@CT
While there is a threat of internal security, that is not exactly something we can control. It is something to keep in mind though, so we'll see what we get from our employers and whether we stick with this job or not. If it just sends up a "It's on a need to know basis and you don't need to know" vibe, I'm all for us getting the hell out. I'd rather take the hit to my reputation and lose the pay then lose our lives because of some inner party bullshit that could screw us over. After all, we aren't cannon fodder, we're supposed to be paid mercenaries.
However, if I don't get that sort of vibe, I see no difficulties in staying with the job. You guys bring up some great points, which is nice. I'm fine with my plan being proven wrong as long as we get some suggestions.
Rearrangement: All right, so the consensus here is that it would be extremely useful if we can get the performers and VIPs to rearrange to a central location. However, this is unlikely to happen. This means I have a few questions. One, how are all the people spread out? Are they all spread out over both trains? Are they all spread over one train and all the gear is in the other? This is stuff we need to know, because if they are spread along the entire length of the train, it's going to be a hell of a lot of area to cover, possibly leaving us unable to defend the people who lie on the outermost parts of the trains. @Zweiblumen, @Aria - Maybe bring up some of these questions when BT goes to ask Oblique some questions. This is important information that we need to have to be able to properly do our jobs. If I missed anything here, feel free to speak up.
Time Constraints: We are really pressed for time. We need BT to get to Oblique ASAP and get some questions answered. We also need Morgan to comb through our Matrix systems and wipe/reinstall security (since I'm guessing it's really bad). Astrally, I think we only have Leaflocke to do that, and he hasn't posted recently. If he sees this, we need a spirit set up and some astral scans to get a general feeling of our surroundings. I don't know how you guys want to work with Harrier's drones, but I figure some aerial scans/overwatch until we get more information would be useful. I don't know how much time has passed through our journey, but I'm assuming at least an hour, possibly two. We are only here for 10 hours, so that means we should be expecting a hit at pretty much any time.
@Aria
How long has it been since we boarded the train?
Contacts: I already messaged Torrent, and BT is going to talk with Oblique. Someone, preferably not me since I'm biased against Awakened, should talk to the magicians of the Circus. Garner their trust and tell them that we are expecting some serious drek to go down. Ask them if they can help us, either with combat magic, or even just with healing magic. Ditto with the troupe leaders. See if any troupe leaders can be persuaded to move their performers if necessary.
Speed: See if we can get the trains moving faster. I would rather cross these barrens in 7.5 hours instead of 10 hours, that leaves less opportunities for anyone to attack us. Still a hell of a long time though. Perhaps see if we can persuade any families in their vans to pull ahead or closer to the trains so they are within an easy to defend perimeter. Otherwise, I see no choice but to leave behind any stragglers, as we cannot possibly cover the whole 150~ meters that this convoy consists of. Hopefully they will see reason in survival rather than the hassle that it would normally be.
Anything else I missed? Speak up, since I would rather have most of this worked out OOC before we do everything IC. I don't want to retcon if we don't have to.
All right, in terms of characters, here's what I'm seeing. Feel free to add anything you feel your character can contribute, these are just off the top of my head.
Al: I do not know what archetype you are. I don't think I've seen a character sheet, so I'm not exactly sure what your character does. Getting a feeling you are a rigger though. Feel free to correct me.
Harrier: Can provide aerial surveillance, help patch up physical security holes, and help out with drones. Especially useful for response times so that people can move to defend appropriately.
Morgan and Bittorent: Can easily cover our Matrix defenses and provide Matrix overwatch. Especially useful for response times and can play a role in cybercombat such as bricking enemy guns and giving us enemy positions based off of Matrix Perception tests.
Leaflocke: Our only Astral support, so he has to cover a hell of a lot of ground. Spirits can help with combat. He and spirits can provide Astral Overwatch which can be very useful. However, "geek the mage" is still a thing, so he probably shouldn't be in too open of a position. Not sure if he should go with the ground support to provide spells for combat.
Flicker, Luz, and Ghost: Ground combat, we rely on everyone else's intel to be able to coordinate effectively. Other than that, we are really good at putting down bad guys. We're probably going to have a lot of running to do, so any coordination with NPCs and the like will be useful.
I don't know about Flicker and Luz, you guys can explain your various strengths in greater detail, but Ghost can do a couple of things. The first is sniping, which I doubt will be useful, since I will have to keep my head on a swivel all the time and probably can't tackle a large group. Or, I can go in close quarters with a Shotgun + Flashbangs (don't want to exactly blow up the train).
This is still a rather rough outline that was slightly refined based on what you guys have said. Add in any comments, thoughts, suggestions, anything! It will be better to work as a team and have this stuff sorted out.