[JackVII]

[20APR2075 2105 | The Party Pit | College Station, TX | CAS]

Bookworm couldn't stand it as the comms remained silent. She tried and failed to catch the eyes of both Error and Hopeless. With this new mystery nearly revealed, the dwarf bit her finger to try to keep herself from responding to Big Daddy. Unfortunately, her curiosity got the better of her and she threw caution to the wind.

Still retaining some wits about her, she sent a message to Breeze.

<<@Breeze [Bookworm] I'm going to respond to him, but I'd like to do it through your deck since he already has it MARKed, if you don't mind.

The decker didn't respond, but a MARK invitation from Breeze's cyberdeck appeared in the corner of her vision. Accepting the invite, Bookworm's persona MARKed Breeze's, a glowing worm with glasses appearing tattooed on his icon. With the MARK placed, the dwarf could order the deck to send a message on her behalf.

<<@Big Daddy; BCC Team [Blocked] I don't have any control over the kids, they were here when I showed up but should serve as cover for our parley. With two kegs of beer and whatever the frag they're doing in that pit, I don't think they're going to leave anytime soon. We can talk in person or over comms, your choice.>>

[Poindexter]

It's an odd feeling, not being nervous. Ian isn't terribly familiar with it, especially in a situation like this, where plans seemed to be unraveling right from the get go. Yet here he stands, keeping a smile on his face, blending with the crowd and looking like he's watching the demonstration.

<<@Team [Bookworm] From what I can tell, the messages are being sent from a commlink located somewhere in the vicinity of the airport, probably the terminal or somewhere close to it. No persona though, so there is a good chance the sender is using a burner commlink or has some other device to connect to the matrix.>>

<<@Team [Hopeless] Good eyes, ma'am.>>

Fuck, airport's too far away to send one of the spirits and I don't wanna pop the drone unless i absolutely have to.

It's then that he notices the message being sent to Big Daddy.

<<@Big Daddy; BCC Team [Blocked] I don't have any control over the kids, they were here when I showed up but should serve as cover for our parley. With two kegs of beer and whatever the frag they're doing in that pit, I don't think they're going to leave anytime soon. We can talk in person or over comms, your choice.>>

<<@Team [Hopeless] Breeze, while she's talking, try and get an exact location on him. If ya can, you'll be my frakkin hero.  Bookworm, if you can keep him talking, good. Be reasonable, but firm. Don't take a milliliter of shit from him. You get any more intel, or even just bright ideas, feel free to share with the group.>>

Glancing upward with his third eye, he can't make out the lifeless forms of the two drones high above him, but he knows their location due to the two burning eyes that represent his spirit friend, Some. She circles their area aggressively, just waiting for the chance to lash out and snuff the little baubles from the air. She was the last spirit he'd ever bound, and the only one that had ever seemed to dislike it. Terrance, Whil, and other spirits he'd bound in the past had seemed happy or indifferent about the affair, but after some of the things that Some had told him... He'd been starting to rethink the morality behind binding spirits at all for the last few months. But then, without them to hang out with, he'd have to get out and socialize with people in the real world. That seemed like a scary prospect and one that he'd rather not think about right now. Still though, he knew in the back of his mind that between the two spirits who were still by his side, he only had four more favors to ask before he was all alone and faced with a serious moral dilemma. Best to use those favors sparingly.

Be patient, friend Some. There will be a time for fire, and when it comes, you will be glorious, I'm certain.

[rednblack]

Looking up into the astral plane, Hopeless spots another shimmering entity as it gallops into view before its wings spread and the thing begins soaring in a lazy figure-eight, not too far from Some.  From the distance, Hopeless can't make out many of its features, but the spirit appears to be a Pegasus, powerfully built with a long trailing tail.  Not long after its arrival, Breeze forwards another message from Big Daddy.

<<@ Team [Breeze] Fwd://[Big Daddy] We'll see about that.  What do you want to say?  It must be good, or I wouldn't think you'd decide to show your face again, Savior.  Tell the waggly-fingered freak to call of his spirit, or things'll get ugly round here, omae.>> 

[JackVII]

[20APR2075 2105 | The Party Pit | College Station, TX | CAS]

Bookworm quickly synthesized the information from Big Daddy. Alright, astral assets must be in play if he knows about Hopeless' spirits...

Pinging Hopeless, she sends him a message.

<<@Hopeless [Bookworm] Is that a little odd for them to employ astral assets? Wasn't Big Daddy affiliated with the RF team? Doesn't seem to me that they would have any...>>

With Hopeless' instructions at the front of her mind, the dwarf put together a reply, attempting a happy medium of reasonable and not taking drek from Big Daddy.

<<@Big Daddy, BCC: Team [Blocked] Do you believe I'm stupid? The spirits are staying, although coming from you the request is perfectly reasonable. I imagine that dumpshock you suffered last time gave you a frag of a headache... so when did you start affiliating with mages, omae? Seriously though, none of that matters. Here's the deal, either you or I happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time during that riot the other day. I've got biz to take care of and it doesn't have anything to do with you. But if you keep getting in my way and trying to frag with me, it's not going to end well. What you're involved in has nothing to do with my payday. Last chance to be reasonable here>>

[rednblack]

There's a brief pause, where the silence over the comms seems pregnant, and even the grunts from the college kids as they hit the dirt or take a pulled punch to the chest seems muted, and Bookworm notes that she's holding her breath.  A moment later three sharp tings can be heard over the din from the top of the storage container where Breeze is doing his work.

Error cocks his head to see if he really heard what he thought he heard, only to be sucker-punched in the jaw from an opportunistic frat boy.  He responds with a swift kick to the young man's middle, sending him down and coughing.  "What the frag?"  At the edges of the circle, a few of the onlookers look up, slightly confused but still swilling their beers.

[rednblack]

Looking back to the sky after the pinging on the storage container stops, Hopeless sees that the Pegasus is brighter and figures that it must have entered the physical plane.  Whoever these guys are, it seems they're out for blood.  In quick succession, the team gets two messages from Breeze.  Given how close they're stacked, he must have adjusted his settings to automatically forward along any communications he's received.

<<@Team [Breeze] //Fwd: [Big Daddy] You think dumpshock's bad?  I got something for you, chummer.>>

<<@Team [Breeze] I'm fuckin' hit.  Gonna try and spike this thing outta the sky, but I wouldn't mind a little help if you still got those spirits, Hopeless.>>

[JackVII]

[20APR2075 2105 | The Party Pit | College Station, TX | CAS]

FRAG! the dwarf thought as she read Breeze's messages. Bookworm hadn't really thought it would come to combat, at least not this quickly. Was it something I said? Shaking her head to clear her doubts, she sent a quick message to the team.

<<@Team [Bookworm] Error, can you lead the students to the shipping container where your gear is? I'm going to throw up a barrier between the drone and the students when they get closer to safety>>

Standing up, Bookworm started to run toward the shipping container.

[JackVII]

[20APR2075 2105 | The Party Pit | College Station, TX | CAS]

О, нет! Error didn't need Breeze's message to tell him they were under attack. The sound of a short burst striking metal was very distinct, and one with which he was unfortunately familiar. Holding one of the kids in a Half-Nelson, he shoved him toward the storage container as he leaped into action.

Glaring around the pit, he shouted in his gravelly, accented voice, "Gunfire! Follow me if you want to live! Playtime has ended!"

Darting forward, the ork made a beeline for the storage container where his gear waited. Not only would it allow him to arm himself properly, but the metal walls of the container should provide good cover to the students once they reached it. He knew he was going to outpace the students, but figured that if he could get to the container in time, an AR-toting ork would make for a much better target than the gaggle of students. He looked around as he ran, trying to spot Hopeless and Bookworm.

[rednblack]

The students stare confused through their beer blurred eyes, and one or two hang back, as it seems that Error is trying to bring them closer to the evidence of gunfire, not further away, but the southern boy who sucker-punched Error pipes up.  "You heard the man.  Come on, chummers," and that seems to be good enough for the lemmings to fall in line.  Error closes the distance to the eastern-most storage container quickly when another sharp ping sounds out before being drowned by the sound of an approaching aircraft.  A moment later Hopeless gets a message from Breeze.

>>Incoming Message [Automated]
>>Sender: Breeze
>>Message: Last Will and Testament
>>Attachment: Videofile: BR7732.trd

[Poindexter]

Looking back to the sky after the pinging on the storage container stops, Hopeless sees that the Pegasus is brighter and figures that it must have entered the physical plane.  Whoever these guys are, it seems they're out for blood. 

Shit.

<<@Team [Breeze] //Fwd: [Big Daddy] You think dumpshock's bad?  I got something for you, chummer.>>

<<@Team [Breeze] I'm fuckin' hit.  Gonna try and spike this thing outta the sky, but I wouldn't mind a little help if you still got those spirits, Hopeless.>>

Shit.

Glaring around the pit, he shouted in his gravelly, accented voice, "Gunfire! Follow me if you want to live! Playtime has ended!"

Another sharp ping sounds out before being drowned by the sound of an approaching aircraft.  A moment later Hopeless gets a message from Breeze.

>>Incoming Message [Automated]
>>Sender: Breeze
>>Message: Last Will and Testament
>>Attachment: Videofile: BR7732.trd

?-?

And just like that, time seems to stand still. A moment ago, Ian had been surrounded by people, feeling rather sure of himself. Now, he stands alone, stunned by the speed at which events had unfolded around him as the group is taking fire and is under the very real threat of being annihilated by a rather powerful spirit.

And Breeze is dead.

It seems strangely serene, almost. For what feels like a minute or two, but can't possibly be more than a heartbeat, time seems to stop. He can't hear the screaming of the college kids or the roar of the airplanes above. He can't feel the oppressive Texas heat baking him alive inside his armor jacket. He doesn't even really have much in the way of peripheral vision either. All he can see, crawling toward him in slow motion through the sky is the massive and majestic form of the pegasus spirit, baring down on him, almost smirking at him, gloating over its soon to be had victory.

Then, in the back of his mind, he slowly becomes aware that he is hearing something. Something angry and miserable. Something broken and howling. Something trapped and terrified and insane with grief and rage. It isn't until he becomes aware of the pain in his throat that he realizes that the sound is coming from him.

When time begins flowing again, Ian finds himself standing alone and motionless in the center of the pit area, arms held out to either side, palms turned toward the sky. Tears are rolling down his face, and he is screaming in rage and agony, directing everything he's got toward blowing that pegasus out of the sky and back where it came from. The creature is a powerful one, and it tries really hard to struggle with him, but Ian's fury is simply too strong. It briefly, but loudly shrieks in frustration as it winks out of existence.

Regaining a bit of his mental faculties, he sends a brief message to the rest of the team, barely noticing the strain on his system from the banishing.

<<@Team [Hopeless] Get Breeze and the kids and get the fuck outta here. I'll watch your backs. This is my fuck up and I'll take the heat for it.>>

Now where is that fucking rigger?

[JackVII]

[20APR2075 2105 | The Party Pit | College Station, TX | CAS]

Huffing and puffing, Bookworm tried to keep pace with the crowd. I am not built for this... she thought, looking back to see how obvious of a target she was going to be. As she turned to look, Hopeless' message popped up in her vision and she almost stopped in her tracks. The summoner stood pat in the fighting pit as the Pegasus-shaped spirit was diving for him. With a shriek of rage and a palpable aura of mana, Hopeless held his palms to the sky and the spirit winked out of existence. Wow... Bookworm thought as she re-assessed the man's magical ability. At the same time, she had to question his sanity a bit in deciding to stay standing by himself with the drone still in the air.

Editing Hopeless' instructions a bit, the dwarf decided to try to keep the students safe as she didn't think they had much shot of getting out of here under the guns of that drone. Holding the brick out behind her as she ran, she thought the word of power that would activate the magic stored in the intricate formula inscribed on the brick. A shimmering wall of magical force sprung forth from the brick, causing it to hang in midair, the literal lynch-pin of the preparation. Hoping the wall would provide some protection to the students in front of her, Bookworm pulled her Cavalier Safeguard from its holster and readied the weapon, still making a bee-line for the storage container.

[JackVII]

[20APR2075 2105 | The Party Pit | College Station, TX | CAS]

Leaping into the storage container, Error nearly ripped open the large black gym bag where his gear was stored. Hopeless' message popped up in his AR feed. Shaking his head, the ork thought, Like Hell I'm leaving... Now that the drek had hit the fan and bullets were flying, it was time for Error to shine. He owed it to these kids to get them out alive. He had been reluctant about using them as a disincentive to violence. As it turned out, he had been right. Whoever was gunning for them clearly didn't care that there were innocents around. He would have words with Hopeless and Breeze when this was over.

With no time to really put on any armor, the ork grabbed his trusty Ares Alpha and locked the bolt forward, grinning as the smartlink connected. He exited the container and took up a position at the next closest container to him, hopefully drawing any return fire away from the kids. Let's Рок & Ролл, жопа...

[rednblack]

The kids following Error are stopped dead in their tracks when the ork pulls an assault rifle from his duffle bag. "Hoi, chummer, we don't want any trouble," the southern kid says, raising his hands, palms forward.  Another one adds, "Like hell we're stepping in there," as he motions to the storage container, but then the group hears Hopeless's wail and turn in time to see the pegasus blink out of existence.  Clearly shaken, the group seems to decide that this is not a corp-kid snatching gone wrong and they file into the storage container as Error makes his way to a more suitable piece of cover.

From the road, Hopeless notices a single headlight, closely followed by a pair of headlights that have turned off the main road, and are making their way to the clearing.  Way too fast to be the Star.

[Poindexter]

From the road, Hopeless notices a single headlight, closely followed by a pair of headlights that have turned off the main road, and are making their way to the clearing.  Way too fast to be the Star.

He grits his teeth in anger as he stares into the headlights of the approaching vehicles.

Ok, so there's more of you bastards who want some?

Finally starting to give more tactical thought to the situation at hand, he begins moving quickly toward the nearest bit of cover between himself and the getaway car. As he does, he begins giving orders in the astral.

Some! Now is the time you've been waiting for. Destroy those little flying machines. And be certain to get the armed ones first. Terrance! Can you frag up the pilot of the lead inbound vehicle for me? Quickly following it up with a message to the team.

<<@Team [Hopeless] Two ground vehicles incoming from the west. Assumed hostile. Moving to intercept.>>

[rednblack]

Error and Bookworm can barely hear another set of pings from the storage container where Breeze's body now lays over the sound of the approaching plane and the din of the students as they file into the third storage container. 

From the astral, Hopeless hears first from Some, "Finally, you've chosen the right tool," and then sees Terrance tip his hat, close his good eye, and draw a sixshooter.  "I'd get back if I were you, greenhorn," he says before pulling the trigger, but Hopeless is already making for the trees to the south.  Error finds cover behind his storage container and braces his assault rifle.  He begins to line up a shot as he sees the headlight from the lead vehicle begin to swerve, the driver try to correct, and then for no apparent reason the motorcycle takes a hard right off the gravel road and into a log, sending the back wheel up and the driver over the handlebars and face down in the grass.  "Hope he wasn't wearing a helmet," the ork sneers.   

A brief flash of fire appears in the sky, followed by the firework-like cracking of unspent shells misfiring.  The drone falls at a slight angle, in three main pieces.  Its rotors giving off a soft whisper until they falls into the middle of the pit twisted and fire-scarred.