Shadowrun
Shadowrun Play => Play-by-Post => Topic started by: Retrokinesis on <03-28-13/1704:35>
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Seattle, UCAS. 2072. In a small corner of the Rainy City was Hart's, an old bar run by an older orc. A former shadowrunner by trade, Steelfish had retired from active duty and opened a bar, using his shadow connections to set himself up as a fixer. No one knew who Hart was (well, except Steelfish, but he wasn't telling) but the bar was known as a hotspot for the Seattle shadow community. When you first arrived in Seattle you had been introduced to Steelfish and his bar. Now, you receive a simple text-only message from him on your 'link: <<Got a job for you. Decent pay, travel expenses included, and you get to meet interesting people. Come down to the bar if you're interested.>>
Of course, our heroes could never have known what path they were about to start walking down...
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"I presume... that by interesting people, you have deemed this job to require a team?"
Diego began to put on his blue business suit and after tightening his red tie, he stood there waiting for the response, one hand still holding the knot, the elbow leaning on his other, horizontal arm.
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Diego's commlink beeps with another message. It seems Steelfish does not like making live calls. <<Not me. Client put it together out of recommendations. He'll give you the details. Take it or leave it.>>
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"Very well. I shall head to the bar. Make sure my table is prepared, with my usual drink."
A stiff whiskey was all ways called for at a meeting, Diego headed toward the door, flinging it open with one hand, then hand in air, he pauses, his other hand bringing his goggles down from resting atop his golden hair.
"I think it will be prudent to see who I, Diego, will be working with." Smiling slyly, he shuts the door behind him and walks out of his corner apartment.
It wasn't far by bike to the bar from here, so he better make the call quickly. Leaping onto his bike, goggles on, he begins his call to a certain contact.
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Ignazio woke up late, not having to get up for a job or anything... or so he thought. When he woke up, he routinely checked his commlink, and spotted the message from Steelfish. He wasn't sure he trusted the guy, but Slither had vouched for him, so he couldn't be too bad. Rising from the old, rugged camping cot that was his bed, he stretched his back before pulling up the reply screen.
<<I'll be there. Any clue what the job is?>>
Having sent his reply, Ignazio grabbed a quick meal, and jumped in a lukewarm shower to wake himself up. Then he begins his daily ritual of booster spells. He kept his sustaining foci running pretty much 24/7, just as a matter of precaution. He started with a spell to boost his reflexes, and added an armor spell on top of that.
[spoiler]Increase Reflexes (Force 3): <a href="http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3996750/">13d6.hits(5)=3</a>
Drain (3): <a href="http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3996753/">8d6.hits(5)=2</a>
Armor (Force 2): <a href="http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3996756/">11d6.hits(5)=7</a>
Drain (4): <a href="http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3996757/">8d6.hits(5)=2</a>
Damage Taken: 3 Physical[/spoiler]
The effort of his spellcasting took its toll, giving him one hell of a migrane. He massaged his temples, knowing from his little experience that this discomfort was worth the boost that these spells gave him on the street. They'd saved his hoop more times than he cared to remember... not that he really could. Next up was a message to Slither.
<<Hey. I just got messaged for a job. Gonna take it. More info later.>>
Having taken care of his routine, Ignazio threw on his gear and headed for the bar. It was a ways from his squat, so he grabbed his bike, and roared through the morning air. The cold Seattle morning whipped through his hair, and the damp soaked into his very bones.
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Jimmy was in the middle of a race with some Phantom and Kagetora bikers when he got the message; was a damn good thing he raced with his wires on. One of the Kagetora had gotten herself a drek-hot new bike, so when some of the Phantoms had started into the smack talk about how it would take a real rider to run a bike like that, Jimmy'd put the race together. He figured if he could get the Phantoms and Kagetora into some sort of profitable arrangement, both sides would owe him - which could go a long way if he had to get himself out from under the Vory thumb someday.
<<You're not exactly demonstrating a fine gift for timing here, omae. You just caught me mid-drift during a race.>>
Currently, he was drafting in behind the third place racer as they came out of a dicey turn (Barrens races came with all sorts of extra surprises), while the tiger with the new bike had herself a nice little lead. The race had started out as a go-gangers versus Yak thing, but that bike worked so nicely it became a proper free-for-all, driven by pure competitive spirit. Just as planned...
<<If you're gonna try to line me up for a job, you've got to give me more details than that. What sort of info have you got on this particular Johnson?>>
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The same reply comes through to everyone with questions: <<All I can tell you over the 'Trix is he asked for runners with particular skills and picked five from the list I gave him. You were on it. Also, the job involves international travel because he wants me to cover transporting your gear. He's covering transporting YOU for free, though.>>
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The bar's door swings open, Diego not bothering to reply on the matrix since he has arrived. "He had better have a local SIN waiting for I, Three Star, then."
"Barman! I will take my drink at my table if you would be so kind." Diego turned quickly in front of his chair, linked his fingers, then sat down quickly, his chin landing atop his linked hands in a thoughtful pose.
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In person, in person, who has time for in person. Tink mutters to himself and walks out the door, covered in grease and looking a mess. So better than he usually goes out.
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Ignazio arrived at the bar cold, but his glowing Armor shell had kept the water off of him. It didn't look like anything special, but he knew appearances were deceiving. He shouldered through the door, looking down at his comm as he did so. Steelfish's response surprised him... he wasn't used to his fixer not knowing what they were dealing with. Guess with the way our travel is being paid, it'll be something corp... Maldita sea. He walked up to the bar, scanning the room as he did so.
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"You there, the mage. Don't deny it i can see the glow. The service in this place is slow, bring me a bottle of whiskey from the bar there while you're up and you may join I, Three Star, at my table." A crisp english accent called from behind Ignazio, the man in a blue suit, a beckoning hand reaching in his direction.
It'd be a perception(3) roll to tell it's a cyberhand, a good clue to it being a fellow runner.
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Ignazio looked over towards the man beckoning him. He didn't really appreciate the way the guy was talking to him, but he figured he was probably at least partially drunk. It was a bar, after all. He waved to the barkeep, to get his attention. "Hey, chummer. Grab me a bottle of whiskey, will ya?"
Once the man had handed him the bottle (Ignazio made sure to let the barman know it was on the other guy's tab) he walked over, and set it on the table. "So, mocoso, what makes you think I want to join you? There must be at least twenty wageslaves just like you in this place." Despite what he said, Ignazio settled himself opposite the man, keeping his eyes fixed on the room, particularly on the door. He didn't want to miss anything, but this guy's attitude intrigued him. Out of the corner of his eye, he gave the guy a quick once over, nothing too in depth, just looking. He put his hands in his pockets, trying to seem nonchalant, despite the way he kept looking around the room.
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"Ah yes, but who would want to sit with the local riffraff when a man walks in who is quite literally glowing with talent such as yourself. To keep dry I imagine? A novel idea I suppose."
Pouring the whiskey into the glass, smelling it's scent and then knocking it back, he then leant back, stretching out his legs and crossing them, swirling the contents of his glass around as he looked the Mage over.
His overbearing tone continues as the man keeps looking towards the door. "I think we are set to be the best of friends. Call me Three Star."
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He was a little annoyed about how much information was being withheld, but it wasn't like he could turn down the chance to make some international connections.
<<Fine, fine, I'll be on my way soon. Race is on the home stretch.>>
Seeing his moment, he pulled out from behind the third place racer and accelerated as hard as the bike would go, pulling in front of the guy and gaining on second. The Phantom saw him coming, though, and deftly placed his own bike in the path of Jimmy's so that he couldn't go around and pass. Jimmy tried a couple of times to dart around, but the ork simply out-maneuvered him. Crossing the finish line, it wound up with the Kagetora on the new bike in first after all, though they were only racing for bragging rights this time. "Hate to say it, but it looks like I'm gonna have to bail out of here already; seems I've got a job lined up. See y'all later." With that, he kicked his bike back into gear and rode on to Hart's; didn't take him all that long to get there. When he did, he sized up everyone else in the room, toggled the ultrasound on his glasses to active momentarily before setting it back to passive, and kept his radar sensor activated.
Satisfied with his survey of the room, he grabbed himself a seat at the bar that let him keep an eye on the rest of the place. "Could do with a couple of fingers of mescal if you've got it, omae."
[spoiler]Observe in Detail, active ultrasound sensor picks up anything that might otherwise be invisible. (6d6.hits(5)=2) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3996992/)[/spoiler]
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Ignazio sighed inwardly. This chulo pomposo has to be a 'runner... who else is this cocky? The jibe about the rain annoys him, as it wasn't anything to do with the weather... just an added bonus really.
[spoiler]Avoid escalating (WIL+CHA[3]): <a href="http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3996995/">7d6.hits(5)=3</a>[/spoiler]
"Three Star, huh? Why you think we're gonna be amigos omae?"
The man doesn't seem to be diverting much of Ignazio's attention, and in fact his eyes almost seem to glaze over, taking on an almost reptilian aspect.
[spoiler]Scanning the bar on the astral plane. Not assenssing, just looking.[/spoiler]
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"That's very simple," he brings both arms up into loose cross in-front of his chest. "You wouldn't like the alternative."
"I am interested in interesting people. You are certainly one." he extends his left hand, offering it to shake, "Now you know I, Three Star's, name. Will you kindly return the favour?"
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No taste for keeping things quiet in that one... With my luck, he's probably here for the job too; going around announcing himself like that could get us into serious trouble.
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Ignazio looks this strange, and notably unpleasant man straight in the eye, his eyes shifting back to meatspace.. "You threatening me, puta? I wouldn't advise it."
As the man reaches out to shake his hand, Ignazio looks away again, intentionally snubbing him. After a few moments he turns back, pretending to have only just seen the offered hand. He takes it warily, but gives a firm handshake. "As for my name... well, I don't know you, and I don't trust you yet. For one thing, interesting people always seem to get my hoop shot at. Still, guess you need something to call me. Draco." Ignazio's voice is low, and smooth, the kind of voice you have to lean in a little to hear.
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Crap. Can't have conflict breaking out before the job even starts... Jimmy grabbed his glass, thanking the bartender as he did, and walked over to the table where what seemed to be two amateur runners were started to get into a bit of a fight.
"Gentlemen. Given how over-eager you are to meet people here," He gestured to the one who identified himself as Three Star, and then to the one with the glowing aura "And given how you seem to be expected something to happen, and the fact that I simply do not believe in coincidences, I'm going to assume the three of us are here for the same purpose. You either know what I'm talking about, or you don't - if not, so be it, I'll walk away. But if I'm right, it is a horrendously foolish idea for you two to be getting into any sort of argument at this stage. Seems we may have to work as a team, so it's best for everyone involved if we learn to get along, yes?" He was aiming, quite simply, to get these two to back off from each other long enough to cool off a bit.
[spoiler]
Charisma 7 + Tailored Pheromones 3 + Leadership 4 + Glamour 3 + First Impression 2. Roll provided for RP assistance only. (19d6.hits(5)=8) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3997098/)
Don't consider yourselves bound by this roll, of course, but it should be an indicator of the sort of impression you get from him; specifically as to whether or not he's worth listening to.[/spoiler]
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Returning the firm shake, then gripping Draco's wrist with his other hand, it's grip much firmer, he responds in reasonable but accented spanish, "I have been nothing but nice to you so far, friend. Whereas you have insulted me no less than three times."
At the interruption of the third man Diego lowered his straightened leg, sliding it back into his shoe as the thick blade, that had slowly extended from it during the conversation, edging nearer Draco, retracted into his heel.
Diego lets go of Draco's hand, then his wrist.
"Please, have a seat, it appears we are waiting for more to arrive."
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Tink walks into the bar and looks for Steelfish
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"Starting your introduction with 'Hey, you, get me whiskey and you will be honored to sit with me,' that's an insult if I ever heard one." Ignazio seems unphased by the stranger's grasp of Spanish.
He looks up as the third man walks up. This one seems at least palatable, but you never know. At the very least he was trying to defuse the tense situation... Still... This was not shaping up promisingly... Hopefully Johnson got here soon, so they could get on with this job. "Yeah, join the fraggin' party! Why not? It's not like things can get any less fun." Ignazio looks directly at the stranger, affording him a measure of respect that he had thus far refused the obnoxious Three Star.
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Almost as if it was operating on pure dramatic law, a crash of thunder strikes just as the door to Hart's swings open. In strides a thin elf in a black overcoat, soaked from the rain. He takes a quick look around the room and walks over to the bar. A quick nod to the bartender: "Cranberry juice. Ice". He takes the glass and strolls over to the rapidly-filling table. "Did someone say 'less fun'? I'd be happy to oblige..." He smiles, although it looks more like a vague approximation of a smile by a shedim inhabiting a month-dead corpse. The hand not holding the glass rests under his coat, right about where a holster would be.
Note, if you're still assensing, you really really don't like what you see...
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"I, Three Star, suggest you remove your hand, very, very slowly from your coat."
Diego looks at him, still smiling with his half threatening look in his eyes.
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Jimmy's hand was already on his Ruger, ready to pull if need be. "Friend, I don't know what you think is going on here, but I have a bit of advice for you: there's three of us, and given that these two were just about to throw down we can assume they've got something going for them in a fight. I don't care how badass you think you are, 3 to 1 is pretty bad odds - and I grew up on the Vegas strip, so believe me when I say I know odds. I don't much like mine if something jumps off, but I'd be liking yours a whole hell of a lot less; that's not even considering how stupid it would be to start a fight in a runner bar. So how's about you take your hand off that piece, and we can pretend we're all professionals."
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Well, that pretty much confirmed his suspicions about the team Steelfish had assembled. He grins, taking particular care to linger on each of the people at the table in turn. "Never trust a man with an illeism". He tilts his head at Three Star but looks to the others. "I think we're here for the same reason". His right hand lashes out from beneath the coat... holding several cigars. "Gentlemen?"
He takes a sip of cranberry juice and places the glass down on the table. Still holding the cigars out, he uses his other hand to unbutton his overcoat. The suit underneath is expensive, probably hand-tailored. "If I wanted you dead, I'd have waited for the dynamic duo here to throw down and shot whoever survived in the back". Another grin. "Although I respect Mr. Steelfish enough not to get blood on his nice floors so I'd suggest we go outside if we're going to dance. Otherwise, have a cigar".
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"Oh, give me some credit here - I did manage to get them to cool off before it got that far, after all." Jimmy took the proffered cigar and lit it, offering the others a light as well.
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Ignazio laughs, the tension suddenly melting out of the situation. "Dynamic duo, huh? Who does that make you, Alfred?" He reaches out, and grabs one of the cigars, sniffing it before putting it in his jacket pocket. He smiles, and stands up. "You know how close you were to geeked, amigo? These chummers seem awful jumpy." He holds his hand out to the latest addition to this ragged band of miscreants. "Call me Draco."
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"If such is the case then I, Three Star... am Batman." He took the cigar, put only pocketed it. "For after the job, hm?"
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"It ain't jumpy to be ready to shoot someone who looks like he's got a hand on a piece, Draco, especially not when he's talking like he's looking for trouble. That's just smart. As for you, starboy, it's not wise to go spouting off your name all the time like that." He chuckled. "Also, you only get to be Batman if its the really campy flatvid version."
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Ignazio laughs again, perhaps even louder than before. "Sure thing, compadre... Just means I take over when you kick the bucket. Also, I was talking about all of us, even before our... recent addition. Seems like we're all wound pretty tight tonight."
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Richter grins again, although it lacks the same hideous malice it had before. "Like I said, illeism! Not a good sign". He sits down at the table and accepts the light from Jimmy. "For future reference, the pistol's up my sleeve. I keep the grenade launcher in my suit. Name's Marduk. I have a feeling we're all on the same job". A puff from the cigar and a sip of cranberry juice. "And if they've brought me in, something or several somethings needs to die. What about the rest of you?"
[spoiler]Also, Draco is probably close enough now to be within Marduk's constant background count. Pretty sure that's unmistakeable to a mage even if they're not assensing.[/spoiler]
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"I can shoot things with the best of 'em, but my real talent lies in the grift. If they're bringing me in, guns blazing may well be something other than the ideal approach. And I'm getting the impression that it's probably best if I do the talking in the meet."
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"I can talk the talk if the need is there. With Draco here, I felt no such need. I specilise in combat as well."
Diego showed the holstered, modified Pred IV in under his coat to them quickly.
"The boy wonder seems to be less.. shiny now. Problem, Robin?"
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What the hell... my spells just dropped.... What is this guy?!?
The aura around Draco disappears as he steps closer to Marduk, and he appears to move less agilely. He grimaces, and he steps away from Marduk very quickly. "What the hell man?!? What the frak are you?!?"
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Jimmy was about to say something to starboy when Draco when nuts. His hand subtly went back to his Ruger. "What's wrong?"
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Marduk shrugs. "You really don't want to know. Suffice to say, you probably want to keep all magic more than, say, five feet from me at all times. Also, I'd advise you don't look at my aura. I'm told it's unpleasant".
"My apologies. Most likely, Draco here just had his spells shrivel up and die because of my presence. It happens. I probably should have mentioned that talent, though".
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Ignazio seems a little more at ease with some distance between him and Marduk, but still seems stressed.
"Well, that's gonna make working together... fun. That is the kind of bull shit you don't just spring on someone!"
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"Not so sure 'talent' is the right word... Either way it's going to mean we need to be seriously coordinated. I imagine you're as much like a bull in a china shop around any sort of magical security as you are in a social setting, eh?"
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"Good news, it's all going to collapse without going off. Including guard spirits, if they're not unusually strong. Bad news, I can't turn it off. Or choose targets. Except by keeping my distance of course".
He nods at Draco's comment. "Completely agreed! In fact, let's clear the air now..." He crushes the end of the cigar against the table. "I'm wanted for murder in at least one sovereign nation, I live on top of an insect spirit nest, I'm in Seattle looking for my daughter, I have a fairly positive working relationship with Ares I'd rather not fuck up, and my favorite color is aubergine. Only one of those is a lie, by the way!"
Another grin as he waits for that to sink it. "Aannndddd that's me in a nutshell! What about you?"
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"If I and no one else end up killing you, I would certainly find it entertaining to keep you around after this job." He offered his right hand up to shake.
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{color=red]"Keep your distance from me and mine, and we may be all right."[/color]
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"Me, I've got some sort of metagenetic thing going on that makes people naturally inclined to love me. Don't ask me how it works - all I know is it isn't magic or mind control. Got a pretty fair set of augmentations, too, including something that works hand-in-hand with the metagenetic thing, making me real good at working a mark. I'm a Face first and foremost, and the rest is secondary. I've got ties to the Vory because they want me to, and I've done a fair bit of work with some of the other smaller crews around the city. Stayed out of the corp game thus far."
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"Noted". He takes Three Star's hand and shakes it. "It was the aubergine that clinched it, right? Always is. If we survive this job, I bet we'll be seeing a bunch more of each other. Speaking of which... any ideas? Steelfish wouldn't tell me anything virtually except that it involves travel. So far it looks like we've got a grifter, a mage, and two hitters but no tech? I wonder what dear Mr. Johnson is up to..."
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"All I could get out of the ornery old bastard is that Johnson picked 5 names. So, we're waiting on one more."
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"I'd... love to be able to tell you who I am, or where I come from, but all I know is that I am a mage, with this real neat trick where I can turn into a serpiente emplumada. As for the rest... I couldn't tell you, even if I wanted to."
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"Seriously? 'Draco the Drake'? That's awesome."
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"Ah a Drake. I see."
Three Star said no more, thinking about how much Aztechnology might pay for him.
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Ignazio shuffles almost nervously, his previously cool demeanor punctured for a moment by all the attention.
"I didn't pick the name. My... friend, Slither, picked it out for me after I sorta... forgot."
[spoiler]You guys probably have some inkling of who this guy is... Bad Rep for allegedly blowing up a lot of people.[/spoiler]
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"Hey, handle's a handle. Piece of advice, though - don't be too hasty to advertise to others that you're a Drake. Could call some things down on you that you don't want." Jimmy was taking pains to be amiable on the subject - the drake-mage did seem amateurish, but he was still shaping up to be the team's magic, which bought him some tolerance. "Anyone seen someone who looks like a tech head or grease monkey yet?"
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"We'll there is the socially awkward looking twitchy guy who walked in while we were talking, but I don't want to judge a book by its cover."
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Richter nods at Diego and Jimmy. "Good enough for me". He turns in his chair and raises a glass towards Tink, "Hey, leprechaun! Get over here!"
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Tink looks around for someone dressed in all green and not seeing anyone goes back to trying to get the bartenders help.
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The bartender, a young human man, pointedly ignores Tink and continues polishing glasses with a rag. He ducks behind the bar pretty quickly, though, when the door slams open. Three men in Knight Errant uniforms, sidearms drawn, step through and put their backs to each other. "NOBODY MOVE, THIS IS A RAID! PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR; WE ARE AUTHORIZED TO USE LETHAL FORCE!"
What do you do?
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Ignazio keeps his hands visible and elevated, and tries to look cool. He doesn't want any trouble, especially when his spells are down. He keeps an eye on Marduk, as this guy seems to be a lose cannon. "What can we do for you officers? Nobody here wants any trouble..."
While the guys are talking to him, Ignazio attempts to restore at least some of his efficiency by restoring his reflexes.
[spoiler]Increase Reflexes Force 3: 12d6.hits(5)=6 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3998007/)
Drain 3: 8d6.hits(5)=1 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3998015/)
Damage taken total: 5 P[/spoiler]
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Tink puts his hands up and tries to remember if he brought his "credentials"
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Raising his hands and not making direct eye contact with the officers, as can be worrying to the cops with spellcasters around, his tone is suddenly much more even and soft. "How can we help you officers? Has someone committed a crime?"
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"Lethal force seems a bit excessive... I mean, I can only imagine the amount of datawork that would cause. I'm sure we can save you fine gentlemen that particular headache, isn't that right everyone?". Jimmy put his hands over his head, but was addressing everyone in the bar as he spoke, trying to discourage anyone from starting anything.
[spoiler]Leadership to keep things from escalating. (19d6.hits(5)=6) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3999068/)[/spoiler]
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The center officer walks halfway over to the table everyone is sitting at and stops. The others don't lower their guns. "I'm sure you can. Now, we've received a tip that some wanted felons would be meeting here. And lo and behold, we show up and find a group of rather suspicious individuals that are no doubt conspiring to commit horrendous crimes against the honest people of Seattle".
He puts a finger up to his chin and sweeps his Colt Manhunter across the group. "Any of you fine 'gentlemen' willing to point-out which ones we're looking for? Because if we have to do this the hard way, you're ALL coming in..."
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Waving his gun around like that in a room full of people? Completely unprofessional, not at all in accordance with the appearance KE tries to maintain. Besides, there's nothing outwardly suspicious about us... Something doesn't sit right here.
"As I'm sure you can understand, my answer deopends on your answer to three questions. First, can you tell me who it is you're looking for? Second, may I see some identification? Third, will you please put the guns away. They're making me nervous, and seeing as noone here is acting in a fashion that endangers yourselves or the public, they're also completely unneccesary. After all, the last thing we need is someone getting hurt by a misfire." While he was speaking, trying to deescalate the situation, Jimmy took a read on the lead of the raid.
[Spoiler]Ettiquette, Judge Intentions (19d6.hits(5), 11d6.hits(5)=[4, 5, 4, 4, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 3, 1, 6, 6, 1, 6, 4, 5, 3, 3], [4, 1, 3, 5, 3, 5, 4, 1, 5, 6, 1]) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4000292/)
Edge spent to reroll dice from Etiquette test (14d6.hits(5)=8) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4000300/)
13 hits Etiquette, 4 hits Judge Intentions
[/spoiler]
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"I... that's none of your business. Can't reveal covert sources you understand". He turns his head around and looks at the two men behind him, nods, and they all holster their pistols. "We're not here looking for trouble, just doing our jobs".
Jimmy can't quite get a read on the cop but seems to have deflated their obvious hostility, at least.
[spoiler]Opposed Etiquette roll v. Jimmy Opposed Judge Intentions roll v. Jimmy (7d6.hits(5)=3, 6d6.hits(5)=4) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4000837/)[/spoiler]
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So, not going to show any sort of identification... Interesting, but best not to press that point just yet. Seeing that the guns had been put away, Jimmy relaxed a bit; holstered weapons struck him as inherently less dangerous.
"I understand that just fine, believe me. But if you can't tell me who it is you're looking for, I'm not really sure what sort of help you're asking for here."
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Considering everything was going as planned Diego just sat still and let Jimmy do the talking, eager to see how the boy wonder, twitchy and the fun one would do .
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"Who we're looking for? Uhm... the wanted criminals? Yeah, those". The lead cop was sweating profusely; apparently, Jimmy's performance had thrown him for quite a loop. "Frag it, boss, they're not buyin' it. Can we stop this now?"
The bartender pulls himself up from behind the bar. "Well they're certainly not going to buy it NOW. Scram!" His body ripples for a moment and, where once a young human man stood, is now a gray-haired ork. Steelfish himself. "Sorry about that little act, omae, but I wanted to see how you would handle it before I gave you the job. Demands a certain finesse and all". He pulls a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and lights one with a flick of his fingers. "Besides, your buddy here..." he flicks the cigarette at Three Star, "... thought it would be funny to call-up KE and turn y'all in. Figured I might as well get some use outta that".
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"You've got to hire better actors next time, man. There was way too much off about that routine - waving the guns around like a bunch of low-rent gangers, not bothering with any fake badges... The Bavarian Fire Drill can get you pretty far, but you've got to minimize questions for that to work, which is really where they got it wrong." Jimmy shot Three Star a withering look. "Though you better believe I'm going to be keeping a close eye on starboy here - especially if he figured he could 'turn us in' without knowledge of any crime. All that said, f we're done with the games, we really should get on with biz."
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"T'be fair, they ARE low-rent gangers. Wasn't expectin' much out of 'em, just wanted to see if you'd shoot first instead of talking". He takes a long drag on the cigarette and points a finger at Three Star. "By the way, I pay KE for protection. Called me up the second you they hung-up with you and warned me I had a snitch. First rule of Hart's: no fucking around with any of the patrons. Try it again and I'll turn your drek-for-brains insides out, boy". He doesn't look like he's joking.
"Now, I do have a job for y'all. International work, flight and personal gear smuggling included. Pays by the day. Floating number and type of tasks, hence the group". He offers a cigarette to Tink across the bar. "Small Fry here is your fifth, by the way. Tech support". He turns back to everyone else, "Need to know who's in or not before I give you Johnson's contact details. Door's over there if you're not up for it, no hard feelin's".
-
Ignazio smirks a little when the phoney KE boys turn tail. More from relief than from anything else, he sighs, and walks over to the bar. "We've come this far omae, I don't think anyone's backing out now. Although..." Ignazio turns to glare at Three Star, "If anyone decides to try and shaft us again, they'd better have a hell of a lot more friends."
Ignazio turns back to Steelfish and orders a tequila, straight up. "So, when do we leave boss? As charming as your little bar is, I'd really prefer you just slot and run. The quicker we get on this deal, the sooner we all get paid." Glancing back at the others, Ignazio checks for any objections... or any more surprises...
-
"I, Three Star am in, but please excuse me while I ruin a man's life. I'll overlook you ruining my plan for now, Steelfish."
Three Star leans back on his chair and begins typing away on his commlink, sending the blackmail material straight to his Knight Errant contact's wife. After the job he'd visit her and see if she wanted to hire an assassin.
Consider my Knight Errant contact struck from my character sheet.
-
Jimmy clapped a hand down on Three Star's shoulder. "You get one warning. This is it. Pull something like that again, and one way or the other it shall be the end of you." He downed the last of his drink, walked over to the bar to top it up, and turned to address Steelfish. "I'm still in, but I won't take responsibility for the idiot."
He had to shake his head when the fool as good as announced his plan to burn his contact. Very shortsighted.
-
Three star stood up and walked over to the bar as well, standing next to Jimmy, putting his right hand on his shoulder in return. "You get one warning too. Unless it's due to helping me during the job, wounds and the like. Never. Touch. Me. Again."
The illeism broken, he uses his cyberhand to put inhuman pressure on his shoulder, but not enough to harm him.
-
Jimmy quietly got out his knife and placed the tip a couple centimetres away from getting starboy to start signing soprano. "Let me be quite clear. Your little stunt has cost you. You no longer have the right to set any sort of ground rules. The fact that I'm not walking and telling everyone I know that you're a snitch who's not to be trusted is a gift, and you don't get to ask for anything more; you did this to yourself. If you've got a problem with that, you walk right now." With a thought, he turned his wires on.
-
"Let me add one too: they say the ninth circle of Hell is reserved for traitors. I don't go for religious mumbo-jumbo much myself but I do hope it's true, because I'll send you there myself without so much as a second thought. Hell, I'd probably kill you just for kicks and because your so-called style annoys me. You were just dumb enough to give me a reason". Richter's Thunderbolt is in hand, no doubt released from under his sleeve, pointed directly at Three Star's head. "You've got at least three people willing and able to kill you. Make a move. Please"
-
Three Star removed his hand from Jimmy's shoulder slowly, taking a step back with his hands in the air. He didn't say anything at first.
"This has made me think, how many of you know first aid, it will likely be needed at some point during a job needing two people who specialize in combat, yes?"
-
Ignazio sighed...
"No need. I've got first aid covered. Magic or otherwise. Also, you know if you square off with the team, it'll be all of us. You really don't wanna go down that road, compadre. Now, if we're all done bickering?"
-
"I keep a decent medkit on hand for if things go pear-shaped, too." Jimmy turned to Steelfish. "Now, whenever you decide to tell us about the job and Johnson, I'll be over here."
He walked back over to the table and leaned in to have a quiet word with Richter. "Thanks for the backup there, omae."
-
He turns down the cigarette"No thanks, though if they fight I call first dibs on the losers toys."
-
Ignazio turns towards the latest addition of this ragtag bunch of miscreants. "Tech support, huh? Nice job... safe? I'm Draco by the way... we haven't been formally introduced. Also, I wouldn't bet on getting anything from the loser... The winner would probably either keep it or sell it. Plus, some of us don't have anything you'd want."
-
Richter nods to Jimmy and finishes his cranberry juice. "No problem. When the time comes, I'm with you". He hopes that point was clear.
-
"They call me Daedy (die-dee) around here and I like all kindsof toys, plus I called dibs. So who'se everyone else and what do ya'll do?"
-
"Well, as for your 'dibs' I think the classic 'to the victor goes the spoils' kinda over rules you there. Plus, you couldn't play with my toys if you tried... Don't have the juice. I do, which is kinda my trick. As for the rest, well... The loud mouth is Three Star. Seems to be a street sam from my estimation. So's Marduk, but he has the added juice of being a big black hole where magic is concerned. He stays well enough away from me, we all stay happy. The last guy is Shark. Seems like a pretty smooth talker, if our little show was anything to go on. Outside that... well, your guess is as good as mine."
-
"I'll still do the job, but after all this, I'll do it pro bono. You can either take my cut to cover your Knight's fee's Steelfish, or give it to the rest of the team." he stands with one hand in front of his face, looking through his fingers at Steelfish.
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"The pay is the pay. Not my problem nor my concern. Up to y'all what to do with it but no way am I skimming off a team I helped assemble. Bad for business". Steelfish places a datachip on the bar and pushes it towards the group. "Here's the time and location of the meet as well as necessary account information. Johnson wants to go virtual so he's set you all up with access to the Casino de Monte-Carlo's 'Trix node. Very swanky. Try not to blow all your pay before you actually take the job, hmm?"
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Tink will pick it up and read the chip and hand it out towards the next closest person.
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Three Star takes the chip but just tosses it over to Shark, not checking i yet. "I don't do VR, will they accept AR guests?", He asks Steelfish.
-
"The casino itself does, if you're up for some gambling, but Johnson requested a full VR meet only. Anyone who's not comfortable in the 'Trix should probably sit the meet out. 'Course, that means you need to trust whoever DOES go isn't cuttin' you out..."
-
"Considering what I just said about the pay, I don't need to fear that."
-
"I don't do casinos or VR. Bad history with both. I'll make sure nothing happens to your defenseless meatsuits while you're negotiating my pay". He hoped the (semi)implied threat was obvious.
-
"Guess it's you and me, Tink." Ignazio walked over, and grabbed the chip, reading it quickly. He didn't enjoy VR, but if the job called for it... He wondered what Marduk's problem with casinos was... at least VR made sense. Still, if he decided to share, that was up to him. "Also, Steelfish, did we get a time on the meet, or just a place?"
-
"Oh, don't count me out. I ain't been to a proper casino since I left home. This is damn near nostalgic. Besides, I don't much trust in you lot to handle the negotiation."
-
"Hey now, chummer, I don't much care if you come or not, but it's a little harsh to assume we'll hose it. Way I see it, we all better put a little trust in each other sooner or later. How else can we work together?
-
"Let me rephrase - I'd rather not leave you to do my job."
-
"Your job, huh? Well, given the way things have gone, I can't deny it..."
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"All I know is someone with a pretty mouth should come, I'm not good with that stuff."
-
"Wasn't that phrase used in a trid somewhere? 'You've got a pretty mouth, boy.'"
-
"A team only works when everyone knows their role, chummer." Jimmy turned to address Steelfish. "So, I've got two questions for you: when's the meet, and how much do you know about the Johnson?"
Then he gave the short one a look. "Don't say that again... Just don't. It doesn't mean what you seem to think it means."
-
"See, that's my point. Now if you need some toys made after the mission I can help"
-
He looks at his watch - an actual, physical wristwatch - and turns to Jimmy, "You've got a few hours still. He's not corporate, I can tell you that much. Not even pretending to be. Claims to represent an undisclosed 'independent charitable organization'. You'd be forgiven for thinking that sounds worse".
-
"Yeah, that doesn't sound so great. Got anything I could feed my contacts to do some checking of my own?" Jimmy took a a good long drag on the cigar.
-
"You obviously have this covered Shark, as I can't make the meet just give me a call when or if you need me" He pings them all with his commcode and snaps up the whiskey bottle from the table, and heads out the door, paying off his tab electronically as he leaves. He could make it home in time to make dinner for his father before it got too late in the day.
-
"'Matter of fact I do. A name. The biggest 'contributor' to his little club? Danielle de la Mar". Steelfish puts his cigarette down in a ceramic ashtray on the bar and looks at Jimmy pensively. "Ring any bells?"
-
"Can't say as I have, but I'll run it by my contacts - if you can find anything online, Daedy, let me know. Catch you later Steelfish, and thanks for the work." He finished his drink, left his commcode, copied the datachip, and left the bar. He got on his bike and set the pilot to take him home before calling up a friend in the Kagetora, Takeshi.
"Hey, omae, you got a minute to chat?"
-
"For you, omae? Always. What can I do for you?"
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"Job offer just came up, but the details are pretty light - supposed to be international work, but outside of that I have very little idea what 'm getting myself into. Hoping you might be able to get ahold of some information for me. Think you can check around, see if anyone's heard of a Danielle de la Mar?"
-
On the ride home Diego contacted Lang Fang, "Lang, any updates on my order, like a price?"
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As he jumps on his bike, now getting soaked by the consistent, cold rain that is Seattle's hallmark, Ignazio punches Slither's number into his commlink. "Hey, got a new job from Steelfish. Mystery Johnson, international work... can you try and find out some more about this before the meet? I have a name you can use to cross reference... Danielle de la Mar. Gracias chica!"
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Tink will give everyone his info, and take theirs. On his way back to his shop he does the data search
[spoiler]http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4004907/
13d6.hits(5) → [5,5,1,6,5,2,6,3,3,1,6,6,3] = (7)[/spoiler]
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Tink's data search turns up quite a bit about Mrs. le Mar: she's a French socialite with an enormous trust fund formerly married to an equally-rich aristocrat. Since her divorce, she's turned her resources to "making the Matrix a safer place". It's your standard "Protect the Children" rhetoric tinged with an unmistakeable sense that she thinks she knows better than everyone else how they should live. She's made outreaches to several megacorps about supporting stricter Matrix laws which, of course, they have been all too eager to agree with. She seems like an average aristocrat with too much money and time on her hands looking for something to keep her occupied.
Draco and Shark, however, hear quite a different story from the shadows. The way their contacts tell it le Mar is a pawn of the Corporate Court, a proxy they can use to "independently" protest for more authority over the Matrix. She considers shadowrunners to be lowbrow scum beneath her attention and has a particular hatred for heavily-cybered individuals. However, lately she's been hiring runners to investigate dead zones and other sites with unusual or absent Matrix architecture.
As for Three Star, his contact Lang does know of a few things that fit the bill: atropine, cyanide, or, if he's feeling creative, nova scorpion venom. Atropine has legitimate medical uses and is the easiest to get; the other two are illegal.
[spoiler]I'm just going to cheat and stick the information everyone obtained into one post, so there :P. As for Diego, the availability and cost of his special orders are on page 84 of arsenal. Fang could obtain them for him with the normal contact rules or he could try to get them himself.[/spoiler]
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"Sounds like someone I need to watch myself around. Thanks for the info."
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"No no no, that shall not do Lang. Those are all much to fast, i need something I can slip someone over a long time."
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"Ahh, Mr. Three Star, then what you seek is arsenic. It in fact requires multiple doses over an extended period to be truly effective. Often, the victim won't even know they are being poisoned. It's even legal for pest-control purposes, although it still requires a license. I've heard of achieving similar results with low quantities of uranium though that is far more expensive and likely to have you branded as a terrorist if discovered..."
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"Yes let's save the uranium for a bigger problem, tell me when you have some, good day Lang."
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"Thanks for the info mi corazon. What's your take on this? Anything to worry about, or is this one biz as usual? Also, can you try to find out more about a runner for me? Goes by the name Three Star... seems like a bit of a loose cannon. I need to know what I'm dealing with. If you have time, run the names Marduk and Shark as well. They seem to be the main party of the team. There's a hacker as well, goes by Tink. Anything you can find will help. Muchos gracias me encanta."
Ignazio gets home, soaked to the core, and strips out of his wet clothes. He towels himself off, and grabs some dry clothes. Then he tries to patch himself up with the medkit he bought with him.
[spoiler]First Aid: (LOG+Medkit [6] {2})- 8d6.hits(5)=1 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4005191/)[/spoiler]
Despite how well stocked his medkit is, he doesn't make any headway on the roughing up he took from all his earlier spell casting.
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An hour and a half later Three Star returns to the bar, takes up a stool, not saying anything to Steelfish behind the counter, and just sits there.
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"Oh, hey, while I've got you, would you mind checking on the guys I seem to be saddled with for this run? Looks to be a couple amateurs going by Three Star and Draco, some guy named Marduk, and a tech guy to round it out who goes by Tink. I'm a little worried about the first guy, to be honest."
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Tink attempts to cover his tracks and check out his new partners
[spoiler]Johonson Spoof - http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4005671/ : 18d6.hits(5) → [2,4,3,5,4,2,5,3,3,5,4,4,2,1,1,5,3,2] = (4)
Marduc data: http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4005673/ 13d6.hits(5) → [3,4,5,4,6,3,6,2,1,1,5,5,5] = (6)
Marduc spoof: http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4005676/ 18d6.hits(5) → [1,1,2,2,4,1,5,6,6,5,4,5,1,6,1,6,1,1] = (7)
Draco data: http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4005677/ 13d6.hits(5) → [5,3,3,3,6,3,5,5,2,4,4,5,6] = (6)
Draco Spoof: http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4005678/ 18d6.hits(5) → [2,6,5,3,3,5,5,1,6,1,5,2,3,3,2,4,3,6] = (7)
Three Star data: http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4005680/ 13d6.hits(5) → [6,4,6,1,3,5,4,4,4,6,6,3,1] = (5)
Three Star Spoof: http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4005681/ 18d6.hits(5) → [4,3,3,6,6,1,3,3,3,5,1,1,1,3,3,3,2,5] = (4)
Shark data: http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4005683/ 13d6.hits(5) → [3,6,5,2,4,4,6,2,4,5,4,3,4] = (4)
Shark Spoof: http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4005684/ 18d6.hits(5) → [3,1,5,1,4,4,6,3,2,4,4,6,2,6,1,2,6,1] = (5)
[/spoiler]
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Whether by contacts or Matrix searches, you now have at least some information on each of your compatriots. See the OOC post for exactly what you have.
Back at Hart's, Steelfish is clearly busy with AR windows behind the bar based on the way his arms are moving. Either that or he's attempting to bring the whole place down with ritual magic. He turns to Three Star and Marduk, the only ones still at the bar, and grins: "Heads up, y'all. Looks like your little party is going to be plus one. Johnson requested a specialist at the last minute and I think I've obliged him..."
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Ghost grinned to himself as he pressed the pedal of his custom modified Chrysler-Nissan Patrol-1. Weaving in and out of traffic as he sped north towards Seattle, easily sliding around cars and trucks. He pulled off of the highway and drove towards the bar. He was sure at least one of his potential crew would still be there. He hadn't gotten any serious info on who he would be running with but he knew Steelfish would have some contact info for him. Ghost didn't feel much like getting on his com, he shunned his commlink along with most other modern technology. He felt it cheapened life as a whole if you couldn't experience it with your own five senses. Shaking his head at nothing special he mentally keyed up his radio and drove a little fast, the beat of the music carrying him on.
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Three Star waved his hand lazily in response to the news. "Just in case we continue to not get along, eh? Let I, Three Star, guess... he's a melee specialist."
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He grinned, "A former NAN Wildcat no less. Play nice, hmm? He should be here soon. Besides, there's been some changes. Johnson thought you might need his skills".
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"He must be more than some regular PhysAd or Street Sam otherwise i don't see why he'd be needed with me around."
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"Thanks again. As always, give me a call if there's anything I can do for you." Once he got home he started in on a bit of weapon maintenance so he'd be job-ready, and then realised he hadn't gotten commcodes for the rest of the team, so he fired off a message to Steelfish.
<<Hey, forgot to grab everyone's info before I left. Think you can copy me everyone's commcodes so we can coordinate?>>
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"As far as I know, his real specialty is B&E. Ask him yourself when he gets here". Steelfish notices a message from Jimmy and responds with a list of everyone's commcodes and an announcement of their new teammate.
-
Having got a bit of information back on all his team mates, Ignazio settled down to think over his plans. First off, he called Steelfish up. "Hey, omae. Any chance you could set me up with a street doc before the job? I could use a bit of a patch up... Also, let me know if anything changes, so ka?"
Then, he settled into his bed to focus himself before going to meet the Johnson.
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"Sure, I can hook ya up no problem. Now, a few options here. There's a doc who won't ask questions and can handle basic stuff on the cheap, trustworthy and real nice... or one who runs a full-on shadow clinic. Betaware, magical healing, experimental genetech, the works. He doesn't come cheap at all, though. Either of them sound like what ya need?"
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Hm, a late addition to the team. Not sure I like what that implies. He fired off a message to the new guy using the commcode Steelfish gave him.
<<Hey, hear you're being added to the team that's being put together here. I've got the details on the meet, but you'll forgive me for wanting to do a run a quick bit of vetting on the late addition. What's your skillset? -Shark>>
Jimmy started up a group call and looped in Marduk, Tink, and Draco. "Alright, so we've got a meet time. Given you offered to provide some physical security, Marduk, I'm guessing you're thinking we jack in from one spot? You got a place ready? As for you, Draco, you much good with wards? Can you keep us all secured on the Matrix side and keep us from being traced?"
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"Just set me up with the cheap guy, omae. I just need a quick patch job before we hit this run... I've kinda taken a beating so far where my magic is concerned. Gracias amigo.
Just after hanging up with Steelfish, Ignazio was surprised by a group call with most of the crew. "Hola, amigos. If Marduk is doing meat space, I can't throw up wards... unless he stays outside. He sucks up all the magic, remember? If we can keep him out of the area, I'm sure I can whip up something. No offense or anything chummer, you just make my job a little harder is all."
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"I'm thinking Hart's, actually. Sure Steelfish has some private rooms we can use. You guys jack-in there, Draco does his mojo, and I stand outside menacingly? Or we could always go to my place... security's great but, well, fireflies. They don't like visitors".
---
Ignazio's 'link notifies him of an incoming message. A simple text-only reply, just an address and a name: Dr. Lornel.
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"Well, he said it's a radius of 5 feet, right? Way I understood it from guys I've worked with before, it's not all that difficult to ward a pretty large area - there any reason he couldn't be in the warded area? Not quite sure how all that stuff works together." He took a second to recall what Marduk was saying about his place.
"No offense, Marduk, but if you really do live on top of a hive, I don't want to go anywhere remotely near there. Also, I fired off a message to the new guy Steelfish mentioned - gonna vet him personally before I loop him in on the details; don't much like the late change."
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"Way it works is, he'd put a hole in the ward... and the way I'm planning this, he wouldn't be too conducive to the process either. His plan of standing outside works though. I'll just ward the room. I'm with Shark on this one... I'm going nowhere near insects... New guy? What new guy?
While still on the call, Ignazio grabbed his coat and jumped on his bike again, headed for the doc's clinic.
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"I've got some rooms you can use, sure. Johnsons use 'em sometimes. Sturdy locks, soundproofing, the works. I ward them occasionally myself but it's not something I keep up 24/7. Just don't poke the guardian spirit".
With that, Steelfish sends another message to Ignazio: "The doc is good people and I'd trust her with my life. She's... eh, you'll see. But you can trust her".
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"I can spoof us, let me know if you want me to check out new guy too. Think I can bring my drones?"
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"That depends... What sort of drone collection have you got?"
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"Three pups and a spotter"
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"Pups? You mean like Doberman drones? Those will probably be far too obvious for what we're going for here. A surveillance drone might be useful, though, if it's not the sort to attract too much attention."
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Once everyone arrives back at the bar and security is set up, those attending the meet jack in...
The Casino de Monte-Carlo is likely opulent, but not even close to as opulent as its virtual version is. Everything is pricey: more gold, gems, silks than any real casino could possibly afford. Simsense recordings make it feel like a real casino while the wide variety of icons shatters that just as quickly. A levitating squid plays poker with an impossibly-tall man in a trenchcoat and a woman with diamond skin. Slot machines beep and chips snap despite being virtual.
An agent appearing as a man in a red and gold uniform approaches you: <<Welcome to the Casino de Monte-Carlo. Your presence is expected in conference room B at 8PM local time. Please enjoy our services in the meantime; your accounts have each been credited with 150 nuyen worth of chips, compliments of Mr. Johnson.>>
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Free chips? At least she gets how a casino meet is supposed to work. Maybe I can make some extra money, too.. Jimmy responded in voice rather than text.
"Sounds great. If anyone needs me, I'm going to go find a poker game this can stake me into."
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Tink's icon appears as an 8 bit boy (if you want a link to it let me know in the ooc). Tink will go to the game he's most likely to win using his logic (I assume blackjack). He won't spend more then he was given though
-
Jimmy and Tink are both doing quite well, at poker and blackjack respectively. Jimmy has won enough hands to be up to 250 chips, Tink up to 300.
[spoiler]You can keep going, which would require more rolls, or cash-out now. Time is going to require you to go to the meeting before you win too much, of course.[/spoiler]
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I'm going to roll 5 times, but he won't spend his own and will stop for the meet:
Gambling rolls (8d6.hits(5)=2, 8d6.hits(5)=4, 8d6.hits(5)=1, 8d6.hits(5)=3, 8d6.hits(5)=1) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4015303/)
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Draco shakes his head at how quickly the other two dash off to play with the teaser money that Johnson sent them. Rather than dash off into the money hole that he knew the casino was, he walked through to where the conference room was, scoping out the area.
-
Jimmy took a bit of a run on the cards before the meeting got started, getting it out of his system, but had to get up from the virtual table when a timer pinged to let him know it was about time for the meet, right as he won a hand. "Hate to leave in the middle of a hot streak, folks, but I have business to attend to." He walked away from the table and on to the meet.
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Jimmy and Tink both get up from their respective tables in time for the meet, only to find Draco already scoping-out the conference room hallway. The conference rooms are private areas of the casino's node, rented-out to customers desiring discreet virtual meeting places and sculpted to their needs. Conference room B has been decked-out to look like some kind of Victorian gentleman's club, all wood and high-backed chairs. If you have your simdeck running, it's heavy with the smell of smoke and hard liquor.
Mr. Johnson's icon wears a pricey-looking suit and top hat in the same style as the room. He raises a virtual martini glass as you enter the room, "Gentlemen! Please, join me!"
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Ignazio directs his avatar into the room, and smiles as he sits down near Mr. Johnson, but not directly across from him. "Ah, Mr. Johnson. Thank you for your kind invitation. I hope this evening finds you well?"
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"Indeed, smashing. In fact, this decor reminds me of... I forget myself, you're here for business!" He waits for everyone to sit down, sipping his nonexistent martini. "Tell me, gentlemen, how do you feel about London this time of year?"
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Jimmy enters the conference room and finds a seat. Hm. If the Johnson's supposed to Ms. de la Mar, who's this guy? IF she were using a representative, why wouldn't she keep her name out of it?
"I hear the weather tends towards the grey, but I don't believe we've been introduced. I go by Jimmy; how should I address you?"
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Tink sits down and lets the others talk for now.
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"Mr. Johnson fill suffice. Your reputation proceeds you. The rest of you as well. Mr. Steelfish assures me you all possess the critical skills for this project". Another sip. "The weather is rather poor, true. Which, in a roundabout way, is why you're here".
He extends a hand out to his left and an image appears: a massive pyramid of glass and steel. An arcology. "The Angel Towers Arcology. It's been abandoned for years, hence its rather sorry state. It stands straight at the center of the Lambeth Containment Zone. I'll spare you the history lesson but, since 2038, the LCZ has been a walled ghetto in the heart of London. Dreadful place".
He allows a few moments for the team to process before continuing. "Which is where you come in. My employers want you to make Angel Towers habitable again, for the benefit of the LCZ's poorest residents. Which is to say, all of them".
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Jimmy sends a text message privately to Tink. <<Look up the LCZ and Angel Towers real quick, please. I'll keep him talking, but I wouldn't mind some leverage for negotiations to get us some more money.>> He addressed Mr. Johnson.
"You know, the initials 'CZ' call to mind a number of concerns for someone from North America. That aside, though, it's a little unusual to put a team like this together for a little urban renewal. Why does your employer think that ours are the right skills for the job?"
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"Steelfish, may I, Three Star, enter the back room as well, so i can be told about the meeting immediately, in privacy?" Diego was tired of waiting in the bar that he was beginning to find increasingly dull, the rest of the team having not even acknowledged him when they returned.
-
Thinking about it, he realized he should check with the rest of the team regarding London, so he opened up a full group message.
<<Johnson wants us to go to London for the job - specifically the Angel Towers Arcology in the Lambeth Containment Zone. That have any particular relevance to any of you?>>
-
That seems to elicit a genuine chuckle from Johnson. "Yes, I'd imagine they would. Nothing on the same level of Chicago here, though. You see, the Arcology has been taken-over by some rather unsavory individuals. Gang-types, you know how they are, always with their petty territorial disputes. It's possible they could be persuaded to stand down while the renovations proceed; it would certainly benefit them. If not, they will have to be exterminated. Your team can handle both eventualities. Utilities and Matrix connections will have to be established as well and we believe Awakened paracritters may have taken-up residence on the upper floors".
--
Steelfish looks up from polishing the bar. "Be my guest. 'Though they're not going to be doing much chatting from VR..."
-
"Well, it seems you really have our work cut out for us on this one. Do you have any idea what kind of bestias repugnantes we're looking at here?" Ignazio leaned in, now extremely interested in what was turning into quite the job.
-
Jimmy fired off a message to Draco. <<Too early to talk about. I need to play for time while Tink looks for some information so I have some negotiating leverage..>>
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves there. First things first, let's talk details. What information do you have on the gangs involved? What factions in the Lambeth Containment Zone more generally? If it's anything like Chicago, even if it's not as bad, there's going to be some serious weight in the area that we'd have to contend with."
-
"I have a real SIN over there, and with how tight their security and police is? Let us say that's why I run in Seattle."
Law Enforcement Procedures for Lambeth CZ and the Arcology, Security Procedures for Lambeth CZ and Arcology, Street gangs involved in Lambeth CZ and Arcology and finally, any SOTA Technology employed in Lambeth CZ and Arcology. (6d6.hits(5)=3, 6d6.hits(5)=1, 6d6.hits(5)=2, 6d6.hits(5)=0) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4017346/) Oh another critical glitch. The Lambeth CZ is a SOTA Nanite Doomsday Weapon, obviously.
Thinking on what he knew, he entered the room passing Marduk.
-
<<Leaves a few questions I have for you then: How clean is that SIN, do you still have any contacts over there or anyone you can get back in touch with, and how much do you know about the LCZ and the Towers?"
-
"It's clean but I have no contacts, from what I recall :
*insert whatever retro says I know
"
Three Star took a seat in the room and continued waiting.
-
Three Star's check results:
[spoiler]There's no law enforcement in the LCZ at all; about 30 years ago, it was revealed a corp was performing experiments on its residents and they rioted. The government just barricaded the entire thing and pretty much pretends it doesn't exist. The Arcology itself is basically an indoor barren so most of the powered security probably won't function. The biggest gangs in the area are the Bollocks (a troll/ork gang) and a branch of the Human Nation (human supremacists).[/spoiler]
"I'm afraid I don't really pay much attention to street politics. My employer has arranged a local guide to get you into and around the Arcology without too much trouble. They should be far too busy killing each other to worry about a few out-of-towners. If they do, well, that's why your team has so much muscle".
-
"That may well be the case before we get started, but in areas like that once you start to build something people start to take an interest. I'm assuming you have other assets in place to do the actual renovations? Do we need to worry about their safe path to the towers?"
-
"No, we have security contractors prepared to ensure their safe arrival if the Arcology is deemed safe first. They are... " he pauses uncomfortably, "... unwilling to venture into Angel Towers without it having been cleared thoroughly first. Some silly local superstitions I'm afraid".
-
"Local superstitions? Of what sort?"
-
"Oh, you know how the uneducated masses are. Ghosts, demons, other such nonsense. I suppose one cannot expect the peasantry to know factual magic from ancient campfire tales".
-
"I've learned the hard way that it doesn't pay to ignore such things. In most cases, it's nothing - but the ones where it's not can be a very serious problem. What sort of magical threats do you suppose might come up in a place like that, Draco?"
-
"Well, first of all, Mr. Johnson, I need to know more about these local superstitions... Any information could be relevant to getting rid of them. I need to know what the so called legends say before I can even try to guess what they are."
-
Tink will do some data searching, and since money is involved, spend edge. He will be looking for both solid sources and just folk lore about it, giving each info a validity rating. He will also spoof the search but not using edge.
[spoiler]Data search and spoofing (17d6.hitsopen(5,6)=11, 18d6.hits(5)=6) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4017872/)[/spoiler]
He will send Jimmy the info, but after the meeting will share the info with the rest of the team.
-
Tink's Data Search result:
[spoiler]Most of the "legends" about Angel Towers being haunted can be traced back to a semi-mythical file supposedly passed around on runner 'Trix hangouts a few years ago: ATA_XR113.TRD, of which you were unable to locate a copy. In fact, most people never seem to ever have had a copy, just heard stories of what's in it "from a friend". Hearsay points to it being an amateur horror trid featuring of group of metaumans with lower-class English accents wandering around some dark, abandoned building. That, plus the ATA in the filename, lead most to assume it was filmed in Angel Towers. The strange part is no one, even those claiming to have seen it, has ever watched it all the way to the end. They claimed the file deleted itself before anything actually scary happened, making it a pretty poor excuse for a horror trid. ... except for one case. It was difficult, but Tink managed to pull a text file transcript from some obscure part of the Matrix that's supposedly related. No identification of anyone in it is provided. Transcript follows: [spoiler]Okay, I’ve got it. I think I’ve got it. Ha! Bastards. That’ll
teach ‘em to mess around with my ‘link.
I’m trying! It won’t—it won’t share. I don’t know why!
How the hell should I know? It just won’t share, okay? Look, I’ll
try to unlock it later, but right now I’m gonna watch it, before
something happens to it again. You can just listen.
I’m going to fast forward through the parts we already saw.
There they go, they’re walking down the corridor, they’re talking,
they’re joking, ha ha ha, yeah, same stuff. Okay, they went to the
one room, they looked in the empty barrel, water dripped on
their heads. Caught up now, slowing down. Let’s see what this
has got.
Second room. Still nothing. The dwarf suggests maybe they
split up, they could cover more ground that way. Yeah, good
move, dwarf guy. Splitting up in dark, creepy corridors always
works well for people. But they’re smart enough to stay together
and move on. Good for them.
And we have a noise! Distant, creepy noise. Everyone
jumps a little, looks around, then giggles nervously. It sounded
like something falling over. Maybe an empty barrel? But it
didn’t sound like it rolled after it fell. Everyone thinks it came
from above. Their nervous, but they’re moving on. They’re
moving slower now, scanning every centimeter of space, looking
down, looking—
—holy shit. There was something there. There was totally
something there! Right at the edge of the light, it just darted out
of the way. It was kind of long and thin, but I couldn’t make out
any details. I’ll go back later, get a freeze on it. Figure out what it
was. But I want to see this through.
They’re really nervous now, but they’re still moving forward.
They’re not even talking about going back. Crap, how desperate
are these guys? Where are they coming from that wandering
through here is a better alternative than where they normally
are? It’s just not nice here, it’s dark, it’s cold.
It’s cold. I feel it, it’s cold. There’s some simsense here! It
wasn’t there at first, but it’s there now. A simsense track. Holy
mother of hell. Anyway, this guy’s nervous. He doesn’t want to
be the one having to do the recording. He wants his hands free
in case something happens.
They’re moving to the next room. Slowly. The door here
is closed. It scratches across the floor at one point, and this guy
nearly jumps out of his skull. This is amped up, man. I think my
heart rate just doubled.
They’re looking in the room and—elation! Relief! There’s
stuff here. Boxes and boxes—cereal, dried grains, Maxiblast Sugar
Bombs, and Sweeteez. Sweeteez! They have a shelf life of forever!
Man, this guy’s hungry. I hadn’t noticed that before, but
he really is. Like he hasn’t eaten for days. Well, then go for the
Sweeteez, right? Rip ‘em open, squeeze the packaging, have the
soft parts bulge out, then lick it up. Go right for the sweet part.
Oh, that sugar is heaven. After going so long without food, it’s
better than jazz, it’s like it’s injected right into the bloodstream.
Did I mention this guy’s hungry?
Everyone else is looking at what’s here, maybe trying to
take an inventory, and he just downed the one cake and is going
for another. He’s inhaling—holy shit, it feels like I’m choking
on the thing. Is he trying to swallow it all at once? But there it
is. There’s the sugar rush, almost as good as the first one. He
feels so strong now! They’re counting up everything, reviewing
what they’ve just found, and I could carry it all back by myself.
I could take it now. Why do they need to count? I could grab
each and every box and carry it. They could put some on my
back. These boxes aren’t that big. I’m bigger than them now,
so much bigger. They’re still looking at the boxes, but look at
them. They are so small. And they are so slow, still counting.
And they are so … naked. So uncovered. Their skin, their weak
skin is exposed. They don’t cover it. Don’t they know how weak
they are? And beneath the skin—beneath the skin it pulses. I
hear it now, rushing around me, and I know what it is. I know
how sticky and sweet it is. And fresh. These boxes have been
sitting so long they are old, they are stale. They are not. They
are fresh. They do not know they do not expect they are still
counting they do not know what is happening they do not
know what is here.
They are so slow
It is a step it is a short step it is so easy it is a step it is a grab it
is a tear it is a slurp they have the soft parts and you squeeze and
the soft parts bulge out it is a drink it is a long slow drink it is a
drink that makes me more thirsty
they are still here they are around me they are loud
they scream and chitter or do they
chitter and tear
chitter and tear
chitter and tear and feed
i grab more i grab so many i grab eat feed drink
more
eat more
quiet now
quiet now eat more
eat more find more find more now follow sound follow
sound rushing sound all around follow sound find more eat more
now[/spoiler] [/spoiler]
Mr. Johnson sighs. "There's nothing specific, I'm afraid. Just vague tales of 'hauntings' always heard from a friend of a friend. All completely unverifiable, of course. I'm sure professionals of your skill won't be bothered by what is probably nothing more than a few devil rats".
-
"Sounds like someone got a brain full of simsense off a goblin. See, VR, hate the stuff."
consider this after rhats post below
-
"Certainly, but as a professional I do have to do my due diligence and account for the possibilities, you understand. So what exactly are the parameters here?" Reading through the file Tink found, Jimmy was a bit concerned - 'chittering' was not a good word. Still, odds were it was nothing, and he was certainly a gambler.
<<Good work, should be able to use this to get some extra money. I'm gonna copy everyone else in, want to see if anything jumps out at them.>> He copied everyone else in, and sent out a group message. <<Any of this seem familiar to anyone?>>
-
Richter is sitting at the counter facing the private room's door, fifth glass of cranberry juice in hand. He reads through the text file with obvious contempt. <<I think I've seen this movie before. Giant rubber puppet leaps out and eats them all, right? I'd be willing to bet money we'll be the scariest things in there, hands down. Doubt it's anything worse than a hellhound or two, assuming there's anything at all.>>
-
Ignazio leaned forward as the suspicions were described. This didn't really sound too bad, but he knew you shouldn't make those kind of assumptions... they always bite you on the ass. "Well, sounds like the usual paracritter infestation, nothing too bad..."
-
[To Draco]<<I know it's probably nothing, but based on what he's said and the data we've found, what do you think it could be if it turns out it is something?>>
-
<<Well, it could be a couple things. The most likely scenario is it's just some devil rats or hell hounds... Worst case, we've got an up and coming hive.>>
-
<<Ain't no devil rat I've ever heard of that bends a person's mind, though, and I thought hellhounds could only scare folks? I mean, that's some seriously weird drek Tink dug up. Can you think of anything that would explain it?>>
[spoiler]You should probably roll your Magical Theory knowledge. This is the sort of thing you have such skills for, after all.[/color]
-
Ignazio thinks back to his studies in Mexico City, trying to remember if he'd ever heard of anything like this.
[spoiler]Magical Theory Knowledge: 6d6.hits(5)=2 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4019561/)[/spoiler]
-
"There's loads of things that mess with you now a days. Maybe it was a jacked up SIM like a BTL or a psychotropic program, maybe someone stuck a simrig on a goblin, like i said, maybe it was fragging technomancers, who knows."
-
Magical Theory results:
[spoiler]What could magically-induce fear and or mind control? Most spirits could pull-off one or the other, some both. Hellhounds were known for their fear powers as well. Might be a mental Manipulation spell on its own or in combination with something else. Beyond your roll results but totally appropriate for you to know given your background: blood spirits all have fear-inducing powers as well.[/spoiler]
<<I'd be inclined to agree with Triple Sun here myself. Sounds like whoever was watching that caught some real bad simsense. My guess, whoever was recording it got jumped by a hellhound and that was the simsense translating its fear attack>>.
-
"Fear doesn't make you that hungry, that was like a guy tweeking for his addiction. HMHVV does that.
And you will address I, Three Star, correctly Marduk"
-
<<Nosferatu, maybe? Wendigo are super cannibalistic as well, though they don't tend to do cities much.>>
Richter scoffs at Three Star from across the bar. He adds, in person this time, "I'll call you whatever I damn well please, omae".
-
<<These are all possibles... it sounds like some kind of mind affecting paracritter, which could be anything from your average hellhounds to some kind of spell or spirit... especially blood spirits>>
-
"Not if you value having a working relationship with me. I am doing my utmost to defuse the rough start I caused, My name is Three Star, address me as such.. please."
-
Mr. Johnson seems to have been lost in thought; careful observers would guess he was communicating with someone else. "The job is composed of several components and you will be paid on a per-day basis. First, you will travel to London and rendezvous with our local contact who will guide you to the Arcology. The ultimate goal is making the Towers habitable and I recommend you start with investigating and, if necessary, repairing the power lines. We cannot arrange for a utility supplier until you have accomplished this so I would prefer if you dealt with it first. After this is done, your local guide will investigate and determine what else needs to be done. In all likelihood you will have to remove some paracritters and deal with the gangs as well".
-
Jimmy took a moment to get a read on Mr. Johnson.
"I see - but I do have a few clarifying questions. For precisely how long is your employer prepared to foot our bill, and what is the offer per day? I'm led to understand that you're providing transport for us to get there, but what about our gear and the return trip? Does your employer have identities prepared for us to operate under, or the ability to create them? Are there any expectations as to what we do with the gangs - any rules they'll need to adhere to in order to be permitted to stay? Does our guide have any particular skills, or is this someone we're going to need to babysit? Is your employer interested in any paydata or bounties we might find there, or are those ours to do with as we will?"
[spoiler]Invisible Castle is down, so I'll have to fill the roll in when its back up.[/spoiler]
-
Mr. Johnson adjusted his hat and regarded Jimmy carefully, "We have a timetable of what we consider more than sufficient length, but it can be adjusted as necessary. My employer is prepared to cover all required transport, including of gear, within reason. Nothing larger than a drone shall we say? We also have forged British SINs prepared; they'll pass cursory examination, but do try to avoid any actually secure areas of London. Your guide is a lifetime LCZ resident with the accompanying urban survival skills and a particular knack for scavenging; I understand she has some combat ability but that is not her primary role. Our only concern with the gangs is that our workers be allowed to operate unmolested. Anything beyond that is your call".
His eyes seem to go out of focus for a few moments; another communication? "Anything of interest - salvage, data, bounties - is yours, provided it is not essential to the functioning of the arcology. Your guide's cooperation has been secured with promise of 'first dibs' on interesting salvage, so you may have to negotiate that with her. As for your fee... shall we say... 3,500Y per person per day?"
-
"Frankly? For a local job with fewer unknowns, that might well be a pretty sensible figure. But the travel means removing ourselves from existing support, and it means being somewhere where we know neither the layout nor the turf, which could get very bad for us in a fight. And there's a few too many unknowns here; based on what our tech specialist has been able to dig up, some of those unknowns could be some very bad news, with some clues pointing potentially towards blood spirits or bugs. We'll deal with whatever we have to deal with, but given the givens... Perhaps double, minimum 6 days payment?"
-
"Not to tread on your toes Shark, but ask for some upfront. If he wants us fixing stuff for him we'll need spare hardware and tools. Not to mention survival gear, rations. If not just for us, they'll be trade-able in a CZ. If the building is in worse shape than he's making it sound.. which sounds likely based on his contact wanting first pick on salvage, I, Three Star, think climbing gear might be needed. Procurement on site shouldn't ever be plan A, neither should hoping one set will be enough in a long gig."
Three star responded on his AR while waiting for Marduk's reply.
-
Now it was Jimmy's turn to look like he was communicating with someone else. "Additionally, there is the question of an operational budget - concerns have been raised regarding the potential need for climbing and survival gear, for example, if for nothing else than for use in trade in the CZ. I'd think half the minimum up front should suffice on that score."
-
Richter nodded and sent an AR reply: "Yeah, especially in a barren. No guarantee we even could get the right supplies there. If we're thinking spirits or paracritters, make sure everyone can actually hit them. Stick-n-shock or APDS for spirits, flechettes for animals. We don't want bullets bouncing off blood spirits".
In person, he nods curtly to Three Star. "Fair enough".
-
<<I keep a bit of shock on hand for that exact reason. Though, if we're talking flechettes, the AP variety might be a smarter way to go there - nice and effective against lightly armoured folk, too.>>
-
Mr. Johnson would be sweating if this was a physical meet. He clearly wasn't expecting you to dig-up anything significant about the arcology. "I... my employer understands your concerns. 6,000Y per person per day, with half up-front and a minimum of 5 days payment. That should be more than sufficient to address any concerns you may have".
-
<<How's that offer suit everyone?>>
-
Marduk considered it over his twelfth glass of cranberry juice. <<I say we take it and if it turns out to be blood magic or bugs or wendigo or the like we spring an 'expert fee' on him. He can pay it or let his employer's project get nuked off the map Chicago style. Hell, it's legitimate too. I was Firewatch so I know bugs and Draco is an Aztec dragon so I assume he knows blood spirits. Anyone happen to know any nosferatu samurai we can bring along?>>
-
"You'll have to settle for human. If it ends up that bad we'llask for danger money but the Johnson obviously doesn't have the same concerns we do to entertain that idea now. I'm happy enough with the offer as presented."
-
<<The offer so far works, although I'd never say no to getting paid more. Especially if blood spirits are involved...>>
-
<<Alright, we'll have to have a quick discussion after the meet's done regarding what sort of gear to get.>> Then he sent a note privately to Three Star - he was trying to be less of a jackass, and Jimmy appreciated that.
<<By the by, the effort is noted and appreciated. If we're going to be taking this job, we can't be at each other's throats.>> Then he turned back to the conversation with the Johnson.
"That's acceptable, yes. Now, I expect information regarding transport is going to be forwarded, but we're also going to need a contact point should we need to get in touch while on the job; depending on the facts on the ground, we may need to get in touch. Now, is it you I'd need to get in touch with in such cases, or was there someone else?"
-
"Then we've reached an arrangement? Excellent. I shall forward your advance immediately". Everyone's 'links notify them of a deposit: a cool 15,000Y each. "Bring your gear to this location - a private hangar at the airport - when you are prepared to depart. A cargo plane will transport you to London and you will be presented with forged documentation by your local contact upon arrival. Use this commcode to report your progress". More incoming information: directions to a secluded hangar and a picture of a female dwarf identified as Tuppence, as well as a commcode for Mr. Johnson.
"Now, if you'll excuse me gentlemen, I have other matters to attend to. I'd suggest you try not to spend all of that money before you leave here, hmm?" He tips his hat and his icon vanishes as he disconnects from the node.
[spoiler]There's no timeline on when you have to be at the hangar if you'd like to do some shopping first. The money is available immediately, either in your account or in an account set up for you by Steelfish if you don't have one already.[/spoiler]
-
Jimmy debated between going back to the tables, but decided against it and jacked out. "Alright, so we've got our advance, but we'd best have a conversation about what sort of equipment we should be getting, and how we want to operate once we're there. Personally, I think we'd be smart to pacify the local gangs - make deals that include their cooperation with the renovations, possibly in exchange for a little bit of troubleshooting. It might take a bit longer, but that just means we get paid more. Given that the possibility of bugs has come up, I'd suggest we might want to load up on capsule rounds containing some seriously powerful insecticide - I'm guessing you might have the right connections for that, Marduk? As for blood spirits... Other than standard anti-spirit loads, does anyone know of anything especially effective against them?"
-
Marduk leans against the bar and considers that, glad everyone is out of VR. The money doesn't hurt either, of course. "KE IV. Like concentrated acid to bugs. Mix it with DMSO and it'll melt people just as easily. I'll get some capsule rounds and microgrenades full of the stuff. Good plan with the gangs, but it might be worth considering just getting them to kill each other and finishing-off whoever's left. I don't think Human Nation will appreciate your negotiations much..."
He turns to Ignazio, making sure to stay at least five feet away. "Don't think I've ever fought blood spirits, actually. They just bigger and nastier? Or do we need special tactics for 'em?"
-
"I think I heard once that you can starve them out, can you add any credence to that claim Draco?"
-
"If we're gonna be grabbing ammo, we should have a rundown of what sort of weapons everyone uses. Not a bad thing to have anyways." He started working up a list on his commlink. "For my part, it's pistols and blades."
-
"Good idea. Pistols are my specialty but I can handle heavy weaponry too - grenade launchers and light machine guns, mostly. Although, now that I've got some more cash, there's something I've been meaning to pick-up... any chance you can get your hands on a Thunderstruck? The new Ares Gauss rifle? I've seen them put holes in fragging tanks, so spirits should be a breeze. I've got a buddy in Firewatch who could probably set it up but I'm not sure if we have time..."
-
"I've got a few contacts I could talk to... We weren't given any specific date for when we should leave, so I imagine we have some time, or I could try to see about getting a hookup for over there. I got a feeling something like that would take a damn long time to get ahold of, though. I mean, if I wanted to replace my Thunderbolt, it would take me a few days at most; tons of those things hit the grey market after the Star lost their Seattle contract. New Ares military grade hardware? That would take a bit more time. How much are they even valued at?"
-
"Ahh... about 13k. And they're super illegal for non-military, of course. My contact could probably pull it off given a few weeks but we won't have it for London then".
-
"Fuck. Even Anatoli would want to take a few weeks on something like that... I'm pretty damn connected, but there's only so much risk I can ask someone to take, you know?"
-
"I don't really pack any heat, beyond what I can conjure up... and as for Blood spirits... well, they're nasty all around.
[spoiler]I would roll, but as has been noted, IC is down...[/spoiler]
-
"Yeah... I'll put the order through with my contact and maybe it'll be ready by the time we get back. Hopefully".
He strolls over to a secluded corner of the bar. "Hey, it's me. Listen, I've got a favor to ask..."
A few minutes later he walks back over. "Right. That's handled, give or take a few weeks. I'm going to head out and get those KE IV rounds. Meet back here when we're ready to go?"
[spoiler]Placeholder for a swag roll using his Firewatch Quartermaster contact to purchase a Thunderstruck Gauss Rifle. I'm deducting the 20% commission (2600Y) now and the rest once he has it. [/spoiler]
-
"Odds are I can get it for you faster - either through the Kagetora or through Anatoli. Even if you've got a semi-legit source, I'd take odds that my Yak friends or a Vory sovetnik can do it faster."
-
"Pistols and Blades here too but i can handle other firearms if I need to. Nothing Heavy though."
At shark's comment about a Thunderbolt Three Star's right hand twitches, cracking his glass slightly, but not enough to cause a leak.
"Apologies, I'll give my hand a tune up before we leave for London.
If we want some serious, versatile firepower and if your contacts can swing it shark, I suggest we get enough Onotari Xfactor III's for all of us, the duel clips and under barrel shotgun will mean we can load up for non-lethal and spirits in one, and certain death in the other, with flachette's for critters in the shotgun. If we're going to be in a lawless area anyway, they're legality wont be a concern post-smuggling. I, Three Star, suggest you watch the breach though."
Gun Heaven Page 30.
-
"Got a friend who might be able to help you with that, could take you to see her if you want."[/quote] He made some notes on his list. It also didn't slip his notice as to when Three Star's hand seemed to 'malfunction', and he made a mental note to ask about that later.
"So, Marduk's got the insecticide covered... I'll look into getting us some AP-Flechettes, which might take a day or two. Should we look into getting a vehicle or two for use over there? I mean, we're looking at short term use, so it might not be worth it, but I might be able to see if I can talk someone into a rental arrangement or something. Shouldn't take as long to find if I'm not looking for a specific model. You got any thoughts on the subject, Tink?"
-
"I use drones, and they use light machine guns right now, but eventually I'll get ones that go boom. An suv and maybe one or two junkers would be good in case something happens or we have to be discrete"
-
"Xfactor... isn't that the assault rifle that ejects casings into your face? Not real great with assault rifles, but I can handle them if need be. I'd suggest a revolver with ammo skip for the same effect. Decent weapon if you don't intend to use it in a sustained firefight and easier to get". He considers Jimmy's proposal. "What would the catch be? I don't like the idea of getting military-grade hardware from the mob. There's so many you can't even kill them all in a reasonable time frame..."
-
"Just chamber caseless and don't be looking down the sights when you switch clips. The ejection might be a flaw but it can be set off wirelessly.. not a bad distraction. I'll be bringing my bike, but vehicles capable of hauling salvage and debris might be needed. If anyone knows an armorer I have a revolver that an ammo-skip can be added to." Three Star refilled his glass and tapped the table with his fingers. "So this guide.. are they the "Specialist"?
(http://rolz.org/embed?3530554) Street Gangs knowledge roll for Shark's mentioned connections
-
"Seems like a street scavenger from the report. Careful around her; bet she'll stick a knife in our back the second she sees some profit in it".
[spoiler]Right, I actually don't know anything about those gangs from a setting perspective so feel free to fill Chrona in yourself :P[/spoiler]
-
"Don't have to worry about that as long as we seem more useful to keep around. As for dealing with Anatoli, we've got a pretty longstanding business arrangement - as long as he gets a generous finder's fee, you don't need to be too worried. He is not a man you want to be seen as in any kind of debt to, though - you've got to make for damn sure you balance the scales in any deal with him. And it doesn't much matter if you actually owe him or not; if he thinks you do, you'd best pay up. The Kagetora and I are on much better terms, overall - most of them I'd consider friends - but they're a little less connected."
[spoiler]
Based on what he's been saying, Three Star can assume "Anatoli" is Anatoli Novatna, the sovetnik to a major Vory Tsar - basically, he's the boss's right-hand man, and accordingly is fairly powerful in the underworld, as well as being responsible for a lot of the organizatsi's operations. This particular organizatsi is based in Seattle, but has roots grown in in a lot of other places.
The Kagetora are a Seattle based Yakuza group, one which has seen their operations and membership grow quite rapidly over the past couple of years. They started up as a go-gang, and a lot of their biz is connected to vehicles and such, but they've also branched out into more general smuggling and a few other interests.
[/spoiler]
-
"Well now I really don't like the sound of him. No point in doing business with someone you might just up and decide you owe them. Then I'd have to kill him and all of his associates which would take far longer than I am prepared to commit to any one enterprise. See, these underworld-types are kinda like bugs; you've got the low-level worker drones, the thuggish soldiers, and the monarch at the top. Blank the queen and another just morphs into a new one. You've got to burn out the whole nest at once..." He scoffs and takes another sip of cranberry juice. "We may be criminals but at least we have class... "
-
"Yeah, well, there's a reason I don't go that route unless I have to. Decent chance I can get ahold of it through other connections, though. I can get in touch with some of my friends, if you like, see how long it would take them to get a clean one." He thought about something for a second.
"As to the insecticide, I'm thinking maybe we should get that without the DMSO. Seems to me we've got tons of ways to handle non-bug targets, and if we don't mix it with DMSO we can use it to be target selective - that way, if there's bugs and non-bugs mixed together, and we need some of the non-bugs alive, we have a way to do it. And a way to lay out a suppression zone that only hits bugs. If that does turn out to be what's over there, our chances of securing local cooperation are a lot better that way - and I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm not too excited about the idea of trying to take on the local gangs on their home turf. Individually, we might be better, and better equipped, but there's gonna be a lot more of them, and they'll now the lay of the land in a way we can't; that's not even accounting for prepared defenses. I have a feeling that trying to take 'em out is gonna be a losing proposition. If it comes to that, I have a couple ideas as to how to get them to do the heavy lifting for us, but it'll make things a hell of a lot more complicated. Besides, we can take our time - and we'll get paid more that way, too." He did a quick lookup on the XFactor.
"As for the rifle... If we're gonna go with something along those lines, I'll let you guys make the selection; I haven't really got any sort of training with weapons like that. Personally, though, if I were going to have an underslung weapon I'd probably rather go with a grenade launcher for the sake of stuff like the chemical attacks. Not like you have to use a shotgun to load flechettes, anyways. For that matter... You much of a gunsmith, Tink?"
-
"I do mechanics, cyberwear, drones, guns, armor, almost anything you can make with your hands"
-
"So if we did need some custom work done, you'd be able to take care of it? How are you set up for tools?"
-
Draco does some quick mental calculations, and realizes all the things he really wants are far too expensive to buy at the moment. "I know we have planning and prep work to get on with, but honestly, I really don't need anything beyond what I have... Is there anything else we need to discuss compadres? If not, I'm just gonna slot and run."
-
"Wouldn't mind a rundown of what sort of mojo you bring to the party - ya know, the spells you sling, what your spirits can do... Makes planning easier. Also, do you own a gun? Because you're carrying one on the job, even if it's just a prop to make you slightly less obvious as a mage."
-
"I can get a kit for anything, which I'll do with this extra cash. I could spring for an armor shop if you can help me with that gold tongue"
-
"Not bad, not bad at all. I can do some basic hardware modding myself but nothing more complicated than maglocks and such. If you think you can pull it off, Shark, then go right ahead and look for that gauss rifle. What'll I owe ya?"
[spoiler]So I figure even with my contact's connection modifier, there's no way his CHA+Negotiation is anywhere close to Jimmy's. That would seem to be the case with every contact, really, unless they're super-augmented faces as well. Did you have stats in mind for Anatoli, by the way? I assume you intend for him to show up at some point.[/spoiler]
-
"Well, as I said before, I can cover patch ups magically. I can also hurl a few lightning bolts if someone needs slagged, or a stun variant if we just need them asleep. You saw my ability with armor spells and reaction boosters, and I can also root around inside people's heads if I need to. My only other trick is growing wings and a tail and torching people... As for guns, I've never used one... or held one for that matter. As for you ordering me around... well, I'm not sure I like that. However, I can see your point.
-
Jimmy pinched the bridge of his nose. "Silver. The term is 'silver tongue'. But I can certainly help you out. As for the rifle... I'll let you know how much it takes for my friends to get ahold of it."
He turned to the drake. "My point is this - we have to worry about keeping you alive, so you might want to cooperate with us on that score - and the few other runner mages I've come across have trained with and carried a piece so that they could fight without having to worry about knocking themselves out; something you might want to consider. You got any kind of traffic with spirits, or is it just spells with you?"
[spoiler]Given the role of a sovetnik, I figure him as a pretty serious Speaker's Way adept or something similar. Any way you slice it, though, he is a dangerous man.
Seems like there should be a way to use group contacts as a boost for such rolls, though...
[/spoiler]
-
"I can use spirits... Also, I can fight just fine without magic... I just get kinda obvious when I do it. Don't forget, I'm a frakking drake."
-
"And often times, obvious is bad. Being obvious about THAT, more so. Mages are enough of a target, drakes are a whole different story."
-
"Yeah, even gangers will be smart enough to take you down and sell you before you hulk out on them." he pushed a glass towards draco and poured him a drink, "And leaving during the planning is probably the worst mistake you can make boy wonder.
So, you run out of magic luck and show them your better looking side... What'd your plan for the witnesses? Now I, Three Star, would kill them. Are you ready to? Even the bystanders? Because otherwise someone will talk, you will be hunted and we," he motions to everyone at the table, "Will be in danger too.Worst of all so will the job.
That of course, would be my back up plan, i assume you've lived with this for a while and been in a similar situation. So I'm all ears to hear your plan."
-
"How heavy do we plan to go in exactly? Are we trying to blend as long as possible or am I busting-out the LMG right away? I still think we should get this other gang to throw themselves at the Human Nation and smash whoever survives. Two birds one nuke, am I right?"
-
"We should go with open slaughter as a last resort, Marduk. As Shark all ready explained, the gangs can be very useful to us. We should present ourselves as a benefit, not another enemy in a place they're contained."
Three Star glances at Shark while talking, he didn't like the Face but he preferred his plan over Marduk's any day.
-
"Eh, doesn't matter to me. I'll be twiddling my thumbs. Call me when something needs to be shot".
-
"There'll be plenty of things for you to shoot that aren't the gangers," holding back his temper was becoming difficult but he continued, "We're all but sure there'll be some kind of infestation, and you're our glorified exterminator in that respect."
-
"Seems to me that would do more damage to the Arcology, too. Now, we might have to root the Human Nation out, but there's a chance I might be able to get the other guys to work with us, making the whole job easier. I find the 'guns blazing' options are best left a little ways down the alphabet, you know? Usually ends up with more problems, not less. And if it is bugs, we want allies, not more enemies."
-
"You say that like the gangers aren't an infestation to be exterminated. And if it is bugs, we want to cut off their food supply as quickly as possible. Make sure they have nothing to infest for backup". He gets up from the bar and leans against a wall. "Speaking of which, I'm inclined to agree with Mr. Shark on the KE IV capsule rounds without DMSO. Heavy pistol mags fine with everyone? We should probably put together a full shopping list".
He takes the opportunity to turn and glare at Three Star coldly. "Watch very carefully who you're calling a glorified exterminator. I still haven't decided you're not worth exterminating yourself".
-
"Would you rather have more guns shooting at the bugs, or less guns? As for the loadout, heavy pistol rounds will cover me fine, but some splash grenades probably wouldn't be out of place. What sort of ammo do you need for your drones, Tink?"
-
"Gangers are not some scum for you to talk about on the same level as Bugs you, sociopathic imbecile. Their members contain just as many poor and lonely as they do the violent and drug addled. Most of them are still just another community on the their rung of societies ladder." He slams his glass down but not hard enough to do damage, "They. are. human... And I'll remind you that so am I. I have a temper, it is not like I am unaware. Fine you all reacted badly to how I chose to test you but it was out of faith that anyone who could deal with the test would have been good for the team. You Marduk, I think you're sounding a lot like you can't remember the differences between humans and other things you've killed."
-
"You know, as ridiculous as his idea of what constitutes a 'test' is, the man's got a point Marduk. You can't go around around killing people for no other reason than they might possibly get taken by bugs at some point."
-
":I don't generally like just slaughter humanoids, but for bugs I'll need light machine gun rounds."
-
Marduk laughs at Three Star. "Really? You are trying to lecture me on morality? There was no 'test'. You tried to fuck with us, you failed, Steelfish called you on it. His recommendation is the only reason you're not lying in a pool of your own blood right now. As for the difference between gangers and bugs... it's academic. If I'm paid to kill something, do you think I care if they have a wife and kids counting on them? Once you accept the fact that you're shooting people in the face for money it really doesn't matter who or what they are. Thinking about it leads to madness. I used to be corpsec, you know. The kind of people we've all no doubt killed or gravely injured quite a few of".
He turns back to Jimmy. "The gangs are under your purview. I'm no diplomat. Until you can't solve it your way and it becomes my problem, I really don't care how you handle them. I was simply suggesting that the chances of getting two racist gangs to make nice and let their turf be stomped on is unlikely. Assuming the Human Nation will even talk to an elf, that is. It's be easier to intervene on the other gang's side and prop them up. From a purely tactical perspective".
-
"And should that call needs to be made, I'm perfectly capable of making it. Don't go thinking that plan hadn't occurred to me."
-
"Simply put, if I'm going in there with a gun, I am going to be useless. I cannot shoot. You'd be better off having me try to beat them with my bare hands... I... do flashy. As for people knowing about me... well, to be totally honest with you, the ones I'm scared of already know about me... and if they're chasing sightings of me in London, well, that might just help me stay under the radar here omae."
Ignazio looked distressed by the oncoming confrontation between Marduk and the rest of the team, and actively stepped in between the main instigators.
"Tranquilizarse boys... No reason to spill blood here. Yes, we have different methods and morals... And yes, all of us can be a bit overzealous... but we gotta work together. So put your big girl panties on, get over your diferencias estúpidas, and let's move on."
-
"Even if the gun's just a prop for now, it's an important prop. The alternative is that the first thing to happen in a fight is you doing your best impersonation of swiss cheese - if they can pick you out as a mage before you have a chance to grab some cover, you're screwed omae, and there won't be a damned thing any of us can do about it. That's just how it works. By the same token, you being all loud and obvious about being a drake is not good for your long-term survival prospects. Whoever it is your running from, they're not the only ones you need to be worried about by a long shot."
-
"You are far more stupid than i ever imagined when you first introduced yourself Marduk. Believe what you will about my motivations for the KE raid." turning to Draco, "We can get you something you'd be comfortable with, there are a number of revolvers that are the easiest to operate if you are not tech-heavy." Due to their current privacy in the back room he reaches slowly to his ankle holster, pulls out his Taurus-6 and slides it, safety on, over to Draco, "Tell me how that feels in your hands, it's an average size and weight for one."
-
"That's it, I've had enough of you. I was willing to look past the whole 'attempted betrayal' thing but you really are just an arrogant little prick, aren't you?" He heads for the door... and turns on his heels, slamming his gloved fist into Three Star. To emphasize the point, he activates the shock matrix.
[spoiler]We can resolve this through RP or you can roll initiative and count that as a surprise attack. Up to you :P.[/spoiler]
-
Jimmy was glad he'd had his wires on already - he drew his Thunderbolt and slammed 6 gel rounds into Marduk's chest. "I am a patient man, but I am NOT going to put up with this brand of bullshit from any of you. I've got two clips loaded in here; either of you want to find out what's in the other one today? You really want to gamble on the odds that I'm loading two kinds off less lethals?" He stared the two of them down. "If you two can't work together without attacking each other, walk. Steelfish and I can figure out something about finding replacements. I don't give two shits what you two think of each other, but so long as we're on the same team I will not tolerate violence against anyone else in this crew."
-
Marduk snarled and, with a flick of his wrist, his Thunderbolt launched into his hand. He gritted through the pain of the LTL rounds. "I was willing to be reasonable. Now? I'm just going to fucking shoot you". He raises the pistol and Jimmy and pulls the trigger.
[spoiler]So both Three Star and Marduk are technically injured at this point but we haven't rolled any attacks yet. How do you want to handle damage?[/spoiler]
-
Anyone who was paying very careful attention noticed a faint smell of ozone when Marduk punched Three Star. When Shark shot him, it become unmistakeable. Now you can see why. An enormous crash of thunder sounds and a swirling vortex of freezing air appears in the center of the group. Vaguely humanoid, its enormous form shudders as tendrils of crackling cloud reach for Marduk and Shark and begin to choke them.
[spoiler]The guardian spirit is now manifested and attempting to Engulf anyone with obvious weapons. You can attack it if you wish but it will escalate to lethal force. Anyone not involved in the fight should probably indicate that very clearly. We can play this out as an actual combat encounter if you guys want but, spoilers, it's going to absolutely demolish everyone if we do.[/spoiler]
-
"Oh, *cough* sure, *cough* this is *cough* what I get *cough* for trying to *cough* stop the *cough* fight."
-
"That's ENOUGH!" A voice rings out from the now-open door to the room. Steelfish stands there, glowing with obvious defensive spells. "Release them". The spirit dematerializes, no doubt lurking on the astral reflection of the room. It's tendrils gone, Marduk and Shark can breathe again. Marduk collapses to the floor from the combination of Jimmy's shots and the choking haze. Jimmy is still conscious but his vision is fuzzy and every breath is painful.
"You have 10 seconds to help me grok this situation before I call the spirit back and have it tan your damn hides. Go".
[spoiler]Marduk's health track is full of stun damage and Jimmy's is half full.[/spoiler]
-
Jimmy coughs a bit before answering. "Asshole 1 decided to haul of and slug Asshole 2; I decided to try to stop the fight, at which point Asshole 1 decided to fire off some lethal rounds." He thought for a second. "By the way, you might want to have you spirit consider people trying to keep the peace to be, you know, allies..." He took a moment to gather his senses. "Look, we're obviously going to have to figure out how this is going to work here, because this drek is in no way acceptable."
-
"From where I'm standing, all three of you are assholes. You all either attacked each other, or pulled weapons on each other... in a room you knew was warded. Thank you for intervening omae." Ignazio shook his head, wondering what was wrong with this group...
-
Tink seems to notice what's going on for the first time"Hey..what did I miss?" He zones out for a second and comes back. "Ah, you guys are fighting again. Nice spirit bee-tee-dubs Mr. Steelfish, very creepy looking. I think we are going to have our work cut out for us without killing each other though."
-
Steelfish nods to Draco and Tink. "Appreciated. Now what are y'all gonna do about this? Am I going to have to separate you children or can you act like adults? Because if y'all start pullin' this drek on a job you'll be lucky if you live to argue about it".
[spoiler]Draco, considering you're dual natured, you could make an Assensing check to get an idea of how powerful Steelfish and/or his spirit are if you wanted.[/spoiler]
-
When Marduk decided to get up for the door Three Star switched on his wires, considering stabbing him in the back now rather than later, then deal with the bar's defences afterwards. While wondering if Marduk was thinking the same, the Elf confirmed it by throwing his fist around at Three Star's face. Thinking he must at least concede to the psychopath's agility being better than him he made sure to dodge out of the way as best he could, rising out of his seat to his left as quickly as possible. The strike grazed his cyberarm, and he felt the dull sting of what he assumed must have been a shock gloves, as the current mostly diffused through his right arm's armour.
Before Three Star could do anything else he saw Shark pull his firearm, and his blood boiled upon seeing the thunderbolt. The rounds struck Marduk to his suprise and the blonde man paused long enough to not jump to a violent act before the spirit descended.
(http://rolz.org/embed?3549603) Yeah he's fine.
"Let's face it. That was inevitable with our tempers, Steelfish. It was best it happened now in a controlled enviroment rather than over in London."
-
Marduk is still lying on the floor. He mutters something about "glowey fireflies" before snoring, apparently now asleep.
Steelfish sighs, "Yeah, I suppose you're right. What about the rest of y'all?" He raises his hands, "I'd throw some healing spells around since you're already on a job, but nobody took any serious damage".
-
"But it can't happen again. Ever. So I'm going to make this real simple for the lot of you: if you have a problem with anyone on this team, you bring it to me. Understood?"
-
Three Star pulled out his commlink, the nanites in his blood showing only a minimal effect from the shock glove. "I'll be fine, you can skip to Shark."
-
"I'm not great at healing but I will try if noone else wants to."
-
"If you're all going to fight again, warn me so I can get out of the cross fire. Also, thanks for the offer Steelfish.
Ignazio shakes his head again, wondering just what sort of surprises Steelfish might have up his sleeves...
[spoiler]I'd love to, but I don't have the skill...[/spoiler]
-
"See, that's the point of carrying a medkit." He set about patching himself up with the medkit he kept on hand.
[spoiler]
9E5 => 3 | die: D6, ones: 1
[/spoiler]
-
Ignazio picks up the revolver, feeling the immense weight of the thing. He had always hated guns, and usually avoided them like the plague.
"Got anything a bit lighter, omae?"
-
"If you don't want to go the revolver route, my 2066 is about the most reliable thing I've ever owned. Don't have it with me because it's mods are too illegal for an every day carry, but all the same we can see about getting ahold of one for you. And a gunsmith can swap some of the heavier parts of a weapon out for lighter ones without interfering with performance to a degree you'd notice, but we're talking about hunks of metal filled with lead - they ain't light." He paused for a second.
"However, gentlemen, I'm afraid I'll be needing a direct response - do we have an understanding?"
-
Three Star takes his revolver back, "you get used to it and I agree, I only hope the unconscious one will too."
-
"Let me worry about him - I've got a point to make with him. You mind if I borrow the room for a little while longer, Steel? Very good place to have this particular conversation - keeps it from turning into a fight, and backs up the point rather well."
-
"Do you want the rest of us to leave for now then?"
-
"He won't be getting up for a while yet - though if you're still here when he comes around, I'd appreciate it if you'd all clear out. Some things are better done without an audience."
-
Steelfish turns to leave the room, "Yeah, sure. Friendly warnin', though: any of you ever pull a gun in my bar again and that spirit'll flay you alive. No more warnings. This is my sanctum and I will keep the peace - we clear?"
-
"Yessir, though I wonder how you will intimidate him into listening without threatening and therefore being eaten. I didn't bring my kit because I assumed I wouldn't need it at a safe meet, guess I will next time"
-
"Fair enough, Steel. I was actually trying to STOP the fight; should have recognized that this one was the type to escalate rather than take a provided out." He turned to Tink. "My advice: There's a few things you should never leave home without - your comm, your every day carry, a decent knife, and your medkit being chief amongst those. It is far better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it." He went to retrieve the weapon he'd dropped when the spirit started choking him; when he picked it up he hit both mag releases and cleared the chamber, put the chambered round back in its clip, and placed the empty weapon and both clips on the table.
"Now, I don't mean any offense, putting myself at the head of things here, but it seems to me that if someone doesn't, this crew's gonna tear itself apart. Can't have sleeping ugly or Three Star in that role, because you're both too concerned with protecting your images or revenging perceived slights - not a quality seen in an effective leader. Draco, it's pretty clear that you're too much of what we'd call a 'fish' back home; you don't know the ins and outs of the game, and you're gonna need some time to get some experience. And Tink, well, I think we both know that you've got all the interpersonal skills of a grizzly. Which, by simple process of elimination, leaves me - and fortunately, I have at least a passing understanding of everyone's specialities, so I know when to turn to who. Doesn't hurt that I know a thing or two about how to deal with group dynamics. Hopefully, Marduk will turn out to be smart enough to understand this - but if he doesn't, I have several other plans. As for the rest of you, if you do have any objections, this would be the time to lodge them."
-
Three star just shakes his head, then extends his left hand to Jimmy.
-
"Can't say I'm much of one for taking orders, but I agree there needs to be some kinda direction... Keep your tongue civil, and don't bark orders at me, and we'll work just fine. If not... well, let's hope we don't get there... We don't need any more complications."
-
"Fine with me as long as I get my fair share and you aren't rude about it."
-
His left? Odd. Still, can't see him trying anything here... Jimmy accepted to offered handshake, and then addressed Draco.
"We certainly do not - and truth be told, half the trick to 'leadership' is just staying out of the way. Just keep in mind that combat situations and the like don't often provide enough time to be polite about what you're asking someone to do; if I'm being terse about something, you can be fairly sure there's a reason for it."
-
SOME TIME LATER...
Richter finally gets tired of supporting the floor and groans a bit. He puts a hand up to his forehead, "Goddam, I haven't had a headache this bad since that Draco Foundation party detail... Evie, have you seen my lungs? I think I dropped them over- "
He goes lock-straight when he sees Jimmy, tension building in every tendon waiting to lash-out. "Well. You're not Evie. Which means either this is hell or I'm not dead. Which is probably a huge mistake on your part but I'm certainly not complaining!" He begins to slowly rise to his feet and massages his neck. "That spirit should go pro with a chokeslam like that. Steelfish definitely knows his stuff".
He leans against the wall and stares at Jimmy. "Wish I had a damn cigar. Used-up the last of 'em earlier. So... did you have a plan, or are we going to stare at each other? Because I figure we'd be having this conversation in a dark alley if you actually intended to shoot me..."
-
"If I wanted you dead, we wouldn't be having this conversation in the first place - we'd be heading to London without you, and you'd be dealt with by the time we got back. So as for what I want, it's pretty simple, really - all just a matter of ground rules. What you did is completely un-fucking-acceptable, no matter what. So, either you accept the ground rules I'm about to lay out for you, or you can walk. Now sit your ass down and listen." He leaned back in his chair.
"First: You've got a problem with someone else on the team, you come to me about it. Second: You do not attack anyone on this crew. Third: It's blatantly obvious someone's gonna have to head up this little group - if there's nobody to reign you and Three Star in, you two are going to get us all killed. Seems that's gonna be me; if you have a problem following my lead, you say so here and now."
-
"Well. That would be intimidating. Except you're not at all intimidating. I've got some problems with that already. First, you shot me. Weren't the first and certainly won't be the last, but I find solace in the fact that I usually get to kill people who shoot me. Second, don't lump me in with that traitorous scum. I've killed better men than you for lesser insults. Third, what makes you think you have what it takes to lead this 'team'? You certainly talk a good game but nothing I've seen leads me to believe you have any actual tactical experience. I'm certainly not going to get myself killed following a strategy you learned from Miracle Shooter".
He leans forward, keeping eyes locked on Jimmy. "Oh! And fourth, did I mention you shot me? You're the one who brought a gun to a fist fight and, judging from those bruises on your neck, Mr. Lightning Bolt didn't just take offense with me. I've got no reason not to just walk and shoot you in the back when you're least expecting it. Hell, I'm sure that illeistic little psycho is wanted somewhere. I could take him down, claim any bounties, and walk with more than I'd get from this job".
He walks forward, closer to Jimmy. "So forgive me for not exactly seeing things from your perspective here..."
-
"Heh. You're not really stupid enough to think that it's about what I could do to you. You might be able to take me down in a fair fight, sure, but you damned well know you wouldn't be able to take the weight of my associates, especially not when your connections dry up and no one's taking your calls - no help, no resupply, no home to go to anymore, can't even get a safehouse... You might manage to hold out for a day or two, but you're not the biggest fish by a long shot; no matter how tough you think you are you better believe they could get someone tougher." He leaned back in his chair a bit more, and relaxed. It was obvious that Marduk was trying to move the dynamic of this encounter to something that was more within his realm, but that simply wasn't going to be allowed to happen.
"What you need to understand about me is that I read people. I've got a talent for it, and I always have. And because of that, I can tell a few things. For example, I can tell that when it comes right down to it, where it really matters, you've got the exact same problem as Three Star does - once you think you've been insulted, you have to get your revenge for it. In fact, you just confirmed it for me with that lovely little 'killed for less' comment. He may have poor judgement, but that's not the part that's liable to get us killed. As for tactical experience, I'll put it to you simply - running's about the only biz I've had going since I hit this sprawl, and that wasn't exactly last night. And I'm still alive." He put his feet up on the table, beside his unloaded weapon.
"Now as for why it's me doing the leading, well, it's simple: I'm the only one who's got the experience, knowledge, and interpersonal skills to do it. You might have the experience, but I'll take odds that you don't know shit all about magic to be able to even point Draco in the right directions, and that's besides the fact that no one's going to listen to you for more than 5 seconds anyways. You want to see me do more than talk a good game? That's not going to happen in the back of the bar."
"As for just shooting me in the back of the head some time, well, there's a reason why we're having this chat here. This room does a wonderful job of illustrating a point that you need to understand. Take a look on the table. You'll notice my gun. You'll notice that the slide is fully open, the chamber is empty, and both mags are out. Meanwhile, you still have every weapon you walked into the bar with, fully loaded save for the rounds you fired at me. But what is it you think that means?"
[spoiler]
19E5 => 8 | die: D6, ones: 1 - Leadership; as always just consider it an RP aide if you want to use it.
[/spoiler]
-
Tink went back to his place and decided to try and help out by doing some searching for info and not spying on his cohorts.
[spoiler]
Data search for Gangers (rolled 5 times, but got it after 3rd): repeat 5 13D6E5 => 4 | ones: 2 ; 4 | ones: 1 ; 6 ; 1 | ones: 2 ; 4 | ones: 1
Data Search for Spirits (at -1, threshold is 24. Took less time than I thought, only took 5 minutes): repeat 10 12D6E5 => 4 ; 7 ; 6 | ones: 3 ; 4 | ones: 2 ; 4 | ones: 3 ; 6 | ones: 1 ; 3 ; 2 | ones: 1 ; 6 ; 3 | ones: 4
And of course the hiding of the trail with spoof: 12D6E5 => 6 | ones: 2
[/spoiler]
-
You can practically see the gears in Marduk's head click as he puts everything together. "Ah. I get it now. You're a snake!" He grins, "Not an insult, by the way, I mean metaphorically. You figure you only need to get one good bite on me so, even if I take you down, the venom kills me as well. You feel safe relying on the protection of others, either your mob buddies or that old ork's spirit. Which, by the way, I don't think you've grasped the gravity of. See, I know quite a bit more about magic than you seem to think. Comes with being a walking antimagic field. And that spirit didn't even blink at manifesting into my aura. I routinely banish lesser spirits just by being near them and it weakens the stronger ones quite a bit. But this one? Steelfish has some truly wicked mojo if he keeps something like that in his pocket".
He turns around and begins pacing back and forth, eyes still fixed on Shark. "You're a betting man, clearly. What do you think the odds of any of your 'friends' being willing to die to avenge you are? You don't look like a made man to me so I'd guess you're an asset to them. Useful, but disposable. Maybe they're holding your leash, maybe you've done them a few solids in the past. Doesn't change your status. Like 'runners, really, except the mobs have less business sense than your average corp so are more likely to just cut you out. I figure it would go down like this: I kill you. That's pretty much a given considering our respective abilities. Maybe some of your friends come after me but I'm willing to bet most wouldn't. I kill them too. Maybe their friends for good measure. The whole thing keeps spiraling until I get tired of wasting bullets on ganger scum and go back to Ares. I may not be the biggest fish, very true, but they are. End result: You're dead, your friends are dead, and all I lose is what I came to this damn city for, which I'm not even convinced actually exists".
He raises both his arms and grins. "All this goddam macho posturing of yours demonstrates the biggest flaw with your strategy: You need your targets to be rational. To have something you can poke and prod and exploit to get them to do what you want. I'm not rational, see. I'm the mongoose in our little analogy. A mongoose doesn't hunt a snake for food. It hunts the snake because it can and maybe because it just doesn't like snakes. Spirits are like that too, you know. You can't talk them down or reason with them. Not just the real vicious ones - toxics and the like - either. Even spirits of Man don't think anything like metahumans. Tell me, how would your connections save you from a toxic spirit? From the shaman that summoned it, whose only goal is the total dissolution of everything?"
[spoiler]Tink's Data Search results:
Gangs: You get the same information RHat typed-up a page or two back. Wasn't very difficult to find.
Blood Spirits: This was, though. Someone is definitely trying to keep everything related to blood magic buried. The only verifiable information you could find comes from runners who claim to have survived encounters with blood spirits. Unlike lesser blood magic, which can be invoked through pain alone, summoning a blood spirit requires death. They're notoriously aggressive and difficult to control, and more than one team only escaped because the spirit got loose and turned on its summoner. They have the same capabilities as normal spirits except for an added ability to induce terrible fear and the semi-vampiric ability to consume blood to empower themselves. That last part is their biggest weakness as well; they have to consume stolen life force or they discorporate completely after a few days.
Just a nitpick, but you should do the Spoof test first. It's hiding where you're logging-on from not where you've been :P.[/spoiler]
-
Ignazio headed for home, leaving Marduk in Jimmy's hands. He was curious about how Steelfish had that much mojo at his back... If only he'd paid attention when his tutors tried to teach him to read things on the Astral Plane.... He dialed up Slither again, hoping to get some information on what they'd got themselves into.
"Hola chica. Got the details on the job. We're going to the London arc... Was hoping you'd have some info, or maybe even a contact over there for when I hit the ground. I'd hate to leave myself out in the cold by going somewhere I don't know anyone. Gracias!"
-
Slither's tone is... amused? "Oh, I do. You may not like him, though. He's a Knight of Rage gang member. A mechanic. They practically worship Celedyr so consider showing them your scaly side. If you're not too shy..." His contact information comes through as well.
[spoiler]NEW CONTACT: Trask, Knight of Rage mechanic (2/1)[/spoiler]
-
Ignazio laughs at what he hopes is a joke on Slither's end. "Thanks for the advice. Don't know if the team'll be too happy about me feathering up, but we'll give it a shot. Also, thanks for all the help, chica. Don't know where my hoop'd be if not for you."
-
"You realize that all that actually just makes you a fish, right?"
-
Richter is silent for a few seconds, visibly straining to resist pulling his gun. "I think I'm about done with you. The only reason you're still alive is that goddam spirit. I don't give a damn how connected you think you are - and neither does a bullet. You've got about 10 seconds to convince me you're not a bigger ass than Three Star or I walk".
-
"Because you tried to pump me full of explosive rounds, we're still having this conversation. Now, I don't much expect you to go waiting on my word like this is some kind of military unit, but I'm giving you two choices here: either we figure out some ground rules we can both abide, or you can leave the advance and walk. I don't need you to like me. Don't really care what you think about me. But if we're gonna be working together a million miles off, we need to settle a few things. It's really that simple."
-
"Ground rules, huh? I've got two: Don't give me a reason to kill you and stay out of my way while I'm working. Hell, if we set up a tacnet with those new milspec smartlinks you won't even have to stay out of my line of fire. I kill things, I get paid. I don't do charity or diplomacy. That's all you. I won't tell you how to do your job if you extend me the same courtesy. Deal?"
-
"Damn close - I just need two things from you. One, I need to know you're not gonna go shooting any of us in the back. You decide you want to walk, that's fine; but that's the end of it. You got a bigger problem than that, you come to me - and so long as you and I can settle things now, your problem ain't gonna be with me. Two, while it's not some damned military arrangement, I look to be in the lead here. I ain't asking you to follow orders or some shit, but if I tell you I need you to cover Draco, I need to know you're gonna do it; the time ain't there in a lot of situations to explain every last detail of WHY you need someone to do something, which you well know. You honestly got a problem with that?" He paused for a second. "As for the tacnet/smartlink setup, I can probably swing that - might need a good deal of gear, though."
-
"Eh, I can do that. As long as I keep getting paid, of course. Tacnets... lesse... standard sensor package for each member, hook Tink's drones into it for overwatch. We done here then?"
-
"Think we are, which means I should pay some attention to what the others need me for. You've got my info if you need to get in contact." He retrieved his weapon and both clips, but didn't load it until he'd left the room. Once he got back to his bike, he started contacting the others about getting the gear and such they were going to need.
-
Three Star didn't feel like going home that night, waiting to go back to England was enough, he didn't want to have to look his dad in the face first. After seeing the two runners leave the bar he paid the tab and walked out, checking into a coffin motel, after any fights he gets into on the way. He forwards the gear list to Shark before entertaining the idea of sleep.
-
Ignazio slides into the building he's squatting in, hoping to avoid his rowdy neighbors. He drops his jacket on a chair, and drops onto his bed before looking at his comm. Seeing a message from Shark, he quickly replies.
<<Hey. Thanks for the offer, but I have pretty much everything I need... or at least that I can afford...>>
-
Richter lets his patrol car's Gridlink do the work of driving him home. He walks through the front doors of the grand old apartment building and heads down to the basement observation post to check on the fireflies. They don't seem to have destroyed the city or anything yet so he takes the elevator up to the penthouse, where half of a Firewatch team was crashing on the mismatched sofas. Not surprising; there usually was at least one observer or mage or something there. It kept the rent down, at least.
Checking his gear, he sends a reminder to Shark about that gauss rifle for after the mission and flops onto the bed. He'd have to remember to check the KE IV stocks in the morning.
-
Jimmy fired off a message to Draco before he got home. <<Don't forget we need to find you a firearm you'll be comfortable with.>>
-
<<As though you'd let me forget... Do you want to meet somewhere to go over it?>>
-
<<Perhaps we should find a firing range that'd have you... You got a strong fake SIN?>>
-
<<Pretty good. It hasn't failed me yet.>>
-
<<That'll be the best way to go, then. I'll forward you the details.>> He made similar arrangements with Three Star about securing the rifle he wanted and with Tink about the tools. For the sake of it, he checked with the new addition regarding anything he'd need to negotiate for as well.
-
[Some time later...]
Jimmy pulled up at the hanger well in advance of the prearranged time, aiming to be there before the others.
-
Sonir looked around and concluded that she had arrived far too early to be properly introduced. Not that it really mattered. She had her reservations about this job from the start and was a bit wary of Steelfish. She wanted to see what it was about though and they only way she could really do that was show up. She parked her bike alongside the hangar and disembarked, the security system activating itself as she hopped off. Giving a wary glance around she notices a tall figure parked some distance away. She eyes him carefully but makes no move to approach him.
-
Jimmy noticed the new arrival, wondering if she was the new addition to the team. Playing out the hunch, he decided to enter the hanger and see if she followed.
-
She lowers her sunglasses as her eyes follow the stranger as he disappears inside the hangar. She raises an eyebrow then shrugs and grabs her bag from her bike before making her way towards the entrance. She throws a few more cursory glances around herself, noticing nothing and no one else of interest. Before entering she makes a movement, almost unnoticeable unless you were looking for it, assuring her pistol is at her side before stepping inside the door.
-
Seems my hunch is confirmed. Nice to have some... Variety to the team. He flashed a grin at her, almost in spite of himself. "Going my way?"
-
Sonir blinks, taken aback at his friendliness. She normally worked alone but when she worked with others...well...friendly is not the word she would use to describe them. She acknowledges his greeting with a nod, continuing to size him up from behind her sunglasses. "He must be the negotiator. Far too attractive to be anything else..."
She steps forward politely, removing her sunglasses to reveal a pair of oddly bright green eyes given her tan complexion and dark hair. She gives a smile and nods once more. "I do believe I am. At least if what Steelfish told me was to be believed. It's a little...quiet."
-
"Yes, but perhaps we should take advantage of the quiet for the time being. The rest of the team can be a little bit... Difficult." He shook his head, and took a pack of cards out of his jacket pocket. "Care for a few hands?"
-
She smiles and gives a genuine laugh. "Late to their own job, eh? Perhaps they don't need the money..." She shakes her head in amusement, eyeing the cards in his hands. This gentleman would be an interesting teammate, that was for sure, but he was still a stranger to her. She crosses her arms and gives a sidelong smirk.
"I typically avoid playing cards with strange men. Perhaps you could at least tell me your name?"
-
"Name's Jimmy. Yours?"
-
"Sonir." She replies, extending a hand in greeting. "I have to ask...what did you mean by "difficult?"
-
Jimmy took the offered handshake. "Basically? Aside from us, there's four others. Two of them seem to have some experience, but they've got serious attitude issues; those two go by Three-Star and Marduk, and starboy's very insistent on being addressed by that name in that specific form. I think I've got them settled out for now, but they're both the sort to take just about anything the wrong way and react just a bit more strongly than they should. Doesn't help that something about Marduk actively interferes with magic - if you've got anything going on by way of that, you'll want to keep some distance from him." He started shuffling the cards.
"The other two go by Tink and Draco, and seem to be pretty green. Tink seems to be our tech guy, and he can do some pretty slick work when it comes to modding out gear." He slowly withdrew his new piece, took the bullets out of the cylinder, and passed it over. "Has a bit of a... Unique look to it, but I tested it on a friend's range; works beautifully. To say he hasn't got much for social graces, though, would be a very serious understatement. Draco's the spellslinger, but we're gonna have to be a bit careful with him; he's a drake, and doesn't seem to get the idea of keeping a lower profile - it was a bit of an argument just to get him to agree to carry a pistol."
-
She slowly nods during each description, making a special mental footnote about Marduk. "Six people? This is the largest team I've ever worked with honestly." She eyes his revolver as he passes it over to her. She takes it, studying the various modifications. "Starboy?" she gives a smile and laughs. "Not exactly the most intimidating name but I can work with it."
She moves towards some nearby storage crates and takes a seat, crossing her legs and easily twirling his gun around her forefinger. "It seems we're going to be here for a bit. Had I known they would all be this late I would have gone out for breakfast instead." She shakes her head then meets his eyes once more. "I've never met a drake. Is he friendly? Social graces seem to be your domain obviously..." She gives a wry smile then continues. "But even so, he can't be so...brazen, can he?"
-
Draco roars up to the hanger on his bike, noting the two vehicles already there. He swings his legs off, and hustles over to the entrance to get out of the rain. Looking inside, he sees Jimmy chatting up an unknown woman. Stepping into the room, he dropped his bag on the ground by way of announcement. "Hola. Who's the new face?"
-
"Not as yet, no, it's just an attitude thing." Jimmy noticed Draco walking in. "Ah, seems we have some company. Sonir, Draco. Draco, Sonir." Jimmy started dealing cards. "So, now that you know what they all do, what is it you bring to the table?" He arched an eyebrow and held the moment, returning her gaze, as if to imply that he meant "besides the obvious".
-
Her eyes flick over to the new arrival and she stands promptly, adopting a much less relaxed posture. She gives a nod of greeting and accepts Jimmy's introduction.
"If you need anything by the way of breaking and entering then I have you covered. Shadowing targets, fieldcraft and the like." She turns to Jimmy and hands his gun to him. "I suppose you'll want this back, no? ...Oh, you might want this as well." The Ace of Spades from the deck appears between her fingers in her opposite hand and she smiles.
-
"... Okay, you and I play with AR cards from now on." He chuckled a bit as he loaded the rounds back into his weapon. "Alright, so we've got a spellslinger, a drone-running tech gnome, myself, two drek's-hit-the-fan guys, and a spy... Certainly gives us something to work with. How much have you been told about the job?"
-
She shakes her head. "Not as much as I would like. I was actually hoping you might be able to shed some light on that for me?" Her eyes flick between the two men and she sits back down in her relaxed posture.
(100th post! ;D)
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"Client wants us to clear the way for her people to renovate this arcology. There's gangs and such in the area that need to be pacified in one form or another; could be something more serious in there, too. Here, I'll forward the data we've found to you..." He sent along the text file Tink had dug up.
-
She nods and peers at her comm as the file arrives. "That doesn't seem so bad. Of course, it never does, does it?" She grins then glances back up at Jimmy. "How much was this client looking at compensating you guys for this? I was told "worth my while". I'm certainly hoping I wasn't misled... I do hate wasting my time.
-
"Well, you should have been forwarded your share of the advance. Talked them up to 6000 per day per person, 5 days pay minimum, and half of that minimum up front."
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She seems engrossed in her comm as he speaks, reading the entirety of the text file. "Well...I'll just need to have a chat with Steelfish about that....because...."
She trails off and her face visibly falls as she continues reading the text. She continues reading in silence until she finishes and she immediately glances up at Jimmy.
"....We're not going in here are we?"
-
"Hey, Shark... What's this crazy chica talking about, we're not going in? We got a job to do, so ka? We go, we do it, we get paid."
Draco leaned forward, frowning at Sonir. He reached into his coat, feeling the weight of the pistol... hating it.
-
Sonir blinks at Draco incredulously. "Did you even read this??" She peers back at her comm. Then again I suppose you can't believe everything you read on the Matrix...
-
"If it turns out to be that bad? We go to plan L - call up Marduk's Firewatch contacts, let them clear the hive; as long as things are secured for the construction teams to work, client doesn't care HOW it gets done. We're loaded up for anything, though, just in case - KE IV rounds, APDS, Stick'n'Shock, EX-Ex... But first thing's going to be to get the lay of the land, figure out what we're dealing with; chances are, it's not actually going to be as bad as it looks." He turned to address Draco for a second. "Chica's smart, Draco - if it's a worst case scenario, 'going in' is at the bottom of a long list of bad ways to go. There's smarter ways to get the job done at that point - and there are worse things than not getting paid, worse things than getting killed even. You do know what bug spirits do, right?"
-
Draco glared at Shark. "No... I'm too fragging stupid for that. Of course I know. Forgetting what my job is here?"
-
"So, I don't really need to explain why we wouldn't want to go into a hive if there's any other option, right?"
-
She reaches a hand over to tap Jimmy's arm to grab his attention from Draco. "Excuse me, but did you say bugs?" She shifts nervously and crosses her arms. "Specifically, what kind of "bugs"? I gathered spirits but..."
-
"It's a concern. There's no evidence suggesting that's what's going on, but I'm not about to go into anything referred to as a "containment zone" without being prepared for the possibility."
-
"We don't even know if we got bugs... Just some kinda bad mojo going on in there."
-
She breathes a sigh and sits back down. She fiddles with her comm a little, sending Jimmy a private message.
<<I'm telling you this because I somewhat trust you...I don't really like insects. Just forwarning.>>
"Well, if there is a smarter way to go about it then that's the way to go. If we can do this without making too much noise I'm sure the client would appreciate it." Her eyes narrow. "You mentioned gangs as well. When we get there I'll start checking up on them and see what I can find."
-
"You might have an easier time making inroads with the Human Nation guys than I would..." He started adjusting plans in his head.
-
She shakes her head and sighs. "This just keeps getting better and better. Bugs and racists. What more could you want?" She laughs then nods. "Yes, I definitely see them having less of an issue with me than you. Unless they decide they also hate awakened or women."
-
Tink shows up roughly on time (not sure when in this convo I'd show up, I assume they have plenty of time to talk before I come though, since talking doesn't take long.)
"What's the drone limit again?"
-
Three star drove his motorbike a little ways into the hanger and left it parked near the wall, waving slightly towards the others as he walked over. Most of his gear had fit into his smuggling compartment, the combat load vest he now wore under his suits jacket or a duffel bag tied to his bike. "I, Three Star, thought the car park out the front was getting a bit conspicuous."
He extended his left hand to the Lady, as he had done with Jimmy, and introduced himself, "You must be the late addition, pleased to make your acquaintance. I, Three Star hope we shall work well together." He definitely seemed sober this time.
After pleasantries he gestured in a large sweep of his right arm towards the Face. "How did it go with Marduk, obviously it wasn't worst case scenario."
-
Sonir gives a polite nod to Tink and extends a hand in greeting to Three Star. "I'm Sonir. Nice to meet you....so just call you Three Star then?" she asks curiously. It was an odd name for sure. Surely it had some sort of symbolism.
She withdraws back into herself and crosses her arms. "Hm...missing one still."
-
Richter's patrol car pulls-up slightly late, lights flashing. He gets out and takes an enormous duffel bag and his White Knight machine gun out of the trunk. Hefting them over his shoulder, he strolls over to the group and nods. "Looks like we've got a new friend. Joy. Name's Marduk. And you would be... "
He's very clearly doing his best to ignore Jimmy and Three Star.
-
She places her hands on her hips and makes no move to shake Marduk's hand. She does, however, give him a head nod and a verbal greeting.
"Call me Sonir." Her eyes scan his equipment then rise back up to his face. She also makes a mental note of his body language towards Jimmy and Three Star. "Hm... Interesting."
-
"Oh, I'm Tink by the way."
-
"Seems we're all here. Everyone ready to go?"
-
"That would be perfect, Sonir" He gave a polite bow to her, to the team members who had seen him the day before this seemed uncharacteristic. After Marduk's arrival he only afforded a sideways sneer at walking in with his machine gun. "Draco, any luck finding a new addition to your utility belt that you are comfortable with?" He had decided to make an effort to be friendlier.
" Ready as I'll ever be, I'm bringing the bike."
-
Sonir nods at the suggestion of bring the bikes but then hesitates and turns to Jimmy.
"I'm not getting on anything until the matter of payment for me is settled. I'm sure you understand."
-
"Steel should have handled that... Give me a minute to contact him." He fired off a quick message to Steelfish to inquire into what was going on there.
-
Sonir sighs and stands there for a few moments before her comm beeps. She glances down at it and both her eyebrows raise. She gives a sidelong smirk and motions towards the craft.
"Gentleman. Shall we?"
-
The craft in question is a cargo transport, its rear hatch lowered and waiting. There's enough room for passengers and their gear as well as a few light vehicles. A pilot, a jumpsuited dwarf with a British accent, puts out his cigarette as you approach. "Wheels-up in ten minutes. Strap yourselves in; we're lookin' at eight hours of flight assuming no delays". He disappears towards the front of the craft and you hear the engines begin to warm up.
-
Turning swiftly towards the exit, Sonir disappears outside. She reappears several minutes later and rides her bike up the ramp, parking it inside the cargo space of the plane. She tosses several bags on the floor of the cargo hold then dusts her hands off and glances around. "No first class? Aw."
-
Draco pulls out the new pistol from his belt, and tosses it to Marduk. A quick check reveals that the clip is empty. "Keeping up appearances, right?" Taking back the gun, he restores it to his belt before going to grab his bike. He pulls onto the plane, and drops his bags. "Ay dios mio... What a frakking mess. We hit turbulance, we sure we wanna trust our hoops to this junker?"
-
Jimmy loaded up his gear - blades, guns, bike and all - and grabbed a seat. "Not the worst accommodations I've dealt with."
-
Tink will load up his gear and any drones he can take and send the rest back to his place
-
Grabbing a small bag of soy snacks and a bottle of water from her bag, Sonir makes her way towards the unimpressive seating in the plane. She raises an eyebrow and after looking around at the seating arrangement she finally claims a spot opposite Jimmy. She pops the bag open and munches her snacks.
-
Rather than sit where he's supposed to, Draco slides into the seat next to Sonir. "I think we got off on the wrong foot. Ignazio." He holds out his hand in what is intended to be a friendly shake.
-
She blinks at him then accepts the handshake. "No hard feelings. It'll take a little more than just you disagreeing with me." she grins then leans back in her seat and takes a swig of her water. "So, Jimmy told me a little bit about you guys but not too much." She glances back at him. "Mage, correct?"
-
Three Star loaded his cargo, then checked scary monster's safety was on, it was currently loaded with stick and shock to be sure he couldn't shoot the plane down if Marduk found a problem with someone.
-
"You get a chance to test out that new rifle yet, Three-Star?"
-
"Took it to the range to make sure it performs to standard, seems fine, thank you for acquiring it."
-
"Wasn't that hard, really. Surprised you didn't get Tink to do any work on it - according to the information I found, it doesn't have anything by way of recoil comp or a smartlink stock."
-
"Hopefully we won't come across anything bad enough to need it but Tink can take a run at it while we're in England if need be. I didn't want to dip into the advance too deep."
-
"Fair enough - mods for mine didn't take up all that much of the advance, and it might come in damned handy."
-
"Hm...maybe I should get him to take a peek at my weaponry..." She slowly smiles. "Though if I do my job right I never need them."
-
"Oh, I prefer to operate the same way - but I strongly believe in Plan B."
-
She nods in agreement and smiles once more. "I can see the wisdom in that as well. I'm actually really glad we have you at the helm for planning these sorts of things."
-
"I've had to get by on knowing how to read people, being able to predict what they might do, for a very long time. I find it helps quite a bit in the planning." Jimmy braced for Marduk's inevitable response.
-
"You have a gift. I've been told I somewhat have a way with people but I don't think I'm quite as good as you are. I tend to be too honest I think."
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"You say that, and you haven't even seen me in action yet? Just you wait." He grinned mischievously.
-
She raises an eyebrow at Jimmy curiously. "Now I'm intrigued. Though I could say the same about myself you know.."
-
Draco grins at the new comer... he wondered how much Jimmy told her. "Yeah, that's right. You?"
-
"I think "spy" describes me quite adequately. Infiltration operative, fieldcraft expert, and what have you." She grins. "You may have missed my card trick earlier."
-
"Probably... don't worry though. No way you miss my trick."
-
"No way anyone misses that - if the time comes that we need to get loud, I think we'll be in good shape."
-
"Loud definitely seems like your department." She smiles. "It was Ignazio, yes? I've never really seen a drake in action either. Is it one of those things you do often"?
Her eyes flick quickly over to Jimmy then back to Draco, as if to say "Please say he doesn't."
-
Jimmy flashed an expression that somehow managed to say "Ghost, I hope not."
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"That is my name. But no... I only do that when the drek really hits the fan."
-
Richter nods at Draco, "It's not a bad little toy. We should head down to a range, teach you how to shoot it for real. A bunch of idiots with guns is a hell of a lot less conspicuous than a few with guns and one with fireballs". He snaps the Thunderbolt out of its wrist holster and passes it to Draco. "You're probably going to want to upgrade to something like this. Feel the weight. Burst-capable, so you can put a decent number of shots downrange when you need to. Modified weight ratio so it doesn't kick at all when you do that".
Then he turns to Jimmy and the newcomer. "IF you two are done flirting, we should talk strategy. Sonir, was it? Have you been briefed? Because we're looking at least two hostile forces in between us and our objective and we need a plan to pacify them. Mr. Shark here has suggested talking it out but that means we need to decide what to offer them in exchange for playing nice... "
-
Sonir turns to him, crosses her legs professionally, and replies in an even tone. If there was a response to Marduk's wisecrack it wasn't noticeable.
"I've been told one of the groups is a bunch of human supremacists. Unless you all had another plan, I can probably infiltrate their ranks or even bump into one of their leaders at a bar and see what I can find out about their motives and desires. As far as the other groups I was under the impression they were run-of-the-mill gangers."
-
"Run-of-the-mill ork and troll gangers, sure. Even if they're not as openly-racist as the other gang, they'll still be a tough nut to crack. From what Tink dug up it looks like the human supremacists have ties to the Human Nation... which means they're likely to be more akin to terrorists than street thugs. Even if we get one of them to bend they other will see it as an opportunity and strike. So we need to get both of them to play nice, with us and each other, at the same time. Or we could always just drop their leaders and hope one of them finishes the other off. Whatever works".
-
She frowns and leans back in her chair. "Sounds messy. Perhaps instigating a fight between the two and just letting them occupy each other might be what we're looking for? It seems like it would be a rather easy flame to fan considering their differences." She pauses thoughtfully. "What is somehting they would both want that is away from where we need to be?"
-
"I doubt we'll be able to get the two to peaceably coexist, but that doesn't mean we don't try - if it works, it's going to be the least risky option, and in the process of attempting it we can set up the pieces for the various alternatives."
-
Draco sat quiet... this was certainly not his department. He held Richter's gun for a moment, testing the weight... it was nice, but really all he was looking for was a show piece... something to flash around. He handed the gun back.
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Sonir glances at Jimmy inquisitively. "Being human I can't really speak to this but do you really think those Humanis guys will want to "Give peace a chance" so to speak? I like your approach but I think we may be overestimating them. Force is not my MO but either that or misdirection might be the answer to this one."
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"Plan A is negotiation, with a simultaneous laying of groundwork for plans down the line - attempting to negotiate helps build connections with both, which will be essential to all of our other options. Contingencies upon contingencies."
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Sonir nods in agreement. "I like it. Rather, I like the confidence you seem to have regarding this plan." She smiles and relaxes back into her seat. "Can I assume you already have an idea for how to negotiate with them as well?"
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"The beginnings of a few - I'll need to get a read on the people involved before I can fill those details in properly."
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"Let me know if I can be of assistance, of course. I think as far as the subtle goes it's just you and me." She laughs a bit at this.
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"I'll leave planning negotiations to Shark, he's vastly better than I. I would like to remind you all that on top of disliking differing metatypes to them, they may also hold prejudice against outsiders to the country arriving to change things? I do not wish to generalize, as the higher classes are just more quiet about it if they have a problem, but the lower classes of my countrymen are often vocal and occasionally violent regarding "foreigners", they have been for decades. But they weren't in a lawless zones with more readily available firepower back then."
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Sonir nods and silently considers this information; her eyes flicking over to her comrades to observe their input before weighing in.
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"Good thing I don't need my job to be easy, hm?"
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A laugh escapes her. "I'd take it as a compliment! Everyone trusts your judgement. Even if they won't admit it." She grins and intentionally aims her gaze towards Marduk.
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Draco laughs boisterously, "Chica, you're all right. It's good to see a woman with cahones every once in a while."
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In the middle of tinkering with something Tink looks up and says "I believe those are called transvestites" and goes back to doing what he was doing.
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That made Draco laugh even harder. This was what he was missing... the banter. Usually he had that with Slither, but being out of the country, he wasn't able to keep up with her.
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Sonir raised an eyebrow at Tink. "I'll have you know that all of MY Essence is right where it should be, thank you very much." She confidently nods then grins.
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"Good to know." Three Star crosses one of his legs over and tapped his fingers against it. He opened up his AR and started to check public news in the area of England they were heading to. He was at least thankful this job wasn't in the middle of London.
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Jimmy smirked at Sonir's comment, but let the expression do the talking for him.