We Survive

[Brian]

<Brian> Okay.
<Brian> C-Rat!
<Brian> You're in Melbourne, which the GM is familiar with mostly in the sense that he's looked at maps of it.
<C-Rat> Ok!
<Brian> It's, oh, January 3rd, 2007.
C-Rat will allow you artistic license, anyway.
<Brian> Do you have a break after new years?  Or is school out at that time of the year?
<C-Rat> School is out in January, yeah.
<C-Rat> Exams are just over, so I'm all happy.
<Brian> Indeed.  You've got a part-time job doing ... stuff.
<C-Rat> *Casino Dealer!*
<C-Rat> Actually, I'm probably angsting over what to get for my mother's birthday.
<C-Rat> It's three days away!
<Brian> OR!  Involving moving boxes of paper from a lawyer's office to an off-site storage facility.  But it's under the counter (go figure) so you don't pay taxes, and you've got a less regular schedule as a dealer at a nearby casino.
<C-Rat> Sure.
<C-Rat> Casual work on both ends, right?
<Brian> Yes.
<Brian> It's been oddly cold lately.
<C-Rat> How cold? It's midsummer.
<Brian> This summer's been really mild.  Feels like spring started, and gave up halfway.
<C-Rat> Ok.
<Brian> Anyway, you're currently on the job (it's just after noon), hauling boxes of papers a few miles.
<Brian> You've got two carloads left before you're given 100 dollars, and told that another 100 if you come by the same time next month.
<Brian> told that -- offered
<Brian> Also, Rez vanished from IRC a while ago, without explanation.  You expect he'll turn up again soon, though.
<Brian> The guy you're doing work for is named Keith Jenkins.  He owns a friendly looking seven person law firm specializing in rights for the disabled.  For some reason, they have lots of paperwork.
<Brian> Life could be worse.
C-Rat can't wait to get back home and splurge the 100 bucks on Ninja Gaiden 2!
<Brian> Yeah, they say it's so hard, the force-feedback makes your heart explode!
C-Rat has already filed his health insurance!
<Brian> You pull your car up to the storage facility -- it's in pretty much the middle of nowhere, a nondescript beige building with a garage door in the side.  There's a hefty looking padlock on it, but you have the key (which will need to be returned to collect your pay).
C-Rat parks his ute outside the garage, gets out, and goes to open the padlock.
<Brian> It's open already.
<Brian> Er.  No, wait.  It's been CUT through.
C-Rat blinks.
<Brian> Well, crap.  You were here last, what, twenty minutes ago?  It was fine then!
<C-Rat> "Fucking-A," mutters Carthrat, wondering if the dork who can't pick a lock is still here.
<C-Rat> Staying perfectly still, he tries listening for footsteps or voices nearby.
<Brian> Well.  The ground here is pretty dirty.  You see some tire-tracks in the thin mud.  One set of tires does not match your own.  You think it rained last two days ago.
<C-Rat> Do I have a key to the front door?
<Brian> No front door, per-se.  It's one of those garage-style doors that roll upwards (painted a lovely shade of orange).
<Brian> You don't actually hear anyone, though.  And if someone's inside, they'd have to find a way get someone else to lock them in.
C-Rat opens the garage door.
<Brian> Well, after moving the lock out of the way, you roll it up, revealing a lit (maybe you left the lights on ... maybe someone else did) room, probably ten meters wide, ten high, and twenty back.
<Brian> Most of the room is filled with carefully stacked and labeled boxes.
<Brian> Someone has shoved one of your careful stacks aside (and not knocked it over, at least), and left a larger, black box there.
<Brian> This one is not cardboard -- it looks like plastic.
<Brian> There's hinges on the edge furthest from you, and a latch towards you, but no lock.
C-Rat opens the box.
<Brian> You flip up the plastic lid, revealing wires, a couple kilos of some white doughy looking substance, wires, an LED with flashing numbers (looks like you've got a day or two), wires, some insulation, and a few wires, for good measure.
C-Rat pissbolts.
<Brian> On your way to the door, your cell phone begins to ring.
<Brian> Just before you get to the door, someone pulls a stunt, and jumps from the roof to the ground before you (bad move -- it's three stories).
<Brian> He goes to the ground and his legs crunch beneath him.  "Well, fuck," he says conversationally.
<C-Rat> "Who the fuck are you?" shrieks Carthrat, jumping over the guy and getting about 20 metres away from the house.
<Brian> Well, the next figure you run into (right outside the door) are a rotund looking man with eerie gray skin, and a puff of curly blonde hair that brings to mind Nabeshin's favored style.  Behind him is a samurai who emerged from who-knows-when, holding his sword up menacingly, and with fire burning in his eyes.  "Hello, terrorist scum," he greets you.  The rotound man just nods tiredly.
<C-Rat> "What?" replies Carthrat, intelligibly.
<Brian> The samurai blinks at you, and you realize he's not a samurai -- he's some guy wearing a samurai-styled helmet and chestplate over a ratty gray T-shirt (which may have once been white) and some severely frayed jeans.  The sword looks authentic, though.
<Brian> The guy who you jumped over climbs to his feet awkwardly, and says, "Well, they got away again.  James, go turn off their bomb."
<Brian> The samurai frowns, and lowers (but does not sheathe his blade -- actually, he doesn't look like he HAS a sheath).
<C-Rat> Carthrat turns around, looking at the guys legs. "Um.. dude.. legs.. cracky-breaky.."
<Brian> The gray-skinned man sighs, and lumbers into the garage, muttering under his breath -- something about bad information.
<C-Rat> "You guys, like, don't need me around, right?" he continues, backing towards his ute.
<Brian> "Yeah, you get acclimated after a while," he says, shrugging.  Now that you can look at him, he has average looking features.  His expression suggests he's docile and laid-back, but there's a spark of ferocity in his eyes.  "Yeah, whatever.  Just stay out of trouble, and you never saw us."
<Brian> Grumbling, the samurai kneels to examine the lock you tossed aside.  "We'll need the key to lock this place up, though," he warns.  "Once we take care of the bomb."
<Brian> Beneath his helmet, the samurai has matted and somewhat greasy black hair, looks like it's tied back with a short strip of leather.
<C-Rat> "If I don't have that key, I'm gonna get my ass kicked," notes Carthrat, temproarily forgetting that a bunch of crazies just planted a bomb in the joint.
<C-Rat> Nonetheless, he doesn't want to argue with sword-boy and he of the unbreakable legs, so he pulls the thing off the keyring.
<Brian> "Well, then unlock this," the samurai says, concentrating.  When he runs his hand over the place where the lock was cut, it seamlessly seals itself.  After that, he holds it out to you expectantly, sword off to one side.
<Brian> "Done," 'James' announces from inside.  "Bomb's dead.  What do we do with it?"
<C-Rat> Carthrat stares at the lock... then stares at the samurai... then stares at the lock again.
<Brian> "One care package to be marked 'Return to sender'," he of the swiftly-healing-legs says, turning to look back at James and smiling.  "Duh."
<Brian> "The key?" the samurai prompts you.
C-Rat extends his arm like an automaton, unlocks the lock, and returns the arm to his hand. Yes, the eyes are seeing, and the ears are hearing, but the mind is way off on another planet.
<Brian> "Thanks," he says.  After that, he sets the lock to one side.  Swift-healer and James haul the plastic box outside, and the Samurai yawns, tapping the blade of his sword against the ground (it breaks into a dozen large pieces) and pocketing the hilt.  "Hey, you need help moving those boxes, or anything?"
<C-Rat> "Um, yeah," says Carthrat, glancing at the boxes. "Stack them over there," he says, pointing at an unused corner of the wall.
<C-Rat> "My arms and legs aren't working properly just now, because I think I'm dreaming, so mind moving the whole lot?"
<Brian> "No problem," the samurai says.  Swift-healer rolls his eyes, and 'James' blinks hopefully.  They begin moving the boxes for you, the samurai pausing about mid-way through and asking, "You wouldn't know where a guy could go to grab something to eat around here, would you?"
<C-Rat> "There's a cafe down the road," replies Carthrat. "They make good milkshakes, but lousy burgers."
<C-Rat> "Hey, can you teach me that lock-fixing trick?" he blurts out.
<Brian> "Eh, somewhere we can get a lot of food really cheap," swift-healer says, offering you his hand.  "I'm Sterling Dubert, by the way.  These are my noble fellow questors, the indomitable warrior Walker Pennington," he indicates, "and the melencholy man-bot, James Ericson."
<Brian> Er, he indicates the 'samurai', as Walker, and you already know who James is.
<Brian> "Call me Jim," James offers.
<Brian> "I don't know how I do it myself," Walker says, shrugging.  "It just works, you know?"
<C-Rat> "Oh," replies Carthrat, blinking. "Hey. What are you doing here, anyway? Last I checked, we weren't a terrorist organization."
<C-Rat> "Well, unless you count lawyers as terrorists."
<C-Rat> Some of the fear has left Carthrat now, to be replaced with interest.
<Brian> "Eh," Sterling grunts.  "They probably thought this place was mostly abandoned.  Looks like Forge work to me, but without their normal subtlety.  We've been trying to trace a group of them down from the US."
<Brian> "Bitches won't represent," Walker clarifies.
<C-Rat> "Forge? Forge is *here*?" interjects Carthrat, confused.
<C-Rat> "Is this just one of Keith's stupid jokes? 'cos you can tell him that I ain't laughing."
<Brian> "Funny," Sterling says.  "The Forge WAS here, but they ditched this and ran.  Can't see this as anything more than a distraction.  Kind of pathetic if I do say so myself."
<Brian> James rolls his eyes.  "I need to get something to eat," he says plaintively.  "It's been three days.  Let's just finish this, ditch the bomb, and try to scrounge up some money."
<Brian> Walker again mutters about bitches not representing, and the three go to work moving your boxes.
<Brian> Once it's done, they all nod to each-other, and Walker picks up the large plastic box containing a (one hopes) deactivated bomb.
C-Rat sags against the wall, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, but this is weirding me out."
<C-Rat> "Since when could people break their legs and stand up, and fix broken locks with a wave of their hand?"
<Brian> "Well, we gotta go," Sterling says, examining his watch briefly.  "Just forget about us, if you can.  If you're really screwed over, well, I feel sorry from you.  Whole lot of shitiness going around, you know?"
<Brian> James shrugs.  "Not your fault.  If you need our help, just grab a phone and dial 'bigfire'.  We'll know," he offers.
<C-Rat> "Yeah," replies Carthrat. "Geezus. Looks like White Wolf had the right idea all along," he mutters, under his breath.
<Brian> Walker nods, and offers, "Peace, yo."
<Brian> And with that, they turn and walk away.
<C-Rat> "Yeah. Thanks for the hotline," replies Carthrat.
C-Rat stumbles back into his ute and drives back to Keith, resolving to say, "Hey, about that job... I just got promoted at the casino, and...."


<Brian> C-Rat!
<C-Rat> Brian!
<Brian> It is now two days after your initial brush with high-powered explosives and ... uh ... counter-terrorists.  Or whatever.
<C-Rat> Ack! One day before my mothers birthday!
C-Rat will no doubt be intending to go shopping.
<Brian> You've calmed down enough that you're starting to wonder if the entire thing was just a well-acted ploy.  Or a daydream.
<C-Rat> How did my employer react to the news that I was quitting? >_>
<Brian> He was surprised, but didn't question you.
<Brian> These thoughts and more are discarded by the wayside as you plumb the depths of a local mall, wondering if they've got anything worthwhile.
<Brian> (They don't.)
C-Rat decides to just buy some CD....
<Brian> There's a good number of music stores in the area.  A few new artists ... you're not really sure what to get, though.
C-Rat looks for something suitably jazzy/blusey.
<Brian> As you're wandering through the store, perusing the bargain bin (really not worth it) you look up in time to notice what looks like some local punk slipping a CD into his pocket nonchalantly, and then wandering towards the door.
C-Rat pretends not to notice and continues browsing.
<Brian> A few seconds later, the RFID tag sets the alarm off, everyone jumps, and the kid starts running away full-bore, the clerk yelling, jumping over a counter, and running after him.
<Brian> The other three people browsing the store blink at the fact that it's now unattended, and the clerk is gone.
C-Rat snickers, grabs some random blusey CD.
C-Rat waits a few moments to see what the other customers do.
<Brian> The CD is grabbed!
<Brian> The other customers wait around for the clerk to return, two of them getting into line somewhat impatiently.
<Brian> A few seconds later, a pair of rent-a-cops (mall security) run up, because the alarm is still going.
C-Rat sticks around, too, waiting for the clerk to come back.
<Brian> After a good five minutes, he does, looking very red in the face, and quite winded.  Looks like the kid got away.
C-Rat readies the money for his purchase!
<Brian> He turns off the alarm, first.  Not long after that, he gives a quick description of the situation to the guards, who take some notes (and the security tape) and then go away.
<Brian> From there, it's only a matter of minutes as he adds up each customer's total, having a long conversation about philosophy and shoplifting with each before he gets to you.
C-Rat hands over the money, nodding and smiling if the clerk rabbits on to him, too.
<Brian> You're short on cash for the disk -- going to need to use a credit/debit card....
C-Rat pulls a debit card, irritated with himself for neglecting to make sure he had the correct amount.
<Brian> The clerk yammers on.
<Brian> After a few moments, the debit/credit machine spits out a receipt, which the clerk accepts, frowns at, and then punches a few buttons on the machine.  "It was declined," he explains.  "I'll just try it again.
C-Rat blinks.
C-Rat tries to remember any reason in might be declined.
<Brian> Well, you did just deposit the cash from that warehouse job....
<Brian> There should be more than enough money.
C-Rat lets the clerk try again.
<Brian> He does so.  The clerk continues yammering on.  C-Rat, I'd like you to make a perception check.
<C-Rat> OOC: What's that entail?
<Brian> This is a 3d6 roll.
<C-Rat> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> them bones was tossed for C-Rat ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=11 ]{11}
Newcomer is now known as Rez
<Brian> You know ... you're trying to pay as little attention to the clerk as possible while still being polite ... but you do notice he now seems a bit nervous about something.  Also, he didn't give you the card back, even though he swiped it.
<C-Rat> "Excuse me," says Tom, pointedly.
<Brian> "Er ... yes?" he asks.
<C-Rat> "My card, please."
<Brian> "Oh.  Oh, right," he says, shaking his head and handing it back -- just as the two rent-a-cops re-enter the shop.  The clerk's eyes flicker to them in a way you think is supposed to be meaningful (but not to you).
C-Rat goes to replace the CD, feeling a little nervous and keeping an eye on the rent-a-cops.
<Brian> The CD is still behind the counter -- and the guards are bee-lining towards you.
C-Rat tries to move around the other side of the guards.
<Brian> The one on the left moves to stand in your way, and says, "Sir, please come with us."
<C-Rat> "Why should I?" replies Tom, pointedly.
<Brian> "That card was reported stolen," the clerk says suddenly, nodding to himself.
<Brian> The other security guard shrugs, and produces a pair of handcuffs.  "Sir, if you'll come with us?"
<Brian> I'd like a roll now on Security.
<C-Rat> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> them bones was tossed for C-Rat ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=12 ]{12}
<Brian> Well, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that this isn't normal procedure.
<Brian> You're not sure what's going on, here, but you get the idea that it's bad, and only going to get worse.
<C-Rat> "No," replies Tom, flatly. "You've no right to arrest me for owning my own card. If you'll please get out my way...."
<C-Rat> Can I ready an action to charge through the guards? >_>
<Brian> You're always assumed to have a held action unless you're actively doing something else, so you don't need to ready an action.
<C-Rat> Ah, 'k.
<Brian> "Sir," the one on the right says insistently, reaching towards you to grab your wrist, "you need to come with us."
C-Rat pulls away his wrist and ... tries to go *through* the guards!
<Brian> Okay.  They're both going to try and grab you, first.
<Brian> I'm assuming points to DCV?
<C-Rat> Yup.
<Brian> roll 2#3d6 for grabbing
<Chibi-Suu> them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 2#3d6 for grabbing --> [ 3d6=11 ]{11}, [ 3d6=10 ]{10}
Rez is now known as Newcomer
<Brian> The second guard (with the hand-cuffs) snags your wrist, as you were more focused on the closer guard.
<Brian> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=13 ]{13}
<Brian> He does drop his cuffs, though.
<Brian> You're now held.  If you're resisting arrest, we'll enter combat time here.
<C-Rat> Before that, can I see any other guards running around?
<Brian> None.  Just these two.
<C-Rat> 'k, on we go, then. >_>
<Brian> Entering combat time, all participants are speed 2.
<Brian> Dex order, you're going to act first -- but guard number one is going for the dropped cuffs, and guard number two is holding your wrists.
C-Rat brings up his knee to slam the grabbing-guard in the stomach area!
<Brian> Go ahead and make your attack roll.
<C-Rat> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> them bones was tossed for C-Rat ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=13 ]{13}
<Brian> Well, you're a trained martial artist, and he wasn't expecting it -- you slam him in the gut.
<Brian> Go ahead and roll 3#1d6 for your damage.
<C-Rat> roll 3#1d6
<Chibi-Suu> them bones was tossed for C-Rat ... : 3#1d6 --> [ 1d6=1 ]{1}, [ 1d6=3 ]{3}, [ 1d6=1 ]{1}
<C-Rat> Does that count as a martial strike, by-the-by? >_>
<Brian> You need to declare it as a martial strike as opposed to a standard strike, in the future.
<C-Rat> 'k.
<Brian> He grunts -- evidently those donuts are good for building a protective layer of fat -- and doesn't let go.  "Hey!" he growls, while his partner scoops up the cuffs from the floor.
<Brian> It's now segment 12, you act first (again!) since the clerk is just watching.
C-Rat headbutts the guard! Martial Strike! >_>
<Brian> Go ahead and make your roll to attack.
<C-Rat> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> them bones was tossed for C-Rat ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=12 ]{12}
<Brian> That's a hit -- roll 5#1d6 for your damage.
<C-Rat> roll 5#1d6
<Chibi-Suu> them bones was tossed for C-Rat ... : 5#1d6 --> [ 1d6=5 ]{5}, [ 1d6=6 ]{6}, [ 1d6=4 ]{4}, [ 1d6=6 ]{6}, [ 1d6=3 ]{3}
<Brian> The guard's nose is smashed into his skull and he drops to the floor in a fountain of blood.
<Brian> You're free (if a bit dazed from the attack) and guard one tries to tackle you.
<Brian> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=10 ]{10}
<Brian> You slip out of the way, and he rushes past you, catching himself on the counter and spinning to face you again.
C-Rat pissbolts! >_>
<Brian> Everyone gets a recovery now ... the guard you knocked down is staying down -- and that is a LOT of blood.
<Brian> Guard one screams after you, but attempts to tend his fallen partner.
<Brian> You run into the main thoroughfare of the mall -- some blood gets into you eyes (not yours, you think) but everyone is looking at you, and you hear a woman scream.
<Brian> Someone shouts behind you, and you see two actual police officers chasing towards you.
<Brian> Neither of them has drawn their pistols, but they're still after you.
C-Rat tries to mentally work out what sort of retard he is, but he keeps running!
C-Rat tries to lose them in the mall.
<Brian> The police are yelling at you to stop -- everyone else is running out of the way, so you've got very little cover.  Ahead of you, you see another pair of normal security guards standing in your way, billy-clubs at the ready.
C-Rat looks for a way out!
<Brian> There's an exit to the left -- one of those "phone, bathroom, emergency exit" hallways.
C-Rat takes it!
<Brian> Make a dex check.
<C-Rat> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> them bones was tossed for C-Rat ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=8 ]{8}
<Brian> You nimbly sidestep a somewhat surprised looking man in a dingy Hawaiian T-shirt as you round the blind corner, and leave the guards chasing after you to slam into him.
C-Rat plows through the door and tries to get out of dodge. >_>
<Brian> It's an emergency exit ... and as unlikely as it would seem ... has an electronic lock that won't open.
<Brian> There's yelling behind you, a phone to your left, and a restroom to the right.
C-Rat just gives up, 'cos there's nowhere left to go.
<Brian> Well you might be able to slip out a bathroom window.
<Brian> And you do have that phone number that those figments of your imagination gave you -- could work better in your defense once this goes to court, too!
C-Rat taps his brain and heads into the restroom!
<Brian> A-hah!  A small (but screenless) open window.  You think you could wriggle through it.
C-Rat tries to bar the restroom door with something, then goes to wriggle through the window!
<Brian> Nothing good to bar the door with, but the guards are a bit wider than you, and just your luck, the door is stuck.  Electronically.
<Brian> Go ahead and roll your dex.
<C-Rat> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> them bones was tossed for C-Rat ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=13 ]{13}
<Brian> You get through -- it's not pretty, you nearly land on your head -- but you get through, just as you hear the restroom door slam open, and some yelling.  You catch yourself on the ground, and are ready to flee some more.
C-Rat starts to fleeing in the nearest viable direction, pulling out his mobile and dialing ... well. Bigfire!
<Brian> The second you finish dialing, you hear Jim's melancholy voice.  "This is Jim.  What's up?"
<C-Rat> "This is Tom! I'm fucked!" shrieks back Tom. "Um, you gave me your number a couple days back in the warehouse!"
<Brian> There's a moment of silence.  "Where are you?" Jim asks.
<C-Rat> "South Mall!" replies Tom, glancing around.
<Brian> "Find someplace to lay low for a while," he instructs.  "We're stealing a car and heading for you."
<C-Rat> "Right!" shouts Carthrat, running through a mental map of where he could go.
<Brian> Immediately around you is the familiar South-Mall area.  You think you might be able to find some teenager make-out/smoking spot and hole up there for a bit ... but you don't know what your odds are of pulling this off.
C-Rat runs to the South Park!
<Brian> You make it without any cops or security guards sighting you (that you're aware of).
<Brian> Once you get there, the area seems surreally quiet, though now that you've got a moment to reflect, you're okay, if bloodstained.
C-Rat cleans himself up a bit.
C-Rat sets his phone to 'vibrate', not 'make a huge noise'.
<Brian> You do what you can.  You can wipe yourself clean, but your clothes (mostly about the shoulders) are a bit spattered.
C-Rat waits a couple minutes.
<Brian> A couple of minutes pass.
<Brian> And then a couple more.
C-Rat makes sure he's relatively hidden while he's at it.
<Mutsumi> [Ginrai] This infoline unchanged since 1806
<Brian> And then, after you've found yourself a comfortable spot beneath a bush, you see a pair of men in black suits with sunglasses walking through the park.
<Brian> And then another pair.
C-Rat does not reveal himself to MiBs. o-o
<Brian> Make a stealth roll.
<C-Rat> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> them bones was tossed for C-Rat ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=13 ]{13}
<Brian> You try not to move or otherwise draw attention to yourself.
<Brian> The MiBs, for their part, try and find you.
<Brian> This is interesting, because they can move all over the park.  And you can't.
<Brian> Inevitably, two of them head towards your bush.  You don't know if they know you're there, or just being thorough.
<Brian> Either way, the question becomes moot when a van jumps the curb around the park, flies about fifteen meters, and them slams to the ground, incidentally almost hitting one of the MiBs across the field as he dives for cover.
<Brian> You think that's Sterling at the wheel.  He seems pretty blasé about it, and jerks the wheel to one side, as though to turn back and get the MiB on his second pass.
C-Rat gets ready to run into the van
<Brian> The two MiBs immediately near you draw pistols and begin firing -- as do the two near the van.
<Brian> roll 4#3d6
<Chibi-Suu> them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 4#3d6 --> [ 3d6=9 ]{9}, [ 3d6=8 ]{8}, [ 3d6=11 ]{11}, [ 3d6=9 ]{9}
<Brian> Hmm.
<Brian> roll 4#1d6+1d3
<Chibi-Suu> them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 4#1d6+1d3 --> [ 1d6=6 1d3=1 ]{7}, [ 1d6=4 1d3=2 ]{6}, [ 1d6=5 1d3=3 ]{8}, [ 1d6=4 1d3=2 ]{6}
<Brian> You see Sterling get shot by two of them -- the other two shots just hit the van.  Sterling slumps over the steering wheel as the van rolls sideways and skids to a halt.
<Brian> We'll enter combat time here.
<Brian> Walker and Jim jump over your bush and attack the MiBs -- you didn't see the two of them coming.
<Brian> roll 2#3d6
<Chibi-Suu> them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 2#3d6 --> [ 3d6=11 ]{11}, [ 3d6=6 ]{6}
C-Rat decides to stay hidden, because he's, like, not wanting to get shot at. >_>
<Brian> roll 5#1d6
<Chibi-Suu> them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 5#1d6 --> [ 1d6=4 ]{4}, [ 1d6=5 ]{5}, [ 1d6=3 ]{3}, [ 1d6=6 ]{6}, [ 1d6=2 ]{2}
<Brian> The MiB Jim pushes drops to the ground on his face, the other one stands upright for a moment, and then collapses to his knees, his spinal cord expertly severed by Walker's katana.
<Brian> The remaining MiBs then turn and start firing at Jim and Walker (and incidentaly, towards you).
<Brian> roll 2#3d6
<Chibi-Suu> them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 2#3d6 --> [ 3d6=10 ]{10}, [ 3d6=7 ]{7}
<Brian> roll 1d6+1d3
<Chibi-Suu> them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 1d6+1d3 --> [ 1d6=5 1d3=1 ]{6}
C-Rat grabs a knife from his back pocket..
<Brian> Jim grunts, and staggers back, but seems unaffected by the bullet that slams into his chest, Walker is missed.
<Brian> Then ... just for good measure, the van explodes.
<Brian> roll 10#1d6
<Brian> roll 10#1d6
<Chibi-Suu> them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 10#1d6 --> [ 1d6=2 ]{2}, [ 1d6=2 ]{2}, [ 1d6=2 ]{2}, [ 1d6=1 ]{1}, [ 1d6=3 ]{3}, [ 1d6=1 ]{1}, [ 1d6=2 ]{2}, [ 1d6=6 ]{6}, [ 1d6=1 ]{1}, [ 1d6=4 ]{4}
<Chibi-Suu> them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 10#1d6 --> [ 1d6=6 ]{6}, [ 1d6=1 ]{1}, [ 1d6=1 ]{1}, [ 1d6=6 ]{6}, [ 1d6=4 ]{4}, [ 1d6=5 ]{5}, [ 1d6=1 ]{1}, [ 1d6=2 ]{2}, [ 1d6=1 ]{1}, [ 1d6=2 ]{2}
C-Rat can't help but think, "Holy jeezus.."
<Brian> The two MiBs there vanish in the ball of fire (there had to be explosives in that vehicle).
<Brian> Walker nods to himself, and casually breaks his sword again, pocketing the hilt.  "He's around here?" Walker asks, turning to Jim.
C-Rat reveals himself and backs off from the blaze, his knife slipping from his grip and with a quite surprised look on his face.
<Brian> Jim turns to look at C-Rat.  "Somewhere around here, yes," he says raising an eyebrow.  
<Brian> "Everything okay?" Walker asks.
<C-Rat> "Er. No, not really," replies Carthrat, staring at the blaze, transfixed.
<C-Rat> "Will he be ok?" he asks, dumbly, gesturing at where the drivers seat was.
<Brian> You see Sterling drag himself -- on fire -- from the wreckage.
<Brian> "Oh, that's nothing," Jim says dismissively, as the mass of muscle, boiling flesh, and bone pulls itself upright, everything pulling itself back into a roughly human shape that looks a bit more like Sterling every minute.
<C-Rat> "Oh, right," replies Carthrat, glancing at the car. "Um, thanks. Any clue who those MiBs were?"
<Brian> "Bitches," Sterling rasps, once his vocal chords return.  "Jim, you're driving the getaway car."
<Brian> "Forge, I think," Jim says, nodding, and heading towards a parking lot.
<C-Rat> "Forge? The hell would forge come after me?" asks Carthrat, following after Jim.
<Brian> Sterling seems relatively unconcerned about the fact that he's still healing, or that he's missing clothes.  "Well, fuck me if I know.  I want to ask David.  But before that, I want to get really fucked up," he says.
<Brian> "But God has frowned upon you, for you can no longer get 'fucked up'," Walker retorts, leading the way to a mini-van, which Jim unlocks.
<C-Rat> "That wasn't fucked up? What, is this a normal day?" asks Carthrat.
<Brian> Sterling grunts, and grabs some clothes from the back seat.  He dresses himself, while Jim takes the wheel, and Walker says, "Shotgun."
C-Rat gets in the back.
<Brian> "Fucked up is drugs, my friend.  And when one day you become immune, you find a valued pastime has become suddenly ... quite pointless."  Sterling climbs in next to you, and Jim starts up the van, pulling out of the park, and driving away.  "Police scanners?" he adds.
<Brian> "Looking for a pair of blue DeSotas," Jim replies.
<Brian> Walker turns to look back at you.  "Do they have DeSotas in Australia?"
<C-Rat> "Never heard of them," replies Carthrat.
C-Rat around the car.
<Brian> "Well, this should be even more amusing then," Jim says with a shrug.  "Their electronics won't work, so their radios are useless.  Anyway.  We've got a safe-house set up in a warehouse about two hours north of here.  You want to be dropped off somewhere?"
<C-Rat> "Not really," replies Carthrat, looking around.
<Brian> "You can stay with us," Walker says, rolling his eyes at Jim.
<C-Rat> "That's a damned relief," replies Carthrat, slouching back in the chair.
<Brian> The front of the van has a couple of pictures tucked into the sun-visors.  Looks like some well-to-do family ... some guy, his wife ... a handful of kids.
<Brian> The floor has a cooler on it, which is currently closed.  A handful of discarded junk food wrappers lie on the floor.
<C-Rat> "So, like, what do you guys do, anyway?"
<C-Rat> "Go around saving morons like me, or what?"
<Brian> Behind you, in the back seat, are some random clothes -- like the ones Sterling just pulled on -- and behind that, a cardboard box full of pipes, old rusty swords, and other implements of clubbing.
<Brian> "Nah, I mean, I guess that seems like a nice thing to do, and would be, eh, 'good guys', but fuck, we're out for revenge," Sterling says, shaking his head.  "We got screwed over, pretty much lost the lives we had, and then had all these asshats chasing us down and trying to either kill, capture, or recruit us."
<Brian> "But even if we're vengeful gods of destruction given flesh, we gotta help out a brother in a pinch," Walker adds.
C-Rat nods, slowly. "Does Forge want to recruit you?"
<C-Rat> "Or just deal with you for good?"
<Brian> Walker pops open the cooler, which is full of pre-packaged snack-cakes.  "Probably they want us with them if they can get us, but their shoot-first-ask-questions-later policy leaves much to be desired," Sterling opines.  Grabbing a few of the snack-cakes, he looks at you and asks, "Twinkie?"
C-Rat takes the FOOD! "Right. Is it just you three? 'cos that seems awfully short to take on something like Forge.."
<Brian> "Nah, David, Carlos, and Ryan were in the UK last I checked," Walker says, while Sterling wolfs down twinkies, which serves to make him look (somewhat) less gaunt as you watch.
<Brian> "Texas," Jim corrects.  "But headed here."
<Brian> "And Sean and Nick didn't make it," Walker completes, scowling, but taking a pair of twinkies for himself.  "Mmm.  Sugar."
<C-Rat> "And just what *is* here?" replies Carthrat.
C-Rat is starting to feel a lot less shocked.
<Brian> "We wanted to see what the Forge was up to," Jim says, keeping his eyes on the road.  "The long and short of it is that we don't really know what they're up to.  My personal feelings -- and David agreed -- was that this was a trap, and they were using you, a random innocent, as the bait."
<Brian> "Emphasizing power over results, we elected to try and help you out anyway," Walker adds.  "Guess that didn't work too well.  Help yourself to a non-bloodstained shirt, if you want."
C-Rat grabs another shirt. "Right. Thanks," he replies.
<C-Rat> "And, er, does it matter how long I hang around you guys?" he continues, warily.
<Brian> "What, you mean, like joining us?" Sterling asks, between twinkies.  "Je-zus.  No one ever wants to help us.  They're all, 'Oh, crap, let me try and live a normal life anyway!' and then invariably get their sorry asses caught or killed."
<Brian> "No offense," he adds after a moment.  "It's just ... you know.  How things turn out."
<C-Rat> "I put down a fucking rent-a-cop and escaped arrest, and the cops know who I am," replies Carthrat, flatly. "If I go back home, I'll get, like, arrested, and like- shit, can they trace a mobile?"
C-Rat looks all worried again!
<Brian> "Not right now," Jim says, shaking his head.
<Brian> "I'll fix it for you, later, when I've got concentration to spare."
<C-Rat> "Oh. Cool."
<Brian> "So.  What do you do?" Sterling asks, his appetite whetted, and (apparently) most of his burnt-off body-mass replaced.
<C-Rat> "What? Oh, I'm a dealer at the casino," replies Carthrat, blinking. "Don't have any weird powers or anything."
<Brian> "Sure you do," Sterling says.  "You just don't know what they are yet.  Forge wouldn't be after you if you had nothing."
<C-Rat> "Maybe they're after me 'cos I fleeced one of them at blackjack!" replies Carthrat, rolling his eyes.
<C-Rat> "About the weirdest power I have is the ability to get lost in my own house."
<Brian> "Eh," Sterling says, shaking his head.  "I heal fast -- you saw that.  Walker fixes crap, which is good, because he's always been really good at breaking stuff."  Walker nods.  "Especially stuff that isn't his."  Walker kind of shrugs.
<Brian> "Jim is our metal-skinned machine-only mind-controlling master of world domination, and, as said before, the melencholy man-bot."  Jim grunts.  "Ryan steps through one shadow and comes out in another.  Carlos can control elecricity ... and David hides stuff.  But he's not sure where."
<C-Rat> "Well," replies Carthrat, shrugging. "I guess I'll need to wait and see, won't I? But if they were just coming after a 'random innocent', wouldn't it make more sense to just pick out some random guy?"
<C-Rat> "But.. how did you know about the bomb at my other job, anyway?"
<Brian> "Well, we might not care about a random guy.  But we'd probably pay attention to a potential ally," Sterling says, shrugging.  "Like I said.  We're not heroes."
<Brian> "Tracked Forge transmissions," Jim says, nodding.  "It's what lead us to you.  There were plenty of abandoned warehouses nearby -- you had just entered yours, and were planning on returning."
<Brian> "Course, they probably meant us to track that," Walker adds.
<C-Rat> "Huh," replies Carthrat, who remains silent for now.

C-Rat now moves to Extrication.