GM: Pulse
Players: Denton, Sickle.
Synopsis: Two runners are hired to find some documents in a long-abandoned mine…
Date: February 8, 2070
The word goes out on a quiet Denver Afternoon: Pauly "The Pulse" Lucianno is back in town, and he's already got irons in the fire. People looking for a quick couple bucks can look him up at Montoni's Pizzaria. He'll be the biggest human in the joint.
And sure enough, there he is. Sitting at a table, a fresh meat lover's pie (chicago style) at his table, a beer beside him… looking clean-cut and such.
Sickle has done her level best to keep her ear to the ground. So when word came out that someone was back in town and had work, well, the fact that they were someone worth noting as being 'back in town' was enough to let her know, this might be a useful person to meet and assist.
So, she turns up promptly, in her long jacket, but underneath that, far more casual clothing. A simple red shirt, faded jeans and sneakers. Well. She needed to keep the cold out somehow.
"Hello, Sir." She says, a light hint of a russian accent allowed to bleed through, "May I have a seat?"
Every now and then a rare creature of the shadows rears it's head on the Denver scene, and today is just such a day. Why Denton would pick this particular time and place to start running again is unknown to anyone but himself, but here he is walking into the Pizzeria. He's an old runner with quite the reputation but he hasn't been seen working for ages. The man is easily recognizable with his long, dark hair and a black eye patch over his left eye. And while The Pulse may have be the biggest human in the joint, Denton could possibly be the scariest. In any case, the man finds himself wandering over to the table and peering at the man sitting there and then at Sickle, looking at the two briefly before nodding in greeting. He keeps his mouth shut for now, simply standing and waiting.
The Man gestures. "Yes," he says to the young woman, smiling (just a little) at her. "You're welcome to join me." He looks over at the eyepatched man, tilts his head a little. "And you. I've heard of you. You can sit, too. If the money's good enough for you. Pizza's up for grabs, though."
He sits back, lowering his voice. "I'll keep it simple. There's a gold mine, mostly abandoned, down in Grand Junction. Down in the lower control room is an old-fashioned file cabinet. The bottom shelf should have some documents. I- or, rather, my employer- needs those. The pay is a total of twenty large."
Sickle returns the smile, and then sits down. A light nod given in Denton's direction, too, so as not to just ignore the other man. She had never gotten the hang of pizza, but she resolves to give it another try at the kind offer, and helps herself to a slice.
"I note." She says, with a little wry amusement, "That you say, mostly. Whether or not the money is good depends largely on the particulars, no? Just three or four shamans who are making the place their home would make the price… somewhat difficult, I hope you would agree?"
Denton gives his first hint of any real emotion when the pay is brought up, a corner of his mouth lifting in a smirk. Denton then slides in to a seat at the table and ignores the pizza, listening to the details of the job quietly. When finished he sits and ponders for a few moments, nodding when Sickle speaks and finally opening his mouth for the first time. "Gold mine, huh?" He barks out, his voice rough. He winces and clears his throat before going on, as though he doesn't often speak. "Shamans would make things interesting but I am a little more worried about the environment. How, ah, deep is this mine and the contents we seek?"
Pulse shrugs. "I say mostly because I haven't been there, know what I mean? It's been abandoned, corporately, for about thirty years." He smirks. "No known groups operating out of there, at least. As for the mine… damn, I don't know. Not really. The mine goes down about a kilometer and a half down, from what I checked out on it. The second control room shouldn't be anywhere near that deep, though."
He pauses. "Two things. The mine's about three hundred klicks from here, in the Ute territory. And you won't be the only people looking for these docs, eithier… so time is of the essence."
Pulse pauses. "I can lend you a car, if you need it."
Sickle hrms, looking a little bit unsure for a moment, and then she nods her head. "Well." She states, "To get through the borders will be… frustrating, in the current climate, but it should not be impossible. A car would be helpful too, I admit. I have not had the time to secure one of my own." A heartbeat, and then. "Twenty for a job like this seems fair to me. We shall just have to see what sort of… squatters have taken an interest in the place. But if all we need is some paper, perhaps we may even be able to come to some, amicable agreement with the inhabitants. Luck depending."
Denton crosses his arms and frowns slightly as he considers this new information. "Can't say I've ever assaulted a mine before. Could be tricky if there is any opposition. Likely only one entrance and exit. Narrow corridors will make any firefight a dangerous thing. Not to mention the possibility of a cave in if things start blowing up." He goes silent again for a few moments while thinking it over, and then nods. "Okay, I'll bite. Could be interesting. As for transportation…might just take you up on your offer. Unless we truly have no time to waste, in which case I might be able to secure us a helicopter or the like. Probably cost a little though."
Pulse leans back, watching them. "Take the car, then. That'll be ten for each of you…" he reaches into a pocket and pulls out a pair of keys, tossing them to the woman in the jacket. "And bring the car back in one piece. Dodge El Durango, outside. I don't know how you're getting through the borders. Just bring me the documents. I'll be here for a few more hours, and I'll be at the Medievo tonight. I hope to see you soon."
Sickle raises an eyebrow at that, though she catches the keys. "Ten each. That's quite a price." She says, mildly, as she takes the keys. But she's not really going to make that much of a deal over it; the price of not having your own, really. "But, if you are expecting these things within a single evening… then I do not have time to acquire my own. A pity, but, not your problem, as you say."
Pulse shakes his head. "You misunderstand. I'm not charging you for the car. I'm saying the payout is ten each."
The payout is not exactly the big numbers that would normally draw someone like Denton in, but he doesn't appear to be fazed by it. "Should be interesting." He repeats to himself, shrugging. Rumor is the man is already exceedingly wealthy so his interests in the work are likely something other than the cash. He turns to Sickle and grins, "I guess we ought to get going, got a nice drive ahead of us. I need to collect my, ah, equipment before we leave. Might be needing some ropes and other climbing gear for this job. Shall we meet back here in, say, 30 minutes and head out?"
As they will be crossing borders Denton decides to be somewhat choosy with the equipment he brings along. Besides, humping around a Ballista missile launcher in a mine shaft is probably not ideal. He throws what he needs in to a backpack that mostly includes rope, a grapple hook, a respirator, and other rappelling equipment. He keeps it light on the weaponry front, bringing along a single Browning Ultra-Power heavy pistol and some extra clips of APDS and Ex-Ex ammo. Throw in a suit of form fitting body armor and a couple other small odds and ends and he is all set.
Sickle ahs, and nods, "My apologies, I will do my best to ensure your car is returned in perfect condition." She replies, before she looks to her partner for the job. "Thirty minutes. Hm, alright, if you think that would be best. I will collect some gear, but… I think, perhaps we should talk a little about strategy, we will need to decide how to approach the problem of Ute's. They are not precisely, friendly to the white man, as they say."
Denton seems to be in agreement with this, nodding. "Yes, the border. Well, we could risk it and try to cross elsewhere but…" He thinks about it for a moment and shakes his head. "We only have so much time and if we get caught trying to cross illegally it is only going to take longer. And it might get us dead. Frankly, I think we should just bribe them. It's simple and straightforward." He pauses for a moment and smiles. "We can take the amount of the bribe out of my cut. I'm not really here for the money." What, exactly, he is here for is unknown.
Sickle seems somewhat surprised at that, but nods her head, "If you are sure." She replies, "The other question is, how well can you drive a car? I can do so passably, but there is no point in my taking the wheel if you are more capable." She's certainly not going to argue for the more difficult option, when the easier one is on the table and costs her nothing, after all. Though she does make a mental note to watch Denton… just in case there is a shadier reason to his willingness to sacrifice his cut.
«OOC» Pulse says, "okay, sickle. give me a negotiation test. you're shooting for 6's."
«Auto-Judge[]» Sickle (#5951) rolls 6 vs TN 6:
2 4 4 4 5 10 = 1 Success
«OOC» Sickle says, "I don't know why I typed 6"
«OOC» Pulse laughs. is 1 good, or going to kp?
«OOC» Sickle says, "I'm going to stand, I have 2 KP :p"
«OOC» Pulse nods. the bribe is 500 yen, then.
«OOC» Denton says, "Want me to +spend it or just take it out of the payout?"
«OOC» Pulse will take it from the payout.
«OOC» Pulse says, "okay. free posing, still. denton, pose driving to the checkpoint, sickle, have fun posing brief negotiations, then denton can give us a travel pose. it'll be about a 3 hour ride. by the time you get there, it will be past nightfall."
"I'm sure, and I can drive alright. Well enough. I don't imagine we will have to do much fancy driving on this little trip anyhow. Might want to pack some snacks though, it's gonna be a long drive." Denton says before they go to collect their gear and meet up. They load their stuff in the Durango and hit the road on route to the checkpoint. "You do the talking, I'll do the paying. My rosy demeanor will likely end up costing us more if I talk."
Sickle smiles, "Alright, friend, I'll pick up some supplies." She says, and, she does just that. Delicious soy-based foodstuffs, and, more importantly, cigarettes. Which, if Denton does not object, she will smoke the entire way. Even if he does, when they reach the checkpoint, she will light up as she speaks, "Understood."
And at the checkpoint, she looks the man in the eye, there's a heartbeat, and then she blows out a long stream of smoke, and speaks. In a perfect UCAS accent. "Look, omae." She says, seriously. "We've got some places we need to be, and we don't have time to waste, I'm sorry, but do you really think we want to be hanging around your place after what happened to the Saeder boys?" She smirks, "We're just passing through, it's really more of a hassle than it's worth stopping us. Why don't you just take one of these, and we'll stop wasting your valuable time."
A credstick locked to two fifty is offered, the guard doesn't look too happy, so the number doubles, and he looks much happier indeed. Before too long, the pair are rumbling on through to the wonderful world of Ute. Home of such classics as, Anglos Getting Their Heads Kicked In, and Gold Fever Two: This Time, It's Indian.
After they are through, she'll pop a soda, and sip it lightly. Her voice returning to normal. "Five hundred. Not too bad. Let us hope that we still turn a profit, da?" A short burst of laughter follows. We.
«OOC» Pulse says, "now the long-distance driving through the colorado mountains!"
Denton doesn't have any objections to the smoking, though he does not partake. He does chow down on the snacks though, as if he were a starving man at his last meal. He doesn't really say anything when they get to the checkpoint, instead simply casting his single eye at the guard while his partner in crime does the talking. Once through, they continue their long drive into the mountains. After some time he pipes up, "You know we don't even have the slightest idea what the interior of this place looks like? Christ this is going to be fun." Whether that was sarcasm or sincerity is hard to say. Long before they get to their destination Denton is looking out the windows, frowning. "Never a fraggin' Stuffer Shack around when you need one." The man already devoured the foodstuffs long before arriving at their destination. Ah, the joys of road trips.
At least the overpriced SUV is comfortable. Hell, there's even a six-pack of decent beer under the passenger seat.
Time passes, and it's well past nightfall by the time the pair find their way to the gold mine- made simple by the signs pointing out the way. The 'parking lot' outside of it, once hard-packed dirt, is now overgrown, and the steel door leading into the building is ajar and rusted. No signs of civilizd life from out here, at least, and in the distance an overlarge owl hoots.
«OOC» Denton says, "Anywhere less out in the open that is close by they can park? Don't want the bosses car getting jacked. :D"
«OOC» Pulse says, "sure! you can drive it into the trees a bit, it's got decent off-road handling."
«OOC» Denton nods.
Sickle smirks slightly, "It is a mine." She states, "We're looking for the second control room. Although a little more time would have been pleasant… well, you cannot have everything." The woman focuses primarily on the task of smoking her cigarette, and ignoring the urge to drink the beer she'd spotted under the seat. That would probably be considered bad form. Probably.
"However, it is likely best to ask. Assuming we will meet hostiles, what is your preferred method of dispatch? I can use my gun, but I did not bring the big one, just in case. Meaning that I am likely going to be more useful up close. Although, if you prefer range, the close quarters will likely mean whatever we do, we should do together, yes?"
Denton certainly had no problem with drinking the bosses beer, drinking one while he listens to what Sickle has to say. And while he drives, the bastard! "Pistol. That is my method of dispatch and the only one I will likely be using. I did bring a long a single high explosive grenade just in case. We could possibly use it to trigger a cave in if need be, though I certainly have no desire to. And given the narrow corridors of a mine shaft I imagine any sort of combat will be up close and friendly, which I am comfortable with. And yes, I think we should stick together. Communication inside of a mine will not be easy if we split up, and neither of us know where we are going."
Sickle winces as she realizes what he is drinking. But she doesn't say anything about it; it wouldn't really help now, would it? "Pistols to start, then." She says, agreeably. "But. Let's not rush to any conclusions. Unless the place is full of animals or ghouls, or something equally bloodthirsty, squatters can be reasoned with, and as I said, I really doubt any squatters are going to have any use for pieces of paper."
That said, she opens the door, and slips out, fitting up her radio. "I don't know if it'll work inside the mine, but we should still synch up before we enter, just in case. Better to be safe than sorry, no?"
When they finally arrive at the mine location Denton pulls in to the parking lot and looks around, frowning. "Looks about like I expected. It's a shame we don't have another pair of eyes on the entrance…we know others may be arriving and the last thing we want is for them to get between us and the only way out of a hole in the ground." He frowns again and then activates his own comlink, grabbing his backpack and stepping out of the vehicle. He made sure to park it in a nice concealed area close by. Moving quickly, Denton removes his clothing once out of the vehicle and gets suited up in some form fitting body armor. He didn't want to go driving through the checkpoint in it. He checks his pistol, eyes the rest of his equipment, and nods. "Okay. All set." He tests over the radio.
«OOC» Sickle says, "Quick question- is the door big enough for two people to enter at once, or is it a one person in dealy?"
«OOC» Pulse says, "big enough for a truck… it's ajar a bit, in this case one person at a time could slip through without opening it any further."
«OOC» Pulse says, "denton, roll a stealth check to hide the car?"
«Auto-Judge[]» Denton (#3047) rolls Stealth:
2 3 4 5 5 11
«OOC» Pulse says, "okay. 11 looks good to me!"
«OOC» Pulse says, "and as you approach the door, both of you make perception tests."
«Auto-Judge[]» Denton (#3047) rolls Intelligence:
2 2 2 4 4 5
«Auto-Judge[]» Sickle (#5951) rolls Intelligence:
1 1 3 4 4 5 7 10
You paged Sickle with 'the rust on the door and the rust on the wall are the same age, meaning the door was rusted to the wall… except now it's open. you don't see any tracks,but… there's a lock on the door, too, that seems like it may have been tampered with.'.
«OOC» Pulse says, "inside is pitch black."
«OOC» Pulse says, "not even any emergency lighting left."
«OOC» Denton nods. "Low light and thermo cyber for me."
«OOC» Sickle says, "Low light with eyelights for me"
«OOC» Pulse says, "okay. as far as visibility goes, without a flashlight or eyelights, you'll be operating in 'full darkness'"
Looking towards the mine entrance, Sickle reaches behind her back and pulls out her little gun. It is not, it must be said, terribly threatening. But in a pinch it would do the job. Hopefully. The slick weapon looks nice, at least, a smooth ceramic extension of her hand. How well it would do in a firefight remains to be seen.
"It looks like someone has gotten here before us, comrade." She subvocalizes, "I think we will need to be very careful, until we can work out precisely who is here… they tampered with the lock, so they are human, most likely. Unless the Ute's have been breeding smarter bears than I have given them credit for."
«OOC» Denton says, "Guess I'll have a flashlight in one hand and a gun in the other :)"
«OOC» Pulse says, "sounds good! ordinary flashlight?"
«OOC» Denton nods.
«OOC» Denton says, "The light put off from the flashlight would be enough for the low light vision to kick in I would think?"
«OOC» Sickle says, "+info combat vis probably helps… I'd guess flashlight makes it 'minimal' rather than 'full darkness', but that's just me. >.>"
«OOC» Denton needs eyelights dammit.
«OOC» Pulse nods. It'll make it partial light where the flashlight is pointing, outside of that arc it will be minimal. :)
«OOC» Pulse says, "okay. continue posing! the interior is creepy and abandoned, so you can wander in it a bit before something happens. use your imaginations… this part is collaborative."
Denton listens quietly as Sickle reports what she has found, nodding om agreement before responding. "Better that they be in there before us than to come in from behind and trap us. Perhaps one of us should go ahead before the other, this flashlight is going to give away our position. Sneaking up on them will not be easy."
Sickle nods, "Alright." She states, "I don't need it, so I will head in first. You cover me, I'll try to stay out of the direct line of your flashlight but, heh, let us assume that whoever is in there, will know we are coming." That said, she takes the initiative and heads inside.
The mine is a deeply unpleasant place, but she has a job to do, and for her pay she'd just have to put up with it. Crouching, she heads in slowly, carefully, her augmented eyes dart this way and that, scanning over decrepit walls and rusted evidence of long years of decay… but so far, the silence of the grave is the most concerning thing. The only noise that which she and her partner make themselves. Disconcerting, when you are expecting murder to leap out at you from the darkness at any moment.
«OOC» Denton says, "He would still be able to see without the flashlight though, correct? Thermo in full darkness is +4 as opposed to the +8 with only lowlight, so wouldn't that at least be minimal?"
«OOC» Pulse nods. right. you can work your thermals in pitch black just fine, it'll just be unpleasant.
«OOC» Pulse says, "okay, sickle: perception test (audio) and stealth test."
«Auto-Judge[]» Sickle (#5951) rolls Intelligence + 5 for "(Select sound filter, -2 hearing amplification)":
1 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 5 5
«Auto-Judge[]» Sickle (#5951) rolls Stealth:
2 3 4 5 7 8
You paged Sickle with 'as you move along, you can hear skittering…'.
«OOC» Pulse says, "one more round of posing. you're making good headway down into the tunnel. it's not as chilly as above… in fact, it's getting warmer. there's a door coming up on your right, but, too, is sealed by rust."
Denton really doesn't like the idea of not being the one to take point. He usually is the pointman, and he is one stealthy motherfucker when he wants to be. The idea of having to use a flashlight also bothers him, but the thermos don't offer a very good view. He remains a few paces behind Sickle, keeping the flashlight pointed down and using the ambient light and his lowlight mods to see. No sense in shining it all the way down the tunnel.
«Auto-Judge[]» Pulse (#3231) rolls 5:
1 3 5 5 10
«Auto-Judge[]» Pulse (#3231) rolls 5:
1 1 2 2 4
«Auto-Judge[]» Pulse (#3231) rolls 5:
1 2 3 5 5
«Auto-Judge[]» Pulse (#3231) rolls 2:
2 2
"Rats." Sickle subvocalizes, and then, after a moment to consider the many possible options. "I hope." It was warm down here too, which the Russian woman does not particularly enjoy. Working in the warm just never felt… right, really. The cold let you know you were still alive. It's easier to tell when you are bleeding in the cold. As the door comes up ahead, though, she holds up her hand, shuffling forwards to try and get a listen. This wouldn't be the room they were looking for- that was at least two rooms in- but there might be someone in there nevertheless.
«Auto-Judge[]» Pulse (#3231) rolls 2:
2 10
«Auto-Judge[]» Pulse (#3231) rolls 2:
2 4
And that's when they appear. Scuttling out of the dark, dog-sized rats with red eyes and gnashing teeth and long wormlike tails, three of them suddenly appearing out of the dark, attacking the woman from all sides…
«OOC» Pulse says, "they'll take their attacks, and then we'll go +init."
«OOC» Sickle says, "Okay, if I can, I'll use Whirling to mitigate their friends in melee bonus, because argh rats. :P"
«OOC» Pulse says, "can't do it till your turn. but! you have a reach advantage. going to add to their tn or lower yours?"
«OOC» Sickle says, "I'll lower mine- if I'm surprised, I can't use combat pool, I believe?"
«OOC» Pulse says, "right."
«Auto-Judge[]» Pulse (#3231) rolls 5 vs TN 4 for "rat 1":
1 1 5 5 8 = 3 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Pulse (#3231) rolls 5 vs TN 4 for "rat 2":
1 2 5 7 10 = 3 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Pulse (#3231) rolls 5 vs TN 4 for "rat 3":
1 2 3 4 4 = 2 Successes
«OOC» Pulse says, "crap. tn should be 2 lower for each of them, FiM."
«Plot» Pulse says, " 3 successes rat one, 4 successes rat 2, 4 successes rat 3."
«OOC» Sickle says, "So, base TN is 4, +2 friends in melee, -1 reach?"
«OOC» Pulse says, "right. no cp."
«Auto-Judge[]» Sickle (#5951) rolls Kung Fu vs TN 5:
1 1 3 3 3 3 4 = 0 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Sickle (#5951) rolls Kung Fu vs TN 5 for "KP 1":
1 3 3 3 3 4 4 = 0 Successes
«OOC» Pulse says, "first one succeeds. two more rolls."
«OOC» Pulse says, "4m."
«Auto-Judge[]» Sickle (#5951) rolls Body + Combat Pool: 2 vs TN 2 for "Soaking M":
1 3 4 9 10 11 = 5 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Sickle (#5951) rolls Kung Fu:
1 1 2 3 3 4 10
«OOC» Sickle says, "Forgot the TN but, total of 1. So, same again…"
«OOC» Pulse says, "that's one success on the second rat. save versus 4m again."
«Auto-Judge[]» Sickle (#5951) rolls Body + Combat Pool: 2 vs TN 2 for "Soaking M":
1 3 4 4 7 8 = 5 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Sickle (#5951) rolls Kung Fu vs TN 5:
1 4 4 4 5 8 8 = 3 Successes
«OOC» Pulse says, "okay. save versus 4l!"
«Auto-Judge[]» Sickle (#5951) rolls Body vs TN 2 for "Soaking L":
1 1 1 5 = 1 Success
«Auto-Judge[]» Pulse (#3231) rolls 1:
2
«Auto-Judge[]» Pulse (#3231) rolls 1:
1
«Auto-Judge[]» Pulse (#3231) rolls 1:
5
«OOC» Pulse says, "standing?"
«OOC» Sickle thinking. "No, screw it, I'll use my last KP."
«Auto-Judge[]» Sickle (#5951) rolls Body - 1 vs TN 2 for "Soaking L KP:1":
1 2 3 = 2 Successes
«OOC» Pulse says, "success! now init!"
«Auto-Judge[]» Sickle (#5951) rolls Initiative with a result of 15.
«Auto-Judge[]» Denton (#3047) rolls Initiative with a result of 13.
«Plot» Pulse says, "Sickle 15, Denton 13, R3 10, R2 7, r3 6, sickle 5, denton 3"
«OOC» Pulse says, "sickle! you have three rats in melee range. you can activate whirling for free."
«OOC» Sickle says, "Okay, going to use whirling, and offensive reach, targeting the one that almost got through my armor. 4 base, +1 whirling, -1 reach means 4?"
«OOC» Pulse says, "yes."
«Auto-Judge[]» Sickle (#5951) rolls Kung Fu + Combat Pool: 3 vs TN 4 for "Kicking the Rat.":
1 1 2 3 3 3 5 5 11 11 = 4 Successes
«OOC» Sickle says, "8M base, by the way."
«Auto-Judge[]» Pulse (#3231) rolls 5 vs TN 4:
1 3 4 5 8 = 3 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Pulse (#3231) rolls 2 vs TN 8:
3 21 = 1 Success
«OOC» Pulse laughs! superrat still takes a moderate.
Sickle finds herself surrounded by the rats. Try as she might, the surprise makes it difficult to shake them off, and they are soon swarming and biting at her. Still, her armor manages to hold tight, and she wrenches her arm free from the jaws of one particularly persistent rat. Bringing her boot in hard, she bounces it off the creatures snout, with a satisfying crunch. Not precisely used to dealing with rats, but she was sure she'd get the hang of it.
«OOC» Sickle says, "Oh! Ah, yes… do you want to use knockdown, or…? :)"
«Auto-Judge[]» Pulse (#3231) rolls 2 vs TN 8:
3 14 = 1 Success
«OOC» Pulse says, "that rat is knocked back a bit, but not down!"
«OOC» Denton says, "Guess I remember something right then LOL"
«Auto-Judge[]» Denton (#3047) rolls Pistols vs TN 4:
1 1 3 3 5 9 11 = 3 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Denton (#3047) rolls 4 vs TN 4 for "KP 21/22":
2 2 2 8 = 1 Success
«OOC» Denton says, "Oh, and I am aiming at the closest rat that is not the one Sickle just kicked"
«Auto-Judge[]» Pulse (#3231) rolls 5 vs TN 4 for "ouch!":
3 3 4 4 7 = 3 Successes
«OOC» Pulse says, "you hit with 1 net success!"
«OOC» Pulse says, "using exex, apds, or ordinary rounds?"
«OOC» Denton says, "Ordinary…for now! ;)"
«Auto-Judge[]» Pulse (#3231) rolls 2 vs TN 9:
3 7 = 0 Successes
«OOC» Pulse says, "moderate wound. fire again?"
«Auto-Judge[]» Denton (#3047) rolls Pistols:
1 2 4 5 5 5 11
«OOC» Pulse says, "looks like 5 successes."
«Auto-Judge[]» Pulse (#3231) rolls 2 vs TN 9:
1 4 = 0 Successes
«OOC» Pulse says, "rat splattered all over the wall!"
«Auto-Judge[]» Pulse (#3231) rolls 1 for "even it was rat one, oods it was rat 2.":
3
«OOC» Pulse says, "RUH-ROH. Sickle, can you make me a reaction test so that none of the gore gets in your mouth/eyes/etc?"
«Auto-Judge[]» Sickle (#5951) rolls Reaction:
1 2 2 2 4 4 4 5 5 9
«OOC» Pulse says, "no danger of pestilence."
«OOC» Pulse says, "rat 3,well-kicked, scurries into the darkness. rat 1 continues his attack on sickle."
«Auto-Judge[]» Pulse (#3231) rolls 5 vs TN 4 for "bite bite bite!":
1 2 5 9 11 = 3 Successes
«OOC» Sickle says, "We're in a new round, right, so I had my full combat pool before I struck?"
«OOC» Pulse says, "right."
«OOC» Pulse says, "so now you're just down three."
«Auto-Judge[]» Sickle (#5951) rolls Kung Fu + Combat Pool: 6 vs TN 4:
1 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 5 5 8 = 7 Successes
Normally in such a situation Denton would never think of firing his weapon on nothing more than an overgrown rat and possibly giving away their position, but the weapon is silenced. And these are big fucking rats. Fortunately the flashlight he had pointed at the ground was in a position to illuminate them, and so the pistol in his other hand is quick to fire once, twice. The rounds penetrate the rat with ease, the first doing moderate damage and the second causing the rats body to split in to with an explosion of blood and guts, spattering the rock walls and anyone too close.
You paged Vulcan with 'not bad. they bribed their way across the border, have just beaten off devil rats. and in a little bit, they'll find the other 'team'- or the statues of the other team, being slowly killed by a basilisk.'.
«Auto-Judge[]» Pulse (#3231) rolls 2 vs TN 8:
3 3 = 0 Successes
«OOC» Pulse says, "rat get's ko'd!"
«OOC» Pulse says, "combat's over."
Brownie Surprise has left.
One of the rats, the one that was kicked, flees back into a hole in the wall he'sa little too big to really fit into… but he does. The other attacks in a red-eyed fury, trying to sink its greasy, yellow, bile-dripping teeth into Sickle's handsome thigh!
«OOC» Pulse says, "free posing."
«OOC» Denton says, "Any decent sized rocks or debris laying about to plug said hole. :P"
«OOC» Pulse says, "yes."
Sickle's movements are deceptively smooth. Utilizing her training in Systema, not to mention the upgrades kicking around her body, the world seems almost in slow motion. One rat explodes, another runs, Sickle turns away so that rat guts splatter across the back of her coat, and the last one comes in for her leg. Unfortunately for him, he gets it in its entirety.
A knee crashes up into the rats jaw, almost too quick to see, as her hand whips out, and she bodily crushes the creatures throat against the side of the mine. When it is downed, she takes the time to tread on it. Heavily. "Disgusting thing." She mutters.
"Fucking rats." Denton grumbles, shining the flashlight at himself to see if he got spattered with any blood. He then shines the light around until he finds a few decent sized rocks, taking them and piling them up in front of the rat hole. "Probably have more than one way in and out but maybe this will keep 'em in for awhile." He looks back to Sickle and grins, "Nice work. And sorry about the mess."
The sounds of battle done, silence once again sets in. Careful use of the flashlight reveals a mine shaft up ahead, with an old control panel remaining for a long-defunct lift….
«OOC» Pulse says, "perception tests when/if you approach it- visual."
Sickle nods in response to the man, "Do not worry about it. You were good too… though we will need to be careful to avoid similar encounters" She states, and although the gun is held tight, she produces from the inside of her trenchcoat, a knife, which she flicks open. The weapon is sharper-than-sharp, and gleams menacingly. Assuming that she would have heard anyone in the room, and they would have heard the scuffle, she presses on… scouting out the mine shaft up ahead.
«Auto-Judge[]» Sickle (#5951) rolls Intelligence:
1 1 1 3 3 3 3 10
Before advancing any further Denton unloads the clip from his pistol, reaching in to his backpack and removing another, loading up the pistol with ExEx rounds. Who knows what else they will be facing besides devil rats. After this he waits for Sickle to take the lead and begins to follow her towards the shaft.
«Auto-Judge[]» Denton (#3047) rolls Intelligence:
1 1 5 5 10 10
«OOC» Pulse says, "there's a piton stuck into the side of the shaft, with a rope tied to it, leading down."
Sickle hesitates as she notices how, obviously, others had used the shaft before them. "I am not so good with things like this." She admits, letting the knife slide back safely into its hilt, and be tucked away under her jacket. "I hate to admit it, but if I try to climb down a rope like that, I will probably fall."
At this moment, RIGHT NOW, the silence is broken: a loud, pained, terrified, very-female scream- and then silence once more.
Coming from down the shaft.
Denton walks up to the edge of the shaft and looks down, grinning widely. "Well then, seems I get to be of some use after all. First things first. Cut that rope." He says, pointing at it. "We'll trap whoever is down there." He then pulls of his backpack and sets it on the ground next to him, pulling out a coil of rope, a grapple gun and line, and all the ascent/descent gear needed. "We'll go down our own rope, and it'll be easy. Should be able to pull it back down with us so they can't use it…" He starts to go on but stops when the scream is heard, turning to look down the shaft and frowning. "Something tells me that was our loyal opposition….being eaten by something else."
Sickle raises an eyebrow at the scream. But, notably, does not look particularly disturbed by it. Instead, she cuts the rope, as directed, and then considers the situation. "Alright, if you think that is best." She decides. "My first thought was that the opposition are using this place as somewhere… shall we say, discrete? In which case, we only need to worry about people. But, I agree, it is not sensible to leap to such assumptions. There may be something big down there. In which case, we will need to be even more careful." A smirk. "Are we having fun yet, friend?"
"Fun? Well…this has certainly been interesting so far. I'm usually not having fun unless someone is shooting back at me though, so we'll see." Denton goes about setting up the rope with a secure counterweight, tying it in a fashion that will allow them to safely descend it and yet also pulls the rope down after them once they hit the bottom, should they choose to do so. He will not make that decision until determining whether or not they can successfully grapple back up. "Okay, I only have one harness so why don't you take it? I'm a little more experienced in climbing and should be fine without it."
Sickle hrms, peering down into the darkness. "Alright." She states, still not entirely comfortable, largely because of her personal ineptitude with such things. "Lets begin with the first tunnel down. Working on the assumption that the first room was the first control room, the second room will be the second control room, with the documentation we need."
And with that… carefully, clinging for dear life onto the harness, she starts to descend.
«OOC» Pulse says, "give me athletics! versus… TWO!"
«OOC» Sickle has no athletics. ._.
«OOC» Pulse says, "so… body, versus… SIX!"
«Auto-Judge[]» Sickle (#5951) rolls Body vs TN 6:
2 2 2 5 = 0 Successes
«OOC» Pulse says, "lots of loud noises. try it again. you only fall and die if you get hit by a lot of 1's."
«Auto-Judge[]» Sickle (#5951) rolls Body vs TN 6:
1 5 7 10 = 2 Successes
«OOC» Pulse says, "success! you can pose it."
«OOC» Pulse says, "and denton? your tn will be 4. for athletics.'"
«Auto-Judge[]» Denton (#3047) rolls Athletics vs TN 4:
1 1 2 4 7 8 = 3 Successes
With a lot of banging and some muffled swearing in Russian, Sickle descends in the harness, and, fearing for her life, manages, just about, to scramble into the first corridor. Grunting, she picks herself up, and dusts herself down before she rearms herself, annoyed, and with her hatred for all things sporty firmly entrenched in her mind.
Denton waits patiently for Sickle to make her way down first, wincing at the bangs and curses and then grinning. All he has for assistance is his previous experience and a pair of rappelling gloves, and with that he swings out over the edge and begins a controlled slide down the road. It's faster without the harness but a hell of a lot less safe. Fortunately he makes it just fine, stepping off in to the first corridor. At this moment he is only using his thermo for vision, unable to wield the flashlight and climb. As soon as he gets off the rope he pulls out his pistol and the light, readying himself for whatever awaits. He looks back at the rope and takes hold of it, pulling up the remaining slack from further down the shaft and coiling it on the ground before them. This way nobody further down can use it to climb up, and they can still use it to escape.
The scene before them is grisly. The corridor goes on, here, endlessly, it seems- but far more immediate is the small door on the right side… and the collection of statues in front of it. Or half-statues. One of a dwarf, one of a young woman, one of a troll. All missing chunks here and there, all rendered in perfect detail, even with weapons drawn… and some fresh-spent, metal casings on the ground.
Sickle doesn't know what to make of the scene before her. She mostly looks bemused, but frowns, and looks to her partner. "Any idea what could cause something like this?" She subvocalises.
The door is open.
"Oh I have some ideas…none of them good either." Denton responds, frowning deeply. "They were petrified. We must be in the home of a Basilisk or similar creature. Assuming thats what it was…." He looks at the frozen people and the direction they were facing, and then at the door. "Okay…here is the deal. If you see anything, don't look into it's eyes. Try not to look at all if you can, just start shooting and praying." He looks over the chunks taken out of the statues and frowns even more. "They were facing the corridor so I would say that the beast came from that direction but…clearly it's been feeding on them, or whatever the fuck they do." He turns his eye to the door and sighs. "So it might be in there. Decision time…"
«OOC» Pulse says, "perception tests! audio bonuses apply!"
«Auto-Judge[]» Sickle (#5951) rolls Intelligence + 5 for "(+5 SSF, -2 hearing amp)":
1 2 2 3 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 8 10
«Auto-Judge[]» Denton (#3047) rolls Intelligence for "-2 hearing amp":
1 1 2 2 3 5
«Auto-Judge[]» Denton (#3047) rolls Intelligence for "KP20/22":
1 2 3 4 10 11
«OOC» Pulse says, "you both hear scuffling in the office. -and- the sound of something coming up the shaft behind you…"
«OOC» Denton sighs. "It's never easy. :)"
«OOC» Denton says, "Any clue as to how far down the shaft whatever it is might be?"
«OOC» Pulse says, "Close."
"This is worth far more than ten thousand a piece." Sickle states, "I say you drop a grenade down the shaft… I'll try and get back up to safety, but we're not equipped to deal with this, cut and run."
Denton shakes his head, frowning. "No way of knowing how close the thing will be to the grenade and when to detonate it, it's hit or miss. And it might cause the whole shaft to fill in." He lifts his pistol, aiming at the mine shaft. "You watch the door, I got the shaft. We'll keep eachothers backs covered, start firing the moment you see something. We can't leave until we take out whatever is coming up anyways."
An ugly, ugly head, part reptilian, part serpent pokes its head over the edge of the shaft, looking about, tasting the air with its tongue, its glowing green eyes a sharp contrast to its rust red scales…
«OOC» Pulse says, "take your shot, and then we go to init!"
«Auto-Judge[]» Denton (#3047) rolls Pistols:
3 3 4 4 5 5 7
«Auto-Judge[]» Pulse (#3231) rolls 4 vs TN 7:
4 4 5 10 = 1 Success
«OOC» Pulse says, "Deadly wound. :/"
«OOC» Pulse says, "you blow a hole in its head and it falls down the shaft! but there's one charging from inside the room! INIT!"
«Auto-Judge[]» Pulse (#3231) rolls 1:
2
«Auto-Judge[]» Sickle (#5951) rolls Initiative with a result of 11.
«Auto-Judge[]» Denton (#3047) rolls Initiative with a result of 16.
«Plot» Pulse says, "Denton 16 Sickle 11 Basilisk 4 Denton 6 Sickle 1"
«Auto-Judge[]» Denton (#3047) rolls Pistols vs TN 4:
2 3 3 3 4 5 9 = 3 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Pulse (#3231) rolls 6 vs TN 4:
1 2 2 2 5 5 = 2 Successes
«OOC» Pulse says, "one net success to dodge…"
«Auto-Judge[]» Pulse (#3231) rolls 4 vs TN 7:
3 3 4 4 = 0 Successes
«OOC» Pulse says, "it takes a moderate."
«OOC» Sickle says, "So, with my eyelights and the torch, I negate the low light penalty completely, don't I?"
«OOC» Pulse says, "yup."
«OOC» Sickle says, "Using Hi-C rounds… the only real relevance this has is that if I need to shoot again, I actually take a recoil penalty because I forgot to trick the gun out."
«OOC» Pulse nods. go for it.
«Auto-Judge[]» Sickle (#5951) rolls Pistols + Combat Pool: 6 vs TN 2:
1 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 5 5 5 7 7 10 = 10 Successes
«OOC» Pulse says, "oh my."
«OOC» Denton says, "Bye bye basilisk :P"
«Auto-Judge[]» Pulse (#3231) rolls 4 vs TN 7:
1 2 4 9 = 1 Success
«OOC» Pulse says, "very, very dead. bits everywhere. pose after denton."
It is not very long at all after he finishes speaking that the first Basilisk pops it's head up from the shaft. Denton was waiting, and he wastes absolutely no time in squeezing the trigger to end it's life. He has no desire to get a good long look at it so the moment he pulls the trigger and hears the THUNK as it makes contact with the creatures skull he whips around and faces the doorway just in time to level the pistol and take another shot at the second Basilisk as it comes crawling out of the doorway. It's not enough to kill it but the creature certainly felt it, a wound in it's side leaking blood. He only hopes that his partner can finish it off before they are turned to stone..
Sickle may not like surprises, but she likes the idea of being turned to rock even less. Satisfied with her partner's impromptu plan, and seeing no other real way to progress, the first silenced shot is taken as a good sign, and even better when the spots the burst of blood that marks a hole in the side of her own monster. The smaller gun she was using isn't anywhere near as potent, but skill and desperation make up for a lot. Mostly, it must be said, skill.
The superhard plastic round finds its mark easily, entering the same hole made by Denton's blast, and punching up and around. It's not got the power to completely decimate such creatures… but the damage of the round as it rips through internal organs is more than enough to bring the creature down. Though Sickle isn't relaxing yet. Half-expecting another threat to drop from the ceiling at any moment.
Silence again. Before you is a small office, the desk knocked over… there's a file cabinet in the corner, and bits of debris everywhere. Looks like various critters have been having a field day.
Denton isn't planning on having a picnic here either so as soon as the two creatures are dead he starts to walk toward the doorway. "Let's just get the documents and get the hell out of here before the rest of the critter family shows up. Watch my back." He shines the flashlight around the room briefly to make sure it is secure before advancing to the filecabinet. he doesn't immediately open it though, instead kneeling down and shining the light around it. Could be booby trapped for all he knows. "Why in the fuck is this thing even here…" He mutters to himself.
You paged Milly with 'i'm pretty good. just climbed back on last night.'.
Milly pages: awww sweet
«OOC» Pulse says, "perception test, denton, as you search?"
«Auto-Judge[]» Denton (#3047) rolls Intelligence:
1 4 4 5 5 9
«OOC» Sickle says, "Oh, before I forget"
«Auto-Judge[]» Sickle (#5951) uses 1 of item 1: Hi-C Rounds from Ammo (#6042).
You paged Denton with 'the papers you see all seem ordinary, basic figures… then you find a false bottom in the file cabinet, revealing a thick manilla envelope labeled 'Kennecott Mining Incorporate Personel Records''.
"Ours is not to reason why." Sickle comments, dryly, as she slides a round from the spare clip into the used one. Sure, it was just one bullet, but you never know when being able to use all five of your shots is going to be the difference between walking away, and getting stoned in a bad way. Her attention, however, is very much on the corridor.
Finding nothing else that could bite him, Denton opens the file cabinet and searches until he finds the false bottom. Inside is a thick envelope which he removes and briefly glances at, "Kennecott Mining…personnel files. Huh. Assholes should have done a better job of cleaning up when they left." Finished with his bitching, the man stuffs the envelope in to his backpack and quickly makes his way out to the corridor. "Okay, same deal. You go first, I'll follow you. Hopefully nothing decides to follow me." He glances at the petrified group and shakes his head, "Terrible way to go. I'm not even sure if they are dead or not…or just magically petrified." The chunks taken out of them probably don't help. He lifts his pistol up and aims it at the head of the dwarf. "I doubt they still live in anyway but I'd hate to leave them like this if they are."
As the basilisks bleed out, the bodies slowly start to 'defrost,' kicking in dreadful moans and groans as they slowly come back to life, their wounds… terrible, mostly fatal and hugeley painful. the dwarf is first, and he's rolling on the ground, half his abdomen missing…
"This is not a good time to get sentimental, friend." Sickle says, seriously. "Come, we have far too far to go and far too little time to do it in. If we are expecting to do it without some… company." That rather cold decision to leave the men and women to die in agony made, she turns, and starts to head back up the corridor. They had what they had come for. Perhaps the thrashing, screaming targets would make for a useful distraction for things coming up the shaft to get them, as far as she was concerned.
Leaving the screaming, moaning group as bait is certainly an appealing idea. Denton contemplates it for a few brief moments before shaking his head and carefully aiming at each one in turn, pulling the trigger and ending their lives. "Frag it. We'll be fine, at least we know there probably aren't any of those things up on the first level." He turns and heads back to the rope, motioning to it. "Go on ahead first, I'll cover the rear. With any luck we are done here."
Sickle does not look very approving, but she doesn't argue. Instead, she waits for her backup, and then, painfully carefully, climbs her way back up to the top of the tunnel. Weapons in hand, she makes her way through the darkness and back out into daylight. Mercifully, it seems that the worst is behind them, and when she is outside, and not confronted with a dozen angry policemen, she secretes her weapons back about her person, and lights up a cigarette. Phew.
Denton waits for Sickle to get harnessed back up and make her way up the rope. He gives one last quick glance around the corridor before grabbing the rope and stepping off the ledge. He wraps the rope between his feet securely and begins the process of slowly climbing his way up by hand. When he makes it to the top he gathers up his rope and stuffs it in to the backpack with his other gear, quickly following Sickle down the tunnel and towards the exit. A loud CRUNCH can be heard as he steps on the skull of a dead devil rat, grinning to himself. "Little bastards." He mutters before stepping out into the glorious light.
It's an easy ride back to the big city, three more hours of travel… when the border is reached, the same guard as before is on duty, and he grins, waving them through- wearing a brand-new hat. Must be enjoying the nuyen.
Quite a night. Monsters, climbing… but who wanted the files so badly? And why were there so many monsters down the shaft?
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