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GM: Posh
Players: Blackheart, Feather, Luck, BillyBob, Krieg, Posh
Synopsis: Trevor Chang hires Posh to take out a team brought by the Black Chrysanthemums, a tipoff by an asset within the latter. Blackheart, Feather, Billybob, Luck, and Krieg consider riffs on their approach before deciding to represent this was a big job – quite well justified by the Roadmaster and two cars in the convoy…and are hired to spring the trap laid for them, and pretend to be unawares and defeat them – which after a harrowing drone-based surprise is what they are able to do, even downing pursuit drones sent after them to try to direct reinforcements against the gang.
Date: 11/18/2075
«Plot» Posh says, "Everyone here is buying into the estate, so are folks all right with rewards surrendered to reduce the cost of the common area? Posh will settle up with you for the nuyen part. Also, hoping to work with that 6 karma pool for everyone (7 for humans). Sound good?"
«Plot» Feather says, "I consent to the lower KP and payout surrender."
«Plot» Blackheart says, "sounds good"
«Plot» BillyBob says, "sounds good"
«Plot» Krieg says, " I'm here, we'll see how it goes! Seems fine to me."
«Plot» Luck says, "Yup, sounds good."
"All right. All right, Trevor," says Posh, closing down her phone, looking a little thoughtful.
She gives a smile to Feather and Blackheart and Krieg, who happen to be in the nearly packed up apartment at the Woodlands.
"Trevor tells me that the BCs are starting to have a little trouble bringing in outside talents, thanks to our efforts," she says. "Apparently they're making a few inroads, and most importantly, they're hiring a team of contractors, who worked for the Cartels in Spain," she says. "Some sort of reverse colonialism, or something," she says, with a little smirk. "Anyway, apparently they made their bones working enforcement on local bosses who got a little too bigfor their britches," she says. "So this is a team that's rather used to some opposition," she says.
"Anyway. Trevor mentioned that they're being hired as an ambush team, as we've been hitting shipments," she says. "So there's not a lot of money in this one, but he's worried that if we don't show our faces, or spring this trap, then…" She chuckles. "Then that means that this'll fall upon /his/ resources.
She rings up BillyBob. «Hey there, BillyBob. Looks like we'll need a little bit of a secret sauce for a gig that you're coming up. This'll actually bring us pretty close to even stevens, on that buy-in, if you're interested," she says.
"Trevor says that after this, the ability of the BCs to bring in outsiders is going to be seriously crimped…but that means they'll have to bring in some more mainline resources if they're going to keep playing," she says. "And that's likely to be where Chao and Chun come in."
Posh gives a grin. "Information on their capabilities is limited, but we know that they're going to be regularly secret-guarding shipments," she says. "So how can we crack this one?"
Commlink-BillyBob> BillyBob sends, « Ayyyy omae. I'll shoot on over in da van and pre mah drones. »
"Who's Chao and Chun?" Blackheart wonders, after abandoning her sudoku to listen to the mission brief. She pushes her book and pen away, and leans back in her chair, her eyes narrowing as she thinks over what's happening. "So, they literally want us to walk into a trap? That's… Well, at least they're up front about it, most Js would just call it a cargo run and let the trap be sprung along the way."
Krieg quietly wanders from place to place within the apartment as the discussion continues. She follows a nearly invisible shimemry object that stalks along the floor and disapears under various peices of furnature. "A trap that is know, is signifiagntly reduced in effectiveness if it is the element of suprise that gives it advantage. But a pit of lava is still lava." she somments as she continues her stalking.
"Trevor is a little too earnest for his good. He's a bit of a bro, if that is the correct term. I know the word in Cantonese for a man like him, but it is markedly less kind." Bro. That word doesn't sound entirely natural rolling off of Feather's tongue, with her thick Chinese accent. It does sound unkind, though, her contempt for the man barely concealed. "And Chun and Chao are former … acquaintances of mine." She rises, unceremoniously heading into the guest bedroom. It's a process for her. It takes some effort to change from her civilian clothes to the layers of body armor she typically wears, even if they're not easily noticed once she's done. She calls out to Posh as she changes. "How are they involved?"
There's a bit of silence after that, save for the sounds of her rummaging around with her gear, and then she emerges, her usual riding suit wrapped around her, helmet already on. She address Blackheart and Krieg. "And an ambush is an ambush. I'm not sure if we know enough to really have a useful edge. Any preliminary ideas? We could tail the shipment at a distance to avoid spooking our target, but the farther away we are, the more likely the crew of the convoy will be overwhelmed before we get there."
To Posh, she adds, "How many vehicles and men will the shipment have among them? And what has the past strategy of the attackers been? What kind of weapons have they been using?"
BillyBob cruises from the Barrens where he was selling noodles in his food truck down to the CAS sector, utilizing some smuggling routes. He rolls into the garage as a guest of the folk who actually live here.
"That's the problem," she says. "The Spaniards…as they're sorta called, around here, vary their MO," she says. "All we know is that they've had both magical and drone techniques, in addition to more standard hit squads," she says. "So we can't really get much intelligence on what exactly we'll be running into," she says. "Like I said, our activity has been gaining notice. In any case, yes, we're running on limited information," she says. She also dashes off a quick message, figuring this nasty one might need a little more help. «Luck. We need help springing a trap we've got a little bit of…advance warning on, but not much.»
Posh grins. "Anyway," she says. "Trevor told me that they're starting to use the Spaniards to guard things. Here's the sticky part," she says. "And from what he's telling me…we can't give them any tipoff that we've been given advance notice. So he might know a little more about them, but I think what's going on is that he's protecting his source.
Commlink-BillyBob> BillyBob sends, « I'm in da garage. »
Posh grins. "And that's our ride, so let's go down and join him. We can stop by the Keeps stash, but I'd like to stress this: It cannot look like we've had special preparation. Otherwise, I think that Trevor's asset might be put at risk."
Headed out into the Garage, Posh gives BillyBob a grin. "Your timing couldn't be better," she says, moving to climb aboard. "All right. We'll make a quick pickup at the stash, but…what's the most flexible gear we need to do this?" she asks. "I've still got those Zapper rockets for vehicle stopping, but they're probably not going to be necessary, as it'll be /us/ that they're attacking."
A quick message back from Luck, who might just be in the next room. Or down the street at the gym - who knows with that chick? «What, you want me to spring it? I mean I don't usually do subtle. Throw in an explosion ir let me drive the Beast through a wall. Unless you just want someone punched. » That's Luck for you. Willing and able, but brutish and not exactly hiding it.
"So, the plan is to pose as guarding a shipment, then?" Blackheart scratche her mullet, narrowing her eyes.
"As they rarely see us untill we encounter them directly and leave little trace, it seems difficult to prevent what little we do allow to not give warning of alertness." Krieg catches up with the invisible device and scoops it up, placing it on her backpack. "Unless they assume we do not bring vehicle support, they will likely bring the ability to disable us."
Posh shakes her head. "No. Our plan is to pretend to be…well…a team trying to hit their shipment, who gets lucky," she says. "Feather and I are going to be speaking Cantonese," she says. "I can perhaps pass as Eurasian," she says. "So we'll be…business types. Stereotypical, I suppose. You and Luck," she says to Blackheart, "are going to be ganger assets," she says. "We have to be a team that pretends to get lucky." She grins. "So bring your gyrojets."
She nods. "That's true indeed - a driver thats's going to be able to evade that capability is going to be vital to this," she says, glancing meaningfully back at BillyBob.
BillyBob's Ford-Canada Bison stinks of instant soy noodles. In fact, his Bison's paint job features a noodle cup with eyes and a bright smile on the side of the truck. "Hey ya'll. You said ambush?" The rigger spits out his chewing tobacco into a coffee cup and goes to the driver's seat, rigging in. "I'm not much fer ambushes. Popping up mah turret and activating drones takes time. Unless you want my Strato-9 to already be in the air, using a security company transponder."
"Oh," Posh says, to BillyBob. "Does that mean you're out, then?" she asks. She shakes her head. "I think ideally we'd like you to be…well, you can make this thing move pretty well, right? Enough to well…evade something that otherwise should be a no-brainer?" she asks. "I wouldn't be surprised if we'll have rockets to contend with, or something similar. After all, we'd been using them."
"I beleive he means that in such a situation he will be reasonably slow to respond to it, other than defensively, as anyone caught in a trap." Krieg notes as she loads her things.
BillyBob burps. His voice sounds over the intercom. "Naw, I'll help. But it's gunna take me some time 'ta respond to an ambush. And I hope they don't got any zapper strips - those things fry rigger brains. Or anti-vehicle rounds." He starts up the massive Bison recreational vehicle, preparing to head to the stash.
"If I understand correctly, /we'll/ be the ones ambushing them, and then hope they ambush us back?" Blackheart does her best to get a grip on the scenario. "They have a shipment that we're hitting, but these Spanish people will be hanging back waiting for us to hit it."
BillyBob says "That won't be tough then!"
Posh nods. "Exactly. It's a trap for the mysterious team that's been hitting them hard lately," she explains. She grins. "We're supposed to take the bait, spring the trap, and then survive it, and win - but make it look like we had no warning," she explains.
Feather tends to bring her own ride to these parties. She never boarded the bison, instead heading over to the brushed aluminum Suzuki Nuda parked off in a corner of the garage. She does, however, participate via comms, her voice filtering in over any comm left open to the party's frequencies. "We could simply fight defensively until he's ready to bring his firepower to bear. If we're passing as ambush victims, then they won't be expecting us to hit them hard and fast anyway."
Posh nods at Feather. "I think you're exactly right," she says. "So what kind of preparations could mean that we successfully sell that?" she asks. "I mean, I'm going to be trying to sell a panic among us, wild shooting, that sort of thing," she says. "I might be able to get lucky convincingly, but…" She nods. "Anyway, yes. We're supposed to kill anyone who's clearly not just a part-timer, like a driver or other such personnel on the gig," she says. "So we're really…taking out the Spaniards, but not anyone else. In fact, nobody else." She nods to Blackheart. "It is to a pretty big extent indeed," she says. "The shipment's passing through where we've hit before - that B-Zone industrial district," she says. "We know that it'll be going to the left of Ryerson Offices, sort of directly west of the old Gongguan Distributors," she explains. "That means that there's little chance of polie response, but Shadowed Garden Security might be as close as a minute away," she says. "However, our job isn't to steal anything, so…we should be able to get out fast. And we don't have to execute all of them…just make sure that we destroy them as a team," she says. "Blackheart, I'd bring your APDS."
"So then there will be witnesses to this, as otherwise the outcomes method should not matter?" Krieg adjusts a bit of her gear as she wanders about in the vehicle.
Posh nods to Krieg. "Indeed. I can't imagine one of them will be driving the transport vehicle," she says. "Now, the thing is, they probably have to be traveling with the vehicle. That limits their options. Because they're trying to lure us in, it's not like they know exactly where we're going to hit. So they'll likely be inside, or nearby, somehow, or have some ability to respond quickly to an attack. And they know we're in and out fast."
BillyBob drives along rigged-in to the Keeps, participating in the discussion via intercom as he moves them to their stash. Using one of their identifiers, he keys in to the garage and in they go. "B-zone. Ya think I can use my LMGs? Get a little pop-pop-pop action goin' on!"
Posh nods to BillyBob. "LMGs have been used by Senshi in prior operations," she says. "In short, we can't really use anything that we haven't used on prior ops. That means Gyrojets and Feather's bow are good, but security armor is out, Great Dragons are out, I'd say probably grenades are mostly out," she says. "Feather's used smokies as well, so I think we're good on that, fortunately."
"If they're hunting us, why wouldn't we use our normal gear?" Blackheart asks, puzzled by the stipulations.
"Where do you want us to be, specifically? Are you saying we're going to be travelling with the shipment's vehicles, posing as security?" Feather asks.
Posh shakes her head. «No, Feather. We have to just pretend to be us…but we can't let them /know/ that we know. So I didn't want to come all hard in milspec and heavy machineguns. That's all…maybe I'm overthinking this part.»
"We've always gone in hard, though, P," Blackheart says. "Senshi's gunned them down with shotguns and machineguns, we've used rockets, spells and harsh language. There's no point in playing coy, if we do, the spaniards might not think it's us."
"Since we ourselves have varied our own MO's signifigantly..is there a pattern to it we need to follow?" krieg finalizes some preperation on her small surveilance drones and makes her way up to see what Billy is doing.
Feather is silent for a few moments longer as she considers the scenario. "The question facing us, then, is how much we need to 'hold back' to avoid tipping them off. I think Blackheart is suggesting that we aren't exactly a quiet crew, anyway, when we're fighting openly. We frequently employ heavy weapons and automatic gunfire, relying on speed and evasion to keep our profile low after the fact. In short, while fighting this war especially, we have more often employed shock and awe than we have been a subtle instrument." She pauses again.
"We have enough firepower even with our normal gear loadout. What we need to avoid doing, then, is changing our typical tactics /too much/. We need to walk a line, though. This is an ambush, and we need to be smart to avoid being overwhelmed." There's another pause. "We can make subtle changes to our tactics to make this work. We can keep our usual people in reserve. Posh and Blackheart should carry automatic weapons. Suppressive fire might keep them at bay until our heavy hitters can get into position. Luck can stay with you two to deal with anyone who rushes into close combat. You just need to delay them for a few seconds. Once Senshi and BillyBob's drones are operational, they won't take long to get into position to flank our ambushers. They can move much faster than humans. I almost always stay in reserve or on overwatch, anyway, so I'll hang back more than usual and try to get into an overwatch position as soon as fighting starts."
BillyBob activates his Doberman drone which rolls back and forth a few times awkwardly in the spacious interior. He inputs orders while rigged into the captain's chair mode. "Weapons check… Valiant LMG, good. You got surveillance Senshi?" A pause. "I got my Strato-9, but it makes a big ol' signature in the air. And I got one bee drone."
Luck shifts her duffel of gear over her shoulder. "Aight, the party can start. Who are we hitting, how hard do they deserve it, and can I kick someone in the nuts?" She's a rather muscular Ork woman, with red skin, white hair, and horns about two inches long. All decked out in stereotypical Runner gear - armored clothing. "Also is there any beer?" Completely oblivious to most of the conversations taking place. But then, she never did care about the finer points. She's a 'If firepower did not work then you did not use enough' kind of gal.
"Okay, so gyrojets and SMGs loaded with armour shredding bullets, check," Blackheart nods her head as she figures out what she'll be wearing to the party, pretty much her standard fare. "You know, we should really get spike strips one of these days. Maybe even those explosive ones made from det cord to take out puncture resistant tires."
Krieg simply watches all the going ons and begins checking to make sure she and Billybob are on the same comm codes, battletac, and able to datashare on a channel if needed. "Yes, Senshi is able to facilitate both ranegd and melee as needed he can be supported by the recon units."
Posh nods to BillyBob. "What I'm just saying is we stick to what we've done before," she says, nodding to Blackheart. "That's probably a good idea, too, but it's not something I'm going to be able to get for this job," she says.
"So, I was thinking that…well…we should pretend to try the bump and attack, but maybe none of us should get out of the vehicle aside from Senshi," she says. "And Feather and Luck on the bike. We try to turn this into a road chase," she says. "If Feather keeps her speed different enough from the vehicle, she'll likely be too hard to hit, and BillyBob can probably rope a-dope-in a rocket, is that right?" she asks. "I'm trying to imagine how a team that's going to attack us will be equipped, and consider possible counters," she says. "We don't have long before the shipment that Trevor tipped us off is going to be travelling."
BillyBob grunts at Krieg. "I'm gonna deploy the Strato-9 to get some eye-in-the-sky surveillance. When they hit us, if they catch us off-guard, we might at least have some fire support from up top. And my Doberman will be on the ground watching."
BillyBob grunts at Krieg. "I'm gonna deploy the Strato-9 to get some eye-in-the-sky surveillance. When they hit us, if they catch us off-guard, we might at least have some fire support from up top. And my Doberman will be on the ground watching."
Posh nods to BillyBob. "All right," she says. "Once we pick up what we need at the stash, which is going to be a lot of EXEX for me," she says. "And some Offensive minigrenades for Feather, which I used on one of the jobs," she says, with a grin. "That should settle things. I'll bring my own gyrojets and a pair of smartguns," She says.
"So. We pick up the gear and then we start driving there, getting some rotodrone scouting. Let's do it," she says, sharing around extra battletac mapping units and beginning to build a map of the intersection, shaped like an inverted T, where she suggests hitting the anticipated shipment.
Feather speaks again over comms, the whine of her bike's engine heard in the background. "Where exactly is this mission happening? A running gunbattle through town will attract significantly more attention than a thirty second gunfight followed by all parties breaking off."
Posh nods. «You're probably right, actually, Feather. So should we attempt to stop the shipment fully? I can definitely bring Zapper rockets if we're going to do that, though not AV missiles.»
Posh does so at the stash house, getting a duffel and loading her IWS Multi-Launcher with her remaining Zapper rockets, as well as plenty of EXEX for her submachinegun, an injector gun that she can load some of her trauma patches into, for side casualties. «I don't usually like to kill, but these guys have taken a job to take us out. So that really settles the way I feel about this one» she comms, finishing her packing and then returning to BB's van with a smile, and a few belts of EXEX for his LMG.
BillyBob plugs in coordinates given to him by Posh and the large Bison's paint scheme changes to something nondescript and brown. Then it is off to the races as they putter toward the target area.
Once at the keeps, Blackheart heads inside and gets her things. Her weapons are small and they all fit beneath her lined coat, with her gyrojets held in underarm holsters. Extra ammunition is kept in pouches over her stomach, with a couple of handy smoke grenades that are likely way past their best before dates, she's had them so long!
"If we believe they don't have AV ordnance, we could use BillyBob's vehicle to our advantage. I assume it has concealed heavy armor. It would shrug off small arms attacks, and we could use it to block their advance. I am not sure if they'd attempt to ram through, but likely not. The mass of his RV is far greater, and this shipment is a honeypot anyway," Feather crackles in over comms.
Posh notes Blackheart bringing gyrojets at the stash and does the same. "Yeah," she agrees. "We've used these before, and…well…these guys are out to get us," she agrees, with a quick grin. "These and the Zappers should be quite plenty." She nods. "All right. We should expect a tough one. Let's be ready."
Commlink-Posh> Posh sends, « This is probably a high profile job. It's possible that they have…something. »
Feather adds a moment later, "A secondary vehicle fencing them in from behind within a small street would be enough to secure the ambush. But perhaps they are expecting something like this. These are common tactics, after all."
"Are we not taking a job to take them out as well?" Krieg finishes her set-up and making sure Billybob has everything he may need form her before going to assist Senshi in final preperations. She looks between the various available weapons. «Krieg»<Which system would you like Senshi to bring to bear?>
"How many vehicles are moving the shipment? And what type?" Feather adds.
"You really should bring your harpoon, though, I know you've been dying to use it," Blackheart says to Posh as she slids her mirror shades on and heads back out to the truck, ready to party in the B-Zone.
Commlink-Posh> Posh sends, « We don't have intelligence on what they're coming in or what type, only that they're likely to be a shipment passing from the northeast of the sector over to another distributors well west of them, so there are a few chokepoints and if we get a convoy that fits the profile, it's likely to be them. So I suppose we'll find that out once we get our scouting going.
And haha, Blackheart. I'm saving /that/ baby for a special occasion. The IWS launcher will do for today. »
Posh nods to Krieg. "Indeed, that's what Trevor's asked us to do, yes. He doesn't want this team focusing on his other assets, which is what they'd likely do in case they did succeed, after all," she says. "The tipoff only told him that they were loading a shipment full of nothing - cases of drugs that were empty. And there were some new guys in town…apparently The Spaniards were being hired to take care of some problems," she says. "It's the daily shipment, the composition of which varies, so…that's why were's in the informational state we're in."
BillyBob waits until everyone is armed with their proper stash gear, and then off they go! He switches into the captain's chair and, once in the B zone, deploysa Strato-9 Lone Start rotodrone to survey the scene, utilizing a transponder library to keep it from setting off too many alarms. With Sensor rating 5, that rotodrone can cover an area of 20 km. The sensor feed is piped into everyone's taccomm and even a trideo screen in the actual Bison.
«Plot» Posh says, "Hey, that's a sensor test, BB"
«Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls 4 vs TN 6 for "Transponder?":
2 3 4 5 = 0 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» BillyBob (#10588) rolls 5 + 3 for " Active Sensor Test Strato-9 Drone, Sensor Rating 5 + Clearsight Autosoft 3":
1 1 2 2 2 3 4 5
«Plot» BillyBob says, " vs. looking for a convoy that meets said conformation in a 20 km area."
"If we're going to stop them with zappers or some other ordnance, how are we planning to deliver it? We'd need a vehicle capable of catching up, and we'd need a passenger capable of delivering the shot," Feather asks. "Are you going to use the van for that?"
BillyBob's drone is hit with a hard IFF query, but it seems like the drone is accepted as the local flavor as it passes into Black C territory, hovering over the B Zone. With the drone's massive range, it can clearly see what's likely to be the convoy - a pair of Elites, equipped with structural reinforcement and ballistic armor for the passengers, as well as a single Roadmaster.
There appear to be a couple figures outside, a massive troll smoking a cigar, and a rapier-thin man in a dark coat apparently talking to him, making little finger-waggling motions around. Apparently, the 'leader' of the Spaniards is at this moment making his or her own tactical plan or two.
Commlink-Krieg> Krieg sends, « This zone will pose a rapid response to any incident. They will likely be well armed and set-up to strike quickly. An extended firefight will not work here, for them or us. »
krieg cotninues her physical activities as she chatters on the comms and lets the others plot the devices of our ways. As she watches Billybobs available feeds she does decide to check for anything Comm related or Tri-Band.
Commlink-BillyBob> BillyBob sends, « Maybe I'll keep the Doberman on-board then. We might need 'ta make a quick getaway! »
«Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls 12 for "R12 Scanner Device: Open check Enemy Comms, Tri-Band frequencies. TN=R+3.":
1 1 1 2 3 3 3 4 4 5 5 8
«Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls 12 - 1 for "R12 Scanner Device: Enemy TacCom TN=7(1KP)":
1 2 2 3 4 4 4 4 5 9 14
Commlink-Posh> Posh sends, « I was going to use my IWS. I was thinking I'd…jump from the vehicle with it, at speed. What else was the bone lacing for? »
Commlink-Feather> Feather sends, « I would much prefer if you simply accept a ride on the back of my bike. I accelerate rapidly to get into range, and then you make the shot. We then break off rapidly. »
«Plot» Posh says, "Krieg is able to locate that there is apparently an R4 Taccomm network."
Commlink-Posh> Posh sends, « I think you are right. It's certainly the type of mixup we'd do if this weren't a trap as well. »
"Don't worry about Lonestar, they're awful in this neighbourhood—we'll be gone long before the echos fade," Blackheart says, double-checking her smartguns to make sure they have the armour piercing bullets in them. Now's the worst time, the waiting for the action while the techies get their scouting in.
BillyBob sees the drone's feed via his captain's chair mode as he sits in the front seat, rigged in. "Looks like they's stationary. We approaching hot? If so I'll block their way with the Bison and open the fuck up with LMG EXEX."
Posh gets ready to ride bitch seat on the bike, asking BillyBob to let her out as a last rendezvous point before BillyBob can notice a good half dozen foalks getting into the roadmaster.
But it's too far away for BillyBob to get the Bison there already, as it's still a number of kilometers away, and would take a good fifteen minutes to get even through the thinning evening traffic of the industrial B-Zone.
«Plot» Posh says, "They're in sort of a depot, but they're already suiting up to roll out. They've got about a half hour drive ahead of them through an industrial part.
Posh is swapping places with Luck, and getting on the back of Feather's bike. Luck, Blackheart Senshi (Krieg) and Doberman (BillyBob) will be playing Van Infantry."
BillyBob stops on the side of the street, popping a door so Posh can double up on the bike. "Slot me. Looks like they are loadin' up and about to head out."
«Plot» Posh says, "We have to pretend we're trying to steal the target's contents, when our actual job is to kill the people inside it."
«Plot» Posh says, "That means we /can/ kill most of the opposition and break off."
«Plot» Krieg says, " 10 Minutes to locate it to Attempt decrypt.."
«Plot» Posh says, "It's about a 20 minute drive there all told."
Commlink-Krieg> Krieg sends, « There does appear to be opposition TacComs operating within the area, it will take several minutes to attempt to lock down the frequency jumping. »
BillyBob stops on the side of the street, popping a door so Posh can double up on the bike. "Slot me. Looks like they are loadin' up and about to head out."
Posh nods. "All right," she says, as Feather takes off with her and she keeps the IWS Multi-launcher held in her duffel bag at her back, to give it a bit of cover, as the van and the bike speed off to intercept the target Roadmaster…which seems to head off alone, the Elites staying back at the depot. Perhaps they're a sort of planned, quick response for if there's trouble?
BillyBob putters after the Nuda in the Bison RV with the rest of the team. He remarks on the intelligence, "So them Elites are their quick response force? Hah. Don't act surprised when they roll up on our ass."
«Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls 8 vs TN 8 for " R8 Decryption Modules. TN=R+4. Rx5 Time.":
1 2 4 4 9 10 11 14 = 4 Successes
«Plot» Krieg says, " Successfull Decryption 5 Minutes timeframe."
Krieg patiently awaits in the vehicle as she monitors the expert systems progress and provides what assistance it asks. When the eventuall results come up she quickly configures a receive only sub-channel for the TacCom network to share the broadcast with the team to listen in.
With about 5 minutes to spare, Krieg manages to break into the taccomm link. And…the chatter is almost eerily familiar.
«Any sight of them?
No, not yet. But they're coming. Are the drones ready?
Yeah, they're ready. Both of the Guardians. Anyways. Do all speaking in English. Or the Chinese knowsofts. We're not supposed to let anyone know the Spaniards are in town.
All right. Six of us, two Guardians. That should be more than enough for anything they've got.»
«All right. Tell the driver to brake as soon as he sees trouble»
«Plot» Posh says, "Posh's knowsoft automatically translates the Spanish, as she's jacked into the system and…yeah, has a pocsec app for that. I suppose."
BillyBob relays back through the taccomm. "They got Ares Guardians? Them things is heavily armored. Concentrate on them first if ya can. Get ready, I'm poppin' this coochie."
Commlink-Feather> Feather sends, « We're going to need heavier weapons if we're going to counter those Guardians. Posh, how many shots do you have? »
Commlink-Posh> Posh sends, « Blackheart and I both have plus rockets in our gyrojets, and I've got three Zappers loaded in this thing. »
Blackheart hears the comms chatter and worries on her lip, looking at the interior of the bison, feeling every bump on the road, wondering it it's a rocket impacting on the side.
The roadmaster continues along its course up ahead as the van moves up to gain them. «Make sure it's them. Hold for any hostile action» is heard on the comms.
«Plot» Posh says, "Feather. Make a handling test to keep Posh out of sight while she unloads the rocket."
Commlink-Posh> Posh sends, « Try to keep the Bison between me and the roadmaster, Feather… »
«Plot» Feather says, "I'm going to move toward the Roadmaster at about 120% of its speed. I have about a +10 maneuver score on vehicle type alone. So I'm assuming Posh gets -1 for moving toward the target, -1 for maneuver score edge, -3 for firing at a large truck, +2 for firing an unmounted weapon. So -3 to her test, since she's firing from a vehicle and thus using the manual gunnery table."
«Auto-Judge[]» Blackheart (#12120) rolls Sorcery + 5 vs TN 5 for "Improved Invisibility F2, sustaining focus.":
1 2 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 8 10 10 = 3 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Blackheart (#12120) rolls Willpower vs TN 3 for "soaking M drain, need 4 for soak.":
1 1 3 4 5 5 = 4 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Blackheart (#12120) rolls Sorcery + 5 - 3 vs TN 5 for "KP1":
1 2 3 4 4 5 5 5 11 = 4 Successes
«Plot» Blackheart says, "7 successes"
«Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls Bike vs TN 2:
2 3 4 4 5 = 5 Successes
Posh pulls her IWS multi-launcher out in the night, holding the four-shot launcher, only three chambers loaded, at the ready. And, then, clearly…well, she's holding a rocket launcher, as Feather cleverly brings her bike in a perfect high-speed swoop.
Time to throw down.
«Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls 1 for "+6 Driver":
1
«Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls 2 for "+7 Spaniard1":
3 9
«Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls 2 for "+7 Spaniard2":
1 4
«Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls 2 for "+7 Spaniard3":
2 4
«Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls 2 for "+7 Spaniard4":
2 8
«Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls 2 for "+5 Spaniard5":
4 8
«Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls 1 for "Guardian1":
2
«Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls 1 for "Guardian2":
2
«Auto-Judge[]» Luck (#3691) rolls Initiative with a result of 20.
«Auto-Judge[]» Krieg (#6133) rolls Initiative using a VCR rating 3 with a result of 29.
«Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Initiative with a result of 23.
«Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls Initiative with a result of 25.
«Init Tracker» Posh (#11342) has set Krieg's init to 29.
«Auto-Judge[]» BillyBob (#10588) rolls Initiative using a VCR rating 2 with a result of 21.
As they get close to the area, Blackheart takes a moment to focus on her mirror shades, tucking her fetish into her collar as she turns invisible, there's going to be a lot of bullets flying by and every precaution helps!
«Auto-Judge[]» Blackheart (#12120) rolls Initiative with a result of 18.
On the approuch Krieg is just quietly siting in her seat in the back stapped in with Senshi standing By inside the Bison, on Call.
«Plot» Posh says, "Blackheart in short has +8 TN to be shot from invis, I suppose, until she shoots, in which case shooting at the flash is possible."
«Plot» Posh says, "So. Krieg, holding? Feather, action?"
----------—[ Shadowrun Denver ]—-
============================> Initiative Listing <=============================
Combatant Name…………….. P1(B) P2(-10) P3(-20) P4(-30) P5(-40)
Krieg…………………….. 29 19 9 — —
Feather…………………… 25 15 5 — —
Posh……………………… 23 13 3 — —
BillyBob………………….. 21 11 1 — —
Luck……………………… 20 10 — — —
Blackheart………………… 18 8 — — —
Spaniard1…………………. 15 5 — — —
Spaniard4…………………. 15 5 — — —
Spaniard5…………………. 15 5 — — —
Spaniard3…………………. 13 3 — — —
Spaniard2…………………. 12 2 — — —
Driver……………………. 7 — — — —
Guardian1…………………. 6 — — — —
Guardian2…………………. 6 — — — —
«Plot» Krieg says, "Hold as I cannot act until after the RV and also..well inside hehe"
«Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Launch Weapons + Combat Pool: 5 vs TN 2 for "I guess vs the Roadmaster!":
1 1 2 2 3 4 5 5 5 10 16 = 9 Successes
«Plot» Posh says, "Aimed shot."
«Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls 2 for "Scatter":
1 11
As Posh launches the rocket, the Roadmaster starts to screeeeeee to a stop. It seems like it's been equipped with a pair of huge doors, both of which are starting to open…reveailing a pair of heavily armored, floating Guardians, and that half troop of angry fellows in black trench coats. It seems like it's four folks and a huge troll, the latter bearing a rotary barrel Vindicator that's spinning up!
Billybob gets to hear the pitter patter patter as the Vindicator's bullets bounce almost tauntingly off the heavily armored van, amids exclamations of surprise from outside. "Gran Dragon! Gran Dragon!" And it seems that another one is quickly trying to set it up, to try to acquire a lock on the RV itself - meanwhile, the remaining three cover their comrades with assault rifles.
One of which takes a wild shot at the quickly retreating Posh and Feather on the bike.
«Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls 5 + 5 vs TN 12 for "3 bullets each, called shot, tough target.":
1 2 2 2 3 4 5 5 7 11 = 0 Successes
«Plot» Posh says, "Okay. If BillyBob hits a nice braking test, everyone can hop out and take a complex action on that situation, according to init, with the Running Modifier. I'm assuming this is first pass, and everyone's held actions."
«Plot» Posh says, "Alternatively, Billy could keep his speed up and people could hop out rolling, or whatever you guys want to do. I'm assuming everyone held action until the situation developed a bit, since the Zapper launch forced their hand."
«Plot» BillyBob says, "I'm stopping the Bison."
«Auto-Judge[]» BillyBob (#10588) rolls Car + Control Pool: 4 vs TN 2 for " Braking Test with VCR Rating 2":
1 2 2 2 3 4 5 7 9 10 = 9 Successes
BillyBob's able to scree the Roadmaster to a halt as well, giving a chance to ambush the ambush!
BillyBob deploys his Bison's turret when Posh fires her rocket; as the Ares Roadmaster halts, so does the Bison, popping its rear doors so his strike team can deploy from some amount of cover. "Git out and kill 'em! Don't let 'em set up no dragon!"
«Plot» BillyBob says, "Strato-9 lock on sensor test."
«Auto-Judge[]» BillyBob (#10588) rolls 5 + 3 vs TN 4 for " Strato-9 Sensor Lock (Sensors 5 + Clearsight 3) vs. Spaniard with Direct LOS from air to ground":
2 2 3 3 3 4 5 5 = 3 Successes
«Plot» Posh says, "2 Guardian drones. 3 of 'The Spaniards' with assault rifles. 1 setting up a great dragon. 1 huge troll with a gyromounted Vindi."
«Plot» Feather says, "Gonna ditch the bike and engage its ruth, grab her weapon case, and sprint up a building. We'll say something two stories. That's a lot, so I'll assume that's her whole action."
«Plot» Posh says, "That works as a first pass action. The complex is really operating the bike."
«Plot» Posh says, "This is a B zone, there are low buildings, one to two stories, on either side of the street."
«Plot» Posh nods to Luck. "You are in a position where you can attack anyone guy before they actually get to go, since you beat all their inits and you're kind of arriving during the second pass.
«Auto-Judge[]» Blackheart (#12120) rolls Sorcery + 3 for "manaball F6M 1 BC? I don't know their willpowers":
1 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 5 8
«Plot» Posh says, "2 successes on all."
«Auto-Judge[]» Blackheart (#12120) rolls Sorcery + 3 - 2 for "KP2":
1 1 2 4 5 5 8 8
«Auto-Judge[]» Blackheart (#12120) rolls Willpower vs TN 3 for "soaking S drain, need 6!":
1 2 3 5 5 7 = 4 Successes
«Plot» Posh says, "I'm assuming troll guy + 1 assault rifle guy?"
«Plot» Blackheart says, "it's a 6m radius for everyone I see"
«Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls 4 vs TN 6 for "Resist 1":
2 3 4 13 = 1 Success
«Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls 4 - 1 vs TN 6 for "Resist 1 KP 1":
4 10 11 = 2 Successes
Perhaps comically, since none of them are quite at superhuman speed, all /five/ of the Spaniards just drop to Blackheart's manaball. The powerful spell seemed to be something that they weren't quite ready for…well, it seems that you should never bring vindicators to a magic fight. So perhaps Luck finds herself rather comically charging…well, five people who go unconscious, their souls ripped away, thanks to the…well…two Guardians.
If it weren't for those two, it would indeed be a rather comical situation.
«Plot» Posh says, "They just don't have the willpower to make it past a 7 success F6 stunball, and I guess I didn't stat them with enough movement to fan out by then."
«Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls 7 vs TN 6 for "Vs Posh 14D":
1 1 1 3 4 4 5 = 0 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls 7 vs TN 6 for "Vs Posh 14D Guardian2":
1 1 1 4 5 7 8 = 2 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls 7 vs TN 6 for "Vs Posh 14D":
1 1 1 3 4 4 5 = 0 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls 7 vs TN 6 for "Vs Posh 14D Guardian2":
1 1 1 4 5 7 8 = 2 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls 7 vs TN 6 for "Remaining CP dodge":
1 3 4 4 5 9 21 = 2 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls 7 - 2 vs TN 6 for "Remaining CP dodge KP 1":
1 3 3 5 7 = 1 Success
Well, that happens to be the source of the incoming missiles. It appears that Posh is Target number one, there, but a quick dive off the bike, rolling to the ground prevents her from becoming perforated.
The driver sees a streaking rocket incoming and unbuckles and immediately starts to beat feet. It seems like he's going to be the one telling the story of what he saw - but it's not like stun spells haven't dropped the enemies before. Sometimes you just get lucky.
«Plot» Posh says, "A fleeing driver."
As the bison comes to a screeching halt, Blackheart holds onto the holy shit bar, and watches as Luck dives out the back door to begin closing in on the enemies. Before the deadly oni arrives, Blackheart drops a manaball on the crowd of them to 'soften them up,' so to speak. It turns out the spanish inquisition is weak of mind, and they all go down with blood clots siezing their brains. Blackheart grins in triumph, even as she feels the backlash of mana whip back to bring her down a notch. Still hanging onto the bar, she recovers herself and begins reachign for her gyrojet to help out with the drones.
«Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Reaction vs TN 6 for "Double quickdraw":
2 3 3 3 4 5 5 5 5 8 = 1 Success
«Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Gyrojet Pistol vs TN 5 for "Vs Guardian":
1 2 3 4 4 8 = 1 Success
«Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Gyrojet Pistol - 1 vs TN 5 for "Vs Guardian KP 2":
1 1 1 2 2 = 0 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Gyrojet Pistol vs TN 5 for "Vs Guardian":
1 1 2 5 5 11 = 3 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls 2 vs TN 6 for "Soaking":
2 7 = 1 Success
«Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls 2 vs TN 6 for "Soaking":
2 2 = 0 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) uses 4 of item 3: Gyrojet Plus Rocket from FN-AAL Gyrojet Pistol Double Rig (#2510).
«Plot» Krieg says, " With the possability of re-inforcements Senshi will take up a position of cover on the rear of the RV to watch the surrounding area, scanning it for targets. The Guardians unfortunately are to hard to deal with directly. (For my Pass)"
The gyrojets lance into the first Guardian, shredding brutally through the heavy armor and leaving only one of the others, rather awkwardly bringing its gun to bear.
«With both sets of rockets leveled, Posh's heart thuds in her ears. «Let's get ready to split»
«Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls 2 for "Response":
1 10
«Plot» BillyBob says, "On my pass I am monitoring sensors and so is my Strato-9, attempting to see any response."
BillyBob can see the two elites area already filling with a large number of blazered, sunglassed Triad gentlemen and ladies, quickly preparing to move out as apparently a hard-triggered response. It seems that they were ready for trouble popping up with The Spaniards.
It's relatively easy for Luck to rip the minigun from the dead troll's hands, as well.
Blackheart draws her gyrojet pistols and and brings it to bear on the drone, firing twice. «Once the drone is down, I'll need 30 shakes to clean the area of evidence,» she says, knowing if the spaniards had a mage in the area, that mage is probably cowering and she doesn't want a spanish wizard hiding in her bushes at night!
BillyBob remains inside the Bison, rigged in, monitoring sensor readings and the output from his Strato-9. Over the comm he says, "Two Elites full 'a Triads are gettin' underway. No word yet on police tactical response." He doesn't bother shooting at the Ares Guardians, as their armor is likely too thick to be penetrated.
«Auto-Judge[]» Blackheart (#12120) rolls Reaction vs TN 7 for "quickdraw!":
2 3 3 3 5 5 = 0 Successes
Well, since the big guys are down… Luck puts her Telespear away and scoops up the big ol' gun from the Troll's hands, and turns back. "Sorry chummer, gonna need this. You don't, so…" And she putters away with a trophy! Probably. Wonder what kind of rounds are in this thing… Armor piercing would be nice.
«Auto-Judge[]» Blackheart (#12120) rolls Reaction vs TN 7 for "quickdraw, last KP!":
1 2 3 5 5 7 = 1 Success
«Auto-Judge[]» Blackheart (#12120) rolls Gyrojet Pistol vs TN 6 for "Smartlink 2, 12M AV":
1 4 5 = 0 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Blackheart (#12120) rolls Gyrojet Pistol vs TN 7 for "Smartlink 2, second shot (1
Blackheart's gyrojets, however, ping-ping off the armor of the slow-moving Guardian, which just sits there, however, while Posh ends up lining her gyrojets on it, a little apologetically, to finish it off.
«Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Gyrojet Pistol vs TN 4 for "Single aimed shot":
1 2 3 4 4 5 = 3 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls Gyrojet Pistol - 3 vs TN 4 for "Single aimed shot KP":
1 5 22 = 2 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls 2 vs TN 6 for "Soaking":
3 9 = 1 Success
The Guardian takes the single Gyrojet as a through-and-through, collapsing as Posh is already sprinting towards the van. «All right, let's get the drek out of here…they likely alreayd have backup coming»
Once inside the van, there's the sound of a rotodrone arriving on the scene! It seems like there might have been a little bit more of a response…perhaps drawn by the active signatures available at the site!
«Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls 6 vs TN 4 for "Sensor Test, urban":
1 3 4 4 4 9 = 4 Successes
BillyBob can see the two elites peeling out, a kilometer away, while the recent arrival of the sensor drone seems like it's likely locked onto the vehicles in the immediate vicinity of the assault.
The two vehicles seem to split off, from Billy's scout. Clearly one's a clean-up crew to take care of the bodies - while the other's a high-speed response team vectored by the rotodrone, based on its selection of turnoffs.
«Plot» Posh says, "It looks like we've got a chase as soon everyone's back aboard!"
«Plot» Posh says, "About half a kilometer, getting closer. It was probably sitting passive, and has just gone 'live.'"
Blackheart curses as the backup responds quickly enough that she can't get out to erase her signatures, looks like she may have a nemisis in the future! «Let's roll, all those bozos need to do is stall us and they can get the whole gang on our position!»
«Plot» BillyBob says, "I am going to have my own Strato-9 land in the drone catch on the Bison while they get aboard. Then we speed off."
Commlink-Posh> Posh sends, « Ideally we'd take it down silently. That'll make it all the harder to vector another on us. But we'll go loud if we have to. What tools do we have? »
BillyBob waits for everyone to get back aboard the Bison. The Strato-9 drone lands in the drone bucket and is stowed. "Roger dodger, we picked up a surveillance drone coming for us. Somebody blow it tha' fuck outta tha' sky. I'm gonna hide my turret to reduce signature." The massive engine on the Bison revs and then they are off, fleeing from the incoming security team approximately a kilometer away. "I'll match speed with the drone, can you git a shot on it?"
«Plot» Posh says, "It is a Triad armed Prospero. Feather can take a silent shot at it first, while then it can be up to Krieg as it starts to vector other drones in."
«Auto-Judge[]» Feather (#12973) rolls Projectile Weapons (Bows) + Combat Pool: 7 for "Extended Laser Sight, Vision Mag 3, Natural Low-light, Artificial Thermo, -3 3x Take Aim actions, -1 Attunement":
1 1 1 2 3 4 5 5 5 5 5 10 11 15
«Plot» Posh says, "TN was 4 I guess"
«Auto-Judge[]» Posh (#11342) rolls 2 vs TN 7 for "soak":
1 3 = 0 Successes
A shower of sparks occurs half a kilometer away as Feather's arrow silently arches out and donks against the drone, leaving nothing to vector the pursuing Elite onto BillyBob's van.
Senshi just keeps ahold of the RV as he waits out the ride just insdie the rear doors. Having waited for the team to get in and for the call to assist with the drone, if needed.
«Auto-Judge[]» BillyBob (#10588) rolls Car + Control Pool: 4 vs TN 3:
1 1 1 2 2 4 4 7 10 10 = 5 Successes
It's quite simple for BillyBob to pull the RV behind a refinery, almost 'cleansing' its signature against the humm of other machinery, smoothly slipping off into the night with another job well done.
«Spaniards taken out, Trevor. We'll definitely be in touch»
Posh turns back again. "Well," she says. "An interesting job. «Meet up with us, back home, Feather. Looks like we're rolling on out»
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