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GM: Thistledown
Players: Lobo, Julian, Danthrall, Serel, Dumah, Frost.
Synopsis: This is an ongoing plot.
Date: Current Event
«Plot» Thistledown says, "This is a player run plot by Thistledown, consent is required between participants and to the plot for the duration of the plot. Danger rating will be mild, play smart and you probably won't get hurt, stupidity will get you dead."
A call hits the wires and the Fixers are on it like flies on a steaming pile. There's a botched job that needs recovering, pay is high but the time line is short. An extraction team was attempting to recover a corporate hostage from a group of eco-terrorists, the team failed and has been captured. The corporation is now offering a considerable amount to both recover the hostage and to free or eliminate the failed team to prevent evidence of hiring runners from surfacing. The pay is rumored to be 30k and you find yourselves at a meet with a Mr. Johnson in a small hotel room.
Serel gets the call, gets her gear, and heads to the meet, this time in a magenta sports car. She heads to the room, slipping in to find a spot on the wall, watching impassively from behind her mirrored shades.
You paged Lobo with 'About to start now.'.
Frost gets his things together in his car and heads to the hotel, once there he parks in the parking lot and turns to an empty passenger seat. "Alright, time to go to work dear." With that a Pretty Japanese female in a very high fashion suit appears in the passenger seat and climbs out of the car. She makes her way into the hotel and to the room that was mentioned, she knocks on the door and enters when it opens.
Julian enters unarmed, though wearing his street armor. He has to do a fair amount of ducking in this damned human-built building, but he manages with a fluid grace that far exceeds the norm for his species. He finds a corner to stand in and tries to not look imposing.
"Da. Da… da. On it." Dumah snaps his cellphone shut, rolls out of bed and grabs a nearby gym bag. "Always! Always with the last minute! Amateurs! Should have had backup team prepped and ready hours ago!" He shrugs on his coat, enables the booby traps in his apartment, and heads out the door to ride his bike to the meet. Once there, it's a cheerful Russian that shows up at the small hotel room.
The large and obviously augmented male human who on the streets goes by the moniker Lobo stands back amongst the group gathered. He is casual, mirrored eyes taking in his surroundings.
Danthrall walks into the meet last, having relied on public transport to get there. The Amerind leans against the wall opposite the elf and crosses his arms, making his sleves roll up enough to show the leather wristbands that have a trail of beads hanging from them.
The Johnson wastes no times, "Gentlemen, ladies thank you for coming. I won't waste your time or mine. I am in need of a hostage extraction and clean up from a team less professional than the one I see before me. The pay will be 30,000 nuyen upon successful completion. A small group of eco-extremists have taken captive a member of our extended family. They are sequestered in a long since closed waste treatment facility. The authorities are unable to act as the hostage has been coerced into saying they are staying of their own free will, and may indeed act this way. We are aware that at least two members of the group show signs of being magically active and we believe the group consists of between 12 and 20 members."
The Johnson gestures towards the assembled people, "I'll leave it to you to work out who you will and will not work with. You have thirty minutes to decide if you can assemble a functional team amongst yourselves. Do you have any questions before I leave you to get to know eachother?"
The Japanese woman in the high dollar suit nods after listening to the speech "Will there be transportation to and from the facility?"
The Johnson nods his head, "Transportation can be provided but the cost will be drawn from your pay."
Lobo pipes in. "I got some trans. Could prob fit everyone here in it."
Dumah glances amongst the others and then back to Johnson. "Intelligence. Maps. What'd the other team have?" His requests are simple, direct, and blunt. Much like the Russian himself.
Julian listens to the pitch, and nods simply when it's done. "Do you have any surveillance on the area? A floorplan for the treatment center?"
The Johnson answers, "Those details will be provided when you have determined if you can work together, if you are already confident in your abilities and those of your teammates we can move forward immediately."
The Japanese woman looks around "Mr. Frost is a professional and can work with anyone required, as long as everyone else is a professional as well." she gazes at everyone in the room.
Serel shrugs slightly. "I have no problem with anyone here. Let's hear it."
Julian nods and continues to watch. "I'm ready to go." His aura might as well be an empty spot for all the ware he has installed inside of him.
Dumah nods slightly and then looks at the rest. Sees a lot of faces he doesn't recognize. He adjusts his gloves slightly, contemplating. "One question does remain… just who's qualified to lead this dance?"
«Auto-Judge[thorn]» Frost (#1680) rolls Intelligence vs TN 5 (to Thistledown) for "Assensing the Johnsons aura, just in case this is a trick and I have to track him down later and kill him :P":
1 2 4 5 9 = 2 Successes
The Amerind is quiet throughout most of the others questions. "I would like to know what you have gathered concerning their magical defenses, as well as an answer to the other questions…" he says. "As to working with the others, I have no argument against it."
Lobo glances around. "Hey, I could care less who leads. As long as the dick waving stays down to a low roar. I got transpo and equipment and aint got a beef with anyone here. You all look like a pro group." He glances to the Johnson. "I don't hear any objections to us all working together thus far."
The Japanese Woman looks to the others "Just so you know, I represent Mr. Frost, he will join you all physically once terms are finished and the mission is to be started."
Lobo glances at the Japanese woman. A small smile creeps across his face.
«Plot» Thistledown says, "http://www.city.saskatoon.sk.ca/org/water_treatment/wastewater_treatment/WWTP1a.jpg The facility when it was functional, now it is a broken cesspool."
The Johnson nods and lays several data chips on the table inserting one into a small projector that shows an image of a wastewater treatment facility. "This facility was fouled some years ago due to an industrial accident, the tanks were irreversibly tainted and the facility was shut down. Within the past two years the eco-extremist group Blasted Groundwater took up residence, three weeks ago they took a hostage. We believe the hostage is being held here." He indicates a small pump station near the water, "They have living quarters here" he indicates what at one time would have been the control room. "Unfortunately we do not have information on their magical defenses other than knowing they have magically active members, the area is not friendly to our mages though the eco-extremist group seems to have found a way to operate there without problem."
Julian grabs one of the chips and slots it into a jack installed in a real-looking cyberarm. He nods as the briefing continues, going over the data on the OMC.
The Japanese woman frowns "This all insinuates that we are dealing with toxic magicians, that is not a pleasant thought."
Dumah mutters something in Russian, then says, "Not just toxic - Avengers, da?" He looks over the map thoughtfully. "And the other runner team is being held…?" He then turns his eyes to the group. "Don't suppose anyone knows know scuba gear?"
Serel leans forward to grab a chip, slotting it into a pocsec, perusing the data herself.
The Japanese woman picks up a chip, but merely holds it in her hand.
Lobo retrieves one of the chips as well. He is rather old fashioned. Out comes a pocsec. He slots the chip and holds the pocsec in his hand, glancing at the screen and back at the Johnson.
The Johnson nods, "That is a possibility, though your only missions are to retrieve the hostage and free or eliminate the failed team. You need not confront the exo-extremists if you can find a way to do accomplish those goals."
The Johnson spreads his hands in apology, "The other team was captured less than a day ago, we do not have information on their whereabouts, we suspect they would be stored in the same pump building, but that is conjecture only."
It seems Lobo has a polite streak in him. He looks around before speaking as if not wanting to interrupt anyone. "Do you happen to have any intel on how and where exactly the other team was captured?"
Lobo adds, "Not held mind you.”
Danthrall removes a pocket computer from his jumpsuit while leaning forward to take one of the chips. He slots the chip and scrolls through some things in silence. After a moment, he looks up and watches the exchange.
Julian nods his head. "I have scuba gear… but amphibious approach is dangerous… inlet turbines make swimming difficult." He shrugs a bit. "There's plenty of fence line to breach though, lots of opportunity there."
The Johnson shakes his head at Lobo's question, "For reasons of deniability we do not keep tabs on such things once the play is set in motion, I'm sure you can understand."
Lobo smiles. "Null sheen. Just curious on how you knew they were captured is all. I kinda would like to avoid that bit of displeasure myself. Once bitten twice shy and all that."
The Johnson nods, "They failed to make the deadline to return the hostage, we were able to determine that they were inside the compound still, though not a specific location."
Lobo nods. "Roger. That makes more sense."
The Japanese woman frowns "It seems strange that the team was captured instead of killed, it is possible some magical persuasion is being used on them, and they too could become an obstical."
Dumah slots a chip in his pocsec, glancing through the information held in there before returning his attention to things once again. "Of course…" Then grins at Julian. "Facility is offline, da? Inlet turbines rarely functional once corrosion sets in."
The facility looks as though it hasn't been functional for the better part of a decade.
Julian nods and shrugs. "Guess we could send a few people for a swim."
Lobo then looks around, "This is a doable mission, especially if we have magic support. We in planning stage now I assume, or is there someone here who has misgivings?"
The Japanese woman shakes her head "Mr. Frost has several ideas for protecting the important hostage, these depend though on taking out the magical assets first, though there could be a large number of magical defenses in place by now."
"Could you giveusmoredetails about the hostage? Why he was taken, and such?" the Amerind asks.
Julian nods. "Well I'll carry standard loadout. Armor peircing rounds, Narcoject grenades, thermite explosives…" He begins to list them off like items he might buy at a Stuffer Shack.
The Johson nods, "He was taken in an attempt to gain leverage. He was an environmentally conscious young man who was abducted at a public rally."
The Japanese woman looks to the others "Do any of you carry an item known as Spiritbusters? Mr. Frost is worried we will encounter strong spiritual problems and those are most effective for that."
Serel waves some fingers. "I carry spirit busters."
Dumah taps his fingers on the table lightly as he listens. "I think that's enough questions. We've got what we need. Let's get a move on." He glances over at Danthrall, then, thoughtful. "The rest, I have heard of, at least. You - I do not know your abilities?" It's in a questioning tone, possibly with a hint of hope inflected in it.
Lobo casts his mirrored gaze on the Johnson. You gonna cover the cost of any ammo expenditures, food, supplies or that all comes out of our pockets? Also, toss in a little extra and that extremist group can be nullified once the hostage is secure."
The Johnson shakes his head, "30k, if you're wasteful of your ammo that's your business, and this group is of no importance to us other than the annoyance they've caused by detaining the hostage."
The Japanese woman nods to Serel, then waits to see what happens with the discussion
«OOC» Lobo says, "Hehe let's see what my meager neg can accomplish"
«Auto-Judge[thorn]» Lobo (#8464) rolls Negotiation:
3 3 4
«Auto-Judge[thorn]» Thistledown (#9317) rolls 5 for "Counter negotiations…":
2 3 4 10 16
Lobo shrugs, "Fair enough."
The Johnson turns to look over the rest of the room, "If there's nothing else you need?"
The Amerind nods, understanding. "I walk the spirit world and follow the path of Gargoyle… Flying Stone, I am called," he answers. "I would think that we should concentrate on the rescue… those who follow the darker paths are… troublesome, to say the least. While I would enjoy removing their scourge from the city, now is not the time to do so…" He pauses a moment. "And we're not even sure that they have fallen to that level."
Lobo adds, "Yeah so the price is thirty K on completion, right?"
The Japanese woman frowns "The problem is not the hostage, it is ensuring that the other team is silenced. We must locate thier bodies if they are dead, or rescue or deal with them if they are alive. If they are not in the same location as the hostage this mission becomes more complex and we will have to deal with more threats."
The Johnson nods, "Yes, 30k."
Lobo nods.
Serel remains quiet for most of this, then pipes in. "What's our timeline?"
The Johnson holds up two fingers, "Two days."
Dumah glances back to the woman. "We make astral sweep, da? If they are there.. and alive… we find them. If not, then they are either dead or escaped. Either way, we know enough."
The Japanese woman shakes her head "We do not know the runners from the terrorists, astrally we cannot tell the difference. It would require manifesting to see the mundane plane properly, and that allows us to be seen by anyone."
The Johnson spends a moment cleaning up after himself then steps out the door after checking one last time if there are any questions for him. The datachip contains all the mundane details you might want.
«OOC» Thistledown says, "The chip contains the runners' basic descriptions and callsigns."
«OOC» Thistledown says, "4 runners, 2 humans an elf and an ork all male."
Dumah snorts amusedly at the woman. "Runners will be tied up, locked up, and pissed off or scared out of wits. Ones keeping them will be righteous and vengeful." He pulls out a pack of cigarettes, tapping one out. "Oh, and trying to kill you with toxic spirit. Da?"
Danthrall raises a hand. "Not necissarily. We might be able to identify the runners from comparing their auras… If we find a room with just the four bodies and they all match up, then we're golden."
"Well we got the intel and we are all here. Someone start rattling off a plan. I got getting us there covered. We have means to scout astrally and tangle with anything that's got mojo. How about getting inside? Who is good at sneaking around and whatnot? Anyone got any air support? A drone or twelve." Lobo asks. He looks over at Dumah, "Mind if I cop a smoke from you?"
Serel shrugs a little. "I am good at sneaking. I'm working on the air support, but it won't be available for this run."
Julian raises his hand. "I can handle on site operations… Or I can find a nice tall building to plant myself on with my sniper rifle to cover you all."
The Japanese woman shakes her head "Mr. Frost is not skilled enough to risk using stealth to approach. He does have many elementals at his command, these should be taken into account for the planning."
Lobo nods at this, "In a pinch, if I strip to my birthday suit I got that ruthenium thing covered." He chuckles, "Don't ask, I was unconscious at the time it happened."
Julian nods. "I have a ruth suit, you just tell me what you need, and I'll pack for it."
Serel touches a finger to her temple. "I do as well."
Dumah eyes the Johnson leaving, offering one over to Lobo, and then says, "I am former Drill Instructor for Spetsnaz. Stealth, infilitration, close combat, but no magic." He glances around at the rest. "First scout should be astral, and take pains not to be discovered. Should be very small group, if not solo. If place is warded, will prove more difficult, but we do not want to tip them off." He then looks back to Danthrall. "Sounds like you."
Lobo nods, "I'm Lobo by the way. Haven't been back to this fragged up city in a year. I'm just a Jack of all Trades. I'll defer all this to our Russian chummer here. Although I do suggest that once we got any on-site intel down, we go brute force at one spot and stealth at the opposite, if you get my drift. A distraction kind of thing. That's my take on this." He shuts his yap and turns to look at Dumah.
Danthrall nods a bit to that. "I can walk with the spirits to scout the area," he says. "Beyond that, I can help with stealth, to a degree. The spirit world may be clouded in the area… especially if there are toxic spirits."
Julian smiles a bit. "Or we could do /both/ at the same time. A ruth cloak and an assault rifle make for a lot of very confused people… I learned that in Azerbijian."
The Japanese woman nods "Mr. Frost will concur with the two pronged approach."
Lobo takes the pause in things to study the intel on his pocsec. He hmm's and grunts a few times. He also idly begins ticking off mental notes with his fingers. His right arm whizzes and whirs with a slight whisper sound as his fingers move.
Dumah takes a long drag on his cig, then states, "Distraction is only good when it provides you the element of surprise. Best in war zones with enfilading fire, clear lines of control. Otherwise, you split your firepower and make part of your team the target. Bad situation to be in. This team - already highly specialized in stealth. We can maintain initiative that way. If things go to hell, we should have firepower in reserve." He nods to Julian. "Long range, high power rifle, da? Can provide covering fire - /if/ things go south." He places his pocsec out for people and gestures at the map. "I don't trust this corp's intel - suspect that's how they got in trouble in first place. We need to verify location of targets. Astral recon, then physical, then we figure out lines of attack." He looks to Danthrall. "How fast can you do the astral?"
Julian nods. "I'll bring The Sisters"
Frost pages: AT any sign of trouble my ally spirit will poof back to the home plane, probably wont use her much in the actual run cause I dont want to risk her :)
Danthrall considers that for a moment. "How far away is the location from here?" he asks.
4 to 5 hours drive.
"I could scout the area now," the shaman offers.
Dumah nods to Danthrall, gesturing. "Please, then, do. Sooner you get back, the sooner we can proceed."
Lobo nods at this. "So we gonna call this base camp for now or do we have a better location for planning?"
The Japanese woman looks around "It is neutral ground and is being paid for by the employer, it seems a good location."
«Plot» Julian will carry his assault rifle, sniper rifle, and utility satchel. Assault rifle will load 2 50-round clips of APDS ammo and 8 DSMO/Narcoject Splash Grenades for the underbarrel launcher. I'll also carry three full size grenades.
«Plot» Serel will keep the foci, then. Still gonna leave half the SBs.
The Japanese woman turns and heads to the door, she opens it and a man enters (Frost). He nods to everyone in the room "I figured I should show up in person now." he steps into the room and the woman leaves, closing the door.
Lobo looks towards the door as Frost enters. He chuckles, "If I could send a holo to a meet, I would. Good trick that."
Frost smiles faintly and nods "Saves a lot of hassles sometimes. Pleasure to meet you all."
Danthrall nods and moves to the back corner of the room, sitting down and crossing his legs. He places his hands on his knees and looks to the others in the room. "I'll return shortly," he says before closing his eyes, and to all mundane appearances, he simply falls asleep.
The waste treatment facility is easy to find and you arrive there in moments. It sticks out on the astral landscape an ugly red boil pulsating. A slick and shiny skin raises bubble like from what you take to be the boundary defined by the fence, you cannot see through it easily. (please roll perception).
«Auto-Judge[thorn]» Danthrall (#7693) rolls Intelligence (to Thistledown) for "Astral Perception, TN unknown":
1 3 4 4 4 10
Danthrall pages: Also, how murky is the areas BG count?
Through the haze of red you can make out a number of small spirits moving about. The BG where you are is 1, but you can see the filthy haze increasing as you approach the site, you imagine it is easily a two, most likely a three. Inside that boundary.'.
Danthrall pages: Assensing the boundary to figure it out.
Danthrall pages: If that can be done.
«Auto-Judge[thorn]» Danthrall (#7693) rolls Intelligence (to Thistledown) for "Assense the Barrier":
3 4 4 4 5 5
Just outside the boundary is between a 1 and a 2, depending on where you are. The bubble is huge enclosing the whole site. You can't see anything clearly through the bubble.
It's overwhelming to your senses a massive force of corruption. You don't get a read off it other than that it is very very strong.
«Auto-Judge[thorn]» Danthrall (#7693) rolls Magical Threats (to Thistledown) for "What is this icky bubble thing, and is it ok to touch it?":
2 17
Your instincts tell you…No, touching it would be a bad thing. It is a ward or barrier of some sort though it's huge in scale. You suspect perhaps the entire area is dedicated as a shamans lodge.
You paged Danthrall with 'Give me a stealth roll please'.
«Auto-Judge[thorn]» Danthrall (#7693) rolls Stealth (to Thistledown) for "Hidey":
7 9
«Auto-Judge[thorn]» Thistledown (#9317) rolls 2 vs TN 9 (to Danthrall) for "Anti hide.":
3 5 = 0 Successes
Danthrall heads back to his body.
The shaman's eyes flutter open, and he looks around at everyone else in the room. "Astral recon is a bit on the troublesome side, given that the whole area looks to be a lodge of some kind… I can't penetrate the barrier in the spirit world without alerting those who erected the lodge."
Dumah frowns. "Can't sleaze your way in, then, eh? Ah, well… we do things traditional way!" He grins amusedly. "Nothing quite like high powered pair of binoculars, da?" He contemplates, then says, "Can you put the borders of lodge on the map?"
Frost frowns "Thats not good, that means they are Toxic shamans and that means they can use toxic spirits against us."
Lobo looks at Dumah, then at Frost. "Um, so can a toxic spirit be shot or physically touched?"
Frost shrugs "Depends on how strong it is, the stronger they are the harder they are to hurt."
Julian shakes his head. "No and no… a toxic /spirit/ is bad news of the highest order. A toxic /shaman/ however is a wonderful target for APDS Sniper rounds."
Frost leans against a wall "And if the shaman hides in the deepest hole in the compound and just sends spirits out after us? Not to mention the fact that on thier home turf, they are better at magic while everyone else gets worse."
Julian doesn't skip a beat. "Then I drop some thermite to open up the hole, then I shoot through it."
Dumah comments, "As soon as the shaman is taken out, the spirit goes beserk. Anyone and everything will be a target." He looks around. "That means us. So - we try not to pester them, da? For that - we will sneak." He eyes Julian. "And that means that /you/ need to cover us when we get spotted, not run around throwing thermite down places you think there might be a shaman." He grins. "Recon by fire is very poor strategy for sniper. I know, is boring, but bear with, da?" He looks to the rest. "We sneak inside lodge borders - proceed with astral recon from there. Get visual while there as well."
Danthrall looks at the map and gives a rough outline of where the barrier is. "It's domed up over the compound too… can't go over. Their spirits can be dealt with as any other spirits can be… which could pose a problem."
Lobo frowns, "Well I guess I get to be naked at some point. Yay me." He follows this with a grin.
Julian grins. "Never said I was a sniper. I'm just a trog with a big rifle that I bought to overcompensate." He nods and regards the map. "You just tell me where to set up, and I'll keep the nasties away.
Frost frowns slightly "They outnumber us, but do they outgun us? We can take out thier two mages if we get that dome down. How well equipped is this group, are we talking SMGS or Miniguns."
The data chip suggests a fairly militant group but one that favors low tech solutions, pistols, shotguns, the occassional SMG or rifle, but you would doubt they're packing miniguns or lasers.
Julian speaks. "Just our luck, one of them will have a laser…"
The shaman shakes his head. "I saw nothing clearly on the inside. The… bubble, is the only thing I can think of to describe it… is dark. Murky on the inside. Much more than the area around it."
Frost nods to Danthrall "That means the background count has to be high inside there, my elementals will be at a disadvantage, its like fighting in fog."
"Bullet is bullet," Dumah says, looking at Frost. "Will kill a man just as dead if pistol or minigun. If we have to fire a single round, we've already screwed up." He shakes his head slightly and then looks to Danthrall. "Shall we get moving? We do recon now, finish prep tonight, hit it tomorrow right before daybreak. They have to sleep sometime, too, da?" He chuckles, then says, "I've got a bike, you can ride bitch."
Lobo says "If anyone here can deck, we need some intel on this eco group. As much as possible. Profiles if we can get them."
Julian shrugs. "I can try."
Dumah glances around, then shrugs. "If we can, let's. We should be back in a few hours, we don't need anything real detailed."
Serel speaks up. "Is the lodge also the bounds of the ward?"
Frost nods "I'll come along and wait as backup in case the recon goes south. I can't sneak for shit."
Julian nods. "You guys go do the onsite recon, I'll stick here and see if I can bring anything up." He reaches into a satchel and withdraws a leatherbound Bible… with a pair of datajacks in it…
Lobo nods to Julian, "Want my cell number?"
Dumah does trade around contact info, cellphone and radio before they leave.
Danthrall nods. "Lodges act as wards. Same as a magician's circles, if I remember correctly."
Serel nods. "Looks like I'm leaving the spiritbusters in the car, then." She shares her contact info as well.
Lobo says "What king of gun do they fit.. hell, what do I call you?" He asks Serel. "They still might come in handy."
Serel gives a little bow. "Serel. They're heavy pistol rounds. That's why I'm leaving them in the car instead of at home."
Julian sets up a portable sat dish, makes some connections into the Leatherbound Bible, and then jacks the cable into the jack on his neck. He blows a long breath, then slumps forward.
You paged Julian with 'Computer + Net etiquette comp if you have it vs TN 5 for the search.'.
«Auto-Judge[thorn]» Julian (#2692) rolls Computers + Task Pool: 1 vs TN 5 for "Datadiving…":
2 4 4 11 11 = 2 Successes
Julian discovers 'The group is small but appears to be well organized and well funded, your research leads you to suspect they pull some corporate backing and may be willing to focus their eco-activities at the enemies of the highest bidder, you would guess that's one of the reasons the group is still existant. You would guess at about 20 members, and their activities run the gamut from eco-terrorism, to squatting activities. They have been active in the area for three years, though only notable for the most recent two when they saw an upswing in power.'.
«Plot» Lobo says, "plot I will be doing whatever surfing I can with my pocsec doing some data diving myself."
You paged Lobo with 'Give me a computers skill at TN8'.
«Auto-Judge[thorn]» Lobo (#8464) rolls Computers vs TN 8 (to Thistledown) for "for using pocsec to dig up data on eco terrorists.":
9 = 1 Success
You paged Lobo with 'In scanning through the news stories about the group you notice the heavily favor targeting Ares installations. They seem to avoid civilian casualties when possible, but there are several manslaughter charges levied against various group members that have somewhat mysteriously been dismissed.'.
Lobo pages: Can I get any group member names? Also anything in the news of a rally recently where they would have surfaced? I have a measly skill but hell, have pocsec, will attempt!
You paged Lobo with 'There's a long list of callsigns, but nothing worth noting. All statements they issue are from the group as a whole.'.
Lobo pages: Ok.. then next will be researching that water treatment plant if I am allowed. Looking for public domain stuff. If that fails.. then i am gonna call in a decker to get me some blueprints and whatnot.
You paged Lobo with 'Fairly detailed blueprints were included with the datachip, though it's suffered 10 years of undocumented deterioration and modification.'.
Lobo pages: Thanks. I will be studying the blueprints then looking for a better route in…
You paged Lobo with 'The picture shows most of the overland routes, the pipes do not appear to be navigable.'.
Lobo takes a seat against the wall and digs out his pocsec. He spends a good deal of time tapping away at it, surfing the news feeds it seems.
Lobo hikes a cheek and lets one rip while he taps away at his pocsec. "My bad." He mutters without looking up.
Frost sits quietly in the room, he does this for hours when summoning elementals so he manages to sit still and say nothing unless spoken too.
«Plot» Dumah says, "We'll stop a few hundred meters off in some cover, Dumah will be sweeping with a variety of sensors, and then proceed in quietly until we can get inside the lodge. Angling for the far side, from the treeline into the field behind the 'digesters'."
The area around the waste treatment facility is a group of closed and boarded up factories and warehouses. The whole area has the feeling of a rotting ghosttown, the signs posted in the windows are all from 10 years ago.
«OOC» Thistledown says, "Dumah give me a stealth first, then a perception, anyone else approaching the same please."
«Auto-Judge[thorn]» Dumah (#6510) rolls Stealth for "+10 - Ruth cloak with 10 scanners.":
1 1 2 3 3 4 8
«Auto-Judge[thorn]» Thistledown (#9317) rolls 6 vs TN 18 for "Dumah is a sneaky sneaky fellah.":
2 3 4 7 10 11 = 0 Successes
«Auto-Judge[thorn]» Dumah (#6510) rolls Intelligence for "Tons of Hearing and Cybereye mods, including Laser mike.":
2 4 4 5 7 8
«Plot» Danthrall will have a Steyr TMP with him at the time, and will hold back while Dumah scouts mundanely ahead. Plus, I can't see him walk off.
As you approach the fence of the compound your first impression is that it's /way/ to easy. Your second impression and third impression are the same. It's almost like there is no physical security here, the chainlink fence could be hopped by most gradeschool students (though the razorwire might be a little tricky.)
Dumah gets more and more cautious the closer the two get, pausing in several places, not only using his ruthenium but using cover to advantage, letting his eyes do the listening before proceeding onwards, carefully navigating to the borderline where Danthrall put the place on the map. He even tries to use the cover of walls and terrain to put him out of the way of most astral spotters, should there be any.
Danthrall is still hiding back by the vehicle, not knowing what's going on. After a few minutes of nothing, he begins to Look around, opening his perceptions to the Astral Plane, to see where the stealthed Russian is moving about.
Dumah reaches the chainlink fence without noticeable incident. The fence is 3 meters tall and topped with old rusty razorwire, it shows signs of recent repair but it is more a deterrent than a true barrier. It does however represent where Danthrall indicates the astral barrier started.
«OOC» Danthrall says, "Still BG count of 1?"
«OOC» Thistledown says, "Where you are, yes."
«OOC» Danthrall says, "And what domains are present?"
«OOC» Thistledown says, "Field, Air, River and lake are close, swamp possibly. Forest possibly on the other side of the building where there are some woods."
Dumah takes a soft breath, makes one more scan around… then steps across the boundary carefully, ready for - well, just about anything. But his money's on spirits. He hopes the magical pollution he spoke of earlier will help mask his movements.
«OOC» Thistledown says, "You'll have to deal with the fence somehow. Over it, cut it, how would you like to handle?"
«OOC» Thistledown says, "The barrier is in line with the fence itself."
«OOC» Dumah says, "Wirecutters. I'd prefer not to have to leave in a hurry without a hole ready. ;) Although something big enough to crawl through is fine for Dumah."
«OOC» Thistledown says, "Snippity snip snip."
«OOC» Dumah has electronics if there's alarms needed to subvert. ;)
«Auto-Judge[thorn]» Thistledown (#9317) rolls 3 vs TN 18 for "Anybody notice snippity snip?":
4 5 9 = 0 Successes
You cut a fair sized hole.
Dumah glances around one last time, then shimmies on through the hole in the fence all stealthy-like.
«Auto-Judge[thorn]» Danthrall (#7693) rolls Conjuring - 2 vs TN 5 (to Thistledown) for "F4 Field Spirit, -2 to help with drain.":
1 3 5 20 = 2 Successes
«Auto-Judge[thorn]» Danthrall (#7693) rolls Centering vs TN 4 (to Thistledown) for "Help with that drain!":
4 7 = 2 Successes
«Auto-Judge[thorn]» Danthrall (#7693) rolls Charisma vs TN 4 (to Thistledown) for "4M Drain! (That last roll was at 4, not 5, so it was actually 2 successes. Yay!)":
1 3 3 5 = 1 Success
«OOC» Danthrall grumbles, and stands. L stun.
The facility is in poor shape, all the grass is dead, more than dead it's putrid. The holding tanks are covered in slime where tarps that must have been secured to seal them at one point have been cut and pulled back. The air reeks, of things dead and dying. There's no activity to be seen at this point.
Danthrall hears over the comm that the path is clear, and he takes that as time to move. He begins a low chant, swaying a bit as he steps out towards the barrier. After a few seconds, the chant reaches it's peak, and the shaman's appearance becomes hazy as he crosses the field.
«OOC» Danthrall uses concealment for his first favor.
«OOC» Thistledown says, "Give me a stealth roll danthrall, then a perception."
«OOC» Dumah will be taking point, watching for physical threats. :)
«Auto-Judge[thorn]» Danthrall (#7693) rolls Stealth for "+4, Spirit's concealment":
2 5
«Auto-Judge[thorn]» Thistledown (#9317) rolls 3 vs TN 9 for "Sneaky Danthrall?":
1 1 4 = 0 Successes
«Auto-Judge[thorn]» Danthrall (#7693) rolls Intelligence for "Perception, Astral modifiers":
1 3 3 4 5 5
«Auto-Judge[thorn]» Thistledown (#9317) rolls 3 for "How sneaky are the defenses…":
1 5 9
«OOC» Thistledown says, "Carry on."
Commlink-Dumah> Dumah says, "How are things on the astral?"
Dumah leads the way, watching for threats. He eyes the building where it's said the hostage is, hitting it with his laser mike.
You paged Dumah with 'It's the pump house, all you hear is machinery. Seems like somethings still running in this old place.'.
From afar, Dumah takes a recording of the audio feed for later ID, moves on. :)
Dumah notices 'There is some machinery running in the direction of the control room.'.
Danthrall crosses the field, approaching the fence. Somehow, what grass there is seems to block the lines of sight to him, and the shadows from rubble seem darker as he moves through them. He gets to the fence unhindered before responding.
Commlink-Stone> Danthrall says, "Foggy. Murky. It's hard tell, but I haven't seen anything. I'll wait on this side until you give me the go-ahead."
Commlink-Dumah> Dumah says, "We're clear on the physical. Come in, take a quick peek astral, then if it's clear, project for the rest of recon."
Danthrall has partially disconnected.
Commlink-Stone> Danthrall says, "Communication will be down while I'm spirit-walking."
Commlink-Dumah> Dumah says, "Gotcha."
«OOC» Danthrall says, "I don't suppose I can keep the spirit's concealment while passing through the barrier…"
«OOC» Thistledown says, "Concealment will drop when you cross barrier."
The smell coming off this place is nearly unbearable.
Dumah hunkers down near Danthrall as they cross the barrier, scanning around him. Behind, as well. Never know when there's a far-ranging patrol. Or opportunistic gangers.
The shadows that seem to conceal the shaman fade before he begins to squeeze through the fence. Once inside, he finds a nice little place to hole up before he sits down, and casts his spirit into the murky spirit world.
It's bad here, probably as bad as you've ever seen it. The haze here is at least a factor 2, but over by the pits it spikes, inside the pits…it hurts your eyes even to look. Moving in a twisted path through the astral landscape above you are several watcher spirits. They're cruising in patrol circles, moving so fast they're nearly blurring. One zips overhead but it doesn't appear to be looking very intently.
Dumah readies a pistol. Just in case. He keeps it tucked in under his ruth. That's why he carries more of a cloak than a close-fitting suit. Otherwise he'd have to get everything plated with the stuff.
Danthrall's spirit form appears next to Dumah. "Where to?" he asks softly once he's manifested.
Dumah mutters quietly, "Check the buildings for life. Start with the pump station, sweep across. Stay safe. First sign of trouble, we're gone. Got it?"
Danthrall nods. "If trouble starts, and you don't see me, run by there," he says pointing towards where his body lies sheltered. He vanishes then, moving into the building.
Dumah nods slightly and settles back to wait, continuing to watch the facility, looking for more spots with noise. Especially if he can pick up people. Heartbeats from people leaning against walls, talking, a radio… whatever he can get.
The pump station is mostly full of machinery, much of it active and throwing static into the astral environment, but there are three lifesigns. Two move about the room, the third is slumped against one of the larger pipes.
Danthrall pages: BG 2 or 3?
You paged Danthrall with 'In here, 2.'.
«Auto-Judge[thorn]» Danthrall (#7693) rolls Intelligence vs TN 7 (to Thistledown) for "Assense the slumped man":
1 2 3 3 4 5 = 0 Successes
Danthrall pages: Ah nuts, stand. Will pass on through, seeing what else is about.
You paged Danthrall with 'where to?'.
Danthrall pages: Further into the building. Unless I covered it all. In which case… where are we on the map?
You paged Danthrall with 'Pump house is what you just checked, it's where the captive was supposed to be.'.
Danthrall pages: Lets go clockwise. Chlorine contact next.
You paged Danthrall with 'You can't even get close their so bad…there's foul stuff in there.'.
Danthrall pages: Right. Next place, and will keep going until I see people again.
You paged Danthrall with 'The control room has people, many at least 10 but you pull back before you see much more as at least one of them is astrally active.'.
Danthrall pages: Too many. Lets try heating building, followed by utility.
You paged Danthrall with 'Empty and empty, the next place you see people are actually in the clarifiers, its foul…bad enough that you almost expect to see a mana warp. Lying at the edges of the three pools close to the buildings are living creatures, but their auras are twisted.'.
Danthrall pages: How many?
You paged Danthrall with 'Three people one at the edge of each. It's like looking at a shadow in front of the sun though the astral twists heavily in those ponds.'.
Danthrall pages: Ok. Moving on.
You paged Danthrall with 'You've come full circle.'.
Danthrall pages: Fermenters? Bioreactor? We're short, what, 8 activits and 1 runner, I think.
Danthrall pages: Grit and Screen
Danthrall pages: Digesters…
You paged Danthrall with 'All clear of life, though filthy astrally.'.
Danthrall pages: Just need to recap what I've found… One (presumed Hostage) with 2 guards. Across the facility is a room with 10 people, with the magic types being in there. In the big circley things, are 3 others (presume runners).
«OOC» Thistledown says, "Is there any more recon/research in the works?"
«OOC» Lobo says, "Ok here goes. Lobo has cash on hand. He does these jobs mainly for the rep and to feel like he has worth in life. He will be spending 3000 =Y=, or more if need be, on his Fixer contact The Jazzman, to get a docket of info on Shaman's, lodges, background counts, and finally the possible means of temporarily lowering the background count (or whatever the IC term actually is) at a toxic site. He also wants to find info on spirits and how a mundane can fight them. (All this will go towards a reason to get the damn knowledge skill!)."
«OOC» Thistledown laughs, "No problem, the information is readily available. Give me a etiquette roll for Jazzman difficulty 4, the more successes, the better condensed the reading material is."
«Auto-Judge[thorn]» Lobo (#8464) rolls Etiquette vs TN 4:
1 5 = 1 Success
«OOC» Lobo says, "Next bit. Lobo will be using the same contact and pay up to 5000 =Y= to get info on any news blurbs that may have leaked out from Ares corp about any missing employees in the last two weeks. Especially any employees that may attend rallies. Better yet, do a cross reference on any rally's that Ares may have been involved in."
«OOC» Lobo says, "And last.. using my Shadowrunner contact, Jerome Blake to get any word of a Shadowrunner team operating in this area that has come up missing or went of the grid abruptly."
[Newbie] Aeden says, "Right. But there's more than one MMG… Ok."
«Auto-Judge[thorn]» Lobo (#8464) rolls Etiquette vs TN 4:
2 5 = 1 Success
Jazzman comes through, sending over a digital copy of Morgainne's Modern Manual to Magical Muddles for Mundanes it contains everything a person needs to know about the magical world and how to avoid it's perils, he's got a couple of sections marked for you. Jazz thinks for a moment, "You ever get a knowsoft link?" he asks.
Lobo shakes his head, not that Jazzman can see that over the phone, "Na. I wonder if I can stick one of those babies in my arm? Think I should get one?"
Jazzman makes a non-committal grunt, "It's your meat, my brother, it's just a lot quicker to slot a chip than to read a book, dig?"
«Auto-Judge[thorn]» Lobo (#8464) spends 3000 nuyen for "For Thistledown's run, paying my level 2 contact The Jazzman for information about magic and mundanes.".
Jerome comes up with little that's useful sending back a text message, "Sorry man, you know teams tend to go to ground after a mission, whether or not it's successful. You guys are like ghosts, and we love you for it."
Lobo chuckles, "Yeah. sometimes my retarded self is old fashioned that way." He slots a credstick in his pocsec. "Here's yer payment. Lemme know if you find anything else and I'll toss some more yen your way."
Lobo appears to be good at multi-tasking, he isn't as dumb as he lets on. He rapidly fires back a text message in a separate window. "Thanks for checking. Here's my payment."
Jazzman chuckles, "My brother, I'll send you over a library if you leave it open-ended like that…how bout I set you up with a fine sister to give you a real education in magic."
«Auto-Judge[thorn]» Lobo (#8464) spends 5000 nuyen for "For using level 2 contact Jerome Blake to dig up any info on the captured Shadowrun team. Thistledowns plot.".
Lobo raises his eyebrows, "Ah hehehe. I'm good for now. Seriously though. If you find some kind of tidbit that may be useful within the next eighteen hours, there's another three grand in it for ya."
Jazz laughs, "I'm on it, but you think about what I said, she's a fine piece of mojo."
Lobo says "I appreciate the offer. I might just hit ya up when this job is done. Talk atcha later."
Lobo hangs up his phone and taps a few times on his pocsec. He looks around the room. "I got shite and shinola regarding that team. So far not much on who the hostage is. The terrorists are not much of a threat, at least as far as outward appearances go. I am working on the magic angle right now. I gotta do some reading though."
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