing that could detect the beating heart of a baby inside the mother's womb could also be used to detect if anybody was still alive.  It would go much quicker than checking out everybody.  And if even dolphins could do it, so could she.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Gustovness on <07-15-13/2123:28>

Leroy spun around and cocked the medkit up to whack whoever it was that startled him.  He didn't know why he felt that he needed to defend himself when mostly everyone around him was dead, but he was running on instincts.  He recognized Miko... not for the brief meeting they had had earlier, not right away, but he saw her and his brain's IFF registered her as "friendly".

He lowered his medkit and let out a sigh.

"No, we need... we need to... these people... they... they need help.  I need..they..."

As Leroy's braIn began to piece together what had actually happened, the emotion from the tragedy was compounded by the fact that he was helpless to help anyone.  The realization made his head spin and he felt himself being overcome by nausea.  He spun around giving his back to Miko and pointed at something in space, though nothing in particular.

"Umm, I need uh... I need some stretchers aaaannnndddd..."

His attempts of hiding how shaken he was were thinly veiled.

He looked around again.  Carnage.  Destruction.  Death.

He turned back to Miko.  He looked at her.  He felt guilty.

Guilt overcame him.  It wasn't logical.  It wasn't his fault.

He pointed at Miko, "Get people to start.  Line them. Line them up here..."

He wasn't making any sense.  He wasn't saying anything coherent.  He wanted to organize something, that much was apparent.

He turned and looked back around him.  He rushed to a body that was crushed under a piece of debris.  He didn't notice that the bottom half of the body wasn't attached to it.  Leroy tried to summon all of his considerable dwarf strength to remove the debris, to help the stranger, to do something.

"Let's see... I need uh.... What can I use.... I need..."  His brain wanted to find something to use to help him remove the enormous concrete block that had crushed the faceless corpse but it was like a tire with no treads spinning fruitlessly on ice.

He bent down again and tried to move it again.  He let go, took a breath, and gave it another go.

Not a budge.

Now he wasn't feeling guilty anymore... now his guilt had turned into... no... it had evolved into anger.

"uuurrrgggGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!"

No budge.

"Ok, I need... I need... uh.. need to..."

Another attempt.

Nothing.

Again, another forceful lift.

"AAAAARRRRGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!"

He was rewarded with a slam of pain to his head for his exertion.  He let go of the debris, slammed on it with both fists, closed his eyes, looked up and screamed as loud as he could,

"I NEED SOME FUCKING BACK UP!!!!"

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <07-16-13/0144:47>

Ooh boy, Miko thought, this was going to be muchos fun.  The dwarf had clearly snapped.  Understandable, but not what she needed right now.  A bath, maybe a massage, that was what she needed right now.  Instead she got a freaked out dwarf, just her luck.
"Let's go outside," she said to the dwarf as she tried to lead him away to the nearest exit, "there's nothing you can do here and they will probably need you there."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <07-16-13/0222:40>

"Yes, though it's not all that easy and can give them nosebleeds. As for spirits... How they look depends on the mage and the spirit itself. My favored spirit tends to have the appearance a wolf, but others may have different things. Not always living beings either." Joel flinched at the sudden echoing yell. He began walking more quickly to the location. "That doesn't sound good. We should hurry to provide aid, or a concussion. Whichever is more suitable." He looked over at the other male. "Did your drone see who was doing the yelling?"

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <07-16-13/0230:38>

--Joel and Matt--
As you got nearer to the bend, you heard another scream, unintelligible again, then shortly after that, a male voice roared ”I NEED SOME FUCKING BACKUP!” As you turned around the corner, alerted, stretching your senses to their limits, you noticed a pair that would have been almost comical in other circumstances. A relatively short troll in a security uniform was trying to comfort a dwarf, who wanted to lift part of a marble pane from one of the bodies. The troll was apparently much calmer, but her voice also carried the shock of what you just experienced.


--Miko and Leroy--
As Miko tried to soothe Leroy, who was having something of a panic attack, they both had their attentions snatched away from what they were doing. Two shaken people emerged from one of the corridors, their stumbling about the bodies was quite easy to notice. And there was finally something to do, people alive, who might be in need, and this snapped Leroy back into focus, although a very narrow one. The two were both human males, one of them holding a taser in his hands at the ready.


--all--
As you looked and walked around, several facts started to sink in. It seemed that some automated systems were still working. The starting fires were being put out by hover drones. The shops were in security lockdown, but there were bodies inside as well. And most peculiar, even as people lay motionless, most could have been just sleeping. There was far less blood than you’d have expected, just the occasional case like the debris falling on the person Leroy was frantically trying to help, or someone cut his body on something sharp as he fell. There was something sinister going on, and a very bad premonition was welling up inside all of you.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <07-16-13/0251:28>

Matt looked at Joel and then back to the two survivors and waved before giving them the thumbs up to show that Matt and Joel were OK, not wanting to shout loudly in this open space for fear of drawing unwanted attention.
He made it very obvious that he was re-holstering his taser inside his jacket so as to re-assure them they meant no trouble.
Matt checked his AR feed for news from his drone and followed Joel down towards the other two survivors.

As they made their way down the stairs, Matt took the opportunity to look around the main hall, trying desperately to figure out what had happened to the building.[spoiler]int 3, percep 2(4), co processor 2, active 3 (12d6.hits(5)=6) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4132486/) looking for signs of damage to the structure, explosions/breaches etc etc
Knowledge test if helpful:
log 3, knowledge 3(5) civil eng (8d6.hits(5)=2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4132487/)
[/spoiler]

[spoiler]Drone's independent perception test: (looking for methauman contacts-on patrol around perimeter of main hall)
Audio:mic 4, audio enhance 3, clearsight 3, spatial recogniser 2 (10d6.hits(5)=5) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4132483/)
Visual:camera 4, active search 3, vision enhance 3, clearsight 3 (13d6.hits(5)=6) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4132489/)
Also equipped with motion sensor (no rules for testing)[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Gustovness on <07-16-13/1017:40>

"nah..." started Leroy, "I ain't goin nowhere.  Whoever can make it outside don't need me.  I need to be right here to stabilize... anyone..."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <07-16-13/1119:31>

Joel held his hands up to show he wasn't armed. He focused entirely on  the two metahumans ahead of him, approaching them slowly. He didn't want to alarm the dwarf, who seemed to be in a state of shock. He spoke to the troll, tone nervous but polite. "It's a relief to find others around. My name is Joel, might you have any idea what has happened?" The lack of actual blood or obvious injuries was putting him on edge. It's like the life  had been sucked out of their bodies.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <07-16-13/1228:02>

"Miko," she said, "I have no clue as to what happened.  One moment I'm standing guard at a medical station, the next moment there is no more medical section.  Except for shorty here."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <07-16-13/1246:55>

And I'm Matt. Are you guys hurt? Have you seen anyone else alive?

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <07-16-13/1322:34>

--Miko and Matt--
Both the drone and echolocation found movement, althoug it became clear soon enough that it was only an idling maintenance drone in the mouth of one corridor. And the place itself didn’t help echolocation. Fountains provided a constant noise level that reduced the usefulness of wide-range searches almost to zero. Narrower, focused searches could have provided more informatin, but those would have also taken time and some amount of concentration. After a short while however, both of you became sure that there was not a living soul besides you four in the immediate area.

--all--
The emergency lights constantly played a trick with your vision. Flickering shadows created an illusion of movement but your hopes of finding another survivor were waning slowly, as each such case proved to be a false alarm. And even though it must have been a full-scale, top-level alarm, the fountains didn't stop playing their happy tunes, displaying ads, messages and sales in AR. There were no announcements, just the AR signs for the nearest emergency exit.
[spoiler=test please]Everyone please make an INT + MAG test. If you are not awakened, treat MAG as zero.[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Gustovness on <07-16-13/1400:18>

Leroy did not accept that the only people alive just so happened to be the only ones standing up.  He began, in a more controlled and thoughtful manner, moving from body to body checking for vitals.  He remained within earshot of the other three survivors.  He refused to throw his arms up in defeat just yet.

[spoiler]INT 4 + MAG 0 = 4 (4d6.hits(5)=2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4133060/)[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <07-16-13/1408:44>

Satisfied that they were not in immediate threat, Matt recalled the drone and stowed it back in its holster on his utility belt.
Sensing the frustration of the Medic and the lifelessness of the surrounding corpses, Matt realised the futility of staying where they were.
"Guys, a lot of shit has happened here and for whatever reason, I dont think the automatic distress call has been put out. We need to get in touch with the emergency services ASAP, get a full response organised. I can't pick up anything alive with my drone, only things that are moving are us and a few emergency drones. I'm not sure there is much we can do here to help.
I think we should all head for the emergency exits and raise the alarm. Anyone agree?

[spoiler]Int 3 + mag 0 test (3d6.hits(5)=2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4133073/)[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <07-16-13/2023:07>

Joel was looking around nervously, the flickering of shadows kept him feeling on edge. He admonished himself for jumping at shadows, but was unable to help himself. "I concur. We don't have enough information to figure out what happened and I'd rather not be around to be shown what the cause was firsthand."

[spoiler]Intuition (5) + Magic (5) - Wounds(1) (9d6.hits(5)=3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4135581/) No glitch.[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <07-17-13/0120:25>

"I was just saying that to mister here," Jade said, "but he's unwilling to leave.  As to what happened, no clue whatsoever."

[spoiler]
LOG 2 + MAG 0 =2 (2d6.hits(5)=0) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4135974/)
critical glitch, but so be it.
extra 2 dice (2d6.hits(5)=2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4136259/)
no glitch anymore.  :)
[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <07-17-13/0423:44>

Matt nodded at Miko and took a good look at the frantic medic.
It was obvious he wasn't coping well and a look of helplessness pervaded his actions, despite his determination these people needed an undertaker more than a medic.
Matt decided to pipe up, hopefully a useful task would focus the Medic's mind and let him see sense.
"Excuse me, Medic, Please can you dress our wounds? We're a bit worse for wear"

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Gustovness on <07-17-13/0957:59>

Leroy looked up at the man asking for medical attention.  His eyes we bulging out of his head and it wasn't sure if his expression was conveying aggression as much as disbelief.

"YEAH, DAWG, ONE SECOND..."

Leroy walked over to one of the corpses and leaned over its face.

" 'scuse me, sir?  Imma get... Sir?"  Leroy picked up the corpse's arm by the wrist and started wiggling it.  "Siiirrrrr... I'm gonna take care of yo ass right away, but first I got somebody who's suffering from a life threatening splinter, and someone else who's got a boo-boo and needs a band-aid."

Leroy dropped the arm, turned towards the group, then immediately turned back to the corpse, "SIR, I SAID PLEASE BE PATIENT..."

Leroy shot a dirty look over to Matt and continued to check the corpses.

"It'll only take one you to hail emergency services.  In the meantime, I AM emergency services, so I'll stay here and offer help to anyone who may need it."

He looked over at Miko.

Unless you're leaving, why not help me check all of these bodies to make sure someone isn't still alive?"

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <07-17-13/1024:29>

Great stuff. Medic is a messiah, a sarcastic little fucker too. Screw him then.
"Point well made. You tend to your corpses"
"Right, I'm gonna go see if I can get outside and raise the alarm then. Anyone coming?" Matt spoke at first to the medic, and then to the group.
Matt re-deploys his drone and re-readies his taser, switching on the laser sight for good measure.
Unless anyone else has a better idea?
[spoiler]He Issued it the following commands:
Follow Me
Prefer low light vision mode
Alert me to all new contacts
Perception test for the drone as it follows me: cam 4, vision enhance 3, clearsight 3, active search 3 (13d6.hits(5)=6) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4136180/)
6 hits, no glitch[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <07-17-13/1138:12>

The futility of what the dwarf started was apparent to everybody. And deep down, even Leroy knew that it was easier to find a needle in a haystack. Just here, in this junction of corridors, there were about a hundred people, or two. There were more juctions of this kind, more levels of the building. There must have been thousands lying around, thousands to check. But everyone could hear the repressed hysteria in Leroy's voice, and could understand the need to do. Something. Anything.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <07-17-13/1205:00>

"I already did," Miko said to Leroy, starting to get a bit fed up with him.  She was willing to help him up to a point, and she had now reached said point.
"I have an echolocation system.  All are dead.  Sorry.  Let's get out."
A bath, that would be a very good thing right now.  And maybe a massage.  She would have to check if she could find back that address she had gone to last time.  Trevor, she thought was the guy's name.  It had been heaven.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <07-17-13/1302:22>

--Matt--
An unnerving feeling started to form in you. It was like an itch, only you didn't know where you had to scratch. It was like being dirty. It wasn't strong but it very slowly got stronger.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <07-17-13/1508:12>

The weird feeling caught Matt off guard, making him feel uneasy and overly aware of his skin.
Joel, are you coming?
He motioned to Miko with his taser and set off towards the ARO for the emergency exits, heading for the nearest one, the fly-spy hovering above his right shoulder

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <07-17-13/1552:35>

"Let's see if there's people to help over there," Miko said to Leroy while indicating the way the two others were going, "here you can't help anybody."
She had at least have to try one last time to get him to leave.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Gustovness on <07-17-13/2306:40>

What if I'M fucked up?

Leroy took a second.  He looked around.  He looked at himself.  He grabbed his own head with one hand.

Maybe it's me who isn't thinkin' right...  I WAS just in some kind of explosion...

He looked around at the scattered bodies.

What if I find someone? Someone alive?  And I kill them accidentally cause my head ain't on straight and I mess up the fixin'?

He looked at the concerned look everyone was giving him...  It was legitimate concern...

"Aiight, maybe I should get looked at before I start tryin' to take care of anybody..."

He held his hand up to his head and applied pressure to it while walking over to the rest of the survivors.

Defeated, he uttered, "Let's get outta here man..."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <07-18-13/0839:20>

Joel moved with Matt, not really wanting to be in the eerie location any longer.  "Stay on guard, guys."  He called out quietly to the other two.  He doubted that they needed to be told that this was unlikely to be an accident. At least the dwarf was acting somewhat sensible now. He continued to push his hearing to make sure they weren't surprised.

[spoiler]Perception (4) + Intuition (5) + Hearing Specialisation (2) + Audio Enhancement 3 (3) + Perceptive (1) + Actively Searching (3) - Wounds (1) (17d6.hits(5)=4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4137596/). No glitch. 3 if 'actively searching' invalid.[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <07-18-13/1129:37>

Thank god for him seeing sense
Matt focuses into the half darkness and flickery shadows of the corridor, heading up the group with his taser drawn, doing his best to follow the AR markers to the emergency exits whilst looking for an ambush by whoever caused this atrocity.
//Drone Command: move to the end of the corridor.
Continue to scan for contacts//
Matt felt a slight disturbance in the air as the insect sized drone complied with the command, shooting over his right shoulder down the corridor.
Matt's helmet image link glows an eerie green from the low-light mode of the drone's camera feed, no doubt casting an odd half-light over his face for the others in the group.
[spoiler]My perception int 3, percep 2(4), active search 3, -1 wound, -2 partial lighting (7d6.hits(5)=3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4137700/)
Drone Perception cam 4, vision enhance 3, active search 3, clearsight 3 (13d6.hits(5)=6) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4137702/)[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <07-21-13/1525:19>

Jade followed, looking around for anything that light be either the cause of all this or anything that wanted to harm them.

[spoiler]
Intuition 4 + perception 3 + enhancers 2 + active 3 =12 (12d6.hits(5)=4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4141388/)
[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <07-22-13/0709:58>

As you moved in the emergency exit’s direction, the situation proved to be the same wherever you went. A dozen bodies here, a handful there – it must have been a full-scale chaos inside. As you got used to the flickering half-light of the emergency lighting, you thought less and less that one of the bodies moved suddenly.
[spoiler=perception modifiers]While inside the building, everybody gets -2 to all perception checks for distractions, and a further -2 for lighting (visual only) if you have no low-light vision.[/spoiler]

You reached the emergency exit in only a short while. There was no movement there, the same as the whole building so far. However, a big ARO intruded in your field of vision, covering the exit from corner to corner, saying Emergency lockdown – please wait for security personnel.

--Miko--
You saw a different image than the others. Your security privileges were still active, and the sign read Emergency lockdown – Level 3. You felt a surge of dread as you looked up the exact meaning in the manual. Level 3 would have been pretty serious. But as you found the meaning, your blood went cold. In ominous red, bold letters, there stood the definition, which made clearer what you saw earlier. Your eyes flickered over the text, not even catching everything.
BIOHAZARD… Complete lockdown in effect… wear protective equipment… authorities will issue directives…
[spoiler=test please]Make a Composure(3) test.[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <07-22-13/0747:43>

//Command completed// Matt's drone completed it's task and returned to its holding pattern over Matt's right shoulder, scanning for contacts continuously.
The emergency exit ARO was baffling, The automated broadcasts urging evacuation and yet the exits were blockaded?
Miko, can you open this door? Why would the emergency exits not be open in an emergency anyway?

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <07-23-13/0241:07>

[spoiler]
Will 3 + charisma 3 =6 (6d6.hits(5)=2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4143453/)
[/spoiler]

"Oh crap, oh crap," jade said as she quickly grabbed her respirator.  It was probably too late, but she had to try.
"We're in biohazard lockdown," she added for the others.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <07-23-13/1114:26>

Biohazard lockdown?? shit, they think whatever this is, is some kind of viral outbreak or something? holy shit. holy shit

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <07-23-13/1804:55>

The blood rushed from Joel's face at hearing Jade's words. "I... I could have possibly lived not knowing that." He muttered faintly, slumping down to the floor. A bit of panic stirred at the thought of himself or the others possibly being infected with something. Have to... have to check their auras. Can't let them infect me.

[spoiler]Assensing on Jade: Assensing (4) + Intuition (5) + Perceptive (1) - Wounds (2) - Astral Visibility (2) (7d6.hits(5)=4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4144230/)

Assensing on Leroy: Assensing (4) + Intuition (5) + Perceptive (1) - Wounds (2) - Astral Visibility (2) (7d6.hits(5)=1) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4144232/)

Assensing on Matt: Assensing (4) + Intuition (5) + Perceptive (1) - Wounds (2) - Astral Visibility (2) (7d6.hits(5)=0) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4144234/)
- If repeat allowed on Matt: Assensing (4) + Intuition (5) + Perceptive (1) - Wounds (2) - Astral Visibility (2) - Repeat (2) (5d6.hits(5)=1) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4144238/)

Assensing on Self: Assensing (4) + Intuition (5) + Perceptive (1) - Wounds (2) - Astral Visibility (2) (7d6.hits(5)=2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4144235/)[/spoiler]

He slipped out of astral sight, finding it difficult to focus. He was still somewhat wounded and the raw emotions floating around were making it difficult to analyse the auras of the sole four living metahumans in the area.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <07-23-13/2024:05>

--Joel--
None of the auras you checked showed any sign of contamination or disease. You were sure that everyone suffered from some injuries, but nothing serious. You stood closest to Jade, and her aura revealed the most details, but aside being somewhat unstable, in shock, and not really knowing what to do, she was mostly healthy. You were also sure that the environment should have shown signs if there was an ongoing biological hazaard, but as you didn't check that in detail, you couldn't be sure.

What you were sure of was that there was some astral activity around you, It seemed that for some reason, the scavengers you saw earlier tended to gather for shorter or longer periods around Matt, who leaked his emotions out for them. It was as if small starved animals gathered mindlessly around food laid out, without reason or restraint.

[spoiler=assensing results on Miko]This was the most accurate, the others yielded scraps, so i detailed this one. The troll seems to have taken some bruises, but is physically healthy. You don't sense any maladies, ailments, or astral signatures on her. She is also fully mundane, her Essence being 2.48, with implants strengthening her muscles and nervous system at multiple places. Her eyes and ears were replaced. Some of the modifications blend in better, hinting at bioware implants (eg. muscles). Her emotional state is exactly what the posts show.[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <07-23-13/2151:17>

Joel took a few slow breaths, finding it easier to calm down after noting a lack of obvious disease. That's odd... why are they gathering around him? Perhaps a spirit might be able to get a better look.

"Can't see any signs of contamination..." Joel murmured. "Doesn't seem to be a biohazard, but I can't get a proper look."

[spoiler]Preparing to summon a Force 6 Spirit of Beasts. Optional Powers: Natural Weapon, Guard.[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <07-24-13/0345:12>

--Joel--
As you opened yourself to magical energies you felt as if wading through mud instead of clear water. Everything was harder to reach, even some of the quasi-beings began to feed on your strength. The pack felt like it was further and you heard their voices distant and muffled. Despite the hardships, one of them tried to heed your call, even though you felt its reluctance.
[spoiler=modifiers]Summoning test is at -2 dice. Choose one of the optional powers, the spirit only retains that one. For further tests, your effective Magic is at -2.[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <07-24-13/0412:16>

[spoiler]Magic (5) + Summoning (5) + Beast specialisation (2) + Mentor Bonus (2) - Wounds (1) - Misc penalty (2) (11d6.hits(5)=1) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4144862/) Oh god. That's just sad.
Spirit Response: Rating (6) (6d6.hits(5)=3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4144863/)

Summoning failed.
Fading DV: 6P
Willpower (5) + Intuition (5) (10d6.hits(5)=0) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4144864/) What. No. Spending edge to reroll.
Willpower (5) + Intuition (5) (10d6.hits(5)=8) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4144868/). BETTER
Fading MDV: 0P

Edge remaining: 1

Not trying that again.[/spoiler]

Joel let out a gasp as he felt the beings feed on him. He tried to reach out to one of the spirits of the pack, but it remained out of his reach, even as he mentally barricaded himself against the pain of it. What the hell is going on here?

"Something is very wrong with the astral space here..." The young mage murmured.

[spoiler]General Assensing test on surroundings: Assensing (4) + Intuition (5) + Perceptive (1) - Wounds (1) - Astral Visibility (2) (7d6.hits(5)=0) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4144882/)

Seriously?

Retry: Assensing (4) + Intuition (5) + Perceptive (1) - Wounds (1) - Astral Visibility (2) - Retry (2) (5d6.hits(5)=3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4144883/)[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <07-24-13/0508:45>

--Joel--
You heard an apologetic yelp as something on the threshold prevented the spirit from getting through. The scavengers left you, unsatisfied, when the flow of magic stopped. As you looked around for the reason of these strange happenings, you finally understood your surroundings. The astral mirrored what transpired in the physical world. You stood in a domain of death, fear, and suffering, permeated by the emotions and death throes of thousands of people. You got the feeling that this phenomenon would stay for quite a while. And this explained the presence of the scavengers as well.
[spoiler=game mechanics]The area is a level 2 aspected domain. Aspects are death, fear, suffering. Basically you are at -2 effective Magic, except when doing magical activities directly connected to the aspects, for which you get a +2 dice pool modifier.[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <07-24-13/0608:08>

Something clicked in Matt's head, that unnatural itching feeling, the feeling of being dirty. Biohazard? shit...
He unattaches the flashlight from it's retaining clip on his coat, pulls up his shirt and looks at his skin where it was itching.
Holy shit, this better not be the plague or something. holy shit holy shit...
[spoiler]
int 3, percep 2(4), active search 3, -1 wounds (using flashlight) (9d6.hits(5)=5) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4145285/)[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <07-25-13/0744:31>

--Matt--
Matt felt both reassured and puzzled at the same time when he didn’t find any sign of sickness or contagion on his skin. It was its usual complexion, and it didn’t feel different to his touch. What increased his puzzlement was that however he touched or scratched around where it felt itchy, the feeling didn’t seem to disappear.


--Joel--
In front of his astral eyes, a disturbing scene played out. Matt checked his body at places where some of the scavengers were feeding from his leaking feelings. As he reached to different points of his body, turning his concentration there, the leaks increased slightly, drawing more scavengers there. As he went on, these quasi-beings followed his hands, looking for places he concentrated on. When he finished checking, they drew back, unsatisfied as ever.
However harmless this scene seemed, Joel wasn't sure it would be beneficial on the long run.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <07-25-13/0943:43>

"So what do we do now," Jade asked the others, "I doubt that they would let us out without a medical exam I'd rather avoid.  Any ideas?"

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Gustovness on <07-25-13/1227:14>

Leroy, who had been quiet for some time now, tried to help everyone relax.  His intentions weren't as noble, however.  He almost felt annoyed.  He just wanted to get the hell out of there.

"The protocol may say biohazard but that's not necessarily the case.  Look at all these corpses... they look like they died a slow agonizing biochemically induced death to you? There's no trauma, an unusual lack of blood, no sores, no discoloration..."

Leroy pointed at the emergency exit door.

"Those doors aren't exactly built like they are in prison so it shouldn't be too hard to open it.  If I had my tools, I could cut through it.  We could try disengaging the locks and if that fails, maybe something in the drone shop can blow it up."

Leroy leaned up against the door to gauge how sturdy it was, checking for weight and locking mechanisms.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <07-25-13/1835:08>

Matt finishes his examination of the itchy area and notices Joel staring at him intently.
More than a little scared, Matt mouths silently at Joel "Am I ok?"

Speaking to the group;
If the public exits are shut, I can try the contractors exits, i have a contractors pass that might or might not let us past. other than that we're gonna have to bust our way out though.
Our medic friend raises a good point though, this looks more like everyone is asleep rather than dying of the plague. If it was a contagious biohazard, why are we still able to function fine?
Come on, lets try the maintenance corridor

//Drone command:: Move to the end of the corridor. Scan for contacts continuously.//

Matt starts to double back down the corridor, scanning with his flashlight and checking his drone's AR lowlight camera feed, prepping his contractor's swipe card, hoping against hope that it is still active and will let him through.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <07-26-13/0451:49>

Joel made a 'so-so' motion with his left hand. "You're not infected. There doesn't seem to be any signs of illness in any of us. However..." He tilted his head to the side."Something is weird about you. Are you feeling particularly emotional or panicky?"

He looked around, speaking to the entire group now. "Something is messed up astrally here. It might just be because of all these deaths occurring at once or that whatever killed these people also damaged the astral space here." He shuddered. "It's rather unhealthy, and I'm going to have to be very careful with what I do. I'm not aspected towards the domain that taints this place." He followed after Matt as the older male began heading back to the corridor.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <07-26-13/0459:15>

"Joel, I'm really trying to put a brave face on it here, but I am shitting myself. I've never been so fucking scared mate. Lets just get out of here."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <07-26-13/0827:24>

--Leroy--
Unfortunately, the company that built the Rider seemed to be keen on investing in security. The door wouldn't budge however hard you pushed. It seemed reasonable to try and find a different exit point, and the maintenance doors would have at least expanded the area you could search.
[spoiler=test please]Roll LOG + Engineering (Civil) to get detailed information.[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <07-27-13/1143:36>

[spoiler]log 3, engineering 3 (civil 5) (8d6.hits(5)=4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4149706/)[/spoiler]
Doubling back on themselves, Matt led the group back to the maintenance corridors, retrieving his passkey and tentatively swiping it into the maglock..

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Gustovness on <07-30-13/1542:32>

[spoiler]Checking out the door

LOG 5 + Engineering 2 + Civil 2 - Wounds 1 = 8 (8d6.hits(5)=5) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4153769/)

Half of my dice pool landed in 6's[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <07-30-13/1612:09>

--Leroy--
Checking the frame of the door verified your suspicion. This exit - and probably all emergency exits - were built to withstand a lot more force than you four could have exerted. There were probably three ways to open them: by a command from the building's security system, or in case it didn't work, by a physical switch or a master key. The second should have been near the door somewhere, unless, for some unfathomable security standard, they put it on the security corridor - on the other side of the door.
Your guess was that getting to some maintenance or security area would improve your chances of finding a working exit. Especially at areas where the builders didn't count on a huge number of customers, somewhere hidden in the bowels of the building.

--Matt--
The drone still didn't report any kind of movement, any presence besides yours. It hovered and zoned around your little group continuously, carrying out your order.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <07-31-13/0154:08>

"Just our luck, an emergency exit you can't open in an emergency," Jade said, "add the architect and the constructors to the list of of people we want to see when we get out."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <07-31-13/0252:26>

"I have a sneaking suspicion that the list of people will grow a fair bit before we get out here." He rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration. "'Go shopping!' They said. 'What could go wrong?'"

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <07-31-13/1222:55>

Ok guys, it doesn't look like we're going to get through this door without some serious cutting gear. I'd imagine the glass frontage is going to be hardened so gangers can't ramraid the stuffer shack, so we aint gonna punch through that without decent gear either. I've been working here as a contractor and have a swipe card for the maintenance area, I have no idea if it will still be active but its worth a try.
If that doesn't work, then we need to go shopping for tools. I can probably coerce a door into behaving properly given the right tools and a bit of time.
Miko, you work security here right? Do these emergency exit doors cover the exits to the public carparks and the transit system too?

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <07-31-13/1249:57>

"I'm just a contractor for the opening day," Miko said, while calling up the plan of the building she still had on her commlink, "I know there's emergency exits all over the place, but I wasn't made aware of special protocols concerning biohazards.  I mean, who expects that on a mall.  But we can assume that all emergency doors will be locked with the same protocol."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <07-31-13/1310:05>

Shit, Lets give the maintenance doors a try first then. I don't want to survive all this bullshit and then serve time for looting the tools we need to escape!
The lack of response from his earlier 911 call was really beginning to get Matt a bit, scenes of innumerable apocalypse and zombie trids playing throughout his head and making the flickering of the lights that much more scary.
Jesus, what if half of the city is dead? what if the emergency services are dead? Oh fuck. Why the hell did we survive and not them?
Matt re-attached his flashlight into its retaining clip, readied his taser and nodded at the others to move towards the maintenance corridors, sending his little drone ahead to scout.
//Drone command: Move to this position. Scan for contacts//

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <07-31-13/1445:03>

--Miko--
The building plan you got access to was incomplete, still it covered most places you could be curious about in the current situation. The plan was interactive, as it was on the server of the mall, and it showed the nearest emergency exits, all in a lockdown. In the background, the same message ran as a text through the AR screen of your comm, which you got earlier. You also noticed the maintenance area, which was basically off limits to you, so no further information came about that.
[spoiler=test please]Roll a LOG + Security Procedures (2) test.
Note: usually i would let you roll Security Systems with lower threshold, but this information may be covered by your procedures skill as well.[/spoiler]

--Matt--
As you mentioned getting tools, you involuntarily turned around to see the shops. Most of those were affected by the emergency lockdown, security grilles lowered, lights out.
[spoiler=test please]Roll an INT + Perception(Visual) (4) test.[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <07-31-13/1449:08>

[spoiler]visual pool 12 -1 wound mod (11d6.hits(5)=3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4155204/)[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <07-31-13/1529:54>

[spoiler]
logic 2 + security procedures 3 =5 (5d6.hits(5)=0) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4155255/)
critical glitch, use edge to downgrade.
[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Gustovness on <08-01-13/0003:17>

[spoiler]WHAT THE FUCK.... sorry guys, I posted a nice and elaborate post earlier today and now it's gone... gonna write up a sloppy one now to get the point across... I'm so pissed I don't even wanna write it but whatever...[/spoiler]

Leroy looked to Matt.

"Why not send that drone of yours to look for maintenance access shafts or corridors?"

[spoiler]GAWD I'm so pissed...[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <08-01-13/0641:06>

We're heading to the maintenance corridors now Leroy, Hopefully I can get us through the doors with my contractor's pass. My drone is scouting ahead, I just hope it doesn't find anything too 'interesting'.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <08-01-13/1110:51>

--all--
The nearest maintenance corridor access was, thankfully, not far. You had to walk about 50 meters among the bodies, your nerves getting tauter by the second, then you reached one of the doors leading to the back areas of the mall. The discreet 'Employees only' sign showed both physically and in AR but it gave Matt no pause. He felt a bit nervous while swiping the card in the reader but a quiet click and a brief hiss of air proved he still had his privileges.

The other side of the door showed a different outlook. The corridor ahead of you was almost empty, with a single cleaning drone idling on one side. No bodies lay there, at least not until the corridor ran into another, a T-cross leading left and right. The air felt less heavy, and a bit cooler.

The biggest change was the sound, though. In the customer areas, ads still running, fountains still splashing, some drones whirring around provided a constant background noise, yet everything felt still. From the corridor, the background was dead quiet, but you could hear noises from a distance, as if one or more people spoke.
[spoiler=test please]Roll INT + Perception(Audio) (3).
Modifiers: -3 for distance, -3 for echoes. The latter can be disregarded if you have select sound filter or spatial recogniser.
@Csjarrat: don't roll for the drone yet, it signals "possible contact but no movement" to you.[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <08-01-13/1131:53>

[spoiler]Intuition (5) + Perception (4) + Hearing Spec (2) + Perceptive (1) + Audio Enhancement (3) - Wounds (1) - Distance (3) (11d6.hits(5)=5) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4156442/)[/spoiler]

Joel attempted to breathe slowly to remain calm. The sheer presence of the dead, coupled with what he had seen and felt in the Astral, kept him on edge.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <08-01-13/1200:31>

Matt breathed a sigh of relief as the door opened, his drone moving ahead down the corridor scanning for contacts.
It's trid feed still illuminated half of Matt's face, and he almost religiously checked the helmet's monocle display for contacts, fearing the worst.
The far off voices filled him with fear, were they survivors or the culprits? what would he do if they were the latter? Matt took a deep breath, held it and tried to focus as much as he could on the sounds, mentally dialling up the gain on his audio enhancement and purifying it's stream with the sound filtering module in his earbuds.
[spoiler]Int 3, percep 2, audio enhance 3, actively listening 3, -3 range ,-1 wound + sound filter (7d6.hits(5)=2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4156467/)[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <08-01-13/1216:06>

Miko breathed a bit better now they weren't walking over bodies anymore.  At least here it was clean.  As she heard voices, she activated her sound filters to get rid of any background noise.

[spoiler]
intuition 4 + perception 3 + audio enhancers 2 - 3 distance =6 (6d6.hits(5)=4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4156492/)
better  :)
[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <08-02-13/1013:03>

[spoiler=Matt]The echoes made impossible to discern individual voices in what surely came from multiple people.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Miko]You heard a male voice, speaking over a hubbub of other voices. He must clearly have been of some importance, because the other voices were hushed. Among the human sounds, there also were mechanical ones, and altogether it spoke of quite a big gathering, and activity.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Joel]You heard a male voice, speaking over a hubbub of other voices. From how the others were muted, and the tone of his voice, you guessed it must be from a trid broadcast, form a news cast. The broadcast must have been taken outside, cars and shouts can be heard in the background, though muted.[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <08-02-13/1110:44>

"Someone is up there," Miko said as quickly a big Ruger super warhawk appeared in her hand, "let's be cautious."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <08-02-13/1123:26>

Joel paused briefly, frowning in concentration as he picked up the voices. "... Sounds like a news anchor. Probably outside from the sounds of cars and shouting. Can't quite get what he's saying though..."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Gustovness on <08-03-13/0117:18>

Leroy huddled behind the rest of the group quietly.  He didn't understand why the troll had drawn her weapon.  Maybe it was for the same reason he tried to save the corpses who were all obviously gone.

We're all a lil' screwed up in the head right now...

Regardless, the game that was playing out in Leroy's head of who was in better shape psychologically was a brutal one of cat mouse.  His mind doubted the mental state of his newfound compatriots, then acknowledged that that may be due to his own condition, then back to convincing himself that he was alright and that they we being paranoid.

He remained quiet for the time being and stood behind the group, following them not too closely.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <08-03-13/0610:39>

A news anchor? God knows who's stood around watching that and admiring their handiwork
Guys, i'm going to jump into my drone and scout ahead, cover me because my body is going to go limp.
If you need to talk to me, heres my commcode.

Matt jumps into the drone, the simsense washing over him as his commlink hooks his brain up to the drones sensor and control network.
Matt flies down the corridor towards the origin of the noise, hugging the ceiling to reduce his signature, trying to locate the source of the sound and scanning the area with his sensor suite for contacts.
[spoiler]Simple Action: jump into drone {cold sim}
Free Action: Move (no test needed due to VCR reducing piloting threshold of 1->0??)
Simple Action: Observe in detail
Visual:int 3, percep 4, vision enhance 3, active search 3, -1 wound (12d6.hits(5)=7) 7 hits (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4159211/)
Audio:int 3, percep 2, audio enhance 3, active search 3, spatial recogniser +2,-1 wound (12d6.hits(5)=4) 4 hits
Motion sensor: no rules for testing (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4159213/)
[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <08-03-13/1009:59>

--Matt--
The sounds came from the left, from a door left ajar, about 20 meters down the corridor. As the drone neared, you could pick the exact broadcast. It must have been just outside, a live coverage of the events. The room itself was a staff room from the plaque on it. The opening was quite small, even for the drone that hovered in front of it. You heard no other sound but the trid, the sensors didn't detect any kind of movement.

"...and we were informed about Knight Errant setting up blockades three blocks out from the Rider. According to the leader of the task force assigned for the event, Colonel Henry Dansby, this is just a precaution. The drones sent in to the vicinity of the building brought back samples of air and water from there and these are currently analyzed in the field laboratory, and their experts in the Central Office are also working on determining if it's safe to go near the building. In the meantime, they contacted the owners about the issue of matrix connection. If you joined only recently, there seems to be some problem connecting to the system of the building, as well as any commlinks inside. As for the cause, we still heard nothing, but according to inside information, the units of GOD weren't notified yet..."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <08-03-13/1159:32>

Matt listened carefully and paid close attention to the motion sensor read out, but finally was satisfied that there were no moving targets up ahead.
Matt logged out of the drone; issuing it a command
//Drone Command: Hold this position. Scan for new contacts + alert me on discovery//

The Simsense took a second to wear off while Matt's brain slowly realised it was actually human and not in fact a drone.
Guys you were right, it is a trid broadcast. its the news, playing from the staff room further up on the left. Sounds like they've blockaded this section of the city a few blocks out, surrounding the rider.
I can't detect any movement or signs of life from the staff room but keep your eyes open.

Matt walked slowly up the corridor towards the staff room, Taser drawn and ready, its laser sight casting a red dot over the polished floor.
The door was ajar and Matt was glad he didn't try and pilot his drone though it, it would have been very tight.
He looked back at the group to show he was going to open the door and checked that they were ready.
Keeping his back to the wall, he used his left hand to push the door open and kept the taser pointed into the door frame, ready for trouble.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <08-04-13/0452:10>

Jade lumbered after him, not saying anything.  At least it wasn't anything dangerous this time, but she kept her gun ready just in case.  No matter what it was, there was danger out here, so much she knew.  Or at least, could assume.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <08-04-13/0621:41>

Joel followed behind Jade, looking around nervously. The oppressive feeling in the Astral space was still easily felt in the physical plane. Restrictive, chilling. Certain types of Awakened might revel in the feeling of death, he was not one of them.

"No, I don't need detection spells... My senses do just fine!" I was such a bloody idiot to not learn any, would make my life much easier.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <08-04-13/1105:43>

Matt slowly opened a door leading to a small room, able to let four or five people to take a break at the same time. Two couches sat at two sides - about four meters each - and two vending machines stood on the third, beside a small terminal with two screens. On one screen, it showed instructions about work, the other showed the trid broadcast. A single body lay in front of one vending machine, the smell of soykaf lingered about a pool of spilled liquid. He seemed to be one of the employees responsible for drone maintenance, a toolkit hanged on his utility belt.

"...and we are still in the middle of composing a list of people who were there when the Rider locked down, but we can confirm that the Silverspike didn't arrive yet when the events began. However, our own Kate Lockwell is among those for whom millions of people are currently praying, for them to be well and come out of there alive...

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <08-04-13/1108:00>

"Is anybody sufficiently technical to use this to send a signal the other way," Jade asked, "if this thing can recieve a signal, it should be able to sent one as well."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <08-04-13/1150:55>

"I um... If we need to I could try to Astrally project myself out there. Only issues are that I will be out of contact and you won't be able to get me if there is trouble." Joel suggested hesitantly. "So if we go ahead with it, let me know beforehand what I should say, and who you are in the event someone asks about you."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <08-04-13/1751:34>

Matt eyes the toolkit hungrily, knowing with some time he could probably co-erce one of those emergency doors into opening.
Everything in his body told him that looting the dead was wrong, but knowing what was at stake, Matt began to undo the utility belt and re-attach it to himself.
He systematically checked the workers pockets, checking for access cards and keys.

I dunno, let me take a look at this terminal, see what we can do from here.
Matt sits down at the desk and examines the terminal's capabilities.

What's the Silverspike? is that what they're calling this..."event"??

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <08-05-13/0414:23>

"The SilverSpike is a band," Jade said, "they were supposed to launch their new album today.  One of the reasons I was here today was to give extra security for those guys."
She walked up to the vending machines and got a soykaf.  While it was probably undrinkable - the one from vending machines most often is - it was at least hot and with added caffeine.  Something she could use right now.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <08-05-13/0641:40>

--Matt--
Checking the dead worker took little time. The belt contained a commlink as well as the toolkit, but no keys or cards were present. He must have been a low-position worker, with no access to higher security areas, probably the commlink contained all passwords and identification needed. His pockets contained some personal belongings, all useless in this situation.
[spoiler=test please]Roll INT + Perception(Smell) (3) test, and no active search bonus this time.[/spoiler]

The terminal proved to be a simple workstation, with reduced functionality. The upper screen was designed to show trid broadcasts. According to the AR buttons ande switches, several channels were pre-programmed but for some reason, only the one currently running could be reached. The lower screen was an info-screen, the controls could be used to scroll a big map of the mall, switch between floors, and get information about situations, schedules, and other work-related stuff.

The terminal itself was a simple workstation, with infinitesimal signal capacity of its own, just to be able to reach those in the room, but it must have been wired to the systems of the mall. And as with most hardware, there was a universal connection. Plugging your commlink, you tried everything you knew to boost the device’s signal, to broadcast out of the building.
[spoiler=test please]Roll LOG + Electronic Warfare test. You can use Signal + ECCM as if someone was helping in a teamwork test.[/spoiler]

--Miko--
Stepping over a single body as you moved to the vending machine almost seemed like nothing, compared to what was outside. The soykaf was what you expected, cheap and bland, but the hot liquid full of coffein eased your anxiety and raised your awareness. You stepped aside as Matt patted down the unfortunate worker and took his utility belt.
[spoiler=test please]Roll INT + Perception(Smell) (5) test.[/spoiler]

--Joel--
The thought of projecting int he building made you shiver. You got the feeling that while you strode up and down this part of the mall, the situation somehow got worse over there.
[spoiler=test please]Roll LOG + Security Procedures (2) test. You can use your specialization if you want to.[/spoiler]

--Leroy--
It seemed the others would spend some time in the room, trying several methods to communicate with the outside. And there was a single body, lying there, which provided a perfect opportunity if you wanted to know more. Outside, you could only check for basic vital signs while looking at the bodies, as the immensity of the task left you no more as a peek at each victim. Here, there would be no distractions.
[spoiler=note]As you played the „Have to do something” part very well, i thought this would be a place where it struck again. I don’t want to railroad you however, so you certainly can decide on a different course of action.[/spoiler]

--all--
The broadcast continued on the upper screen, an interview with a witness was on.
...and i heard screams and saw people running out of the Rider, just a dozen or so, while the security grilles rolled down, and those people seemed scared ****less. Then suddenly, two of them fell on the ground, convulsing like in pain or something. That's when more people started running, even those few who were trying to help the others before, and i just remember running with the others and trying not to get trampled...

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <08-05-13/0743:41>

Matt stuffs the commlink in his jacket pocket, Might have some access codes on it I can use...
[spoiler]perception test: int 3, percep 2, coprocessor 2, -1 wound (6d6.hits(5)=2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4162269/)[/spoiler]
Ok guys, I'm going to try and broadcast from here. I hope to god this works...
[spoiler]Teamwork: teamwork; signal 6, eccm 4 (10d6.hits(5)=4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4162270/) +4DP to broadcast
Broadcast test:Log 3, Ewar 3, team +4 (10d6.hits(5)=5) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4162272/)[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <08-05-13/0850:22>

[spoiler]I fail the test. 1 Logic, no points in Security Procedures.[/spoiler]

Joel kept an eye on the screen, a frown on his face. Explains why they thought it was a biohazard... Wonder if they've had any other mages take a look at the Astral here.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <08-05-13/1006:52>

"Hey, Leroy was it right," Miko said to the dwarf, "you're some sort of paramedic right?  If you have had some training in that area, can you try to find out what he died of?  It might be easier to get some countermeasures going if we know what we have to counter in the first place."

While she had some time, she checked on the plans on her commlink to see where the nearest shop was that had bows.  Should it become necessary, that way she knew where to go 'shopping'.

[spoiler]
intuition 4 + perception 3 =7 (7d6.hits(5)=3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4162297/)
not enough to get treshold 5, but with only 7 dice I wasn't really expecting it.

@Ren: I'm the one with the security procedures knowledge skill.
[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Gustovness on <08-06-13/0217:50>

Leroy stood at the threshold to the doorway looking around the room.  He was interested in the tridcast.

Convulsing? What the fuck?

He looked to Matt looting the corpse. A "field autopsy" may help shed some light on this situation.  He approached the corpse after Matt had finished his search.  He began to inspect the man, all thoughts of healing out of his mind.  He was applying his expertise to death now, not healing.

"I'm fire rescue." He said aloud to the group, looking at the body as he began to check it.  "I'm usually workin' on puttin' out fires though..."

He searched for any clues he could muster as to what could have killed this man.

[spoiler]I ran various possible dice rolls.  You can use all or some of them at your discretion.  I nested results so you can decide the thresholds of each roll before checking the results!

Chemistry Skill - Checking for chemical agents on the body and/or side effects (ie Anthrax makes the skin look like this, cyanide makes this color appear on eyes, whatever)
[spoiler]Chemistry 5 + LOG 5 - Wounded 1 = 9 (9d6.hits(5)=3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4163205/)

No glitch[/spoiler]

First Aid Skill - Basic medical stuff, possible causes of death, body heat, signs of struggle, marks, trauma, etc.
[spoiler]First Aid 2 + LOG 5 - Wounded 1 = 6 (6d6.hits(5)=4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4163206/)[/spoiler]

Medicine Skill - Maybe you can think of something that I can't.  Maybe we find medication on this guy that can provide a clue.  Maybe he looks like he OD'ed on a drug rather than a chemical agent. 
[spoiler]Medicine 2 + LOG 5 - Wounded 1 = 6 (6d6.hits(5)=3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4163211/)

No glitch.[/spoiler]
[/spoiler]

Without raising his eyes away from his task, Leroy muttered to the crew, "If any of ya'll spell slingas can take a look to see if this poor mothafucka got geeked by some kinda magic, it might help us know what happend here."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <08-06-13/0426:07>

"That would be me. Guess I can give it a shot." Joel answered, moving toward the body. He narrowed his eyes as he slipped into the Astral plane, investigating the body for astral signatures. "Can't guarantee too much though, the sheer amount of death is messing with my Astral sight."

[spoiler]Assensing (4) + Intuition (5) + Perceptive (1) - Wounds (1) - Visibility (2) (7d6.hits(5)=2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4163362/) Not high enough.
Retry: Assensing (4) + Intuition (5) + Perceptive (1) - Wounds (1) - Visibility (2) - Retry (2) (5d6.hits(5)=1) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4163365/) Was worth a shot.[/spoiler]

Joel shook his head in frustration. "Can't get anything on the body. I'd need a look in a better location." Meaning not in here.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <08-06-13/0650:53>

--Matt--
Your fingers flew on the virtual keyboard of your commlink. You knew what you wanted to do, trying to ride along the trid broadcast, just in the other direction. The access codes on the worker’s link didn’t help this time, still, the jury-rigged method should have been a masterpiece. Despite your best tries, however, the only result yielded was that you became aware of a different broadcast coming from somewhere near, and that it was probably the source of the security instructions.

The disappointment was mixed with uncertainty. What you tried should have worked. It just didn’t. And it meant that you were either in a faraday-cage, or under the effects of some jamming.


--Miko--
You easily found a shop nearby, selling various hunting and sports equipment, including bows. The system automatically highlighted the most direct route to it: back through the maintenance door, then to the left, about 70 meters along the corridor and through a hall.


--Leroy--
Although you weren’t too practiced in this line of work – it was usually the job of CSI and the coroner’s office – the various areas of study payed out. You estimated the time of death 45-50 minutes int he past. The muscles of the man showed signs of convulsions, just as the trid interview reported. There were no signs of struggle, although the man’s nails on one hand are broken, he probably clawed at the floor. The only sign of injury is on the head but you suspect it was caused by the fall.

As you examined the head, you noticed something conspicuous. There was some residue under the man’s nose, covering his lips just in the area where he exhaled through his nose. The material must have consisted of relatively heavier particles or the force of the exhalation would have prevented accumulation. It caused a slight discoloration of the area, the skin being yellowish. You were sure, however, that it wasn’t anything you could determine the composition of, not without using a chemistry kit.

As for a possible cause, you were simply baffled. The body showed none of the signs of commonly used poisons or drugs, and this, combined with the lack of injuries, made anything just guesswork beyond this point.
[spoiler=note]Well done, replenish a point of Edge if you already used it.[/spoiler]


--Joel--
The situation in the astral seemed only to worsen. It was obvious that noone took any action to cleanse the area yet, as the presence of the almost-beings became more pronounced in the past minutes. You got the feeling of becoming dirty just by opening your eyes on that world, to look at something close by. Projecting here would prove tricky, starting with convincing yourself to do it.


--all--
The broadcast went on, this time with an enumeration of closed roads, detours, and KE asking citizens not to use vehicles in the vicinity to allow medical providers access, when later, they have to help the probably high amount of injured people waiting for them inside.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <08-06-13/1011:52>

Shit. Shit!
Matt smacked his hands down on the desk near the terminal in frustration.
I'm sorry guys, that should of worked, it really should.
Matt stared at the screen, thinking through all the possibilities of why they couldn't talk to the outside world.
He tossed up the odds of the designers building a faraday cage into a structure like this, and then considered jamming the huge area following an attack. neither seemed overly feasible but the end results were clear enough.
Matt looked around the room at the others;
Guys, I hate to say it but i think we need to write off calling in the cavalry as an option. We can't get a signal to the outside world so we're gonna need to get our own asses out of here
Nodding towards the screen;
KE look like they're more bothered about dealing with the outside world at the moment than getting in here. Perhaps the lockdown works both ways?..
Now we've got a set of tools, I'd like to try our luck at getting out via either the maintenance doors or one of the emergency exits.
What do you guys think?

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Gustovness on <08-06-13/1202:01>

"Maintenance sounds like the way to go.  We've already seen what emergency exits look like."

[spoiler]If Leroy still has his medkit with him (not sure if it was lost after the explosion or whatever) I'd like him to use some cotton and maybe a baggy of some sort from it to take a sample or two of the powder on the guy's nose.  He has a chem kit at home that he'll be able to run samples on later.

Also, I saw Miko say something about the security procedures skill.  I forgot to mention in my last post that I also have this skill if you need me to run a test of some sort.

And no, I hadn't used edge yet.  Maybe a little extra karma to buy one point in perception will do lol[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <08-06-13/1304:30>

Maintenance it is then. Give me a minute to get us an exit...
Matt calls up the terminal's map mode, looking for the exit to the contractors car park and any other exit routes running from the Maintenance corridor they entered from.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <08-06-13/1401:18>

"If all else fails we can still get some power tools from one of the shops and drill our way out," Jade said to the others as she finished the soykaf and dropped the cup into the waste bin.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <08-07-13/0821:43>

--Leroy--
You put the medkit to good use. Closing the cotton, saturated with the material taken from the dead man’s lips, in a plastic bag should protect it from deterioration for at least a few hours, possibly for days.


--Matt--
Even the partial map proved to be much help, although finding a possibly working exit wasn’t that easy. You guessed that whatever measures were used in the main areas, were probably also taken at maintenance exits, and the parking area.
[spoiler=test please]Roll a BROWSE + Computer and a LOG + Engineering (Civil) test.[/spoiler]


--all--
On the screen, some action could be seen. Two people in hazmat suits were headed towards the bodies lying outside the entrance of the building, followed by several drones.
”…and as you can see, the experts of Seattle CDC are already going in. They were only waiting for the good-to-go signal of Knight Errant command, that no probable threat of attack can be percieved. In the meantime, several APCs arrived from Fort Lewis Military Command, to help overburdened Knight Errant units to maintain perimeter guard of the closed area.
And now, we are going back to studio, with a discussion about possible perpetrators and causes for this grievous event…”

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Gustovness on <08-07-13/1317:28>

Leroy's brow furled.

"Possible perpetrators..."

He began to look around at the people in his group.  What the fuck were some of them doing with guns, anyways? At a shopping mall?

He shook his head.

No, they couldn't be in on it.  Who would set off whatever was set off and stick around to see their own handy work?  Exposing themselves to...  religious extremists maybe?  I know THEY don't give a shit about sticking around and blowing themselves up.  But none of these guys look the part... I guess they train for that too?

There's no way Kay-E would think he was in on this whole mess, right?

[spoiler]
Leroy thought back to his security procedures training:
[spoiler]Security Procedures 1 + LOG 5 - Wounded 1 = 5 (4d6.hits(5)=2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4165069/)[/spoiler]

If Leroy has reason to believe that he and the group will be suspects in this attack, then he'll say the following, alerting everyone else to the possibility:
"Matt, while you're looking for a way out, try to find one leading out to a secluded area... maybe sewage access.  I'm not so sure the people outside are going to be expecting us with welcoming arms...

If Leroy doesn't have reason to suspect that he'll be suspected, he'll keep his thoughts to himself.
[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <08-07-13/1326:00>

[spoiler]comp + browsecomp 2, browse 6, -1 wound (7d6.hits(5)=3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4165074/)
knowledge test log + engineerin (civ 8)-1 wound (7d6.hits(5)=4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4165075/) [/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <08-07-13/1341:05>

--Leroy--
You couldn't deny it would raise suspicion, thousands dead and you four surviving. It might even mean that you would be handled as persons of interest and asked to be available and not leave town for some time. But suspects? You were not sure they would go that far, but this feeling was based more on hope than on knowledge.

--Mat--
You looked through the map levels where there were possible exits but you were unsure whether all those you found would be open to leave through. Security areas might be worth a try but your experience coming from inspections suggested that remote or hidden areas, like engineering levels, would prove more fruitful. That was when Leroy interjected.

Quote from: Gustovness on <08-07-13/1317:28>

"Matt, while you're looking for a way out, try to find one leading out to a secluded area... maybe sewage access.  I'm not so sure the people outside are going to be expecting us with welcoming arms..."

That gave you an idea, and following through it proved to be a success. Underground level 2 had a place, far from where one would expect any customers, that led directly to the sewers. It was kind of like a secondary access hatch for maintenance reasons, in case of accidents in engineering levels. You were sure it would be closed but it probably wasn't locked down in the same way as other exits.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <08-07-13/1410:02>

"That depends," Miko said, "we will get the full medical investigation, that's for sure.  But we might be heroes in being a few to survive a new virus and giving the meds the basis of a vaccine.  Although I've never heard of a virus that goes so fast.  Even Vitas doesn't, if I recall my history lessons correctly."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Gustovness on <08-07-13/1547:41>

"Feel free to stick around and get prodded by the corporate needles then.  If there are any other survivors, let's see how they're treated first.  Meanwhile, I gotta get back to my pad and check out what the hell this shit is..."

Leroy held up a baggie with the sample he had taken before putting it back in the medkit.

"If I detect anything serious, then I might consider turning myself in but I'm bankin' on the fact that if we're not dead yet, we'll be fine and we won't have anything to worry 'bout."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <08-07-13/1750:33>

Matt looked up from the terminal, notating the salient points of the route and saving it in a to-do list; pegged in his helmet's AR feed.
Leroy, I hear ya. Guys, I've got us an exit, should be low profile enough. {pointing at the screen and showing Leroy} There's a sewerage exit here, on level 2. It's not too far from us, it'll probably be shut but it's not likely to be locked down to the same degree as it up here.
Matt looks at Miko, thinking her point through, scanning back to the trid feed.  I just...I just don't know if i can trust those guys. everything common sense tells me to stick around and wait for the authorities to sort us out, but something in my gut just says this isn't right, that this is something we shouldn't get mixed up in. I'd quite like to just bust out of here with my skin in-tact and live my life in peace, not being known as "the survivor" and treated as some freak.
I'm up for making a break for it. Hell if we do get busted on the way out, its not like we'll get arrested for trying to save our own hoops is it?
Matt re-draws his taser, checking the darts are loaded correctly, testing the tightness of the tool belt and itemising it's contents; mentally preparing for what might lie ahead.
Looking up at Leroy;
What the hell is that?. Did that come out of that corpse?
Look I just wanna apologise about before Leroy, I think I was a bit shaken back then {holds hand out for a handshake} I've got the utmost respect for you boys in the emergency services, I didn't mean any offence.
Before we head off, is there any chance you could give me the once over with that medkit mate? I'm feeling pretty punched up..

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <08-07-13/1820:58>

"All of us should try to get patched up a bit  before we try to get out of here." Joel added quietly. "As for being the sole survivors... There is a fair chance we could be treated as scapegoats if nothing else."

He shrugged. "If they do find us, it's not too hard to believe that we were desperate to find any way out of a biohazard.  Let's first get to the exit, get patched up, then get out of here." He ground his teeth as he felt the feeling of death pressing against him. "I really don't want to stick around here too much longer either way. Whether we leave by sewers, or by the CDC."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <08-08-13/0122:55>

"As long as that sewer's big enough for me," Jade said.  This would be a new experience for her.  She had been in many places, but no sewers yet.  Back when she was doing escort work, some rooms that could qualify for sewer status, but no actual sewers as of now.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <08-08-13/0633:43>

As you were discussing how to get out and started to get to an agreement, your attention was drawn to the upper screen once again. It showed the studio where they were discussing terrorist groups and motives.

//announcer 1// …Earlier today, Alamos 20.000 assumed responsibility for what they said was punishment of the owners for employing metahuman workforce during construction and after opening. Parallel to that, Sons of Sauron also assumed responsibility, for similar reasons but from a different viewpoint, stating that orks and trolls were refused key positions during construction, and there are none of those two metatypes in middle or upper management in the Rider, therefore the owners are, by their account, to be punished.
//announcer 2// Our experts say, however, that this is a publicity stunt on both organization’s account, and even if media takes these assumptions seriously, in a few days there will be statements, that the previous statement came from splinter groups within the organization. If the events truly occurred due to a terrorist attack, both organizations might lose more supporters than win new. There were too much people present whose interest they allegedly protect.
//announcer 1// Yes, and the information we got a few minutes before this, seems to support that none of those organizations could be responsible. On screen, in seconds you will see a group of people Knight Errant currently wants for questioning about the events in the Rider. Seeing this is a group of mixed metatypes, it is highly unlikely either Alamos 20.000 or Sons of Sauron would employ them.
//announcer 2// Knight Errant seems to be working with amazing speed on this one…

The voice of the announcers went dead flat in your ears. It almost lost importance, as the pictures came up ont he screen. They were almost like mugshots, showing six people, one picture each, from shoulders up. And four of those, you each knew. One was what you saw each morning, in the mirror. Three you got to know recently. A dwarf male, of African American descent, staring in the camera with a sour expression. A human male, Caucasian, with greying hair and short-trimmed beard. A troll female, of Far Eastern origins, with unusually clear and silky skin, and well-groomed horns. Another human male, Caucasian, hair tied in a ponytail, facial hair covering his upper lips and jaw. The other two were unimportant.

The following seconds passed in shocked silence, lasting an eternity. Then time caught up to itself, and the full impact of what you saw hit you head on.
[spoiler=test please]Roll a Composure (2) test.[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <08-08-13/0646:31>

[spoiler]Willpower (5) + Charisma (3) (8d6.hits(5)=4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4166159/)[/spoiler]

"Shit..." Joel swore quietly as he saw the pictures. "Why did I tempt fate?" He throttled the feeling of rising panic in him. There was no time for that right now.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <08-08-13/0735:40>

[spoiler]wil 3, cha 3 (6d6.hits(5)=2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4166166/)[/spoiler]
Oh fuck. We've got to get out of here, right now!
Matt jumps to his feet, readies his taser and heads to the door.
He issues the directions to his drone pilot, commanding it to move ahead and scan for contacts, again dumping its sensor feed into his Image link.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Gustovness on <08-08-13/1135:58>

[spoiler]Composure Test: WIL 4 + CHR 2 - Wounded 1 = 5 (5d6.hits(5)=2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4166468/)[/spoiler]

I soulda been a fuckin' cop...

"Aiight fellas, let's get the fuck out of here and to those sewers while we still can."

Leroy smacked Matt's extended hand which he had forgotten was still extended as he looked on in disbelief at the tridcast.   He hoped this would snap Matt out of it.

"Les'go, pappy, bandaids n' shit'll have to wait until we get outta hear.  No time."

Leroy headed out for the door and peeked around into the hallway.

"Soon as we get out I hope one of ya'll gunslingas got a place where we can lay low for a while... We can't go home yet.  They know who we are."

Even Leroy almost bought into his tough exterior.  The reality of the situation began to sink in slowly.

Not sure if I'm gonna puke or shit myself...

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <08-08-13/1202:27>

Miko looked at the screen with disbelief.  She had helped KE and this was how they repaid her.  Well, her job she could forget at the moment.  She turned to the techie.
"Can you turn off the cameras in this building," she asked, "it's best if we're not seen to leave.  And we have to find out who's really behind this.  It's the only way to clear our names, as the Errants won't look any further."

[spoiler]
composure test.
will 3 + charisma 3 =6 (6d6.hits(5)=4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4166508/)
not bad, 4 hits on 6 dice.
[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <08-08-13/1256:13>

I'd love to miko, but i'm a pilot, not a hacker. Come on, we've gotta move!

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <08-08-13/1600:01>

As you moved out of the room, Matt checked the route the system drew for you. It was the most direct route and of course, as the day's luck went, it led right back to the main areas of the mall. Back among the dead. Dread and a feeling of urgency battled inside you for a moment but you found that the previous hour steeled your souls somewhat, so you found it in you to be able decide if you wanted to look for a different, longer route, or take the one over the fallen.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Gustovness on <08-08-13/2259:12>

"Try yo best not to disturb the dead.  This is a graveyard.  We're on hallowed ground now."

Leroy shot a look over to Joel, letting him know that although he was mundane, he wasn't completely ignorant in the matters of spirits or of respecting the dead.

"Let's go around hurr..." Leroy said as he pointed out a longer route around the dead.

And although we're probably immune to whatever this shit is, it won't hurt not to tempt fate...

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <08-08-13/2323:34>

Joel sighed. "If only... At the moment this place is more polluted by all the death. A hallowed ground I could handle, a domain of death and suffering I cannot. The mages will have a bit of work ahead of them to cleanse the Astral plane around here." He shrugged."Respecting the fallen is one good reason, although I'd recommend it more for avoiding whatever is feeding on the dying remnants of emotion. The other good reason for a longer route is to better avoid running into any investigators. Possibly."

He looked over at Matt. "Matt! How clear is the entrance hall?"

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <08-09-13/0200:41>

While Miko couldn't see that astral, she could agree with Joel.  The Shinto she was taught during childhood said that one had to honour ones ancestors.  And a lot of ancestor spirits had been created here.  In fact, due to the violent death of all of those, she wouldn't be surprised if this place would end up haunted by deceased who turned into Gaki or even worse, like Oni.

"Let's take the way around them," she said to the others, "it would be disrespectful to disturb their spirits and I'd rather not be the cause of them becoming Gaki or something like that."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <08-09-13/0338:02>

Matt checked the drone' sensor report as it shot through the main entrance hall.
Now was not the time to dally and Matt just wanted to put as much distance between him and his likely execution. The long way was extra time they had to hunt them down, the short way was exposed. What a shitty choice.
[spoiler]drone perception Pilot 3, clearsight 3, vision enhance 3, active search 3 (12d6.hits(5)=7) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4167580/)[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <08-09-13/0749:15>

--Matt--
The drone still didn’t report any contacts in the hall, at least not as far as it went. The bodies lay there, unmoving, undisturbed. The way was clear.


--others--
While you agreed that it would be unwise to disturb the dead, it seemed Matt was hesitating. His drone still left the corridor the way you came in, through the maintenance access door, to the main halls.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <08-10-13/0312:18>

Tempted by the immediacy of the short route, Matt's fight or flight kicked in. His legs ached to burst into a run, to cover the distance and get the hell out of dodge ASAP.
Guys, this way is clear, and a stack of time quicker. Look, if we run it we'll be across before the spirits even know we're there. We don't have much time, let's move!

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <08-10-13/0607:09>

"I guess we better go after him before he hurts himself," Jade sighed, before lumbering after Matt.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Gustovness on <08-11-13/1523:19>

Fuck that...

Leroy shook his head.  He cared more about his own skin than a stranger's at this point.  He looked down to his medkit and reminded himself that he didn't know what had been deployed on these people.  Better safe than sorry.

He continued along the long way.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <08-11-13/1640:04>

--Leroy--
You just started in the other direction when the thought hit home. You didn't even know the short route, it was on the comm of Matt. You remembered that he showed only a single route on the screen in the room. So it was either following him or going back to the staff room and taking your time looking for alternate routes that would avoid the main areas as much as possible.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <08-11-13/2103:05>

Joel frowned at the path Matt took before shaking his head. Really? If there are spirits, they'll catch up to us easily. Once we get into the sewer though things should be easier... He jogged after Jade and Matt. Got to keep him out of trouble though. He noted the dwarf separating from the group. Hope he'll be alright...

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Gustovness on <08-11-13/2211:24>

Leroy facepalmed.

As he realized that he needed the guy who just lost his shit to show him the way out, he decided against separating from the group after all.

He double backed and dropped into a dead sprint to catch up with the rest of the group.  The sight of a black dwarf attempting to run so hard was almost as strange a sight as all the death that surrounded everyone.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <08-13-13/0849:22>

Act II

Unlikely encounters

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <08-13-13/0850:45>

Moving among the dead wasn’t easier, even if you did it for the second time. The missing noises of human activity were a constant buzz in your heads, you knew there was no sound but you heard it still. The eerie voices of the still-working ads counter-balanced this, creating an uneasy, alarmed feeling for all of you.

The drone went ahead to scout the route you planned to take. No warning sign came, it didn’t notice any movement. You, on the other hand, did.

As you went through an intersection you noticed a group of people, some of them leaning over the bodies, obviously looking for something. They were close, about 25 meters from the intersection, and you suspected that the chaotic background noise and the lack of speech caused both groups not to notice the other.

There were five people in the corridor, a big, burly ork and four humans. All wore sturdy boots, black cargo pants, and black synthleather jackets, its sleeves painted grey. All had respirators on, and carried black or grey backpacks. A second of stunned silence petrified both sides, as the ork and one of the humans watched you walk into the intersection, then both drew pistols, the human yelled ”OY!” and the ork bellowed ”Whodafuq yo are, gringo?” Their voices were strangely muted through their respirators, the ork’s still carried.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <08-13-13/1306:45>

Fuck! Just keep calm Matt, no sudden moves
On seeing the pistols come up and level at him, Matt began to back away, desperately trying to figure out if these were the good guys or bad guys. Matt had a little lead on the others, and could hear them puffing and panting up the corridor towards him. hopefully they would realise something was up:
Matt moves his arms up into the surrender positon, his arms above his head, his taser still in hand, but saying nothing.
The lack of any formal introduction was suspicious, surely the police or medics would have said who they were?
[spoiler]looking for official insignia, badges, anything that would give away who these guys belonged to:
int 3, percep (4), coprocessor 2, active 3, -1 wound (11d6.hits(5)=5) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4173035/)[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <08-13-13/1328:35>

"I can ask you the same thing, gringo," Jade said, her own warhawk still in her hand, "but let's be polite, right.  We're just shoppers and workers of this monstrosity.  And you?"
She looked at them, trying to find out who they were.  She also checked in AR to see if they had arrows with badges or something like that.  She didn't point her warhawk at them, but she kept it visible to make sure they knew that this could change in an instant.

[spoiler]
intuition 4 + perception 3 + active 3 + vision enhancers 2 =12 (12d6.hits(5)=4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4173057/)
[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <08-13-13/2127:42>

Joel slowed to a stop when he saw the five metahumans come into sight. His eyes darted over them, suspiciously as he  looked for any crests on their jackets that might identify if they were from somewhere like the CDC. His hands went up slowly into the  air in a position of surrender.

Who the bloody hell are they? If they're not the CDC, this could quickly become unpleasant... I really need to get out of this area. I can't help out much if combat breaks  out.

[spoiler]Perception (4) + Intuition (5) + Perceptive (1) + Actively Looking (3) + Vision Enhancement (3) - Wounds (1) (15d6.hits(5)=5) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4173548/)[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <08-14-13/0726:53>

Your senses were already keyed up, so it wasn’t hard to realize that all members of the group wore armored jackets and were strapped, carrying similar, large pistols, two of which still pointed your way. Their attire was a uniform of sorts, but you were sure it was neither CDC nor any official sort. It was the uniform of the streets, of belonging, but it lacked anything fancy like AROs or official IDs. They looked like gangers. And the ork made it clear soon enough where they belonged.

”We be Granitez and eat politez for breakfast. And yo be shopperz no more than us. So why don’ yo spit out truth for second time, pendejo?” His stature showed menace and his voice was intended to support that, but the respirator made his attempt less effective. The humans in the back stood up from their stooping positions, but aside from the two guns you already saw, no others were drawn.
[spoiler=test please]Roll Judge Intentions please. Also, anyone may roll an INT + Seattle Street Gangs or similar skill test when hearing the gang name.[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Spanish] pendejo = idiot[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Gustovness on <08-14-13/0821:49>

Leroy, who was furthest back behind the group after having to play catch up and trying hardest to keep the pace of the rest of the group with his short and stubby legs, put his hands down on his knees trying to catch his breath while taking in the scene that was rapidly unfolding before him.

[spoiler]
Judge Intentions
INT 4 + CHR 2 - Wounded 1 = 5 (5d6.hits(5)=3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4174075/)

3 Hits!

Not bad![/spoiler]

Leroy cocked an eyebrow up at the sound of the gang's name.

Granitez, eh?

[spoiler]
Area Knowledge: Seattle

INT 4 + Area Knowledge: Seattle 2 - Wounded 1 = 5 (5d6.hits(5)=1) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4174085/)

1 Hit!

Glitch!

I have a specialization in downtown for this knowledge test but I wasn't sure what area the gang operated out of so I left it out.

[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <08-14-13/1048:48>

[spoiler]judge intentions with wound mod (5d6.hits(5)=2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4174237/)
int 3, seattle area knowledge 3, wound -1 (5d6.hits(5)=2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4174239/)[/spoiler]
Granitez? these guys looting already?
Look, we're survivors of whatever the fuck just happened here, we're trying to find a way out because the emergency doors won't open. We didn't see you, didn't hear you, alright? We'll be on our way now then...

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <08-14-13/1055:02>

[spoiler=Judge Intentions]Intuition (5) + Charisma (3) - Wounds (1) (7d6.hits(5)=2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4174216/)[/spoiler]

Joel narrowed his eyes. They didn't look like people who had any business here. Perhaps they were linked to who was responsible? Either way, they were starting to look hostile. He dropped the idea of summoning a spirit into this area, the domain would be harmful to it. He'd just have to bite the bullet and do the fighting himself. Hopefully Miko could handle the greatest portion of the combat, but Wolf wouldn't accept him backing down if it became necessary  to fight.

He blinked his vision over to the Astral, fighting off the revulsion of the taint within  it as he began examining the auras of the five gang members.

[spoiler=Assensing]Unarmed human 1:  Intuition (5) + Assensing (4) + Perceptive (1) - Wounds(1) - Astral Visibility (2) (7d6.hits(5)=5) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4174244/) Holy crap.

Unarmed human 2: Intuition (5) + Assensing (4) + Perceptive (1) - Wounds(1) - Astral Visibility (2) (7d6.hits(5)=5) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4174246/) Again. Holy crap.

Unarmed human 3: Intuition (5) + Assensing (4) + Perceptive (1) - Wounds(1) - Astral Visibility (2) (7d6.hits(5)=2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4174247/) Okay a bit more normal now.

Ork: Intuition (5) + Assensing (4) + Perceptive (1) - Wounds(1) - Astral Visibility (2) (7d6.hits(5)=4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4174248/) Good grief.

Human with gun: Intuition (5) + Assensing (4) + Perceptive (1) - Wounds(1) - Astral Visibility (2) (7d6.hits(5)=5) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4174249/) And holy crap again. [/spoilers]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <08-14-13/1238:19>

[spoiler]
charisma 3 + intuition 4 =7 (7d6.hits(5)=2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4174358/)

I have criminal (Seattle mafia) as knowledge skill.  I'm not sure if it applies, but if so, here it is (otherwise just disregard).  If this one doesn't apply, and prostitution networks applies, use the same roll (it's the same dicepool)
intuition 4 + seatle crime 2 =6 (6d6.hits(5)=2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4174363/)

@Max: holy crap indeed.  :D
[/spoiler]

4 humies and an ork, Jade thought as she looked at them again.  Well, the humies wouldn't be much of a problem.  They tended to go squish when hit by a troll fist.  But the ork was something else and she had the feeling she would be quite on her own in a fight.  Better wait a bit.  Luckily she had been working and she had her armour on.  That would at least stop part of the impact.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <08-14-13/1258:24>

--Joel--
As you opened your other eyes, you had to swallow to avert the feeling of being immersed in something thick and oily and... simply put, disgusting. The denizens of the astral milled around just as you remembered, but as they got a whiff of you appearing, they slowly but surely started to converge on you. You still had more than enough time to get a good lok at the five in front of you. There was some link between those people, and you got the feel that the humans defer to the ork. They were all shaken a bit, but the iron shackles of being unwilling to be the first to turn tail and show weakness tied them together. They were all jumpy, and a hazy look of some common activity tied them together above anything else: they were under the effects of some drug, tainting their aura with angry red stripes of adrenaline. They were on the verge of jumping, only waiting for some trigger, probably the ork's words, to draw. They all got minimal or no augmentations, the ork was the exception, who got some artificial muscles grafted to his basically impressive build. You also felt uncertainty in the ork, some internal struggle going on while he exchanged words with the others.

--Leroy--
You didn't really understand, how small fry like these could operate in Bellevue. Word was this was rather the area for bigwigs like the Mob or the Yaks. Something must be in the background. Other than this, you could turn up nothing from the recesses of your memory on the Granitez.

--all--
All of you could see that the group acted as one, showing deference to the ork talking to you. You also suspected fingers itching for the trigger, you had to be very careful in handling the situation for it not to escalate.
One of the humans in the back cut in. "Oy, Javier, they could just be another group of..."
"Shut it, Gabe, yo talk when i sayz so." The ork interjects angrily, turning his head his way for a moment, in a very unprofessional way...

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <08-14-13/1823:46>

[spoiler]charisma + negotiation: Burn one point of edge for critical success[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Gustovness on <08-14-13/2356:42>

Leroy was out of his element when it came to the gangers and he knew it.  He decided to keep his trap shut for once and let the shadier members of his new "team" lead in this dance.  He was, however, ready to take off running at a moment's notice.

Some fucked up fate it'd have to be to survive this disaster just to get gunned down by these assholes afterwards...

He clutched at his med kit's handle tightly, the beginnings of the fight or flight reflex beginning to take hold of his body.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <08-15-13/0502:42>

With the ork's attention temporarily elsewhere, Miko seized the opportunity and moved towards some cover.  She was still visible, but if the fecal matter would hit the oscilating unit, she could just hit the floor and in a reasonably safe position to start hitting back.  One of the things she had learned at her current, or maybe former, employer was from a retired secret service agent: always keep moving, because a moving target is harder to hit.  But if you can't find cover and wait it out.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <08-15-13/0627:06>

Joel began nervously moving towards the left corner of the intersection. He could see that despite the Orc's uncertainty they were drugged up and dangerous.  He knew he wasn't quick enough to easily avoid bullets, so it would be safer to be protected by cover.  Then hopefully he'd just need to incapacitate the leader.

"Nah, I don't need illusions, I'm a summoner! It's not like I'd ever need to induce confusion or fear in a target!" I'm such a bloody moron. His mental chastisement from earlier continued. When all this is over there are going to be  some changes to be made...

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <08-15-13/1614:09>

The human with the gun pointing in your direction tried to follow both Miko and Joel as they started to move slowly towards cover. You saw the indecision in his eyes, as he tried to focus on both of you.

Everything hung in the balance for a moment.
[spoiler=ganger’s Composure]WIL(2) + CHA(2) (4d6.hits(5)=1) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4176046/)[/spoiler]

And the moment passed. The ganger decided that the troll with the enormous handgun posed a bigger threat, so he kept the barrel in her direction. "Oy, where you think you goin'?" he asked.
"Yo shut it too, Crunchie." The ork's head whipped back towards you. He now focused on Matt, who could almost hear the gears of his brain straining to work faster. "Y'know, gringo, he's right. Movin' at gunpoint isn't bright, gets yo killed more'n not. But today, catch is good, so i'm in good mood. An' yo walkin' ain't mean yo walkin' for much longer an' i don' want yo anywhere near me." He lowered his gun somewhat, now it only pointed at your feet. The human, disbelief showing on his face, followed suit. "So why don' yo make us into yo an' me again?" He jerked his head right, into the direction you were heading to before you met.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <08-15-13/1640:53>

Matt didn't have to be told twice, the feeling of relief massive as his heart beat so hard he thought they could hear it in puyallup.
Matt briefly makes eye contact with the others, giving them a flash of raised eyebrows as an "i'm sorry" as he turns and heads back along the original path, relaxing his arms and the taser down slowly so as to not ruin the ork's generosity.
He makes sure to check the drone's trid feed in his helmet's Image link, checking its current position against the floor plan and observing its motion sensor as it advances.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Gustovness on <08-15-13/2121:22>

What the hell just happened?

Leroy didn't know whether to run, hide, duck for cover, or throw something at the gangers.

No, seriously, what the hell did that idiot just say?

He tried reading everyone's body language and got the faint idea that the tension in the room was receding.  Nonetheless, Leroy remained hyper vigilant.

[spoiler]

Due to Leroy's refusal to let his guard down, he gets +2 IP if someone provokes a fight now.
[/spoiler]

[spoiler]jk :P[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <08-16-13/0921:26>

'Never argue with gangers if they let you pass,' Miko thought as she followed Matt.  She did take some video and still pictures of them with her cybereyes though.
"If they managed to get in, there also has to be a way out," she said when they were out of hearing range of the looters, "somehow I don't think they were inside when this happened and they didn't seem smart enough to come up with this scheme in the first place.  But we can use it to our advantage.  I've recorded them while looting, so we can try to shift the blame on them.  A lame plan, I know, but as a last desperate act instead of going to jail ourselves, it can always be worth trying."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <08-16-13/0957:49>

"Agreed." Joel muttered fervently as he quickly moved after Miko, glancing back occasionally at the gangers. He didn't entirely trust them to not shoot him from behind. "Could they themselves have come through the entrance we're heading towards? Speaking of that, how far are we, Matt?"

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <08-16-13/1048:13>

It wasn't that far, where your route left the public areas. Conveniently, you found the door to the maintenance stairwell open. It was also obviously forced, broken plastic and parts of the locking mechanism lay scattered on the ground. Inside, the air was a few degrees warmer, and instead of the ads, you heard distant voices of heavy machinery, both from above and below.
The lighting here proved trickier than outside. The stairwell was sparsely lit, with a single lamp on each level, and it probably got less power as it only shed minimal light. Pools of darkness welled in the corners, besieging patches of partial light.

According to the rout, you had to go down.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Gustovness on <08-16-13/1125:29>

Leroy caught up to Matt, who was leading the way with whatever mapping program he had running in his helmet.  He placed his hand on Matt's forearm.  He rubbed his eyes and began to focus his thermographic vision in the dark environment.  It wasn't low light vision, but it was definitely in a spectrum that would give him an edge over his rigger guide.

"Watch yo step down here, chummer."

[spoiler]
Just a kind reminder to the GM, Leroy does have the civil engineering skill which he uses professionally to navigate through disaster areas.  The picture you're painting is one of continued destruction with possible rescue crews working overhead.  I'd hate for something to collapse on us or for a hazard that Leroy should have noticed under normal circumstances in this situation to go by unnoticed! ;)
[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <08-16-13/1427:20>

Not far now Joel we've got to start heading downwards now, thankfully our new best mates left the door open for us, which was nice. Speaking of which, did any of you guys get a fucking word of what that guy said?!
Matt turns on his flashlight, still on its retaining clip on his jacket. It wasn't perfect but at least he wasnt going to trip over his own feet in the inky darkness.
Cheers Leroy, You go on ahead then mate, I'll follow you.
Matt's AR feed cast an eerie glow over the walls and his body, turning to green as Matt minimised the map readout in favour of the Drone's trid feed.
//<<Drone command v1.03>>: Descend staircase, scan for contacts. Report contacts to me.//

[spoiler] Drone perception:
Visual:pilot 3, clearsight 3, vision enhance 3, active 3 (has lowlight sensor) (12d6.hits(5)=4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4177528/)
Audio:pilot 3, clearsight 3, audio enhance 3, active 3 (has lowlight sensor) (12d6.hits(5)=5) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4177531/)
+ motion sensor (no rules for testing)[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <08-16-13/1438:42>

"I'll cover the rear," Jade said, "I have thermo and low light vision and I can see over all of you."
She kept her cyber on for now, just to be able to react on anything.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <08-17-13/0021:10>

Joel nodded. "Guess I'm third then. My glasses will also allow me to see in low light." He listened carefully, nervously, for sounds of metahumans other than the small group of four. Or perhaps something else. More than anything he wanted to get out of this area and call up a spirit to feel comforted that he wouldn't be entirely helpless.

[spoiler]Perception (4) + Intuition (5) + Perceptive (1) + Hearing Spec (2) + Audio Enhancement (3) - Wounds (1) (14d6.hits(5)=5) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4178236/) Note Spatial Recogniser[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <08-19-13/0546:28>

Heading down into the bowels of the building, you could feel the difference. As you descended the stairs, the smell of people and fear and death was slowly changing into the smell of steel and electricity and machine oil. The pressure on you seemed to ease on you, until you reached the bottom of the stairs, where reality struck again. There lay another body, in the uniform jumpsuit of building maintenance, a female ork, and though you were pretty sure that the cause of death must have been a broken neck, nothing indicated why she would fall down the last flight of stairs.

There were two doors at the bottom, one led to storage, the other to waterworks, through which you could reach your destination.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <08-19-13/0631:53>

Matt's flashlight illuminated the grizled death pose of the female ork, her neck bent into an unnatural resting position. The ork looked like she'd had a nasty fall, or maybe a nasty push? Matt averted his gaze, he'd seen so much death today that he didn't want to add yet another face to see in his nightmares.
The sight of the waterworks entrance gave Matt a feeling of relief, the sense of immediate freedom gave him a huge boost.
Aha, waterworks, this is the one. Nearly home guys!

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <08-19-13/1609:55>

"Well, what are you waiting for, boy," Jade said, "Open it."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <08-19-13/1724:23>

Joel looked at the female ork somewhat sadly. As he did so, he allowed himself to slip into the Astral again, checking to see the current status of the Astral space at their location. "I swear if that door is somehow sealed..."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <08-19-13/1922:52>

--Joel--
The aura of death was perceptibly weaker here, than up in the main areas. A single half-being sought after the remains of the ork woman's feelings, and made a weak attempt at your much stronger emotions, but it was easy to swat it away. All what happened above, was still present down here, but it felt like this was a light rain instead of a heavy storm.
[spoiler=astral status]Astral visibility is up at -1 penalty. Aspected domain is back at level 1.[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Gustovness on <08-19-13/2331:03>

Leroy looked on to the dead ork woman.  He felt nothing for her.

He caught himself as he reflected on this fact... his feeling of nothing for the poor woman who lay there broken was a sharp contrast to the feelings he had earlier when he was surrounded by countless bodies and felt a great loss of control due to the overwhelming helplessness that came over him.

There could be no way that he was turned numb to so much death already.  He wasn't cold blooded.  No.  He was a firefighter.  He was supposed to save lives.  You can't dedicate yourself to saving lives while simultaneously not giving a shit about it.  It wasn't like dedicating yourself to pouring soykaf.

He almost began to feel guilty at his lack of compassion for the lifeless shell that lay before him.

However, he was a firefighter and he did have a logical understanding of the human body.  He shoved his feelings of guilt for his lack of empathy deep inside of himself and decided to chalk it up to being in shock.

I'm in shock.  We all are.  I'm not thinkin' straight.  My brain is fire'n off on primitive protocols to keep me alive through this mess.  I'm not an asshole.  I'm not an asshole...

Leroy's brow furled up and he walked up to the door that led to the waterway.  He leaned his back up against the wall right next to the door and put his hand on the handle, checking if it was locked.  He looked to Miko with an expression that asked if she was ready for him to open the door.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <08-20-13/0420:45>

As Miko readied herself, and Leroy opened the door, the hum of engines became stronger. Inside, there was a walkway, fastened to the left wall of a larger room, about 3 meters above ground level. Down there, big machinery still worked, probably on keeping the water clean and the supplies full in the building. A mass of pipes crossed the floor, sometimes one, sometimes a group, steel ladders crossed those at places. A large batch of pipes disappeared under the walkway, about halfway to the other end of the room, 20 meters from you. That was where the building plans indicated the exit into the sewers.

You saw steel stairs leading down to the floor, almost at the other end of the room. Another door led out at the other end of the walkway, closed. And you saw, heard no movement inside.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Gustovness on <08-20-13/0859:02>

Leroy peeked into the room and looked around.  Before stepping on that hanging walkway that was above so many moving mechanical parts, he'd make sure the room was structurally sound.  There was no telling how the blast...

or blasts, who knows what actually happened...

affected things like architectural supports and such.

[spoiler]Civil Engineering Test
LOG 5 + Engineering 2 + Civil 2 - Wounded 1 = 8 (8d6.hits(5)=3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4183592/)

3 Hits![/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <08-20-13/1101:26>

--Leroy--
You saw no structural damage in the room, neither the machinery, nor the walkways seemed damaged. It was in the same condition as it was built.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <08-20-13/1150:27>

Matt flexes his grip on the taser, his weak flashlight casting threatening shadows in the recesses of the pipework and railings, playing tricks on his mind.  cannot wait to get the hell out of here!
As Matt enters the room and crosses the walkway, he sends his flyspy ahead first to scan for any signs of life ahead.
<<Drone Command v1.03>>//Move ahead 20 metres, scan for contacts. report contacts to me//
Closing the distance to his AR marker for the exit via the piping, Matt starts looking for the controls or access they need to complete their escape
[spoiler]int 3, percept 4, co-processor 2, +active 3 -1wound (11d6.hits(5)=2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4183961/)[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <08-21-13/0650:37>

--Matt--
The drone hovered down near ground level, and still didn’t sense any contacts. It saw, however, what seemed to be the exit you were seeking. Right under the walkway, there was an access hatch, with lots of pipes crossing through the wall on both sides of it. It looked like this time would be different than with the emergency exit door, as the drone also indicated a service panel right next to the door. The panel was intact and small flashing LEDs indicated it was still working.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <08-21-13/0724:40>

"Guys, I've got our exit. It's an access hatch on the level below"
Matt hurried the remaining distance to get to the door, confident that the drone would keep look out for any trouble while he was distracted with the door controls.
His boots clanked loudly against the metallic walkway as he covered the distance, the sense of imminent freedom giving him a much needed burst of energy. He ducked under and around the exposed pipework, holstered the Taser and took a good look at the access hatch
Taking stock of the controls, he tried to open the door using the codes present on the 'link he took from the maintenance worker.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <08-21-13/0759:23>

Joel carefully followed Matt, still viewing the Astral space over the meat space. He wanted to be fully aware of when he was free of the oppressive influence of death, and of any possible Astral threats. "Carefully, Matt. We don't want to be surprised by something on the other side."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <08-21-13/0837:11>

"Damn-straight, you guys be ready as soon as this thing opens"

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <08-21-13/1234:33>

"No worries, I was born ready," Jade said.  She was still holding a warhawk modded for a troll.  Something quite impressive if you looked into it from the wrong end.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <08-21-13/1653:21>

Unfortunately, the codes were not valid for this exit. Whoever the guy in the staff room was, he had lower security access than needed, in order to open the door. An ARO flashed a few times, cautioning against further unauthorized attempts to open the hatch. You had to find a different way to open the door.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <08-21-13/1747:26>

Shit!!!! Fuckin' thing won't budge, codes are no good! Freedom was so close, the disappointment was crushing.
Guys, we're gonna have to do this the hard way. Any of you know a spanner from a screwdriver? Come give me a hand down here

Matt knelt down and unhooked the toolkit from his belt. He only really knew the basics of maglocks, it'd been some time since hardware class at college..

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Gustovness on <08-22-13/0030:08>

Leroy let out a sigh, half defeat, half frustration.  He remained up at the entry way looking out side from whence they came, serving as lookout while the gear heads did what they had to do to break through their supposed final barrier between here and freedom.

"I know that we should take it one step at a time and all... but any of ya'll have somewhere we could lay low for a while once we get out?  Until we figure out what the hell we're going to do next?  We can't just go home...  they know who we are."

Leroy wondered if Cuco might be willing to take them in.  The handlebar mustache wielding mage might be a good place to start, assuming they... whoever they were... haven't already associated him with Leroy.  Either way, he wouldn't be able to reach out to him via commlink.  Too risky.  Whoever framed Leroy would probably get a notification as soon as he got out and tried to use his commlink.  He'd just have to show up there... assuming there was no better place to go.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <08-22-13/0120:52>

"The only thing I know is that it's easier to hit someone when you're holding a spanner than a screwdriver," Jade said, "so I'll be look-out while you guys figure it out.  Unless you want to use brute force.  In that case I can help."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <08-22-13/0451:15>

Fantastic. Just me then... Could really do with my manservant now! Time to dig out the college books then boyo.
Miko, while you're up there, check that dead maintenance worker for keys, cards, codes. Anything that might be useful.
Matt takes a good look at the service panel and door, looking for a way to convince it to open.
[spoiler]int 3, percep 4, co processor 2, active 3, -1 wound (11d6.hits(5)=4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4186583/)
knowledge test if needed:log 3, civil engineering 5, -1 wound (7d6.hits(5)=2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4186586/)[/spoiler]
I've got a garage well away from my apartment. It'll be registered to my SiN though so I would think they'll be aware of it. I need to clear that out after this, got a stack of drones in there I don't want to lose, one in particular would be very handy if they come looking for us.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <08-22-13/0736:08>

--Matt--
The door was a heavy security model, manufactured for withstanding lots of pressure. It had complex locking mechanisms, but as you checked those, it seemed they were already open. Only a single maglock held the door closed, and by removing the panel, you had the opportunity to disengage it. Forcing the door, however, would still be hard, despite only one lock engaged, the weight of it would take the brunt of the attempt, and the hydraulics working on opening and closing it would also make forcing the door more difficult.
[spoiler=lock]Disengaging the lock takes a LOG + Hardware (3) test. Threshold is dynamic, so partial success is possible.[/spoiler]

As you thought about the situation, you suddenly remembered that you only left the Dobberman at home, and maybe the manservant, but you weren’t sure about the latter. The others were in the trunk of the Shin-Hyung… wherever the car was. It was really hard to remember anything you have done in the morning, things were hazy at best. But you were suddenly sure that most of your drones, as well as the car, were not at the garage at the moment.


--Leroy--
You were sure that Cuco would be willing to take you in, your bond went back some time. You weren’t so sure, however, that he would be willing to risk his neck for the others. And as you gave it some thought, it might be possible that some legwork could lead people to him, you weren’t exactly making your friendship a secret. At least a dozen people at the bar knew.


--Joel--
Keeping yourself open that way had its drawbacks. Some of the stronger half-beings from the upper levels must have sensed your presence, and began to gather near you. They weren’t overwhelming, but they tried to reach towards you, to attach to your live emotions. Alone, they were even less powerful than a watcher spirit, but you sensed that in large groups, they could even wear down a strong mage such as yourself.
[spoiler=Astral events]The spirits try to attach to you: MAG(1) + WIL(1) + Domain(1) + Multiple spirits(2) (5d6.hits(5)=1) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4186948/)
Please roll WIL + Counterspelling opposed test.[/spoiler]


--Miko--
You could tell that forcing the door wouldn’t be an easy job. You saw a security door or two in your life, and this seemed to be planned to resist big forces.
Standing guard over Matt, next to Joel, you got a really unpleasant feeling. You felt dirty, more so than any time in the past month. The feeling welled up in you suddenly, and you can’t explain its presence.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <08-22-13/0908:55>

[spoiler]WIL (5) + Counterspelling (2) - Wounds (1) (6d6.hits(5)=0) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4186980/)[/spoiler]

Joel's eyes widened as the spirits attached to him en masse. What the... Get off! Off! His attempts to mentally bat them off him proved futile, and the attachments gave him a feeling of being unclean. Tainted. He resisted the urge to gag and shuddered at the sensation. Oh drek... This can't be good. What the heck are these things going to do? He quickly began recounting in his head what he knew about denizens of the Astral plane.

[spoiler=Knowledge]Parazoology (4) + LOG (1) - Wounds (1) (4d6.hits(5)=1) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4186986/)
Spirits (5) + Intuition (5) - Wounds (1) (9d6.hits(5)=3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4186988/)[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <08-22-13/1255:44>

Miko shivered as she went to the guard and quickly checked his pockets and commlink for anything that might be used to open the door.  The faster they were out of here, the better it would be.

[spoiler]
perception test.
intuition 4 + perception 3 =7 (7d6.hits(5)=2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4187265/)
forgot the actively looking (I guess it applies here.
actively looking =3 (3d6.hits(5)=2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4187266/)

so that's 4 hits in total.
[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <08-22-13/1321:31>

--Joel--
You didn't need to think too much about what these half-being were capable of. One of them started to feed on your emotions, and while doing so, it fed you back its own essence. Fear, anxiety, unease, panic - all began to recede slowly, and you started to feel emptiness. A craving started to form in the back of your thoughts, and you were not sure what it was, but an ominous feeling of threat seeped through you.
And as you felt this, you knew, the longer you stayed active in the astral world, the more of these beings would be attracted to you. In this state your emotions were much stronger, and they could sense it from much farther away. You had to do something, before whatever this was, consumed you.
[spoiler=status]If you want to finish astral perception, roll a Composure (1) test, with a -1 modifier in addition to any others. If you want to do something else, feel free to do it.[/spoiler]

--Miko--
The ork was no guard, that you could tell with the first glance. She carried no weapons, and her jumpsuit wasn't armored at all. For you, turning her around to pat down all possible pockets was not hard, physically at least. But her stronger frame and her tougher build made you think involuntarily, that the roles could have been changed too easily.
Her pockets hid minimal value. Her comm was broken, she probably crashed it while falling down the stairs, but the flickering screen contained some partial data, which might be usful for opening the gate. She had a few tools on her, not a full kit, just some key pieces. You also found a credstick in one of the inner pockets, and a picture of her and a male ork, grinning wildly into the camera while embracing each other, in front of the Statue of Liberty, probably on a boat.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <08-22-13/1442:10>

"Can you do something with this," Jade said to Matt as she him the comm.  Then she went back to her post at the door and checked the amount on the credstick.  If she was going to be an outlaw, she would need money, even if it wasn't much.  And she wanted to get out of here.  Her eyes flicked from the body to the door and back to the group trying to open the door.  The faster they were out of here, the better.  Then at least they could start finding out who had done it and get some payback.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <08-22-13/1533:22>

Matt looks up from the control panel at Miko as she arrives with the roughed-up comm.
Sure thing, this from the Ork lady?
Matt gives it the once over. Noticing the flickering screen, he slaves it's display to his image link so he can better view its contents
[spoiler]do you want me to roll some analyze/browse tests here? shall I slave it to my comm so i can view stuff that way?[/spoiler]

Flipping through the data on his imagelink, he found some wiring diagrams that helped explain some of the pressure door's circuitry.
Armed with the fresh knowledge and some more tools, Matt sets about making a start on the lock.
Don't fuck this up Matty boy...Don't fuck this up
[spoiler]log 3, hardware 2, edg 1, -1 wound (5d6.hitsopen(5,6)=2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4187486/) used last point of edge![/spoiler]

aaand...Open Sesame...

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <08-22-13/1536:03>

--Miko--
The credstick held 150 nujen. Not too much, but the ork certainly didn't need it anymore.

--Matt--
The partial data contained some indicators that you could use, even if they didn't solve your problem.
[spoiler=lock]The data reduces the threshold for opening the lock by 1.[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Gustovness on <08-22-13/1544:17>

From the threshold of the door, Leroy eyeballed Miko.

"Matt might take a minute, want me to take a look at your wounds?"

[spoiler]Do medkits have "charges" to denote how many times they can be used?[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <08-22-13/1552:14>

Joel frowned slightly as he felt the emotional feedback. The odd craving. The emptiness. Mildly disturbed by the emotions being fed into him, he began to try and  pull his aura back into the physical world. Got to get out of this hellhole, and fast...

[spoiler]WIL (5) + CHA (3) - Wounds (1) - Misc (1) (6d6.hits(5)=2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4187546/)[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <08-23-13/0358:44>

Matt grabs the heavy steel door and tries to shift its weight
Guys, door is open, give me a hand would you? Someone make sure there are no "unpleasant" surprises on the other side too!

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <08-23-13/0604:00>

"I'm good," Jade said as she lumbered over to where Matt was struggling with the door, "keep it for when it's really needed.  Okay, you can open it.  The sooner we're out her the better."
The last was added for Matt when she was standing ready with her warhawk pointed at the door.  If something was at the other side, it would regret this quickly and terminally.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Gustovness on <08-23-13/1405:37>

Leroy made his way down to the hatch, ready to offer his substantial strength to cracking open the hatch.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <08-26-13/0453:38>

Matt looked at his work with satisfaction. True, the maglock wasn’t the most complicated he’s ever seen, but with limited resources, this was a fine accomplishment. He let Leroy go and open the door, which was an easy task, because the hydraulics still worked. The door opened inwards, almost silently.

Miko watched out for whatever was waiting on the other side. His revolver held level, his senses sharp. And it wasn’t for nothing. As the door opened, you glanced movement. It seemed a man stood guard there. He was slowly turning towards you. He wore a full body armor, with a packed combat harness over that, helmet on. In his hands, he held an assault rifle, although not at the ready, the muzzle pointed at the ground. And his attire was completed by a badge and other indicators stating he was Knight Errant. The name plate said his name was Sgt. Kaepernich.

The man was either an amateur or he didn’t expect trouble from the inside. His words suggested the latter. ”Hoi, hombre, I didn’t expect you to come back so soon…” He gets to this point before he finishes turning around, and notices you probably aren’t the ones he was expecting.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Gustovness on <08-26-13/1048:42>

Leroy arched his back and lifted back the hatch with proper form, exhaling strongly but not having to exert overwhelming strength.  He was dusting off his hands on his pants when he heard someone speaking from the other side.

He looked up to Miko and remained clear out of her line of fire, hatch still between him and whoever it was who was greeting them. 

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <08-26-13/1411:18>

"Oh, frag," Miko said.  She dropped her pistol, grabbed the door and slammed it close, before locking it again.
"Errant SWAT on the other side," she said to the others, "let's get away here and find another way out."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <08-26-13/1807:21>

--Miko--
You were fast. Adrenaline gave you wings and you hardly felt as you slammed into the hatch. The reassuring click of the maglock snapping back closed made you breath in small pants. You weren't sure if the man on the other side has seen your face, he wasn't fully turned by the time you closed the door.

--Leroy--
You were glad you cleared out of the troll's way. You didn't expect her to spring to the door, not really paying attention to anyone in her way. The hatch closed with a bang, and an underlying whine of overburdened hydraulic systems could be heard.

--Matt--
This was pure madness. One second, you managed to open the door, thinking you took a great leap ahead in saving everyone. The next, you saw a KE officer in full body armor outside, but by the time you could raise your taser, Miko slammed into the door, and shut it again.

--Joel--
An ominous slam accentuated the moment when you closed your astral senses, almost as if the two were connected. But you saw, with a slightly desperate feeling, that your way to freedom was closed again, by none other than one who shared your fate.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <08-27-13/0047:52>

[spoiler] For what it's  worth: Reaction (3) + Intuition (5) - Wounds (1) (7d6.hits(5)=3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4193316/)[/spoiler]

Joel blinked as he heard the slamming sound, feeling somewhat on edge as the astral plane faded to reveal the slammed door with Miko against it. "Not... Not that way then?" He asked hesitantly. "But... Is there another way out? Should we backtrack?" He hadn't managed to see what was on the other side of the door, but the loud slam suggested it wasn't something pleasant.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Gustovness on <08-27-13/0055:44>

"You guys do know that the next step for that guy is to call in what just happened and where, right?"

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <08-27-13/0123:48>

"I know," Jade said, "but these is a good door.  Matt, can you disable the hydraulics?  In not too much time?  That should buy us some time while we look for another way out.  Quickly as well.  If they're coming from here, they might also come from other locations."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <08-27-13/0823:03>

Matt had no sooner drawn his taser to down the unsuspecting dodgy KE officer than miko dashed across his line of fire, half a second later and miko would have taken a dart to the spine.
Fuck, NO, don't do that! CLUNK!!!!
The door slammed shut, taking Matt's hard work and only escape route with it.
Fantastic, great work there. Now we're royally fucked. That guy let those hombres in, he knows we're here and now we're sandwiched between a gang of armed looters and corrupt SWAT officers with no way out. AMAZING.
Matt was fuming with rage on the exterior, but internally, he was shitting bricks. He'd never felt so trapped in his life, and his slim survival chances just got a lot thinner.
Drone command v1.0.3//Patrol stairwell, report contacts to me.

Taking a second to compose himself, he zapped his drone a command, it could at least warn them if the gangers came back on the KE's orders.

Right, Joel, Leroy, have a crack at that second door. I know its locked but get a good look at it while i sort this fucking thing...
Tossing the commlink from the other maintenance worker at Miko;
See if you can find where that second door goes to, i'll be over in a minute!

Grabbing a wrench, Matt traces back as many of the hydraulic pipes as he can, undoing valves and loosening connections until the fluid bleeds the pressure out, rendering it inoperable.
His heart sank as the best escape plan they had vanished before his eyes..

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <08-27-13/0908:28>

Other door...? Oh right, at the end of the walkway I think?  "Alright Matt, I'll take a look..."Joel began making his way back up the stairs. A feeling of unease was beginning to set in him as it occurred to him that Miko had closed off what quite possibly was their only exit.  He didn't relish the possibility of being trapped in their any more than he did trying to blast open the door. Nevertheless... He approached the other door, pressing his headphones against it, attempting to see if any sound was travelling through it from the other side.

[spoiler]Intuition (5) + Perception (4) + Perceptive (1) + Hearing Spec (2) + Audio Enhancement (3) - Wounds (1) (14d6.hits(5)=4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4194343/) (I figure the door and actively searching cancel each other out)[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <08-28-13/1234:29>

--Joel--
The door on the other end of the walkway was also made from steel. It seemed heavy, but nothing as heavy as the one leading outside. Straining your ears, you listened for any sign of activity on the other side, but you only heard the sounds of working heavy machinery. It must have been another room for providing water, or electricity, or some other necessity for the building.

--Matt--
Anger made you slower, and it didn’t help that you had to find the pressure valves. Most of the hydraulics were placed inside the door and the wall, so you had to find where the maintenance crew could access these. And when you found it, there was not as much to do as you hoped. A single pressure valve and a pipe end for refilling the hydraulic fluid were hidden behind a wall panel. The valve you could turn, but it probably just turned off the system. In order to make it inoperable, you had to find something to suck the fluid out with.

--Miko--
As the sudden rush of adrenaline started to abate, Leroy’s and Matt’s words made you think. You weren’t exactly sure the man outside would call anything in, if he really let the looters in. If that was true, he’d get into real trouble, surely loosing his job. And with that, uncertainty came. Was it too soon to close this way out? Or was it the right course of action? Matt was still grumbling, and looking to disable the hydraulics, there was still time to change your decision, if you wanted.

--Leroy--
The others jumped to a flurry of activity but that hid an increasing unease. They got closer and closer to panic. And as this happened, a welcome change washed over you. The professional mindset of one sworn to save others in times of peril, just clicked in place and cleared your mind. The effects of the initial shock were gone, and although you knew full recovery was probably on a different planet now, but you weren’t hindered by the numbing effects of shock anymore.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <08-28-13/1352:23>

"You guys sure those looters came from here," Jade asked, "and not through some other entrance we don't know about?  And is there another one close by?"
She also tried to get something out of the commlink from the dead ork, like a map with all the passages on.  Something she clearly had not on hers.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <08-28-13/1510:06>

--Miko--
The damaged commlink was not an easy tool to work with. Icons did work less than not. More than once, the screen just went blank, and the darn thing needed a hard shake or a hit to get back on. You felt you weren't the best person to do this, it would take some luck, or some expertise to extract more information.
[spoiler=info]To get more data out of the comm, someone needs to roll LOG + Computer if trying to work with the available functions or LOG + Hardware to try and access the data storage through another device. Computer can be defaulted, Hardware can't.[/spoiler]

--Matt and Leroy--
The answer to Miko's question isn't easy so Matt has to stop for a moment to think it throug. He was sure that if there was an exit in the immediate vicinity, the terminal in the staff room would have shown it.
Your eyes met, as you both tried to figure out the answer.
[spoiler=test please]Roll a LOG + Engineering(Civil) test.[/spoiler]

--Joel--
The sounds from the other side suggested that whatever engines were there, didn't work at full power.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Gustovness on <08-29-13/0023:32>

Leroy take the time to sit down for a second.  Everything was happening so fast that he had forgotten how much like shit he felt.  This huge let down certainly gave him the opportunity to focus on all the things that were going wrong both outside and inside of his body.

He cracked open his medkit, took out a bottle of pills, and swallowed some pain killers.

[spoiler]First Aid (Stun)

LOG 5 + First Aid 2 + Medkit 4 - Average Conditions 1 - This Place Sucks 1 = 9 (9d6.hits(5)=2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4196869/)

2 Hits!

no glitches.[/spoiler]

He swallowed hard, sucking down the pills without any water.  He held the bottle up in the air and offered some to his companions.

"Anyone want some?  Looks like we still might have a ways to go..."

[spoiler]Engineering Test

LOG 5 + Engineering 2 + Civil 2 - Wounded 1 = 8 (8d6.hits(5)=2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4196866/)

2 Hits!

no glitches[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <08-29-13/0121:04>

"Maybe there's an extra exit on a map on this thing," Jade said, holding the commlink, "but I'll need someone who knows more about these things then I do to have a look at it."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <08-29-13/0946:25>

Seeing that trying to break the hydraulics was futile. Matt slammed the wrench into the floor in frustration, took a deep breath and turned around to face the others.
Seeing the pain killers on offer, Matt holds his hand out to receive a few pills, nearly gagging as they stuck in his dry throat for a second.
**Cough***Thanks man***Cough***
[spoiler]civil engineering -1wound (7d6.hits(5)=3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4197199/)[/spoiler]
Smacking his chest and doing his best not to choke on the pills, he makes his way over to miko and the commlink.
Taking it in hand, Matt does his best to cajole the thing back to life and give up its secrets
[spoiler]computer + log test (assuming leroy patched me up for no wound) (7d6.hits(5)=1) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4197204/)[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Gustovness on <08-30-13/0945:36>

[spoiler]Matt's Healing

LOG 5 + First Aid 2 - Wounded 1 = 6 (6d6.hits(5)=1) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4198245/)

Gah, forgot to add the medkit rating and situational modifiers to the dice pool

Medkit4 - Situational Modifiers 2 = 2 (2d6.hits(5)=0) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4198246/)

Nothing, sorry csjarrat :P[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <08-30-13/1009:56>

--Matt and Leroy--
Both of you were sure that even in a building of such proportions, exits like this didn’t exist in abundance. There must have been other underground connections to the outside, but you suspected those were much tighter than this one. Electricity didn’t need as much space to get through as water and sewage.

--Matt--
From your surveys, you suspected you were almost at the northernmost part of the building. The placement of this engineering center suggested two possibilities. Either the public utilities were concentrated in this area, making it easier to access from here, or there was another center near the southernmost part of the building. And the latter was more probable. But a thought hit you almost immediately. If they posted a guard here, to this underground passage, wouldn’t they do the same at the other side?
Your theory about the two engineering centers was quickly confirmed by what you found in the commlink. And there was a similar access hatch there. But these were the only two that led out of the building below ground level. As you saved as much information to your own comm, the screen of the other device started to flicker again, and within half a minute, it sparked for the last time, and with a puff of acrid-smelling smoke, it went dark.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <08-30-13/1125:28>

He resisted the urge to immediately open the door. "Matt? Miko?" He called. "Do your maps state what's on the other end of this door? I can hear a bit of underpowered heavy machinery, but that's about it." He was hoping this might at least lead to another way out. Failing that, that the others in the room had gotten another way out. He could use a commlink, but wasn't really an expert with technology. He really didn't want to even try an Astral Projection in this mess.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <08-30-13/1203:01>

As the commlink fizzles and dies, Matt tosses it on the ground with a sigh.
He takes a good look at the in-tact door, and then at the maps he's downloaded.
I hate to break it to you guys, but we don't really have any other option for busting out of here. There's another engineering zone on the south side, but we'd have to risk our luck with the gangers again and any other police or beasties wandering the corridors. I can't help feeling we got lucky with this door, with those hydraulics active we wouldn't have got through that. There's no guarantee I'll even be able to open the door on the other side of the complex and the police maybe already inside the building by now.
Joel, I don't think that door goes anywhere important. Its shit or bust I'm afraid. We gotta go through that door, except this time we won't have the element of surprise {sly look at miko}
You're a magician though? Can you make us invisible or make a distraction if the SWAT guy is still around? Or maybe put him to sleep with a spell?
If we can't go over, around or under this guy, then we'll have to go through him. I dunno about you guys, but I'm more than happy to tase one bent copper to stay out of the electric chair.
Matt readies his taser and flicks the laser sight on again for added effect.

It's four against one guys, we can do this.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <08-30-13/1208:05>

"So I'm not used to this," Jade said with a dirty look towards Matt, "so sue me.  But going through him might be an option.  Only I don't have a taser, although my fist can be considered one."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <08-30-13/2107:54>

"Sadly I specialise in finding magic, combat spells and summoning. So while I can't  put him to sleep, I can try to knock him out." Joel answered as he rejoined the group. "I find myself with a lack of reluctance for going right through him. Frankly, I just want to get out of here, preferably sooner rather than later."

No need to add that my magic is being disrupted by whatever happened here.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Gustovness on <08-31-13/0029:52>

"Jus' don't kill the mothafucka.  Not being soft, but bent or not, a dead cop would complicate shit for us."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <08-31-13/1249:54>

Yeah, definitely don't want that on our hands. Right, I'll crack on with the door. You guys get ready. Leroy, you wanna take my taser? I'm gonna be preoccupied opening this bloody thing again. If the guy isn't there again, I'll pilot the drone through the hatch and scout it out before we move.
Sound good?

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <08-31-13/1356:06>

"If we're not going to kill him," Jade said, "I'm ready.  I just need my hands and the assurance that nobody will taser me while I'm beating the shit out of him."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <08-31-13/1407:22>

 No-one here wants to kill anyone Miko, {looking at the door} shall we?

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <09-03-13/0444:21>

When Leroy opened the door, you saw the guard still didn’t leave his post. All of you could see him now clearly. He faced the door but luckily for you, he didn’t have his assault rifle at the ready. He started speaking in a complaining voice. ”Muchaco, don’t frag with me. If you… He got to this point, then he noticed the troll rushing him and even though he reacted immediately, he was already too late to raise the rifle to defend against the first hits.

The hatch was basically a wide, short corridor that ended in another door a few meters away. The guard stood on the left side, but as Miko rushed him, space tended to narrow down. A suitably agile person could use the commotion to get past the melee, but he risked being tread on.
[spoiler=Leroy]You can get by the guard in the first IP with ease if you want to, as you are faster than the troll. That is of course if you run, otherwise you don't have enough movement rate for that.[/spoiler]
[spoiler=situation]The corridor is about 3 meters wide, and it is 6 meters long. The door on the other side is closed,  seems to be the same kind as the one you just opened. The guard is about 3-4 meters from the door, so it is short range for all firearms, but it is enough space to charge him if Miko wants to. Lighting is the same as inside (partial light).
Astral background count is still 1 (-1 effective Magic).[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <09-03-13/0535:37>

As the door swung open, Matt's flashlight illuminated his target. Clearly the guard hadn't cottoned on that this was not his group of "pet" gangers.
Gotta take him down before that rifle comes up..
Matt grabs hold of the taser as quickly as he could, splashing the laser sight onto the dazzled guard as the team sprung into action.
[spoiler]
Simple: ready weapon
Free:Activate laser sight
Simple: fire weapon
pistols pool 9, -1wound (8d6.hits(5)=3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4203137/) 3hits, no glitch[/spoiler]
 

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <09-03-13/1322:03>

[spoiler=damage resistance]Damage: 5S(e) + 3 hits = 8S(e)
Resistance: BOD(4) + half impact(5) + non-conductivity(4) (13d6.hits(5)=4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4203524/), damage taken: 4S
Against stun effect, TH3: BOD(4) + WIL(3) + half impact(5) + non-conductivity(4) (16d6.hits(5)=7) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4203525/)[/spoiler]
The hit had little effect on the guard, even if it must’ve hurt somewhat. Being tased was never a good experience and his muscles must have hurt when they seized.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <09-03-13/1811:28>

After the taser was shot, Jade jumpen through the door using a move her old sensei had taught her quite some time ago.  This to make sure she wasn't in the way of others.  While passing the guard she gave him a karate hit right out of a movie.

[spoiler]
I move so that I don't block the door and kick the guard
Agility 5 + unarmed 3 =8 (8d6.hits(5)=3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4203785/)

Damage: S/2= 3 + net hits +1 (karate)

PS: I don't have my books heer on holiday, so quick question: what do finishing move and watchful guard do?  I have both.
[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Gustovness on <09-03-13/2300:59>

Leroy stayed put outside of entryway.  He did not expose himself.  As much as he wanted to roll over the shock trooper outside, he wasn't armed, and two others were.  It'd be stupid to run out there.  Better let the people with guns do the heavy lifting.

[spoiler]I won't bother rolling for full defense since Leroy hasn't even shown himself to the police officer and he's way out of reach of him.[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <09-03-13/2311:55>

IF GUARD STILL CONSCIOUS

Joel narrowed his eyes in focus, reaching towards the nearest leyline of magic to channel into a forceful attack directly into the cop's aura.

[spoiler]Stunbolt Force 4 (Opposed with Willpower+Counterpelling) - Magic (5) + Spellcasting (4) + Combat Spec (2) + Wolf Mentor (2) - Wounds (1) - Domain (1) (11d6.hits(5)=2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4204066/)[/spoiler]

ELSE

As soon as the guard dropped, Joel quickly moved through the door, wanting to get a move on as soon as possible.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <09-04-13/0556:33>

[spoiler=Miko’s attack]Rolling a single die for your reach: Reach (1d6.hits(5)=1) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4204423/)
Damage code is 3S (STR/2) + 4 hits = 7S, no AP
Resistance test: BOD(4) + Impact(10) (14d6.hits(5)=4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4204424/); spending Edge: BOD(4) + Impact(10) - hits(4) (10d6.hits(5)=2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4204425/), damage taken: 1S
Note: you have the opportunity to follow through with another attack (Finishing move), while the guard is still unable to defend against it. Please also don’t forget to take your reach into consideration, the guard has 0.[/spoiler]
You hit the chest pads head on, and the guard took it with a grunt, barely flinching.

[spoiler=Joel’s Stunbolt]Resistance: WIL(3) + EDG(2) (5d6.hitsopen(5,6)=5) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4204427/), resisted
please roll for Drain[/spoiler]
Your magic seems to disperse around his mind, as he is absorbed in physical combat.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <09-04-13/1449:48>

Jade Shaw that her attack didn't do much, but another fist was already on it's way from the other way

[spoiler]
Die roll for Jade

Campaign: Gauntlet
Rolled on: Sept. 4, 2013, 11:57 a.m.

9d6.hits(5) → [4,5,2,5,4,6,3,3,6] = (4)
Agility 5 + unarmed 3 + reach 1 =9

[link to roll]
Finishing move attack
Agility 5 + unarmed 3 + reach 1 =9 (9d6.hits(5)=4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4204701/)
DV: S/2 = 3 + 4 net hits + 1 DV from karate = 8S

@ren: my previous attack had 1 more DV as I have the +1 DV from karate
[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <09-04-13/1503:17>

[spoiler]Resistance vs. 8S: BOD(4) + Impact(10) (14d6.hits(5)=4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4204715/), damage taken: 4S[/spoiler]
Your concentrated assault knocked the guard to the ground. He was still groaning, but definitely out.

Adrenal levels still high, it just hits you what you have done. You attacked an officer of the Law. You crossed a line here, that very few people dare cross, setting you apart from most of the people you knew up till this moment. And another thought comes, unbidden, yet a welcome warning. You all saw movies, where SWAT units are sent in to deal with criminals. All of these depicted high-tech gadgets, tactical networks, and most importantly, biomonitors. Whoever sat in the command vehicle, they have surely noticed by now that one of their people was down. It was time to take left door, and run for it.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <09-05-13/1320:25>

Seizing the opportunity, Matt breaks into a run past the dazed and floored guard, trying to kick his rifle away from him as he passed by.
<<Drone Command>>//follow me//
Matt looks for the exit, and tries the door

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <09-05-13/1427:54>

The rifle was already out of the guard's hands, that seized once in a while when the remains of the electric current coursed through his body. It wasn't hard to kick it out of his reach. As Matt reached the door on the other end, he found it very slightly ajar, and noticed a small metal wedge that prevented it from closing. Opening this door would be a question of muscle strength, but looking at the troll and the dwarf, he didn't doubt that it would take only seconds.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Gustovness on <09-07-13/0132:19>

Leroy, in tow behind the others, looked at the expression on Matt's face, then to the door, and was instantly up to speed on the situation.

He sprinted to the front of the group and right up the door.  He brought one foot up towards the frame of the door and tried to peel back the door.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <09-07-13/0343:23>

"Here, I'll help," Jade said as she grabbed the door above the dwarf's level and pulled as well.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Gustovness on <09-08-13/0034:04>

Leroy and Miko began to move the door steadily, albeit with a monumental effort.  As soon as Leroy was able to, he slid his leg into the opening of the door, and then his hips, and then propped his back against the sliding door as he pushed away from the frame, extending the door away and opening it for the rest of his team with his body acting as a wedge.

[spoiler]INTESTINAL FORTITUDE TEST

BOD 4 + WIL 4 - Wounded 1 = 7 (4d6.hits(5)=2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4209193/)

Woops, only rolled 4 dice.  Gonna roll the other 3 now...

Other half of previous roll for intestinal fortitude (3d6.hits(5)=1) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4209194/)

3 hits!

No glitches, Leroy does not shit himself while performing this grueling feat of strength!
[/spoiler]

"GO, GO, GO!  COME ON THROUGH!  AND I SWEAR IF ANY OF YOU MOTHAFUCKAS TEABAG ME ON YOUR WAY OUT..."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <09-08-13/0407:06>

With your joint effort, the door opened within seconds, and you saw a sewer corridor, stretching north to south. There were no lights here, just what you brought with you, and what came from behind you, but that would disappear as soon an the door closed.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <09-08-13/0804:04>

Joel quickly bypassed the guard to keep up with  the group. His spell failing had startled him, causing a delayed reaction to the guard being knocked out. He was close behind the group and quickly moved past Jade and Leroy as they held open the door.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <09-09-13/1104:02>

Epilogue

Going under

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <09-09-13/1104:26>

Later you only remembered glimpses of the next few minutes. Fear gave wings to all of you, fear of being caught by Knight Errant units that were surely already on their way to help out their stunned comrade. You looked for the best opportunity, to put as many turns and as many meters between you and that accursed place as possible, but slowly, you got more confident that you lost whoever might have been following you, if there was anyone.

You stopped at one of the intersections, still somewhere under Bellevue, to catch your breath and decide what to do next. Lots of opportunities seemed to be opening up in front of you, at least compared to those in the Rider. The uplifting feeling of a semblance of freedom surged through you before thinking back at what happened, at what you have done, and suddenly, the future didn’t seem so bright at all.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <09-09-13/1631:12>

"So what now," Jade asked, "as soon as we show outselves above, we will be arrested, if not simply shot down.  But from here it will be difficult to figure out who really did it."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Gustovness on <09-11-13/0143:36>

Leroy's chest burned.  He gasped for air, filling his lungs with the hot stink that was the sewer air. He leaned over, placing his hands on his knees trying to catch a breath.  Between gasps,

"To hell with.... with finding who did this now... now we need to... to lay low..."

He straightened up a bit, hands on his hips now.

"If no one's got a better idea... our best bet will be to head to the barrens and try to get our shit together there.  No one's gonna be lookin' for us out there."

The weight of the evidence inside the medkit taxed his shoulder mentally.

... but we can't take too long... I gotta find out what the hell that powdery shit was comin' out those people...

"Matt, can you pull up a road map to get us out there, no where in particular... shit man I dunno... maybe we can squat somewhere and keep on eye on the news to see where this is goin', ya know?"

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <09-11-13/0413:40>

The acrid smell of the sewers was catching in the back of Matt's throat, making him want to chuck his guts up.
Yeah, never thought I'd say hanging out in the barrens would be a good idea, but I agree.
Turn off your wireless on your commlinks as well guys, if they've got our names they've probably got our commcodes as well.
Leroy, I think to be safest, we're gonna have to do this the old fashioned way. We need to wait until dark, pop a manhole cover and move by night, see if we can pick up a disposable 'link from a vending machine or something and make some calls. see if we can get somewhere to lie low for a while. I need to track down my hardware before I leave the city, I've got some wheels too, but I think we really need to get the fuck out of here till things quiet down.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Gustovness on <09-11-13/0420:13>

"I take it your ride doesn't have any connection to your name?"

Leroy followed Matt's advice of disabling anything that could track him.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <09-11-13/0615:18>

Yeah its all flagged under my name, but I know a guy who knows a guy, if you get my drift. Besides, there are a few drones kicking about in there that'd be very useful to us.

Matt has a good look around, checking for ladders to the street level or any signage that would indicate a street name corresponding to their location, sweeping his flashlight beam along the roof and walls.
[spoiler]Int 3, percep 4, active search 3, co processor 2, -1 wound (11d6.hits(5)=4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4213075/)[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <09-11-13/0618:06>

Joel's nose was wrinkled from the smell of the sewer, but he endured. He was panting slightly from the running as he attempted to catch his breath. At Matt's suggestion, he quickly disabled the wireless signal on his commlink; no need to give away his position. Having done so, he allowed his vision to slip over into the Astral plane, taking a look around to see if he was still in the unpleasantness from earlier. If they were free from it, he might be able to request assistance from a spirit, at least to keep an eye on them in the Astral plane.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <09-11-13/1556:51>

--Matt--
Talking of wheels, an unpleasant feeling started to creep up your spine. Yes, you remembered your car, all the care you and Danny Boy put into it, that it was in perfect condition… But you suddenly realized you couldn’t remember where exactly you left it. You vaguely recalled that you were driving it this morning, but the rest was lost in a haze, up to the point when you came to in the Rider, among the dead. From then on, it was almost unnaturally clear.


--Joel--
You cautiously opened your senses to the astral world. Relief washed over you when you saw that the oppressing aura of death and suffering was nowhere to be seen. With a glance, you were able to tell that without a doubt, it left its mark on all four of you, but this was a problem for tomorrow: currently, nothing could have suppressed your joy of seeing not even a single half-being that tried to feed from your emotions.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <09-11-13/1718:42>

Shit.. thinking about it, i'm not even sure where the hell it is. I must have drove it to work though...
I must have....I hope....
[spoiler]@GM, is there a ladder/manhole to the surface anywhere in view?[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Gustovness on <09-12-13/0322:28>

"I still think it's best if we try to cover as much ground as we can from down here.  I don't want to walk outside and get spotted.  Our faces are splattered all over the place!"

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <09-12-13/0758:49>

"Good idea," Jade added as she shut down her commlink.  Not that they had reception worth a damn down here anyways.
"It's difficult, but we could get some of those fake SINs," she added, "it might be enough to walk around, especially if we stay out of the high security areas and use a bit of disguise."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <09-12-13/1058:31>

Matt saw two manholes in the immediate vicinity, leading up to the surface. His GPS showed that they were still under a higher security neighborhood, a district of Bellevue, and as Leroy said, he suspected they would better go on and look for a different exit.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <09-12-13/1216:09>

"One moment... I want to make sure we have something taking care of us in the Astral, perhaps keep us safe." He stopped and focused, narrowing his eyes, calling to the nearest leyline to help coax a Spirit of Beasts to assist him in his endeavours. He felt his training and his mentor both aiding him in his task. His first attempt caused him to gasp slightly as blood spurted out of his nose, holding a hand up to his head.

"Ow... Frag it.  Perhaps that was a bit ambitious..." He cast out his energy again, this time meekly aiming for a less powerful spirit than before. His attempts were already allowing him to see the wolf-like spirit on the other end of the window.

[spoiler]Summoning Force 6 Beast spirit (Optional Powers: Natural Weapon,  Concealment): Summoning (5) + Magic (5) + Beast Spec (2) + Wolf Mentor (2) - Wounds (1) (13d6.hits(5)=4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4214505/)
vs
Force 6 (6) (6d6.hits(5)=4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4214511/) WHAT

Summoning Drain: 8P
Drain Resist: Willpower (5) + Intuition (5) (10d6.hits(5)=2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4214512/)
Edge to reroll misses: Willpower (5) + Intuition (5) - Hits (2) (8d6.hits(5)=3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4214513/)
Summoning Drain: 3P

0 Edge remaining.

... I need to remember this is my Mage, not my Technomancer. And that I can't just summon a Force 6 Spirit. Never used Edge on my Technomancer, already used all my Edge on this guy. Maybe I should just stick to Stunbolt...

-

Take two

Summoning Force 3 Beast Spirit (Optional Power: Concealment) roll: Summoning (5) + Magic (5) + Beast Spec (2) + Wolf Mentor (2) - Wounds (2) - Trying Again (2) (10d6.hits(5)=4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4214519/)
vs
Force 3 (3) (3d6.hits(5)=0) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4214520/)

3 services

Drain DV: 0S[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <09-12-13/1226:53>

--Joel--
The horrors of the Rider still affected your abilities. You almost succeeded at summoning a great beast to your service, but you lost concentration too early, and it shied away from the repulsive stench of your astral form. The pain reminded you to be careful the next time, and that ambition was not always welcome inside the pack of Wolf.

The smaller spirit you summoned came meekly, revealing its throat to you subserviently.
[spoiler]Notes: You don't have to use the try again rules for summoning a second spirit. The first summoning test comes with its own risks and rewards, so the second is a separate action, just like shooting someone for the second time. Also, drain value is minimum 2 for summoning, even if the spirit has no hits, but this time you can buy those hits with your 10 dice.[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <09-12-13/1304:30>

Ok guys, GPS shows we're still under Bellvue. Better keep our heads down till we get somewhere quieter.
Matt fixes a waypoint over the barrens so they've at least got a direction to head in and stows his little fly-spy back into it's belt pouch, now next to useless with wireless comms banned.
I've got a GPS ping for the barrens, we need to head in that direction
he said, pointing into the murk of the tunnels, the route only partially lit by his flashlight.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <09-12-13/1330:08>

"I always have to keep my head down," Jade said with a bit of a whine in her voice, "There's tunnels down here were you can run a truck through.  Can't we go through those."
It had been a long day.  Well, not that long in time, she had done longer, but in emotions it had been a very long day and she was starting to get fed up with it.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <09-13-13/0726:49>

"No... Don't submit to me. I am not Alpha, and we are all pack under Wolf." His mental message was unconsciously formal as it travelled to the spirit. "I require your aid. Could you safeguard myself and my companions by watching for possible threats?" He had allowed his vision to remain watching the Astral plane. While he could keep watch on his own, having another set of eyes always helps. "I don't care where we go as long as it leads to eventually getting something for this headache I've done to myself. And not into the loving embrace of Knight Errant. Lead on, Matt."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <09-15-13/0433:18>

--Joel--
"My senses are yours, brother. Rest assured, i will not let anyone slip by and surprise you." The spirit gets up and immediately starts to make the rounds.

--all--
The sewers were more like a maze than you expected. You spent a nerve-grating hour down there. Some tunnels were closed, and some of those were easier and safer to circle around then to cut through. Some tunnels were wide, where even Miko could straighten, but others were narrow with low ceilings, in which everybody but the dwarf had to hunch and cover. Luckily, the latter kind was much more rare.

At last, you were out from under Bellevue, right under Redmond district. This became apparent from both your GPS coordinates and from the rapidly deteriorating conditions of the tunnels. Lights became sparse, and you heard the sounds of small, scuffling feet from the patches of darkness. You had to risk the surface soon, or risk meeting something down here.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <09-15-13/1509:12>

Guys, I think we're under redmond now. it'll be getting dark soon. I think we should pop up and take a look at the surface, get out of this shit-tip Literally... and see if we can get hold of a disposable comm and make some calls.

Matt begins to climb the nearest ladder, heading up towards the manhole cover.
Thoughts?

The adrenaline pumping through Matt's veins was almost as exhilarating as it was exhausting. Though this was clearly the shittest situation he'd ever been in, something about the challenge and danger had perked up something he'd tried to bury since his troubled teen years.
Though boosting cars, doing drugs and getting in shit with the law nearly got him shafted for life, he'd loved almost every minute of it as a rebellious little arsehole. Thankfully fate had given him a second chance, a crime prevention scheme meant a rare chance at a college education and a decent job.
He didn't think he'd be lucky enough to get another opportunity like that, the sense of foreboding at being a man wanted for acts of mass terrorism was overwhelming.
The meagre pinpricks of light coming through the manhole was as near to the light at the end of the tunnel as he could imagine.Fuck knows what awaited him up there in the Barrens. Maybe, just maybe, he could climb out of this shit-tip, clear his name and start anew...

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Gustovness on <09-15-13/2039:26>

Leroy followed closely in tow behind Matt.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <09-16-13/1100:25>

The ladder up the manhole was slippery. Narrow streams of water seeped in at the edges of the cover, saturated with the filth of the streets above. Matt tried to lift the cover cautiously but it didn’t respond to careful nudging. When he tried with a sudden and angry movement, it gave way with a sucking noise.

You arrived in a remote corner of Touristville, already in Redmond but not in the wilds of the true Barrens. This area was still retaining a semblance of order and security, occasionally drawing even the richest kids for “slumming parties”.
You climbed up in a narrow street. A steady drizzle drove inside all who had no business outside. Two homeless guys huddled up against the wall in a nearby alley, under a makeshift roof of cardboard and trash. They didn’t look at you twice, trying to utilize the age-old method of “I don’t see U, U don’t see me”. The air was unusually clean, though traces of smoke, dust and dirt could still be felt.

You all felt a little lost. Matt’s GPS showed a general idea where you were but the map he had wasn’t complete. You could usually reach public maps and NavPoints with a thought (or a flick of a wrist), but today, it was only silhouettes, without smaller streets showing up.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <09-16-13/1120:40>

Being out in the fresh air was a relief for Matt's lungs, and the dusky light was a relief for his eyes after having strained after his flashlight beam for a couple of hours.
Matt knew he probably smelled like shit and people would stay clear, even here, but the feeling of being lost and in a strange place really had Matt on edge.
He took a good look around, trying to get his bearings. A street name, shop front or anything would be useful.
[spoiler]percep 4, int 3, co processor 2, wound 1 (8d6.hits(5)=4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4219174/) [/spoiler]
Matt offered his arm to the others as they climbed up into the evening air, You guys know this area at all?

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <09-16-13/1314:24>

"Not really," Jade said as she climbed out and put the manhole back in place, "I know more about the other side of town."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Gustovness on <09-16-13/1919:23>

Quote from: Csjarrat on <09-16-13/1120:40>

You guys know this area at all?

[spoiler]INT 4 + Area Knowledge: Seattle 2 - Wounded 1 = 5 (5d6.hits(5)=1) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4219854/)[/spoiler]

"Yeah, looks like we're at the corner of 'get fragged' and 'slot-off'."

Leroy let out a sigh.

"Think those hobos might know of a place where we can stay dry and rest for the night until we get our heads straight?"

He looked over at Joel, noting the dried up blood on his nose brought on by his failed summoning attempt in the sewers.

"... and somewhere where I can take care of homeboy's allergies?"

He cracked a grin to show the jest was in good nature.

I really gotta take a shit...

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <09-17-13/0047:38>

Joel rolled his eyes at Leroy's comment, smiling slightly. "I admit, I've never been out here before, I haven't the foggiest idea where anything is." He confessed. "As for the hobos, I'm sure if we could pay them, they'd give us information." He added quietly.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Gustovness on <09-17-13/0340:19>

"Miko, go talk to them.  If they get lippy you can always threaten to crack their skulls open."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <09-17-13/0431:33>

Also, can you see if they can point us to a coffin motel that takes credstick, and a vending machine that stocks disposable commlinks?, cheers

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <09-17-13/0909:08>

--Leroy--
You didn’t really know this particular part of Redmond. Well, if this was Touristville, you knew you still had to take care, it was said that the occasional KE patrol still found its way down here. But it was much less of a danger than anywhere else in the city, except maybe for parts of Puyallup.
Street names must’ve been here, but most of the official AROs stopped working a long time ago. Ads, gang signs, and expletives littered the virtual street view, but as you looked for a sign telling you where to go, you noticed a thicker presence of AROs somewhere north of you. That must have been some more frequented hub, with some shops and bars and coffin-hotels.
[spoiler=test]Roll an INT + Bars and Clubs test.[/spoiler]

--Matt--
You noticed nothing out of the ordinary, maybe except the state of things on the street. Maintenance was long overdue for most of the things: street lights would be sparse in the night, as most of them were broken or missing; drains were plugged by muck and trash; and you saw two cars, one of them missing everything except the chassis and the body, the other burned-out. AROs weren’t helpful either, although you noticed some kind of order among them. One of the gang signs was dominant, white dawn illuminating a grey mist.
[spoiler]Roll an INT + Seattle Street Gangs test.[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Gustovness on <09-17-13/1031:45>

Leroy didn't know where he was, but it's not like this was the first time he'd been in an environment like this one.

Bright neon lights bunched together almost as tightly as the aggressive ARO advertisements.  I doubt there's any glitzy malls out here so that could only mean booze holes.

[spoiler]INT 4 + Bars and Clubs 2 - Wounded 1 = 5 (5d6.hits(5)=3) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4220996/)[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <09-17-13/1335:10>

"Sure, why not," Jade said, before lumbering towards the two.
"Hey, you guys know exactly where we are," she asked them, staying a bit away from them.  This was both to make sure they didn't feel threatened and also to keep out of the smell.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <09-17-13/1350:38>

[spoiler]5d6.hits(5)=2 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4221261/)[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <09-17-13/1652:57>

--Leroy--
One of the AROs in the distance seemed familiar. When you checked it again, you found you knew it, one of your colleagues, who was always known for his curiosity, told you about the place. He told all kinds of tall tales but you were sure the place was quiet and nobody asked too much questions of others. It was Club Downfall, which was rumored to be a gathering place for unregistered mojo-slingers and adepts.


--Matt--
This wasn't your usual area, so you didn't recognize the gang, but you were pretty sure it wasn't among those on top of the food chain. They must have been some low-key gathering.


--Miko--
The two guys looked up on you, a wary expression appearing instantly on the face of one. The other, however, must have been intoxicated pretty bad. He spoke up with a bad slur, as he tried to focus his sight on you.
"- You're 'n the rain... cough... darl'n, 'n shom' deep shit ash i shee it. Heh-heh." He obviously refers to where you came from, as he gives a mixed bout of coughs and cackles. The other one speaks in an alarmed voice.
"- Shut your trap, Marl, look at how big she is."
"- Fugg 'er, she dunneven... cough... kno where she ish lessh than ush, she mushtbe sho high on shome shit. Hey... cough... babe, got shome more o'that shit? Can give shometshin' for it yo won' forget any shoon. Heh-heh-cough."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Gustovness on <09-17-13/1919:58>

"Look guys, keep something in mind...  We're wanted.  We need to keep in mind that people might sell us out to KE for a quick buck so keep yo shit incognito.  Don't go around attractin' attention."

Leroy looked from a distance to Miko, waiting to see how that played out before moving towards Club Downfall.  He moved close to Joel, points to Club Downfall, and spoke in a lower voice.

"The place is known for you fuckin' wizard types.  Could be all rumors since I ain't ever actually been in there.  I honestly would feel a lot better if you were in there with us just in case.  That bar seems like the next logical step... the next logical step after finding a motel that is."

He glanced back over at Miko.

He looked back at Joel.

"Yeah we need to get you cleaned up before heading in there you look like shit." He said pointing to the dried blood on Joel's upper lip.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <09-18-13/0130:50>

'This was so not going good,' Miko thought.  Well, at least the one would probably not remember her.  She concentrated on the one who seemed at least a bit coherent and put a step forward.
"I'm going to ask nicely only one more time," she grumbled, "where the frag are we?"

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <09-18-13/0730:25>

--Miko--

“-No need to get angry, chummer, just don’t pay any attention to Marl, he’s always like this when he drinks.” Eyes getting wider, the reasonable-seeming man tried to placate you. “You’re in Touristville.”
“-What, geddin’ all friendly with the… cough… shlitch, Ben? Wanna shlot her dontcha?”
“-I said shut it, Marl, I don’t want my hoop handed to me ‘cuz you’re bloody glitched.” Looking back at you, he saw that his answer wasn’t the one you were expecting, and began to get truly scared. “Look, chummer, this is the middle of nowhere, I dunno what you want. You tell me, I can try giving directions, I will.”

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <09-21-13/1709:57>

Might be worth having a walk round the block if miko gets nothing out of them hobo's. I guess we'll find stuff like a coffin motel off the main drag where all that neon is. Might be worth hunkering down somewhere till dark though...

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <09-21-13/1915:34>

"We need a spot where we can lay low for a couple of days," Miko said, "A coffin motel if they have it in this vicinity, although I don't think so.
She didn't ask for vending machines, as this was the barrens.  How long would a vending machine stay here before it would be broken open.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <09-22-13/1307:45>

--Miko--
"-The Overnight is three streets down that way." Ben pointed in the direction where some neon signs were visible. "It's not the best but at least it's not raining in there."
"-Heh-cough-heh, go and get the shlitch what she wantsh. Mebbe she'll get... cough... you what you wantsh." Ben's eyes couldn't have gone much wider. He tries to move the furtest away from Marl while still staying under the makeshift roof.
"-Please, don't hit me." he whines.

--Leroy--
You see one of the men pointing in the general direction of the Downfall then looking at his companion, and trying to move away from him.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Gustovness on <09-22-13/1354:17>

Looks like we're gettin' somewhere...

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <09-22-13/1431:57>

"For what he said," Jade said, "Why would I hit you for that.  I'm not even going to hit him."
'I'd rather not catch a disfiguring skin disease,' she didn't say out loud.
"Thanks for the information," she added before going back to the others.

"There's a coffin motel that way," she said, "A place called the Overnight.  I haven't asked about vending machines.  There are none here, or they would be emptied faster than they can fill them.  For that we have to go deeper into Touristville I guess."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <09-24-13/0455:19>

Joel rubbed his temples, trying to ignore the pending headache in favour of the news Miko had given them. "Coffin motel you say? Let's go there then. Anywhere we can go so we can get things together and plan where to go from here." Joel wasn't particularly interested in anything else yet. He also wasn't particularly interested in hearing reasons not to go to the motel, but resisted the urge to start walking there despite any objections the group might have. It wouldn't do to annoy the only people  he could possibly rely on at the moment. "If nothing else, we can probably get our wounds properly looked at by Leroy."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <09-24-13/1134:20>

Right... We're still kind of in civilisation here. How do we want to play this, all walk in or just one of us try our luck first? If we're all seen together it might trigger people's memory more than just one of us.
I dunno...thoughts?

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Gustovness on <09-25-13/0209:19>

Matt makes a good point...

"You can go ahead and check it out first... I'm gonna grab some chow and a change of clothes."

Leroy headed to a street vendor.  His voracious appetite was making it hard to see past.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <09-25-13/0238:37>

actually a new set of clothes and something to eat sounds like a great idea, I'm sure I smell of shit right now.
Matt follows Leroy to the vendors and
Grabs a Soydog and a set of disposable clothes from the automated dispensors.
Finding a quiet alley, Matt changes his clothes before heading into the coffin motel, keeping a look out for cameras

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <09-25-13/0437:49>

"Matt, make sure to see if they have rooms that can accommodate me," Jade called after him, before she also went for a a bite to eat.  She had to go to other vendors, who sold food suitable for trolls.  Afterwards she also went to the motel.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <09-25-13/0443:59>

Stuffing the last of the plastic tasting soydog into his mouth, matt mumbles a "sure thing" and a thumbs up at Miko as he heads off up the street, wiping the worst of the muck off his lined coat with the napkin.
Matt made a point of turning his collar up on his jacket to obscure his face somewhat, leaving his helmet on and image link screen deployed to further help obscure his features.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <09-25-13/0907:33>

You walked to the nearest vending machines for a change of clothes and to replenish your energy by munching on something closely related to food. Some of you were more used to the taste, some of you less, this wasn’t even near the quality of vendors in Tacoma. Still, the warm SoyDogs smelled surprisingly appetizing and by the time you realized you already wolfed them down.
There were still few people around on the streets. A delivery van stopped at the corner, a small, mousy elf stepping out in the rain and bringing a package inside, then leaving within two minutes. Two tough-looking humans in bulky, grey hoodies with a white circle on the back looked at you for a few seconds calculatingly, but decided against further action and walked on.


--Matt--
After changing you went ahead and closed in on the Overnight. A usual construction, the coffin hotel consisted of two hive-like structures facing each other, open corridors between them on each level. Rooms were almost uniform, slightly larger on the first two floors, to accommodate guests of bigger stature. An open staircase led up to the top floor, the fifth, coming from a small structure that must have contained some entrance hall, even though a hall would be too grandiose a name for it.
The automated door opened as you neared the building. The entrance hall was small indeed, with no furniture at all. Two other doors were visible, an icon meaning manager on one, the other showing stairs. A wavering AR screen filled one wall, detailing the short list of services available, recommending nearby vendors and services, and cautioning that the building didn’t have a contract with any security provider. Currently, 18 bigger rooms were occupied out of 24, and 30 smaller out of 54.
[spoiler=coffin hotel info] The coffin hotel costs 25 nujen a night for small rooms, 30 for bigger ones. No identification is necessary. Payment is by credstick or credit card (latter does identify you, of course), up front. Bigger rooms reserved for ork or troll guests, others have to take the smaller ones. Rooms are assigned automatically. The basic fee includes a free meal at Lonny’s Diner, around the corner. Electricity and water is rationed (daily quota, maybe enough for a very quick shower and to cover the power for two or three low-consumption gadgets). For an extra 10 nujen, you can use the hotel’s matrix connection for an hour, although they only provide the opportunity, not the hardware, so you have to have your own commlink.[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <09-25-13/0916:18>

Trying desperately not to make eye-contact with the gangers, make keeps his face as buried into his collar as possible.
Hopefully they just wanted to mug him and not sell him out to the highest bidder.

Entering the coffin motel with a spring in his step, he jogs up the few steps from street level, waiting a milisecond for the automatic door to swing open for him.
Once inside the small entrance room, Matt takes a good look at the services and recommended vendors, making a point of looking for one that dealt in cheap or disposable commlinks. Making some calls tonight was priority number one.
Maybe his good buddie knew someone who could bail them out of this drek or help clear their names.
Slotting his credstik into the port below the AR terminal, he paid for 3 normal rooms and a large room and waited for the RFID keys before heading back to the team.
The sound of a free meal was surely enticing, the soydog only serving to remind him how hungry he actually was. Being seen together as a group in public though didn't sound so enticing, someone was surely bound to have seen the news today.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <09-25-13/1256:03>

 --Matt--
The system confirmed the reservation for rooms 105, 304, 312, and 507, and deducted 105 nujen from the credstick accordingly. Receiving the keys, you were free to occupy your rooms, until noon next day. The system reminded you that if you wished to extend your reservation for the same room, you might do so until 10 in the morning next day, otherwise you'd get a different room assigned automatically.
When you checked available services and recommendations, you noticed a shop called Dean's Electronics, which was open till 6 in the evening, even on friday. Its about two blocks away from here. You noticed, however, that your credstick was dangerously low, you couldn't afford even a disposable comm if you didn't want to use your other sources.

--all--
The rooms themselves barely deserved the name. Small boltholes with an uncomfortable bed that could be folded up next to the wall, and you needed to do that in order to reach into the footlocker built under it. A door opposite the entrance led to a miniscule bathroom, which contained a basin and a toilet, both could be folded into the walls, and a shower head built into the low ceiling. The rooms truly felt restraining, even in the bigger one for Miko, you'd have trouble if all four of you wanted to enter.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <09-25-13/1307:41>

"Well, it's better then the sewers," Jade ssaid, "and way better than the shopping mall.  Now, did someone mention a free meal?"
She had decided against other clothes, keeping what she was wearing now.  But something more to eat would be very welcome.  And as soon as they found a new commlink, she would have a word with Diego.  If there's anybody who would know something, it would be him.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <09-25-13/1400:00>

Handing the keys to the team, Matt spoke up.
"I dunno about you guys, but I'm running out of cash on my credstik. As I got the rooms can one of you guys get the commlink? We need to head to dean's electronics, its only a couple blocks away but we need to get there before 6. We need to be out of the rooms by 12noon by the way, oh and apparently we get a free meal at the diner round the corner. Not sure we should all go as a group though, someone will have seen the news. Just so you guys know, I think the local gangers pinged me as I came in here. just keep your eyes peeled yeah. Thick grey hoodies with markings on em."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <09-25-13/1434:41>

"I'll go," Jade said, "I'll probably stand out least here.  After all, a troll is a troll, right?  And I walk faster."
She walked out, moving at a crisp pace towards the electronics store, where she got two disposable commlinks.  They could be shared amongst the group for a couple of conversations.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <09-25-13/1519:35>

--Miko--
Even though the ork behind the desk was a nice enough fellow, your money on the credstick was still only good enough for one battered-looking disposable, which is probably a used one, refurbished with a renewed service duration. And your guess was, it happened not only once. It still cost you a 150 this way, but it was a bargain, new burners usually cost around double. Anonimity was a valuable ware out here.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <09-25-13/1557:23>

Even if she had only one, it would be good for a week, although with this one she wasn't sure, so maybe best do all the calls they had to do as quickly as possible.  She walked back to the motel, making sure she wasn't followed, or at least trying to.
"I have a 'link," she said to the others when she was back, "be carefull with it, I'm not sure how long it's going to hold.  And I'd like to have my one phone call as well."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <09-25-13/1707:55>

Great stuff, I'm gonna go take a shower and get cleaned up, I'll come give you a knock after that. Think we'll all need to make a call or two tonight! Catch you in ten mins.

Matt heads into his tiny box of a room and sits down for the first time in what seems like forever.
His feet were aching from being cooped up in his solid work boots all day and his hair had gone lank and greasy from the day's exertions. Sitting on the bed was dangerous, sleep gnawed at him, but that would have to wait.
A brief shower enlivened Matt, and he felt much fresher for the insta-clothes.
Matt took a few minutes to squirt some soap on the remaining mucky gear and scrub as well as he couof in the tiny sink.
donning his kit, he heads to Miko's room, hoping she'd finished with the comm

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <09-26-13/0119:53>

Joel took advantage of the shower as soon as he got into the room, trying to clean himself up as best he could. He made a face as he changed back into  the same clothes he had on before. Unfortunately, with most of his money in a credit account and the rest in scrips, he was going to be poor for a while. It could be an interesting experience. He barely resisted the urge to lie down and sleep; he knew he still had tasks to do. Like figure out who to call. Dr Stills was a certain "No" right now, but perhaps Ms Steele might be of help.

Maybe he could try washing his clothes in the sink before he slept, and then letting it dry overnight. It's sort of cleaning them, right? Right. Maybe. It would have to wait though. Then he made a mistake by sitting down on the bed, and had to fight off the urge to just lie down and sleep. Not yet.

He roused himself and stood back up, leaving to head to Miko's room. Maybe Ms Steele had some spare clothes, or advice. Or lectures.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <09-26-13/0657:30>

After getting to your rooms and refreshing yourselves as much as possible, you started to converge towards Miko’s room, to make whatever calls you wanted to. Some of those you expected to be unpleasant, but in your situation, there was nothing you could do about it.

As the rooms were claustrophobic enough without you jamming yourselves into one of them, as the commlink wandered from hand to hand, it was much more simple to bring it back to your rooms and make those calls in the solitude it provided. Fortunately, you didn’t meet anyone on the corridors yet, most of the occupants probably still worked.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <09-26-13/0823:07>

As soon as she was in her room, Miko called Diego.  He was the only person of note she knew in the underworld who might have heard something.  And if not, he might know those who had.  With a big thing like this, someone must have heard something.  She made a note to call Annie as well, as she knew first hand that men could be very talkative to ladies who's affection was open to commercial negotiation.  Even if they shouldn't.

"Hey, Diego," she said, 'It's been a while.  Say, I'm sure you have already seen the news today, so you probably know what I'm calling about."

[spoiler]
OOC: if he doesn't pick up, I'll say the same thing, but with a 'please call me back as soon as possible, it's urgent', behind it.
[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <09-26-13/1024:39>

Diego was usually just preparing for the night’s activities this time of the day, so it wasn’t surprising he answered the call immediately. “Yes?” His voice sounded official at first, but after your third sentence, it changed. It became a mixture of uncertainty and kindness. He sounded like someone in a difficult position. “My dear Jade, I don’t say I didn’t expect this call. I almost didn’t recognize your voice, the reception is so bad.” You also hear some disturbance in the line. “So, you’re in a big pinch again. And you expect me to help you put this one right as well.” The last sentence was less than half a question.
[spoiler=test please]Roll a Judge Intentions test. You get +3 dice because know Diego well.[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <09-26-13/1158:25>

"Not necessarily," Jade said, "you know I didn't do something like this.  Why would I?  At the moment I'm mostly looking for information as to who really did it.  You know, to pay them a little visit.  A crime of this magnitude can't stay a secret, so if you can keep an ear out."
She didn't go on.

[spoiler]
judge intentions
intuition 4 + charisma 3 +3 bonus= 10 (10d6.hits(5)=2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4233805/)
[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <09-26-13/1321:58>

Matt sat down on the small fold out bed and stared at the commlink wondering how the fuck he got into this mess. The day had been so fuzzy.. Or at least his memories of it were..
This was the first time he'd really had since the "event" to really try and piece it all together. [spoiler]Memory (6d6.hits(5)=1) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4233898/)[/Spoiler]

I was at work, but then what?....

The commlink looked like it had seen better days, but looking in the mirror, Matt realised he probably had too, at least for the foreseeable future. It galled him to ask for help, but there weren't many options left on the table. They were nearly out of cash, lost in a dangerous place and wanted by the law. If it weren't so shit it'd be funny.

Danny boy, it's Hunter. Look, before you say anything, it's bullshit man, we survived that, we didn't do it.
I need your help mate, really need your help.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <09-26-13/1558:44>

--Miko--
You sensed that something was not right. Not the kind of wrong, where all hell got loose at the next moment, just the awkward feeleng that something is not going to go the way you expected. So, even as the next words might have shocked you, you couldn't really say you were not seeing the direction the conversation went. "Sweetheart, of course i know my Jade wouldn't do anything near that cruel. The Jade i know would vehemently protect her friends and charges when facing an attack but she wouldn't hurt a soul of her own accord. And it doesn't really matter that we haven't met that often since you went legit. You know that i like you.

"Only thing is, the Boss don't know you. The Donna don't know you. And i'm responsible to them, in more than one way. I'd truly like to help you. But if i do, and the Boss asks about you, i can't lie to him. And as it goes, he might have a different viewpoint of what to do about you and your situation. He might think you a liability." You felt that Diego was feeling bad about this. His voice was apologetic, and sometimes he was looking for the appropriate words longer, which was very uncharacteristic of him. "I'm sorry, girl, but the best i can do is i pretend this call never happened. That way, i can honestly say that i didn't help you, that i'm not bringing overwhelming problems to the Family.

"I hope you understand that this is not my choice as Diego, but the choice of a loyal member of the Family. I wish you only the best." This felt kind of an end to this conversation, and Diego probably didn't hang up because of common courtesy.


--Matt--
You heard Danny Boy gasp, then shout some instructions to one of his aides. "Call you back in two." he barked, then hung up.

The next two minutes were an infinite torture, but relief washed over you when the comm beeped at last. "Frag, man, what the hell did you mix yourself into this time?" He huffed and puffed heavily, he probably just heaved his serious bulk into the back office. "And don't be daft, of course i know you didn't do that. I couldn't manage to get everything needed for an op this big, so neither could you. And you're a friend, and my friends don't do drek like that." He took a pause, you almost saw him before your eyes, taking a deep draw from the flask of whiskey he always kept in his vest pocket. "And what do i hear, you said we? Do i really want to know the details? Well, of course i do, but that's not the point. Anyway, you know that if you need a place to lay low for a while, i can help you with that. Only this time, i'm not sure laying low for a while would solve anything." He took a deep breath, letting his brain catch up to his words then asked you. "So, what do you exactly need, and what do you want to do?"

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <09-26-13/1635:50>

My mind is fragged man. I'm torn in two. half of me wants to get the hell out of UCAS, the other half wants to stand and fight, clear my name, you know?
Frag, I havent even seen more than about 10 seconds of the news today... How bad was it in the end? What are they saying about it all?

Thanks man, you're a fucking star, y'know?
I'm hunkered down in some shithole of a coffin motel near the barrens, we've been on our feet since this all kicked off, I'm with the other guys from the news broadcast earlier. Went looking to help survivors and some gangers had moved in, started looting the dead. Some bent KE had let em in and we ended up going out the way they came in, through the sewers.
I can't even turn my link on or use my 'cred account for fear of some KE rapid response team filling me with lead. I think we've only got about enough cash to last another night or two, but then what? I'm kinda out of ideas.
If i wanna fight this, I don't have any of my kit and if I wanna run, I dont have any of my wheels.
I'd think that my apartment and workshop are gonna be under surveillance so I can't go back there until the heat drops.


Matt took a deep breath and exhaled slowly
What do you think man? do I run for the rest of my life or do I fight my case and probably get the 'chair or life?

Can you get us somewhere to lay low, at least until our faces aren't on the news?
I know its a long shot but is there any chance you can arrange for my car to be "salvaged"? Half my drones are in that thing and my survival chances are a damn site higher if I have em with me.
My head is pretty banged up, but I think I left the car at work, probably in the contractors car park I guess?
And Danny, thanks man. Means a lot to have someone on our side.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <09-26-13/1742:16>

--Matt--
You could feel Danny shudder. "It's pretty bad, man. The live feed's been on ever since i heard of the damn thing. I'm glad you came out of there in the knowing. There is only one worse thing than being one of the most wanted of today, it's being captured as one such man. I can't even imagine the shock you felt, mine was pretty much enough.
"Some two hours ago, things changed drastically. Knight Errant suddenly decided to go in in force, nobody knows why. They still don't let press in, they say it's too dangerous. But their spokesperson said that thousands are dead, they still look for the reason."

He seriously considered your questions for minute. "I don't know, seriously. What i know is, whether you want to run or fight, you have to go under right now. I wouldn't consider it wise to go even near your old place, or even here. Our friendship isn't a secret, sooner or later the pigs will put their snouts in here. As far as i know them, they will clean your place and put your things in an evidence locker, but if your car is not at home...
"And can't you be more specific where you left it? A day or two from now, i can send one of my people to take it to you, but only if you can tell me where to look. Contractors lot must be a big place. Anyway, don't worry about it, i'll take care of her."

He stopped again, not talking for so long that you almost thought the connection lost. Then he came forward with an interesting idea. "Well, i can get you and a bunch of other chummers a place to stay for a few days, if you say they can be trusted. But you know that's way too few. And whatever you say now, i didn't get to know you as someone giving up easily. So, if i were you, and after a good night's sleep i'd think of trying to get to the depth of it all, i'd call Tweety. I know he's all biz, but he's trustworthy. He plans for long-term, so he won't sell you out for easy nujen. And he has way more useful contacts in this case than me.
"Still, if you decide you want to start anew elsewhere, i know some guys who could get you out of town. Just don't expect them to do it for free, they aren't some fragging angels."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <09-26-13/1807:32>

Ho...Holy shit, thousands?
Matt's shoulders slumped and he felt defeated. Having only seen the carnage a few hours ago, he knew it was bad, but the confirmation of the casualty count was crushing.
Whilst he and the others remained alive he knew there was no chance any of them would be able to live without looking over their shoulder.

I'm a bit busted up man, I'll sleep on it and have a think. I guess it'll be in there.
Thanks man, yeah, these guys can be trusted, we're all in this shit together. I'll take you up on that offer.
Yeah, ok, I'll give Tweety a call first up tomorrow then.. See how the land lies in the morning.

Matts face cracked a much overdue smile at the thought of any of Danny's "friends" being angels.
Ha, yeah, figured that much. That might be an option man, I'll speak to the others and see what they think. Can you get me a price on that? Gonna need to sell my shit off or rent out my ass. Both, probably! You think Lorenzo would have any pull? I know he's only a kid-journo, but he knows people and knows how to ask around. I haven't called him yet, dunno If he'll sell me out for the scoop-of-a-fragging-lifetime. Whadya reckon?

Matt rubbed his temples and face with fatigue. This bed was looking damn tempting and it wasn't even properly night yet.
How are you doing anyway Danny?[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <09-26-13/1922:40>

Having been given the commlink and realising it was his turn, he entered  the room and sat somewhat despondently on the bed.I'm not cut out for this... He thought as he turned the commlink over, then contact the commcode for Ms Steele.

"Please pick up... You're the only person I can call..." He said it out loud, voice strained. The crushing realisation of having no money, no support and no way to go back home was finally setting in alongside the thought that his coworkers were dead and he was under suspicion. Their names briefly ran through his head. I wonder how many were still there when it all went to hell...

When Ms Steele picked up the other end, he began talking. "Hello Ms Steele... None of his usual joking  emphasis on the 'Ms'. "It's Joel. You've likely seen the news... And hopefully you don't feel I did this. Either way, we're going to need help."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <09-27-13/0208:43>

Well, this was to be expected.  In fact, the only reason she had called him was because he might actually know something, or be in a position to find out.  But as he said, he had other assets to protect.  Well, she had tried.

"You know Annie, right," she said, "she used to work in the same location I did, but now she's in a massage parlor Downtown, probably also one of yours.  Should you ever find something out, maybe visit her."
With that she broke the connection, so he didn't have to answer.  Looking at the time, she decided that it might be possible to call Annie.
"Hey Annie, it's Jade," she said, "how are you doing?"

[spoiler]
again, if she doesn't pick up, I'll leave a message.
edge test: edge 2 (2d6.hits(5)=1) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4235054/)

[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <09-27-13/0506:57>

--Matt--

”Man, I’m still all right, but I’m not looking forward to the visit of the Law. Boys are packing things right now.” Danny’s huffing started to recede, he probably sat down and caught his breath while you talked. ”And a price for transportation out? I don’t know, man, these prices usually adjust by person and by task. And as you are, well, a celebrity right now, I’m sure those guys would take advantage of the situation. A few thousand at the least. Plus additional costs, like a new ID, hooking up with contacts at your destination, etcetera. Per person. And that is just the bottom, depending on where you want to arrive, it might go up significantly.”

When you mentioned Lorenzo, he became very uncertain. ”That’s a tough call, man. You know Lorenzo desperately wants to hit the limelight. This would be a perfect opportunity. He might not sell you out to the cops, but I’m not so sure he wouldn’t to Horizon. And he’s small fry, if he doesn’t get company support, he’d bleed out after the first few interviews in the topic. Seriously, what do you think the chances are he’d get that support without turning you in?

“Anyway, try to get some rest. I have to run, there’s something the boys can’t do without me. I know you know, but I say this regardless: I got your back. Personally, I’d like to see the bastards who did this pay, but I got your back anyway.” After this, you said your goodbyes and hung up.


--Joel--

”Joel?” Ms Steele’s voice was radiating shock and relief at the same time. ”Is that really you, Joel? Oh, thank God, I already feared the worst. I’m so glad to hear your voice, dear.” Her voice wavered, she probably just took her stunningly soft handkerchief and wiped some tears from her eyes.

”Of course I saw that rubbish broadcast on trideo. I’ve heard of lots of terrible events, but to actually think someone coming up with the idea for this… They are evil, evil men, if they are still entitled that designation. Oh, what? Don’t be silly, boy, I didn’t think of you doing this even for a second.” Her voice changed to incredulity, anger slowly building up. You felt if you didn’t stop her soon, one of her usual tirades would come. She was always like this when she met injustice, or just sheer stupidity. ”And I will tell so, to anyone who asks. To think that someone might consider you, a devoted follower of Wolf’s ideals, capable of doing such a horror! I might not even wait until someone asks!
“Oh, and by the way, since when do you refer to yourself in the plural? Poor thing, this tragedy must have affected you quite bad. I can’t even imagine what the astral looked like inside. Now, I’m sure that you looked, I’d have done the same, but please, please tell me, you didn’t look for long.”


--Miko--

Annie didn’t take the call at that moment. You left your message before passing the commlink to the next person to make his calls.
[spoiler=test please]Make a simple Edge test.[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <09-27-13/0655:56>

Joel sighed. "I'm fine Ms Steele... Really I am." He sounded as tired as he felt. But relieved as well, a familiar voice helped a lot. "It's really bad as  well. I did peek, as you predicted. All the death..." His voice trailed off as he shuddered. "It was a tad unpleasant. Whatever happened knocked me out and did a number on me. When I woke up... They were all dead. Thee were a few survivors, me and a few others, all of whom showed up as suspects on a broadcast I saw while figuring out what happened." He hesitated, then pressed on. Ms Steele would certainly understand, perhaps even have an idea.

"While I was out, I think Wolf sent me a message as a dream. A couple of predators, a lot of prey, all milling around with some semblance of order. Then a wolf howls and the dream ended with me waking up surrounded by bodies..." He felt somewhat sick at the memories that had been dredged up. "There were plenty of malignant spirits around already. The astral space is, predictably, rather tainted by what happened. So don't project around there."

"I'm well... Not alone. A couple of others were with me when I got out. I have a low force Beast watching over us, but I don't currently have the power to negotiate with a more powerful spirit. Wolf doesn't appreciate us being ambitious beyond our position and I got a reminder about that."  He rubbed his temples. The headache had remained, proving a rather irritating distraction. "Anyway, I'm safe. But kind of helpless at the moment. My account and scrips are a bad idea right now, and I don't use credsticks. Anyway, what're the Azzies saying about it? My employment with them probably has come up at some point."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <09-27-13/1159:44>

Thanks Danny boy, it means a lot. I'll call tomorrow after I've spoken to Tweety.
Stay safe man.

Matt slumped back against the wall as he finished up the call.
Lorenzo is out then, I can't take that risk right now.
Matt rubbed his temples again, trying to relieve the headache he'd had all day, he was gonna need leroy's help on this one.
Dragging himself up to his feet once again, he headed back to Miko's room to hand the commlink back to the next person. They'd need to meet up and have a chat tonight after everyone made their calls and he wasn't sure how the others would react to the options he had from Danny

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <09-28-13/0440:11>

'No response,' she thought.  Well, that was to be expected.  When she gave the commlink to Joel, she told him that there might be a call for her coming in, as the person she had tried to call wasn't there and she had asked to call back.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Gustovness on <09-28-13/1901:42>

Mr. Jenkins, thanks for calling.

"Of course, Ms. Lockwell, if anyone can help us out it's you."

Of course you know I'm recording this conversation?

"Yeah, of course, no problem.  You're a reporter after all.  I need people to know our story... to know we didn't do this... and you're the best person to get our story out."

I assure you, Mr. Jenkins, I will get to the truth no matter what...

Now, what can you tell me about what happened?

"We learned after the... event... that KE had suspects already lined up... those suspects just so happen to be us, the only survivors."

I see, what a coincidence...

"I don't know what the hell you're implying!  What the hell could we possibly wanna blow that place up for?"

Tell me, Leroy, what did you find there?

"Death... fires scattered here about... debris...  There was definitely... physical damage done."

You're not telling me anything I don't already know, Leroy.

"Well... not everyone died from the fires and explosions.

... the bio-attack scare? There was something legitimate about it?  It wasn't just a scare tactic by Knight Errant?

"Everything is a scare tactic by them.  Everything...

That doesn't sound like something a city worker would say, Mr. Jenkins.  You're sounding like a ganger now.  You're sounding like an outlaw.  You're sounding like someone from the dredges of society that doesn't appreciate the good that Knight Errant does to keep us safe.

"... that's not true."

We'll let the public decide that, Mr. Jenkins.  Now, you were saying that there were bodies there that didn't die from physical means?  Are you implying a chemical agent was released along with the bombing?

"It's the only thing I could think of.  There were dead bodies without any sort of physical trauma on them."

Do you have any proof?

"Well, I took some evidence off of a victim.  I haven't had the chance to run tests on it yet."

And why not turn that evidence in to the proper authorities?

"ARE YOU FRAGGIN' KIDDING ME!?  HAVE YOU BEEN LISTENING TO WHAT I'VE BEEN SAYING?  Your "proper authorities" set us up!"

You're a terrorist, Leroy.  The only thing worse than a terrorist of ideology is a terrorist for hire... a Shadowrunner.  Which one are you?."

Leroy awoke in his room drenched in sweat and clasping his medkit so tightly he thought he would break it under his dwarf strength.

Son of a bitch...

He checked the time.  He had been out for two hours.  After his shower and change of clothes he must have let himself pass out.

He laid back down and let out a sigh.  His companions were likely making use of the commlink they picked up.

Not like I'd have anyone to call who could help me out anyways.

He reflected on his dream.  Should they reach out to the media?  No.  Not yet...  Knight Errant had evidence (albeit false) and they had nothing.  No.  First, they'd have to make a case for themselves first.  They were guilty until proven innocent.

He drifted back into sleep as he mulled over just how they'd go about doing that.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <09-28-13/2023:21>

bam bam bam, come one man....
come on....
bam bam bam...
Leroy, wake up man, its Matt, we need to get a plan sorted for tomorrow.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Gustovness on <09-29-13/0024:25>

Leroy mumbled, "Wake me up in the mornin'.... get yourself some sleep chum... we're gonna need it tomorrow."

He rolled over.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <09-29-13/0430:16>

--Joel--

"That dream could've had several distinct meanings. However, the predators among the prey... Is it possible that whoever did this was there in the building?" Her thoughtful voice trails off, then she starts again. "But you know, Wolf is also a predator, albeit one that works in packs. And i couldn't say i'm surprised that you already looked for a different one. These others, shown on trid, could be your best chance. Dear, i know you must be scared enough, but i advise you against contacting anyone else within the Aztechnology. They gave out a statement, distancing themselves from you immediately. The order came down via AZTnet that anyone knowing anyting about your whereabouts should contact the higher-ups ASAP."

"And don't worry about me, i didn't plan on getting even near that place. There must be dozens of Errant magicians supervising the astral there, and i don't very much like horror stories, as you know. And about money? I don't know, i also don't have any credsticks ready, and i think it would hurt you more than help, if i suddenly converted some of my scrips."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <09-29-13/2211:56>

Joel sighed. He knew she was right, even if he hated it. "Yeah, converting scrips might be a bit suspicious especially with Az distancing me. I'm probably going to hide under the radar for a while until I can clear my name. Best I don't tell you my whereabouts, that way they can't get it out of you.." He paused for a bit, wearing a gloomy expression.. "I better not stay on the line too long. I know the  others need to make calls too. I'm alright though. I'll stick with this new pack, a wolf needs a pack; and I'll avoid contacting any other Azzies. I probably won't be in touch with you much either, otherwise it could throw suspicion on you." He sighed again.

"I guess this is goodbye for a while. I'll manage to survive to clear my name, don't worry. Just take care of yourself."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <09-30-13/1108:01>

Matt headed back to the room, checked the time and contemplated what to do next. The prospect of a free warm meal was tempting, especially when he didn't know how long it would be until he could get another, but unless he went alone he knew he couldn't risk being spotted and recognised.
The soydog would have to cut it for now, hopefully whatever crashpad Danny or Tweety could sort tomorrow would have a decent SoyProcessor they could use.
Matt lay out on the small and lumpy bed, slaving the burner link's output to his image link and browsed the varying Seattle news organisations take on the day's events, desperately trying to match it up and fill in the blanks in his own patchy memories.
[spoiler]
memory test (6d6.hits(5)=1) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4240606/) memory test, 1 hit[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <09-30-13/1400:43>

--Joel--

"Dear, you take care of yourself. Don't you worry about me, i'll get by. And if you ever need anything, don't hesitate to give me a call, just don't use your real name. If Stray is calling, i'll always have a few minutes for him. I know it's still a risk, but i couldn't face myself in the morning if i left you on your own. And don't you try arguing, just remember what that availed last time." You hear her voice going soft, and that she meant what she said.

Almost immediately after you said your goodbyes and hung up, there was an incoming call. The ID was unknown, naturally, as the burner didn't contain any contact information. You remember Miko mentioning someone possibly calling back, but you knew that by the time you got down to her room, the caller would surely hang up.


--Matt--

News were vague. Knight Errant still got the area in a complete lockdown, courtesy to potential biohazard. At least that's what they said. Media got their information mainly from the KE spokesperson, Mirielle Banes. According to her statements, what you heard from Danny was really true. Thousands dead, although it was still too early for casuality lists. Not too much on the supposed terrorists, besides their pictures, and some basic information, like names, jobs, but it was also all vague. You'd have expected them to be able to dig more info out about you during the past hours.

Of course, scavengers already appeared, although not in the physical sense. Alamos 20K assumed responsibility for the act of terrorism, for they found the Rider employing metahumans both during construction and in businesses a sin against humanity. Almost as a response, Sons of Sauron also gave a statement, just for the opposing reason, that owners employed too low a rate of metahumans, denying them their chances to provide for their families. It was probably all BS of course. On the other hand, lots of charitable organizations offered help in some form, either to those who desperately waited for information about their loved ones, or to the authorities. It was almost like the old saying went: you couldn't see the body under the vultures.

As to your memories, still nothing surfaced. A good night's sleep might help, even though it still wasn't that late. And the hot meal would probably be available in the morning as well.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Csjarrat on <10-01-13/0446:52>

Claiming responsibility for the attack seemed a crazy thing to do in anyones book, especially with such a high bodycount. Matt spent a while browsing public archives for info on both Alamos 20k and Sons of Sauron.
If he was going to be indited as one of their number in time, he'd better know their policies and history. Matt set his alarm for 7am and double-checked the lock on his door, switching the external ARO to "Do Not Disturb" Not that it'll make the slightest bit of difference in a shit-tip like this"

Though it was still early, Matt felt the stresses of the long day gnaw at his eyelids, drawing them closed.
It wasn't long before he fell asleep...

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <10-01-13/0506:53>

The mage blinked as the phone began ringing again after he ended the call with Ms Steele. Realising he wouldn't get a chance to get the phone down to Miko before it finished ringing, he figured he'd answer it and tell them to hold a moment. Besides, they might not be asking for Miko. He resisted the urge to even attempt to mimic her voice. A welsh, tired male accent does not a female voice make. He answered the call.

"Um... Hello?" He queried, jogging down to where Miko would be. "Can I help you?" He added, trying to sound as polite as possible.

Stray, huh? Heh, how appropriate.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <10-01-13/0532:11>

--Joel--

As soon as you took the call, a woman's voice, anxious and full of tears, burst into the speaker. "Oh, Jade, i'm so glad you're alive, i've seen the news, it was so horrible, and i didn't know what to think, you told me you'd be there today, sorry i didn't take your call immediately..." Her voice trailed away, she was obviously shocked by your voice, a different one than she expected. Shaky and saturated with growing fear, she asked "Who... who're you? Where's Jade?"

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <10-01-13/0549:57>

"In her room, I'm running to it now, miss. I apologise for startling you." He was apologetic. The poor girl seemed like she was having an awful day. He didn't want to add to it. "Please hold for a few, I didn't think I'd get to her room before it rang off. She said someone would call her, I guess that would be you." He continued between breaths as he strode quickly to Miko's room.

I guess Miko would be part of my 'pack' now... He thought.

When he got to Miko's room, he rapped sharply on the door.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <10-01-13/0757:25>

Jade had just finished her shower, or at least what you could call a shower in this hotel.  At least she felt reasonably clean.  When there was a knock on the door, she opened, dressed in only a towel.  Luckily they also came in larger variants.
"Oh, hey Joel," she said, "what's up?"

[spoiler]
OOC: you see in front of you a good looking troll woman (for a troll at least) dressed in a towel that covers the bare necessities, but not much more.  :o
The silk skin mod she has goes everywhere you can see.
[/spoiler]

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <10-01-13/1054:34>

--Joel--

The woman on the other end was silent for a few seconds, then, in a tiny voice, said "OK, i'll hold."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <10-01-13/1111:40>

Joel raised his eyebrows slightly in surprise, and his eyes widened, but he focused on her face. "Call for you. She seems rather worried about you." He explained the knocking on her door, holding out the commlink. He wasn't really interested in looking at the body on display, although he did wish that he was seeing that build, only on someone with certain different parts. Then again, he was tired enough that he probably wouldn't notice anyway. In any case, he hoped that he hadn't frightened the poor girl on the other end of the call too much by answering the 'link.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <10-01-13/1323:38>

"Thanks," Jade said before going back in her room.
"Hey, Jade here," she said into the comm, sitting down on the bed (not that there was anywhere else to sit).

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <10-01-13/1546:02>

--Miko--

"Jade?" You felt the uncertainty in Annie's voice. "Is that... really you? Who was that guy... that took the call?" You heard that she must have been crying, must have been afraid, and the fact that Joel took the call was something that shocked her so much that it completely took her monumentum away.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <10-01-13/1600:32>

"One of the other guys who's in the same shit I'm in," Jade said, "we only have one comm, so we're sharing at the moment to check up on people we know and try to find out what the hell is going on.  Which is why I called actually.  Have you heard something about the WaveRider, but not what's on the news?  That's all bullshit anyways."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <10-01-13/1613:50>

"I know most of that drek is BS, starting with your picture among those guys' pictures. I hope you don't meet them, the dwarf had such a dangerous glint in his eyes, he must be really bad." As Annie spoke, so did her confidence return, slowly, but surely. "And i don't know if anything will hit the streets of the truth behind that... behind what happened today. Even if it will, it won't be today. I can keep my ears open." As the shock receded, so did the worry return. "Anyway, do you have a place to stay? You know my door's always open to you, and the matress is big enough to accomodate both of us."

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: farothel on <10-02-13/0125:07>

"We're going to keep away from Downtown for now," Jade said, "but thanks for the offer.  Say, I spoke to Diego before talking to you, and he of course didn't want anything to do with this.  But I've said that should he find out something, he can always come and talk to you.  I'm not sure if he will, but if he does, can you forward it to me?"

She didn't tell her that the dwarf was indeed part of the group, as were all the others.  No sense in upsetting her.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <10-02-13/0720:30>

"I don't think he will but if he does, i will certainly send it your way." Annie wasn't too fond of Diego. "Look, i gotta run, there's a client in 15 minutes. Don't disappear on me, i want to hear about you regularly, okay?" After hearing your answer and saying your goodbyes, she hung up.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: MaxKojote on <10-02-13/1904:18>

Joel moved back to his room, heading in and closing the door. He blinked back into Astral Perception  briefly to look at the spirit. "Thank you for watching over us, packmate. I will be fine for now, you should return back to your home." He bade farewell to the spirit as he lay back in the bed. He had a lot on his mind, but the exhaustion and magical drain took their toll; he fell asleep between one thought and the next.

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <10-03-13/0544:16>

Although time was still young, the events of the day exhausted all of you. Sleep, however, didn't come easy for all. However, sooner or later, all of you fell into a restless slumber...

Title: Re: [IC] Waves of Desperation (Seattle Gauntlet, Part I)
Post by: Ren on <10-03-13/0549:32>

End of Part I

continued in: Downtime topic (http://forums.shadowruntabletop.com/index.php?topic=13084.0)