July 2076, Tuesday 10:00 PM
It's been a hot start to the week in Cara'Sir, unusually warm and humid for the city. By this time in the evening its been a while since the sun has set but yet still the air lingers with heat and sticky humidity. You are all about your usual evening activities passing time when you get a matrix message from Steve Roderick.
QuoteSteve: Yo listen I got a job lined up shit is big-time Johnson got a room at the DMZ get here ASAP
The DMZ, the most well known runner bar in the capitol and a job is a big step up from what work, if any, you've been doing recently. Steve might be right, this just might be the big leagues. You know where to go, every runner in town big or small knows the place.
Jing finds himself sitting at his favorite noodle bar. He swirled the last of the booze in his cup as he got a notification. Steve Roderick, he didn't know much about the guy but he seemed to make big promises. He fired off a couple of quick messages as he slurped down the last of his noodles and took the last swig of booze.
Quote
Steve: Yo listen I got a job lined up shit is big-time Johnson got a room at the DMZ get here ASAP
Jing: Alright Steve, on the way.
[okay]Jing: Hey, Anahera I am gonna guess you got the same message from Steve. Last one there buys drinks :j
[/okay]
He set down his empty cup and bowl, paid, grabbed his motorcycle helmet and left. The night was young and he was feeling optimistic. He felt a little uncomfortable without his trusty pistol, Iron Mike at his side, dinner is usually a pretty mellow time. The DMZ on the other hand, who knew what was going to happen in that zoo.
Jing sat on his bike, started the engine and drove off into the Cara'Sir night. A handful of miles, and a handful of shitty drivers he would have liked to find at the bottom of the river later, he arrived at the DMZ and poked his head inside.
Anahera sits at the tiny kitchen table in the tiny but fortified traphouse she shares with Jing. Screwdriver in hand she makes a few adjustments to her left wrist, the humidity was making the joint stick these past few days and that was never a good sign. A soft pinging noise comes from the commlink in her pocket and she pulls the notifications up on the overlay in her eyes, picture-in-picture style, then dictates a response to both messages.
Quote
Steve: Yo listen I got a job lined up shit is big-time Johnson got a room at the DMZ get here ASAP
Anahera: As you say. Be there in a while.
[okay]Anahera: I hope you're okay with that shit they make from mushrooms then Jing.[/okay]
She tightens the last screw, double checks the internal mag for her integrated machine pistol, and seals up the synthetic skin once again rotating her hand around checking how it feels. The DMZ would probably be fine, probably, so she could pack light and just bring essentials.
Armored jacket... Check.
Combat knife in concealed holster... Check.
She grabs her helmet on the way out the door, double checks the locks, then climbs on her bike. A few minutes later shes making her way over to the bar at a leisurely pace, no need to bring the heat down on you for speeding. A while later shes strolling through the door. Jing's bike was outside so she walks to the closest person tending bar and gets two glasses of the cheapest mushroom based whiskey a nuyen could buy then scans the room for her housemate.
Jing and Valkyrie
The two of you arrive at the DMZ, greeted by the usual bustle of the place. A crowd of gangers showing off their custom rides and onlookers spectating occupies most of the parking lot but there are still some spare parking spaces to take up.
Inside, the bar is practically standing room only. The bar is already taken up by the regulars willing to put up with the noise and the tables are packed with the bar's wide range of clientele. Steve doesn't appear to be counted among them. He is probably in one of the many infamous backrooms which you have yet to visit personally.
[info]Jing arrives first let me know if you want to wait for Valkyrie or go ahead.[/info]
Calista had lately been spending more of her time trying to make connections and inroad with the local gangers and was currently trying to make heads or tails of a particularly colorful motor that was sitting in a Japanese import that appeared to ride only an inch off the ground. She was failing miserably, though her desire to learn was evident. When Calista received the message from Roderick, she had already been in the parking lot for most of the evening, and an unusual thought occurred to her. 'When, exactly, did Steve arrive?'
Calista thought back over the evening and tried to recall whether or not she had seen him, then realizing she had a better option. The young ork scanned the parking lot for a vehicle that she had previously seen him step out of. She also makes a point of responding to him.
Calista selects Steve Roderick from her contact list and sends him the following laconic message,
QuoteUruk-hai: Which room?
Calista waits for a response as she seeks to identify some sign of the elf's presence at the DMZ. She hopes that she's just being paranoid, but she can't help but feel like something about the message she had received stinks. Calista surreptitiously checks her knife, handgun, and magazine pouches, making sure that each is clear of obstruction.
The DMZ had lived up to its reputation. Jing generally avoided places this crowded in meatspace, but today was an exception. While he was sure he could hold his own, waiting for his roommate who could hold much more than her own seemed to be the wiser option.
[okay]
Jing: Hey, Anahera I am gonna guess you got the same message from Steve. Last one there buys drinks :j
Anahera: I hope you're okay with that shit they make from mushrooms then Jing.
Jing: Better than that pisswater that we can find at most places.
[/okay]
He scans the room, waiting for Anahera to arrive. She walks in the door and he can't miss her. He follows her to the bar to get his well deserved reward. He swirls his whiskey, takes a sniff and then a swig. It was a bit better than lighter fluid.
Jing inches closer to the counter, and puts on his best business face. "Oy, chummer!" He calls out to whoever is tending the bar. "Steve Roderick sent for us. Which room is he in?" he motioned to Anahera as he said us.
Uruk-Hai Looking over the parking lot you don't see any familiar vehicles. It was entirely possible that Steve could have arrived by some other means though. You don't know the fixer that well beyond a few very minor jobs so you have no real idea if that car you saw him getting out of was his normal vehicle or if he preferred other means of transportation. He didn't seem the public transit type though, nor did anyone that had to go out into the degraded urban wastes that the Night Market bordered. It was possible that he could have simply parked on the street somewhere else and walked into the bar through the crowds occupying the sidewalk before it without you spotting him. As you scan the parking lot looking for Steve's possible ride, his return message pings on your comlink.
QuoteSteve: Room 8
Jing and Valkyrie The person manning the bar was an attractive elven girl with the youthful look that meant her age could be anywhere from 18 to her mid 40s. She was the bartender that usually helped the General run the bar when he needed the extra hands and it looked like she was overwhelmed by the evening rush with the general's conspicuous absence. She sliced a lime and nodded her head to the dark hallway next to the restrooms.
"Room 8" she said simply as she stuck the lime slices into the ends of a collection of beer bottles sitting on a tray.
"Thanks, chummer. Jing finished gulping down his whiskey and set the glass down on the table before turning to his companion. "This should be interesting." He left the bar and proceeded to room 8, and knocked on the door.
Zephyr had a sea of photos spread accross his coffee table in his apartment as he sippied a mug of what was considered tea in the modern era. He was sifting through dozens of different art pieces, gemstones, and artifacts contemplating future moves as modern jazz played softly in the background. As far as nights off went this was far from the worst thing this elf could be doing.
But he had to admit with no leads to go off of he was starting to get bored so when the call came Injected had to smile.
Quote>zephyr: Roderick! Congrats on the score chummer you are in luck. I just cleared my inbox and no one has yet to pin me down again. I'll be at the dmz in fifteen. First drink on me yeah? Just remember to breath in the briefing. It is just another job sans runners smell anxiety
.
Zephyr had gained a reputation amongst the fixers who worked with him to be overly friendly and familiar with anyone he worked constantly with. The kind of guy who would throw off your usual routine and relax when not meaning too or say something you meant to keep secret. Yet he was silent to almost everyone about his personal life. Though it's hard to ask questions when he offers to watch your dog while you meet with another crew.
His apartment while a distance away would not be to bad for an autocab even if he had to walk a short distance to the market on foot.
Siegfried stood in front of a mirror in the men's restroom of some dive bar he hadn't cared to remember the name of removing the wraps from his hands. Not the first time since the past few months wishing for an official weigh-in to fight some one his size... or his species for that matter. That's the last time I fight a troll with a fist literally thew size of my face, he mused to himself wincing from the pain of bruises along the left side of his chest. Checking his messages he was surprised to find one from Steve Roderick, a fixer he had been put in touch with after his last job filling in as some temporary muscle for Tony. He typed out his response:
QuoteOld Iron: Sounds big, I'll be there as soon as I can
He hesitated before sending, street fights and collecting debts for the mafia were one thing but this was a whole other world he was about to step into. He pushed the button with a smirk thinking what else can they take from me.
He reached in to the bag holding his gloves and other fighting equipment, combing through it until he reached his stash, pulling out his knucks and a set of throwing knives before stashing them inside of his armored jacket. He began to make his way toward the bus out of the slums.
"Yep." she said nodding to Jing before emptying her own glass. The amber liquid was earthy, as one would expect, all fungus and lighter fluid. She stalked behind him on the way to the door, letting the liquor settle low and warm inside her. Jing knocked.
Zephyr
You're able to hail one of the many automated cabs passing by your place without issue, only a short wait for a free cab to pass by. One seemingly long and silent ride later, you find yourself dropped off at the crowded curb in front of the DMZ and into the haze of smoke it was producing. A crowd of gangers over at the parking lot appear to be lining their cars up for a race and a large crowd of spectators is cheering them on.
Alteisen
Fortunately, the busses still serve the area around the DMZ and you get on one that will drop you decently close to the bar. The bus is decently full with various workers returning to their homes after a very long shift and a group of what looks to be some corp kids in the latest designer "punk" threads. This may take a while.
Jing and Valkyrie
[info]As Uruk had stated they were already there, we will resolve their arrival at the meet before progressing your arrival. [/info]
Zephyr made a mental note of the various cars he saw just in case one of them got totaled. Go-gangers prided themselves on their rides after all, and often made less then legal modifications to their rides that might be worth the salvage. He always liked to find things for Khieron to play with during his free time.
Walking into the dark lit interior of the DMZ he nodded towards the barkeep and followed up to the bar. He had longer hair then she did. "I'll have Roderick's usual if he doesn't have one already, along with my usual soy cafe." He said swiping his cred stick. while the bartender was busy he switched over to the astral plane for a moment scanning the private rooms looking for the fixer's aura.
Once he got a fixed location, and seeing that he wasn' alone he grabbed the two drinks in one hand and headed towards room 8.
[info] assensing to try and read Roderick's aura for his emotions
[blockquote]Rolled 8d6 : 4, 2, 1, 2, 3, 2, 2, 3, total 19[/blockquote]
[/info]
Thankful to finally have gotten out of the crowd in the bus, Siegfried made the short walk to the DMZ without incident. Swearing under his breath after having noticed his own rather disheveled appearance just coming from a fight. He did say ASAP in the message after all.
All he had to do was find the first person who looked like they were part of the staff and ask where Roderick was, navigating through the crowd was something he prided himself on. For a man of his physique he had found that very few people were willing to get in his way if he walked with a stern look and a sense of purpose.
Finally getting the attention of one of the bar staff after pushing his way past a particularly gregarious pair young men with rather obnoxiously visible cyberware, he asked in his most professional tone.
"I am looking for an associate of mine, Steve Roderick he rented a room here recently, do you know where he is?"
Zephyr
The bartender looks you over. "I don't know you beyond your 'name' and I barely know Steve. He can get his own drinks." She gives some quick finger quotes as she turns and sticks a mug into the coffee dispenser and turns to talk to you as it fills. "Besides, bar policy is we deliver the drinks. Keeps down the number of roofies we find swilling at the bottom of the glasses." She takes the hot mug from the dispenser and clunks it down on the bar in front of you. "He's in room 8 by the way. Guessing you're with the others that are already here."
[info]Assensing
You are unable to tell much from his aura beyond the fact that he's alive and breathing.[/info]
Alteisen
The bartender takes a moment from spraying soda into a glass to nod you over to the hallway. "Room 8. Might want to hurry, Seems like you might be the tail end of the pack. Been a few others already that got here ahead of you looking for him too."
[info]Current order of arrival is Uruk, Jing and Valkyrie, Zephyr, and Alteisen. We'll resolve Uruk getting into the meet and then continue.[/info]
Still somewhat perturbed by the fact that she hadn't seen the fixer arrive, Calista none the less couldn't ignore the fact that Roderick had responded to her message, making clear that the meet, at least, was on the level. Calista walks into the DMZ, quickly making her way through the crowd to the back rooms as instructed.
The young ork still doesn't quite trust the situation though and before disappearing into the back section takes one final long look at the crowd occupying the DMZ. Specifically, she's looking for anybody with a demeanor that doesn't quite fit, or who gives off an impression of tension as if waiting for something to happen.
Calista would then proceed on to room 8, and the meet, but what she finds or doesn't find could very significantly change her approach to the situation going forward.
The noise of the main room of the bar quickly cuts away to a muffled din as you enter the dark hall. Another hall branches off as you walk down the unfamiliar way but a sign notes rooms 1 to 4 lay down that hall. Walking down the hallway just a little further shows the small sign that let's you know they location of room 8. Entering, Steve is found sitting down in one of the synthetic leather chairs looking at his comlink. Uruk is first and he stands to get her. "Hey! You got here fast. Tthere's going to be others for this job. So no going solo like usual. It's the real deal so that means an actual team. The Johnson is waiting nearby. They'll show up when the whole team is assembled." He sits and invites Uruk to do the same before returning to his comlink. As everyone else arrives he greets them in a similar fashion, continuing to check his comlink in the minute and gives a quick introduction of the arrivals as they get there and inbetween.
After Zephyr arrives there is a longer pause between arrivals during which Steve begins to look nervous as he taps his foot up and down. Almost twenty minutes after Zephyr arrives Alteisen makes it to the meet. Steve, looking relieved rapidly taps on his comlink screen and gets up to greet him. "Damn dude what took you? You didn't walk all the way from Troll Town or something did you?"
[info]Feel free to make any introductions[/info]
Zephyr enters the room quickly counting heads and scanning faces all behind a Cheshire grin as he sips his drink. Synthetic soy based coffee was a far throw from his herbal teas, but it was hot and strong. And as soy substitute went it was not total swill.
From his head count he was either last or close to last for this little party; just how he liked it. People left to stew a few minutes would either have to relax or wind themselves close to breaking either starte revealed a lot of different ticks about how they lived and worked. The elf nodes warmly to Roderick as he found a seat near the communal coffee table and crossed his legs. He took of the Bernie that he had captured the neon green hair spilled down to just bellow his shoulders, which he tied into a lose ponytail.
He wore dark acid washed jeans that were frayed by equal parts fashion and use. As well as a hoodie and a vibrant t shirt of some Japanese idol band. He seemed young as all elves did but he was well built in the attractive style of a gymnast or figure skater, the logo of a black cat winking while holding a magic wand streatched across his torso.
"Hope everyone has had a good night so far." He said warmly as he takes a second time scanning the room this time meeting everyone's eyes and to cement their demeanors in his mind.
Meeting Uruk's he said, " hey haven't I seen you walk out of Doc Frankienstien's every now and again?"
During the long wait Zephyr is happy to ingauge in any and all small talk. Anything from classic superheroes to world news he has something to offer on the subject and will try to find topics that will get even the tight lipped to at least nod in his direction. If anyone is busy on their comms he will respectfully avoid in gauging unless you choose to join in.
Finally after a few moments he speaks up in earnest
"While we are waiting it's worth quick introductions. Call me Zephyr, I'm your face and infiltrations specialist. I prefer to avoid a kill count as personal and professional matter, but I have enough magic that I can hold my own and remove a threat."
Jing gave everyone else a once over. He nodded to the elf who had started speaking. "Hoi, chummer. It's been chill."
He then started on his own introduction. "You guys can call me Jing. Or Joe. Hell, some people even call me Flea. From the looks of you, I'll be running the show on the tech side of things. Don't worry, I'm not just going to sit in a van, looking like some kid in a coma killing things with his mind, I'll have my boots firmly planted on the ground. Regardless I'm looking forward to getting down to business."
He slowly eyed the others, waiting to see if any of them would speak or if the Johnson would reveal himself.
Anahera gave a small nod to those in the room she didn't recognize, she hated pleasantries but that was always the first part of a job.
"Valkyrie." She said flatly, still wearing the same non-committal smile as always.
Hastily apologizing after stumbling in late Siegfried takes stock of the situation. The rather imposing human would not look too out of place working as a bouncer for the bar, especially considering the scar tissue around the eyes and jaw and the onset of cauliflower ear. The dead give away however is the rather unkempt hair and beard as well as the clean but obviously very old and worn white undershirt beneath the armored jacket he wore.
He shook Robert's hand firmly, "Thanks for waiting, I had some particularly nasty business with a troll on the wrong side of town but it looks like I got the best of that fight." His still somewhat heavily accented English comes out in his best attempt at a confident tone, trying his best to hide the nerves from being new to all this, especially after hearing Zephyr's mention about killing, which sends a chill down his spine. "I go by Alteisen, Old Iron if German is not your thing, looks like I'm going to be some extra muscle for you all."
Almost as soon as Alteisen finishes introducing himself the door is pushed open and a man walks in. He's human and appears to be of Asian descent. Leaning on a cane, he has a decent limp but his posture and bearing would belay any sense of weakness because of it. His expression is hard as he takes up a position against the wall. He stands with his hands resting on his cane and then speaks, tilting his head towards Steve. "This is the team?" He asks.
Steve quickly answered. "Yes it is. They may not have name recognition but they have the skills to pay the bills." "Very well... I represent a party interested in the acquisition of an Ares research project. We believe the project is being moved from the local arcology tonight via boat downriver to rendezvous with a freighter on the Columbia. Security is estimated to be light. The pay is sixty thousand nuyen. Do you accept these terms?" He practically cuts Steve off to start and finishes with hardly a wasted breath.
"70," Zephyr said matter o factly, "moving targets mean more attention and less time to plan. To do everything in one night no less you should be able to absorb emergency supply costs with the mark up. That much extra should be well within your calculated margins. If there are any special transportation or security conerns we well have to be willing to pay through the nose to make preparations."
[info]rolling negotiation to see if I can get a little extra scratch at a little more then 15%
[blockquote]Rolled 11d6 : 2, 5, 3, 6, 1, 6, 1, 3, 6, 6, 2, total 41[/blockquote] [/info]
"Sixty is the modified price for a short notice job but I can authorize an additional 2500. If you're going to keep wasting my limited time then I will find someone more professional to do the job." As if to emphasize this he pulls out a comlink and checks the time.
Anahera leans forward slightly on the balls of her feet, she had chosen to remain standing the entire time.
"Deal is arctic in my book. If the rest of you are in line I'd like to hear more details if they exist." she said, with empty pleasantry.
"I'm good with that assuming you provide us with the needed information-" Zephyr said with a smile, "shipping routes to the dock at the very least along with; dimensions of the package, weight, identifying marks, any special transportation requirements all in general terms of course. Otherwise, I'm in no problem."
"I'm not going to lie, something seems off about hitting the target the same night we get the job, but if the rest of you feel like you've got it under control then I am in as well."
"Some jobs are full of finesse, cloak and dagger work at its finest. Others are a rush job. This seems like the latter. Since it was laid out plain and clear, I have no reason to be suspicious. I do have one question however, if you don't mind. Do you expect things to get wet?" While he wasn't too concerned, Jing would prefer to know before hand how much heat to pack. This Zephyr fellow seems to have things under control so hopefully he can get some information. With a few keywords, Jing could probably figure something out.
"Further information will only be provided to those accepting the job. If you are going to keep drawing this out leave now. I have no patience left for this." The Johnson gives Steve a withering look as he says this.
[info]seeing him be overly snippy for the second time in this short meeting is this enough to roll judge intentions on this guy? I want to know if he thinks we are just being unprofessional or if he's really under that desperate of a time crunch that he is freaking out. Any sorts of signs of desperation or other things I could exploit to make this go more in our favor.[/info]
While waiting for the others to make up their mind, Jing decided to make use of some of his own resources. He started poking around on his deck. A simple search is all he wanted to accomplish.
[info] Jing is performing a matrix search test on Jackpoint to see if there is any information about what Ares could possibly be up to in the area lately or any new prototypes they may be working on. Deck is set up as D:6 F:4 A:1 S:1 with the Browse program (cuts matrix search time in half) and the signal scrub program (noise reduction of 2) running. Matrix Search is INT + Computers so dice pool of 10 for me. Limit of 6 (Data Processing) With Down the Rabbit Hole (rating 2) I need to roll two fewer ones to glitch.
[blockquote]Rolled 10d6 : 2, 6, 4, 2, 3, 2, 1, 2, 6, 1, total 29[/blockquote]
[/info]
[info]Matrix Search
Will get back to you in a couple of in-game minutes. [/info]
[info]judge intentions
[blockquote]Rolled 12d6 : 5, 1, 1, 5, 5, 3, 3, 5, 3, 3, 3, 3, total 40[/blockquote][/info]
Before the arrival of the Johnson, Calista hears Zephyr mention that he thought he had seen her before, and as the Johnson entered the room, nodded in acknowledgment of his observation. She listened closely to what the Johnson was offering, as well as to what the Johnson didn't say. Then, a sudden realization struck her.
"I'm on board.", Calista answers, making light of the nautical nature of the mission with a quick pun and pirate theme, "Which boat's carryin' Ares' prized booty?"
The young ork turns to give Roderick an amused glance. The first real work he lines up for her, and it's straight up old-fashioned, piracy. Calista couldn't find the situation more entertaining if she tried. A grin slowly spread across her face as she considered whether or not to begin employing what would no doubt be a horrendous pirate accent.
"Well it looks like you've got yourselves a full team of runners sir." Zephyr said with a smile "we'll get this package for you come hell or high water." He gave Uruk a wink as he made the pun.
The Johnson continues to stare at Steve, who by this point was starting to squirm with nerves under the gaze. The Johnson pulls a comlink out of his pocket and tossed it onto the table. "This comlink is loaded with a tracking program tied to a research component that has been tagged with a tracer. You can track the location of the materials using it. The materials should all fit into a single standard sized cargo container. Do not look in the container. We will not pay for damaged goods and we will not tolerate tampering with the comlink or any of the research materials." The Johnson shifts his gaze from Steve to Jing, currently using his deck, at this last emphasis. "The comlink also contains the location to bring the boat to for rendezvous. Ares security force casualties are of no concern to us as long as you don't draw additional forces in pursuit. Roderick will have your payment in escrow to be released upon conformation of the integrity of the goods. Now, I've wasted enough time here. Mr Roderick, we will need to talk. I will contact you later." The Johnson turns and quickly limps out the door, slamming it behind him.
Steve let's out an audible sigh after the door closes. "God damn, what was with all the questions Zephyr? I said this was big time shit. These guys play hardball. Emphasis on the hard part. Now I'm probably going to need to cut my fee."
[info]Judge Intentions
The Johnson appears to have been honest in his voiced opinions of you. [/info]
"Steve we've worked together before, and you had plenty of time to tell us to keep our mouths shut and warn us about certain things. I did my job as the face and didn't go beyond what that mandates," said Zephyr calmly. "If we have a problem we can talk about it privately when not in front of the crew. As for the difference in your pay, I'll take it from my cut if it makes you feel better, and as a sign of good faith. When the job is done all will be forgiven regardless." Zephyr refused to be aggressive or to put too much emotion in his voice he simply wore a solid mask. He knew that he was in the right here but he was now a member of a new crew and making a scene now would only rupture group dynamics further. To show fear in front of Johnson and then chew out a runner in front of the team really got under Zephyr's skin not that he let it show. He knew how to do his job and to be questioned otherwise was more than insulting.
"Is that tracker data intact Joe?" he said turning to the decker. "I can make a few calls In terms of getting the model of the freighter and possible security. "If you want to follow me out back steve we can hash it out now or you can send me a text when all this is over." The smile was gone and in that moment he was more then all business.
"Hey man, you guys weren't even on his radar. He wanted a team with some real street cred to them. I had to go to bat to talk you guys up. Look we can talk about this later. I need to go and put out this fire. Let me know when you finish the job and we can all talk over the pile of nuyen." He gets up from his chair and walks out the door. Right before it finishes closing he sticks his head back in the room. "Oh yeah, don't die out there!" He gives you all a double thumbs-up before retreating down the hallway and out of earshot, the door slowly closing on its own behind him to leave you alone in the well sound-proofed room. The noise of the bar is naudible to even the keenest of ears.
Anahera puts her hands on her hips and audibly cracks the joints in her neck before speaking.
"Well, lets get at 'er. Time being of the essence and all I need to go grab some gear before we do this so I'm gonna go make a quick stop. Jing, you want me to grab the van and bring anything you need as well? Call me when you guys figure out how you want to play this. I won't be long. If you leave before I get back lemme know where I'm headed."
[info]If nobody objects, Anahera is going to drive home quickly and grab her gear (listed below for GM transparency), as well as anything Jing may request (if he does so).[/info]
[info]Gear List: Ballistic mask (with mods), Backpack, gecko tape gloves, trauma patch (2), duct tape (1 roll), binoculars, HE grenades (2), crowbar, disposable lighter, micro wire, tool belt, her SMG (placed in cyberleg holster), katana, towel, loaded spare clips for the SMG (2)[/info]
"Sure thing. I could use my stuff, if you don't mind picking it up I'll keep looking into what information I can find on the matrix and keep an eye on this commlink as well. Just need my guns, my armor and my backpack. Jing didn't look up from his deck as he continued looking for whatever information he could find on ares' recent activity.
"I'll get to checking the specifics of the commlink in a moment, but I don't see why the Johnson would give us faulty equipment, he needs this job to be done even more than we do from the sounds of him."
[info]
when meeting back up with Anahera, I will have my pistol, my smg, armor jacket, lined coat, ballistic mask, and my backpack that contains 3 jazz, a flashlight, gecko tape gloves, a glue sprayer, glue solvent, and a tag eraser. [/info]
"I dunno about this Johnson guys.", Calista begins, a mild degree of concern now evident in her voice despite earlier comedy, "This may seem like a dumb question, but if the package is the size of a cargo container, how were they planning to transfer it from one ship to another out on the Columbia River? Doesn't moving one of those normally require a big ass crane like you see at the docks?"
Calista waited to see if anyone else was thinking the same thing, hoping that it was just her being paranoid. The whole deal suddenly seemed like a set-up to her and had her questioning the intel they had been given. It was her hope that the team Roderick had just assembled weren't being used as somebody else' diversion.
"It's possible, but it only changes the plan once we are on the boat if things go sideways. Besides outside of that one container who knows what Ares might be carrying that might be worth stealing? I mean the softs downloaded into the mainframe of the ship alone would be worth it. Along with other possible shipments charts that would make a killing on the black market" he said glancing at Uruk with a smile. "Just go in with your eyes open to the risks and if we need to bail we bail."
"I'll pick up my gear in a bit I'm already wearing most of it under my clothes anyway. For now, let's see if we can't try to get a map of their route ahead of time. If there is a bridge or something we can use as an infiltration point that would be huge. I suppose the place to start would be to see if we can get the ship's registry and manifest. Tracking it down that way would be a huge difference. Let me see what I can find out."
[info]Rolling a basic city planning/ city knowledge to see what I know basically about the river and possible points of interest around it
Rolling Intuition + City planning
[blockquote]Rolled 8d6 : 1, 5, 3, 4, 3, 2, 5, 3, total 26[/blockquote]
[/info]
[info]I will also contact Lore to ask if she has the make and model of the most recent ships that ares could be using for that kind of cargo. If I could get a blueprint that would be ideal but if not the basic make and model is fine.
Let me know if I can just roll negotiation to see what it would cost
[/info]
[info]I'll also get my pistol and medical gear I was already wearing my chameleon suit under my clothes[/info]
Zephyr Lore responds with an animation of a tip jar which somewhat obnoxiously bounces and jingles around on your screen and in local AR for anyone nearby to see and hear, overriding any mute function that might have been turned on. After about 30 seconds of this a text message comes up on your com.
QuoteLore: Hey Mr Tall Green and Handsom you know the rules. Nothing in life is free. I just so happen to have what you're looking for all for the cost of 900 nuyen.
The AR tip jar continues to make its presence known. You hear a thud through one of your apartment walls and a muffled cry of "turn that shit off! People are trying to sleep!"
[info]Knowledge: City Planning
The Ares arcology is located on the southern end of the downtown waterfront. The first short stretch of river heading north would be in plain view and unsurpressed gunfire would easily be heard by anyone on the banks. After this stretch the river passes under the massive bridge known as the Crossing District. Under the superstructure is a slum called Troll Town where buildings extend into the river. This area is not patrolled and it's a known fact that gunfire in Troll Town rarely ever draws attention. Beyond this stretch the towers of downtown quickly give way to industrial zones which line the banks all the way to the Columbia, an area that is unlikely to be patrolled by the constanbulary at night.
You can feel free to negotiate with Lore. [/info]
Joe
Shortly after Zephyr and Valkyrie depart you finish your review of Jackpoint's archives for the last few months.
[info]Matrix Search
There isn't much in the way of Ares intelligence recently that you can find. A team did a smash and grab on some heavy weapons for the Russians last month but otherwise no one seems to know anything about any major projects going on at the arcology, at least as far as anyone has posted.[/info]
Of course it wouldn't be that easy. Jing sighs as he grabs the commlink that the Johnson had left for them. He didn't want to tinker with it, but it would be good to get an idea of where the materials were currently. He had no reason to believe that the Johnson wasn't honest with what the commlink did, but either way he'd have to check it out.
While he was at it, he sent a message to Roderick.
[okay]
Jing: Hoi Steve, that Zephyr fellow went running out to check something before I could get his contact info, Could you forward me his stuff? Gotta let him know what I've found out
[/okay]
[info] Jing looks over the info on the commlink that the Johnson left. I don't think any rolls are required but if so let me know and I'll throw the bones.[/info]
Zephyr smirked as he heard the banging on the walls,
"Nothing ever changes it seems."Quote>Zephyr: Tips come at the customer's discretion this is about two seconds of your work. Throw in any known backdoors to that model's computer system and you got yourself a deal. Don't worry I have a code monkey already who should be able to do the grunt work.
[info]Looking to get a +2 bonus for hacking the ship along with the make and model for 900
negotiation
[blockquote]Rolled 11d6 : 4, 5, 6, 3, 4, 1, 3, 1, 1, 2, 1, total 31[/blockquote]
[/info]
Joe The comlink appears to be stripped of any programs or functionality beyond a single icon on its home screen. Opening it brings up a map of the city with two tags on it. One blinks on and off, resting on the Ares arcology. The other is labeled with "rendezvous point" and sits unblinking on the east bank of the river in the northern industrial zones. As you look at the comlink Steve forwards Zephyr's com code to you.
ZephyrQuoteLore: Another hacker? You're making me jealous Zephyr and I'm looking to get a new cpu. A backdoor for your new flame will run you an additional 3k since you're asking for trade secrets. Teach you a lesson about toying with a girl's heart.
Quote> Zephyr: to rich for my blood at the moment. You'll have plenty of time to make money off me in the future.
[info]Pay the 900 for the basic info[/info]
Zephyr
The AR tip jar finally disappears and the numbers on your account dial back 900 nuyen, just as they stop Lore sends you a file. Inside you find the following.
The arcology dock is often used for transporting heavier cargo that for one reason or another the corp does not want to transport by road. The vehicle of choice is usually the Ares Tugmaster mk5: a simple hauler typically used for maneuvering more unwieldy vessels but easily capable of carrying up to 8 standard cargo containers on its deck. Standard operating crew complement of 2: one to keep an eye on the mostly autonomous helm and another to fulfill any minor tasks that need completing during the typically short tasks the boat is intended to fulfill.
[info]Feel free to insert me back in whenever appropriate.[/info]
Her bike rumbled slowly up the back street leading to the modest home she shared with Jing, the house was tucked back in an out-of-the-way pocket of other similar looking houses. It made it hard to find, which was the intent. The garage door slid open to reveal a two vehicle bay, half full with her housemates van.
She parked, turned off the engine, and set to work collecting the gear she needed for tonight's job; packing it away in a backpack except for her SMG. The gun instead went into the holster hidden in her right leg, it needed to be folded to fit but all that mattered was that it was concealed. Next came Jing's gear, which she carefully stowed in his pack. Last she grabbed the keys to the van and fired off a quick message to her partner.
[okay]Anahera: Got the stuff, on my way back.[/okay]
After a quick check of the locks on the house, she was in the van and on her way back to the DMZ.
Joe
Shortly before Valkyrie returns to the DMZ the Johnson's comlink beeps a warning. Checking the comlink shows that the tracking target that was on the Ares arcology has moved, now apparently making its way into the middle of the river. A message pops up at the bottom of the screen.
[error]Warning: tracking target moving.
Estimated time to leaving Tir Tairngire waters based on current velocity: 2:59[/error]
Zephyr begins to head by cab with his gear prepped to the bridge above troll town. Cursing himself for not getting the others comm code he figured that he could at least begin to scout things out.
[info]
with what I know about the bride and the ship is it something that they are going to be able to go under or do they have to wait for the bridge to move?
Also with the data can I get the basic stats of the boat? things like handling and sensors ect
[/info]
Jing got the alert from the commlink. "Shit, this isn't good. The ship has started moving and we've got 3 hours.. Anahera should be back with the van soon, let's get ready to party!"
He fired off messages to Zephyr and Anahera
[okay]
Jing: The ship is on the move, its gonna be out of town in 3 hours so we're going to have to do this quick.
[/okay]
Zephyr changes his destination to troll town
[okay] Zephyr: Fated timing, I think if we can hit it once it gets into troll town that is our best bet. My fairy godmother also found the base info for the ship. Meet me there unless you have a better plan at this moment.
[/okay]
[info]
Forwarding a map of the basic route that he knew the ship would need to go down along with the data from lore.
[/info]
[exclude u=309] [info] Requested roll
(http://forums.fantasyworldcreations.com/Themes/envision2013_smf20_rev3/images/dice_warn.gif) This dice roll has been tampered with!
Rolled 6d6 : 6, 6, 6, 6, 1, 1, total 26
[/info]
[/exclude]
Anahera's commlink pinged softly as it threw a message into her field of vision.
QuoteJing: The ship is on the move, its gonna be out of town in 3 hours so we're going to have to do this quick.
"Mmmm..." she hummed to herself in quiet annoyance. "Game is on I guess."
She dictated a quick response, switching the display name for her outgoing messages to her alias. She WAS on the clock now after all.
[okay]Valkyrie: Should be pulling up in a few minutes. Get anyone that's still there outside and ready to go, if they ain't at the bar they're probably gonna miss the bus.[/okay]
"Fuck I hope there's gonna be a fight," she mused aloud.
Jing forwards the boat's current location to Zephyr along with a message.
[okay] Troll town it is. We'll be on the bus shortly[/okay]
[info]if I can get ahead of the boat i'd Love to make a few perception checks during the ride for good points near troll town to get on the ship. A toll bridge would be ideal a street overpass anything specific.[/info]
[info]This can take place whenever appropriate.[/info]
The van pulls up just outside the DMZ. Not seeing the rest of the group she sends a quick message to Jing.
[okay]Valkyrie: Here.[/okay]
Zephyr
[info]There are 3 bridges that cross the river after the Ares arcology and prior to Troll Town, whether or not you will have the time to stop at any of them and check their suitability for boarding depends on your personal choice. It will take about 5 minutes to check each. Going from the South to North (the direction of travel of the boat) there is a vehicle bridge, a pedestrian only bridge, and another pedestrian bridge. By estimate from Joe's reading of the speed of the boat it will take 30 minutes for the boat to enter Troll Town. The cab will take 20 minutes to get to Troll Town from your position.[/info]
Rest of Party
[info]It will take approximately 15 minutes to get to Troll Town from the DMZ. You may attempt to decrease this time with a driving test. If you are splitting up into multiple vehicles, each vehicle must make their own test to get there faster.[/info]
[info]Just getting this roll out of the way to try and get to our destination faster.[/info]
[info]Pilot Groundcraft:[blockquote]Rolled 11d6 : 5, 5, 5, 6, 5, 3, 6, 3, 3, 6, 4, total 51[/blockquote][/info]
Looking at the digitized route of the autocab to memorize it and his relation to the bridges and the boats. Zephyr calculates how to hit two birds with one stone.
[info]Zephyr will astral project and head at hyperspeed to the various locations. I can't find if I have to materialize to see the physical plane fully if I do I will. I would prefer to stay astral and would manifest in a way or keep at a distance that would not raise too much suspicion. If I need to roll a stealth check I will.
I specifically want to look at the last bridge nearest troll town and then at a reasonable distance the ship itself probably from the first bridge while I am at it for cover. My goal is to not get caught even if I get less info [/info]
[info]Requested astral sneak and assessing
Sneak
Log+sneak
[blockquote]Rolled 7d6 : 4, 5, 6, 1, 6, 2, 3, total 27[/blockquote]
Assensing
[blockquote]Rolled 8d6 : 4, 1, 6, 3, 5, 6, 3, 3, total 31[/blockquote]
[/info]
Zephyr
Your body zips away from you with the cab the second your spirit disconnects and you become free of the physical world. A short flight to the bridge and you're able to see the lone boat floating down the river. 8 cargo containers sit on the boat right behind the single cabin with only a narrow path linking either side of the boat without having to go around via the prow or stern. You spot 6 auras on the boat's deck from your vantage point. None of then appear to be augmented with any cybernetics but one of them shines like an awakened individual of greater power than you. They dont appear to take any notice of you.
[info]There are 3 humans, an orc, and an elf on the deck along with 1 elf with a higher MAG than you.
Positions:
-Awakened and 2 humans on the prow
-Elf on port side
-Human on starboard
-Human and orc on stern
You have 17 minutes until the end of the cab ride[/info]
Rest of Party
One harrowing 9 minute ride at breakneck speed pushing the van to its limit later, you arrive at one of the entrances to Troll Town: an unceremonious alley in the shadow of the Crossing District which gives way to the narrow and cramped confines of the haphazard shanty town.
[info]You have 21 minutes until the boat enters Troll Town[/info]
Valkyrie brought the van to a screeching halt, before turning to Jing with a smile. "Handles like a dream, you wanna give our neon colored acquaintance a call and see if he found out any more about the situation?"
While she spoke she dug through her backpack to pull out her ballistics mask, putting it on and pulling it up so it rested over the top of her head leaving her face uncovered for conversation.
Jing was amused, he hadn't seen anyone drive his car like a bike. "Let me see if I can find something about this boat." He fired a message off to Zephyr as well.
[okay]Flea: Okay, We are here Zephyr, we'll do some ground work and see what we can do to get on this boat. See you here.[/okay]
He decided to search the matrix to see if the make and model of this boat had any known vulnerabilities.
[info] Matrix search for any information about the make and model of the shipping boat and any security flaws it may have.
Matrix search [blockquote]Rolled 10d6 : 5, 5, 4, 1, 4, 2, 3, 1, 4, 3, total 32[/blockquote]
[/info]
Joe
[info]Matrix Search
The Ares Tugmaster mk5: a simple hauler typically used for maneuvering more unwieldy vessels but easily capable of carrying up to 8 standard cargo containers on its deck. Standard operating crew complement of 2: one to keep an eye on the mostly autonomous helm and another to fulfill any minor tasks that need completing during the typically short tasks the boat is intended to fulfill.
Pilot 3
Sensor 3
Security software: not publicly available
Finding a hackable exploit via matrix search would take more time than you have right now (3 hour intervals).
Total time spent: less than a minute[/info]
"Shit. Looks like we will have to play a little hard ball."
If they had a bit more time, this could be easy. Jing pops into the matrix to take a look for the tugmaster's icon.
[info] Matrix Perception to look for the tugmaster's icon. with a specialization in matrix perception, dice pool is 12.
[blockquote]Rolled 12d6 : 3, 3, 5, 2, 2, 1, 4, 5, 3, 3, 2, 5, total 38[/blockquote]
[/info]
Joe
[info]Matrix Perception
You are able to locate the boat's matrix icon in cyberspace. It is located on the Ares global grid. Further information requires additional hits.
Time spent: less than a minute[/info]
"Come to daddy, beef patty."
Jing switches his deck into silent mode and fiddles with some programs.
[info]unloading browse, loading exploit (+2 to hack on the fly) and switching sleaze and data processing so it will be S:6 F:4 A:1 D:1 for the deck's limits. As per earlier discussion, boat is a far enough distance away to create 4 noise, I have noise reduction of 3 with signal scrub + data jack. so -1, -2 for public grid, -2 for boat being on another grid, -2 for run silent, +2 for hack device specialty so total dice pool ends up being 10 with a limit of 6 for a hack on the fly action.
Hack on the fly: [blockquote]Rolled 10d6 : 2, 2, 6, 4, 5, 6, 6, 6, 3, 6, total 46[/blockquote]
[/info]
Joe
[info]You gain 2 marks on the boat.[/info]
Valkyrie watches her housemate fuss with his deck with a passive interest. He was getting something ready, and whatever it was would be fun she was sure.
"When you're done, we should move closer to the river and pick a method of ingress" she said, sliding the ballistics mask down over her face, but leaving the voice modulator turned off. "Can that tracker tell us how close the boat is gonna be to the shore? We can find a spot to drop in, or climb up from the water if we have to."
A smug smile creeps across Jing's face. "looks like we'll be able to take over its systems. We gotta get into position first though."
He sends a quick message to Zephyr.
[okay]Flea: Zephyr, I can take over the boat's systems. You gonna be here in time?"[/okay]
Jing puts on his armored jacket, grabs his trusty pistol, Iron Mike, and grabs his jazz and ballistic mask.
"I'm not sure if the tracking information shows the projected path but i'm sure we can figure something out with the info. If it comes down to it, I can probably get the boat to turn and stop. I doubt we will have any accurate mapping of troll town so I can't just make an overlay or something. "
He looked at the tracking information once again. "I would assume a safe bet is to head for the middle of the river first and we can adjust based on how the boat is moving.Should we get moving? I can do the rest of what I need to do hacking wise when we get there."
Zephyr staying comfortably out of sight of the mage at all times while scanning and memorizing what he could of the ship quickly left the area once he got what he wanted. It was better to leave with something then push for more and end up getting geeked after all. He knew that he still had a little bit of time before the others were even close to the area so he had a chance to look at one of the points where they could board the ship.
[info]
Going back in time a little before the other team arrives I still have six minutes left before they arrive.
I'd like to go and check that bridge closest to troll town to see if we can easily to moderately easily attack the boat.
I'm specifically looking for how high the bridge is, how far the drop is onto the ship, how much civilian traffic there is at this hour, how much cover from gunfire it would provide and what not.
[/info]
Zephyr
The bridge closest to Troll Town is a wide pedestrian bridge with enough room for two pedestrian paths separated from each other by two meter wide raised planters containing green grass and other ground covering vegetation as well as small decorative trees. The guard rails consist of cable string between metal posts with a polished metal rail on top. There does not appear to be anyone on the bridge at this hour.
[info]The bridge closest to Troll Town is 15 meters over the water. The boat's highest point would be on top of the cargo containers at 6 meters above water (total drop of 9 meters onto the containers, 11 meters onto the cabin, or 14 meters onto the deck). The safety guards will not provide cover as they are mostly just horizontal cable. The planters can provide cover but because of the height differential, the character using this would only be able to see the boat if it is at a distance (30 m horizontal distance or greater from the side of the bridge). A character lying prone on the bridge would have some cover against those on the boat but only at closer ranges (less than 20 meters from the bridge or under it).
Time until cab arrives at Troll Town: 13 minutes (rest of party arrives at Troll Town in 2 minutes, Joe's message arrives in 3)
Note: it will take 1 minute to return to your body from your current position[/info]
Returning to his body not willing to push his luck by running into a spirit right at the wrong time. Returning to your body was like exhaling after deep diving in the ocean. He took an extra minute to catch his breath when the message from Joe played across his comm link.
Quote
>Zephyr: I'm still 10 minutes out. I'm not ideal for a fight but I can help clean up the dregs when it eventually goes sideways if you need to move now. I do have an update, however, I took the liberty of scouting out the ship and a possible place to jump on for anyone who needs hand to hand. Or if anyone is particularly good with a rifle they may be able to make a nest out of it.
I would suggest trying to find good places to set up unless you are looking to climb the sides. If you have already begun to hack the thing moving sooner is better then later.
[info]
Zephyr using photographic memory to detail the bridge and the ship along with all the information he gathered about the crew and their layout.
[/info]
"Let's head on down and see what we've got" she said, starting to walk toward the river. Jing was right, without an accurate map of the area the only way to get a plan formed was to see the situation up close.
"Id prefer to drop in, if possible, but not from too high. Rather not break my legs and get bodied five seconds into a fight."
"I'm game. If we can get down there quickly it should be easy enough to find a low enough point to drop in. Lead the way and I'll be right behind you."
"If we have to do a little extra work to get on the boat, we might need a good distraction. I've got a guy for that, he comes cheap but I'm going to have to borrow some of your jazz to pay him if he's around" Valkyrie said, pulling out her commlink and thumbing down to the entry Crackhead Bob and rapidly typing out a message.
[okay]Valkyrie: Bobby-boy, are you in Troll Town tonight? Got some work for you if you need a fix.[/okay]
[info]Edge roll to see if Bob is around: [blockquote]Rolled 3d6 : 5, 2, 1, total 8[/blockquote][/info]
Joe and Valkyrie
You enter Troll Town, passing through the dark and cramped alley and into a wider winding thoroughfare where out of sight of the high security downtown there exists a thriving market for the denizens of the slum. Makeshift food stalls and bars sit at under half capacity, their patrons mostly gone to bed at this hour. Passing one of these fine establishments Valkyrie hears a familiar energetically raspy voice. "Hey! Big Girl! Hey! I got yo message!" It was none other than Bob, dressed in his finest rags, stumbling through the trash laden alleys towards you. "You got work? I'll eat you out for some m-bleorgh!" His poorly coordinated advance was interrupted by a bag of garbage which appears to have attacked his feet, causing him to roll and tumble with a thudding gong that you're pretty sure involved him hitting his head. He bolts back up with a bizarre grace you wouldn't have guessed from his fall. "I'm good! I'm good! I'm... HEOUGH!" His cochlea appear to have been unable to handle the tumble and he vomits at your feet. His last meal, probably something krill based judging by the flaky consistency empties onto the scrap metal that makes up the surface of the avenue. "Aw man..." He mourns before coughing and spitting out the remnants in his mouth. "Sorry 'bout that. Want me to clean that up? I can do that." He looks at Joe. "Aw man... Big Girl, you brought your friend? Well... Okay... But can you two go at me at the same time? There's this guy that owes me 20 yen and I gotta find him so I can get some nova.... I mean a hot meal."
Valkyrie raises her ballistic mask and smiles at Joe, gesturing with a sweeping motion in Bob's direction. "Let me introduce you to my good pal Bob. Bob here can, and will do just about anything for a little chemical pick me up."
She claps a hand on Bob's shoulder, trying to steady the swaying junkie. "Bobby-boy, we're on a job tonight and I think we could use a little of your special brand of help to get things done. Naturally, in exchange we're gonna help you get well! What do you say to that chummer?"
Joe and Valkyrie
"Oh that all? Sure, I guess I'm down. Your loss." He replies as an ork walking out of the slum wrinkles his nose from the acrid puddle of puke and mutters a "fucking junkie" in passing to which Bob replies, shouting into their back: "Yeah well your mom seems to like it! He turns back to your conversation as if nothing had just happened. "So what do you have? Kamikaze? Betameth? Zen?" He inquires, rubbing his hands together in eager anticipation.
"My chum here," Valkyrie says pointing back to Joe with her thumb "Is willing to part with a little Jazz if you'll do us our favor, and I'm more than happy to give you enough nuyen for your next hot meal if everything goes to plan."
She knew Jazz was on the lighter end of the spectrum as far as highs went, so the offer of a free hit of whatever he liked would hopefully sweeten the pot.
Joe and Valkyrie
"Jazz? You packin'?" He looks to Joe. "Got one for the road too? I mean, it's be the courteous thing right chummer? 'Sides, got to be able to get it up when I celebrate afterwards." Bob has the look of wide-eyed admiration as he probes at Joe with his eyes. "Big time runner like you has got to have plenty to share."
"I've heard a lot about you Bob. Looking forward to seeing your work in person. How about I give you a jazz and then some cash for whatever you'd like?" Jing hasn't brought much but Bob seemed the sort of fellow that would enjoy some flexibility and variety in the toxins he pumped his body full of.
Joe and Valkyrie
"Got yourselves a deal." He says, holding out a pair of grubby hands. "Come to daddy." He continues, getting more and more psyched up on anticipation as he awaited the promised goods.
Jing dug into his bag and pulled out a dose of Jazz. He dangled it from his fingers in front of Bob. "Oh Bob while we are at it, do you know a good spot in Troll town to jump into the middle of the river? he dropped the Jazz into the hands of the expectant crackhead.
Joe and Valkyrie
Bob looks at the inhaler like a dog starting a hot steak. "What? Yeah sure, just go to where all the buildings end. You can probably find something if you're looking for a swim." He then takes the popper and inhales deeply, taking in the narcotic. "WOOOOOO!" He yells in a chemical filled roar before running off down one of the alleys. Easily hurdling over the garbage he seemed to have been confounded by earlier.
"Probably should have told him what I wanted him to do..." Valkyrie said as she watched the junkie bolt down the alley like a gazelle. She pulled out her commlink and send a quick message.
[okay]Valkyrie: If you're not too spazzed out to read this there's gonna be a boat coming up the river in a few minutes, got some cargo containers on it. If you can, just get on the boat and cause a ruckus. Try not to get geeked.[/okay]
She pocketed her commlink and slipped her mask back over her face. "He'll either get on the boat and cause a distraction, or he won't. Doesn't change the plan much either way, lets get down there and get ready to jump."
She continued down toward the river at a brisk pace.
Joe and Valkyrie
It takes a few minutes to make your way through the dense maze and come out to the point where scrap construction gives way to reveal the river underneath. Various metal walkways and makeshift shanty porches line the waterfront which is well into the river. You find yourselves on a walkway 3 meters above the water with another level down just above the waterline and several above you, each projecting further out over the water as it gets higher. A lone ork sits on a stool a few meters down the walkway with a beer in one hand and an old fishing pole in the other, his occasional slurp the only sound other than the soft gurgling of water. The ork's electric lantern is the only direct light source providing illumination. Otherwise, only dim light radiates from the slum and through the end of the gigantic tunnel-like superstructure of the Crossing District above. Bob never responded to the message sent to him during your trek and he is nowhere to be found.
[info]There are 5 height levels you can choose from. Each is 3 meters in height and connected by ladders and stairs (you can also traverse from one to the other by jumping out climbing if you wish). The 3rd level (6 meters above the water) overhangs the water by 2 meters and each level above it overhangs the level below it by an additional 2 meters. The walkways provide ample waist height cover.
Lighting level is dim (-3 modifier)
15 minutes remain until the arrival of the boat. [/info]
Valkyrie takes in the scenery of the waterfront, her eyes automatically adjusting to the darkness as if it were brightly lit. A cursory glance at the fishing ork doesn't raise any immediate concerns and he doesn't seem to be paying any attention to them, but it would be best to keep her mask on for the time being.
"Mmmm" she grumbles softly. "Not a lot of options for getting out toward the middle of the river that don't end as a red smear, we could probably move up to the next level and still be safe though. You got any ideas?"
"It might take a bit of finesse, but I think I could hack it and steer it closer. We would have to be quick about it because as soon as they realize they're moving the wrong way they'll be on alert." It might not be the best plan, but in the heat of the moment it was all Jing had.
"Good enough for me, let's get into position and call that chatty guy" she said, climbing up to the next level by whatever means were available. Once there, she walked to the edge overhanging the water and drew the katana she carried on her back from its sheath.
The boat was still a little ways out, but she took the time to switch on the voice modulator in her mask anyway. When next she spoke to Jing, her voice had the ultra-deep processed timbre of an anonymous witness on some true-crime trid feed.
"Oh man, this is gonna be fun on a bun!"
"I'll see what I can do." Jing followed his companion before getting into position. "Alright, here it goes." He tapped in AR, finding the boat and working his brand of magic.
[info] Using Signal scrub and Exploit still, stats are 6 sleaze, 4 firwall 1 attack 1 data processing.
Still assuming the same modifiers as the first roll, so 10 dice pool on hack on the fly.
[blockquote]Rolled 10d6 : 1, 5, 5, 6, 5, 6, 4, 2, 4, 4, total 42[/blockquote]
[/info]
[info]Hack on the Fly
You gain 1 mark on the boat, totaling 2 marks. Additional matrix perception info for net hits (includes some from earlier that I missed because of a misread of how Hack on the Fly works): Boat is device rating 3, Boat has+1 firewall, Boat has 10 matrix HP. The boat is not running any accessory programs.[/info]
Joe continues to hack his way into the boat, aiming for a third mark.
[info] No more noise penalty as I was informed, so dice pool of 11.
Hack on the fly
[blockquote]Rolled 11d6 : 4, 1, 1, 5, 3, 6, 2, 1, 1, 6, 1, total 31[/blockquote]
[/info]
[info]Hack on the Fly
You gain 1 mark for a total of 3. Bonus Info: no morematrix perception information available.[/info]
Before getting to work, Jing double checks to make sure that there is no active security. "Better safe than sorry..."
[info] Matrix Perception with all of the negatives we talked about previously. Swapping Data Processing and Sleaze (6 Data 1 sleaze)
[blockquote]Rolled 8d6 : 6, 3, 2, 6, 1, 5, 3, 6, total 32[/blockquote]
[/info]
[info]Matrix Perception
You find a that there is a slaved camera titled "Helm" in the sensor suite, there are no automated defenses slaved to the boat.[/info]
Jing decides to take a peek at what the camera can see before moving the boat into position.
[info] Snoop device, switching back to 6 sleeze 1 data, My dicepool is garbage so gonna edge roll. 6+6-4 f or dice pool, so 8 total with exploding sixes.
[blockquote]Rolled 8d6 : 2, 6, 6, 5, 3, 6, 6, 5, total 39[/blockquote]
[/info]
[info] exploding sixes
[blockquote]Rolled 4d6 : 6, 2, 5, 3, total 16[/blockquote]
[/info]
[info] MORE EXPLOSIONS!
[blockquote]Rolled 1d6 : 2, total 2[/blockquote]
[/info]
You are able to hack into the camera feed. It shows an over-the-shoulder view of the currently unattended helm from one of the back corners of the cabin which is currently empty. You can see out somewhat onto the prow and can see a worker in an Ares-blue jumpsuit leaning on the port side railing of the boat, looking off into the darkness.
Alright, it's looking good. Let's get into position before I take control of the boat. Jing followed his companion through the sketchy paths until they reached the overhang. He pulled his ballistic mask out of his pack and slid it over his face. "It's showtime!"
[info] Control Device with the same -4 penalty. Using an edge again so dice pool of 8 & exploding sixes. Goal is to take control of the boat and have it get closer to the overhang so that we can jump onto the deck/shipping containers.
[blockquote]Rolled 8d6 : 1, 5, 1, 6, 4, 6, 2, 1, total 26[/blockquote]
[/info]
[info]Exploding sixes
[blockquote]Rolled 2d6 : 2, 2, total 4[/blockquote]
The boat returns a confirmation of accepting your command and will now pass within 2 meters of the 1st and 2nd levels.
When Zephyr finally reached his destination he moved quickly through troll town to try and meet up with the others.
A few minutes later and Zephyr is in Troll Town on the water in the area where the rest of the party is, albeit winding up on the lowest level down just above the waterline.
[info]7 minutes until boat arrival.[/info]
Valkyrie looked down from her current position and saw the neon green quaff of hair belonging to her teammate. "Hoi chummer, get up here unless you plan on swimming!" she said, the voice modulator barely masking the glee in her voice from the anticipated violence to come.
She motioned him up with a wave.
Zephyr seeing Valkyrie nods as he heads up to meet the others as they are setting up, "Seems like I made it just in time before the opening curtain. But my area spell should be able to help if things get sketchy. I'll follow at a respectable distance don't wanna get geeked if you know what I mean." said Zephyr kneeling down in a spot where he could stay hidden.
After a few minutes the boat comes into view and slowly drifts its way down the river. On the prow of the boat you see 2 figures in security uniforms at the tip of the prow facing back upriver and one in a worker's jumpsuit further back along the port-side railing. Further back along the starboard railing next to the stack of cargo containers is another worker in a jumpsuit.
Boat Layout (Uh direct link in case the formatting is a bit fucked: https://imgur.com/EvNMw7c )
(https://i.imgur.com/EvNMw7c.png)
[info]Perception checks for those that want to get more info at current distance
Sneaking checks for those trying to hide[/info]
Valkyrie crouched as the boat came down the river, trying to avoid being spotted by any of the workers on board. It would be best to remain undetected until the time came to jump. At the same time, she made an effort to try and identify what kinds of weapons the visible workers had on them.
[info]Sneaking: [blockquote]Rolled 9d6 : 6, 2, 1, 2, 5, 4, 2, 5, 6, total 33[/blockquote][/info]
[info]Perception: [blockquote]Rolled 6d6 : 1, 6, 4, 2, 1, 4, total 18[/blockquote][/info]
[info] Sneaking
[blockquote]Rolled 5d6 : 1, 4, 4, 3, 6, total 18[/blockquote]
perception
[blockquote]Rolled 8d6 : 6, 5, 6, 6, 1, 4, 3, 4, total 35[/blockquote]
[/info]
[info]Sneaking
[blockquote]Rolled 9d6 : 2, 1, 1, 4, 1, 5, 4, 3, 4, total 25[/blockquote]
Perception
[blockquote]Rolled 9d6 : 5, 6, 6, 6, 2, 6, 1, 4, 2, total 38[/blockquote][/info]
A further 2 guards (A human and orc) can be spotted on the stern of the boat, and another guard (an elf) can be seen on the port side, all partially obscured by the cargo containers stacked on the back end of the boat. The guards all appear to be armed with SMGs at the ready with a sling, a pistol in a thigh holster, and a collapsible baton. One of the guards on the prow (an elf) appears to only be armed with a pistol. None of the guards appear to have noticed your presence.
[info]Current distance of boat (prow) 40 m. Moving at 1 meter/round. Feel free to make your ambush at any time.[/info]
As the boat drew closer Valkyrie whispered to her companions: "When that gets close enough for me to drop down, I'm going to hit the prow and kill that elf with the pistol first. I'd like to get them by surprise, but feel free to start shooting after I make the drop. Please make your preparations now."
Jing lifted up his mask and took one of his puffers of Jazz. He lowered the mask back down and gripped Iron Mike. He cocked it back and eyed the wheelhouse of the boat, preparing to jump. "IT'S SHOWTIME!!!!!!!!"
[info] Jazz duration: [blockquote]Rolled 1d6+10 : 2 + 10, total 12[/blockquote]
Jazz adds 2d6 to initiative and +1 to reaction and +1 to physical limitations.
[warning]Unless Zephyr has other prep he wants to do I'm gonna go ahead and jump.[/warning]
When the boat was close enough and the adrenaline coursing through her blood reached that intoxicating pre-combat peak she knew the time was right. Every muscle in her body tensed, then unfurled in fluid motion the way a lion pounces on an unsuspecting gazelle. The sweet ecstasy of impending violence sent her airborne and then plunging down to the deck as she brought her sword down in a death stroke.
[info]Pouncing Dragon technique (+2DV) on the elf with the handgun. Katana, 10p, accuracy 7, AP -3:
[blockquote]Rolled 10d6 : 6, 2, 3, 6, 3, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, total 40[/blockquote][/info]
[info]Freefall to prevent fall damage: [blockquote]Rolled 7d6 : 2, 5, 4, 1, 6, 3, 2, total 23[/blockquote][/info]
[info]Using a point of edge to re-roll the eight dice on that attack that didn't hit.
[blockquote]Rolled 8d6 : 3, 1, 3, 1, 4, 4, 6, 2, total 24[/blockquote][/info]
Zephyr will try to time the casting of the hush spell on the boat to time just when Valkyrie is landing or a few moments afterward.
[info]
Hush force six
[blockquote]Rolled 8d6 : 6, 5, 2, 4, 2, 1, 3, 4, total 27[/blockquote]
drain 4
[blockquote]Rolled 10d6 : 4, 1, 5, 4, 1, 2, 1, 6, 2, 5, total 31[/blockquote]
[/info]
Valkyrie's katana strikes true and slices into the elf's armored jacket accompanied by a sickening crunch. The elf screams in pain which, even muffled by Zephyr's spell is easily heard. The nearby worker says something inaudible and trips over himself turning to run away from the prow while the other nearby guard raises his SMG and points it at Valkyrie.
[info]Everyone Roll Initiative
Valkyrie make a damage resist test for the jump of 3P AP-4 [/info]
[info]
Initiative roll
[blockquote]Rolled 1d6+9 : 1 + 9, total 10[/blockquote][/info]
[info] Initiative roll
[blockquote]Rolled 3d6+10 : 5, 3, 6 + 10, total 24[/blockquote]
[info]Damage resist: [blockquote]Rolled 20d6 : 6, 5, 6, 1, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 6, 6, 1, 6, 2, 1, 4, 3, 5, 6, 5, total 83[/blockquote][/info]
[info]Initiative: [blockquote]Rolled 2d6+8 : 4, 6 + 8, total 18[/blockquote][/info]
[warning]Turn 1 Pass 1 Order
Joe
Valkyrie
Human Guard A (on the prow)
Zephyr
Human Guard B (on the stern)
Elf Guard A (Wounded, on the prow)
Orc Guard (on the stern)
[/warning]
Jing's fingers twitch with excitement. It had been a while since he got to have fun in meat space. He eyes the guard that has raised the SMG and points Iron Mike his way before pulling the trigger.
[info] Take aim @ guard holding smg, fire shot at guard holding smg. freefall roll with edge for the jump.
Freefall with edge:
[blockquote]Rolled 8d6 : 1, 1, 3, 1, 6, 1, 5, 6, total 24[/blockquote]
Taking a shot +1 to accuracy and dice pool from taking aim. Limit is 8
[blockquote]Rolled 13d6 : 5, 3, 6, 6, 2, 3, 6, 1, 1, 6, 6, 5, 3, total 53[/blockquote]
[/info]
[info] Exploding sixes on freefall roll
[blockquote]Rolled 2d6 : 2, 2, total 4[/blockquote]
[info] Damage resist 15 pool, -4 from AP
[blockquote]Rolled 11d6 : 5, 5, 6, 2, 2, 4, 2, 3, 6, 4, 4, total 43[/blockquote]
Your shot hits the guard in the back, staggering him, but the bullet does not appear to completely penetrate his armor.
[info]Human Guard A is badly hurt.
Valkyrie's Turn[/info]
In a quick motion Valkyrie brought her katana up above her head for a downward stroke on the wounded elf.
"Goodnight." she said, flatly.
[info]Melee attack, limit 7
[blockquote]Rolled 10d6 : 5, 3, 1, 1, 6, 4, 6, 2, 4, 5, total 37[/blockquote][/info]
The katana sinks into the elf's torso with a small fountain of blood spurting out of the gaping wound. The elf turns horribly pale as their eyes roll up into the back of their head and they collapse onto the deck of the boat. Blood quickly begins to pool beneath them.
[info]Elf Guard A is disabled[/info]
As soon as the blade cut through the elf's flesh she was already on the move, running away from her exposed position to the corner of the wheelhouse in an attempt to put some cover between her and the guard with the readied SMG.
[info]Running to the boathouse and behind the corner.[/info]
The guard tracks Valkyrie's movement and drops onto their belly, lining up a shot. They mouth something inaudible before letting fly a burst of fire at Valkyrie.
[info]Burst Fire against Valkyrie[blockquote]Rolled 5d6 : 5, 5, 6, 1, 6, total 23[/blockquote]
DV 8P AP0, Defense pool modifier +3 (-2 burst fire, +4 good cover)[/info]
[info]Base ranged defense: [blockquote]Rolled 8d6 : 3, 3, 4, 3, 2, 1, 5, 6, total 27[/blockquote][/info]
[info]Damage resist, BOD+Armor:
[blockquote]Rolled 20d6 : 3, 5, 5, 6, 1, 3, 2, 1, 1, 1, 3, 6, 1, 4, 3, 6, 5, 2, 4, 1, total 63[/blockquote][/info]
Seeing two guards close together Zephyr will cast stunball on the two at the prow hoping to at least keep them distracted enough as to not overwhelm his teammate
[info]Stunball force 4
[blockquote]Rolled 8d6 : 1, 1, 4, 2, 4, 6, 1, 5, total 24[/blockquote]
Drain 4
[blockquote]Rolled 10d6 : 2, 2, 6, 4, 2, 3, 6, 5, 5, 3, total 38[/blockquote][/info]
[info]will also stay in whatever cover he has [/info]
The two guards at the stern end of the ship are hit by the spell but appear to be still operating at peak efficiency. The human yells out. "They have a mage! We need magical support! Samuel is down! I repeat: Samuel is down." and takes a quick look around before crouching with a shoulder against the cargo containers next to them and firing a burst into Valkyrie's exposed back. The orc guard takes up a wide stance next to his compatriot and also yells out. "I'll keep them pinned! Get down!" at the end of the port-side, just over the shoulder of the other guard and fires a spray of bullets just after the worker that had been taking a smoke break on the the port-side railing dives into the space between the cabin and the cargo containers.
[info]Human Guard B firing burst at Valkyrie: DV 8P AP-0[blockquote]Rolled 4d6 : 4, 6, 3, 5, total 18[/blockquote]Defense test penalty of -3 (-1 for number attacks against Valkyrie this round, -2 for burst fire)
Orc Guard fires suppressing fire along the port side of the boat[blockquote]Rolled 6d6 : 4, 4, 4, 3, 3, 4, total 22[/blockquote][/info]
[info]Using NPC Edge to reroll failed suppressive fire dice.[blockquote]Rolled 6d6 : 1, 5, 6, 2, 3, 6, total 23[/blockquote][/info]
[info]Joe and Valkyries are in the suppressed area. They take a -3 to all actions while in this area. They must also either take the interrupt action of Hit the Dirt to drop prone or roll REA+EDG threshold 3, to avoid being hit.[/info]
[info]Edge+Ranged Defense against Guard B:
[blockquote]Rolled 5d6 : 6, 3, 5, 1, 4, total 19[/blockquote][/info]
[info]Hit the Dirt for the suppressing fire.[/info]
[info]Exploding 6s on the dodge: [blockquote]Rolled 1d6 : 4, total 4[/blockquote][/info]
[info] Edge + Rea to avoid suppressing fire
[blockquote]Rolled 10d6 : 2, 6, 6, 6, 4, 3, 3, 6, 6, 6, total 48[/blockquote]
[/info]
[warning]Turn 1 Pass 2 Order
Joe
Human Guard A
Valkyrie[/warning]
Jing looks down his sight, eyes on the same guard he had previously hit. His hands were twitching with excitement, and he pulled the trigger before hopping down off the wheelhouse and taking cover.
[info] shooting at Guard A again -3 to dice pool so 9d6
[blockquote]Rolled 9d6 : 3, 3, 3, 1, 1, 4, 3, 2, 6, total 26[/blockquote]
[/info]
[info] Edge to reroll non hits. down to 2 edge for the time being after this.
[blockquote]Rolled 8d6 : 2, 6, 4, 4, 1, 6, 5, 2, total 30[/blockquote]
[info] suppressing fire test
[blockquote]Rolled 10d6 : 3, 1, 4, 5, 2, 2, 6, 3, 5, 4, total 35[/blockquote]
[/info]
Joe's shot hits the guard in the shoulder and the guard's gun rolls to the side as his head hits the deck, no longer supported by his neck.
[info]Human Guard A is down. Skip to Valkyrie's turn.[/info]
"Okay fucker." Valkyrie growled, pointing her synthetic arm at the human guard that shot her. Her hand split down the middle revealing the barrel of the integrated machine pistol within and she took careful aim before firing off a semi-auto burst.
[info]Semi-auto burst, -4 from suppression and wound, +2 accuracy for aiming with SGS
[blockquote]Rolled 8d6 : 1, 4, 2, 1, 5, 4, 6, 5, total 28[/blockquote] [/info]
After shooting at the guard Valkyrie shuffled backwards on her stomach as fast as she could, retreating around the corner of the wheelhouse to the prow facing wall.
The guard is hit by one of the bullets but his armor appears to have taken the brunt of the blow as they continue to lean crouched against the container.
[warning]Turn 1 Pass 3 Order
Joe[/warning]
It was hard to sit still, but sitting still was better than laying full of bullets. Jing took aim at the Ork laying down suppressing fire. "EAT SHIT!!" he pulled the trigger.
[info] Taking aim, shooting, 8p -1 ap -3 to pool for the suppressing fire, +1 for aiming 10d6 total
[blockquote]Rolled 10d6 : 3, 5, 3, 2, 4, 3, 6, 1, 3, 2, total 32[/blockquote]
[/info]
The shot goes wide and the orc doesn't even seem to notice as he lays a burst of fire where Joe had peeked out from cover.
[info]Attack missed
New Turn begins everyone roll initiatives[/info]
[info] initiative roll
[blockquote]Rolled 3d6+10 : 3, 1, 5 + 10, total 19[/blockquote]
[/info]
[info]Initiative roll: [blockquote]Rolled 2d6+7 : 5, 4 + 7, total 16[/blockquote][/info]
[info] initiative
[blockquote]Rolled 1d6+9 : 5 + 9, total 14[/blockquote]
[/info]
[warning]Turn 2 Pass 1 Order
Joe
Valkyrie
Zephyr
Elf Guard B
Human Guard B
Orc Guard[/warning]
"Valkyrie, this ork has gotta go!" Jing brandished Iron Mike and took a careful shot at the Ork.
[info] Aiming, then shooting, 10 dice after the -3 from suppressing fire.
[blockquote]Rolled 10d6 : 3, 5, 1, 2, 6, 1, 6, 4, 4, 2, total 34[/blockquote]
[/info]
The orc takes the bullet in the arm, a spray of blood flying as he falls down onto the deck of the boat. "Fuck I'm hit!" He yells slumped against the side railing.
[info]Expending edge to downgrade critical glitch to normal glitch. Orc Guard is wounded and knocked prone.
Suppression area removed.
Valkyrie's Turn[/info]
[info]Standing up, BOD+WIL, -1 for wounds
[blockquote]Rolled 6d6 : 4, 5, 5, 2, 6, 2, total 24[/blockquote][/info]
Valkyrie rose to her feet on the prow side of the wheelhouse. Hearing that Joe's shots connect after he shouted to her, she shot out from her cover and ran down the deck towards the orc and human guards. When she was within range she swung her katana in a tight rising arc aiming for the orc.
[info]Melee attack, -3 ap, -1 pool for wound
[blockquote]Rolled 8d6 : 3, 4, 6, 4, 2, 2, 6, 1, total 28[/blockquote][/info]
The orc raises his arm to defend himself but the katana simply slices right through it, spraying Valkyrie with blood. The orc's face pales and he rolls onto his back, eyes closed, as his wounds leak blood.
[info]Orc Guard is down.[/info]
As the spray of gore splattered across her mask Valkyrie turned to the human nearby and flicked the blood off her blade with a sharp snapping motion.
"Omae wa mou shindeiru."
The guard looks at Valkyrie with fear in his eyes which seems to change to a look of relief as he sees something over her shoulder. A crackling snap peals out through the night as a small vortex of fire above the boat flickers out of the air and coalesces into the form of a two meter tall headless gargoyle with blazing red skin and a single gold eye protruding from its chest. Flames and smoke flicker and trail its limbs as it hovers in place, flapping its wings.
[info]Zephyr's turn[/info]
Zephyr moves to hide his body then astrally projects
[info]Rolling Astral Initiative
Intuitionx2+2d6
[blockquote]Rolled 2d6+10 : 6, 3 + 10, total 19[/blockquote]
[/info]
[info]Requested Sneaking Test
[blockquote]Rolled 9d6 : 1, 5, 3, 1, 4, 2, 2, 4, 4, total 26[/blockquote]
[/info]
[info]Rerolling Astral Initiative
[blockquote]Rolled 1d6+1 : 3 + 1, total 4[/blockquote][/info]
The guard that had been on the starboard side of the boat pops around the cargo containers, flanking Joe, and fires a burst at his exposed back. In the meantime, the guard crouching in front of Valkyrie grits his teeth, aims his SMG, and fires a burst. Yelling "Eat shit you bitch!" as he does so.
[info]Elf Guard B firing burst at Joe. 8P AP-0[blockquote]Rolled 6d6 : 2, 2, 5, 1, 3, 6, total 19[/blockquote]Defense test modifier -2 (-2 burst)
Human Guard B firing a burst at Valkyrie. Using group Edge. 8P AP-0[blockquote]Rolled 5d6 : 2, 3, 4, 1, 1, total 11[/blockquote]Defense test modifier -2 (-2 burst)[/info]
[info] defense test
[blockquote]Rolled 10d6 : 3, 2, 1, 4, 3, 3, 2, 1, 2, 5, total 26[/blockquote]
[/info]
[info] edge reroll 1 left after this one
[blockquote]Rolled 9d6 : 6, 4, 6, 1, 2, 1, 4, 2, 6, total 32[/blockquote]
[/info]
The elf's shots ping off the cargo container next to Joe, leaving him unharmed. The human guard's burst goes wild when, flying out from the maze of Troll Town, Bob arrives, tackling the guard into a pile of flying limbs yelling "Gimme your shirt!" as he pulls the guard's jacket over his head exposing the guard's tank top beneath while he responds screaming "What the fuck! Get off me!" from the tangled mess of the two on the deck.
[warning]Turn 2 Pass 2 Order
Joe
Zephyr
Valkyrie
Spirit
Elf Guard B
Human Guard B
Bob[/warning]
"Oh FUCK!" Jing's eye watched the spirit materialize. He scurried into the cabin after the sounds of bullets bouncing of the containers around him and gets a look at the elf from the doorway of the cabin before taking a shot.
[info]Moving into the cabin, shooting at the elf, damage profile 8p -1 ap. I am an idiot and haven't been using my pistol specialization so +2 to my dicepool
[blockquote]Rolled 14d6 : 6, 5, 6, 1, 1, 3, 3, 2, 1, 3, 3, 3, 4, 3, total 44[/blockquote]
[/info]
The bullet hits the elf but they appear to shrug off the damage of the attack.
[info]Zephyr's turn[/info]
Zephyr now in astral his internal self taking a stable shape floats over to the spirit and goes to cast the punch spell at it to try and keep it busy.
[info]To touch
Astral Agility (logic) + Unarmed Combat +2 touch
[blockquote]Rolled 8d6 : 2, 6, 2, 4, 2, 6, 4, 4, total 30[/blockquote]
Punch Spell Force 6
Spellcasting +magic
[blockquote]Rolled 8d6 : 5, 5, 2, 6, 3, 1, 6, 1, total 29[/blockquote]
No drain[/info]
[info]rerolling failures touch with edge
[blockquote]Rolled 6d6 : 4, 3, 4, 3, 6, 5, total 25[/blockquote]
[/info]
[info]Drain 2 min
[blockquote]Rolled 10d6 : 6, 3, 3, 2, 6, 6, 5, 6, 6, 1, total 44[/blockquote][/info]
The energy of the attack flows into the spirit's body but it appears to be completely undeterred by it. It seems flap its wings in a mocking manner as the lower lid of its giant eye curls up slightly.
[info]Valkyrie's turn[/info]
Behind her mask Valkyrie grinned wide, amused that the spastic junkie had come to her rescue, she would have to thank him later. With the human distracted, it would be good to take care of the elf skulking around between the cargo crates and the wheelhouse. She ran across the deck and dipped into the gap. As soon as her target was in reach she swung the blade down at an angle hoping to cut him deep.
"Hey guy" she said as she made the cut.
[info]Melee the elf guard, -3 AP, -1 pool for wound
[blockquote]Rolled 8d6 : 5, 3, 4, 1, 4, 5, 6, 6, total 34[/blockquote][/info]
The blade sinks deeply into the elf's chest, a small geyser of blood shooting into the air as the elf falls before a scream even has a chance to escape his lungs. As the elf falls, the spirit raises a clawed hand and swipes at Zephyr's incorporeal form, its claws trailing smoke and embers as it silently does battle on the astral realm.
[info]Spirit is astrally attacking Zephyr. DV 4P[blockquote]Rolled 6d6 : 2, 6, 6, 6, 3, 4, total 27[/blockquote][/info]
[info]defense roll
[blockquote]Rolled 9d6 : 6, 5, 3, 2, 2, 4, 4, 1, 6, total 33[/blockquote]
[/info]
The spirit's claws harmlessly graze Zephyr's spirit and the spirit exudes anger. Meanwhile, the guard and Bob continue to wrestle on the deck of the ship in a din of grunts and the muffled sounds of the guard trying to yell at Bob through the inside-out jacket, barely keeping Bob at bay by pressing a hand into Bob's face while Bob yells at him, still trying to remove the jacket. "Be cool man. just be cool. C'mon be cool."
[info]New Turn Roll Intitiatives[/info]
[info] initiative
[blockquote]Rolled 3d6+10 : 2, 3, 6 + 10, total 21[/blockquote]
[info]
Astral initiative
[blockquote]Rolled 2d6+10 : 5, 3 + 10, total 18[/blockquote][/info]
[info]Initiative: [blockquote]Rolled 2d6+7 : 6, 5 + 7, total 18[/blockquote][/info]
[warning]Turn 3 Pass 1 Order
Joe
Spirit
Zephyr
Valkyrie
Human Guard B
Bob
[/warning]
Jing got eager. He went out of the cabin and set his sights on the guard bob had wrestled to the ground. "oy crackhead watch your head!" jing fired a shot at the guard on the ground.
[info] moving port side and aiming+shooting at the last guard. Pool of 15 and damage profile
Is 8p -1ap
[blockquote]Rolled 15d6 : 2, 1, 1, 2, 4, 2, 4, 4, 2, 4, 6, 4, 1, 1, 4, total 42[/blockquote]
[/info]
The shot hits the guard easily in his exposed chest and exits out his back in a pink cloud of blood. The guard stops struggling and Bob manages to pull the jacket off of the limp body. "Hey! Check it! New threads. I bet I can sell this for a rock." Meanwhile, the spirit above continues it's assault on what appears to Joe and Valkyrie to be an invisible foe, swinging with its other claw in a wide arc, trying to catch Zephyr's spirit.
[info]Human Guard B down
Spirit astrally attacking Zephyr. DV 4P[blockquote]Rolled 6d6 : 3, 6, 2, 5, 3, 1, total 20[/blockquote][/info]
[info]Defense roll
[blockquote]Rolled 9d6 : 5, 1, 4, 1, 1, 3, 3, 2, 1, total 21[/blockquote][/info]
[info]dodge action to add 3d6
[blockquote]Rolled 3d6 : 1, 6, 3, total 10[/blockquote][/info]
The swipe misses its mark and the spirit crackles with anger.
[info]Due to initiative expenditure it is now Valkyrie's turn.[/info]
Why the fuck is that thing still here? Valkyrie asked, having witnessed every guard on the boat dispatched in some form or another. She took a quick glance at the elf by her feet to see if he was still breathing, one of these guys had to be the mage that conjured up the demon and they clearly weren't dead yet. She would fix that.
[info]First Aid to take a quick glance at the body.
[blockquote]Rolled 4d6 : 2, 1, 4, 4, total 11[/blockquote][/info]
After her quick once-over, Valkyrie ran around to the far side of the wheelhouse from the demon drew her SMG from the holster in her leg and tried to lay down suppressing fire.
[info]Suppressing fire: accuracy 6, -1 pool for wounds, 7p damage
[blockquote]Rolled 9d6 : 5, 5, 2, 2, 2, 1, 6, 3, 5, total 31[/blockquote][/info]
Despite the hail of bullets flying through the air around the spirit, it appears to continue to swing at an unseen foe, paying little attention the the mundane threat. You're pretty sure you saw several bullets burst into small showers of sparks off the spirit's skin to which it made no notice.
[info]Zephyr's turn[/info]
Zephyr will continue to have a magic boxing match
[info]To touch
Astral Agility (logic) + Unarmed Combat +2 touch
[blockquote]Rolled 8d6 : 1, 6, 2, 2, 2, 2, 4, 6, total 25[/blockquote]
Punch Spell Force 6
Spellcasting +magic
[blockquote]Rolled 8d6 : 5, 2, 6, 4, 3, 4, 4, 1, total 29[/blockquote]
Drain 2
[blockquote]Rolled 10d6 : 6, 6, 3, 6, 3, 5, 1, 1, 5, 4, total 40[/blockquote]
[/info]
The astral attack misses the spirit, failing to connect while Bob walks up to Valkyirie. "Hey big girl." He asks as she focuses on shooting at the spirit. "I don'tsuppose you have some novacoke on hand? I could really use the upper."
[info]Zephyr's attack misses.
Turn 3 pass 2 starting
Joe's turn[/info]
Jing looks around, everyone he sees has been shot enough that they shouldn't be moving anymore. "I'm gonna check below deck. Maybe someone's hiding down there. With that, he works his way to the hatch, trying to stay low and out of sight of the spirit, though it seemed distracted.
[info] Trying to get below deck, and being sneaky about it.
Sneak:[blockquote]Rolled 5d6 : 6, 3, 3, 2, 3, total 17[/blockquote]
[/info]
You approach the engine compartment hatch in the cabin and open it to find the two workers cowering in the cramped space. They raise their hands the second they see you and one of them yells, the words spilling from the worker's mouth in a nervous rush. "Don't shoot! We surrender or whatever! We just don't want to die so whatever you want just take it!"
[info]Feel free to respond however but keep in mind you're still in combat and depending on how long your response is will dictate how many turns you spend on this task.[/info]
Jing looks the two over, unsure of if they're telling the trooth. He squints at them through his mask.
[info] Judge Intentions (CHA + INT)
[blockquote]Rolled 8d6 : 3, 1, 6, 6, 3, 5, 6, 3, total 33[/blockquote]
[/info]
[info]The worker appears to be honest.[/info]
Jing smiled beneath his mask. "If you want to live, tell me where the mage is.it's as easy as that."
[info] Intimidate check, +1 from mask
[blockquote]Rolled 5d6 : 1, 4, 6, 1, 3, total 15[/blockquote]
[/info]
"What? Mage? That was Samuel, the guy that was next to the squad leader. I don't know where he is. I just ran for it when you guys got on the boat. I don't even even know if he survived that crazy bitch jumping him."
"Yeah, sorry chummer, I don't buy it." Jing raises his pistol and shoots the man talking.
[info] Shooting the guy. 8p, -1 ap
[blockquote]Rolled 14d6 : 5, 3, 3, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 1, 3, 1, 6, 2, 2, total 42[/blockquote]
[/info]
The bullet passes right through the worker, spraying blood everywhere and spattering the remaining worker. The shot worker falls to the floor not moving and blood pours from his chest wound. "Shit! He was telling the truth! There was just Samuel! I don't know anything else! Please don't kill me!"
Jing shrugs and shoots the other worker as well. Then sends a message to his team. "make sure that first guy is really dead, these guys down here seem to insist that he's the mage."
[info] Shooting again
[blockquote]Rolled 14d6 : 3, 5, 4, 2, 5, 6, 4, 2, 4, 2, 6, 1, 3, 3, total 50[/blockquote]
[/info]
The second worker goes down in another spray of blood, falling on top of the other worker.
[info]4 turns spent talking.[/info]
While Joe interrogates the workers. The spirit continues to fight Zephyr's astral presence, completely unphased by valkyrie's attacks.
[info]Astral Combat attacking Zephyr[blockquote]Rolled 6d6 : 4, 3, 4, 4, 1, 6, total 22[/blockquote][/info]
[info]Defense Roll
[blockquote]Rolled 9d6 : 6, 4, 3, 1, 1, 1, 4, 4, 2, total 26[/blockquote]
[/info]
Again the spirit swings its claws, and again it misses its mark.
[info]Valkyrie's turn[/info]
"Hey man, I'm afraid I don't. Could probably get you some later though since you stopped that guy from shooting me. At the moment I need to deal with that." Valkyrie replied to bob, after she finished spraying the demon with ineffectual 'suppressive fire'. "Could'a sworn I killed the mage earlier..." As if to punctuate her frustration she aimed her SMG at the downed elf on the prow that she had cut down earlier and squeezed off a burst into the body.
[info]Burst fire, 6 accuracy, 7p, -1 pool for wounds.
[blockquote]Rolled 9d6 : 4, 5, 3, 4, 5, 5, 6, 3, 2, total 37[/blockquote][/info]
The bullets riddle the motionless body, small spatterings of blood kicked up by the impacts. The spirit remains.
[info]Zephyr's turn[/info]
Zephyr is starting to get into a rhythm as he attempts to knock the block off this ghost.
[info]
To hit logic+ unarmed + 2
[blockquote]Rolled 9d6 : 6, 4, 3, 5, 5, 3, 5, 5, 4, total 40[/blockquote]
Punch Force 6
[blockquote]Rolled 8d6 : 6, 4, 6, 2, 5, 2, 6, 4, total 35[/blockquote]
Drain 2 Cha+will
[blockquote]Rolled 10d6 : 2, 6, 4, 4, 4, 1, 4, 6, 5, 5, total 41[/blockquote]
[/info]
The attack fails to land as the spirit weaves beyond your reach.
[info]New Turn. Everyone roll initiatives.[/info]
[info]Initiative:
[blockquote]Rolled 2d6+7 : 4, 3 + 7, total 14[/blockquote][/info]
[info]Initiative
[blockquote]Rolled 2d6+10 : 4, 6 + 10, total 20[/blockquote][/info]
[warning]Turn 4 Pass 1 Order
Zephyr
Spirit
Valkyirie
Joe (occupied talking)[/warning]
Zephyr just continues to fight the spirit
[info]To hit logic+ unarmed + 2
[blockquote]Rolled 9d6 : 3, 3, 3, 4, 2, 5, 3, 2, 6, total 31[/blockquote]
Punch Force 6
[blockquote]Rolled 8d6 : 2, 4, 6, 4, 1, 4, 6, 6, total 33[/blockquote]
Drain 2 Cha+will
[blockquote]Rolled 10d6 : 2, 6, 6, 1, 6, 4, 3, 6, 4, 6, total 44[/blockquote][/info]
The attack fails to land and the spirit counter swings, trying once again to slash at Zephyr's astral form.
[info]Astral Combat attacking Zephyr[blockquote]Rolled 6d6 : 2, 6, 3, 1, 2, 5, total 19[/blockquote][/info]
[info]defense roll
[blockquote]Rolled 9d6 : 3, 6, 4, 2, 3, 2, 6, 6, 2, total 34[/blockquote][/info]
[info]Valkyrie's turn[/info]
"This is starting to piss me off." Valkyrie growled through her mask, watching the demon thing swinging at something she couldn't see. She walked dispassionately over to the elf she sliced up most recently and stabbed downwards at his body with her katana. The thing was too high up to chuck grenades at, so she would just set about dismembering all the members of the crew until she ran out of bodies or it went away.
[info]Melee attack, 10p, -3 ap, -1 pool from wounds
[blockquote]Rolled 9d6 : 4, 2, 3, 6, 1, 5, 5, 3, 2, total 31[/blockquote][/info]
The sword dives into the motionless body and the spirit continues to exist up above.
[warning]Turn 4 Pass 2 Order
Zephyr
Spirit
Valkyrie
Joe (occupied talking)[/warning]
Zephyr half tempted to materialize but not wanting to b
[info]To hit logic+ unarmed + 2
[blockquote]Rolled 9d6 : 2, 1, 5, 2, 2, 1, 4, 3, 1, total 21[/blockquote]
Punch Force 6
[blockquote]Rolled 8d6 : 3, 1, 6, 1, 6, 2, 3, 5, total 27[/blockquote]
Drain 2 Cha+will
[blockquote]Rolled 10d6 : 4, 3, 1, 2, 2, 1, 3, 3, 2, 3, total 24[/blockquote][/info]
The spell connects and some energy flows into the spirit but it launches its counter assault ith the same ferocity it has been bringing to bear so far.
[info]Astral Combat attacking Zephyr[blockquote]Rolled 6d6 : 1, 6, 5, 2, 6, 4, total 24[/blockquote][/info]
[info]defense test
[blockquote]Rolled 9d6 : 4, 5, 2, 2, 5, 5, 1, 3, 3, total 30[/blockquote][/info]
Valkyrie looked down at the corpse of the elf at her feet, sword sticking out of it's back like a grave marker, then looked back up at the demon-thing and its continued existence. She slung her backpack off her shoulders and started digging around for a high explosive grenade and some duct tape. After a few seconds of street engineering she managed to wrap the grenade with the tape so that the outside was sticky. She looked up again to where the demon was presumably fighting her fellow runner and began to wave her arms around to get his attention. The gesture attempted to convey the message "Bring him down close to the deck on the prow."
[info]New Turn everyone roll initiatives[/info]
[info]Initiative:
[blockquote]Rolled 2d6+7 : 3, 5 + 7, total 15[/blockquote][/info]
[info]
Initiative
[blockquote]Rolled 2d6+10 : 4, 4 + 10, total 18[/blockquote][/info]
[warning]Turn 5 Pass 1 Order
Zephyr
Spirit
Valkyrie[/warning]
Seeing Valkyrie's movements he will try to move so as to drag the spirit down closer.
[info]
To hit logic+ unarmed + 2
[blockquote]Rolled 9d6 : 1, 6, 2, 6, 3, 3, 4, 6, 4, total 35[/blockquote]
Punch Force 6
[blockquote]Rolled 8d6 : 6, 4, 6, 2, 4, 2, 2, 1, total 27[/blockquote]
Drain 2 Cha+will
[blockquote]Rolled 10d6 : 4, 2, 5, 1, 1, 5, 4, 1, 4, 1, total 28[/blockquote]
[/info]
The spell hits its mark and again Zephyr is able to feel the destructive energies of the magic flow into the spirit which pursues its astral target, descending a little to keep pace with Zephyr and once again trying to swipe with its flaming claws.
[info]Spirit has descended to 7 meters above the deck.
Astral Combat attacking Zephyr[blockquote]Rolled 6d6 : 5, 2, 5, 1, 2, 3, total 18[/blockquote][/info]
[info]Defense test
[blockquote]Rolled 9d6 : 4, 2, 1, 1, 1, 3, 4, 5, 5, total 26[/blockquote][/info]
Again the spirit fails to land a blow.
[info]Valkyrie's turn[/info]
The spirit was still too high to do employ her home-made sticky grenade so again Valkyrie gesticulated that her companion bait the thing closer to the deck. The only other thing she could do at the moment was try to look for the best place to cram the explosive so that it would hurt the most.
[info]Observe in detail on the spirit looking for nice soft spots to stick a grenade
Perception:
[blockquote]Rolled 5d6 : 5, 4, 3, 1, 4, total 17[/blockquote][/info]
Taking a look at the spirit, its wings might be a weak point that could cripple the flight of a flesh and blood creature but you don't know if that would be the case here. The spirit's large golden eye that occupies the center of its chest would seem to be another good target to aim for, you at least don't see any spare eyes lurking around on the spirit's body to back up the single eye on its torso. Other than these obvious features, it's hard to tell much with the flickering motes of flame that flare off the creature's skin getting in the way and causing heat waves that distort the air.
[warning]Turn 5 Pass 2 Order
Zephyr
Spirit
Valkyrie[/warning]
Continuing to float down the rest of the way as planned while taking a swing
[info]
to hit
[blockquote]Rolled 9d6 : 5, 2, 1, 5, 5, 3, 3, 6, 5, total 35[/blockquote]
spell force 6
[blockquote]Rolled 8d6 : 4, 5, 6, 4, 4, 6, 2, 3, total 34[/blockquote]
Drain 2
[blockquote]Rolled 10d6 : 2, 5, 6, 4, 4, 3, 6, 6, 1, 6, total 43[/blockquote]
[/info]
The spell connects and it appears that the spirit is starting to slow down from the damage slowly being inflicted upon it. In retaliation, it swipes at Zephyr's spirit once again.
[info]Astral Combat targeting Zephyr[blockquote]Rolled 5d6 : 3, 4, 5, 2, 1, total 15[/blockquote][/info]
[info]Defense test
[blockquote]Rolled 9d6 : 3, 5, 2, 2, 5, 3, 5, 5, 4, total 34[/blockquote]
[/info]
The spirit is unable to catch the astral form of Zephyr once again in it's pursuit and sets down on the prow of the ship, the blood on the deck sizzling and burning to expel the smell of searing flesh to those nearby.
[info]Valkyrie's turn.[/info]
"There we fucking go." Valkyrie said to nobody in particular while switching on the improvised sticky grenade's wireless settings. As soon as they were on she ran up the deck, grenade in hand and tried to slap it on the back of the beast, hoping the heat wouldn't set it off or keep the grenade from at least sticking long enough to run away.
[info]Making a non-damaging melee attack to attempt to stick the grenade to the demon as per the same rules as slap patches.
Unarmed: [blockquote]Rolled 9d6 : 6, 2, 1, 2, 4, 3, 4, 1, 5, total 28[/blockquote][/info]
[info]If the grenade sticks, Valkyrie will run back out of the blast range behind the wheelhouse and detonate the grenade over wireless.[/info]
[info]Using my last point of edge to re-roll the not hits:
[blockquote]Rolled 7d6 : 3, 1, 1, 3, 4, 4, 5, total 21[/blockquote][/info]
The grenade successfully sticks to the spirit, the adhesive melting and fusing to the spirit's body. The flames that wreath it lash out at Valkyrie's arm as if with a mind if their own as the large eye of the spirit itself pay no attention to her presence.
[info]Damage resistance test for the spirit's energy aura. 8P AP -4 Fire Damage.[/info]
[info]Damage Resistance:
[blockquote]Rolled 17d6 : 5, 1, 3, 3, 2, 3, 3, 3, 5, 3, 3, 5, 6, 5, 3, 2, 3, total 58[/blockquote][/info]
[info]Catching on fire:
[blockquote]Rolled 10d6 : 4, 6, 3, 3, 4, 4, 3, 5, 1, 6, total 39[/blockquote][/info]
[info]Initiative:
[blockquote]Rolled 2d6+7 : 4, 5 + 7, total 16[/blockquote][/info]
[info]Damage resist against being on fire AP-4:
[blockquote]Rolled 17d6 : 4, 6, 1, 1, 2, 1, 4, 3, 2, 4, 2, 5, 3, 4, 1, 4, 2, total 49[/blockquote][/info]
[info]New Turn. Roll initiatives. Joe's first pass will be spent finishing their interrogation. (Subtract 10 from initiative and come in on Pass 2 if able.)[/info]
[info]Initiative
[blockquote]Rolled 2d6+10 : 2, 4 + 10, total 16[/blockquote][/info]
[info] initiative omg i can move again
[blockquote]Rolled 3d6+10 : 2, 1, 2 + 10, total 15[/blockquote]
[/info]
[warning]Turn 6 Pass 1 Order
Spirit
Zephyr
Valkyrie
Joe[/warning]
The spirit appears to have taken no notice of Valkyrie's movements and continues to focus its attention and attacks against Zephyr, once again swinging it's claws to attack.
[info]Astral Combat attacking Zephyr[blockquote]Rolled 5d6 : 1, 1, 5, 6, 6, total 19[/blockquote][/info]
[info]defense
[blockquote]Rolled 9d6 : 1, 6, 4, 3, 1, 2, 3, 2, 3, total 25[/blockquote][/info]
[info]Willpower soak
[blockquote]Rolled 3d6 : 2, 1, 5, total 8[/blockquote][/info]
[info]Zephyr's turn[/info]
Zephyr gasps feeling that last hit goes in to retaliate.
[info]to hit-1
[blockquote]Rolled 8d6 : 1, 3, 6, 2, 1, 6, 6, 3, total 28[/blockquote]
Spell force 6-1
[blockquote]Rolled 7d6 : 1, 6, 4, 4, 6, 1, 2, total 24[/blockquote]
Drain 2-1
[blockquote]Rolled 9d6 : 3, 1, 1, 3, 3, 1, 1, 4, 3, total 20[/blockquote][/info]
The spell connects and more destructive energy flows into the spirit. It flaps its wings with anger.
[info]Valkyrie's Turn[/info]
Valkyrie, currently on fire from getting so close to the spirit grunts and jams her finger down on commlink to detonate the grenade currently stuck to the spirit. Immediately after, she throws herself prone on the ground and begins to roll back and forth attempting to smother the flames.
[info]HE Grenade, 16p -2/m, AP-2[/info]
The grenade explodes sending a shock-wave through the air, blasting out the windows of the boat's cabin, and rocking the boat's structure. The spirit's physical body was for a moment crumpled as it was flung by the blast into the railing before erupting into a burst of flame and disappearing from the astral plane as its body de-materializes. Nothing of the spirit remains on the deck of the boat's prow other than a scorch mark and the burns from its passage.
[info]Combat has ended[/info]
[info]AGI+INT to put out the fire
[blockquote]Rolled 8d6 : 1, 2, 3, 3, 5, 2, 3, 4, total 23[/blockquote][/info]
[info]AGI+INT for the fire, again
[blockquote]Rolled 8d6 : 4, 5, 4, 2, 4, 5, 2, 4, total 30[/blockquote][/info]
[info]Damage resist:
[blockquote]Rolled 19d6 : 3, 1, 6, 3, 2, 4, 6, 5, 1, 6, 2, 3, 1, 4, 1, 6, 1, 4, 3, total 62[/blockquote][/info]
Jing comes up from below deck to see that the magical creature has been banished. The guards are dead. The people below deck are dead. No witnesses, no survivors. His team looked a bit worse for wear, Valkyrie was rolling around on the deck, Zephyr had likely taken a magical beating, but everyone was alive. "Looks like this has taken care of itself. Now we just gotta get the boat to the destination. Anyone able to drive this thing? If not I'll have it drive itself."
Bob trundling along the deck toward the prow and balancing a pile of guns and comlinks likely scavenged from the dead sticks his head into the cabin. "I can't, but while you're at it can you pull it over somewhere so I can sling this shit? Not sure what you want to do with the boat but I gotta get going with this stuff before shit gets real. I know you probably turned off the alarms and stuff but you know how the corps are and I gotta reup my buzz before it wears off."
Valkyrie, no longer on fire, stood up and brushed some dirt off her shoulder. "Yeah we can probably do that for you chummer. I don't know how to drive a boat so I think this one's on you." she said, shrugging. "Hell of a dust-up, you find anything interesting downstairs?" she asked Jing as she reloaded her SMG then collapsed it back down and stowed it in her leg holster.
Afterwards, she retrieved her katana from the back of the dead elf. She gave the blade a quick snapping flick, slinging the blood off then returned it to the sheath on her back. "Hell of a dust-up." she repeated.
Zephyr goes back to her body and slowly begins making his way onto the ship exhausted. "Spirits are hard to punch. We gotta get going assuming that we didn't kill the summoner its possible they know the spirit got dispelled." He said clutching onto the side of the boat notices the blood and the gore turns his head.
thinking better of it he will go sit down in what remains of the driving cabin where there had not been fighting. "Someone else is dealing with clean up I'm exhausted," he said before clearing a spot of broken glass and sitting down,
Jing gave bob a mocking salute and tossed him the promised nuyen. "Thanks for the help chummer, it's been my pleasure. I'll get you to port." He went back on his deck and accessed the boat. He had it drift towards the shore for Bob to jump off before setting a course to their destination that they were given. After he had gotten the boat under way, he responded to the rest of his team.
"Didn't find much below deck, but if you're squeamish, I wouldn't recommend going down there. Glad to see you guys are alright though. Now, we just gotta get paid."
Joe
Accessing your deck, you notice that the boat is transmitting an SOS signal. The boat accepts your command to drift closer to the structures.
Everyone
The boat gets close enough for Bob to jump off with his haul of loot but as it turns back to the middle of the river you hear a loud screeching as part of the boat drifts into part of the metal structures, causing one of the shanties to lose a wall. The boat's control console screens are cracked and unable to display any information but a soothing voice mostly scrambled by the damaged speakers begins to broadcast a message on repeat.
Warning: Hull Breach. Warning: Hull Breach. Engage Emergency Bilge Pumps.
Over the scratchy message you also begin to hear the faint whine of mid-sized propellers. Anyone out on the deck of the ship is able to see two flying drones with high-powered spotlights flying downriver headed right for the boat.
[info]Joe and Zephyr, having seen the boat's schematics, know that the tug has an emergency bilge pump located in the engine compartment that has a hose which must be placed at the location of the leak and then manually activated.[/info]
Zephyr hearing the sirens and the drones curses in elven of course it would not be that easy. He Screams "Valkyrie! There is a pump in the engine compartment! Your the strongest, get below deck and get the long hose attached to the hole in the side of the boat, and manually activate it. Joe can you scramble the drones. I'll keep my eyes out for more spirits! We gotta move people!"
[info]switching to astral sight for any more big angry ghosts[/info]
Zephyr
There are no new astral entities on the astral plane. The drones become flitting shadows as you shift your perception.
[warning]Combat has begun. Roll initiatives.[/warning]
[info] Initiative
1d6+9-2
[blockquote]Rolled 1d6+7 : 3 + 7, total 10[/blockquote]
[/info]
[info] initiative
[blockquote]Rolled 3d6+10 : 6, 6, 2 + 10, total 24[/blockquote]
[/info]
[info]Initiative:
[blockquote]Rolled 2d6+7 : 4, 6 + 7, total 17[/blockquote][/info]
[info]The duo of drones are 40 meters away from the boat.[/info]
[warning]Turn 1 Pass 1 Order
Joe
Drone 1
Valkyrie
Drone 2
Zephyr[/warning]
Jing bolts for the closest cover, and gets to work in the matrix. He looks for the icons of the drones. "I'm on it!
[info] Deck is configured as 6 Sleeze, 4 firewall, 1 on attack and data processing. Programs are signal scrub and exploit. Exploit gives +2 to hack on the fly, signal scrub gives rating 2 noise reduction.
Hack on the fly to gain a mark on a drone. +2 from drones being devices, +2 from exploit, -2 from public grid, -2 from different grids so they all cancel out to give me a total of 13 dice from logic and hacking skill.
[blockquote]Rolled 13d6 : 6, 5, 3, 4, 3, 2, 5, 3, 5, 4, 3, 5, 4, total 52[/blockquote]
[/info]
One of the drones breaks from the other, sweeping around the starboard side of the boat and taking up a position 10 meters above the deck. The sound of yet more whirring accompanies the spinning of the belly mounted barrels as the drone zeros in on the cabin with its spotlight before it unleashes a hail of bullets at the first target it sees.
[info]Joe gains 1 mark on Drone 1. Perception info for net hits: Drone has a device rating of 3. Drone gets +2 on Firewall tests.
Drone 1 firing full auto burst (simple) on Valkyrie.[blockquote]Rolled 8d6 : 5, 3, 5, 1, 6, 6, 6, 4, total 36[/blockquote]Defense test modifier -1 (+4 good cover, -5 full auto burst)[/info]
Valkyrie and anyone within 2 meter (i.e in the cabin) encounters 2 steps of glare.
[info]Dodging
[blockquote]Rolled 12d6 : 4, 5, 1, 4, 6, 5, 5, 5, 6, 2, 1, 2, total 46[/blockquote][/info]
"Fuckin'. Nonsense." Valkyrie growled as she dodged the hail of bullets by ducking into the cabin. "I'm goin' down to the pump!"
She hustled down the stairs trying to find her way to the engine room and the bilge pump that should be there. Once it was located, she attached the hose to the leaking section as instructed then looked for the way to start the pump.
[info]Presuming I can do all that in one turn, Valkyrie will do whatever it is that turns on the pump.[/info]
You are able to find the pump without issue, its well marked and lit, sitting just next to a pair of bodies leaking blood onto the floor, and requiring only that you mash a large red button to start the pump. Further back you can see the water starting to pool in the rear of the engine compartment but the way is blocked by what appears to be a metal beam that punctured through the side of the boat at the waterline, thankfully missing the engines, but nonetheless barring your way. You will need to get the pump's line to the rear of the boat to most effectively suction off the water either by force or finesse.
[info]You may attempt to bypass the beam by making a STR+BOD test (Threshold 3) to lift it out of the way or Escape Artist test (Threshold 3) to squeeze through the opening. You may also attempt something else if you wish to try it. Either of these actions will take the rest of your turn (Treated as a simple action).[/info]
Valkyrie cracked her knuckles, and gripped the beam with both hands grunting as she tried to move it out of the way.
[info]STR+BOD -1 to pool for wounds
[blockquote]Rolled 11d6 : 3, 5, 3, 4, 6, 1, 3, 6, 1, 2, 5, total 39[/blockquote][/info]
Valkyrie
You are able to lift the beam out of the way and the pump line begins to suck away at the water, you notice the water line stops advancing up from the rear of the compartment and slowly but surely begins to retreat.
Everyone Else
Outside, the second drone sweeps along the port side of the boat and takes aim at Joe with its spotlight and its mounted weapon begins to spin up its barrels before unleashing a hail of gunfire.
[info]Drone 2 firing full auto burst (simple) at Joe. DV 8P AP -0[blockquote]Rolled 8d6 : 6, 4, 6, 4, 2, 6, 6, 4, total 38[/blockquote]Defense test modifier -1 (+4 good cover, -5 full auto burst)[/info]
[info] Defense Test
[blockquote]Rolled 9d6 : 4, 5, 1, 5, 2, 6, 5, 6, 1, total 35[/blockquote]
[info]Zephyr's turn[/info]
Zephyr will attempt a heal check on his physical damage
[info]
-2 from wounds and drain
Heal force 6
[blockquote]Rolled 6d6 : 2, 4, 2, 3, 3, 1, total 15[/blockquote]
drain 2
[blockquote]Rolled 8d6 : 6, 1, 6, 5, 4, 3, 3, 2, total 30[/blockquote]
[/info]
Cursing as the mana does nothing for his wounds. Zephyr will keep his head down and head below deck to take over holding the pump so that Valkyrie can properly spend her time helping Joe. "I've got this for the moment you help Joe clean this up."
[warning]Turn 1 Pass 2 Order
Joe
Drone 1
Valkyirie
Drone 2[/warning]
"Being shot at is no good. Let's see if it'll shoot its friend instead." Jing goes back to tapping away in the matrix, sending out a command to the drone he had been working on to fire on the other.
[info] Using the Spoof command to tell Drone 1 to fire a full auto burst on Drone 2. base dice pool of 10, (INT + Hacking) -4 dice for different grid and public grid, Expending my last point of edge for the run to add +7 dice and exploding sixes.
[blockquote]Rolled 13d6 : 4, 4, 6, 6, 5, 5, 3, 2, 1, 3, 6, 3, 3, total 51[/blockquote]
[/info]
[info] exploding sixes
[blockquote]Rolled 3d6 : 6, 5, 2, total 13[/blockquote]
[/info]
The drone accepts you command and turns its gun on the other drone, firing away with a burst. Several of the bullets ping off the hull of the other drone in a shower of sparks but a few appear to have penetrated the armor enough to cause the drone to wobble slightly as it tries to maintain position in the air on its two rotors.
[info]Valkyrie's turn[/info]
Valkyrie grunted her approval and made her way back up the stairs to the cabin, hunkering down behind the wall that would give her cover from the unhacked drone. She drew her SMG from her leg holster, and took aim at the drone that had just been fired upon.
The damaged drone continues to fire on its acquired target: Joe. Another hail of gunfire flies from the drone's belly mounted gun.
[info]Drone 2 firing full auto burst (simple) at Joe. DV 8P AP-0[blockquote]Rolled 6d6 : 2, 3, 5, 3, 5, 6, total 24[/blockquote]Defense pool modifier of -1 (+4 good cover, -5 full auto burst (simple)[/info]
[info] Defense Test
[blockquote]Rolled 9d6 : 5, 6, 5, 2, 3, 1, 5, 4, 2, total 33[/blockquote]
[/info]
[warning]Turn 1 Pass 3 Order
Joe
Drone 1[/warning]
"Well, that's not gonna work. Fuck it, time to light it up." Jing grabs his pistol and takes a shot at the drone that had been marked.
[info] dice pool of 11, 12 normal, +2 for specialization, -3 for the light. accuracy 7, damage 8p ap-1
[blockquote]Rolled 11d6 : 6, 2, 6, 5, 1, 4, 3, 5, 6, 1, 6, total 45[/blockquote]
[/info]
The bullet blasts through the drone's hull and where the other drone had gone unstable, this one appears to be truly struggling to keep aloft. The drone, despite this, turns its weapon on the highest threat target it sees and fires a burst of gunfire at Joe.
[info]Drone 1 firing full auto burst (simple) at Joe. DV 8P AP-0[blockquote]Rolled 5d6 : 6, 6, 6, 3, 6, total 27[/blockquote]Defense test modifier -1 (+4 good cover, -5 full auto burst (simple))[/info]
[info] Defense Test
[blockquote]Rolled 9d6 : 4, 1, 3, 6, 2, 2, 6, 1, 5, total 30[/blockquote]
[/info]
[info] damage resist
[blockquote]Rolled 14d6 : 3, 5, 3, 2, 3, 1, 2, 5, 2, 6, 6, 4, 3, 1, total 46[/blockquote]
[/info]
[info]New turn. Roll initiatives.[/info]
[info]Initiative:
[blockquote]Rolled 2d6+7 : 5, 2 + 7, total 14[/blockquote][/info]
[blockquote]Rolled 3d6+10 : 3, 3, 4 + 10, total 20[/blockquote]
[info]Initiative
[blockquote]Rolled 1d6+7 : 6 + 7, total 13[/blockquote][/info]
[warning]Round 2 Pass 1 Order
Joe
Drone 2
Drone 1
Valkyrie
Zephyr[/warning]
Joe winces in pain as the hail of gunfire smashes into him he raises Iron Mike and takes aim before firing a shot.
[info] Take aim and wound cancel each other out, -3 for light still, so same as last time. 11 dice.
[blockquote]Rolled 11d6 : 2, 3, 3, 3, 5, 3, 2, 5, 3, 1, 5, total 35[/blockquote]
[/info]
The bullet smashes through the strut of one of the drone's turbines causing it to flip end over end and crash into the water below. The other drone, continuing its assault, lets loose another burst of bullets at Joe.
[info]Drone 1 down
Drone 2 firing full auto burst (simple) at Joe. DV 8 AP-0[blockquote]Rolled 6d6 : 3, 4, 2, 5, 1, 3, total 18[/blockquote]Defense test modifier -1 (+4 good cover, -5 full auto burst (simple))[/info]
[info] Defense Test -1 from wound
[blockquote]Rolled 8d6 : 6, 3, 3, 2, 3, 6, 6, 3, total 32[/blockquote]
[/info]
[info]Valkyrie's turn[/info]
Valkyrie took a few moments more to steady her aim. When the moment was right she pulled the trigger, letting off a burst of gunfire.
[info]BF with SMG, +1 accuracy and +1 pool from take aim x2 (accuracy now 7), 7p
[blockquote]Rolled 10d6 : 1, 2, 5, 4, 3, 5, 5, 5, 2, 2, total 34[/blockquote][/info]
The bullets tear through the surviving drone and it nosedives into the river with a satisfying splash. The river is once again quiet except for the chugging of the engines and the whirring of the bilge pump.
[warning]Combat has ended[/warning]
Valkyrie stood up, cracked her neck, and exhaled. "Jesus Christ. Let's get a move on before more of those show up..."
"Gonna have to take care of that SOS signal, I'll see what I can do." Jing went back to his deck and started to whip up a little something.
[info] Using Spoof Command to tell the boat that its safe. pool of 10, -4 for stuff. Same set up as before.
[blockquote]Rolled 6d6 : 2, 6, 4, 4, 5, 5, total 26[/blockquote]
[/info]
The boat accepts your spoofed command and deactivates its SOS call and transponder.
"All's well that ends well, as they say. Boat is enroute to the drop off location and we will have our pay day soon enough." Jing leaned back against the cabin and relaxed as the boat cut through the river, hoping that it was the end of the fighting for the night.
"Hey, I know you are both busy defending the boat and all but I played Punchout with a ghost tonight and this hose is heavy," he called up from the hull doing his best to keep the hose in place while also ignoring the stench of blood and poop.
"It's either hold the hose or dispose of evidence man. By evidence I mean corpses. Which do you prefer?" Valkyrie called down to her neon haired teammate.
"I'll hold the hose." Zephyr grumbled.
[info]The boat will take approximately 60 minutes to get to the drop location. Feel free to do some rp or anything you want during this time. Let me know when you're all ready to move along.[/info]
"Hey, Joe, without messing with the tracker, how close in does the beacon get, can you tell the specific container or just the boat? If you can tell the container then we can go treasure hunting through anything else. Otherwise, remember to see if you can dig into the ship's computer and dig out any extra caches. Mapping software, autosofts, shipping routes, identification numbers, previous manifests, the container is the job. Anything to do with the ship itself is fair game to try and make a little extra nuyen." Zephyr calls up from his position with the hose.
While Zephyr handled the pump and Jing was fussing with his deck Valkyrie set about collecting all the corpses from the earlier firefight. She crudely dragged each body up to the prow and put them in a jumbled pile searching them over to see if Bob had left anything.
[info]Perception to search, if you want it:
[blockquote]Rolled 5d6 : 3, 1, 3, 2, 6, total 15[/blockquote][/info]
After looking them over, she pulled her combat knife from its sheath and made to disfigure the faces of the dead men as much as possible, hopefully beyond recognition. For a moment she considered cutting them up into smaller pieces, but it seemed like overkill since clearly the people that owned the shipment would know it had been robbed. The preferred method for disposal would have been acid or burning, but there wasn't time.
"Either of you need to look over these bodies before I dump em' in the river?" she called out to her companions.
Everything of value with the exception of the clothes they are wearing appears to have been stripped from the bodies including comlinks, cred sticks, weapons, munitions, and in one case boots and armor jacket. Even the bodies of the workers in the engine compartment appear to have already been rifled through even though none of you are sure you saw Bob actually go in there.
"It isn't the most accurate software I've seen, I don't feel too comfortable breaking into the containers myself. I can probably hook up to the boat itself and see if I can find anything in there though." Jing went and found a spot where he could plug in to the boat directly and started his search.
[info] Matrix search for anything that could be considered pay data. Switching the sleaze and data processing stats, so Sleaze is 1 and data is 6. Switching my Exploit program for Browse, so that a matrix search takes half the time.
Matrix Search: dice pool 10 [blockquote]Rolled 10d6 : 4, 5, 4, 4, 4, 1, 3, 4, 3, 1, total 33[/blockquote]
[/info]
After 15 minutes of digging through the boat's computer you have yet to come up with any useful paydata.
[info]You can keep digging if you want. You have 45 minutes (or 3 attempts) remaining before you get to the rendezvous.[/info]
[info] Trying again Matrix Search
[blockquote]Rolled 10d6 : 1, 3, 2, 3, 1, 2, 6, 3, 5, 6, total 32[/blockquote]
[/info]
After another 15 minutes you come across a navigation chart with Ares' most up to date data on the West Coast's pirate activity zones. It might be worth something to either side of that game of cat and mouse.
[info]You can continue to dig for more information if you wish.[/info]
[info] Checking one more time.
[blockquote]Rolled 10d6 : 6, 1, 1, 5, 5, 6, 2, 5, 6, 5, total 42[/blockquote]
[/info]
You are able to dig up a shipping manifest for the ship the boat was originally supposed to rendezvous with, a minor find but probably valuable to someone. You are unable to find further paydata as you comb through the boat's files.
Jing called out to his allies "Looks like that's everything. Got a couple things that might fetch us some scratch." He looks out over the water towards their destination, glad that trouble is over for the night.
Seeing as nobody else wanted to search the corpses Valkyrie unceremoniously dumped them over the side of the boat into the river. When the last one was overboard she pulled out the towel in her backpack and began to wipe the blood and gore off her clothes and mask. "See.." she said to Jing "This is why you bring a fuckin' towel."
The boat finally comes to the rendezvous point: a large covered dock adjoining a warehouse in the northern industrial district with its doors wide open. The boat interfaces with the dock's guides and makes its way in. Upon entering the dark warehouse, you find it only dimly lit by emergency exit lights. Sitting at the end of the dock is a semi-truck with an empty trailer and sitting on some overturned crates on the end of the trailer is a colorful trio consisting of an orc with a glowing neon mohawk dressed in an armored jacket riddled with holes revealing teh armor plates inside, a troll wearing an armored vest that appears to be cyberware from the neck down and with a heavy machine gun nonchalantly resting on his knee, and a completely hairless dwarf wearing a skintight bodysuit. They appear to have been playing some kind of AR game when you arrived but have turned it off by the time the boat comes to a stop in the dock.
The orc picks up a metal pipe topped with a large nut studded with haphazard screws welded on to it and walks up to the boat while the troll hefts their gun to train it on the boat. The dwarf kicks the crates off the trailer and heads for a nearby control room. Upon getting to the boat the orc flips his home-made morning star onto his shoulder. "So I'm gonna guess you're the boat we're waiting for?"
Jing smiled as the Orc boarded. "Aye chummer special delivery."
The orc grins and pulls out a comlink that looks a lot like the one the Johnson had given you and walks down to the cargo containers. You hear a beeping sound emitting from it grow increasingly rapid ash he holds it u to the various containers until he reaches up to one of the top containers and the beeping ceases, replaced by a confirmatory sound. "Alright Slider its this one!" He yells to the control room. Shortly after the ceiling mounted crane begins to move towards the boat. The troll, seeing everything go smoothly gets into the truck in the driver's seat.
Watching the crane go through its painstakingly slow motions, the orc takes a sideways glance at Joe and Valkyrie. "Rough night?"
"you could say that," Zephyr said nursing his body as he crawled out of the hold finally. "Ever get in a fist fight with a ghost? Outside of that things went smoothly."
"though I have to say I think the three of us worked well as a team," Zephyr smiled moving to join Joe and Valkyrie.
"That bad huh? I heard that Steve somehow convinced the Johnson to let a bunch of noobs take point but it looks like you're all alive so it must not have been that bad. Not that I care, he upped our fees by 50% to get us on board short notice just to sit around so its shots all around when we're finished." Said the orc as he watched the cargo container get lifted from the boat. "Any idea what's in there? Rules are no peeking but that doesn't mean no guessing either."
"Overall it wasn't too bad, any time you have a run in with the corps and don't die, i'd say its good. As for the box, I have no idea. I tried to figure out what it might be. My best guess is some sort of prototype, but when you're trying to make a name for yourself you just nod, smile, and follow directions so I didn't dig into it too much," Jing had a tired, but oddly warm smile behind his mask while dealing with the orc. "I think we could all use a drink after this." He motioned to his companions while he spoke.
"I want to say it's something crazy, like a bioweapon, you know like something that eats you face, but it's probably something boring like a new microwave or some shit. It's never something cool" The container was now being lowered down onto the trailer. "Well, whatever it is, the Johnson wants it." He heads over to the trailer and helps guide the container on. Once the container settles onto the trailer, the orc whistles over to the control room and the dwarf makes the return journey across the warehouse floor. "Right well, deuces." He says as he jumps into the cab of the truck, hanging out the side he yells to his comrade still on their way. "Come on let's go! Burning moonlight here Slider!" To which his comrade replies with "Fuck off Punk, there's plenty of time before the guard gets free if at all." The dwarf takes his time walking, perhaps even slowing down from your estimates.
"Well, shall we make our leave as well?" Zephyr said with a smile "Oh, and I suppose we should all trade numbers while we are at." Zephyr still wearing his trademark smile nods for them to make there exit hoping to catch a ride with them. He smiled back at the boat glad that he had managed to finish his work down in the hold of the boat without drawing too much attention. There were benefits to being left alone to work with the hose.
"I think this is the birth of quite the team."
[info]As the camera zooms down to the hold where Zephyr had been left alone there is a painting scrawled across the wall specially for Ares. using the hose as cover he quickly finishes his work.[/info]
(https://29y1x61xfep8teq6331dr9hv-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/crossingdelaware.jpg)
"How far are we from the van? Job's not over until you get paid so keep an eye out for trouble." Valkyrie said, voice still processed by her mask. Presumably they were in the clear, but Jing's van was still over in troll town and she wasn't sure exactly how far up river they'd come on the boat. "Short guy said there's a guard tied up around here or something, but we probably got a hot second to check the other containers for loot. If you wanna." It made no difference to her.
"I've already got some pay data so i'd rather get out of here before drawing some more unwanted attention. Zephyr should have our contact info already from our earlier exchanges, so I'm game to bounce out into the night and get back into troll town. Might take a bit though, we did go down river for a while. I'd rather just ditch the boat or send it out to sea and go."
"Let's roll then, we going as a group or what?"
Before leaving, she took the time to reload her SMG and then fold it back down and stow it in her leg.
Jing called out to Zephyr "Yo we are gonna head out. You coming or not?" it had been a long night and Jing wanted to collected his buyer, have a drink and get a good night of sleep
"Please lead the way, my good man." Zephyr smiled accepting the offer from Joe without a second thought. He did not want to show that the ghost had done a number on his spirit even if it did not show physically and was looking to be done with this mess and fade into the night before fate decided to throw more at them.
"Unfortunate that we got to take a trip to get the van, but shouldn't be too bad. Maybe we can catch a bus."
Jing rubbed the top of his head. "Jeeze, what a tough crowd. It's a joke. The van's on its way but we probably want to make ourselves scarce and get out of here before that guard comes to. Probably a Stuffer Shack that we can hang out in for a bit until our ride arrives."
You're able to find a StufferShack about 6 blocks away. While it looks like it might be staffed in more normal working hours, right now it is an automated vending plaza with only a few of the stocks depleted. Nothing but your three, the flickering lighting, and the hum of the vending machine heating/cooling units.
[info]Free RP period, let me know when you're ready to move on[/info]
Valkyrie stalked around the StufferShack until she found a machine that dispensed cheap, shitty, soy based coffee analogue and spent some nuyen on a cup. After watching the machine hiss and spit as it dispensed lukewarm soykaf she gathered her drink and walked back to Jing and Zephyr. She slipped her mask up her face just enough to expose her mouth and took a sip.
"So, everyone on the boat was dead. Where'd that spirit come from you think?"
"probably a corporate mage back at the base. Spirits can be sent out to do tasking across the globe so long as it takes them less than a day to do it. Luckily they would not be able to know who killed it or wear until after the fact assuming there was not some weird magic going on. A number of people treat spirits as servants. I think their ignorance leaves them open to a lot of issues. When dealing with spirits at least consider their station when ordering them around." Zephyr mused while eating a steaming hot taco.
Jing got some noodles. "To a lot of people, magic is another form of tech, to me it's all about different means to reach the same goal. Gotta be careful how you use your tools though. If I push it wrong, my deck can betray me just as easily as a spirit. He talked between bites of soggy soy. "Car should be here pretty soon, we should try to wrap up.
"Fair enough." she said, slugging down the rest of the beverage and tossing the cup in the nearest recycler. "Ready to be done with tonight."
After a little under half an hour, Joe's van arrives outside the StufferShack and one uneventful ride later you find yourselves once again at the DMZ. Business is still lively at the bar but noticeably less so than when you were last there a few hours ago. The main room is no longer standing-room-only and the bartender is looking more relaxed and less overworked. Steve is back in the same room as before and greets your return. The Johnson is nowhere to be found. "Hey! I heard from the hand-off team that you guys made it to the drop in one piece! Congratulations all around so cheers!" He raises a highball glass and takes a drink of whatever neon pink cocktail he ordered. He then motions with the glass for everyone to sit. "First things first, paychecks." He pulls out a plastic bag labeled "Team A" and dumps out the certified credsticks inside. He then divides up the sticks into three piles and pushes them to the edge of the table, one in front of each of you. Zephyr's is noticeably smaller than the other two piles.
[info]Joe and Valkyrie get 12500 nuyen
Zephyr gets 3500 nuyen[/info]
Valkyrie, scooped the credsticks into one hand and deposited them in her bag. Seeing that now the job is truly complete, she also took off her mask completely for the first time in hours and stuffed it in the backpack as well. "Done n' done." she said, closing the zipper and leaving the bag between her feet where it could be grabbed in a hurry if she needed to bug out.
"I did agree to cover anything you lost. Though I did not figure this much of a lose," Zephyr smiled understandably. "Unless this is the Johnson voicing their opinion if me."
He'll pocket the pay doing some mental math. "you said first things first? I assume that means you have more for us?"
Zephyr takes a seat and crosses his legs waiting to see where the conversation goes.
"I had to pull some top talent to get back in the Johnson's favor. Guys that take a bit more base pay to get them interested. Then had to make up the pay differences. I told the Johnson that I could get him some good new talent at half the price so when the budget changed it had to come from somewhere and thus went my fee and most of yours. This was a big op. They wanted 5 teams for different jobs." He took another sip of his drink. "As for additional work, the only thing left is to get that comlink. The Johnson wants it back, was supposed to get it from you first but hey, what's going to happen in the next 5 seconds to lose it?" He leans back and opens his hands in a catching gesture. "You uh... Do have the comlink still right?"
Jing grabbed his pile and raked it on over. "Yeah, I've got the comm on me still, Here ya go, chummer. Jing procured the comm link and hands it over to the Johnson.
Steve takes the comlink. "Sweet, and now the job is done. Nothing left for you guys to do but go and enjoy your hard earned yen. I've got to stick around and pay the other teams. Cheers!" He says as he raises his glass and takes another sip. "I'll be keeping an eye out for some more serious jobs for you guys in the future. Getting this job done is gonna put you guys on the map as legit runners and not a bunch of errand boys, so get ready for the big leagues! I'll let you guys know when I get something." He settles back into his chair and pulls out his comlink.
[info]The mission is complete. If there is anything you want to do for post-mission stuff, feel free to post it here. Alternatively, you can post it in the Free RP/Small Jobs subforum (Tales from the End of the Bar). Downtime activities (Training, purchases, etc) will be handled in Days Gone By.
Joe and Valkyrie gain 5 karma
Zephyr gains 6 karma
Everyone gains public awareness 1[/info]