Enter the Phoenix

GM: Feather (Huntress and Artemis are GM alts) Players: Krieg, Miyo, Posh, Feather Synopsis: Feather asks the team to help with a personal mission without fully disclosing why. As often ends up happening in the shadows, things spiral out of control. Date: October 1, 2075 It's an hour past midnight. Two hours past pure boredom. Tonight has been a nothing night. No action. No work. No news. At the apartment where a certain set of shadowrunners sometimes mingle, it's quiet. The trid is still on, a high view overlooking Denver through the windows, the lighting dim. Posh, Miyo, and Krieg are there, discussing business, or maybe nothing, trideo reruns filling the air during the moments of silence, tired dialogue that they've likely heard before. It's a comedy. Sixth World humor. There's a tasteless ork joke, followed by canned laughter. There was a brief Matrix controversy about that one, when it first aired. A meaningless apology was issued. Life went on. The door opens, and Feather walks in. No hello from her. She doesn't even look at the others. There's an urgent look on her face, almost desperate, though not quite. She's possibly not the type to show that kind of emotion. She heads to one of the bedrooms with heavy, determined steps, returning a few moments later with her case. Her black box of death. It's layed loudly on a table, and she pops it open, checking supplies. Arrows. Grenades. Fingers run across that sword of hers, the one that seems a few feet too impractical for shadow work, that she always works with anyway. She looks up at the others briefly as she works. "There's a job. I could use some help." That's quite the explanation. She adds, perhaps without the necessary context for her words to have any weight. "It's personal." Posh makes a face at the tasteless ork joke. "I'm not even sure I'm allowed to find that funny anymore," she says. "I'm starting to realize lately that the Oafy Orky cartoons I watched as a child might be rather offensive, you know," she says, looking up as she sees Feather entering with her case, a little surprised, but taking in the armaments, and then a tight smile is on her lips. "I see," she says. "Well, especially if it's personal, you know I'm there for you," she says, glad that she's only had two fingers of rum tonight. "All I ask for is an even share of any windfall, if there happens to be any," she says, turning to the other two there. "Well," she says to Miyo and Krieg, friends she's made in the past months, "looks like there's a personal job. You two in?" she asks. Miyo would be found in the kitchen. The fox was making a post-bath sammich and by the time that Feather enters the apartment, she has finished construction. So, as she starts to speak, Miyo shoves a massive portion of ham and cheese sammich into her mouth. When Feather inquires about whether or not she'd help on a job, the fox nods excitedly. "Personal encounters are not my specialty, but I will attempt to provide asssiatnce if needed." Krieg notes as she seems to fiddle with some electronic scrap that's sitting on her lap. A small puff of smoke and burnt circuit smell every so often emerging from the damaged device. "Ensuring that there are few personal oustanding issues can maximize efficiency on professional jobs," Posh suggests to Krieg. "It's not that kind of personal," Feather replies tersely to Krieg, her thick Chinese accent laced also with a tiny bit of frustration. It doesn't seem like she actually intends to be rude, though. No, this one just seems to have gotten under her skin, and it's spilling out, both in her voice and in her body language. Why? Who knows. She's also not the type to explain herself. Not easily, anyway. "This one might get bloody. Your warrior might be extremely useful." Krieg's warrior. Senshi. Two meters, just about, of prototype drone murder. "If any of you have any objection to involving yourself in the affairs of Triads, an understandable objection, now is the time to back out. If you are in, we are going to have to leave in a few minutes." Miyo scarfs down the last bit of her sandwich and waves at Feather. "I'll go get my stuff." She then runs to the corner of the room and starts to get into her 'mission' gear. The fox grabs her weapons and stuff and would hopefully be ready to go when everyone else is ready to go. Posh nods. "I am prepared," she says. After all, when you're loaded with twenty-four rounds of EXEX, you're ready for a bit of a late night excursion. "I suppose you could say I am already at least a little involved in the affairs of some Triads. In for a penny, in for a pound," she says, with a little shrug and a toss of her head. Posh considers: she's got her street armor around, her useful bag of knick-nacks that she usually carries around. Searches are no doubt to be likely, she thinks, but… "Any idea of how ready you'd like me to be?" she asks, wondering if there are greater threats. "Should I be equipped as Senshi, or more for…a subtle approach?" she asks. "I see you're bringing your case," she states. Posh realizes that Feather has answered that question by her gear: the arrows, the grenades, everything. "I see," she states, simply. "I'd like to stop by my stash, if you don't mind, then," she says, turning to Krieg. "Will you need any ammo for Senshi? Rebounds, or EXEX, up to you." «Plot» Posh says, "2x Gyrojets, 6/5 street armor, 4x Ceska Skorpion HV (EXEX in 2 and rebounds in 2), EXEX in arm SMGs." "EXEX LMG belted munitions could prove usefull in an encounter. Typically I use standard munitions that are easily found on the market to assist in disguisng the activities origion." Krieg takes the small device and sets it on the table. "My required equipment is already stored within our backpacks. Unless we will need a generator, it is in the room. Will this be a a particularly violent and hasrsh exchange?" She asks before hopping up from her seat and adjusting her skirt. Posh gives a quick smile to Krieg. "Well," she says. "I actually have a rather significant supply of such basic munitions that I purchased at the Denver shadow auction," she says. "I have enough extra to supply you, at least when we are working directly together. I'll pick up a couple belts for you when I hit my stash," she says, "because it seems like we will be. I can also have Bull put together a care package that Sara can deliver," she says. "And we could pick up it near we're headed, if time is really tight, but that'll cost me about a grand," she says. "Still, worth it to make sure we're properly helping you out, Feather." «Plot» Posh says, "consent to 1000 payment, if we don't have time to visit stash in the 'Rens." «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) has the Contact Sara Milczarek with the following information: -----> Contact for Posh (#11342) <----- Contact Name: Sara Milczarek Level: 1 Type: smuggler GM Note: Racism +2 (Humans). Troll woman, age 45. Minor dislike for humans, if only because of the humanocentric Humanis Policlub. «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Etiquette for "Asking for service from contact, will pay.": 1 2 2 3 4 4 "Micro-aerodynamic grenade rounds for an MGL would also be applicable if desired." Krieg slips this statement in right after Posh mentions more stuff. Posh sends a quick text message to Sara, asking if she'd accept 2000 nuyen for a trip into the Warrens and the location Feather suggests, afterwards, giving herself and Senshi a chance to load up. "All right. We should be able to back you up however you need," she says. "Sara doesn't do hot infiltrations, so make sure that wherever you're dropping us off is a safe spot. Ideally, we might even…lift something for extraction. I'll come prepared for that eventuality," she says. "In any case, just let us know where to meet up with you, Feather. See you soon. «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) spends 2000 nuyen for " For Sara's smuggling services". «Plot» Posh says, "Heading to stash with Miyo, Krieg, in Sara's van." Krieg is fairly self-contained. Between herself and Senshi their gear is stored and ready. Senshi carries an extra duffle like bag with the last bits of kriegs weaponru in it, so she does not have to carry it when transported. "I did not hear any mention of a plan of action, number of opponenets, area of operation, length of engagement." She blinks a bit and checks to make sure her pockets are buttoned. "Is this intended to be a rolling objectives mission?" Posh nods. "That's right, you didn't," she says. "Feather asked us to come help her out, loaded for bear. That's what I'm doing," she says. "She's come fully armed herself, so we're going to be there to back her up. If she's in some kind of trouble? We're going to make sure that she gets out of it," she says. "And who knows, there might be opportunity. But here is the mission objective: Preserve current assets," she says, as she helps load up another belt of EXEX LMG ammo for Senshi. The old man. Who else would it be? Feather doesn't provide much more explanation, though she does give brief answers to the questions asked. "You have enough time to make one or two stops to load up. Just remember that this job is within the sprawl. Having an insurance policy like Senshi will be nice, especially on a job like this,"Like this?"but I don't think his use will go unnoticed, if you use his heavy weapons. So it should be our last resort. This won't be happening in the Warrens." She leaves a chip on the table. "Suen Qiang. You have thirty minutes. He will explain the rest. I need to go." Does that mean she's not going to be joining you at the meet? "I'll be in touch." And then she's gone. Someone might need to have a talk with her about proper disclosure, though she seems too distracted to care much about that. A smuggler is your best friend in Denver, the city of checkpoints and border paranoia, and Sara Milczarek is no exception. The team is out the door quickly enough, finding themselves waiting just outside the apartment building's back entrance. The streets are mostly empty at this hour, the alley behind the building entirely deserted. Sara pulls up, the troll triggering the doors to open, and in a few quick moments, the team and their mechanical companion are inside. Luckily, her vehicle is nondescript enough to not warrant much scrutiny, and she knows the routes to travel to avoid attention. The trip is easy, and not very long. A brief stop at Posh's stash is first. Some small arms and heavy ammunition for Senshi finds its way into the smuggling compartment of Sara's vehicle. And then onward, through the checkpoint to the CAS. Suen Qiang. Most of the team has met him before. Sara's van stops about a block from the address supplied, and the team finds themselves again in a deserted alley, walking to the back entrance of the Chinese restaurant which is the seat of Suen's empire. He's the man, one of the seniormost leaders of the Black Dragons, a Denver Triad tied closely to Hong Kong's feared Red Dragons. A few of his smartly-dressed Triad soldiers are waiting out back when you arrive, and they escort the group up to meet the person of the hour. Suen Qiang. He's having a bad day. You can hear him shouting when you enter, his voice growing only louder as you walk the steps to the second floor. As you're lead into a service door and through the high-end kitchen up here which caters to the Triad's members. But Suen Qiang quiets down when the final door is opened, and you enter his office. Suddenly, he seems almost nice, or he would, if you hadn't already heard his rage. A hand still shaking with anger sets a pocket secretary down, whatever phone conversation he was having now over. And then he smiles. It's the same demeanor, or the same act, he always has. Old, wise, grandfatherly. Maybe even a little harmless, if one believed that. "Thank you for coming on such short notice," he says, gesturing to the chairs in front of his desk. That Chinese politeness, unfailingly. "I didn't think she would be able to get so many people on such short notice." She? Feather? Doesn't Feather semi-hate this guy? "Did she tell you anything about why you're here?" Krieg simply stands close and sleightly behind Posh awaiting their next actions. She politely nods to the man and begins keeping an eye on their surroundings. It's not her job to chit chat. If Posh sits, she will follow and find one beside her, otherwise it's stoic stares and observant glances. Posh nods. "All right," she says. "I'd like to leave a weapons pack with Senshi, if that's all right," she says, leaving everything that she can in a duffel of tangled harnesses, holsters, and different pistols, six in all, with Senshi, leaving herself with no visible weapons, even if she were to be closely searched. At least, nothing not built directly into her. "That way, if Senshi has to come into play he can make a drop nearby, or something," Posh suggests. "Does that work, in case we get into extra trouble?" she asks. Posh gives a smile over to Krieg and Miyo. "I think she's probably just preoccupied. I've been that way myself, too…and riding shotgun for Sara, she can, if she need to, present a cover story that the group is escorting a VIP, which with her legitimate civilian-class bodyguarding credentials would likely pass muster. And so, she arrives, along with Miyo and hopefully the real Krieg, well-dressed, while Sara, in exchange for her two thousand nuyen of low risk work for the night, holds Senshi in the back and waits with her microtransaction games in the van. Posh takes a deep breath, steeling herself for the meeting with Suen Qiang, and moves to enter. She heads through the necessary searches, submitting wordlessly, and dips her head politely, very British. "Well," she says. "Feather is important to those she dealt with. We are her people, and so we are there when needed," she says. "Just as I am sure that you are there for your people," she says. Miyo follows Posh into the building and looks about. Currently, she has absolutely no idea what is going on, other than that she agreed to do a favor or something for Feather - which is all good. Hopefully, she'd learn what she got herself into here coming up before… you know… she had to know. Posh's coat tails, Krieg follows along. Senshi retains Krieg's bag of weaponry for now while the meeting is going on. She does keep her concealed armor and gear on, as it's easily hidden beneith the almost 80 or so coverage clothing. Suen Qiang just smiles at the Englishwoman. It's perhaps one of the strengths and weaknesses of Chinese culture. Whether her words reach him or not, whether he finds them to his liking, his facade of politeness does not face. "Of course," he says. He too has a thick accent. It's similar to Feather's, in some ways. Very Hong Kong, though whether or not anyone can recognize that is another matter. "I suppose I should dispense with the formalities here, as time is of the essence. That's why you are here, actually. Deniability, yes, in case this goes wrong. Mostly because I need someone who can work fast. Speed is of the essence here." He starts to type at the keypad in front of him. "As you may know, the Red Dragons wield considerable power in Denver. This is primarily through organizations like my own. This city is home to a not insignificant Chinese population. As you said, we do a lot of business which helps ensure the interests of our people." Korean and Japanese too, though he doesn't bother mentioning them. "We have rivals, of course. Some are tolerable. Some are not. There's one group, in particular, who are a nuisance. People who allow themselves to be the puppets of outsiders." Aren't they outsiders themselves? What does he mean? "They're running an establishment not a few miles from here. I need them to be gone. By tomorrow morning." A trideo display comes to life on the desk in front of him, casting an orange glow across the dark room. It looks like a storefront, likely a front operation for whatever "nuisance" he's talking about. "I cannot impress upon you just how important this task is." Is he going to explain why? Posh gives a nod. "Any further information you are able to divulge about the nature of the operation will help us to be better prepared," she says. "In addition, we may gain insight from why their removal is so important, beyond the obvious ones that you cannot have people operating in your domain who do not accept your authority," she replies thoughtfully. She takes a closer look at the storefront, to see what kind of operation the front is, and to see in general what zone is being discussed, for operating in. "Which outsiders are they the puppets of?" she also inquires. "Wuxing?" she ventures, first. "Wuxing?" Miyo inquires, wondering what Posh is asking about. "Hmm…" Otherwise, the fox remains silent. «Plot» Feather says, "Roll Negotiation or Interrogation to try to get information from him, if you want." «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Negotiation + 4 for "CTP2": 1 3 3 3 4 4 5 5 5 14 15 «Plot» Feather says, "Can Posh and Krieg roll intelligence, open test? It's a recall test, so we'll also say +1 dice for each level of Mnemonic Enhancer." OOC Note: I also asked for gang/street skills, to have an idea of what's going down. «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Street Rumors + 1 for "task pool": 2 4 5 5 8 9 «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Gang Identification + 1 for "task pool": 1 2 5 5 «Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls Street Rumors + Task Pool: 1 for "Not a stalker, watching is my job.": 3 4 8 9 «Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls Intelligence + 3 for "Recall test (ME3)": 1 1 1 3 3 3 4 4 5 5 8 Suen Qiang smiles a little at the mention of Wuxing. A Hong Kong-based megacorporation, they share their domain with the Red Dragons. "Wuxing has always been friendly with organizations like mine." Probably not unambiguously true, from what Posh knows, but partially so. For Wuxing to operate in China, it's close to impossible for the two to /not/ have some kind of relationship. Whether or not they're actually in bed is another matter. Probably nothing too intimate, regardless of what Qiang is saying. Both wield very different kinds of power. "No. I'm more worried about true outsiders." A hint of unvarnished disdain creeps into his voice. True outsiders. He means … "People not from our homeland, who seek to meddle in our internal affairs." He means non-Chinese. A Triad being influenced by non-Chinese. Usually unthinkable, but didn't Feather mention something like that? Some members of the team might recall … That's right. The Black Chrysanthemums. Above all else, Feather hates them. Is that why this is personal? There are clear battle lines drawn in Hong Kong, Feather has explained before. The Red Dragons, the most powerful of the Triads, on one side. The White Lotus and their ally the Phoenix Lodge on the other. But standing apart from all of them is the Black Chrysanthemums. A small triad with its claws into the darkest kinds of businessorganlegging, human trafficking, and worsethat would likely have long been stamped out by the established groups, were it not for their outside funding. "Sometimes common enemies make for strange bedfellows, as the English would say. This job is a matter of diplomacy." Diplomacy? Between the Triads? Rare, but alliances are not unheard of. "If you fail, the deal I am trying to negotiate will become that much harder. Perhaps impossible." He speaks next to Posh directly. "And you will suffer too, believe me. The group we are trying to deal with will become more than a thorn in the side of organizations like yours." He knows about the Omens, it seems. Is that what he thinks of her? Just another gang soldier? "That is all I am willing to share." His voice says he's drawing a hard line. "I simply need this building emptied, by whatever means necessary, and all business inside disrupted. It doesn't have to be permanent. But it must be clear by the morning. I will offer you twenty-five thousand each." "I think I see," says Posh, with a little smile. "But this front is unlikely to be the entire foothold of their operations here," she says. "And in the grand scheme of things, this must mean very little," she says. "Certainly, for the service you wish, for the Chrysanthemums are likely to prosecute their defense assertively, this is an appropriate scale, but I find myself wondering why this would matter, unless you are hiring several other teams," she says. "If we can understand more goals, Honorable Suen," she says, "then we will be able to use a method most suited to the results you desire. Otherwise," she says, "I think we have our goal, and on Feather's behalf, we will be happy to accept her feet. I hope," she says, with a final smile, "that you only remember that it is her that brought us to you, as one of your available tools. I hope, as I am sure you do, that we will prove useful." Krieg watches the man intently, then just looks to Posh to await the final decision to leave. About two-thirds of the stuff goes over Miyo's head. But that's to be understood. She knows none of the… history her friends and these other people have. But, she sort of gets the jyst of what is going on. She wraps herself up inher cloak and follows everyone else out. That smirk. Knowing. Self-satisfied. It's one of those little tells, those moments when Suen Qiang can't quite conceal what he thinks of themselves. He's of a type, for sure. He's the type that thinks himself the master of his world, that thinks he's the biggest shark in his tank, that he can bite off a piece of anyone at his leisure. It's only more infuriating that he might be just be a little bit right. But it tells Posh something. It tells her that she might be right too. There's a lot that's not being spoken here. If something big is going down, surely one storefront isn't going to make a difference, is it? No, there's more to this task than meets the eye. Krieg can probably tell too, with her knowledge of the streets. And Miyo? Well, she knows what the Triads are capable of. Her dad might have told her a story or two. The men and women of the Triads might smile and speak softly. They might have faux politeness and an affectation of unity and family that puts the La Cosa Nostra to shame. But they are sharks, through and through. This man is a gentleman on the outside only, and everyone on this team just might know better than to fully trust him. Complications are perhaps to be expected. And with the Triads, it's never quite so simple as drugs and guns and money. "Feather. I still think that an ironic name for her. The blunt instrument of Huang Zimei." Hong Kong Cantonese. The Phoenix Sisters. What that means is anyone's guess. And Feather as a blunt instrument? Compared to who? Suen Qiang grins a little wider. "I'm sorry, but you will have to perform the task with only the information you have. You wouldn't be here if I did not think you could succeed. And no, this job does not mean little. It means everything. Take it as a sign of trust because of your previous successes that you are being given this assignment." Little more is said. Polite goodbyes are exchanged, and the team is on their way, ushered back through the kitchen, down the stairs, and again out into the back alley behind the restaurant. Posh calls for Sara, and the group gets their pick-up. The drive to the mission point is a short one, the three women exchanging their individual perspectives, trying to get each other up to speed, trying to make sense of this mission. It's only a few minutes before they arrive, though. Sara stops about a block out from the storefront, pulling the vehicle into a cramped side street to avoid notice on the otherwise empty roads. It's time to figure out what you're going to do. And Feather? She never did call. Posh nods, her eyes narrowing just a touch, at the reference to Huang Zimei, but she smiles. "I see," she says. "Well, we are hardly in a position to refuse or gainsay," she says, stating the obvious. "So I think I should thank you for your time, instead," she says. "We have little time, so we must begin reconnaisance immediately, after all," she says, turning to the others. "We have our mission," she says, turning to Suen Qiang. "With your leave, Honorable Suen," she says, dipping her head again. Commlink-Krieg> Krieg sends, « Please verify communications links, encryption will be run on available channels open channels please refrain from transmission unless it is an emergency. Vidlink and sensor reports are available on encrypted Ops3 feed. » Commlink-Posh> Posh sends, « decryption protocol* Indeed, Krieg. We need a secure location to meet - every room they'd give is us likely bugged and under triple-surveillance. Then, we need to scout this out. Miyo, you're going to have to scout on the astral plane. I'll be able to get an info packet on the site from my info dealer. And I'm going to get in touch with a friend who might give me some information on what the big man is /not/ telling us. » Krieg seems to transmit without a word physically, or any indication of her activities. As soon as they depart She prepares what is left to be done with Senshi and readies her equipment to activate, synch, and link her Bumblebee observers to her network. Immediately, even while she is smiling and bowing to Suen, she is sending a text message to another source. «Hey, Wu. Was hoping you could just help me with the picture. Hear anything going down with the Black Cs? And is there anything we'd need to know about hitting a storefront associated with them? And here's Y500 because nothing's more valuable than being in the know. Xiexie, nin. Posh's transmissions are equally thought-controlled. «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) has the Contact Scuttling Wu with the following information: -----> Contact for Posh (#11342) <----- Contact Name: Scuttling Wu Level: 1 Type: triad runner GM Note: Scuttling Wu is a dwarf with a many storied history, having freelanced for years in Macao before coming to Denver. With a particular knack for showing up in odd places, Wu might not be the toughest combatant, but his cleverness, ability to get out of trouble, and resourcefulness have earned him a rather respected name. He first met Posh and Scurry when she decided to rescue him and Scurry healed him up when he and her were captured by the Yakuza, and she helped bust him out. «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) spends 500 nuyen for " Getting some extra info from Scuttling Wu". «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) has the Contact Dirk McDougall with the following information: -----> Contact for Posh (#11342) <----- Contact Name: Dirk McDougall Level: 1 Type: sinfo broker GM Note: Dirk McDougall is a rather ill-tempered Scottish dwarf who loves to play with stereotypes, and is an old friend of Les. He's in fact one of Les's primary info brokers. Dirk is one of the best guys around to purchase an 'eyedee from, lassie,' and he also keeps his finger on the pulse of the shadows. However, being sharper than most, he's harder to get the best prices from. INT 6, Negotiation 5, specialized for SINSs, specific for information. «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) spends 500 nuyen for " Buying info packet on the target location (easy to find blueprints, local security response times, known connections, etc.)". Commlink-Krieg> Krieg sends, « Disruption and damage to the enemy forces and material assets. The location may contain valuable items or personnel that have not been specified. The difficulty of penetration and attack within the structure could be more than we have been informed. Once we are on location I can make a rapid analysis of the structure and speculate. » Commlink-Kit> Miyo sends, « I can't move around on the astral, I can only view it. So, keep that in mind. » Commlink-Posh> Posh sends, « I suspect this is classic misdirection. We are to make it appear to the Chrysanthemums like larger, more extensive resources are deployed against them than actually are. Different MOs, different techniques…I wouldn't be surprised if Suen hired a team of killers to hit another site in an entirely different way. But he didn't ask us to do something we'd balk at…else thes Chrysanthemums might have some business he wants us to find, perhaps, so that we start doing pro bono work, as well. There are many possiblities. » «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Etiquette for "getting info from Wu, no pheremones": 1 2 2 3 3 3 «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Etiquette for "getting info from Wu, no pheremones karma (1 spent)": 2 3 3 3 5 11 «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Etiquette for "getting info from Dirk, no pheremones": 1 3 3 5 5 5 «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Etiquette for "getting info from Dirk, no pheremones karma (1 spent)": 2 2 4 4 4 5 «Plot» Posh says, "Stand on both." Commlink-Kit> Miyo sends, « So, we're going to make us look awesome, and hopefully intimidate the competition out of town? » Commlink-Posh> Posh sends, « I'd like to not expose ourselves that directly. » Commlink-Kit> Miyo sends, « Probably a good idea. » Commlink-Krieg> Krieg sends, « Our methods will be foreign to those commonly employeed by the Triads. If we are part of a larger strong of events then it would prove effective, but those strikes will have little effect on our own unless they occur prior to ours, possibly increasing vigilance on the enemies part. How would you like this handled? » 500 nuyen can take you places, but it will only take you so far. She strikes out with Dirk, as far as the good stuff goes. Whatever is /really/ happening, he either doesn't know, or he's not talking. He doesn't know what the Triads are doing, and he doesn't have any information on that building. But he offers Posh something. It's a C-zone, he says. And with how heavy the Triad presence is in that area, the cops tend to wait a little longer than usual before sending in the cavalry. They'd honestly rather let the gang soldiers kill each other off first before sending in their own guys. Response times will probably be long enough to make a getaway if a serious alarm sounds, at least with what Sara knows. It's not what Posh /really/ wanted to know, but it's useful enough. If the team needs to bring the hammer down, provided they can move fast enough afterward, they might be OK. Wu, then, is her last shot at getting a better idea of what's really going on. Posh asks in her extra nice tone, and Wu owes her, on top of that. He decides to throw her a bone, but judging by his tense tone of voice, he /really/ shouldn't be saying any of this. "A storefront? I don't know what you mean. The Black Chrysanthemums don't have any front operations in that form. They certainly wouldn't set one up so close to the Black Dragons." He pauses there, more reluctant. He only says more when pushed. "Look. You can't tell anyone you know this. But there's a new player in town. The Black Dragons want to push the Black Chrysanthemums out, but they don't have the manpower in Denver. So their Red Dragon bosses in Hong Kong offered another Triad an expansion opportunity. The Phoenix Lodge. The Red Dragons are enemies with them back home, but they're agreeing to a truce in this city. The Phoenix Lodge has already sent some soldiers to clean house with the Black C's. They've been at war for weeks. This isn't just one storefront. I don't know what you're into, but be careful." Commlink-Posh> Posh sends, « All right. We've got a bit of a clearer picture of what's going on. The Black Dragons here want to get rid of the Black Chrysanthemums, so the Red Dragons, their Hong Kong affiliates, have struck a deal with them: the Phoenix Lodge. I suspect our targets may not be told who they were. » Commlink-Kit> Miyo sends, « Sooo… we're getting ourselves into a pretty… sketchy position? Like, we're probably not gonna get out of this easily…? » Back at Sara's van, then, and outside, Posh smiles at Krieg and Miyo. "All right," she says. "We're going to have to do some scouting of the area," she says. "First off, we have to see what kind of astral and magical protections the storefront might have. Krieg, you're going to have to analyze things. You'll stay in the van, while Miyo and I will scout on foot, and she'll be also checking there. And…well…we're already in a pretty sketchy position. But we don't have a choice. We have to help our friend, Feather." Miyo nods as she gets out with Posh. "Sure, sure. I've not done this much before, so, forgive me if it doesn't work out as we hope." She grins a little bit. "I should be able to handle it." «Plot» Posh says, "We're trying to stay far enough away that we wouldn't raise attention. We'll do this by finding out where the nearest drinking establishment is and then act as if we're walking home, then I'll change hair colors and we'll do another pass as if we're talking towards it, and so on." «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Disguise for "+2 to result for hair/eyes": 3 4 5 7 «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Etiquette for "I belong here!": 1 1 2 2 5 10 «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Intelligence for "Investigating": 1 1 1 2 2 4 4 4 «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Intelligence for "Investigating ~KP 1": 1 1 3 4 4 4 4 16 «Plot» Posh says, "3 karma pool spent. Miyo has a ruthi cloak and she does not expose her ears usually when out, at least wearing them under a headscarf, if I'm not mistaken." «Plot» Miyo says, "Correct." «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) has the Attribute Charisma with the value '8 (13)'. "Do you want Senshi to wait nearby to respond if needed? I can accomplish basic scouting with my Bumbles. If you want me to stay in the distance with the vehicle that is fine. I will default to your discretion on this." Krieg moves to check her own small arsenal of weapons in Senshi's dufflebag. "Additional bodies on the line can increase target distribution to reduce saturation on our forces. It can become more complicated to coordinate our activities if we all engage." Commlink-Posh> Posh sends, « I agree. I think Senshi should wait in a hidden location. I think you should stay still in the van with Sara, for extraction. Senshi is going to be our backup: Miyo and I are going to be tryign to do this silently. We need to find, first of all, if we will be able to enter the place invisibly. » «Auto-Judge[]» Miyo (#13014) rolls Intelligence: 3 3 3 4 5 11 «Auto-Judge[]» Miyo (#13014) rolls Magic Background (Chinese Alchemy/Magic): 1 2 4 5 10 10 «Plot» Posh says, "Present plan: Posh and Miyo are doing surreptitious scouting while Krieg also scouts with drones, and finds a good nearby spot for Senshi to hide in where he would be able to save the day quickly if called." - «Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls Disguise + Task Pool: 1 for "Assistive social cloaking of Senshi's cloak and concealment materials": 1 2 2 5 11 «Plot» Krieg says, "Just in case there is a question." Commlink-Krieg> Krieg sends, « Agreed, I will begin basic scouting operations of the area as soon as possible. » When they have entered the mission area Krieg will complete set-up and launch a Bumblebee scout drone to observe the immediate area. Posh and Miyo disembark from the van, leaving Sara and Krieg behind, at least for the moment. They walk about a block, choosing social camouflage over direct concealment. Miyo needs to apply extra effort to conceal her modification. Her tail gets wrapped close to her legs, under her long coat. Her ears are tucked under her headscarf. Posh takes point, though, standing between Miyo and the storefronts they're passing, likely getting most of the attention anyway with her level of physical charisma. There is a bar nearby, on the corner of the block where the storefront is, but it looks like it's closing soon. Good timing, maybe. They start walking from there, finding themselves passing a series of small storefronts, each about the size of a convenience store. They walk back again after that, making a second pass. Most of the stores are closed at this late hour. The target looks like a small Chinese grocery. Lion Market is the name, the same thing printed in Cantonese next to it on the sign above. The front is a single locked commercial door, seemingly with a conventional maglock, set into a large glass window. Judging by the look of it, though, it's heavily reinforced ballistic glass. There's nothing strange about that, though, as all the other nearby storefronts have it too, perhaps not a surprise in an area like this. It doesn't look like there's anyone home, though. Looking through the glass, nobody is inside the store, but Posh does spot a single obvious security camera which watches the front of the store. The lock doesn't look too hard to defeat, at least appearing to be low-end commercial grade, but if that camera is working, and someone is watching, you just might lose the element of surprise. Miyo, though, sees something very different. As her vision shifts to include both the material world and the astral plane, that store looks very much alive. A thousand tiny strings of mana seem to be floating in the air around it, winding their way into and out of the store. _Something_ is happening there. But she can't see through the front window at all to look inside, even on the astral; to her, it's like a solid wall. Warding. A lot of it, likely having taken a long time to set up, and likely expensive. If it were anyone else, she might not be able to make sense of it, but Miyo knows enough about Chinese magic to get it. The team just might have lucked out by having her along. Whatever war is being fought between the Triads in this area isn't only physical. It's never that simple with the Triads, or with the Chinese of the Sixth World. No, this is a magical fight too. There's some kind of ritual happening here to redirect the flow of manaor Qi to herin the area. Judging by all the threads coming into and out of this place, it's likely only one of many such sites, but looking at the sheer quantity of connections, this might be some kind of nexus. Posh stops to pretend to gawk at the trinkets in a nearby storefront, selling junk to the gwailo in a time honored tradition, gawping for a moment to give Miyo chances to make her assensing. She spies the lock, and the camera, and frowns a little bit, and then smiles, continuing on. After the second pass, she makes her way to meet up with the others back at the van. "All right," she says. "There are two ways to go about this, using a social camouflage to try to get in, or we just try to find another point of access, other than that door. Let us know if your bumblebees can see an alternate way in. Miyo, can you explain for us what you saw?" she asks. «Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls Intelligence + 3 for "Passive Sensor Bumblebee Drone + R3 Clearsight.": 1 2 3 4 5 7 7 8 8 10 14 Commlink-Kit> Miyo sends, « Sooo… we have some serious magical warding on the front of the building. Let's just say, without getting rid of them, we might not be able to get through it… and… there's probably mages inside." » «Plot» Krieg says, " Mission area observation, low altitude sweep. target structures entrance and exists, possible breech locations. Local drone activity and vehicular traffic. Using the feeds to then conduct additional analysis (Engineering)(Security)" «Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls Engineering + Task Pool: 1 for "Structure materials, possible hardened facility or mock-up? Vent access and alternate routes.": 1 2 4 4 5 9 10 16 «Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls Security Design + Task Pool: 1 for "Security layout from visual and possible inetrfaces, types and locations. Humans Vs technological.": 2 3 4 5 5 10 10 14 Commlink-Posh> Posh sends, « There's mages inside? And we can't get through it? Were you able to see how strong they were? » Commlink-Posh> Posh sends, « Exactly, what do the wards that you saw do? » Commlink-Kit> Miyo sends, « I can't see the mages. I'm not entirely sure what sort of wards they are. Probably going to be blocking spirits and stuff. I'd be surprised if there weren't some sort of alarm ward on there considering how many there are. But… with that much magical activity, there's probably a mage or a few inside. » Posh considers a bit thoughtfully. "Okay. If I approach under cover of an invisibility spell from Miyo, I may be able to disable the camera, provide a consistent feed so that someone watching it wouldn't be able to tell. Then, could you disable the ward if the camera were 'safe' like that, Miyo? And then we could maybe sneak in quietly? Without an alternate entrance, it's either that, or we burst in hot and loud." Miyo furrows her brow at Posh. "I… I can't use any invisiblity spells." The fox admits, a little bothered by that fact. "There's a chance I can disable some of the wards if they are not too advanced." Posh nods. "I see," she says. "Well, it seems like we have to find some way to get in reasonably, or if not, we'll have to just burst in the door and do what we can," she says. "We can both put on our ruthi cloaks and pretend to be a police raid. We wouldn't have a cruiser to sell that though, and these guys aren't likely to fall for pizza delivery." Krieg's bumblebee lifts off with a quiet buzz, flying through a briefly opened window, rising into the air. At this time of night, its buzz can be faintly heard, but not through structural material. It can barely be seen too, though someone might get lucky on this night in particular. The moon in Denver tonight is at nearly 95% illumination. Most likely, though? Her reconnaisance will be invisible to the building's occupants, if there are any. The drone starts overhead. The roof, though not visible because the front wall of the storefronts are higher than it, is sloped downward toward the rear, likely to avoid to cave-ins due to snowfall in the winter. But the gradient is tame enough that one could walk up there, and the slope means it might be possible to get atop it with the right boost. And the thermal scans from above are immediately interesting. It's in the 50's in Denver tonight, and somebody apparently wants some heating. Hot air is being vented through the largest vent atop the building, plumes of normally invisible hot exhaust now a bright orange sharply contrasting with the usual cold blue. Most likely, the building has human occupants. That vent is a large, curved duct, definitely old construction. Big enough for human entry? Probably not, not normally anyway. If one applied liberal brute force, though, it's very possible to get someone in that way. Especially since a building like this likely has a false ceiling and very little structural integrity on top. The drone moves to the front next, though nothing noteworthy pops out that Posh hasn't already talked about. No extra security is visible to Krieg there. Then the drone sweeps to the back. Krieg spots a camera through its eyes, watching the back. But her sharp eyes notice a telling detail. She knows that camera type in particular, and subtle details are wrong. The lens is too big. The body is plasteel, the wrong material. The mount is slightly off. It's a fake, a cheapo counterfeit decoy, good enough to fool gangers but not her. The maglock on the single door back there isn't fake, though. And that door looks far more reinforced, as if its security was upgraded. On the plus side, though, the back alley is empty, both of cars and people, and visibility there is minimal. If one was going to go flashy, that avenue might at least be less obvious to bystanders. Then again, it would also mean opening a door directly into the backroom where the occupants likely are. Tradeoffs. «Plot» Feather says, "Note that the previous pose should not include thermographic imaging details. Thermo is only on sensor 2+, at least by default, and bumblebees are only sensors 1. Please disregard IC'ly. Instead, Krieg might notice _some_ airflow of unknown temperature, due to a few streamers attached to indicate airflow from afar to maintenance workers." Commlink-Krieg> Krieg sends, « The structure does appear to offer some methods of entry. While it may be possible to breach the buildings roof with tools around the heating system, the rear doorway does not seem to be monitored. With the size and lack of complexity to the building the rear entrance is likely directly into occupied areas. The camera system is only a replica, the door and lock are actual re-inforced security models. » Krieg records the feeds in her RCD for the time being and enables a Secure channel to display them to the group if Vidlink enabled. Miyo thinks back on her assensing attempt, trying to decipher exactly what kind of wards she saw. She thinks she saw a mirror ward and an alarm ward. The mirror ward blocks astral vision in, but not necessarily out. Meaning somebody /might/ have seen her assensing attempt. The alarm ward specifically triggers if an astral entity crosses it. Unless she herself crossed it while astrally perceiving, it wouldn't trigger. Commlink-Kit> Miyo sends, « Alright, so, the wards wont let the know we're here unless they already know So, we're good to go in on that front » Commlink-Krieg> Krieg sends, « I could attempt to enter the structure with a cloaked scout, it would take more time to conduct and there is always the sleight risk of detection due to unforseen circumstances. » «Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls 12 for " R12 Scanner, searching for local comm traffic, Tri-Band security/Drone frequencies around the building. (From vehicles location)": 1 2 3 4 4 5 5 7 7 8 11 13 Posh thanks Miyo for the scouting. "All right. Wait in the van with Sara. We'll make sure you get your share…we couldn't have done this without the magic support." She also doesn't want Miyo's ears or tail to be recognized by a group of the Triads, and indeed starts to prep her own disguise. She covers herself with her ruthi cloak, over her street armor, setting it to urban camo, and figures that with a firefight, no visible weapons, and the camo, she'll be a difficult to combat target. She waits for a point where she can meet Senshi and Feather near that back door entrance. «Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls Electronics for "Open EWar test clear noise if present on Drone freqs, lock encryption for Tri-band to Senshi direct (R6 Deck).": 2 2 2 3 4 11 Realizing that she hasn't contacted Feather about a meeting point, Posh quickly sends a text message, with the exact location she is, about a block from that back door entrance. «Recon complete. We've got a way in. Come meet us» Krieg scans the airwaves for other traffic, particularly for other drone control signals in the area. She finds nothing. And Posh's text, at least for the moment, goes unanswered. So much for, "I'll be in touch." Posh curses. "Well, we'll have to do this without Feather," Posh says, turning to Senshi. "We'll try to stay as quiet as long as possible, so shock hands before guns. Don't shoot unless something that I can take out does. What we have to do is get just inside, and then find a way to start a fire," she says. "Hopefully we'll be able to take out any immediate enemies silently. But I don't see how we can do other than go through that back door, without being observed," she says. "All right. On me," she says, moving to approach the door, switching to urban camo, moving as stealthily as possible. «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Stealth for "+4 ruthi cloak": 1 3 4 5 9 17 «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Electronics B/R for "opening housing": 2 2 3 5 «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls 1 for "task pool": 11 «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Electronics + 1 for "unlocking door silently": 1 3 5 5 11 Commlink-Krieg> Krieg sends, « We apear to be clear of opposition drone forces for the momment. I beleive opposing forces will be directly on the other side of the door, Posh. Undetected is unlikely. » Commlink-Posh> Posh sends, « So we shall have to defeat whatever enemies are there quickly. » Commlink-Posh> Posh sends, « If we can get the drop on them, and then are quicker still, we stand a chance of success. If we fail, well, it gets messy and we get out fast, mission accomplished. » When Posh gets to the door, assuming there are no interruptions, she will use the tool laser and electronics minitools to attempt to get the lock's housing off and defeat it, as quietly as possible. Commlink-Krieg> Krieg sends, « It may be possible to introduce an explosive into the heating ventilation system » Knowing the complexity of the situation Krieg sets her Bumblebee to Observation and report before leaving the commanders chair to inhabit Senshi, becoming one. She runs a quick systems test to insure functionality and begins overwatching of Posh's actions. Commlink-Posh> Posh sends, « Can you fly a bumblebee inside, get any idea of what's in there, what we'll be up against? » «Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls Intelligence + 3 for "Rigger Observation, Senshi, R3 Clearsight Autosoft (Passive)": 2 2 2 4 4 4 4 4 5 9 11 Commlink-Krieg> Krieg sends, « That may be possible, the entrance does not seem to travel directly into the inhabited areas. It may take time to navigate the system. » Approaching the back door, Posh and Senshi find themselves in a dark, largely empty alley. There's a single large dumpster here, as well as a parked van that looks to be empty, its engine cold. It doesn't look like there's anybody here. In fact, it doesn't really look like there could even be that many people in the target building. The back room of a store this size is likely not designed to accomodate many people. The lock is pretty good, but Posh seems to manage it quickly enough. It takes her a little over a tense minute of work to remove the casing and bypass the circuitry. She doesn't actually unlock the door and open it just yet, though now she can at will, when she's ready. From Senshi's eyes, Krieg can spot a path up onto the roof using Senshi, if she so desired. She'd have to climb onto the dumpster, then grab onto the edge of the roof, and pull herself up. Doable, though perhaps not a simple task in an anthro drone. Taking the bumblebee through the vent /might/ be possible. Maybe. A grating or filter would stop her. And if there is a false ceiling inside, she might or might not be able to peek through it. More importantly, the drone isn't silent. They might not recognize the buzzing of its wings is from a drone, but they'd know /something/ is up there, if the room is quiet. Posh does what she can to replace the housing, so that it might pass at least cursory inspection: after all, anyone scanning a card would have the door open for them now, as removing the housing and short-circuiting the logic gates doesn't break the card reader: the card reader is still an integral part of operating the door, it will now just swipe for the blank that she installed the right jumpers for, as well as the original holders of keys. «All right. Let's get on the roof now» Posh goes to the part of the roof where someone needs a boost. «I can boost Senshi up, if you also give an arm for me to climb afterward» It's time to inspect that grate a little more closely, and see if she could actually fit in and enter quietly. First things first: she sticks an arm in, the hatch covering the pocsec open, and tries to see what she can see linked to her image link. She also routes this feed via her tac-comm, if that has enough bandwith, to Krieg's remote control network, or if not, more directly via datajack to Senshi. When Senshi brings up the issue of weight, Posh nods. «All right. I'll go up alone. Stay there and watch the door, and try to stay out of sight» With the front door camera guarded and warded, and with the top small, Posh doesn't see how entry except into the back door will be possible, but she'll check out that roof grate. Senshi acquires an overwatch position of the door and Posh. «Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls Stealth for "Cover and Concealment.": 2 3 4 Posh finds herself alone on the roof. Senshi pulls back a bit, covering her while watching the door. Sticking her hand into the exhaust vent, Posh can see a grate with a thick air filter that blocks further sight, but it's neither locked or bolted. There's security here, yes, but it's designed to defeat gangers and low-end burglars, not runners. Whatever this place is being used for, it's an improvised location. Or maybe they chose it for other reasons. This is not a highly-secured building. Posh could probably pull the grate out, if she wanted to, though she'd need to have very careful hands to avoid making noise. «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Stealth for "Movement": 1 5 5 5 5 9 «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Stealth for "Quiet Removal": 1 1 5 5 10 11 Commlink-Posh> Posh sends, « All right. With that door unlocked, you could probably burst through that door very quickly and join me, right? I'm going to try to enter via the roof. Can you build a real time map as I relay a video feed to you, so that we definie a path for Senshi to join me ASAP if I were to be caught? » «Auto-Judge[]» Artemis (#3193) rolls 5 for "Abstracted pooled perception": 2 2 5 5 9 Commlink-Krieg> Krieg sends, « I beleive so, would you like it relayed in real-time? » «Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls Computers + Task Pool: 1 for "Map creation and Vidlink feed (Diff +1) Split attention.": 1 2 3 4 4 5 11 Commlink-Posh> Posh sends, « That's less important than to be able to create pathfinding to be able to immediately support me to get in trouble. I will try to 'fill in' the map to the door as quickly as possible, before attempting to secure the area or look for a chance to clear out this building. » The grate comes off quietly enough. Still looking through her phone's camera, Posh sees … metal. There's no fan below, at least. That's nice. Jumping into a spinning blade would probably be less than fun. And it's wide. It looks like this is high volume. Being a grocery store, this is probably an exhaust for both the air conditioning and the refrigeration for the goods that need it. But it looks like, even if she did squeeze through, she'd be dropping straight into a square ventilation duct. It looks cheap too, light commercial grade. It very likely wouldn't support her weight. That kind of ducting is never designed to, contrary to the usual duct sequences in trideo games. She'd fall a few feet, and while it might break her fall, the duct would probably just pull out the bolts or screws holding it up and collapse right under her. And if there's a false ceiling below it, that would go next. She'd rather be awkwardly be in the center of something. It's an option, though! Commlink-Krieg> Krieg sends, « That shoud not be an issue. Alert me when required, I will attempt to gain entry. » «Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls Small Unit Tactics + Task Pool: 1 for " Evaluation": 1 3 5 5 9 «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Small Unit Tactics + 1 for "Evaluation as well": 1 1 2 3 4 5 Commlink-Posh> Posh sends, « We're going about this the wrong way. I'm going to steal a nearby truck, and rig it to crash into the storefront. Anyone in there is likely to go to the storefront. We will then sneak into the back and find out what the heck is going on in there. What are your opinions of this approach? » The team stops and considers their option. If Posh is about to awkwardly fall into something, she might have a momentary surprise advantage, but she's also very much a human being in fairly light combat armor. If she's outgunned, a distinct possibility, or simply falls badly, also a distinct possibility, she might eat a lot of bullets in a very short time. It might not be best to have her breach in a way she can't fall back from. Senshi might perform better in that role. He could also introduce grenades beforehand, either smoke or explosive, to soften up the opposition. Posh might do better where Senshi is, by comparison, using the doorway for cover to selectively pick off high value targets. OOC Note: I did offer some tactical advice after the roll. But Krieg more or less said everything I said at the same time as this pose. The plan they came up with was ultimately theirs. Commlink-Krieg> Krieg sends, « While it is possible that method would require additional time and possible interference from outside forces. The truck could be rigged as needed, if applicable. Such an accident may be interpreted as an accident and responded to in a more direct manner by local police in a rescue attempt. The use of firepower was noted as likely and expected in the area, and not as rapidly responded to. If you intend to use an aggresive approuch Senshi is capable of doing so without external detection. » Commlink-Posh> Posh sends, « I'd be very surprised if accident response was faster than police response to gunshots…but your point is taken. All right, Senshi, let's swap positions. I got you an assortment grenades from the staff - there's smoke and flash and such in there, but no gas or anything fancy like that. » Posh shrugs, thinking. «Anyway, you've got the grenades. Let's switch positions. I'll…open the door for a peek and close it, using my camera, see if anyone there could think it's just a weird noise…» Posh also sends another message to Feather, this time a little more insistent. «You in trouble?» Senshi scans the area for a momment before quickly approuching the rear of the building, lining up an angle of approuch to the most structuraly sound looking portion in view. From there it's a quick climb, pull-up and overmount to the roof. «Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls Walkers + Control Pool: 4 vs TN 2 for "Base handling 2+3 Tight Terrain-6VCR Bonus (Rooftop approuch)": 1 1 2 2 3 5 5 5 = 6 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls Stealth for "Open test": 4 5 8 «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Athletics: 1 1 5 8 8 «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Stealth: 1 2 5 7 8 11 Again, there's no answer. Is Feather in trouble? It's hard to say for sure. She hasn't checked in at all since she left the apartment. For now, though, the two women have other things to worry about. Senshi's robotic form finds itself in front of the heating vent. It'll be tight fit, but Senshi has the weight and strength to simply widen the entrance by hand and lets its weight force it down through the vent. And after a quick and quiet dismount of the roof, Posh finds herself down in front of the door again. The alley is still quiet. Both women are ready to breach at any time. «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 5 for "Group perception roll": 1 1 1 1 5 Posh takes a deep breath, and moves the door slightly ajar, as quietly as possible, then lets it close, as if a puff of wind pushed it open and someone forgot to lock it. She quickly snaps a picture in the interim, sinking back in case someone is right there, and hopefully hiding, even up close, seeing what she can see inside. Senshi checks his LMG and secures it against his chest rig, Arming his arms internal MGL. The possible access point is verified and checked for ridgidity. With a quick calculation he determines the required adjustments to be made and grabs the stretch points. Commlink-Krieg> Krieg sends, « Commencing. » Commlink-Posh> Posh sends, « No breach quite yet. Seeing if I can get info before… » Commlink-Posh> Posh sends, « Be ready though. » Commlink-Krieg> Krieg sends, « Holding… » Posh eyes her phone. She doesn't get much of a view, though. The room is dimly lit, a pale blue glow evident in the picture. Somebody is casting something, or maybe maintaining some kind of ritual? She can't really tell. A few people are seated in one corner, Triad goons by the looks of them, a bit bored with the guard duty they've likely been assigned. They don't look particularly professional. That might work to your advantage. Kinda curious, though, that this place is so lightly guarded, if this objective is so important. Posh quickly shares the images she took from her fingertip after looking at the mmore closely through her image link with Senshi. Commlink-Krieg> Krieg sends, « I do not see anything that would warrant this level of engagement. Security is non-existant and the opposition forces are minimal. I am not aware of the level of magical security but it seemed to be higher than what physically is portrayed. » Commlink-Posh> Posh sends, « And yet we have a mission to do. Not in contact with Feather. Something is definitely wrong. I cannot make this call, only state that my instinct is to finish the mission, accomplish it, and then worry about her. Suen Qiang is not a man to disappoint. What are your thoughts? » Commlink-Posh> Posh sends, « There appears to be some sort of ritual magic here. I think our real mission was to disrupt it. I don't know, frankly, it just looks to me like a glow and some hoodoo, but I've seen some nasty things lately. » Commlink-Krieg> Krieg sends, « I am not an expert in magical phenominom and apparatus. If you intend for us to destroy this location or disrupt it, then inform me and we will attempt to do so. » It's almost too long, Posh running through the information she's been given…but…then, she finally comes to it. «Commence.» she commands, suddenly rushing in through the door and looking to hopefully drive her elbow, sparking with shock power, in a sudden overwhelming assault against the nearest threat. The guns are going to be for if there's any resistance. Senshi commits to a forcefull entry from the venting system. using his strength and weight to clear the thin sheet metal on the way in. Smoke upon Entry if possible Posh enters, a few of the goons suddenly scrambling to their feet. Inside, she can get a more accurate body count. One caster, for sure, in the center of the room, an elaborate symbol around her. It's the pentagram of wuxing, the five elements of qi. Five others are scattered about the room. At least three of them look like goons here for security. One is near the door, close enough to get caught off-guard by Posh. Two are directly facing her as she enters, though, scrambling to their feet, reaching for their guns. This might have been a mistake, but Posh gets some help a moment later. Controlled directly by Krieg, Senshi's powerful arms twist the metal in his hand. He doesn't quite need to tear it, just reshape it into an oval form large enough to somewhat accomodate his significant size. Once done, he sets one leg into the vent, then the other, both legs now dangling over the curve in the duct, pointing straight down. A grenade is fired first, clattering around in the ductwork below, smoke pouring out. And then Krieg thrusts Senshi's legs forward, weapon tucked tightly against his body, the significant weight of the combat drone sending it tearing through the ductwork below. Its feet land a moment later on the ventilation shaft below, though with Senshi's mass, they're not stopped for more than a split-second, the ductwork ripped right out of its supporting frame, crashing to the ground below. There is a false ceiling, as predicted. It's cheap and old, though, and the collapse of the ductwork brings the entire thing down. Plaster dust, smoke from the grenade, and ceiling panels are everywhere, the air cloudy, and without thermal vision, Senshi might or might not have a problem with target acquisition. «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Reaction for "Vs 2 if ambush, 4 if not": 2 3 4 5 5 5 5 5 9 10 «Plot» Posh says, "8 successes." «Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls Reaction vs TN 2 for "Suprise!": 1 1 2 2 3 4 4 4 9 = 7 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 5 vs TN 4 for "Group reaction for goons": 2 2 2 4 5 = 2 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 6 vs TN 4 for "Reaction for Guy": 2 3 4 7 8 9 = 4 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 6 vs TN 4 for "Reaction for Gal": 1 1 4 5 7 8 = 4 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Initiative with a result of 23. «Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls Initiative using a VCR rating 3 with a result of 20. «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 1 for "+5 Group init for goons 1/2": 11 «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 2 for "+5 Group init for goons 3/4": 1 4 «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 1 for "+6 Init for Guy": 2 «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 1 for "+6 Init for Gal": 1 ----------—[ Shadowrun Denver ]—- ============================> Initiative Listing <============================= Combatant Name…………….. P1(B) P2(-10) P3(-20) P4(-30) P5(-40) Posh……………………… 23 13 3 — — Krieg…………………….. 20 10 — — — Goon1…………………….. 11 1 — — — Goon2…………………….. 11 1 — — — Goon3…………………….. 10 — — — — Goon4…………………….. 10 — — — — Guy………………………. 8 — — — — Gal………………………. 7 — — — — Posh spots the two already reaching for guns as she moves the door open, and her elbows immediately come up, unleashing a pair of vicious bursts towards center mass in their direction. She immediately turns both elbows towards the face of the man right next to her, holding fire for a heartbeat. "FREEZE! GET DOWN ON THE GROUND!" she hollers, hoping that the precision of the assault agains the two gunwielders, the command, and the flank attack by Senshi will help interrupt a fight before one begins all the way. «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Submachine Guns vs TN 3 for "attacker moving, short range, single burst 12S EXEX shooting gunman in front of me.": 1 2 3 3 3 7 = 4 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Submachine Guns vs TN 5 for "attacker moving, short range, second target, single burst 12S EXEX shooting 2nd gunman in front of me.": 1 4 4 5 8 10 = 3 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Submachine Guns - 3 vs TN 5 for "attacker moving, short range, second target, single burst 12S EXEX shooting 2nd gunman in front of me. KP 1 (5 spent)": 2 4 5 = 1 Success «Plot» Posh says, "4 successes on each of the 2 goons with guns right in front of me. Holding simple action. Speaking fewer words than my Intelligence." «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls Body + Combat Pool: 6 vs TN 6 for "Goon 1 Soak": 1 1 2 3 3 4 4 4 7 32 = 2 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls Body + Combat Pool: 6 - 2 vs TN 6 for "Goon 1 Soak KP 1/2": 1 3 3 4 4 5 7 14 = 2 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls Body + Combat Pool: 6 vs TN 6 for "Goon 2 Soak": 1 1 1 2 3 5 5 9 10 11 = 3 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls Body + Combat Pool: 6 - 3 vs TN 6 for "Goon 2 Soak KP 1/2": 1 2 2 3 4 5 5 = 0 Successes «Plot» Feather says, "S wounds for both." «Plot» Posh says, "These are SA shots. 9M each." «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Submachine Guns vs TN 3 for "first target": 2 4 4 5 5 5 = 5 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Submachine Guns vs TN 5 for "second target": 1 2 4 4 5 5 = 2 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Submachine Guns - 2 vs TN 5 for "second target KP (6 spent)": 1 1 3 5 = 1 Success «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Submachine Guns - 3 vs TN 5 for "second target KP (8 spent)": 3 4 5 = 1 Success «Plot» Posh says, "5 successes on first, 4 on second target. Then I'll just turn to the guy right next to me, and say the 'Freeze'" «Plot» Posh says, "4 rounds fired from each armgun." «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 4 vs TN 3 for "Goon 1 Soak": 1 3 3 4 = 3 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 4 vs TN 3 for "Goon 2 Soak": 1 3 4 14 = 3 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 4 - 3 vs TN 3 for "Goon 1 Soak KP 2/2": 4 = 1 Success «Plot» Feather says, "They both have S+M now." Senshi launches a suprise assault on the caster who has isolated herself in the middle of the room. The drone favors speed and power over technique, driving an inhuman strike straight into the awaiting target. While skill and finesse grant signifigant advantage over the brutality as the strike, the humming warmed capaciters Discharge on contact with the target sparking a massive crackle of electricity into the otherwise resilient foe. «Plot» Krieg says, " Senshi will test the Isolated casters metal Engaging into Melee combat. TN mods for Melee from Suprise and Visibility?" «Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls Mechanical Arm Operation + Combat Pool: 6 vs TN 6 for " TN4 base +2 Vis, Punch 7M Stun (8S Stun (electrical))": 1 3 3 4 4 5 5 8 9 10 11 14 = 5 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls Mechanical Arm Operation + Combat Pool: 6 - 5 vs TN 6 for " TN4 base +2 Vis, Punch 7M Stun (8S Stun (electrical))(1 KP)": 1 2 4 4 4 5 10 = 1 Success «Plot» Krieg says, "Stand on that" «Auto-Judge[]» Artemis (#3193) rolls 4 + Combat Pool: 4 vs TN 6 for "Gal counterattack": 3 3 4 4 5 5 5 20 = 1 Success «Auto-Judge[]» Artemis (#3193) rolls 4 + Combat Pool: 4 - 1 vs TN 6 for "Gal counterattack KP 1/4": 3 3 5 5 5 7 13 = 2 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Artemis (#3193) rolls 4 + Combat Pool: 4 - 3 vs TN 6 for "Gal counterattack KP 3/4": 2 2 5 9 11 = 2 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Artemis (#3193) rolls 4 + Combat Pool: 3 vs TN 3 for "Gal soak 7M": 3 3 4 4 5 9 11 = 7 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Artemis (#3193) rolls 4 + Combat Pool: 2 vs TN 6 for "Gal soak 8S": 2 3 3 3 4 4 = 0 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Artemis (#3193) rolls 4 + Combat Pool: 2 vs TN 6 for "Gal soak 8S KP 4/4": 1 2 4 4 5 5 = 0 Successes «Plot» Feather says, "S stun on the caster." OOC Note: Due to surprise and the obstructions in the air, I ruled the first pass a surprise pass. Nobody was able to act against Posh and Krieg. Posh is acting again next. Reacting quickly as she sees the situation develop, Posh dashes over towards the caster engaged with Senshi and dashes her to the floor with a brutal elbow whipping around to her back, driving the breath out of her lungs as her own shock device engages, leaving her down for the count. "EVERYONE DOWN NOW!" she screeches again. «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Pentjak-Silat vs TN 3 for "FIMM!": 1 1 1 2 3 4 9 = 3 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Pentjak-Silat - 3 vs TN 3 for "FIMM! KP (7 spent total)": 1 2 4 11 = 2 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Artemis (#3193) rolls 4 vs TN 5: 1 2 3 3 = 0 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Pentjak-Silat vs TN 3 for "FIMM! comp": 1 1 1 2 2 10 15 = 2 Successes «Plot» Posh says, "8M stun 4 successes." «Plot» Posh says, "I also have that shock hand thing." «Plot» Posh says, "So then it's 8S electrical stun after." «Auto-Judge[]» Artemis (#3193) rolls 4 vs TN 6: 2 3 5 8 = 1 Success «Auto-Judge[]» Artemis (#3193) rolls 4 vs TN 4: 1 3 5 11 = 2 Successes «Plot» Feather says, "Gal is down" OOC Note: We paused here. What follows is the scenepose after we started again: UNTIL NOW … Krieg, Posh, and Miyo had conducted extensive reconnaisance of their target. By all outward appearances, it was a normal storefront. But with Miyo's astral sight, they realized there was more to this location than meets the eye. Something magical was happening here. But what could they do? With Miyo not equipped for heavy combat, she hung back with their transporter in the van, along with Krieg's immobile body. Krieg, controlling Senshi remotely, and Posh were left to infiltrate alone. Their job, after all, was simply to stop whatever was happening there, details be damned. And even without the mysteriously absent Feather, it seemed like the two of them could handle it, the storefront being almost too lightly guarded. Posh entered first, guns blazing. Directly across from the entrance, two Triad goons rose from their lazy vigil to confront her. Her cyberguns Seriously wounded both, a follow-up shot to each, adding another Moderate wound to their problems. Senshi, controlled by Krieg, entered second. She went for the female caster in the center of the room, disrupting her ritual, inflicting a Serious wound. Their enemies were too surprised to make a counterattack. Attacking again with her superhuman speed, Posh decided to try to help Senshi bring down the caster, her shock hands stunning her target to the point of unconsciousness. Now it's Senshi's turn to act again. «Plot» Feather says, "Goon1 and Goon2 do not get a second action, as their wound penalties lowers their init below 11." OOC Note: This means only Posh and Krieg act in the second pass. Senshi commits to a charge attack Vs. the guy in the corner. Attempting to land a viscious haymaker type strike against them. The brutality elevating the danger to the target as the drone puts signifigant speed and brute force into the strike. «Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls Mechanical Arm Operation + Combat Pool: 6 vs TN 6 for " TN4 base, +2 Visibility, Punch 7M(+1 Charge) Stun (8S Stun (electrical))": 1 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 10 11 = 2 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Huntress (#5479) rolls 4 vs TN 6 for "Counterattack Guy": 1 2 3 5 = 0 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Huntress (#5479) rolls 7 vs TN 4 for "Dodge Guy For Melee Full Defense": 1 1 3 3 4 5 5 = 3 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls Walkers vs TN 2 for "Failed Charge recovery.": 1 1 2 4 = 2 Successes Senshi's strike is narrowly avoided as the drone skids to a stop in afighting position near his opponeent. Senshi seems unphased, simply poised to continue his assault. «Plot» Feather says, "Posh is taking her final action of the turn, only person acting in third pass." «Plot» Posh says, "Just visually, what separates the 'Guy' from the 'Goons?'" «Plot» Feather says, "Yeah. Goon1 and Goon2 were the two guys sitting around lazylike that you spotted earlier using your phone. They're pretty much next to each other or close, in the far corner of the room from the door. Gal was the caster, now unconscious, in the center of the room. Guy is the second guy in another, unoccupied corner. He has no gun drawn yet. He might be anything." «Plot» Feather says, "Senshi just attacked Guy." Posh quickly catches Senshi moving up to attack the independent guy, while the gun-armed goons seem unprepared for the ferocity of the onslaught. A two-step and a lunge forward with her elbow rocketing around and she takes the man that Krieg had engaged in the back of the head with an absolutely staggering elbow, likely delivering an insane concussion and would no doubt have broken her elbow were it not for its cybernetic nature. Even still, the realskinn there is shredded…she'll have to do some repairs there, afterwards, dropping down and allowing a little pale fake lymph fluid to drip and revealing the faux wood finish beneath. Posh gives a side grin towards Senshi…as she then turns her attention on the two wounded and unwounded goons. «Plot» Posh says, "I will attack Guy too." «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Pentjak-Silat + 6 vs TN 3 for "combat pool, friend in melee, thermographic vision": 1 1 1 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 9 10 = 10 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Pentjak-Silat vs TN 3 for "complimentary": 1 3 4 5 9 13 15 = 6 Successes «Plot» Posh says, "13 successes." «Auto-Judge[]» Huntress (#5479) rolls 4 vs TN 6 for "Counterattack guy": 1 2 2 7 = 1 Success «Plot» Feather says, "12D. You only stage up 6 times. 2 goes toward D damage, then +4 power." «Auto-Judge[]» Huntress (#5479) rolls 4 + 2 vs TN 8 for "Soak base damage": 2 2 2 2 3 10 = 1 Success «Plot» Feather says, "Guy is down from the base damage alone. Will ignore the rollover." «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Initiative with a result of 13. «Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls Initiative using a VCR rating 3 with a result of 27. «Auto-Judge[]» Huntress (#5479) rolls 2 for "+5 Init Goon3/4": 1 5 «Auto-Judge[]» Huntress (#5479) rolls 1 for "+5 -3 Init Goon1/2": 7 «Init Tracker» Huntress (#5479) has set Krieg's init to 27. «Init Tracker» Huntress (#5479) has set Posh's init to 13. «Init Tracker» Huntress (#5479) has set Goon3's init to 11. «Init Tracker» Huntress (#5479) has set Goon4's init to 11. «Init Tracker» Huntress (#5479) has set Goon1's init to 8. «Init Tracker» Huntress (#5479) has set Goon2's init to 8. Without pause Senshi launches towards another of the still able opponents. The soft hum of an awaiting capacitor traisl through the air as he attempts to Strike. (Goon 3) «Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls Mechanical Arm Operation + Combat Pool: 6 vs TN 6 for " TN4 base, +2 Visibility, Punch 7M Stun (8S Stun (electrical))": 1 1 1 2 3 3 4 4 4 5 7 8 = 2 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls Mechanical Arm Operation + Combat Pool: 6 vs TN 6 for " TN4 base, +2 Visibility, Punch 7M Stun (8S Stun (electrical))(2of12KP)": 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 5 7 11 = 2 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Huntress (#5479) rolls 6 + Combat Pool: 6 vs TN 4 for "Counterattack Goon3": 1 2 2 2 2 3 3 4 5 5 7 11 = 5 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Huntress (#5479) rolls 6 + Combat Pool: 6 - 5 vs TN 4 for "Counterattack Goon3 KP1/2": 1 2 2 4 5 7 10 = 4 Successes «Plot» Feather says, "9D damage against Senshi. Possibly no damage (not sure about his armor)." «Plot» Posh says, "Senshi has 5 vehicle armor." «Plot» Posh says, "So that's a ping." Senshis brute strike seems incompatible with the offensive capabilities of his target. The opponent nimbly maneuvers and evades the attack, striking at Senshi with signifigant force. The two engage in a strange brawl of sorts, the meta repeatidly striking like a poised snake, the drone unweildy in comparison failing to connect each time as the enemy impacts its armor again and again in retaliation to the blows. «Plot» Posh says, "Goon4." «Plot» Posh says, "12S bursts." «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Submachine Guns vs TN 3 for "smoke, short range, GM let me know other mods": 1 2 2 2 3 8 = 2 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Submachine Guns vs TN 3 for "smoke, short range, GM let me know other mods": 1 1 3 4 4 15 = 4 Successes «Plot» Posh says, "7 rounds spent from each gun." «Auto-Judge[]» Huntress (#5479) rolls 6 + Combat Pool: 2 vs TN 7 for "Goon4 Soak 12S": 1 2 2 2 4 5 5 17 = 1 Success «Auto-Judge[]» Huntress (#5479) rolls 6 + Combat Pool: 2 - 1 vs TN 7 for "Goon4 Soak 12S KP 1/2": 2 2 3 5 8 8 10 = 3 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Huntress (#5479) rolls 6 vs TN 7 for "Goon4 Soak 12S again": 1 3 5 5 5 17 = 1 Success «Auto-Judge[]» Huntress (#5479) rolls 6 - 1 vs TN 7 for "Goon4 Soak 12S again KP 2/2": 1 2 2 3 4 = 0 Successes OOC Note: Goon4 is down. Posh immediately stops short and focuses on the unwounded of the goons, six rounds coughing from the suppressed weapons in her elbows and stitching brutally into his center of mass, dropping him. Posh notices that he's likely still breathing, but will undoubtedly need a tranq patch, fast, unless she wants to let him die. OOC Note: Goon 3 attempts to break free, making his Intercept check to get past Senshi, engaging Posh in melee. «Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls Mechanical Arm Operation vs TN 6 for " TN4 base, +2 Visibility, Punch 7M(+1 Charge) Stun (8S Stun (electrical))": 1 1 2 3 5 17 = 1 Success «Auto-Judge[]» Huntress (#5479) rolls 6 vs TN 4 for "Assumed full defense counterattack against intercept": 3 3 3 4 4 8 = 3 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Huntress (#5479) rolls 6 + Combat Pool: 2 vs TN 4 for "Goon 3 attacking Posh with punchy ouchy fists.": 1 2 2 2 3 3 10 11 = 2 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Huntress (#5479) rolls 6 + Combat Pool: 2 - 2 vs TN 4 for "Goon 3 attacking Posh with punchy ouchy fists. KP 1/2": 1 1 2 5 5 10 = 3 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Pentjak-Silat + Combat Pool: 6 vs TN 4 for "Counterattack": 1 1 1 2 3 3 4 5 5 5 8 10 10 = 7 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Pentjak-Silat + Combat Pool: 6 - 7 vs TN 4 for "Counterattack KP 1 (9 spent)": 1 4 4 11 13 17 = 5 Successes «Plot» Feather says, "Posh's counterattack staged to 9D stun + 8S stun." «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 6 vs TN 5 for "Goon 3 soaking 9D stun": 2 2 2 3 3 4 = 0 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 6 vs TN 5 for "Goon 3 soaking 9D stun KP 2/2": 1 2 2 3 3 4 = 0 Successes «Plot» Feather says, "Goon 3 goes down." As Posh catches sight of the figure approaching her, she sees movement from Senshi, and drops to one knee to suddenly push back up against the charge, her fist clenching, and she springs up, catching him in the sternum and leaving him down on the ground, gasping for breath, with who knows how many cracked ribs, leaving her to face down the two remaining goons as smoke fills the room more deeply. OOC Note: Goon1 and Goon2 fire at Posh. «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 5 + Combat Pool: 5 vs TN 9 for "Goon 1 Attacking with heavy pistol. -2 smartlink. +4 visibility penalty. +3 wound penalty.": 1 2 3 4 4 4 4 5 5 11 = 1 Success «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 5 + Combat Pool: 5 vs TN 9 for "Goon 2 Attacking with heavy pistol. -2 smartlink. +4 visibility penalty. +3 wound penalty.": 1 1 1 3 4 4 5 5 7 8 = 0 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls 5 vs TN 4 for "Dodging": 2 3 3 4 5 = 2 Successes «Plot» Posh says, "Dodged." «Plot» Feather says, "Second pass. Krieg's action. Goon 1 and Goon 2, heavily wounded (S+M), still up" With the Seemingly expert down, Senshi turns his attentiosn to the injured opponents and attempts to incapacitae one. «Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls Mechanical Arm Operation + Combat Pool: 3 vs TN 6 for " TN4 base, +2 Visibility, Punch 7M(+1 Charge) Stun (8S Stun (electrical)) (Goon 1)": 1 1 1 2 4 4 4 5 10 = 1 Success «Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls Mechanical Arm Operation + Combat Pool: 3 - 1 vs TN 6 for " TN4 base, +2 Visibility, Punch 7M(+1 Charge) Stun (8S Stun (electrical)) (Goon 1)(3of12KP)": 1 1 1 1 2 5 5 9 = 1 Success «Auto-Judge[]» Huntress (#5479) rolls 4 vs TN 9 for "Goon1 Counterattack": 2 4 4 4 = 0 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Huntress (#5479) rolls 4 vs TN 3 for "Goon1 Soak melee 7S": 2 2 3 5 = 2 Successes «Plot» Feather says, "Goon 1 takes another M wound, goes down. Knocked out." «Plot» Posh says, "I'm going to slap a tranq patch on the goon that I double-bursted, so that he stabilizes." «Plot» Feather says, "There is still one guy standing with a gun in his hands, pointed at you." «Plot» Posh says, "I'm aware of this fact." «Plot» Feather says, "And do you mean a trauma patch instead of a tranq patch?" «Plot» Posh says, "Yes." «Plot» Feather says, "Ok. Go ahead. I'll waive the roll. He stabilizes." «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) uses 1 of item 6: Trauma Patch from Snap-Tight Purse (#12911). Posh attempts to stare down the badly wounded man, the last one standing in the room, as Senshi has just knocked his compatriot unconscious. Her hand slips into her bag, retrieving a trauma patch, which she slaps on the neck of the man she just shot. The one with the gun, she just looks back at. "I wasn't paid enough to kill you," she explains, simply. «Plot» Feather says, "Goon2 is nearly dead and demoralized, with four bullets in him. He's going to try to limp out of the room. He will pass you, Krieg. You can intercept, if you'd like." «Plot» Feather says, "For the sake of expediency, I will just say you knock him out if you make that choice." «Plot» Krieg says, " Zap zap zap" OOC Note: Combat is over. In reality, the mages here were supposed to be the big threats. A combination of good prepwork and a highly effective surprise round changed that a bit. Senshi whirls around to one knee and brings an open hand down on the wounded individual. The force notibly educe but the Discharge of sparks bright in the room. He begins scanning the area imemdiately. Posh is all business as the last of the enemies falls, making a quick medical examination of each of the dropped opponents, to see if any are at risk of dying, or have blocked airway. She quickly extracts a pair of plasteel restraints: it seems that the guy and gal are going to be retrieved, so that Suen Qiang will be able to interrogate them: after all, figuring out exactly what they were doing might be important, and perhaps they can be presented as something of a gift, you could say. The others are dragged outside the back door, photographs are taken via pocsec, and Posh continues to dress the site, taking photographs of both the pile of bodies. Then, she contacts Sara and Suen Qiang. «Got two mages conducting a rather odd ritual at your site. They are alive, and can be delivered to you for interrogation. Our comrade Feather is out of contact, however.» Exactly five seconds. Welcome to the sixth world. At the mark, Posh opened the door, rushing in through the compromised back door. 0.3 seconds later, smoke started pouring in through the ductwork. At 0.5 seconds, Senshi, controlled by Krieg, crashed through that same ductwork, bringing it the ceiling down with him. 1 second in, the air was thick with plaster dust from crumbled ceiling tiles and an ever-increasing cloud of smoke. The next two seconds were a flurry of movement at superhuman, and robotic, speed. By the time the six (presumably) Black Chrysanthemum Triad members got over their shock and were able to mount a defense, they could already barely see, and they were already down a few people. Somehow, someway, Posh and Krieg manage to put the remaining four down over the next two seconds. And at the five second mark, the brutal melee is concluded. Posh and Krieg emerge both unscathed themselves and, somehow, without any enemy fatalities, though a few will need medical treatment soon. Some will likely wake up before the morning comes. The combat ends that quickly, and now the women (and drone) have a few moments to catch their breath, though this smoke just might be a little irritating. Or do they? They hear shouting, at a distance. It sounds like Chinese voices, a lot of them, and very angry. How? The pistols fired by the Triad goons were suppressed. They wouldn't have been audible for very far outside this room. Certainly not at the distance that the voices seem to be. «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Intelligence for "How far a distance?": 1 1 2 3 3 5 8 13 Posh takes a quick glance over those on the ground. The one who wasn't taken down through nonlethal approaches has already received a trauma patch, and that's the best she can do. "All right," she says, her adrenaline thudding through her ears as she takes a few pictures through pocsec camera of the physical destruction and of the ritual site. "Let's get the hell out of here." She quickly pushes open the back door, hoping the way out is clear. «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Intelligence + 3 for "mnemonic recall": 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 4 5 5 11 «Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls Intelligence + 3 for " Recall +ME3": 2 2 2 2 4 4 4 5 5 5 11 Commlink-Krieg> Krieg sends, « While I am not versed in the methods, I beleive there may still be residual effects in the area. If we do not cause structural damage to the componenets being used in meta-physical manipulation attempts they may be able to continue their operations with little pause. » The voices aren't /that/ close. They seem like they're perhaps about half of a block away. It /sorta/ sounds like they're coming this way, but your ears can lie to you about things like that, at range. Voices bounce and echo in strange ways in urban terrain at night. Whatever the case, they have time. Just not a lot of it. If the two women choose to escape now, they'll be leaving everyone behind. But Krieg brings up a useful point: their orders were rather particular. By morningwhatever that means, dawn perhaps?whatever is happening at this storefront has to have been dealt with. And by morning, some of the people they're leaving behind will be awake. And even if they're not, who knows what leaving this place unattended might mean. What they should do is unclear, as are their orders. They'll need to make decisions, though, even without all of the information. Commlink-Krieg> Krieg sends, « I would advise we conduct a rapid search of the structure and plant the explosive devices you retreived if there is not further opposition forces. I am capable of bringing several of the targets with us, but potential load increase may slow our evacuation if there is contact. There are other options, what is it you determine will fit the desired outcome from the employer? » Posh nods to Senshi. "All right. I will secure the two ritualists," she says. "We're going to bring them with us." She begins to secure them with plasteel restraints. "Demoing a building is well beyond my capabilities, won't a grenade work just fine? We drag everyone outside, and then I'll load the two ritualists into Sara's van while you lob a grenade at their ritual site. We then get the hell out." Commlink-Krieg> Krieg sends, « A single grenade will be incapable of signifigant damage. I can place grenades at key points within the structure or rig them as a satchel charge to amplify the effects on the ritual site. Are you able to reach our point of contact and advise further measures.? » Commlink-Posh> Posh sends, « That will do, then, Krieg. I will begin securing the bodies to make sure it doesn't kill any of them if the place collapses. » Posh sends a message to Suen Qiang. «Location secured. We are planning the use of explosives to disrupt a ritual site we have discovered, and have removed them from play. Our comrade, Feather, is out of contact.» She then sends a message to Sara «Pull up the van. We've got extraction, very soon, and two more of us» Posh ponders a moment. Realizing that she probably doesn't have the stomach to properly interrogate two ritualists, she shrugs, and goes for the devil she knows, if not trusts. She adds a message to Suen Qiang. «Have captured the ritualists alive, and can deliver to a location of your choice» Sara responds in the affirmative, saying she's bringing the van around. Two minutes, she says. Be ready, she says. That should be plenty of time. It's not clear if Suen Qiang is even hearing your message, though. Someone answers, yes, but it's not him. The voice has a similar Chinese accent, but it's younger, maybe mid-thirties. Not quite one of his young soldiers. Perhaps a senior lieutenant? "Make sure it _stays_ disrupted." He sounds rather final with his tone, certainly not afraid of giving orders. His voice is a little more pleased when he continues, though. "And that's a useful prize you've brought us. I'm surprised you took any of them alive. Suen Qiang may reward you." And then Suen Qiang calls. Not you, though. Just outside, a flashing light is visible, a pale blue glow blinking on and off, emanating from the narrow strip between the van and the alley wall it's parked next to. Getting closer, you can see a screen floating there midair; it's small, slightly curved, a face on it. Suen Qiang's face. It takes a moment to register what you're really looking at. Invisible, in the darkness, and hidden behind the van, it couldn't be seen before. But now, looking closely, you can spot the faint distortion of ruthenium cloaking. A bike? Not many bikes like this in Denver, and Suen Qiang is apparently trying to contact the owner: Feather. This means she's close by, maybe. Didn't she say it had a homing function? You don't have long before Sara gets here, though. Posh texts back, «Understood. We'll be using explosive means to ensure that. Your two extra prizes are going to be delivered to the safehouse address you send me» She completely ignores that she has seen Feather, just shaking her head at Senshi, figuring that she'll be in touch, later. When Sara pulls up, Posh nods to Senshi. "All right. Grenades away," she says, and with everyone clear and the two ritualists bound with plasteel restraints and pushed into the van, Posh lods up, informing Sara that it's time to move the hell out. The two are dropped off at an address provided by Suen's man…but questions no doubt linger. What was Feather doing out of contact and remaining hidden? What was Suen doing, out of contact? Were they being monitored? What will happen to the ritualists? Who had they actually attacked? Posh resolves to get answers…answers from both Feather and Wu. But for now, she'll play good little girl…in order to earn that payout. Posh seems to think for a moment, her eyes widening. Feather isn't there as well. In fact, Suen Qiang is visible away from Feather's bike. That blows the cover. That means that something has gone very wrong. "Krieg," she says. "I suspect Feather attempted to complete the op alone, with us. She may have been captured, or is wounded. We need to quickly check any basements, nearby, and then, we cannot simply exfil. We'll have to check out the crowd if she is not here in the house. Can you lay a remotely detonated grenade in the middle of the ritual site, so that we can detonate at any time?" she asks. Posh also gives instructions to Sara to wait 'nearby, but safe' now that the two ritualists are secured and loaded. Posh adds, «Hey girl, I know I'm being all bossy and real irregular. You can take it out on me later, okay? But I do need the help, and in this weird, stop-start way, right now, chummer» «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) spends 3000 nuyen. «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Etiquette for "Texting with Sara": 1 2 2 4 4 7 Commlink-Krieg> Krieg sends, « A search of the area will take some time. I do not have the required materials on me for a remote detonation but I may be able to scrounge them from the opposition forces electronic devices and rig a primative detonator. Would you like me to conduct a search, or begin demolitions? » With that question posed Krieg's directs the twin Bumblebees to begin basic grid-search of the local area while she continues her own work. Senshi moves to approuch the bike's location. The bike's lights flash as Senshi draws close. It doesn't look like it's locked-down; the anti-theft systems seem to be off. The engine is cold, but the bike appears ready to go. If it's in this state, it's likely Feather didn't intend for it to be here for long. Commlink-Posh> Posh sends, « Just a search of this immediate building, Krieg. » Commlink-Posh> Posh sends, « I am guessing she attempted to infiltrate, possibly, and could have been captured… » «Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls 1 for "Bumble 1's Sensors": 2 «Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls 1 for "Bumble 2's Sensors": 4 Commlink-Krieg> Krieg sends, « Understood, the vehicle may have information for us. » Posh frowns a little bit, and then her mind seems to clear. "All right, Krieg. Proceed with the destruction." She then moves to try to activate the bike's homing function, after climbing astride. Perhaps Feather has a keyfob on her bike. Commlink-Posh> Posh sends, « Proceed with damaging the site, and bring Senshi onto the van. I will ask Sara to follow me. » In order to not look oddly like someone on an invisible bike, Posh does the best she can, sets her cloak to urban camo and swaddles herself in it, pulling up the hood. At least it might be harder to see. «Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls Demolitions + Task Pool: 1 for "Rig Posh's grenades for maximim effect on the ritual site.": 1 2 4 4 5 «Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls Electronics + Task Pool: 1 for "Scavenge materials for device": 1 2 2 3 4 5 5 «Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls Electronics B/R + Task Pool: 1 for "One-off Device.": 1 1 4 4 5 Sara, meanwhile, is agreeable enough to Posh's request. The two unconscious and bound ritualists are loaded into her van, Miyo and Krieg still inside as well. Sara drives off a moment later. It doesn't seem like Feather would be nearby, though. There's simply no place for her to be. It's a high, solid alley wall on one side, a long-abandoned three story industrial development just beyond it, and the stores on the other. The storefront of the target area was empty; Posh saw that earlier. They cleared the back. None of the others show any sign of entry or habitation, forced or not. And there's no basement level to any of these shops, as far as can be seen. It's a fairly cheap development, likely without any surprises to speak of. The bike seems cooperative enough, though. It comes to life when Posh draws close, apparently set to stay ready to go at a moment's notice. Feather /did/ plan on coming back soon, and she knew she might need to get away in a hurry. The ruthenium deactivates, the engine roars to life, and the bike's computer screen pulses on to full brighteness. There's a GPS reading already on the screen. You can see the alley, the shops, a bunch of other things. A blue dot marks the target right next to you. She must have set this destination first. There are three other dots: red, blue, and yellow. All are clustered tightly together. Is one of them her? Only one way to find out. The dots on the GPS readout are only a few kilometers away, well within the range of Krieg's RCD, even if the van didn't move to follow. Posh selects the 'yellow' one. She remebers. Fenhuang. Flying yellow. And then it's off to go, activating the bike to take her to the yellow dot. «Senshi, it looks like you're going to be taking the bitch seat» she comms. «Sara, can you maintain a reasonable distance?» she asks to the driver, to make sure that Senshi is not out of range. She provides her cloak to Senshi, so he can just look like a recluse on a bike instead of a robot. Senshi completes the crude device composed of the opponenets electronic devices, some building componenets and grenades provided by Posh. The detnator is set for remote operation Via Cell signal. Commlink-Krieg> Krieg sends, « Conservation of operational power would be acceptable. » Senshi does not mind a ride, and if offered will accept. The bike is eased out into the open in the alley. Senshi climbs aboard. And then Posh makes her choice. Slowly at first, then spinning faster until they reach a whirring, incredible rate of revolution, the gyrostabilization gears built into the center of each wheel begin to spin. Is that normal? Oh, right. It's the technology which makes self-driving bikes possible. Once engaged, the bike seems to have no inclination to even accept Posh's input. Feather's bike is only 750cc, but it's an aggressively tuned 750cc, roaring off with little concern for safety, accelerating to a breathtaking speed with only the first few seconds of movement. It would be harrowing to people not accustomed to that level of speed. Somehow, though, even with the added weight, it never seems remotely off-balance. Drive-by-wire, very likely. Does she /always/ ride like this? The bike calms down a little once it hits the street proper and manages to catch a Gridguide signal, the Autonav respectful enough of traffic laws, but with its acceleration and speed, it's never a calm ride. And the area around Posh and Senshi only gets worse as they go. They're driving straight into industrial blight, into a wasteland of failed commercial and industrial development from the early 2060's that never quite took off. It's a few square kilometers of never-moved-into office parks and underutilized industrial spaces, semi-abandoned even during the day. It's a known haven for gangs, usually go-gangs, though that activity has quieted down over the last few weeks. The bike pulls into a sprawling, mostly empty parking lot. A realty sign, its lights smashed out, marks the entrance. Nobody is home. Nobody is supposed to be, anyway. This place is likely registered as off-limits with Gridguide, and the bike's Autonav seems to recognize that. An Unauthorized Entrance error, in Cantonese no less, flashes across the screen, and the bike politely parks itself just inside the lot's entrance. At the center of the lot is an abandoned light commercial building, a three story tall office space with enough capacity to likely house a few hundred workers. It looks clean, modern, even attractive, strangely enough, likely only unused because of the dismal quality of the area. Nobody who can afford a building like this would want to operate here. But someone is here, whether they should be or not. Several nondescript white vans, very similar to the one Krieg and Posh saw in the alley earlier, are parked here. And there's a second set of vehicles that seems to belong to a second group of people: ostentatious high-end black sedans that scream either wealth or organized crime. Very Triad. There's even a pair of motorcycles. In fact, looking at their location, something becomes obvious. This bike? Somehow, it knows those bikes. Those two bikes are the red and blue dots on the GPS display. The sounds are more interesting than the sights, though. Posh and Krieg have interrupted a party. It's hard to identify from this distance, but they know these sounds well: suppressed SMG and pistol fire, quite a lot of it. At least a few dozen shooters. Something big is going down in there, and if that yellow dot actually is Feather, she has already crashed the party. Posh glances at the realty sign, looking where they are. She uses her cell connection to try to get a fix on her exact location, and she frowns as she sees the white van. It sounds like Feather must have been sent on some secret mission? Posh instead relays the location to Suen Qiang. «It seems our errant yellow bird is tracked to this location. Hear gunfire. Going to prosecute» Posh takes a glance a the white vans. /Several?/ There had been six goons with the one that she'd seen before. Still, Posh turns to the figure behind her, dismounts the bike, and takes a moment to reload the guns in her arms. It seems like things are going to get nasty. She turns to Senshi, fluffing her cloak about herself again. «I'll take point. Extra attention on these gunfire sounds» And, moving at a sort of hunched over quick scurry, she moves to try to close the distance to the sounds of the fight, after seeing if she can create any link so that the red, yellow, and blue dots are transferred to her pocsec. Posh is betting the yellow one, the color of the Fenhuang, is Feather. Senshi departs the bike as well and does a gear check after the ride. While everything should be well secured, it's habit. Senshi goes Active, allowing the full range of his sensor data to Krieg. Perhaps weapon types, numbers, locations. Commlink-Krieg> Krieg sends, « Continue current combat restrictions? » Commlink-Posh> Posh sends, « Priority is retrieval of our comrade, Feather. Preservation of opposition life is considered a secondary goal. » Commlink-Posh> Posh sends, « Do not sacrifice the priority goal for the sake of the secondary goal. » Posh awaits for the gear check, but she herself has very little extra gear she needs beyond her ruthi cloak, shoulder bag, and street armor. She listens as well, to try to locate the direction of the sound, and she also shares information on her guessed direction of the sound, stepping a few steps away so that she can more effectively triangulate with Krieg, who has the advantage of full sensory information. Commlink-Krieg> Krieg sends, « Elimination of targets with extreame prejudice will eventually draw a security response. Our operation will have to be rapid, if loud. It will allow rapid degredation of enemy forces combat effectiveness. » Commlink-Posh> Posh sends, « Agreed. However, if loud is the only way we can fully assist Feather, then loud it will be. » Commlink-Posh> Posh sends, « Feather meantioned to me once that she used to be one of a sisterhood. I think these other two…may be them. This makes me suspect she is the Fenhuang…that and her handle, so she would be most associated with the bird, the yellow one. We may have been the distraction, but maybe something's a little wrong. » «Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls 4 for "Sensors+R3 Clearsight,(Proximity detectors, rangefinders, video, basic radar, signature-recognition software, low-light, telescopic magnification x50)(Active)": 3 4 5 9 «Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls Military Equipment + Task Pool: 1 for "If applicable weapon system sounds and firing patterns.": 1 2 3 3 4 5 5 10 «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Intelligence for "Perception": 1 3 3 3 4 4 4 10 «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Intelligence for "Analyzing the sounds": 1 2 2 2 3 4 11 11 «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Small Unit Tactics + 1 for "task pool": 1 2 4 5 15 19 «Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls Small Unit Tactics + Task Pool: 1 for "As Directed.": 1 3 5 8 10 The two women make their decision. Fearing the worst, they decide to come in hard and fast, at least if the situation demands it. And with Senshi's firepower up against Triad members, that will likely be very hard. They should be OK, right? The two approach. Posh checks the van, and she almost immediately notices a peculiar detail. It's faint, but up close, there's a distinct smell. Garbage. A very distinct kind of garbage. The same kind you smelled in the alley back at the target area, a scent gathered in fetid puddles that leaked from the large dumpster, that day's food waste from the Chinese restaurant in that strip of storefronts. It could be a coincidence, but probably not. At least two of those vans were there a very short time ago. Feather wasn't the only one who recently made the trip from here to there, it seems. It's not certain, but maybe she discretely hitched a ride with them, doable with her abilities and gear. Or maybe she drew them off somehow. It's impossible to know for sure without asking her. Using her ears next, Posh tries to get a feel for the gunfire. Krieg can sense the same things with Senshi's sensors. It's hard for her to know for sure, since the suppressed fire is faint at this distance, but the gunfire seems to be disciplined and controlled. There's a rhythm to it. Pause. Fire. Pause. Fire. This is a real gunfight; they're probably taking cover and moving. Not quite milspec tactics, but these boys just might be the elite of whoever is fighting. They notice something else too. Judging by how the gunfire is alternating, there are definitely two parties here. Two large parties. It's nost just Feather against the world. Going in hard, then, might have a major complication. Killing people allied with their client. Feather might not be happy either, if they're close to her. Again, impossible to know for sure right now. A hard choice they'll have to make. Whatever the case, the parties involved seem distracted with each other for the moment, and judging by the fact that nobody is shooting at them yet from the three-story structure, there's /probably/ nobody watching. Either way, the pair can probably get right up to the building without incident, if they so choose. Poch considers the situation for a moment. «We need to get eyes on target. Likely they're too busy with each other to spot your bee drone. Can you scout out ahead in the direction of the fire while we attempt to make contact? We have to figure out exactly what's going on before we know what to proceed - otherwise we're guessing and rushing in» And then she pulls up the hood of her ruthi cloak, and nods back to Senshi. Commlink-Posh> Posh sends, « Do you concur Senshi? Scout out with bee drone, attempt to make stealthy contact. We don't even interfere unless it looks necessary. At the least we could provide medical attention for our comrade. » Commlink-Krieg> Krieg sends, « It will take a few momments to have the drone arrive. Their travel speed is not equivilant to the transport we just used. We will have to take position and await their arrival, if that is your decision. » Commlink-Posh> Posh sends, « Then we're going on ahead, without it, and using our own sensors for the recon, I suppose. There's nothing else for it. Feather's out of contact, it seems. » Encloaked and armed as she is, Posh is ready to assist, though in as low-profile a manner as possible. But the first step will be to approach the gun fight, as quietly and unobtrusively as possible. Posh checks her Savior, just in case, that's needed. Commlink-Krieg> Krieg sends, « By the time we get into position within the building we should have the first of 2 on site. » Commlink-Posh> Posh sends, « All right, Krieg. That sounds good. Might as well have all the eyes we can. » Senshi stays in cover, but opposite of Posh's position to not draw fire on the cloaked individual as they progress towards their objective. Posh moves ahead to the base of the three story building, trying to move from shadow to shadow, with her cloak likely making her surprisingly soft-footed movement probably difficult to see. If there is a nearby entrance to the building, she immediately approaches, figuring she's more of an indoor kinda gal, and attempts a quick entry, hoping to get eyes on the source of the gunfire via a window, or to figure out exactly where it might be. The bumblebee drones arrive on site as Senshi and Posh take up positions near the building's side, finding spots next to its polished glass exterior that aren't adjacent to interior windows. Krieg already has seen the basic acoustic analysis, but now the drones make detailed sweeps of each level, rising floor by take a look, those inside oblivious to the presence of the insect drones. The first floor is a bunch of a stragglers. There was a terrible battle there, it looks like, and now it's only a few wounded fighters exchanging rounds, likely on their way to bleeding out. The drones can spot a lot of dead bodies there. It's hard to pick out who's who, but maybe the colors are telling. It's not universal, but there are a lot of blacks and yellows mixed in with everything else. The men and women in black, often with red highlights somewhere in their clothing, look like they're dressed very similarly to those at the target area earlier. Black Chrysanthemums, quite possibly. The people in yellow, though? Hard to say. Their colors don't match anything in Denver, if Posh is asked. Process of elimination might be useful here, though. They're definitely not sporting Black Dragons colors. What other players are there in this mess? Posh's intel search earlier said something about this. The second floor is the primary gunbattle. There's a crude defensive line in place, overturned furniture acting as semieffective cover for a group of Black Chrysanthemums defending against the core of the attacking group, trying to prevent them from reaching the third floor. It's a stalemate for the moment, both sides slowly being whittled down, but going up there in the wrong way would likely turn into a bloodbath, if you even survived. It's dozens of them, and they're already on high alert. The third floor is a very Triad battle. Heavily-tinted windows make it hard to pick out the details, but showers of sparks and martial arts cries hint that it has devolved into a fierce, bloody melee. Krieg relays the information to Posh as Senshi assesses the buildings exterior composition for climability. The position of obstructions, handholds, and possible escape ladders are of key note as the observation quickly occurs on arrival to the buildings side. Posh looks up for a window leading into the third floor from the outside, preferably not in the middle of the battle area. She figures that's where Feather is most likely to be, unless she sees visible smoke in the gun battle downstairs on the second floor. She figures that it would make more sense to help with the fight on the third floor and assist the others. Fortunately, she's got her Cantonese chip slotted, and, well, she shifts her hair and eyes both to black. At least she would look less immediately surprising if she does get spotted, and she knows how to say 'Black Dragons' in pretty solid Cantonese, which might explain her participation. She fires the grapple gun up to the third floor, scrambling in with as little noise as possible, and then finds somewhere to tie off the line so that it provides something for Senshi to use to ascend up there as well, leaning down to help haul the drone in when needed. Posh considers the pros and cons of shooting out a window, which her EXEX suppressed rounds would certainly do. But then again, it could be seriously armored, and that might make noise for nothing. So she instead looks for some point, or appropriate looking lip, to shoot in order to ascend to the very top of the three-story building. «Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls Engineering + Task Pool: 1 for "Quick assessment of structure for climbing route while burdend.": 1 2 2 2 4 5 7 8 «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Stealth for "+4 ruthi cloak": 1 2 3 3 3 5 «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Stealth for "+4 ruthi cloak KP 10": 1 1 3 4 4 4 «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Stealth for "+4 ruthi cloak KP 12": 1 2 2 4 4 5 «Plot» Posh says, "Just not too stealthy." «Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls Stealth: 2 4 9 «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Athletics for "Climbing!": 2 3 4 4 9 «Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls Walkers + Control Pool: 4 for "Vertical navigation check-Senshi": 2 3 4 5 5 5 8 9 «Auto-Judge[]» Huntress (#5479) rolls 5 for "Collective Perception Floor 2 -1 for slightly tinted windows": 1 1 2 2 4 «Auto-Judge[]» Huntress (#5479) rolls 6 for "Collective Perception Floor 3 -3 for heavily tinted windows at night": 1 2 3 4 4 5 It's impossible to climb up the wall of such a building completely silently, and so Posh's heart thuds in her ears as her grapple gun pulls her up slowly, finally reeling past the second and the third floors to bring her up to roll somewhat ungracefully over the edge of the roof. Senshi secures his weaponry and waits for the line to ascend. While normally he would make a rapid entry the noise created by such an effort would likely exceed the gunfire itself. Once the line arrives he makes a fairly quiet climb, relatively, the high tensial line being tested by the bulk weight on it. Once atop the structure the drone takes a defensive position and retreives his weapon. Posh uses the grapple gun by having it reel her up as she braces her feet on the wall, sort of waddling up it as she's given a boost by the reel. «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Intelligence for "cyber thermo, elf ears": 1 2 2 3 4 4 4 5 «Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls Intelligence + 3 for "Passive Sensors+Clearsight R3(Senshi)": 1 1 3 4 4 5 5 5 5 7 7 «Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls 4 for "Sensors+R3 Clearsight,(Proximity detectors, rangefinders, video, basic radar, signature-recognition software, low-light, telescopic magnification x50)(Active)": 2 5 5 8 «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls Stealth: 1 3 3 4 5 5 OOC Note: She's here! Hiding from … someone. It's … actually nice up here. Above you now is an unobstructed view of the stars, less ambient light at this hour making them more visible than Denver's early night sky. And around you is a view that stretches for miles, overlooking the industrial blight of this area. But from up here, it all looks almost peaceful, at least if you can ignore the gunfire below you. The moon is nearly full, giving Posh just enough light to navigate. And that same light lets Senshi see clearly enough with his low-light vision. This is very much a typical roof for a building of this size, and it's quite large too. Up here, you get a clear idea of the building's true size. You don't have clear line of sight across the roof, though, with numerous ducts snaking into and out of the floor here, all of them about waist high, a slight gap beneath. Several large central AC and heating units are scattered about too, connected to some of the ducts. But in the distance, you can see the stairway leading down, curiously ajar, the security door looking like it was knocked clean through its reinforced frame. Somebody wasn't messing around. Whoever is fighting on the third floor might have made their entrance here too. But for now, there's nobody up here. Right? Posh can't see them. Krieg can't see them. But Senshi? Senshi can see them. It's a single brief blip on his proximity and motion detectors, just enough data to get a basic identification. There are three human-sized people running straight for the two of them, curiously impossible to see, navigating the hurdles here in silence. «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 10 vs TN 2 for "Ambush Surprise Test": 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 4 10 = 6 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Reaction vs TN 6 for "???": 1 2 2 4 4 4 5 5 5 9 = 1 Success «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls Initiative with a result of 18. «Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls Initiative using a VCR rating 3 with a result of 25. «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Initiative with a result of 20. «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 3 for "+10 Init Target1": 3 7 7 «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 3 for "+10 Init Target2": 1 1 1 «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 3 for "+10 Init Target3": 1 1 4 ----------—[ Shadowrun Denver ]—- ============================> Initiative Listing <============================= Combatant Name…………….. P1(B) P2(-10) P3(-20) P4(-30) P5(-40) Krieg…………………….. 25 15 5 — — Target1…………………… 25 15 5 — — Posh……………………… 20 10 — — — Feather…………………… 18 8 — — — Target3…………………… 16 6 — — — Target2…………………… 13 3 — — — OOC Note: This was supposed to be the warm up for the final battle. Two of them against three highly-skilled melee opponents with the element of surprise on their side. They have 6 extra dice for dodging each turn because of Side Step, and their powers beyond that allow them to ignore visibility modifiers and wound penalties. «Plot» Feather says, "You have range, and they're moving out in the open, so I'll let you have a single opening action or attack, if you want it, Krieg." «Plot» Feather says, "Since you can't see them clearly, we'll use a slightly modified version of suppressive fire rules, to account for you simply spraying bullets in their direction." «Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls Mechanical Arm Operation + Control Pool: 4 vs TN 2 for "Success Limitor for Weapons test +4 Control, 9/13 Control pool": 2 2 3 4 4 5 5 5 9 11 = 10 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls Combat Pool: 7 vs TN 4 for "Target 1 dodging suppressive fire": 1 1 3 3 4 5 23 = 3 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls Combat Pool: 7 vs TN 4 for "Target 2 dodging suppressive fire": 1 3 4 5 5 5 15 = 5 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls Combat Pool: 7 vs TN 4 for "Target 3 dodging suppressive fire": 1 2 3 4 5 5 11 = 4 Successes OOC Note: If you're wondering about the combat pool total, these enemies are adepts with Side Step 6. No sooner than they arrive atop the structure and take in the basic surroundings Senshes proximity warning activates on multiple signatures inbound rapidly towards them. The drone Immediately turns towards the still obscured target markers. The quiet rooftop springs to life and the LMG roars in response to its SL activation command Streaming flames and sound out across the targets path of advance. No single point is references, simply a protective line of fire. «Comm»<Contact front 3 fast movers.> OOC Note: This is Target1. «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 6 + Combat Pool: 6 vs TN 4 for "9M melee vs Posh": 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 4 5 8 10 11 = 5 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 6 + Combat Pool: 6 - 5 vs TN 4 for "9M melee vs Posh KP 1/6": 1 3 4 4 5 5 5 = 5 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) has the Martial-Arts Maneuver Blind Fighting (Pentjak-Silat) with the value 'Blind Fighting'. «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Pentjak-Silat vs TN 10: 2 2 3 3 3 5 7 = 0 Successes «Plot» Feather says, "Stages 5 times to 12 D." «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Body + Combat Pool: 6 vs TN 7 for "Soak UNNNH": 1 1 1 2 3 3 4 4 4 5 9 9 10 11 16 = 5 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Body + Combat Pool: 6 - 5 vs TN 7 for "Soak UNNNH KP 1": 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 8 11 = 2 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Body + Combat Pool: 6 - 7 vs TN 7 for "Soak UNNNH KP 3 (15 spent? total)": 1 3 3 4 4 5 5 10 = 1 Success «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Body vs TN 9 for "knockdown": 1 2 2 2 3 4 4 5 11 = 1 Success The elf lets out a grunt as a hefty blow strikes her, suddenly, all in of a sudden, driving deeply into her armored sternum. She staggers back though - at pushing eighty kilos she probably weighs quite a bit more than whoever attacked her, but her light, perfectly tailored Zoe threads hold still against the ferocious blow. That one, though, is just the centerpiece of a violent flury that knocks her around, the sudden assault making her stagger back, blows about her face drawing superficial cuts but not enough to damage Posh's reinforced chassis, most of the blows taken on her cyberarms as she shields her face, instinctively shifting the blows as best as she can according to her recent practice. However, despite several painful blows, Posh displays the traditional stiff upper lip, and she is certainly alerted of trouble. She has no pithy quip now, instead all she can do is dive back, trying to find some cover and quickdrawing a pair of her Ceskas, adding a quick burp of buzzsaw as the little guns fire out a twin stitch of fire seeking some sort of hit on where she was just attacked. «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Quickness vs TN 6 for "double quickdraw": 1 1 3 3 5 5 5 7 = 1 Success As Posh desperately dives into cover after she's attacked, she comms «Senshi, smoke! Need to even the odds against these!!» «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls Reaction vs TN 4: 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 4 8 = 2 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls Projectile Weapons (Bows) vs TN 3 for "Attacker Walking +1, Simple Aim Action -1, Simple Ready+Fire Action with Quick Draw Power": 1 3 5 5 11 15 17 = 6 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 9 + Combat Pool: 2 vs TN 4 for "Target1": 1 2 2 3 3 4 5 5 5 5 10 = 6 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 9 + Combat Pool: 2 - 6 vs TN 4 for "Target1 KP 2/6": 2 3 4 4 4 = 3 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 9 vs TN 11 for "Target1 knockdown roll": 1 1 1 2 3 4 4 4 5 = 0 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 9 vs TN 11 for "Target1 knockdown roll KP 3/6": 1 3 4 4 5 8 8 11 20 = 2 Successes Posh's attacker becomes visible, briefly, after the pummeling that she receives. It looks like a man dressed in a black suit, likely a Black C's heavy-hitter, though he looks to be armored. A secure jacket, for sure, possibly with form-fitting body armor beneath. Whatever he did, though, it seemed to dispel his invisibility. An invisibility spell, then? Gone when he attacks? And in that brief moment of opportunity, the faint twang of a compound bow string is heard, and an arrow slams into the man hard. And then it bounces right off. A hammerhead. He staggers, but ultimately, he stays on his feet. Whoever fired it is out of sight, though. «Auto-Judge[]» Huntress (#5479) rolls 6 + Combat Pool: 6 vs TN 4 for "Smashing Blow": 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 4 5 5 5 7 = 5 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Huntress (#5479) rolls 6 + Combat Pool: 6 - 5 vs TN 4 for "Smashing Blow KP 1/6": 1 1 2 2 3 5 7 = 2 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Huntress (#5479) rolls 6 + Combat Pool: 3 vs TN 4 for "Target3 Unarmed Attack Test vs Krieg": 1 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 = 2 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Huntress (#5479) rolls 6 + Combat Pool: 3 - 2 vs TN 4 for "Target3 Unarmed Attack Test vs Krieg KP 2/6": 1 1 1 2 4 4 5 = 3 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls 4 for "Sensors+R3 Clearsight,(Proximity detectors, rangefinders, video, basic radar, signature-recognition software, low-light, telescopic magnification x50)(Active)": 1 4 5 10 «Plot» Feather says, "Senshi's active sensors reveal someone closing on him fast. It doesn't look like a conventional melee attack, but they're trying to use some kind of close range attack on him. You can dodge but not counterattack." «Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls Karma Pool: 6 vs TN 2 for "Vehicular Dodge (Handling 2)": 1 3 3 5 5 5 = 5 Successes «Plot» Krieg says, "For Corrective purposes KP is suppose to be RP, (Control Pool) for dodge." Senshi's sensors pick up another strange contact reading aprouching his position. It seems intent on striking from the shadows, but not today. The drone rapidly shifts position and maneuvers with inhuman speed to avoid the attack, remaining ready with its weapon as the targeting data continues feeding in from the SL system. «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 6 + Combat Pool: 6 - 1 vs TN 5 for "Target 2 vs Senshi, +1 TN throw maneuver, -1 dice due to martial art": 1 1 1 3 3 3 4 5 11 13 14 = 4 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 6 + Combat Pool: 6 - 1 - 4 vs TN 5 for "Target 2 vs Senshi, +1 TN throw maneuver, -1 dice due to martial art KP 1/6": 1 3 3 4 4 4 4 = 0 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 6 + Combat Pool: 6 - 1 - 4 vs TN 5 for "Target 2 vs Senshi, +1 TN throw maneuver, -1 dice due to martial art KP 3/6": 2 2 4 4 5 5 8 = 3 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 6 + Combat Pool: 6 - 1 - 7 vs TN 5 for "Target 2 vs Senshi, +1 TN throw maneuver, -1 dice due to martial art KP 6/6": 1 2 4 4 = 0 Successes OOC Note: TN should be 6 here, and they should have 2 more dice. I didn't reroll because the outcome would have remained the same. «Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls 4 for "Sensors+R3 Clearsight,(Proximity detectors, rangefinders, video, basic radar, signature-recognition software, low-light, telescopic magnification x50)(Active)": 2 5 5 17 OOC Note: Detection roll, to sense the second attacker coming. He picks him up, but he still can't see him, so I ruled that he'll have to fight with half of the usual Blind Fighting modifier of +8. «Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls Mechanical Arm Operation vs TN 8 for " TN4 base, +4 Visibility, (Counter) Punch 7M(+1 Charge) Stun (8S Stun (electrical))": 1 4 4 4 9 11 = 2 Successes «Plot» Feather says, "I'm treating Senshi as having Body 8 for this, roughly that of an average troll." «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 9 vs TN 3 for "Throw test, Effective Body 8 - 5 net successes = TN 3": 1 2 3 4 5 5 5 9 11 = 7 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls 2 + Control Pool: 7 vs TN 2 for " Bod+Control Pool Vs 2S damage from Fall. (13of13RP)": 1 1 1 3 4 4 5 5 5 = 6 Successes «Plot» Feather says, "I'm treating that as normal impact armor, so we'll call that TN 4 (6 - 5 / 2), meaning it's a light wound, unless you want to KP." «Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls 2 + Control Pool: 7 - 6 vs TN 4 for " Bod+Control Pool Vs 2S damage from Fall. (13of13RP)(5of12KP)": 2 3 5 = 1 Success OOC Note: 6S fall damage fully soaked. The final opponent finally decides to show himself, closing rapidly on the drone. A fierce melee ensues between the two, the final Triad soldier grappling briefly with the drone, somehow matching its incredible strength with his own augmented might. Somewhere in the mix, though, the soldier turns Senshi's weight and power on him, using his enhanced strength to lift the drone off its feet and send him flying … clear over the edge of the roof. It's just fouror five?people on the roof now. Posh finds herself outnumbered badly. Senshi can likely climb back soon enough, but a lot can happen in a few seconds. To further complicate matters, that LMG burst just might have attracted some unwanted attention. While it's commonplace for Senshi to launch himself airborn to traverse distances, rarely is it inacted by an outside force. The altimeter and datafeeds remain constant, allowing Senshi to re-align himself upright in flight to navigate towards a softer landing zone ner the buidings edge. Conveniently someone has parked Vans here. Senshi borrows the vehicles crumple zones to reduce his angular velocity, the sudden impact likely detonating the vehicles windows as the drone abruptly lands atop it. «Auto-Judge[]» Huntress (#5479) rolls 6 vs TN 4 for "Target1 saying hello to Ms. Posh. Melee attack. No CP remaining.": 2 2 3 5 5 11 = 3 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Pentjak-Silat vs TN 4 for "Full defense": 1 2 3 3 4 4 5 = 3 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Pentjak-Silat vs TN 4 for "Full defense, comp, if allowed (blocking with ambidextrous cyber forearms)": 1 1 1 3 5 5 10 = 3 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Body vs TN 4 for "soaking 9M": 1 1 1 2 2 3 5 5 8 = 3 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Body - 3 vs TN 4 for "soaking 9M KP 1 (17 spent)": 2 2 3 3 4 11 = 2 Successes «Plot» Posh says, "Fully soaked, it seems." Posh steps back, being brutally forced back by the attacker that's in her face, her cheeks tensing in pain and fear as she's dashed back, but she keeps trying to backpedal a few more steps just to open up a little more room…just a little more…and then two bursts slam out from her two Ceskas. But only one is aimed at him, the other is aimed at the one who just threw Senshi off the /roof! «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Pistols vs TN 3 for "point blank, +2 visibility, SL2, recoil fully comped, guy who attacked me": 1 1 1 4 4 5 9 = 4 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Pistols vs TN 5 for "point blank, +2 visibility, SL2, recoil fully comped, the one who attacked Krieg": 1 1 2 3 4 4 10 = 1 Success «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Pistols - 1 vs TN 5 for "point blank, +2 visibility, SL2, recoil fully comped, the one who attacked Krieg KP 1 (18 spent)": 2 3 4 4 4 8 = 1 Success «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Pistols - 2 vs TN 5 for "point blank, +2 visibility, SL2, recoil fully comped, the one who attacked Krieg KP 3 (20 spent)": 2 2 5 5 7 = 3 Successes «Plot» Posh says, "The extra +2 TN on the second burst is for the second target mod." OOC Note: That got amended to 2 successes and 3 successes. +2 Attacker in Melee modifier added. «Auto-Judge[]» Huntress (#5479) rolls 9 vs TN 5 for "Target 1 soaking 12S 2 successes": 1 1 2 2 2 3 4 4 4 = 0 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Huntress (#5479) rolls 9 vs TN 5 for "Target 1 soaking 12S 2 successes KP 4/6": 1 2 3 3 4 4 4 5 9 = 2 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Huntress (#5479) rolls 9 - 2 vs TN 5 for "Target 1 soaking 12S 2 successes KP 6/6": 2 2 2 2 2 4 10 = 1 Success «Auto-Judge[]» Huntress (#5479) rolls 9 vs TN 5 for "Target2 soaking 12S 3 successes": 1 2 3 4 4 4 5 5 7 = 3 Successes «Plot» Feather says, "Target1 and Target3 take S wounds from Posh's attacks" «Auto-Judge[]» Huntress (#5479) rolls 9 vs TN 6 for "Target1 knockdown": 1 3 3 3 3 4 5 7 8 = 2 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Huntress (#5479) rolls 9 vs TN 6 for "Target2 knockdown": 1 1 2 3 3 3 4 5 9 = 1 Success «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Submachine Guns vs TN 5 for "Attacker in melee, no recoil (first burst from SMG), first target": 1 2 2 3 4 20 = 1 Success «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Submachine Guns vs TN 7 for "Attacker in melee, no recoil (first burst from SMG), second target": 1 2 3 4 4 11 = 1 Success «Plot» Posh says, "12S from each burst." «Auto-Judge[]» Huntress (#5479) rolls 9 vs TN 5 for "12S burst Target1": 1 2 2 3 3 4 5 7 9 = 3 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Huntress (#5479) rolls 9 vs TN 5 for "12S burst Target3": 1 1 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 = 0 Successes «Plot» Feather says, "Target1 is S+M. Target2 is dead." With the man before her wildly attacking her, beating her about, one of Posh's arms sticks out as she trains her pistol on the one who'd thrown Senshi to the ground, while her other is held at waist level, discharging two bursts at the same time into the center mass of the two targets. The guns are discarded, and her arms bend rapidly at ninety degrees, suddenly two bursts of flame spurting from her elbows as her SMGs blast a brutal counter attack into them, leaving the one close to her badly injured and the one who'd thrown Senshi down. Commlink-Posh> Posh sends, « One injured one down. Can you get back up the rope? » «Plot» Feather says, "Feather will hold her action." «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 6 vs TN 3 for "Target 3 FiM vs Posh no CP left": 1 1 1 5 5 9 = 3 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Pentjak-Silat + Combat Pool: 5 vs TN 5 for "Target +1 FIM counter, remaining combat pool": 2 2 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 10 11 13 = 7 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Pentjak-Silat vs TN 5 for "comp": 1 1 2 3 4 5 8 = 2 Successes «Plot» Posh says, "8 successes." «Plot» Feather says, "Posh's attack stages 4 times to 10D+8S." «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 9 vs TN 2 for "Target3 soaking 10D": 1 1 3 4 4 5 7 8 9 = 7 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 9 - 7 vs TN 2 for "Target3 soaking 10D KP 3/6": 1 2 = 1 Success «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 9 vs TN 4 for "Target3 soaking 8S - half of impact": 1 2 2 2 3 4 5 5 7 = 4 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 9 - 4 vs TN 4 for "Target3 soaking 8S - half of impact KP 4/6": 2 2 4 5 14 = 3 Successes OOC Note: Fully soaked. Posh manages to fight back the next participant to a comparative standstill…she manages to deal out some punishment for what she had done, her elbow lashing out, the realskinn holed from where she'd been firing. She looks a little surprised that her opponent seems to be fully as tough as she is, and she steadies herself for a difficult fight against these two. The prodigal daughter returns? A faint metallic click is heard, followed by the whisper quiet sound of a sword being drawn from its soft enclosure. And then Feather's distinct sword flies forward through the air at lightning speed, its wielder materializing a moment later as her ruthenium deactivates. There's a spray of red, and the already-wounded attacker falls, the bloodflow quickly stopping as his life fades. The second takes what one might assume would be a fatal attack, but his armor just barely manages to deflect the blade, and he emerges unscathed. The odds have shifted back in Posh's favor, it seems. «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls Reaction vs TN 4: 1 2 2 3 5 7 9 11 16 = 5 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls Pole Arms/Staves (Miao Dao) + 1 vs TN 2 for "Multi-strike against Target3 12D base damage": 1 1 2 2 2 3 4 5 = 6 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls Pole Arms/Staves (Miao Dao) + 1 vs TN 3 for "Multi-strike against Target1 12D base damage": 1 2 2 2 3 3 4 5 = 4 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 6 vs TN 4 for "Target3 counterattack": 3 3 4 5 10 10 = 4 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 6 vs TN 4 for "Target1 counterattack": 1 1 2 2 4 9 = 2 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 9 vs TN 5 for "Soaking 13D": 1 5 7 7 7 8 9 9 25 = 8 Successes «Plot» Posh says, "Full soak!" «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 9 vs TN 5 for "Target1 soaking 13D": 2 3 3 3 5 5 11 11 17 = 5 Successes «Plot» Feather says, "Target 1 is dead." «Plot» Posh says, "The one I shot?" «Plot» Feather says, "Yes. Target 3 remains standing with no damage." Poshe's elbows spit a storm of lead in the direction of the last standing man, Posh glancing down at the badly wounded man that Feather had bisected. "Oh, thanks. I think he was on his last legs, but it's nice to get a little help, once in a while," she says, adrenaline shuddering through her body as she looks around, reaching shakily for a smoke. "Well, looks like we got here just in the nick of time, didn't we, Feather? Those were some tough fellows. Do you need some help with those ones below?" she asks. "And, next dime, do send a text." «Plot» Posh says, "3 bullets fired from each armgun." «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Submachine Guns vs TN 5 for "visibility mod, melee": 1 1 3 4 5 8 = 2 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Submachine Guns vs TN 5 for "visibility mod, melee": 1 1 2 2 7 11 = 2 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Submachine Guns vs TN 5 for "visibility mod, melee": 1 3 5 5 7 13 = 4 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Submachine Guns + Combat Pool: 5 vs TN 5 for "visibility mod, melee": 1 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 4 5 5 = 2 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Submachine Guns + Combat Pool: 5 vs TN 7 for "visibility mod, melee, recoil karma (19 spent)": 1 3 4 5 5 5 7 10 10 11 16 = 5 Successes OOC Note: Recoil hadn't been calculated on the third burst, so it was amended as follows: «Plot» Feather says, "That's 2 successes on the third burst and 5 successes on the fourth burst now." «Plot» Posh says, "9 rounds expended, total, from each armgun" «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls Combat Pool: 7 vs TN 4 for "Dodge burst 1": 1 2 2 4 4 5 17 = 4 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls Combat Pool: 6 vs TN 4 for "Dodge burst 2": 1 2 2 4 5 9 = 3 Successes «Plot» Posh says, "Dodge TNs are 5 vs bursts." «Plot» Feather says, "Sorry, make that 2 successes each." «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls Combat Pool: 2 vs TN 5 for "Dodge burst 3": 2 8 = 1 Success «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 9 vs TN 5 for "Soak burst 1": 1 2 2 4 5 5 7 7 10 = 5 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 9 vs TN 5 for "Soak burst 2": 3 3 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 = 3 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 9 vs TN 5 for "Soak burst 3": 1 1 2 3 5 5 5 11 17 = 5 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 9 vs TN 5 for "Soak burst 4": 1 2 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 = 2 Successes OOC Note: Target is dead, ending this encounter. The armored girl feathers a button on the inside of her sleeve, her helmet visor turning transparent, her face visible beneath it. She has a nosebleed. It's hard to wipe those away, at least for her. Her visor is usually locked; you don't want your enemies popping it open, after all. Feather doesn't seem to mind the trickle of mostly dried blood running down over her mouth, though. "I am sorry. I did not contact you for a reason." That's not the only damage she has taken. Looking at her up close now, there's visible armor damage. Whatever she was doing here, she was fighting before you got here, and she has taken a few hits. Nothing looks to have penetrated her armor, but she has taken a few hits, both from firearms and bladed weapons. "I did not want you to follow me." And then she states the obvious. "It's dangerous here." "You do not know what you have gotten yourself into." Does she? Feather crouches there, gloved hands lifting up the sleeves of one of the team's now dead opponents. Rather complex tattoos are below. Magical or not, they clearly have significance. "I thought so. These men are not new recruits. They are some of the Black Chrysanthemum's best, from Hong Kong itself. I am not sure what kind of magic they useit is not Chinesebut they are skilled fighters. The fact that men like these are here is not good news. It means they are not going quietly; they are preparing for war." Standing again, she looks around. "These three were likely only the rear guard, here to cut off additional reinforcements after the main attacking force entered from … " And then she freezes, body suddenly tense, like a deer in the wild sensing a possible predator. And then, with lightning reflexes to match Posh's, she dives forward a split-second later, knocking the taller woman over, the two of them landing prone behind cover, barely avoiding a hail of wild gunfire that erupts from the roof access door that was supposed to be the team's point of entry. Did Senshi's machinegun fire tip them off? No. This is worse than that. The enemies that are pouring onto the roof now, and there are quite a few of them, sound like they're still fighting an enemy behind them. They've been pushed here, likely hoping to rendezvous with their now dead elites, finding you instead. Cornered and desperate, the worst kind of opponent to fight, this will likely be their last stand. It's men in black and red at first, colors confirmed to be those of the Black Chrysanthemums by Feather's analysis. Slowly trickling in after them are the boys and girls in yellow. For the moment, they don't notice you, but that will change very soon. «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Initiative with a result of 19. «Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls Initiative using a VCR rating 3 with a result of 26. «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls Initiative with a result of 22. «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 2 for "+6 init Group 1": 3 11 «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 2 for "+6 init Group 2": 1 7 «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 2 for "+6 init Group 3": 3 5 «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 4 for "+12 Blue": 4 5 5 5 «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 4 for "+13 Red": 2 3 4 5 ----------—[ Shadowrun Denver ]—- ============================> Initiative Listing <============================= Combatant Name…………….. P1(B) P2(-10) P3(-20) P4(-30) P5(-40) Blue……………………… 31 21 11 1 — Red………………………. 27 17 7 — — Krieg…………………….. 26 16 6 — — Feather…………………… 22 12 2 — — Posh……………………… 19 9 — — — Group 1…………………… 15 5 — — — Group 3…………………… 14 4 — — — Group 2…………………… 13 3 — — — OOC Note: Experimenting with a new combat format here: partially abstracted mass combat. This is to represent a large number of enemies fighting at once. Simplified stats, no karma pool, collective init. All enemies in each group act one after another, usually performing similar attacks. In this case, each of the three groups is six enemies. Red and Blue are single individuals acting as part of the third group faction present. It's a three-way fight between 23 combatants. «Plot» Feather says, "Red and blue will hold actions until the end of this pass." The fighting is chaotic and desperate, but peeking over the ductwork they're now hiding behind, Posh and Feather can likely see the basic outlines of this melee. Krieg has an even better idea, her aerial drones circling overhead at a safe distance, giving her a detailed overview of what's happening. There's a lot of them. A whole lot of them. There's roughly twenty of the men in black and red, seemingly clumped into three groups. And tactically? They're in really bad shape. They're caught in a pincer, and they know it. But it looks like they're a lot less afraid of Posh and Feather than they are of what's ahead of them. Group 1 closest to the team. They're hurdling the ductwork, charging the two women, intent on taking them out. One of them is holding a rope slung over one shoulder. Their intent is fairly obvious: they want to escape, and the team is in the way. Group 2 is mostly out of view, scattered around a maze of ductwork near the largest AC unit. They're tied in a brutal close combat with an equally large group of the the gangers in yellow. It looks like they're losing, gradually being pushed back toward Posh and Feather's position, though they're moving much slower than Group 1. Group 3 is the most scattered, and they're the closest to the stairway down. They've hunkered down behind cover, exchanging sporadic, mostly ineffective gunfire with a few very heavily-armed gangsters in yellow that are firing from around the stairwell doorway. The silver lining is that none of these guys appear to be elites. Their numbers will pose a problem. They have a lot of eyes and a lot of weapons to bring to bear. But they're scattered and broken. In fact, if the tactically-minded women were to wager a guess, the boys in black and red are staging this desperate gambit because their leaders and best fighters are already dead. Krieg is the wildcard here, for the moment. She's behind Posh and Feather, having already nearly climbed her way up. She could surmount at any time and emerge onto the roof proper, though Senshi's bulky frame would likely make him an instant target. The untiring drone hanging off the ledge could easily make its way around, out of sight, to get into a flanking position. It would be slow, though. Decisions. Given the possible situation and advantage of a well placed grenade, Senshi transitions from the climbing line to gripping the ledge edge. The bulk of his armor and gear tests the Ferrocretes impressive durability as the drone tightens its grip on the edge of the building. Senshi can move at an impressive speed, but he's limited to ensuring a grip that dousn't break away his handholds on the structure. «Plot» Krieg says, " Along the edge around to the midpoint, hopefully putting Senshi is the flanks of several groups." «Plot» Feather says, "Ok. We'll delay you until Pass 3." «Plot» Feather says, "I'll let this combat to be a bit slower per pass, since there are so many people." Feather crouches low, stashing her sword in her weapon case, retrieving her bow instead. She blinks out of sight a moment later, bow and all. Now cloaked, she pops out of cover, aiming at the nearest approaching enemy, a man struggling his way over one of the ducts. An arrow is reflexively strung and then released, slamming into the man's chest and ripping through his armor, exploding arrowhead fragmenting within his body. He stumbles one more step forward before finally collapsing, likely dead. «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls Reaction vs TN 4: 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 10 11 = 3 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls Projectile Weapons (Bows) vs TN 2: 1 2 3 3 3 3 4 = 6 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 6 vs TN 12: 2 3 4 4 7 10 = 0 Successes «Plot» Feather says, "One enemy from Group 1 dead." Posh turns back to Feather, unable to keep a quick smile from her face as Feather yanks her down from a barrage of gunfire. "Well, there's one," she says, quickly, and then glances back at her as she takes a bowshot and takes out that nearest approaching enemy. The charging enemies in Group One need to be taken out first. But she feels like now's the time to bring out heavier artillery. Loaded with Plus rockets, the two FN-AAL pistols she has in a rig at the small of her back are quickly jerked out, and she lays down fire nearly guaranteed two take down two of the attackers: two of those suckers on each of two targets. «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Quickness vs TN 6 for "Quickdraw": 1 1 4 5 5 5 7 13 = 2 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Gyrojet Pistol vs TN 3 for "shotgun range, smartlink-2, +1 for 50 cover first target left hand": 1 2 2 4 4 5 = 3 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Gyrojet Pistol vs TN 3 for "shotgun range, smartlink-2, +1 for 50 cover first target right hand": 1 1 3 4 4 5 = 4 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Gyrojet Pistol vs TN 5 for "shotgun range, smartlink-2, +1 for 50 cover second target left hand": 1 3 4 4 11 17 = 2 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Gyrojet Pistol + Combat Pool: 3 vs TN 5 for "shotgun range, smartlink-2, +1 for 50 cover second target right hand": 1 1 2 3 3 3 4 5 8 = 2 Successes «Plot» Posh says, "Plus rocket: 12M counts as APDS, shotgun range." «Auto-Judge[]» Huntress (#5479) rolls 6 + Combat Pool: 6 vs TN 10: 1 1 1 1 1 2 3 4 4 5 5 5 = 0 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Huntress (#5479) rolls 6 vs TN 10 for "First Target Second Shot Soak": 1 1 3 3 5 5 = 0 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Huntress (#5479) rolls 6 + Combat Pool: 6 vs TN 10 for "Second Target First Shot Soak": 2 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 9 11 = 1 Success «Auto-Judge[]» Huntress (#5479) rolls 6 vs TN 10 for "Second Target Second Shot Soak": 1 1 3 3 4 5 = 0 Successes «Plot» Feather says, "3 enemies from Group 1 are dead" «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 6 + Combat Pool: 6 vs TN 2 for "Piling On Group 1 Melee vs Posh": 1 1 1 1 2 3 4 5 5 7 9 10 = 8 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 6 + Combat Pool: 6 vs TN 2 for "Piling On Group 1 Melee vs Posh Combatant 2": 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 4 5 10 20 = 9 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 6 + Combat Pool: 6 vs TN 2 for "Piling On Group 1 Melee vs Posh Combatant 3": 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 5 10 11 = 11 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Pentjak-Silat vs TN 7: 1 2 2 2 4 5 10 = 1 Success «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Pentjak-Silat vs TN 7: 1 1 2 2 4 4 11 = 1 Success «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Pentjak-Silat vs TN 7: 3 3 3 4 5 8 11 = 2 Successes «Plot» Feather says, "They each do 5M base damage, so they're staged to 6D, 7D, and 7D stun." «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Body vs TN 2: 1 1 1 1 2 2 3 8 20 = 5 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Body - 5 vs TN 2 for "KP 21 spent": 2 3 5 5 = 4 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Body vs TN 2: 2 2 4 4 4 4 5 5 10 = 9 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Body vs TN 2: 1 2 3 4 4 5 5 7 11 = 8 Successes «Plot» Posh says, "All soaked." Posh is thrashed around rather brutally as the first group gets into both places, but she didn't get jumped into the Omens for nothing. With cyberarms held defensively and bone lacing and the effects of her 'ware and honest to goodness sturdiness, Posh gets socked a few, no a number of times, as the flurry of blows assaults her directly. «Senshi! Grenade! I'll survive it!..» «Plot» Feather says, "A few enemies from Group 3 are slowly pulling back, firing wildly in your direction. Do you have any combat pool to dodge sprayed rounds? 1 success needed." «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls Combat Pool: 3 vs TN 4: 1 4 10 = 2 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls Combat Pool: 3 vs TN 4: 2 3 4 = 1 Success «Plot» Posh says, "I haven't used any combat pool. :)" «Plot» Feather says, "Dodge three times. One success needed for each." «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls 3 vs TN 5 for "dodging bursts": 3 5 10 = 2 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls 3 vs TN 5 for "dodging bursts": 1 7 7 = 2 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls 3 vs TN 5 for "dodging bursts": 4 4 11 = 1 Success «Plot» Posh says, "2 CP remaining" «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 6 + Combat Pool: 6 vs TN 6: 1 1 2 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 11 = 1 Success «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls Body vs TN 2: 2 3 4 9 = 4 Successes «Plot» Feather says, "Feather eats it, miraculously soaks due to lousy suppressive fire roll." «Plot» Feather says, "Group 2 does not reach Posh and Feather yet." «Plot» Feather says, "Now Red and Blue's held actions." «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 9 + 6 vs TN 3 for "Standard bow attack, standard arrows, -1 aim, no range mod due to scope": 1 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 7 10 = 14 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 6 + Combat Pool: 6 vs TN 7 for "Target Soak": 1 2 3 3 4 5 5 5 5 5 10 11 = 2 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 9 + 6 vs TN 3 for "Sword attack": 1 1 1 1 2 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 = 10 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 6 + Combat Pool: 6 vs TN 4 for "Counterattack": 1 2 2 2 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 = 6 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 6 vs TN 8 for "Soak": 1 1 3 4 5 5 = 0 Successes «Plot» Feather says, "One enemy dead each from Group 2 and Group 3" «Plot» Feather says, "Blue and Red will hold in second pass" The battle continues to rage, a mess of screaming combatants and defeaning cascades of gunfire. An arrow streaks, seemingly out of nowhere, flying toward one of the enemies in Group 3 that's firing at the doorway. It buries itself deep into his eye, and he silently slumps over dead, either an incredibly lucky shot or superhuman accuracy. Meanwhile, the melee clustered around Group 2 continues to intensify, the remaining combatants in that group steadily pushing toward Posh and Feather's position. Senshi arises from his ambush point, rolling up over the edge of the building to a steadied assault position. The Smart-link system overlays a rapid grid of flickering red targeting reticals across Senshie's visual sensors. The drone quickly assesses the 3 most exposed targets in his LOS, the LMG again Roars to life with a gout of thunder against each target. The sudden explosive impact and detonation of the EXEX rounds littering the targets one by one within seconds. Three bursts ring out and tear into their targets with an emotionless fury as Senshi simply continues assessing the combat and preparing an analysis of the next target grouping between the bright flashes of muzzle comp. OOC Note: Krieg decides to accept whatever position they've gotten themselves into by Pass 2. I rule it's good enough for superior positioning mod. «Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls Mechanical Arm Operation + Control Pool: 3 vs TN 2 for "Success Limitor for Weapons test +2 Control, 10/13 Control pool": 1 2 2 3 4 4 5 5 7 = 8 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls Heavy Weapons + Combat Pool: 3 vs TN 2 for "Short Tn4,-2 SmrtlnkII,-1 Position 3 Rnd. Tgt 1. FA 3 CP 9/11.": 1 2 3 5 8 9 13 = 6 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls Heavy Weapons + Combat Pool: 4 vs TN 3 for "Short Tn4,+2,-2 SmrtlnkII,-1 Position 3 Rnd. Tgt 2. FA 4 CP 5/11.": 1 3 3 3 4 4 5 5 = 7 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls Heavy Weapons + Combat Pool: 5 vs TN 5 for "Short Tn4,+4,-2 SmrtlnkII,-1 Position. 3 Rnd. Tgt 3. FA 5 CP 0/11.": 1 1 1 2 2 2 4 5 13 = 2 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls Heavy Weapons + Combat Pool: 5 - 2 vs TN 5 for "Short Tn4,+4,-2 SmrtlnkII,-1 Position. 3 Rnd. Tgt 3. FA 5 CP 0/11.(6of13KP)": 4 4 4 5 5 9 10 = 4 Successes «Plot» Feather says, "Damage?" «Plot» Krieg says, " 7S base" «Plot» Feather says, "I think you'd get +1 due to cyber low-light and the partial light modifier up here." «Plot» Feather says, "So I'll amend the second burst to 4 successes and the final burst to 3 successes." «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 6 + Combat Pool: 6 vs TN 7 for "Soak Target 1": 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 5 5 11 = 1 Success «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 6 + Combat Pool: 6 vs TN 7 for "Soak Target 2": 1 1 2 2 2 3 4 4 7 8 10 10 = 4 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 6 + Combat Pool: 6 vs TN 7 for "Soak Target 3": 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 4 5 7 7 = 2 Successes «Plot» Feather says, "There are now 4 targets dead in Group 3." Feather materializes again, apparently deciding it's a little unfair to leave this entire mess to Posh. Again, she wades right in, seemingly without heed to her own safety, engaging three targets at once. It's a bit much for her. Two score light hits on her, leaving her reeling a little. The third is brought down with a swift and accurate strike, arterial spray coloring the pavement. «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls Pole Arms/Staves (Miao Dao) + 1 for "3~+1 FiM Multistrike Triple Attack": 1 2 2 3 5 5 5 7 «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls Pole Arms/Staves (Miao Dao) + 1 vs TN 4 for "+1 FiM Multistrike Triple Attack Target2": 1 1 2 2 9 11 13 14 = 4 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls Pole Arms/Staves (Miao Dao) + 1 vs TN 5 for "+1 FiM Multistrike Triple Attack Target2": 1 1 2 2 3 5 10 11 = 3 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls Pole Arms/Staves (Miao Dao) + 1 - 4 vs TN 4 for "+1 FiM Multistrike Triple Attack Target2 KP 1": 3 3 5 5 = 2 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls Pole Arms/Staves (Miao Dao) + 1 - 3 vs TN 4 for "+1 FiM Multistrike Triple Attack Target3 KP 1": 1 2 2 3 3 = 0 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 6 vs TN 3 for "Counterattack 1": 3 4 4 5 5 14 = 6 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 6 vs TN 3 for "Counterattack 2": 1 2 3 4 4 5 = 4 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 6 vs TN 3 for "Counterattack 3": 1 2 3 3 4 7 = 4 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 6 vs TN 9 for "Soak Target2": 1 2 3 3 4 4 = 0 Successes OOC Note: The following are Feahter's soaks against counterattacks. «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls Body vs TN 2 for "Soak Target1 Counterattack": 1 5 7 7 = 3 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls Body - 3 vs TN 2 for "Soak Target1 Counterattack KP 3/6": 1 = 0 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls Body vs TN 2 for "Soak Target3 Counterattack KP 3/6": 3 4 5 29 = 4 Successes «Plot» Feather says, "Only 2 more left in melee in Group 1. Feather eats 2 L wounds." OOC Note: Posh melees the remaining 2 in Group 1. «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Pentjak-Silat vs TN 4 for "multi-attack target 1": 1 2 3 3 3 4 5 = 2 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Pentjak-Silat vs TN 6 for "multi-attack target 2": 1 1 1 3 4 5 9 = 1 Success «Auto-Judge[]» Huntress (#5479) rolls 6 vs TN 4 for "Counterattack Target1": 1 2 3 3 4 13 = 2 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Huntress (#5479) rolls 6 vs TN 5 for "Soak 8M": 3 4 4 5 10 17 = 3 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Huntress (#5479) rolls 6 vs TN 7 for "Soak 8S": 1 1 3 3 5 9 = 1 Success «Plot» Feather says, "Target1 takes L+S" «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 6 vs TN 4 for "Counterattack Target2": 1 1 2 3 3 8 = 1 Success «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 6 vs TN 5 for "Soak 8M": 1 2 3 4 5 9 = 2 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 6 vs TN 7 for "Soak 8S": 1 2 3 5 10 16 = 2 Successes «Plot» Feather says, "Target 2 Takes L+M" OOC Note: Group 1's action. Now cornered, they turn on Feather, their most wounded enemy. «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 6 vs TN 7 for "Target1 Attacking Feather": 2 2 4 5 10 27 = 2 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 6 vs TN 7 for "Target2 Attacking Feather": 2 2 4 5 7 9 = 2 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls Pole Arms/Staves (Miao Dao) + 1 vs TN 3 for "-2 Reach, FiM even, +1 2x L wounds": 1 1 2 2 2 3 5 8 = 3 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls Pole Arms/Staves (Miao Dao) + 1 vs TN 3 for "-2 Reach, FiM even, +1 2x L wounds": 1 3 4 4 4 5 5 14 = 7 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 6 vs TN 8 for "Target1 Soak 11D": 1 1 2 2 4 5 = 0 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 6 vs TN 10 for "Target2 Soak 13D": 2 2 3 5 5 5 = 0 Successes «Plot» Feather says, "Group 1 is now wiped out. Group 2 is 2/6 left. Group 3 is 5/6 left." Posh seems to be ready to risk it all, managing to launch a rocketed elbow directly at one of them while her knee and the other elbow jabs brutally towards the other on the other side. She doesn't take any of them down, but they are both staggered and stunned by the discharges of her weapon through the small conductors, setting them up for Feather. When Feather's sword slashes through them, she smirks. "There," she says. "You happier now?" she asks, as the first group that had assaulted them is taken…leaving the group of enemies up here, with their escape avenue cut off. "Hopefully you'll help convince the great man to share the spoils of today's great victory with us," she suggests, as blood drips from Feather's miao dao. «Plot» Feather says, "I always intended to wrap up combat once a certain threshold of enemies had been defeated, so with 10/18 defeated by the team, I decided to call that good enough and have the leaders of the second gang go all-out and finish it. Combat is over." «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 9 + 6 vs TN 4 for "standard bow, no range due to scope, no aim": 1 1 1 3 3 3 3 3 4 5 7 9 10 10 15 = 7 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 9 + 6 vs TN 6 for "standard bow, no range due to scope, no aim, Target 2": 1 1 2 3 3 3 4 4 5 5 5 9 11 11 15 = 4 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 6 vs TN 8 for "Soak 1": 1 4 5 5 5 14 = 1 Success «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 6 vs TN 8 for "Soak 2": 1 2 3 4 5 7 = 0 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 9 + 6 vs TN 3 for "Standard Sword FiM even Target 1 Multi-strike": 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 5 5 5 9 10 11 = 11 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 9 + 6 vs TN 4 for "Standard Sword FiM even Target 2 Multi-strike": 1 1 2 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 7 9 9 10 11 = 10 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 9 + 6 vs TN 5 for "Standard Sword FiM even Target 3 Multi-strike": 1 1 1 2 2 3 3 5 5 5 5 5 5 11 16 = 8 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 9 + 6 vs TN 6 for "Standard Sword FiM even Target 4 Multi-strike": 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 5 5 8 = 1 Success «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 9 + 6 - 1 vs TN 6 for "Standard Sword FiM even Target 4 Multi-strike KP 1/?": 2 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 14 17 = 2 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 9 + 6 - 3 vs TN 6 for "Standard Sword FiM even Target 4 Multi-strike KP 3/?": 1 1 3 3 3 3 4 5 5 5 7 15 = 2 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 9 + 6 vs TN 7 for "Standard Sword FiM even Target 5 Multi-strike": 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 4 5 = 0 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 9 + 6 vs TN 7 for "Standard Sword FiM even Target 5 Multi-strike KP 4/?": 1 1 1 1 2 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 7 = 1 Success «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 9 + 6 - 1 vs TN 7 for "Standard Sword FiM even Target 5 Multi-strike KP 6/?": 1 1 2 2 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 5 5 = 0 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 9 + 6 - 1 vs TN 7 for "Standard Sword FiM even Target 5 Multi-strike KP 9/?": 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 3 4 5 5 5 9 10 = 2 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 6 vs TN 4 for "Counterattack 1": 3 3 4 4 5 11 = 4 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 6 vs TN 4 for "Counterattack 2": 1 2 2 4 5 11 = 3 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 6 vs TN 4 for "Counterattack 3": 5 5 9 9 11 19 = 6 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 6 vs TN 4 for "Counterattack 4": 1 3 3 3 4 5 = 2 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 6 vs TN 4 for "Counterattack 5": 1 3 4 5 5 11 = 4 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 9 + 6 vs TN 2 for "Final pass, blue acting, standard Sword FiM bonus on final target": 1 1 2 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 9 10 17 = 13 Successes «Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls 6 vs TN 4 for "Counterattack": 3 3 4 4 4 11 = 4 Successes The battle intensifies. The screaming roar of Senshi's light machinegun drowns out the other noises here, the chaotic sounds of the battle fading away against the backdrop of the defeaning weapon. For those left standing, anyway. The drone's heavy fire rakes from right to left under Krieg's direction, taking out most of the remaining stragglers in Group 3. Only two remain, both turning and exchanging ineffective return fire from their SMG's, the rounds bouncing harmlessly off the combat drone's hardened armor. They're outgunned and outmaneuvered, not that Krieg will get a chance to finish them. Two arrows fly nearly in unison, silently finding their mark. Again with the almost inhuman marksmanship, both shots penetrate the throats of the remaining two combatants in Group 3, the two men slumping over wordlessly, no chance to even scream. Group 3 now finished, the gunfire on the roof ceases, and for now, the boys in yellow in the stairwell seem content to hold back and try to appraise the situation. It wasn't Feather's bow, though. No, she's kneeling by Posh, the two women having taken cover, the bodies of their attackers scattered around them. It was a desperate melee, but they seem to be in one piece. Posh doesn't look great. Feather looks worse. She's exhausted, blood trickling from a round that has penetrated her armor. It's a nonvital hit, but that and the rest of the blows have taken their toll. She collapses to one knee, heavy breathing audible through her helmet, opaque face mask looking up at Posh. "We should get out of here." The battle is still going, though, at least for a few moments longer. There's screaming, the sound of metal on metal, again and again. Out of sight, concealed by the primary AC unit and its surrounding ductwork, the melee tucked against the north ledge of the roof seems to be reaching its climax. The cacophony rises, louder shouting heard as one side finally succumbs in that struggle. And then there's silence and darkness. The only thing audible is heartbeats and ringing ears from machinegun fire. And absent the flashes of gunfire, all that's left is the moonlight of this late night. Feather pushes herself back onto her feet. She looks around cautiously, body again tense, as if she was hearing or seeing something dangerous, even though nothing can be seen or heard. She's doing that thing again, that thing she says she can do. Sensing movement by the ripples in qi around her, ignoring her mundane senses. She doesn't explain, though. Instead, she sheaths her weapon and quietly vanishes, her ruthenium engaging. So much for help. There's nothing conclusive on sensors. With the gunsmoke and terrain obstructions, it's hard to get a lock. Movement, though? Yes, there's movement. More invisibility spells? Or ruthenium? Absent an aural signature, adept powers must be in play too. Posh is the one that sees it first. A sword materializes seemingly out of nowhere, a bloodied edge emerging from an unseen sheath. It's a traditional Chinese Dao, rising up and toward her neck in a single fluid motion at lightning speed. It's a killing blow, or it would be, had it landed. The Brit might have had the speed and reflexes to dodge, but she never gets a chance. With equal speed, another more familiar sword meets that one. Feather parries, two seemingly hovering swords grinding against each other, sparks flying. It's hard for either Krieg or Posh to get a shot; Feather is in the way. A brief melee follows, lasting only a few seconds of flurried blows, but Feather is outmatched. She doesn't have the strength. That can be seen in the way her knees buckle slightly with each blow. She doesn't have the skill, either, though such a discernment might be hard to make for anyone not themselves a master of swordplay. And those swords seem to be having a battle of their own, red glows flaring each time they touch, though the energy of the smaller Dao seems to flare much more brightly, "winning" each time. Weapon Foci. That would explain how one person could do so much damage with a sword. Feather overextends, is open, and an invisible foot slams into her gut. She buckles over, her guard lowering, and her sword flies out of her hands a moment later with a single disarming strike from her opponent. A moment of grappling ensues, and then stillness. You can barely see either of them, but with the way the Dao hovers at roughly neck level, it seems very likely that Feather is being held with it against her throat. The hostage taker seems to have a question, spoken in a thick Chinese accent, her tone calm and confident. "Who are you? And who sent you?" Posh is almost at her end, bruised and more important, bloody. She'd popped Kamikaze, and that's flooding through her veins, but having to fight almost consistently two on one had taken more than its toll, a nasty cut in one thigh very must slowing her, another bullet wound that had cracked a reinforced rib making it painful to breathe, even through the deadening effect of the drug. The sight of Feather taking that sword for her is almost grateful. She can do little during the fight…but she takes a chance to do what she can, reaching into her bag, the few precious seconds being stolen by the Brit as she remembers to inject herself with a flood of nanites. Perhaps it is that that allows her to drag herself to her feet, finally, wounded as she is before the damaged person. Posh is on her last shot after that desperate melee, and she'd thought she had the taste of victory, but she looks at Feather, trapped there, rising, breathing slowly, but not stepping forward. "We are with her," she replies simply, her hair and eyes dark, her appearance changed. "But if you were not hoping to negotiate for your life, you would not be holding us steady." For while Posh is in dire straits, of course, she has the ultimate partner for a standoff worthy of the chip she's had implanted. "But let's talk. It doesn't matter who I am. It matters what you want," she says, any trace of accent scrubbed from her voice, as she drops her deadly gyrojets, hands up, trying to turn so that it's totally natural that her elbow might be trying to line up to between the eyes of the hostage taker. But, as usual, even with that being the present plan, Posh will listen. The woman simply repeats her query, voice not faltering. "I have no interest in getting anything from you, and I do not fear your war machine. I asked you a simple question. Who are you, and who sent you?" "Not fearing my war machine would be a considerable mistake," replies Posh, dryly. "If you wish to have a conversation, I will require you to unhand my companion," she says, looking for even the tracest twitch of the woman, while she tries to serve down this. "I'm here to defend the interests of the Black Dragons, and my comrade." She smiles, her eyes narrowing, despite her pain. "I am sent by no one or nothing else. I am here to do a job, and make sure everyone on my team gets out and gets paid," she says. "You would only understand me as a local merchant." Senshi is silent, positioned, and observing. But as Posh continues to chat he seems to hold further actions. The drones overhead continue to circle at a safe distance. The location itself is more aggressively scanned and monitored as the commotion has died down. "Anyone can parrot the name of the Black Dragons. That means nothing to me. I want a name," the woman states flatly. "Otherwise I am not inclined to believe you. Understand your own position. The Black Dragons do not often involve gwailos in their business." Gwailos. Posh knows that one well enough from when Feather used to call her that. "At present, it simply seems to me like you are stalling." Krieg can sense quite a bit. There are a lot of the boys in yellow nearby, some hidden away, survivors of the melee on the roof. A large number is also waiting within the stairwell, out of sight. They're holding back for the moment, for whatever reason. As for Feather and her captor, the two almost seem to have blended together. They're in such close proximity, with both of their signatures obscured by cloaking, that they're hard to pick apart. Commlink-Krieg> Krieg sends, « The major opposition forces appear to be dispatched. Multiple signatures in yellow are standing by within the stairwell. What would you like to do Posh? » "Jenny Catastrophe sent me," Posh says. "We're recruiting a secret team of ganger killers for jobs around here, nobody's actually sent us. You've got our comrade here, and we tracked her down to here. It's that simple," she says. "So you could say that you sent us here, but I don't know your name, more than anything else. I can tell you that I was doing an entirely separate job, but frankly, if you're using this as an interrogation, you're being rather unclear," Posh replies, a little unconcernedly. "You can stop your act; you're hardly only going to kill your own trump card," she says. "And if you were the type to react in a tantrum to that statement, you'd have hardly got to your positions," she says. "You've lost a battle; to slay one more and be killed in turn yourself will hardly advantage you," she says, knowing full well what a gwailo is. But she sees no real reason to divulge even Suen Qiang's name to this person. After all, Feather's not speaking, and Feather knows just as well. "You can choose not to believe me, if you will, but I'm here to retrieve my comrade. And, messy as it would be, I'd be quite survived if you could injure her quite quickly enough for me not to save her. It's 2075, and real killers don't use swords anyway." Commlink-Posh> Posh sends, « I don't know how to handle this one. I can't figure out what she wants. There's so many different answers to her question. » Commlink-Krieg> Krieg sends, « There are only 2 theoretical answer types, the truth or a falsehood. Your articulation of these two answers determines the outcome of the discussion. » Commlink-Posh> Posh sends, « I think we'll probably have to have a philosophical conversation about that later. In the meantime, let's see what she says to that pressure. » "Lost?" The voice twists a bit, an amused edge creeping in to her words. "I am sure your scouts overhead can tell you of the soldiers nearby. Those are our men. We were hired to lead this attack. It's only by our word that they're standing by, and it's only as a courtesy to our allies that we haven't already killed you, on the off chance that you truly are one of their agents. The next words out of your mouth better be the name of who you are working for, and it better be the right name, or there will be violence. Whoever is pulling the strings of that machine will likely survive for tonight, but I assure, you and this girl in my arms will not." Feather remains silent. It's not clear if she even /can/ speak. One can see the blade held against her neck already starting to grind a bit on the ruthenium coating of her suit. It doesn't look like she's in any immediate danger, but there's likely quite a bit of force compressing her throat. Posh shrugs, seeming to relax now. "If they are your men," she says, "then you are not with the Black Chrysanthemums," she says. "It'd be nice if you lowered your weapon as soon as you wish," she says. "I was on a separate mission to disrupt Chrysanthemum activity when one of my team members did not show up. We tracked her down and there she is, under your blade at the moment," she explains. "I prefer not to immediately divulge the name of my employer, but I might be able to put you in touch with someone who might be able to answer in this situation on my behalf. A fellow operator who works with the Black Dragons. She sends a quick mental text, describing the situation, to Wu, who, at the least, if Suen Qiang wishes to speak for himself, might be able to open up a line to him, or to his ally, that there's a risk of kerfuffle with the foreign allies brought in to help neutralize the BCs - because, that's what the job is about, in any case: get paid, get Feather out, and get home alive. Commlink-Posh> Posh sends, « I'm calling an old friend with the Triads, sending a quick message to see what we can do with this. Trying to defuse the situation. » «Plot» Feather says, "Roll etiquette for using your contact." «Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Etiquette (to Feather) for "No pheremones, because using text": 1 2 4 5 7 14 "You have encountered the sisters," is the start of Wu's answer via text message. The sisters? Didn't Suen Qiang mention something like that, albeit in Cantonese? "They are the sharp edge of the Phoenix Lodge. Do not anger them. The long-haired girl can see through deception. That is all the help I will offer." One of them can spot lies? A spell? Or a social adept power? Either one, at sufficient levels of power, can grant a nearly foolproof ability to see through spoken lies. And … who or where is the long-haired girl? The invisible girl is silent for a few moments, eventually responding with the same flat, unimpressed tone. "Your team member is a fool, then, to intrude on one of our operations unbidden. I will not blame you for coming to retrieve your comrade. But know that gwailos tend to be on one side of this war. The wrong side. Be careful how you act; you will attract suspicion. We were told there would be outside contractors hitting the other sites." Other sites? How many were there? "So I will hold my blade for now, but I will not trust you until my sister has cleared you." "I am here for one reason only, which is why I came into this to begin with," replies Posh. "That was to back my teammate up," she says. "Since, frankly, I don't see how I can advance that cause better by doing other than shutting up at this moment, I shall do so." She reaches into her bag now for her pack of smokes, and pulls one out, offering the pack to a woman across from her. "Nice move, by the way. I'm not sure if I could hold onto that one against her will," she says, lighting up and drawing in a puff now. She figures she's already going to attract plenty of suspicion; might as well enjoy herself while she waits. In any case, Feather didn't get herself plugged by a BC heavy; that was the goal of coming out here anyway. The long-haired girl. She has been watching, it seems. Posh is perhaps not the only one who has been having a discrete conversation. Standing atop one of the smaller HVAC units, another woman slowly fades into view, the magical cloak of an invisibility spell dissipating around her. She doesn't look like she's dressed for combat, though. No, she's wearing a bright red dress of shimmering fabric, a print of a mythical bird winding around her athletic form. It's the Fenghuang. Posh, in particular, might know that style of dress. The dress is manufactured by a Hong Kong-based subsidiary of Armante, and the fabric shines because it's woven with Crystle(tm), the polymerized ballistic fabric used in some of Posh's clothes too. "Sister," she says calmly, quietly. Her voice is very different from the first woman: smooth rather than confrontational, and confident in a way that doesn't demand aggressiveness or assertiveness. With just that single word, it sounds like she's the one in charge. And then she finally says something useful. "Suen Qiang isn't responding, but this woman telling the truth. You can stand down." Has she been there the whole time? Judging Posh's words? There's an almost playful edge to her voice as she continues. "And while you are at it, do take a look at the weapon of the woman you are holding. You might find something interesting." She turns to Posh next, smiling contritely. "I apologize for the misunderstanding. We had to be sure. You do not yet understand the depths of treachery that the Black Chrysanthemums will stoop to. One of their operatives, in particular, has been vexing us, and deception is her most potent weapon. I hope you can understand our vigilance." She seems to be trying her best to diffuse the situation. She's the smooth talker, maybe. Is she the one Wu spoke of? She's certainly a long-haired girl. Her hair is even longer than Feather's, if only barely. There are a few moments of awkward silence from the invisible girl while Posh and the long-haired woman speak. She's looking now, it seems, just as her "sister" suggested. And then the sword is slowly lowered from Feather's neck. Then dropped entirely. Feather's helmet is peeled off by someone, clattering invisibly against the ground a split second later, her hair spilling out, bloodied face revealed. Feather remains silent, but the look on her face is telling. She's avoidant, at a loss for words, turning away a moment later. Another helmet is removed and tossed to the ground, judging by the sound that follows, revealing another Chinese elf, this new face confused and emotional. These two have an /awfully/ similar style in gear. The other woman breaks the silence between them first. "Meimei?" Posh widens her eyes. "The…" A shadow of malevolence passes across her, as she recalls an encounter with a woman when she was…younger. Weaker. "-She- is here in Denver, again?" Perhaps that desire that she has, that nasty desire for vengeance, her pride, is bubbling up -there- in a way it might have otherwise. "I see," she says. "If you are concerned about her, then…" She nods. "You may not know of me, but I suppose…I could confess that I use deception as a weapon as well," she says, relaxing a little. "I understand quite well," she says, simply. "One time ago, I imagine it was this very same operative you speak of…who…who actually took over my identity," she says. "I narrowly escaped with my life, in fact," She glances over at Senshi, a little smile on her face. "I also hope that you forgive my own lack of understanding at first, "replies Posh. "Since I assumed that you three all had some sort of…magical sister sense," she says. "Adorable as that is. In any case," she says. "I fear that this, heh, shark-faced bitch will likely take advantage of an opportunity to take a little vengeance on me," she says. "I do wonder if that may be useful to us in the future," she says, risking be a little presumptuous. She can just imagine one of the cold Sisters shaking her head, saying 'There is no 'us', gwailo.' Senshi notes the changes in information and adjsuts targeting reticals and F-o-F data as applicable. When the red's go blue Senshi de-escalates his combat posture and brings his weapon down to the low-ready. The drone slowly scan the area for possible emerging suprise encounters as it seems to treat those now there as non-combatants. Commlink-Krieg> Krieg sends, « Would you like me to satnd-down from combat operations and move to protective and egress preperation measures? » The longer-haired girl seems diplomatic to the end, though. No rejection from her, even if her acceptance is lukewarm. "If you are a useful ally to the Black Dragons, then perhaps you will prove a useful ally to us in the future. We may be in touch. If you fought that woman and survived, then there may be something to you. She usually does not leave loose ends." Posh, of course, wasn't _quite_ a loose end. When Posh last saw that girl, she killed her. She seemed _very_ dead, in fact, and that's another, perhaps more subtle, way of getting rid of an enemy. The longer-haired girl doesn't even look at Feather, though. Even if her voice remains warm, her words are ice cold. "And Feng Yu is no longer our sister." Posh's cantonese linguasoft might struggle with the many meanings of that one. Feng Yu. The Phoenix's Feather. "Her decisions have assured that." A brief disagreement seems to follow. "Sister!" The newly-revealed swordswoman protests, seeming to take issue with that pronouncement. That disagreement is quieted very quickly, though, with a single word. "Enough," the longer-haired woman says. Back to Posh, she continues. "We are leaving. I suggest you take her and go." Her. She won't even say her name. "Because of your use of heavy munitions, the local police are mounting a response. Our contact informs us that we have less than five minutes until they arrive. We appreciate what you have done, though. As a token of good will to ensure your future cooperation, we will see that the Phoenix Lodge compensates you for the fighting you've done here. It will be added to your payment from the Black Dragons." The swordswoman wordlessly unhands Feather. There's an uneasy, emotional look between them. They both crouch down, retrieving ruthenium-coated helmets, vanishing beneath their protective layers a moment later. Feather passes by Posh and Krieg on her way to the ledge, invisibly, silently. She speaks only briefly as she draws close, not even using comms. "I will meet you at the post-mission rendezvous point." She doesn't seem to want to talk; her tone of voice says she's not OK with this, though. And then she vanishes over the side of the building, rappelling down using her wrist grappling hook. Sara isn't far. At Posh's request, she pulls up within a few minutes to retrieve the group. They can already hear sirens as they drive away. Posh just might owe her contact for this one. At the final meet, Suen Qiang is curiously absent. It's that lieutenant of his again, and he refuses to answer questions about where his boss is. A pointed look at Feather, though, reveals his displeasure with that woman. "You do realize your mistakes, don't you?" Feather silently nods in acceptance. "You realize they could have cost us our alliance?" Another nod. "There will be a financial penalty, you know." She nods again. It's hard to tell her emotions beneath that helmet, but she really doesn't seem to care. His final words are blunt, perhaps even a gutpunch. "Leave the past in the past, Yu." Krieg and Posh get praise, by comparison. "The rest of you have done well. The Phoenix Lodge spoke highly of your assistance, and by delivering us prisoners, you've granted us valuable intelligence." How they plan on getting that intelligence is left unspoken, though even the less-barbaric Triads are capable of extreme brutality. "You worked quickly and quietly too, at least at the objective near us, which is the one which demanded discretion most. We don't often do this, but I believe a bonus is in order. For you two, anyway." After the usual wind-down is complete, the group finds themselves back at the apartment. The job, for tonight, is done.