One way or another, whatever else you plan from this point, the first arc of your journey is complete. You've made it, all the way to San Francisco.
The city lies before you, a thriving economy of destruction fueling its last days before it vanishes quietly into the nature preserve of a forgotten era.
Dracos takes the moment to make the first, truly respectful, commentary upon this great city...
"God damn this place looks like shit."
Dracos drives into the city, having rendered the all important first impression.
Dracos
"You speak the truth, Drac. Now find us a city library, or something."
"City library. HERE WE COME!"
Dracos drives to the library with all the drama of NOT.
Dracos
Recalling that Shade mentioned that whatever was after him in Albany came from San Francisco, Ginrai has one hand on his lucky pipe in case he needs to suddenly use it.
"I take it we're going to the library so as to plan what to do next? Couldn't we have done that *before* arriving here seeing that there's a very good chance that we'll get attacked while there?
"Oh, and did you get any backup weapon for me, in case I somehow lose the pipe during a fight? Even if the chances of that are slim, I think it might be a good idea to have something else as soon as possible."
Rez bursts out laughing . . . but once he recovers, tosses Ginrai a tazer.
"Tazer. I hid swords in that bag, because generally you guys can't carry those around easily. That's as well as we can do, though. And I want to hit the library because I need some quiet time and a few hours to work. Ayame's vanished, but if you remember that CD, I need to dig through and find out -exactly- what it's meant to do . . . because if she can't help us, we need to do our own scutwork, and this might be useful. I don't know what you guys are going to do while I'm there, but recon wouldn't hurt. Besides, I'd be very damn surprised if they jump us in the library. They aren't omniscient."
Rez snickers again.
"And I reckon that as long as you don't throw the pipe through any more windows, you'll be fine."
Cruising about through the dessicated hulks of a one thriving city is actually kind of creepy. You can't get near most of the skyscrapers -- old temporary fences have been erected to keep people away. One of them was recently (you suspect) demolished, and is currently providing the rubble-couriers their supply. The only buildings still in operation are all smaller, none over four stories ... but you do eventually find a library, very run down, but still open.
The librarians seem shocked by the presence of non-librarian personell in the building, but after hushed conversations, come to the conclusion that, well, these interlopers are within their rights to use the facilities.
The selection of books is decent, updated regularly until around late 2005. The computers fare slightly worse, last updated in 2002, by appearances.
Dracos hunts around for a local phonebook, looking for lodgings and anything else that catches his eye while scanning through it.
Dracos
The phone books on the street booths are woefully out of date. The librarians (when questioned) admit that they know of a few places, and point some hotels and a few bed-and-breakfast type places out to you.
Dracos flips open his comp and notes them on the maps he saved earlier while researching SF at the safehouse. He looks for any in particular that are either quite far or quite close to biowire's corporate headquarters. He also tries to remember if he saw any general stores within walking distance of the library while driving there.
Dracos
Even though the buildings are pretty densely packed, they're really somewhat sparse when you consider just the ones that are in use. There's a hotel listed about two blocks from BioWire's offices, and a number further away. The city's pretty big, even when you break it down to just the the inhabited portions.
There's no general stores immediately next to the building, but there are a few within walking distance.
"Gin, keep an eye on Rez. I'll be back. Rez, don't let Gin break any windows."
Dracos heads out to the general store, heading in and looking for a good poloroid camera and some various good first aid kits.
Dracos
You find everything you're looking for with time to spare. Rez is probably still looking over the disc with Ginrai.
Dracos pays for it, heads out, and glances around for fast food places.
Dracos
Rez, alternately, has his laptop set up on the desk and is playing around trying to decompile the programs on the CD, trying to do a few things specifically:
(A) Get a damn good idea of -exactly- what this was intended to do
(B) Since it was apparently intended to talk to some external servers, find out what servers and
the login details (or how to derive them).
(C) And since it was meant to be something of a backdoor, figure out what it was going to install and run, and how (if) he can make use of that.
To see if Rez's computer blows up.
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for OkibiOhki ... : 3d6 --> {10}
The disc is pretty volitile in nature. Everything you try and run wants a heck of a lot more permissions than you're willing to give it, and, of course, everything is encrypted. The software is remarkably vicious with regards to trying to get into your system. As good as you are, Ayame is better. Her code does not come apart easily; this is going to take some time.
Dracos heads over to the McDonald'sl, gets a small bag of their burgers and fries, and heads back to the library to pick up the blokes that should be somewhat done by now.
Dracos
This is semi vexxing, because even when you navigate the gauntlet of librarians ("No food or beverages whatsoever beyond this point!"), and manage to get to Rez and Ginrai, they're analyzing the collected data with the delicacy of a bomb-squad. A glance at the screen suggests their care is probably well warranted.
By the time you get both data analysts bundled into the car, the food is cold, and neither was really in the mood for burgers.
"Bitches. I go through all that trouble. Anyhow, where now? Lodgings or lan cafe? Gin, How's your photography skills?"
Dracos
"Drac, you're a genius. Lan cafe, and RECON. Which is, I guess, what the camera is for."
"Decent. I take it you want me to check out the place?
"Oh, and the next time you get food for me, Drac, remember to *not* get anything with cow meat in it."
"Ginrai, it's MCDONALDS. No cow meat to be found. Trust me."
"Of course. I do sometimes do more than just off the cuff stuff. Yeah, yeah, Gin. That's exactly what I want you to do. We'll drop you off a few blocks away with the camera. Look around, be careful be cautious and we'll pick you up later at a nearby street."
Dracos
"So just act like a tourist taking some pictures? No problem... where will you guys be during this time since I might have to go there in case I get found out.
"You can, but you might want to be more stealthy. We will be killing people. Don't worry about it."
Dracos
"Wait... if you guys are going to go straight to the Workshop and start attacking, then why am I taking pictures?"
"Because I love good photos of a slaughter."
Pulls alongside the road about 5-6 blocks out from biowire and parks for a sec, "Now get."
DRacos
Ginrai picks up the digital camera, makes sure he has the tazer in one of his pockets and heads out, whapping Dracos on the head and getting out of range before he could retaliate.
"Still might be a good idea to tell me where you guys will be during this time."
"Take your mobile. Phone us if you need a pickup. We're heading to a LAN cafe."
"If I thought it was a good idea for you to know, I'd have already told you. Realize you are doing something dangerous. Thus, go, take the pics, we'll tell you more when we can get all the info together. Now head on out." Dracos shakes his head, winking and closing the door as he prepared to drive off.
Dracos
Dracos looks at rez and facepalms. "Baka. Don't you think ahead?"
Dracos
"Er. You raise a valid point. Sorry."
Rez looks contrite.
Ginrai makes sure he has his cell phone before waving to Rez and Dracos and heading off towards Biowire.
"G'luck," Dracos calls out before driving off to whatever nearby lan cafe he can find.
"It's alright Rez, just think though before shooting off your mouth. Just because I apparently am shooting off mind, doesn't mean I actually am." Dracos smirks, turning on the radio.
Dracos
"My Intrigue-fu is weak, I guess."
"Of course it is. You are sane. Sanity is a natural -10 to intrigue rolls."
Dracos
"Whereas you, being a complete fucking loony, have no penalty to intrigue, but suffer the risk of being thrown into a padded cell if you push your luck too far."
"Indeed, but I'm good to have on your side, no?"
Dracos
"Sure, sure. And I've got Ginrai around to throw you at if you start foaming at the mouth all of a sudden, so who cares?"
"Not that kind of crazy unless I'm pretending to be."
Dracos
Rez eyes Dracos suspiciously.
<Brian> Rez! Dracos!
<Brian> Both of you are here, and Ginrai is not.
<Brian> Conveniently, this matches the in-game situation.
<Rez> Convenience!
<Rez> . . . how long does it take to make ramen? >_>
<Dracos> Rawr
<Brian> Less time than it takes to read through Combat and You.
Dracos dances!
Dracos drives hunting lan cafes.
<Brian> After about ten minutes, you find one. Family Computer Cafe, a few blocks away from where you dropped Ginrai off.
<Dracos> "This work, biatch?"
<Brian> About the same distance away from BioWire as the drop-off point, too.
<Rez> "Should do, yep."
<Rez> Rez gets out of the car and heads inside.
<Dracos> Dracos parks the car and checks out the area before heading in.
<Brian> Looks a little run down, but clean and functional.
<Dracos> Dracos nods and heads in to help out with his mad spot the problem skillz.
<Brian> Okay.
<Brian> How long are you spending on this?
<Rez> What's the time?
<Brian> Just about 1:00 PM.
<Rez> Hm. Four hours or so. Until it's done or until we're kicked out. >_>
Dracos nods.
<Brian> Okay. Barring, of course, a call from Ginrai.
<Brian> THEREFORE.
Rez is going to see if I can hook my laptop up
Rez nods sagely.
<Brian> We cut over to Ginrai.
<Brian> Ginrai, you're about three city blocks away from BioWire, and carrying a Polaroid camera.
<Brian> It's cold, but Dracos and Rez gave you an extra jacket picked up in hicksville, Virginia, and you can use a walk after the cramped journey all the way across the U.S.
Ginrai looks around, taking a snapshot here and there.
<Brian> Most of the buildings look pretty messed up from the earthquake....
<Brian> But the BioWire building is mostly okay, once you get to it. It's two stories, and pretty much looks like a large, gray, brick.
Ginrai takes a snapshot of the outside
<Brian> There's a HUUUUUGE parking lot for such a small building, though.
<Brian> It takes up over half the block.
Ginrai checks to see how many other people are around
<Ginrai> Hmm... underground lab, most likely
<Brian> There's a few cars in the lot, including a black sedan that just pulled in. A semi chubby redheaded woman and a dark-haired man in business casual are emerging, talking to one another.
<Brian> Ginrai, please roll 3d6
<Ginrai> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Ginrai ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=11 ]{11}
<Brian> You can't make out their conversation, but you notice a discoloration in the middle of the parking lot.
<Ginrai> Just as I thought....
<Brian> The couple walks towards the building, and vanish inside.
<Brian> The windows are all tinted, mirror-reflective from the outside.
Ginrai takes a snapshot of the discolored area in the parking lot
<Brian> From closer, it looks like a patch -- perhaps old earthquake damage. The spot is irregular, but roughly round. Outside the perimeter of the patch, the asphalt is both darker, and spider-webbed with cracks. At the very edge, it's nearly gravel.
Ginrai approaches the area cautiously... anyone else around me?
<Brian> This area is completely deserted, except for you, and the sound of the black sedan's ticking engine.
<Brian> From this side of the building, you can see the heating and cooling system -- or a part of it. Your initial speculation is very possibly correct, as there are six vent-cases two meters square emerging from the ground, and running with a subdued roar of rushing air.
<Ginrai> Am I able to see if anyone's inside the sedan from where I am?
<Brian> You can tell it's empty, both of the passengers got out.
Ginrai heads to the side of the building and takes some snapshots of it
Ginrai now slowly approaches the back... are there any other buildings around it?
<Brian> The far side actually has a pair of semi-trailer sized generators sitting out, hooked up to the building but currently inactive. Temporary cyclone fences close them off from where you stand, and you can see a security camera is mounted on the wall.
Ginrai takes a snapshot of it
<Ginrai> Where's the security camera pointed?
<Ginrai> And would I be able to evade it while heading to the backside?
<Brian> It's looking down at the pair of generators.
Ginrai goes around it and heads to the back
<Brian> The back of the building has a massive steel rolling garage or ware-house styled door. A security console sits to one side, and another camera looks down at it.
<Ginrai> Is there anyone around?
<Brian> Again, it seems deserted.
Ginrai takes a few snapshots of it
<Brian> The security camera's LED blinks brightly.
<Ginrai> SHIT
Ginrai backs away fast
<Brian> You think you're already out of its range from your distance.
Ginrai grabs cell and speed dials Drac.
<Brian> Ginrai: Your phone beeps.
<Brian> You can't see why, because the screen is saying, "Dialing Dracos...."
Dracos answers his phone.
<Ginrai> "Drac, I think I might've been found out... bring car as fast as possible to a nearby area."
Ginrai keeps turns and starts to speedwalk away from the area
<Brian> Okay. You start to walk away from the area.
<Brian> Dracos: No. You only got Ginrai's message.
Ginrai stops and turns back to see if there's anyone coming out from the building
<Brian> You see no one emerge from the building behind you.
<Brian> Your phone continues to beep.
Ginrai checks his cell
<Brian> "Triangulation Warning"
<Ginrai> ... thought Ayame was gone
Ginrai shuts it off
Ginrai now runs from area
<Brian> Ginrai flees the scene....
<Brian> Zip-pan to: Internet cafe.
<Brian> It's been about 20 minutes, so....
Dracos hangs up and turns off his phone.
<Brian> Dracos, Rez: First. The results from your experiment.
<Brian> Dracos, please roll 3d6 for computer programming
<Dracos> Roll 3d6 for luck, programming, and DSA training
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Dracos ... : 3d6 for luck, programming, and DSA training --> [ 3d6=14 ]{14}
<Dracos> ...
<Dracos> dammit.
<Brian> You have succeeded in completely destroying a 'guest' computer, and are contemplating likely excuses to the proprietor, when Dracos's cell begins to ring.
Dracos answers the phone.
<Brian> Ginrai says, "Drac, I think I might've been found out... bring car as fast as possible to a nearby area," and hangs up.
<Rez> "Ginrai? Already?"
<Dracos> "You know, I think it be a bad day."
<Dracos> Dracos snaps his fingers, "Anyhow, let's do a pickup plan. I want to drop you off nearby, you take him a mile off, and I'll pick you both up there. That work?"
<Rez> "What happened?"
<Brian> The owner of the internet cafe looks up at you from his own PC. "Something wrong?" he calls out.
<Dracos> "I have no clue. He hung up after demanding we show up right away. Which means we don't."
<Rez> "Ah, just a friend. He's lost."
<Rez> "Idiot."
Rez smacks Drac. Quiet.
Dracos shrugs.
<Rez> "Go find him. If it's alright, I'll stay here."
<Brian> The guy grunts, looks somewhat leery, and turns back to his own PC anyway.
<Rez> "Actually . . . "
<Dracos> "eeh...I don't loike that."
<Rez> "Nah, I'll come with you. Goddammit."
<Dracos> "Good idea. Come on."
<Rez> "I am -so- going to hurt him."
Dracos leads the way out of the cafe.
<Brian> "Done already?"
<Dracos> "Yar,"
Dracos pays the man.
<Rez> "Yeah. We'd better go get him. Have a good one."
<Brian> He nods at the payment, and hands you a receipt.
<Brian> "Come again," he says without any real enthusiasm.
Dracos leads the way outside and gets into the car, heating up the engine while Rez gets in.
Rez gets in ze car.
<Brian> That guy's going to be peeved when he finds out you hosed one of his systems....
<Rez> "Drac, drop me at another net cafe, would you?"
Rez doesn't care. It happens all the time and is a five minute fix for any competent cafe operator.
<Dracos> "Sure, Sure..."
<Brian> Your phones begin to beep.
Dracos drives around looking for another net cafe first.
Dracos checks his phone, if triangulation, then shuts off.
Rez looks at his phone, swears, and turns it off.
<Brian> You just left the cafe closest to BioWire, and Ginrai. Finding another could take some time, especially without phones.
Rez hmms.
<Rez> "OK. Without the phones, we aren't going to find Ginrai, and if he's -really- in trouble, we're only going to make it worse by driving aimlessly."
<Dracos> "naw, we know the range he's in. And if he's in real trouble, we'll have notice from the amount of ruckus it'll make."
<Dracos> "Trust to luck. And good eyesight."
<Dracos> "But I'll drop you off first."
<Rez> "Drop me off. I'll call you in an hour or so."
<Rez> "Make sure your phone's on."
<Dracos> "Um, as soon as we find a net cafe, mkay. Or you want to go somewhere else?"
<Rez> "No, just drop me off here. I'll go for a walk, and see if I can find him. Discreetly."
<Dracos> "Hum...Okay, I'll get lodgings and meet you back here in 35 minutes."
Dracos pulls over.
<Rez> "Right." Rez checks his watch. "Either I'll meet you here or I'll call you."
<Brian> You find a spot, and unload Rez.
<Brian> The streets are pretty much empty, but you've come to expect that of this place.
Dracos nods and drives off, looking for one of the farther away hotels.
<Brian> Dracos passes out of sight quickly ... shortly afterwards, you see a helicopter zoom overhead, in the same direction Dracos vanished.
<Brian> And so, we turn our attention to Dracos.
<Dracos> Well Shit.
<Brian> You're about three blocks away from Rez, heading towards where you remember a hotel being on your map, when you hear a helicopter overhead.
<Brian> There's a chopper overhead. What do you do?
<Dracos> I hear the copter and raise it continuing calmly driving on the roads, heading patiently around the urban sector, keeping an eye open for interesting underground tunnels.
<Brian> San Francisco has an interesting lack of tunnels. Parking garages are out, after the quakes, and ... well, it doesn't matter because the chopper vanishes quickly once you deviate from your course.
<Dracos> Cool, after a brief time exploring the urban area, I go and find that hotel middling away that I was looking for.
<Brian> You quickly get back to the hotel you were thinking of.
<Brian> The lobby is nearly deserted when you enter, except for the somewhat chubby red-headed woman behind the counter, and the taller, dark-haired bellboy.
Dracos smiles and walks up to them.
<Dracos> "Greetings, what are the rates for a room?"
<Brian> "36.00$ for a single, 40.00 for a twin," the woman answers. "More can be arranged, Mr. Bloom."
<Dracos> "I see."
<Dracos> "I think I'll look around."
Dracos heads back out to his car.
<Brian> You try to, anyway. The bellboy seems inclined to get in your way.
<Dracos> "Nice to know you."
<Brian> He's a pretty tall looking guy, and he's between you and the majority of your weapons.
Dracos uses his slip past people talents to try and slip past the fucker
<Brian> "I think you should listen to what the lady has to say," he says, hands at his sides.
<Brian> Are you actually going to try and run past him?
<Dracos> "Oh? I thought this was a hotel, but I'm listening. Speak."
<Brian> The man nods, and takes a step backwards -- incidentally blocking the door.
<Brian> "Thank you," the woman says, stepping around the counter, and clasping her hands together. "We've been watching you for a while, Mr. Bloom."
<Brian> As she speaks your eyes wander around the room. There's a nearby lobby table, solid plastic by the look of it. Similar tables sit in the corners, with large fake looking potted plants in porcelain vases sitting atop those. The couches look pretty solid. Neither the man nor the woman are visibly armed.
<Brian> "You and your friends," she corrects herself.
<Dracos> "I know. You were...less than subtle about it." Dracos steps back, getting both of them in his view. "Though, I'm unsure of thy name?"
<Dracos> "So you'd appear to have me at the disadvantage."
<Brian> "We would, and that's generally speaking ... how we prefer to operate." The woman looks thoughtful. "Caber, how close are the Workshop operatives?"
<Dracos> "Hmmm, that be understandable." Dracos raises an eyebrow. "Scanning equipment?"
<Brian> The man cocks his head to one side, as though listening to something just out of hearing range. After a moment, he replies, "They're poking around the building. Someone scared 'em." Turning to you, he adds, "Yeah. Good stuff."
<Dracos> "Interesting. Now, I sense a need for haste, so perhaps you may cut to the chase?"
<Brian> The woman nods. "We want to infiltrate the Workshop, and disrupt its operations as completely as possible. We suspect you aim to do the same."
<Dracos> "Well, yes. I do have a rather vengeful streak to those who blow up my property and kidnap friends. Are you suggesting an alliance of convenience?"
<Brian> "For the moment," the redhead agrees. "Caber, where are the doubles right now?"
<Brian> He shakes his head. "Debriefing. Dress-down for failure to acquire Ezmereth."
Dracos smiles curiously.
<Brian> She nods, and rubs at her temples. "Very well, Mr. Bloom. Our time is somewhat limited. Caber, send focus, and do what you can to keep Taylor busy." The man nods, and sits down cross-legged, his eyes going blank.
Dracos raises an eyebrow.
<Brian> Turning her attention to you, she says, "My name is Patrica McGovern. Pleased to meet you.'
<Dracos> "I appear to be seeing stuff that should not be. I am Philip Bloom. The pleasure is mutual." Dracos turns to face her, listening for footsteps behind him if the bellboy tries to rush him but expecting him not to at the moment.
<Brian> He merely stares blankly. "Understand, while we will be allied for convenience, the alliance is not likely to last longer."
<Dracos> "Oh, I understand how these things work. Likely you'd be willing to slit my throat for knowing your name save for the fact that I currently represent a potential pawn."
<Brian> "We don't plan on turning on you, merely ... going our separate ways," she disagrees. "We understand that you've found some use for Cassandra?"
<Dracos> "Cassandra, the oracle of Delphi? Interesting spirit you sent us, yes. Quite interesting."
<Brian> "She's become useless to us, with the default safeguards removed." Patricia broods for a moment. "She is in danger -- Manos will destroy her if you do not act quickly, and we will not engage Ceran for her defense. Time is short. We have information on infiltration, but I doubt you will like the plan I offer."
<Dracos> "It appears I likely have little choice. I would like more information and promptly." Dracos smiles.
<Brian> "I find honesty is the best policy," she says, shrugging. "Very well. Currently, Caber and I are acting as agents in the Workshop. We have lacked the required impetus to throw the scale of balance for some time, but...." She trails off.
<Dracos> "You've recently found the balance potentially capable of shifting due to...new employees? Or new prisoners perhaps?"
<Brian> She nods. "Prisoners."
<Brian> "Our plan is thus: We would bring you in and act as though you were captured. You would, of course, be armed. This will get you inside, where you can assemble a resistance among the prisoners."
<Dracos> "Hmm... A risky gambit. I like it little, but currently do not have any ideas otherwise. You would allow me to acquire my comrades first? And, as a curiosity, why were you trying to contact me earlier?"
<Brian> "Your friends, both of them, would then break into the back ways of the facility and distribute more weaponry to the resistance you assemble. At the time of the signal, you would then lead the prisoners on an assault against the authorities, and Caber and I would destroy the automatic defense system that would hinder your escape ... our you may attempt escape back up the ventilation shafts."
<Brian> Caber mumbles, "Taylor's ranting again."
<Brian> Patricia smiles at that, then returns her attention to you. "I won't lie. There is a potential within you which can only be uncovered in the Workshop. We may wish to recruit you, should you perform well. If not, provided we can each go our separate ways, then we will simply part, and let that be the end of it."
<Dracos> "Hmmm... fair enough. but I do wish to know how you decided to contact me and drop off Cassandra on my site. More specifically...what is the real name of Ceran?"
<Brian> She hesitates. "Not even he is allowed to know, as Cassandra does not." She looks at Caber, who seems to wake up slightly. He nods at her. "Very well." Turning back to you again, she says, "Nebuchadnezer."
<Dracos> "Old matrix quotes? Or is that a bible quote, I forget. My memory is not always so sharp. Who is Manos? It brings a recollection of an old and wretched movie, but not of a name I recall from mythology."
<Brian> "Merely another old soul," she replies. "Manos would be Rasputin."
<Brian> "Ceran decided that you should be entrusted with the power to unbalance our current deadlock. This is because of your ... affiliation. More information on that is secured at this point. I will, perhaps, see what I can divulge after this operation is completed."
<Brian> "And if we didn't do anything, they would have anyway," Caber adds, climbing to his feet. "Taylor's laying into the new P-9. I don't know if this is going to be hidden from her, so we need to act fast."
<Dracos> "The old Russian wizard is still alive? Much amazes me that does. I understand. Hmmm... Alright, time that we have left before such operation? I think I will go with it. But know this, if you betray me beforehand, I will find a way to get my vengeance upon you. I can be quite vicious that way."
<Brian> Patricia nods. "I find your terms acceptable. Caber, can you get a lock on his friends?" The man nods, and rises. Patricia reaches a hand each for you, and Ceran. He takes the hand without hesitation.
Dracos takes the hand, eyes bright with curiosity.
<Brian> Okay, you feel kind of silly, now, holding hands in an abandoned hotel lobby. "Lock," Caber, says, just before God reaches out and pulls reality from beneath you.
<Brian> Rez: You're hunting for Ginrai.
Rez is hunting for Ginrai.
<Rez> And any interesting stores.
<Rez> >_>
<Rez> <_<
<Brian> You've not gotten far, when there's a loud cracking noise, and a high wind from an alley you're passing.
Rez puts his hand in the pocket with the tazer . . . and walks to the mouth of the alley to have a look. Goddamn curiosity.
<Brian> You see: A somewhat plump redheaded woman, a man with black hair, and a very dizzy Dracos, all holding hands.
Dracos shakes his head dizzily.
<Dracos> "Well...that was little fun." Dracos frowns, glancing about.
<Brian> Patricia releases yours and Caber's hands.
Rez boggles for a second, then ducks out of view of those in the alley.
<Brian> "Where is he?" Patricia asks, frowning.
<Dracos> "So... Teleportation is it? Intriguing." Dracos adjusts his glasses. "Likely doing just what I would be doing. Watching cleverly."
<Rez> Rez leans against the wall, listening.
<Brian> Patricia nods. "It's quite useful, if a bit draining. We don't have much time, though.
<Brian> "
<Dracos> "Hmm, fair enough. You say he should be here? Then he is. Rez, It's Drac, we got trouble, questions, and some fucked up plans. Now get the shit over here."
Rez sighs and steps around the corner. I'm sure there's quite a story behind this, so spill.
<Rez> "I'm sure there's quite a story behind this, so spill."
<Dracos> "Right, short of it. Meet Pax, They are as subtle as I'd guessed. They also want a temp alliance for destroying or disrupting the workshop but one that puts us all at risk and my neck directly on the blade."
<Rez> "Oooh, fun fun fun. Explain."
<Brian> "To make this faster, we should find your other friend first," Patricia interrupts.
<Rez> "I'm sure he's around somewhere."
<Dracos> "Right, right. Rez, they do teleport. No worries, ne?" Dracos smirks, glancing swiftly at Rez' hand and back to them. "You seemed to have sensing abilities, can you sense where the baka is?
<Brian> "I've got him -- he's about a block north of here," Caber announces.
<Brian> "Then, let's walk," Patricia decides. Caber leads the way, marching swiftly down the street.
Dracos follows with his own swift gait.
<Rez> Rez looks faintly peeved.
<Rez> "I just went through there!"
Dracos pats Rez on the shoulders.
<Rez> "And that's where he is?"
<Brian> Ginrai, as you hoof it down the block, you see headed towards you: The redhead and the guy with her, and Rez and Dracos, as well.
<Dracos> "You can punch him when we find the baka."
Ginrai starts to back away...
<Dracos> "Gin, you run, and I'll run after you. trust me, you don't win that. Now get your arse over here."
Rez eyes Ginrai.
<Ginrai> "I saw those guys heading to the Biowire building before."
<Dracos> "Yes, I know. Now get over here and let's get somewhere we can talk more...at ease?"
<Dracos> "if there is such a place?" Dracos glances at the two.
<Rez> "Ginrai . . . where's this 'trouble' you're in?"
<Brian> "Not easily," Patricia says, frowning. Caber stiffens. "Trouble?" she asks.
<Ginrai> "Security camera started to beep while I was checking out the place."
<Rez> ". . ."
Rez facepalms.
<Dracos> "Gin, you are an idiot. Remind me to never send you on recon again."
<Rez> "And you promptly panicked?"
<Brian> "Taylor's P-9 just tried to attack Peterson," Caber replies quietly. "The guards tranqued him, but he's out -- this buys us a very small measure of time."
<Ginrai> "Well, it started to do so the moment I began to take pictures of the back."
<Rez> "What?"
<Dracos> "Anyhow, guys, plan of action. They sneak me in with a weapon. I form a revolt and break out with the goon squad. You guys break in with..." Dracos turns to the others, "You do have backup for my blokes, right?"
<Rez> "What?"
<Ginrai> "What weapon are you going to take?"
<Brian> Caber nods. "You will have all of my assistance," he replies.
<Rez> "And you're -agreeing- to this plan?"
<Dracos> "Do you see a better one?"
<Ginrai> "Sounds like we don't have much of a choice here... have any other plan, Rez?"
<Dracos> "I might be an insightful chap, but three on a fortress does not sound sound."
<Brian> Caber raises an eyebrow. "I am legion," he replies, with the closest thing you've seen to a smile on his face yet.
<Rez> "Artillery bombardment?"
Rez looks at Caber.
Rez sighs and deflates.
<Brian> "Lacking in subtlety," Patricia counters. "And your friends need to escape alive."
<Rez> "Alright, I'll go with it."
<Rez> "That was sarcasm."
<Brian> Caber nods. "You shall take the majority of me with you, then."
<Dracos> "Mmm...right. Anyhow... Rez, if this is a trap, you should know what to do already. Anyhow, I'll take my claymore."
<Rez> "The what?"
Rez raises an eyebrow at Dracos.
<Dracos> "Hmmm... Just a bet, Clones Or some shadow magic?"
<Rez> "You left it in the car, didn't you?"
<Brian> "Close enough."
<Rez> "So when's this happening?"
<Dracos> "Yeah, I did."
<Ginrai> "My pipe's there as well, isn't it?"
<Brian> "We must see you armed," Patricia decides. "Come with me, then." She offers you her hand again.
Rez hmms.
Dracos takes the hand.
<Brian> This time, it feels merely like you've been kicked in the head with a Buick.
<Brian> But, you're at your car.
Rez taps his foot.
<Dracos> "Wow...that was funnnn..... " Dracos shakes his head and gets his claymore, including related claymore holding equipment. "I take it my car will be somewhat safe." Dracos gets the damn pipe too.
<Brian> "It should be," Patricia says, nodding. "Are you ready again?"
<Dracos> Dracos locks the doors and takes her hand, "Ready as ever babe."
<Brian> She blinks at the comment, but you find yourself standing between Rez and Ginrai again.
<Brian> "That weapon will be difficult to conceal," Caber says doubtfully.
Dracos shakes his head.
Rez snickers.
<Dracos> "God damn fucking hell." Dracos gives Gin the damn pipe. "That's a trip. Yeah, well, I'd prefer not to be stuck in there with a bloody short sword thank you."
<Rez> "Subtlety was never your best point."
<Rez> "Tact and subtlety TO THE FACE."
<Brian> Caber nods doubtfully. "I can conceal it for you for the moment."
<Dracos> "Hell no. DAT RIGHT"
Rez sighs.
<Dracos> "Cool, cool. Keep it safe. It's an oldie."
Dracos hands Caber the blade and holding sheath/backholder.
Rez looks at Caber mournfully. You see what I have to deal with?
<Rez> "You see what I have to deal with?"
<Dracos> "Rez, you get no sympathy, bitch. Now stop whining."
<Brian> Caber takes the sword in one hand, and the baldrick in the other. He frowns for a moment, but nods decisively, and the weapon vanishes. "Very well. Lady?" he turns to Patricia.
<Rez> "I'd like an explanation, before we entirely start."
<Brian> Patricia nods, and rubs at her temples again. "What do you need to know?"
<Rez> "You're Pax Arcana?"
<Brian> "Yes."
<Rez> "Why did I get sent the Oracle?"
<Brian> "So that you would be more effective when you resisted the Seventh Cabal," Patricia replies bluntly.
<Rez> "Fine. She thinks she's in danger. Why and how?'
<Brian> "Another like her is trying to destroy her," she replies. "He is in this installation."
<Rez> "Convenient. Why's he trying now?"
<Brian> Patricia and Caber share a worried glance. Patricia admits, "One of your friends is a P-9 -- a precognitive. The information was taken from his mind."
<Rez> "One of? There's more than one in there?"
<Dracos> "Hum... precog...I don't know any precogs... Can't be the one we know is there, he wouldn't know. So... hmm, Rez, you know, there's only four people we know who know of her."
<Brian> Patricia looks surprised. "Your friends, Mr. Christianson, and Mr. Fujinaka. I believe his alias is 'Shade'?"
Rez says a bad, bad word.
<Ginrai> "When did he get caught?"
<Dracos> "You know, next time I tell him to go to Poland, he is going to Poland or being stabbed in the eye."
<Brian> "Yesterday," she replies.
<Ginrai> "How?"
<Rez> "How the hell did that happen? He was in Japan two days ago, healing up, or something."
<Dracos> "You question with teleporters around?"
<Rez> ". . . alright, stupid question."
<Ginrai> "Still, how did a guy that paranoid end up getting caught?"
<Rez> "Bloody hell."
<Brian> "That exceeds my range," she says doubtfully. "He was brought here by Ezmereth."
Rez raises an eyebrow at Ginrai.
<Dracos> "Ginrai, paranoia does not equal fucking being smart."
<Rez> "Alright. Who's trying to kill the Oracle?"
<Dracos> "And more importantly, what are his weaknesses and name in the company."
<Ginrai> "I realize... still, wanted to know if it was due to bad luck or an act of utter stupidity."
<Brian> "Manos, once Rasputin. He's currently under the direction of the leader of the DataPod group."
<Rez> "God knows. Probably bad luck. We'll ask him when we find him."
<Brian> "He cannot abide the spoken word," she says, shrugging. "I suspect mental instability, but he allows none of his underlings to communicate vocally."
<Dracos> "Interesting. He'd hate me then. Anyhow... any other ideas blokes?"
Rez hmms.
<Rez> "You can give us floorplans and the like, right?"
<Brian> "I can," Caber says, nodding. "I know the ventilation systems, which is how we will enter."
<Dracos> "How many guards, and what do they tend to use there?"
<Rez> "Alright. Then I've just got one more question before I start pumping you for details . . . why the hell have you people been doing what you have with people like the Oracle and 'Rasputin'?"
<Brian> Caber raises an eyebrow.
<Brian> Patricia replies, "Information is power. There are those that would turn people into tools to get more of that same."
<Brian> "For the armaments," Caber says, "Mostly non-lethal weaponry. Tranquilizers. There are forty guards, scattered about the installation. The primary concern will be the enemy specials. Those with powers that are considered paranormal."
<Rez> "Is this a bad time to mention that I can't hit the backside of a barn with a gun, tranquilizer or otherwise?"
<Dracos> "Trank darts? Shit. Not guns at least but still."
<Brian> "Do you have another weapon?" Caber asks, frowning.
<Rez> "I have a mean throwing arm."
<Brian> He looks doubtful at this.
<Ginrai> "Bring your bow, Rez."
<Brian> Caber nods. "That would be an acceptable weapon."
Rez nods.
<Brian> "Let's get this done," Caber decides. "Lady, can you deliver us to a lower ventilation shaft?"
<Rez> "Of course, a bow is lethal," Rez flashes a look at Ginrai for a second, "but I guess. Got any flashbangs or the like?"
<Rez> "We're going now?"
<Brian> "Not on me," Caber replies. "Yes."
<Dracos> "Swear later."
Dracos nods.
<Dracos> "Okay...let's get this party started.'
<Brian> Patricia offers her hands to Ginrai and Rez, and Caber stands behind her, one arm on her shoulder.
<Rez> "Guys, I don't have my damn bow."
<Ginrai> "It's back in the car?"
<Brian> "We'll go there first, then," Patricia decides. "Ready?"
Rez takes Patricia's hand.
<Brian> Patricia looks at Ginrai expectantly.
Ginrai takes her hand as well
<Brian> The world falls out from underneath you ... and you are now standing near a hotel, and more importantly, your car. "If you have flashlights, you should bring those," Caber suddenly says aloud.
<Rez> "I don't think we have any. But can I have a minute alone to talk to Ginrai? This won't take a second."
<Brian> They nod, and step away. "We need to move something," Patricia says, before they vanish.
Ginrai turns to Rez. "Something up?"
<Rez> Rez pops open the trunk and drops the bag out of stuff-space or whatnot.
<Rez> "No, I just wanted them not here when I did this."
<Ginrai> "Ah."
Rez pulls out the bow, arrows, and a couple of stunguns.
<Rez> "Anything else you want?"
<Ginrai> "Can I have one?"
Rez gives Ginrai one of the two stunguns.
<Ginrai> "Stungun, that is."
<Ginrai> "And got any knives?"
Rez also tosses Drac's shortsword in the bag, zips it up, and re-off-hands it.
<Rez> "No. Make do with the pipe and tazer."
Rez puts the bag back in his other-other hand and shuts the trunk.
<Ginrai> "True, should be more than enough."
<Rez> "Much more than enough. You don't usually need two spare weapons."
Rez grins.
<Rez> "But hey."
<Ginrai> "You never know..."
<Rez> "You've only got so many pockets. Deal."
Rez hums, and starts putting a bunch of arrows into a quiver.
<Brian> Patricia and Caber reappear, Caber no longer carrying Dracos's sword.
<Brian> "Are you ready?" Patricia asks.
Rez checks his bow, then nods.
<Brian> Patricia offers her hands again.
Ginrai takes her hand
Rez shoulders the bow, buckles on the quiver and takes her hand.
<Brian> Again, that horrid sensation, and this time, you've gone someplace cold, stuffy, and completely pitch black.
<Brian> "Okay, be careful," Patricia says, as Caber turns on a flashlight.
<Brian> You're currently standing on a hub, in some massive maintenance shaft. Directly above you is a six meter wide bore straight upwards, with a ladder on each side of the wall. Four apertures loom in the darkness, each about two meters square, and numbered sequentially: 01, 02, 03, 04.
<Rez> "Useful trick, that. Where are we, and what're the numbers mean?" Rez says quietly.
<Brian> Patricia is nowhere in sight. "To section four," Caber announces, pulling a spare light from one pocket, and handing it to Ginrai. "Let's go."
<Rez> "Question. If we get separated, which way is out?"
<Brian> Caber touches a section of the wall, and brushes a thick layer of dust off. A line of tape beneath the dust has green arrows pointing to the shaft.
<Brian> "This tape is along every section of the shafts," he says. "These bores are through raw cement. Let's get into position."
<Brian> Without waiting for a reply, he begins marching down corridor 04.
<Rez> "And if we need to walk out?"
<Brian> "The elevators. Can't miss 'em."
Rez sighs, unshoulders his bow, and walks after Caber.
Ginrai does the same
<Brian> The corridor branches -- a lot. But there's one 'main' shaft, and an array of much smaller 'side' shafts, some far too small for a person to enter. Eventually, you reach an area where you can see dim light. Caber checks his watch, and nods, then motions you to silence, and shuts off his flashlight.
Rez leans against the wall . . . and waits.
<Brian> He creeps up to the light slowly, and you can see that it's a grill, looking into a huge room, with skies and fanciful animals and cartoon drawings on the wall. "We wait here for the signal," Caber mouths, edging back away from the light, and pulling a gun from one pocket.
<Brian> Now. We cut to Dracos.
<Brian> Patricia and Caber are gone for only a heartbeat before they reappear. "Are you ready?" Patricia asks, looking winded.
<Dracos> Dracos brushes his hair back, "As ready as ever, Patricia. Let's get this crazy suicide trip going."
<Brian> She nods, and offers her hand to you again.
Dracos takes it.
<Brian> Again the disorientation ... though far less.
Dracos blinks his eyes, shaking his head to throw off the disorientation and looking around.
<Brian> You find yourself in a smallish room, two guards in standard security gear (bulletproof vests, batons, tazers) jump to their feet, looking alarmed. "Miss McGovern?" one of the guards asks.
<Brian> Caber quickly moves to hold your arms behind your back. "We've got one -- the other two are somewhere near the Bay Bridge," he says.
<Brian> "It's taking a lot out of me. I'm going to move that Peterson send Taylor out to retrieve them," Patricia says.
Dracos struggles slightly against Caber gauging his strength but then relaxes, looking at them with narrowed eyes.
<Brian> "Where does he go?" the leftmost guard asks, eyeing you with suspicion.
<Brian> "Section four," Caber replies.
<Brian> "I'll be the judge of that," a new voice announces, someone stepping into the room. It's a thin man in a lab-coat with dark, unkempt hair, and wire-frame glasses. He's sporting an obvious bruise on his chin. "What are his abilities?"
Dracos blinks, turning to the new voice and examining him carefully, a feral smirk leaping to his face.
<Brian> "He's ... unknown at this point, Garret," Patricia says, frowning. "But, according to Taylor's report, he's--"
<Brian> "I do believe I make the judgement calls," Peterson growls. "Take him to section one, with Witherspoon."
<Brian> "But--"
<Brian> "I will take your consideration of Taylor's reassignment into account," the doctor replies. "Section one."
<Dracos> "Why not just let me go? This is obviously...a misunderstanding. You probably got the wrong guy." Dracos frowns.
<Brian> "I suspect otherwise," Peterson says dryly.
<Brian> Caber and Patricia seem unhappy about this, but nod, and begin to lead you away, both of the guards following, tranq-guns at the ready.
Dracos follows, tranquilly, slowly returning to his natural smirk.
<Brian> "I've just read the most fascinating report, Mr. Bloom," the doctor says to you, walking ahead of you into a large elevator.
<Dracos> "Oh? What might it be? Though I think you have me at quite a disadvantage, Doctor."
<Brian> "Yes, yes I do." He presses a button, and the doors close before the elevator whirrs to life. "Normally, we're not able to access any of Cassandra's predictions. And normally, we wouldn't be interested in furthering them. But your arrival is most fortuitous."
<Dracos> "I would guess that by the smile on your face. Though I have no doubt you'll tell me more."
<Brian> "Perhaps you're already a pre-cog, this will be MOST interesting," he says, nodding. "I've found that whatever you are now, the Oracle of Delphi knew a secret to unlock your potential. But she chose not to share it with you. Your friend found out anyway."
<Dracos> "That'd be unlikely. More likely is that I'm just a snarky bastard. You though should already be noticing that. That's quite interesting. Deduction tells me... Insane-chan?"
<Brian> "That's what you called him, yes," he agrees. "Now, Mr. Bloom, we're going to perform a slight alteration to you." The doors open into a huge operating room. From where you are, you can see two S.W.A.T. armored guards, a woman with shoulder-length brown hair strapped to a table, and a somewhat stocky asian man being held back by two more lightly armored guards, as well as a small number of assistants.
<Brian> "This may sting a bit."
<Brian> Patricia looks visibly disturbed.
<Dracos> "Fun, Fun, I'm used to that. Mind being...so magnanimous as to inform me before what you are going to do?"
<Brian> "I'm going to open up whole new worlds of vision to you, Mr. Bloom," he says, marching to a currently empty operating table, and retrieving a hypodermic. "It's nothing personal, you realize."
<Brian> -...I know you...- you hear in your mind.
<Dracos> "Don't worry, if I go nuts later and blow up the East Coast, it won't be anything personal either. I understand work, after all." -Well, that makes one of us, I don't know you. Who are you?-
<Brian> -A friend ... of Bjorn...-
<Brian> "Now, then, unless you have anything else to say, I'd like to begin. Hmm?" Caber and Patricia both look anxious about this.
<Brian> "Uh, actually, I messed up my knee pretty bad bringing this guy down," Caber says. "I'd like one of the nurses to look me over, if you don't mind, Dr. Peterson."
<Dracos> -Bjorn? I see. Got any escape routes handy before this all goes to hell?-
<Brian> The doctor looks annoyed. "Make it quick," he snaps.
<Brian> -...tell ... my husband ... I'm sorry...-
<Dracos> -...understood.-
<Brian> "I'm kind of shy, though, can I use, you know, a private room?" he whines.
<Brian> The doctor glares at him. One of the nurses shakes her head, and indicates a side room. "Make it quick," Dr. Peterson repeats.
<Brian> -...and ... trust...-
<Dracos> "Actually, and this might seem a bit out of touch, mind if I use the bathroom first?"
<Brian> Caber nods, and lets go of your wrists. Patricia is standing a distance away, and rubs her arms. Ignoring you, Caber limps into the side room with a nurse.
Dracos idly drops his hands to his sides, flexing his wrists to make sure the blood is still moving in them.
<Brian> Caber has a tight grip, but not that tight.
<Brian> Dr. Peterson raises an eyebrow, then shakes his head. "I'll deal with the consequences," he says flatly.
<Dracos> "Ah, feh. Oh well... I'll hold. Let's see what craziness you guys churned up. Out of idle scientific curiosity, what's contained in the hypodermic?" -Trust?-
<Brian> "A simple anesthetic. Unless you'd prefer to be aware the entire time?"
<Dracos> "Well, I actually tend to be pretty damned durable, but I'm rather curious about the procedure at large. What type of alteration could really require putting me down?"
<Brian> "He never told you?" the doctor asks in astonishment. "Oh, this is TOO rich."
<Brian> -...and ... vengeance...-
<Brian> Caber emerges from the side room, smiling slightly, the nurse shaking her head and quickly taking up her previous position. "Sorry about that," he says, moving to stand near Patricia.
<Dracos> "I have no doubt that it is. But insane-chan can't be trusted to recognize the proper time of day, much less hold any real information."
<Dracos> -I...see... but don't...-
<Brian> -You.... WILL seee.....-
<Brian> Dr. Peterson eyes him, then turns back to you. "I think we'll just let that be a surprise, and see how well you adjust, hmm? Now, anesthetic, or would you prefer to be aware?"
<Dracos> "I'm arrogant, but not quite that arrogant." -Fun.-
<Dracos> "Anesthetics I guess."
<Brian> He nods, and approaches you with the needle.
Dracos calms his nerves.
<Brian> He pulls up your shirt sleeve, and sticks you with the needle.
<Dracos> "Yay." Dracos waits calmly.
<Brian> Your body very quickly goes entirely numb, and you're only barely hanging on to consciousness. Two nurses catch you before you fall, and you're quickly loaded onto the table.
Dracos blinks.
<Dracos> "Fun...fun..."
<Brian> Your own voice sounds like it's coming from far away.
<Brian> -I'm sorry....-
<Dracos> -Win some...sleep some...curse some-
<Brian> They strap you down despite the complete lack of muscle control you're enjoying at the moment, and quickly attach a frame to the bed which keeps your head immobilized.
<Brian> -I can ... make you ... forget this ... if you ... would like...-
<Brian> A further attachment keeps your eyelids propped open.
<Dracos> -Naw. it's a bit difficult to drive a madman further insane. I mean, what more can they do? Tear my bones with their bare hands? Been there.- Dracos mentally focuses on going to fucking sleep to ignore the maximium amount of pain from the procedure.
<Brian> I am going to require you to make an Ego roll.
<Dracos> What do I roll?
<Brian> please roll 3d6. You want to get less than 8.
<Dracos> even with my ego of 17? Ouch.
<Dracos> Roll 3d6 for damned low pain
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Dracos ... : 3d6 for damned low pain --> [ 3d6=12 ]{12}
<Dracos> ...
<Brian> Yes, well, there's a steep penalty involved with this.
<Dracos> Thanks Suu. I love you too.
<Brian> About the time you realize that they're going to remove your eyes, you heavily reconsider the offer to forget about this.
<Dracos> -Okay, okay, forget about it... and anyone manage to have a gun and shoot?-
<Brian> Your consciousness is swept away into nothingness. You have a dim image of plants ... lots of plants ... and a small child ... and then you wake up, lying on the table, strapped down.
<Brian> No gear holding your eyes open, though everything looks ... funny.
<Brian> You feel completely fine. No pain, no dizziness, no lethargy from drugs. You do feel someone pressing their fingertips against the sides of your face, though.
Dracos blinks.
Dracos glances up.
<Brian> You hear someone sobbing.
<Dracos> and back.
<Brian> The asian man is standing above you, pressing his hands against your face and whimpering. "Doctor bad, doctor bad," he mumbles, like a mantra.
<Dracos> "What the fuck did he do?"
<Brian> You're still strapped down, though you don't feel weakened at all.
<Brian> You see a dim silver glow around the man who's holding your head.
Dracos blinks.
<Brian> You also realize that you're not wearing glasses.
<Brian> But you can see clearly.
<Dracos> "Since when do I see magic lights?....and see this clearly without my glasses? And can someone please un-strap me from this confounded chair."
<Brian> "Thank you, Jonah," Dr. Peterson says. "Guards, escort him to section four. Have Miss Witherspoon's remains disposed of, and give the patient a day before we resume further P-testing."
<Brian> The doctor's face looms into view above you. "Feeling well, Mr. Bloom?" he asks pleasantly.
<Dracos> "Living. What the fuck did you do to me, Good sir?" Dracos smiles back.
<Brian> "Awoken you to a new world of possibilities," he says pleasantly. You can see something on him ... something like red lines. For some reason, they make you think of dice.
<Brian> The Asian man snaps, and releases you, lunging at the doctor and howling, "Doctor bad! DOCTOR BAD!"
Dracos blinks.
<Brian> The guards jump on him, and struggle to pull him off. One of the nurses says, "You have no idea how bad I feel about that," in a very low voice, while undoing the straps holding you down.
<Dracos> "That's nice to hear," Dracos smirks, "Now...why not be literal about it...what the heck was that operation?"
<Brian> There's a 'shhhk!' and the straps are cut. The nurse presses the medallion into your hand, and whispers, "They put her eyes in your head, and used Jonah to heal the damage."
<Brian> The guards succeed in holding down the Asian man at this point, and Dr. Peterson steps away, straightening his lab-coat in annoyance. The three other nurses look back from being distracted, and see that you're sitting up. One of them screams.
Dracos blinks at the nurse and quirks his head.
<Dracos> "Happy to see me I presume?" Dracos turns to the doctor, "Now, again, scientific curiosity, what the hell did you gain from such a transplantation and such brutality? Surely there was a purpose other than giving me whatever sight powers she apparently had."
<Brian> She hands you the claymore, then draws a pistol. "I am Legion," she says, stepping away from the table while the nurses back away in shock.
<Brian> Dr. Peterson is unimpressed, and the two guards (the others must have left while you were unconscious) have their pistols trained on you and (you assume) the Caber-nurse behind you.
Dracos spins around with the blade, swinging swiftly in a called strike right at the doctor's neck.
<Brian> The original Patricia and Caber are no-where in sight.
<Brian> We'll enter combat time here.
<Brian> Phase zero, held actions, ranged attacks first.
<Brian> roll 3d6
<Brian> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=8 ]{8}
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=8 ]{8}
<Dracos> shit.
<Brian> -thwip- -thwip-
<Brian> That kinda stings. But it's not instantaneous.
<Brian> Go ahead and roll your attack.
<Dracos> Roll 3d6 for his fucking Skull
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Dracos ... : 3d6 for his fucking Skull --> [ 3d6=7 ]{7}
<Brian> This is a hit.
<Brian> roll 6#1d6 for luck
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 6#1d6 for luck --> [ 1d6=6 ]{6}, [ 1d6=3 ]{3}, [ 1d6=1 ]{1}, [ 1d6=4 ]{4}, [ 1d6=3 ]{3}, [ 1d6=6 ]{6}
<Brian> Your sword falls short, and smashes into the ground, the blade is chipped. Your medallion begins to warm up in your off hand.
<Brian> "Well, you tried," Dr. Peterson assures you condescendingly.
<Brian> Caber's move.
<Brian> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=16 ]{16}
<Brian> The pistol shot goes wide. "Damn new body," she swears.
<Brian> Now, phase 4, speed 3s.
<Brian> Dex 16 first.
<Dracos> Me first? ...oh shit.
<Brian> Dr. Peterson whips a .22 from his pocket, and grins at you.
<Brian> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=11 ]{11}
<Brian> Dracos, the medallion is still in your hand (making using the claymore somewhat awkward). Roll 6#1d6 unluck vs. Peterson.
<Dracos> Roll 6#1d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Dracos ... : 6#1d6 --> [ 1d6=3 ]{3}, [ 1d6=2 ]{2}, [ 1d6=4 ]{4}, [ 1d6=1 ]{1}, [ 1d6=1 ]{1}, [ 1d6=2 ]{2}
<Dracos> ...
<Brian> This is crazy. The bullet reflects off of the blade, and careens into a wall.
<Brian> Dr. Peterson blinks in surprise.
<Brian> Caber goes.
<Brian> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=7 ]{7}
<Brian> roll 2d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 2d6 --> [ 2d6=7 ]{7}
<Brian> roll 3d6 for hit location
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3d6 for hit location --> [ 3d6=13 ]{13}
<Brian> Well, that settles that. A bullet through the neck leaves one of the guards gurgling, as he slams into the ground.
<Brian> Phase 6, the nurses are cowering.
<Brian> The remaining guard attempts to fire at Caber.
<Brian> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=11 ]{11}
<Brian> Dracos, you have a held action.
Dracos roars in rage, trying to use adrenaline to push off the fucking tranqs running through his system as he brings his sword around and down at Peterson's shoulder using both hands.
<Dracos> Roll 3d6 for spines split in two!
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Dracos ... : 3d6 for spines split in two! --> [ 3d6=15 ]{15}
<Brian> roll 6#1d6 for luck
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 6#1d6 for luck --> [ 1d6=3 ]{3}, [ 1d6=2 ]{2}, [ 1d6=6 ]{6}, [ 1d6=2 ]{2}, [ 1d6=3 ]{3}, [ 1d6=3 ]{3}
<Brian> You miss. Barely.
<Brian> Phase 8. First up -- Peterson.
<Brian> He spins his gun around his finger and fires at you again.
<Brian> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=13 ]{13}
<Brian> Dracos, roll your unluck vs. him.
<Dracos> Roll 6#1d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Dracos ... : 6#1d6 --> [ 1d6=1 ]{1}, [ 1d6=3 ]{3}, [ 1d6=2 ]{2}, [ 1d6=3 ]{3}, [ 1d6=5 ]{5}, [ 1d6=1 ]{1}
Brian blinks.
<Brian> The bullet, again, bounces off your sword. This shouldn't even be possible.
<Brian> Your turn.
Dracos spins aiming cross his chest at the largest possible target on his fucking body.
<Brian> Go ahead and roll.
<Dracos> Roll 3d6 for death and republic
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Dracos ... : 3d6 for death and republic --> [ 3d6=16 ]{16}
<Brian> Unfortunately, you missed.
<Brian> Caber turns on the remaining guard.
<Brian> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=15 ]{15}
<Brian> And misses.
<Brian> Phase 12, everyone acts. First up, Peterson.
<Brian> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=6 ]{6}
<Brian> Dracos, roll your unluck vs. Peterson.
<Dracos> Roll 6#1d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Dracos ... : 6#1d6 --> [ 1d6=5 ]{5}, [ 1d6=2 ]{2}, [ 1d6=5 ]{5}, [ 1d6=5 ]{5}, [ 1d6=4 ]{4}, [ 1d6=2 ]{2}
<Brian> roll 2d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 2d6 --> [ 2d6=10 ]{10}
<Brian> Everything goes black as you fly to the ground....
<Brian> ...you come to your senses ... you're not sure how much time has passed, lying on the ground. The Asian man is passed out, one hand on a bloodstain on your stomach.
<Brian> Peterson is currently very calmly strangling Caber, while the remaining guard is trying to crawl brokenly towards the elevator.
<Brian> "Doctor ... bad," the Asian man manages before becoming completely still.
Dracos leaps to his feet, grabbing his sword if he sees it and rush stabbing Peterson, otherwise yanking a fucking pen from his pocket, flicking the cap off with his thumb, and stabbing Peterson in the eyes.
<Brian> Your sword is still in hand. As is the medallion. It is MUCH warmer, now.
<Dracos> THRUST AND STAB WITH RAGE!
<Brian> Go ahead and roll to attack.
<Dracos> Roll 3d6 for removing the guy's head.
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Dracos ... : 3d6 for removing the guy's head. --> [ 3d6=15 ]{15}
<Brian> Well.
<Brian> roll 6#1d6 for luck
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 6#1d6 for luck --> [ 1d6=2 ]{2}, [ 1d6=5 ]{5}, [ 1d6=1 ]{1}, [ 1d6=3 ]{3}, [ 1d6=6 ]{6}, [ 1d6=4 ]{4}
Brian calculates.
<Brian> With your pushed strength, the damage causes the sword to shatter into about a million pieces against the stone floor.
<Brian> Please roll your 12 dice of unluck against Peterson.
<Dracos> Roll 12#1d6 for making his head explode
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Dracos ... : 12#1d6 for making his head explode --> [ 1d6=4 ]{4}, [ 1d6=4 ]{4}, [ 1d6=2 ]{2}, [ 1d6=4 ]{4}, [ 1d6=4 ]{4}, [ 1d6=5 ]{5}, [ 1d6=5 ]{5}, [ 1d6=5 ]{5}, [ 1d6=4 ]{4}, [ 1d6=1 ]{1}, [ 1d6=1 ]{1}, [ 1d6=6 ]{6}
<Brian> The flying fragments of steel launch themselves into the air, improbably striking the doctor with the force of shrapnel.
<Brian> Please roll 1 and 1/2 d6 killing damage.
<Dracos> Roll 1d6 For Death
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Dracos ... : 1d6 For Death --> [ 1d6=6 ]{6}
<Dracos> Roll 1d3 For Republic
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Dracos ... : 1d3 For Republic --> [ 1d3=3 ]{3}
<Brian> roll 1d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 1d6 --> [ 1d6=2 ]{2}
<Brian> The razor-sharp shards of celtic blade, as though guided by the hand of a vengeful celt, tear along his back like the claws of an angry mountain-lion, shredding through his clothes and his flesh.
<Brian> He screams like a little girl, and fals to the floor, clawing at his back. "No!" he shrieks. "I was promised better!"
<Brian> The Caber-nurse gasps for breath, and rolls over, heaving deeply. "Kill him ... before he gets ... lucky again," she gasps.
<Dracos> "Promises are made to be broken. May the pigs piss on you in hell."
Dracos rips the blade up through the guy as hard as possible.
<Brian> No amount of luck will save him now. You eviscerate the man who stole your eyes, and he bleeds to death very quickly.
<Brian> Caber climbs (slowly) to his (her?) feet. "We're ... behind ... schedule."
Dracos pulls out the fucking needles and whatnot in him.
<Dracos> "No shit Sherlock."
<Brian> "You alright?"
<Dracos> Am I?
<Brian> You feel like someone's torn out your eyes, replaced them, shot you, brought you back from the brink, and still has your friends in custody.
<Brian> While physically okay, you feel ... like ... CRAP.
<Dracos> Good to know.
<Dracos> "I feel like leaving a pile a pile of dead from here to Kansas."
Dracos looks for a blade and slips the medallion over his neck if it has a neck-string.
<Brian> And ... starwipe.
<Brian> Rez, Ginrai.
<Brian> On standby.
<Brian> Shade: You wake up. You feel ... strange. Like someone's been rummaging in your head and didn't put everything back in the same place.
<Shade> "Ow."
Shade checks himself out mentally and physically.
<Brian> Physically, you're okay. You think one of the guards threw a kick at you at some point before hauling you back to your room, but nothing horrible.
<Brian> Just a little bruise on one leg.
<Brian> Could be worse.
<Shade> "My kingdom for a few hundred pounds of explosives and some blasting caps."
<Brian> Mentally, it's hard to focus. Your head is fine, but your mind hurts.
<Shade> what kind of hurting? Dull throbbing or sharp splitting?
<Shade> Or does it feel like my brains were sucked out and thrown in a blender for awhile?
<Brian> Kind of a general, 'took a good beating' ache.
Shade checks out his surroundings
<Brian> You're in your room where you're imprisoned. The door is open.
Shade blinks.
Shade walks up to the door and cautiously peers out
<Brian> The hallway is deserted. You remember, distantly, that there's a 'playroom' at one end, and a sealed security door at the other.
Shade checks the sealed security door side.
Shade walks up to check it.
<Brian> It's pretty firmly sealed. Nothing behind it but a steel bulkhead.
Shade looks for how they open this thing
<Brian> No knobs. No levers. No handles. No card readers. You'd guess they open it from the other side.
Shade checks for smoke detectors on the ceiling
<Shade> and cameras while I'm at it
<Brian> None you can see.
<Brian> No sprinklers, either.
<Shade> "Not very concerned about their patient's wellbeing, are they?"
Shade goes to the playroom side
<Brian> It's got a few people in it. One of which you remember from the dream with the lancer of fire.
<Brian> Bjorn: You see the new guy wander into the playroom.
Shade blinks as he struggles to recall the dream
Shade approaches Bjorn and says "So, were you Bjorn yesterday?"
Bjorn looks up from the fountain, and then at Lazarus. -Wait. Aren't we supposed to go looking for him?-
<Brian> -I think Megan's plan was flawed,- Lazarus shakily sends.
<Bjorn> At the sudden intrusion, Bjorn looks away from Lazarus to stare at the newcomer. "Assuming that you were, in fact, trying to tell the second oldest joke anyone has ever told me, how do you know my name?"
<Shade> "Well for starters, to make sure I'm not that crazy. Shade ring any bells?"
Bjorn blinks. "No, not off hand."
<Bjorn> -All right. Is it time to start simplifying, then?-
<Brian> -I think,- Lazarus's thoughts cut off, and he looks at Bridgett. She looks up from the fountain. -Bridgett wants to show you something,- he sends instead.
Shade bends down to whisper in Bjorn's ear softly "So how's the silver doing?"
<Brian> Mikey is brooding nearby, looking at Shade curiously.
<Bjorn> -Is this guy mentally stable?- Bjorn asks Lazarus, as he gets up and walks over to Bridgett, keeping an eye on the stranger behind him.
Shade sighs
<Brian> -I doubt it -- he's had his thoughts shuffled around while they drained him of all useful information,- Lazarus sends. -Let him recover his senses for a day or three.-
<Bjorn> In sigil-sign, Bjorn asks Bridgett, "What is it?"
<Brian> -Bridgett wants you to put your hand in the pond, and imagine ... what? She wants you to imagine the ideal sword.- Lazarus looks confused. -She wants me to send her the ... oooh....-
Shade inspects the room
Bjorn blinks, and then does so. Slightly short katana, wide, broad tip, large, solid tsuba, comfortable grip....
<Brian> It's big. Oval shaped. Six corridors like the one you came from. Two more security doors. Cafeteria doors (judging by the sign) opposite the security doors.
Shade eyes the cafeteria doors
<Brian> Bridgett takes your hand, and you feel somethign ... soft, maleable, like clay, but after a second, it starts to take on the dimensions in your mind.
<Brian> something
Shade checks out the cafeteria area
<Brian> After about a minute, she nods, and pulls her hands from the water, then makes a motion to Mikey, and a series of slow hand-signs you recognize.
Bjorn focuses harder on the image.
<Brian> The doors to the cafeteria are currently locked.
<Brian> The sword becomes almost a reality in your hands ... but you can't see it in the water.
<Brian> It FEELS solid, though.
Shade checks out the security doors
Bjorn looks at Bridgett.
<Brian> Shade: Same as the ones at the end of the corridors, only these have guard-stations and guards behind them. No visible bulkhead, though.
<Brian> The signs are ... she wants to execute Mikey as an application to move you as a file to ... the balcony with the guards?
Shade goes back to Bjorn and says "Long way from #void, aren't we? Funny though, I don't recall you being so slow when I was Death."
Bjorn slowly grins, ferally.
Bjorn blinks distractedly at Death. "Uh, yeah, we are. Um. If you'll excuse me a second," he says, standing, still holding -- whatever -- in his hands, and walking towards Mikey, "I think I have something I need to do."
<Brian> It's completely invisible, even outside of the water.
Shade follows Bjorn
<Brian> Mikey looks at Bridgett, then Lazarus, then nods slowly at you, hunches over, and acts like he's stretching, making a platform of his hands..
Bjorn smiles and nods at Mikey.
<Bjorn> And then I step forward again.
Shade eyes Bjorn curiously
<Brian> He's geared up to catapult you (carefully, you hope) up onto the balcony. If your timing is right, you're going to land either right on, or behind one of the guards.
<Bjorn> "Yabure-gachi," Bjorn quotes under his breath, and nods at Mikey solemnly.
<Brian> He nods back.
<Brian> Shade: A voice in your mind suddenly says, -Run to the security doors! Quickly!-
Shade runs towards the doors without having to be told twice
<Brian> All the guards turn to look at the sight.
<Shade> who, me?
<Brian> Correct.
<Brian> Bjorn: now's the perfect time.
<Bjorn> "Time to escape the whale, Mikey."
<Brian> "Ready!"
Shade flips the Guards the bird as he runs
<Brian> roll 4#1d6
<Brian> Er.
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 4#1d6 --> [ 1d6=6 ]{6}, [ 1d6=3 ]{3}, [ 1d6=2 ]{2}, [ 1d6=2 ]{2}
<Brian> roll 4#3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 4#3d6 --> [ 3d6=6 ]{6}, [ 3d6=10 ]{10}, [ 3d6=10 ]{10}, [ 3d6=11 ]{11}
<Brian> You're narrowly (by a margin too small to want to consider) missed by four tranq-darts in rapid succession.
Shade hopes whoever wanted him to run appreciates it
<Brian> Mikey lunges into motion, and seizes Bjorn about the waist while the guards are aiming at Shade, and flings up upwards.
<Brian> Bjorn, make a dex roll.
<Bjorn> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Bjorn ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=11 ]{11}
<Brian> You land on your feet. Your opponent is shocked, and wheels to face you, trying to bring his rifle to bear.
<Brian> You're now on the balcony.
Bjorn steps straight at the guard, sliding under the rifle, and cutting him down.
Shade stops running before he crashes into the doors and turns around
<Brian> Ginrai, Rez, Caber lunges into motion, shoving both of you as hard as he can towards the grill. He goes sprawling as a bulkhead slams down through the ventilation shaft separating you from him. The grill is smashed outwards, and you land atop a guard (and the grill).
<Brian> We'll enter combat time here.
<Brian> Phase 0 actions first.
<Brian> Bjorn, Shade, that's you.
<Brian> Since you've already declared, Bjorn, roll to attack, and which type of attack is it?
<Bjorn> Defensive Strike. All +3 to DCV for this round.
<Bjorn> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Bjorn ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=14 ]{14}
Shade takes cover
<Brian> Luckily, your opponent is at 1/2 DCV for being braced, and a further -1/2 for being surprised.
<Brian> You hit by exact count. Roll your 2d6 of killing damage (penetrating).
<Bjorn> roll 2d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Bjorn ... : 2d6 --> [ 2d6=8 ]{8}
<Brian> roll 3d6 for hit location
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3d6 for hit location --> [ 3d6=13 ]{13}
<Brian> You sever his head cleanly.
<Brian> We now move to phase 4, speed 3s. Shade, you dove under a table.
<Brian> Ginrai, Rez, you spend the round climbing to your feet.
<Rez> ;_;
<Brian> Phase 6, Bjorn, it's your turn.
Shade yells to the others on the floor "Take cover!"
<Brian> The majority of them do.
<Bjorn> I'm going to move towards the next guard, kicking the rifle of the one I just killed down to the main floor as I go.
<Bjorn> If I can get to the next one in time, Defensive Strike.
<Brian> Okay. You're going to take a while to reach him because of the size of the room.
<Brian> Also on phase 6, the guards act.
<Brian> You've got the guard over the tunnel to your room. If the security door is 'west', then Ginrai and Rez (though, you don't recognize them) are 'north'.
<Brian> And you're at south.
<Brian> The security door guard looks up from aiming at Shade and attempts to fire at you.
<Brian> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=10 ]{10}
<Brian> He misses.
<Brian> The cafeteria guard attempts the same.
<Brian> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=4 ]{4}
<Brian> A dart comes whistling out of nowhere and tags your shoulder.
<Brian> It kinda stings.
<Brian> The guard to the north manages to climb to his feet.
<Brian> The gun hits the floor at this point, and Mikey begins lumbering towards the security door.
Shade slides for the rifle.
<Brian> Using your held action, you do so.
<Brian> You'll reach it at the end of your next phase.
Shade nods.
<Brian> Speed 3s, phase 8.
<Brian> Ginrai, Shade, Rez, you act.
<Brian> Dex order, Rez first.
<Ginrai> where's the closest guard to me?
<Brian> Standing right in front of you. You just landed on him.
Rez delays.
<Ginrai> I'm on top of him?
<Brian> No, you climbed to your feet, and he did, too.
<Brian> He's holding a rifle, and you have a lead pipe.
<Ginrai> damn
Ginrai swings the pipe towards the guard
<Brian> Please roll 3d6 to attack
<Ginrai> roll 3d6 for the pipe!
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Ginrai ... : 3d6 for the pipe! --> [ 3d6=16 ]{16}
<Brian> The guard's at 1/2 DCV because he's just gotten to his feet.
<Brian> You still miss. Roll 1d6 for luck.
<Ginrai> roll 1d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Ginrai ... : 1d6 --> [ 1d6=1 ]{1}
<Brian> Yeah. You missed.
<Brian> Rez: Your turn.
Ginrai throttles Suu
<Rez> Where exactly are the other two guards?
<Brian> At 45 degree angles from some guy who just waved a hand and decapitated a guard.
<Rez> Right. I'm going to try and rapid fire.
<Brian> The other guards seem to be focusing on him. He's headed to the one on your right.... At which targets?
<Rez> Both fire arrows. >_> First shot into the guy we just landed on, second shot into the guard to the left.
<Brian> Please roll 2#3d6
<Rez> I'll put my +1 on OCV for this turn . >_>
<Brian> Probably a good idea.
<Rez> roll 2#3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Rez ... : 2#3d6 --> [ 3d6=5 ]{5}, [ 3d6=13 ]{13}
<Brian> Well, if you had called the further guard first, you would have hit both. As is, you can't recover quite that quickly, and your second shot goes into the fountain below, creating a small explosion of steam.
<Brian> Your first arrow was good, though. Roll 2d6 for your fire arrow damage.
<Rez> roll 2d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Rez ... : 2d6 --> [ 2d6=4 ]{4}
<Brian> Now roll your 1d6 stun multiplier
<Rez> roll 1d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Rez ... : 1d6 --> [ 1d6=4 ]{4}
<Brian> He grunts, and gets knocked back.
<Brian> Phase 12, everyone but Mikey acts.
Rez pat-pats.
<Brian> Dex order. Shade, you're first.
<Shade> Who's left?
<Brian> Three guards. One over the security door, cafeteria door, and one fighting two guys to the side opposite Bjorn.
<Shade> Which one is targeting Bjorn?
<Brian> The two not facing off against the two guys who just showed up.
Shade fires at the one farthest from Bjorn that's attacking him.
<Shade> both +1s to OCV
<Brian> Okay, that's the one over the cafeteria door. Roll to hit.
<Shade> roll 3d6 For vengence
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Shade ... : 3d6 For vengence --> [ 3d6=10 ]{10}
<Brian> I'll consider that a hit.
<Brian> roll 3d6 for hit location
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3d6 for hit location --> [ 3d6=9 ]{9}
<Brian> Tagged his shoulder, which is armored. He ignores it.
<Brian> Next in Dex order, Rez.
Rez delays until after Ginrai has gone.
<Brian> Dex 9s, that's Ginrai, Bjorn, and all the guards.
<Rez> I thought speed came before Dex? o_O
<Rez> If it involves me delaying until after the guards, I won't.
<Brian> Thought so.
<Rez> ^^
<Rez> Is the guy in front of me down, or just pissed?
<Brian> Pissed.
<Brian> With a burn mark on his armor.
<Rez> And still at half DCV for bracing?
<Brian> Yes.
<Rez> Rapid fire again, same two targets (in the same order).
<Rez> roll 2#3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Rez ... : 2#3d6 --> [ 3d6=14 ]{14}, [ 3d6=11 ]{11}
<Brian> You hit the first guard, and your second shot hits the ground, leaving a scorch mark.
<Rez> Roll 2d6 for damage?
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Rez ... : 2d6 for damage? --> [ 2d6=5 ]{5}
<Brian> Yes.
Rez rolls eyes.
<Brian> roll 3d6 for hit location
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3d6 for hit location --> [ 3d6=13 ]{13}
<Brian> You hit his neck, in the small gap between his helmet and his armored suit. He gurgles a bit, then goes down.
<Brian> Dex 9s.
<Brian> Ginrai, Bjorn, remaining guards.
<Ginrai> Is the guard still in front of me?
<Brian> Rez just took him down.
Dracos is now known as Drac-sleep
<Ginrai> where's the closest guard?
<Brian> Either left or right. It'd take you a while to reach either, though.
<Ginrai> Either of them attacking someone at the moment?
<Brian> You see someone else running towards the one on the right.
Ginrai nods and runs towards the guard on the left, ready to swing the pipe when he gets close enough
<Brian> Though, if you attack the one on the left, you'll leave Rez without a target (unless you want him to attack past you with the bow. That could be bad...).
<Brian> Okay.
<Brian> Bjorn?
<Brian> You can reach the guard and attack this phase.
Bjorn ignores the dart in his shoulder -- and now that he's hit, he's got no real reason to worry about defense, and lots of reason to worry about taking all the guards down as quick as possible.
<Bjorn> So, if I can reassign the +3 to OCV, I do so, and I'm using Offensive Strike.
<Brian> It's a zero phase action, so you can do so.
<Bjorn> Er, Martial Strike.
<Brian> Make your attack roll.
<Bjorn> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Bjorn ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=9 ]{9}
<Brian> That's a hit. Go ahead and roll your 2 and 1/2d killing damage (2d6+1d3).
<Bjorn> roll 2d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Bjorn ... : 2d6 --> [ 2d6=8 ]{8}
<Bjorn> roll 1d3
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Bjorn ... : 1d3 --> [ 1d3=1 ]{1}
<Brian> roll 3d6 for hit location
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3d6 for hit location --> [ 3d6=12 ]{12}
<Brian> Chest. He leaps backwards, but not far enough. Now that it's lined for a moment in blood, you can actually see the edges of your sword. It sweeps through his armor like tissue, coming just short of his spine. His eyes widen behind his mask, and he goes down.
<Brian> So. That guard's action is to twitch a little.
<Brian> The remaining guard turns to Ginrai, and attempts to fire at him.
<Brian> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=10 ]{10}
<Brian> He misses -- again, barely.
<Brian> Everyone takes a recovery (recover your REC in END and Stun).
<Rez> Brian: How much END do I have left? >_>
Bjorn hasn't been keeping track either, sorry. >.<
<Brian> Rez: 10.
<Brian> Bjorn: 17.
<Brian> Ginrai: 16.
<Ginrai> Okay... so, who's next?
<Brian> This is after your recoveries.
<Brian> Speed 3s. Rez first.
<Rez> Do I have a clean shot at the one guard left standing?
<Brian> You do, though Ginrai's very shortly going to be in your way.
<Brian> Thankfully for this situation, the walkway and the wall are curved, not straight lines.
<Rez> Well, in that case, it'd be criminal not to take the shot.
Rez shoots that guard with another fire arrow. :) +1 on OCV, again.
<Brian> Make your roll.
<Rez> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Rez ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=13 ]{13}
<Rez> Bam.
<Brian> Er. You hit.
<Rez> Roll 2d6 for allegiance! Or Death! BIGFIRE!
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Rez ... : 2d6 for allegiance! Or Death! BIGFIRE! --> [ 2d6=9 ]{9}
<Brian> roll 1d6-1
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 1d6-1 --> [ 1d6=3 ]{2}
<Brian> Huh. You hit him. He goes down, clutching his rifle to his chest as he drops.
<Brian> Phase 6, speed 2s act. The doors burst open, and two S.W.A.T. armored guards and two guards in lighter armor rush in, looking around in bewilderment.
<Brian> Shade, you have a held action. Bjorn, the effects of that dart are kicking in.
Shade takes a throat shot at the nearer lighter armored guard
<Bjorn> Where are the guards, exactly, in relation to me?
<Brian> Directly beneath you.
<Shade> still putting the bonuses in ocv
<Brian> Shade: Make your roll at -8 OCV, -2 for range.
<Shade> roll 3d6 for miracles
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Shade ... : 3d6 for miracles --> [ 3d6=7 ]{7}
<Shade> "I could use some help down here!"
<Brian> You miss.
<Brian> By a bit. Stuck his vest. The guard looks surprised, and very confused.
<Shade> >_<
<Brian> Their action was a full-move into the room.
<Brian> Bjorn: Do you do anything at this point?
<Bjorn> There has to be a doorway leading directly onto the walkway.
<Bjorn> Where is it?
<Brian> There are two. One to either side of you.
<Bjorn> Buggar. So quite some distance away.
<Brian> Er. No. And another two opposite you, where another guard just took a fireball to the chest, leading into (you assume) the cafeteria.
<Brian> They're on either side of the door, and 20 meters up.
<Bjorn> Ohhh.
<Bjorn> So they're right next to me.
<Brian> Yes.
Bjorn is going to hold his action, and try to go through one of those doors.
<Brian> Well, technically, that's an action. :)
<Bjorn> Well, then, I'm not holding my action. ;)
<Bjorn> But I'm trying to be prepared and alert as I go through the door.
<Brian> The doors are unlocked, and lead into currently empty barracks-style rooms, with stairs leading down. It's got (at a glance) eight bunks.
<Brian> The stairs are to your left.
Bjorn will head down the stairs when he can.
<Brian> Okay. You make it down a half switch-back.
<Brian> Phase 7, speed ones.
<Brian> Shade, you've lost your cover.
<Brian> Someone uprooted the cement table.
<Brian> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=11 ]{11}
<Brian> Roll 14#1d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 14#1d6 --> [ 1d6=5 ]{5}, [ 1d6=6 ]{6}, [ 1d6=3 ]{3}, [ 1d6=4 ]{4}, [ 1d6=1 ]{1}, [ 1d6=5 ]{5}, [ 1d6=1 ]{1}, [ 1d6=5 ]{5}, [ 1d6=6 ]{6}, [ 1d6=1 ]{1}, [ 1d6=6 ]{6}, [ 1d6=5 ]{5}, [ 1d6=1 ]{1}, [ 1d6=4 ]{4}
<Brian> The table explodes into a cloud of rubble, smashing one S.W.A.T. armored trooper, and burying him completely. The others skitter away nervously in surprise.
<Brian> Phase 8, speed threes.
<Rez> Hm.
<Brian> Ginrai, you've made it to a pair of doors, and a rifle.
<Brian> But, Shade goes first.
Shade fires at the legs of the guy he shot at before
<Brian> roll, at a -4 OCV to hit.
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : at a -4 OCV to hit. -<Shade> roll 3d6 of pissed offness
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Shade ... : 3d6 of pissed offness --> [ 3d6=8 ]{8}
<Brian> The dart tags the guard right above one knee. That shot had surgical precision, baby.
<Rez> I Brace and shoot at the still-standing swat trooper, another fire arrow.
<Brian> Make your attack roll.
<Rez> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Rez ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=13 ]{13}
<Rez> Brace and shoot, yah. >_>
Shade yells to the light armor guys "Surrender or Die!"
<Brian> You hit.
<Brian> Barely.
<Rez> Barely or not, it's a hit. >_>
<Rez> roll 2d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Rez ... : 2d6 --> [ 2d6=7 ]{7}
<Brian> roll 1d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 1d6 --> [ 1d6=4 ]{4}
<Brian> 7 body, 21 stun before defenses.
<Brian> The armor was not meant to resist heat as much as ballistics, and you stagger him (he is Dazed, and loses his next action).
<Brian> Ginrai: There's a pair of doors behind you, and a gun on the guard at your feet.
<Ginrai> My turn, finally? ^^;
Ginrai picks up the gun and turns towards where the other guards are, getting ready to aim towards one
<Brian> Okay. And using his held action, someone (you don't SEE who), levitates numerous chunks of rubble, and sends them whirling towards the one currently uninjured guard.
<Brian> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=11 ]{11}
<Brian> roll 5#1d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 5#1d6 --> [ 1d6=1 ]{1}, [ 1d6=3 ]{3}, [ 1d6=3 ]{3}, [ 1d6=3 ]{3}, [ 1d6=6 ]{6}
<Brian> He gets bludgeoned pretty badly by the apparent poltergeist.
<Brian> As all of the guards are effectively stunned or dazed, and outnumbered about 40:3, I will rule combat to be over at this point.
<Rez> Ha.
Ginrai sniffs at his inability to get much of an attack going and so uses his pipe to crush the head of the guard Rez downed earlier
Shade will run over to the guards and loot the 4 bodies
Rez is looking at the guard on the ground with a look of faint surprise.
<Brian> Mikey lumbers over to the guards, and kneels, inspecting them. Someone (you don't know her name) uses strips of cloth to bind their hands, and their wounds.
<Shade> I'm bludgeoning any of them still conscious with the butt of the rifle
<Brian> They're not fighting anymore.
<Shade> Hold that.
Shade searches the bodies
<Rez> "Who knew that a few guys could have so much blood in them?"
<Rez> "Except God, of course."
<Rez> "God knows everything."
Rez hmms.
<Shade> "Thanks!"
<Rez> "Hey, should we clean this up?"
Shade yells up to the guys on the stairs
<Brian> Bjorn: You come out (feeling mighty dizzy at this point) into a control room. There's a clearly labeled control panel to release the security doors between you and the playroom, and a large bank of monitors.
<Ginrai> "What'd you say, Rez? I couldn't hear you over the sound of the skull being shattered."
Bjorn hits the switch to open the security doors, and then starts studying the monitors.
<Brian> You can see what's going on in the monitors, and it doesn't look too happy for the guards.
<Bjorn> Oh?
<Brian> The inmates (plus balcony assistance) seem to have subdued the guards. The ones on the balcony are dead, those on the floor captured alive. There's also a locker (with a key in it) beneath the control counter, though you're about to fall asleep.
Bjorn staggers to the door and stumbles out, heading for the door to the playground.
<Brian> It's open. Behind you, someone already sealed the bulkhead.
<Bjorn> "Shhhhiiiiiiit...."
<Brian> Shade: The other inmates strip the guards of weapons first. Each guard has a baton, and a tazer.
<Shade> Brian: Hah?
Rez steps off and runs away from Ginrai, towards where the choppy-guy went.
<Brian> Ginrai: Rez vanishes into the door opposite where you're standing.
Shade sighs in disgust, its like Fate is determined to keep him empty handed
Bjorn leans heavily on the door to the playground. "Mmmmmiike'?"
Shade yells up "So what's the plan?"
<Brian> Gin: You've brutalized the corpse of one of the men who imprisoned your friends.
<Brian> Bjorn: One of the inmates approaches you (after trying up the guards) and pulls the dart from your shoulder. You feel more alert afterwards, and then she goes to tend the guards.
Rez ducks down the stairs.
Bjorn blinks and shakes his head, and then tries to concentrate enough to lower his defenses. -Lazarus?-
<Brian> Rez: You pass through a control room. It's full of security monitors, and there's a locker (with keys) under the counter.
Ginrai stops the crushing and follows Rez, taking the rifle along with him. And pipe, of course.
Rez checks out the security monitors. Do I see anything notable?
<Brian> Rez: You see the room you just left.
<Brian> -Yes?- he sends back wearily. -We made it?-
Rez checks out the locker, and looks for the controls for the monitors.
<Bjorn> -Phase one. Though I think we should have worked a little harder on the "bullet-proof" part.- Bjorn thinks, still a bit confused. -They've sealed off the bulkhead. Hold off on having Mikey tear it down -- I want to see if there's an override or something in the guard booths to keep the gas from going off in the corridor. And what's the situation with Megan?-
<Bjorn> With that thought, Bjorn ducks back into the control room.
<Brian> Controls are all over the place. There's probably over a hundred cameras you could look through, though only 50 will display at a moment.
Shade goes up the stairs to check out the guard rooms
Rez turns around as Bjorn enters.
<Brian> Shade: it's actually through the door.
<Rez> "Bjorn, I'm Rez. This," he points, "is Ginrai."
<Rez> "And Drac's around here somewhere. I hope."
Bjorn blinks.
Shade goes through the door
<Brian> The locker contains four .22 pistols, and two clips for each.
<Bjorn> "Well, you don't look like guards. What the hell are you guys doing here?"
<Bjorn> "No, wait."
<Rez> "Guess."
<Bjorn> "Don't care. Let's ask that question after we answer, 'how the hell do you guys plan to get out?'"
<Rez> "The elevator."
<Rez> "We're sorta here to try and bust you out. But Shade, what the fuck are you doing here?"
<Shade> "Long story short, I fucked up."
Rez turns back to the cameras with a growl. The plan went very fucking awry.
<Ginrai> "Explanations later. First let's find Drac."
<Bjorn> "To get to the elevator, we have to get through a corridor that will start leaking tranq gas the minute we step into it."
<Shade> "Oh and if you see a short haired blonde woman, shoot her for me please. A lot."
<Rez> "Yeah, well, thanks to you the oracle is now in deep trouble."
<Bjorn> "So let's see if we can find a way to turn that off here, eh?"
<Shade> "I know, I know
<Rez> "Well, start digging. And guys, guns."
Bjorn searches the guard room and control panel.
<Shade> "But if you can get me to a terminal, I think I can make up for some of it."
Rez grabs a gun and two clips from the locker.
<Brian> There's two security rooms, actually. One on each side of the corridor.
Bjorn will check the one he's in first, and then the other.
Shade looks for the control room.
<Brian> The far one has no gun locker, but does have a terminal.
Ginrai takes one of the guns and two clips and stuffs them into his pocket.
Shade grins "I think we're in business."
Shade commences to attempt to hack in.
Bjorn examines the terminal.
<Brian> You seem to be in the 'watch the playroom' room, and the other one appears to be more of a 'monitor who comes in and who goes out' room.
<Brian> It's X-windows. Right now it's asking for a password.
<Bjorn> "Sunuva..."
Bjorn heads back out to the playground and looks for a conscious guard.
<Brian> -I searched -- I can't find Megan. I don't know what's going on.-
<Brian> You find Lazarus standing next to them, actually.
<Brian> Dracos, you're standing in the operating room, Peterson's twitching corpse shedding liberal amounts of blood.
<Brian> Caber checks him for a pulse, then nods, and hands you Peterson's .22.
Dracos fehs.
<Dracos> "Heh...I'm not a bloody gunmen." Dracos checks his hilt for how much remaining blade is on it, and smashes the bottom end over Peterson's head for good measure.
<Brian> *splutch!*
<Brian> Caber shrugs, and surveys the room. The cowering nurses flee to the side-room Caber used earlier when she points to the door. "The alarm's been set by now," she says, reloading her pistol.
<Dracos> "Well Legion, have the others moved or are we the only ones in this fucking hell room?"
<Brian> "I can't tell -- your friends got separated from us by a bulkhead. We're not strong enough to tear it down," Caber replies slowly. "This means that according to SOP, all of the specials on defense would be down at the main elevator, as the primary exit. We're going to need to find another way in."
<Dracos> "Fun... Pardon me for a second."
Dracos takes a moment turns to an empty wall and empties his stomach.
Dracos then turns around
<Dracos> "Okay, you fucknut, how the hell do we get over to that side."
<Brian> "There's a back elevator," Caber replies, taking an IV stand and shoving it through the loops on the door the nurses are behind.
<Dracos> "Lead away."
<Brian> "Sure," she says, rifling through Peterson's pockets. She comes up with a silver-cigarette case, a cell-phone, and a security card. She tosses you the case, drops the phone, and pockets the card. "This way."
<Brian> She steps into the elevator, which you see now opens on both sides, and swipes the card through a wall-mounted reader.
Dracos blinks, pocketing the case and following behind her.
<Brian> The elevator whirs into motion, going down ... there's no display to tell how far, though. After a few seconds, the elevator comes to a gentle stop. Caber motions you against one wall, and presses herself against the opposite side of the elevator.
Dracos gets cover beside the wall.
<Brian> The door slides open with a whoosh and a chime. You hear silence beyond that, and Caber cautiously peeks through the door. Nodding, she steps out, and jogs into the hallway.
Dracos follows, glancing left and right cautiously, more than a little paranoid and still a bit violent.
<Brian> "Come on," she calls back to you quietly.
Dracos follows, keeping his eyes wide open.
<Dracos> "Yeah, yeah, I'm coming."
<Brian> You're at one end of a long hallway. It appears to lead up to a T-shaped intersection. There are no doors in sight. Caber reaches the junction ahead of you, then skids to a halt and backpedals, nearly running into you.
Dracos sidesteps against the wall, getting ready to move quickly as he eyed the junction.
<Dracos> *up against
<Brian> Caber presses herself into the wall next to you, as you hear footsteps approaching from around the corner behind you. "We need more backup," Caber hisses. She reaches a hand towards you.
Dracos takes it curiously.
<Dracos> "No shit," Dracos hisses back, "plan?"
<Brian> The sensation is sudden, and really unnerving. It feels like she just stepped into your body, fitted you like a suit, and then stepped back out. But now she's not a nurse anymore, she's a copy of you. Two more of you step out from the Caber-Dracos. "Rush," he replies, just as four guards bearing sniper-rifles round the corner.
<Dracos> "Shit..."
Dracos runs fast at them, diving down at the legs of one quickly, barreling to knock the guy off his feet.
<Brian> Combat time here, this is phase zero.
<Brian> First, Dracos.
<Brian> Enemies are surprised, and at 1/2 DCV.
<Brian> Roll for your Move through.
<Dracos> Roll 3d6 To hit the ground.
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Dracos ... : 3d6 To hit the ground. --> [ 3d6=16 ]{16}
<Brian> Even surprised, he manages to move out of your way, and you're on the ground.
<Brian> Now Caber, Caber, and Caber will act.
<Brian> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=12 ]{12}
<Brian> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=14 ]{14}
<Brian> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=13 ]{13}
<Brian> roll 3#1d3
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3#1d3 --> [ 1d3=2 ]{2}, [ 1d3=2 ]{2}, [ 1d3=3 ]{3}
<Brian> roll 3#1d5
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3#1d5 --> [ 1d5=2 ]{2}, [ 1d5=5 ]{5}, [ 1d5=1 ]{1}
<Brian> The other three guards (you see now they're unarmored) are each stabbed with sword hilts, to varying degrees of success -- guard #2 yells in pain, as does #4. #3 is dropped like a bad habit.
<Brian> Phase 4, speed 3s. That's Dracos, Dracos, Dracos, and Dracos.
Dracos kicks to his feet, twirling his blade and glaring "There is nowhere to run, it's just you and me ... and me and me and me and me."
<Brian> Please roll 5d6 for your presence attack.
<Dracos> Roll 5d6 to make them piss their pants.
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Dracos ... : 5d6 to make them piss their pants. --> [ 5d6=18 ]{18}
<Brian> They're visibly shaken, and you've put them at -1 OCV and DCV.
<Brian> The Dracos-clones now swarm.
<Brian> roll 3#3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3#3d6 --> [ 3d6=6 ]{6}, [ 3d6=15 ]{15}, [ 3d6=5 ]{5}
<Brian> roll 2#1d3
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 2#1d3 --> [ 1d3=1 ]{1}, [ 1d3=3 ]{3}
<Brian> roll 2#1d5
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 2#1d5 --> [ 1d5=4 ]{4}, [ 1d5=4 ]{4}
<Brian> Guard #1 (the one facing off against you originally) is left unharmed, #2 succumbs to his wounds, and #4 is laid open, though that Caber/Dracos broke what was left of its sword in the process.
<Brian> Phase 6, guards.
<Brian> Guard number one shakily attempts to shoot you.
<Brian> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=16 ]{16}
<Brian> His shot goes way wide, though.
<Brian> Phase 8, speed 3s.
Dracos stabs him, "I really fucking hate people that shoot at me."
<Dracos> Roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Dracos ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=10 ]{10}
<Brian> Go ahead and roll your 1 die of killing damage.
<Dracos> Roll 1d6 DIE BITCH
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Dracos ... : 1d6 DIE BITCH --> [ 1d6=6 ]{6}
<Brian> roll 1d5
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 1d5 --> [ 1d5=2 ]{2}
<Brian> The guard jumps as you drive the entirety of what remains of your sword into his chest, the crossguard slamming into his rib cage hard enough to bruise. His eyes widen, and his mouth works, as though he's trying to say something.
<Brian> But he doesn't, and his eyes roll into his head as he slumps over.
<Dracos> "Nice knowing you." Dracos pulls the sword out.
<Brian> The Caber Dracoses blur together, and return to nurse form. She starts hauling the bodies out of sight from the elevator.
<Brian> "Nice work," she grunts, hauling on a guard's leg.
Dracos glances over if any of them have a combat knife on them.
<Brian> There's an awful lot of blood in this hallway....
<Dracos> "Legion, it's prolly useless hiding them. The blood alone would leave a trail."
<Brian> No combat knives, though each was carrying a clip of tranq rounds, a rifle that can use it, and a pair of handcuffs. She hesitates, then looks up at you with a frown. "Guess so," she admits. "This is a maintenance area. We should be above section four."
<Dracos> "Lead the way. Let's keep moving."
<Brian> Rising, she looks left, then right, and moves to the right. The hallway curves, like a huge oval, and the lighting is somewhat dim. To your left, you can see a patch where the wall is discolored.
Dracos checks out the discolored wall a bit curiously, ready to leap back if something moves.
<Brian> It looks like the cement there has been replaced at some point. Possibly earthquake damage.
<Brian> Caber ignores it, continuing around the curve of the long hallway.
Dracos follows swiftly behind Caber
<Brian> In due course, you reach what you guess is the opposite end of the sector from the elevator. A doorway leads into the interior of whatever you've been skirting around. Caber looks at it hesitantly, then looks at some wiring boxes on the wall nearby.
<Dracos> "Electric stuff?"
Dracos checks the boxes out.
<Brian> "These control the bulkheads," she says. "We can unseal the bulkheads, but we can't control the gas release from here. Additionally, this is a sniper vantage over into section four itself." She points further ahead, through the doorway.
<Dracos> "So...you know the floorplan better than I. What would you suggest for getting me and my friends out of here fast and getting to Manos?"
<Brian> It's an electrical control panel. You could re-wire it pretty easily, so that the circuit was always off, or always on. Right now, the lights say that whatever it controls is in the 'on' position, and there are eight of them.
<Brian> "We should see how your friends are doing," Caber says, going through the doorway.
<Dracos> "Wait a sec... I'll get the bulkheads open and jammed open. That way they can't use gas release as they'd be getting everyone, themselves included."
<Brian> "I wouldn't suggest that," Caber warns. "They have metahumans, too. One of them can control wind and air."
<Dracos> "Hmmm... Okay... feh."
Dracos turns and follows, heading after Caber.
<Brian> The room Caber entered has a low ceiling, and then a long, horizontal gap about ten centimeters high, and eight meters wide. It looks down past some lighting structures into a foot-ball field sized 'playroom'.
<Brian> You think you see Rez and Ginrai down there....
Dracos ponders and sees if he can get closer to them easily.
<Brian> Unless you can squeeze through that gap and make it down about fifteen meters to the walkway below, it probably wouldn't be a good idea.
<Dracos> Do they look like they are within sensible calling distance or not?
<Brian> Very possibly.
<Dracos> "Hey Rez, you fuck."
<Dracos> I am ready to dodge if they try to shoot me for some ungodly reason.
<Dracos> Using the cover of the higher ground.
<Brian> Looks like he can't hear you from the ground. Ginrai is on the walkway below you, and looks up, though. "Drac?"
<Dracos> "Yeah, it's me. This fucking plan shits. You guys alive and got Bjorn?"
<Brian> Ginrai nods, looking up, though it's pretty clear he can't tell exactly where you are. "We're stuck down here, though," he says. "Everyone else is messing around with a computer in the guard's booth. Looks like that Caber guy ditched us."
<Brian> The nurse looks mildly annoyed. "I got trapped," she grumbles.
<Dracos> "Hey Legion, what door needs be opened for them to get out or up here?"
<Brian> "There are no doors directly -- only the ones that have gas valves on the corridors between them." She frowns. "There must be a control for the gas lines around here. If we can find it, and cut it off, then we can open the bulkheads."
<Dracos> Dracos nods. "Gin, you guys stay there and keep an eye out. We'll get the doors open."
<Dracos> "Let's go. Lead the way, Legion>"
<Brian> "I'm not sure where it is, though," she warns, turning around and examining the pipes along the walls. Some are labeled water, some look like they've probably got cables or electrical wiring through them. Now that you're looking, though, you realize that there are an awful lot of them. This could take a while.
Dracos attempts to deduce through his electrical knowledge of wiring practices which ones can be ignored and if any look like they are probably the right one.
<Brian> Okay. We'll get back to you on that one in a moment.
<Brian> Shade, currently you and Rez are in the security booth with the terminal. It's asking for a password.
<Brian> Not any written down near the terminal itself, no.
Shade checks around to see if the guards left any clues be the terminal for the password
<Rez> "Get away from there."
<Shade> "Why?"
<Rez> A bag appears in Rez's hand, and he drops it onto the floor.
<Brian> That's a pretty big bag, too.
<Rez> "Because unless you're a magical l337 hacker, you're going to get us in trouble."
<Rez> "And I came prepared."
<Shade> "Actually..."
<Rez> "Don't."
Shade sighs and leaves the terminal to Rez
<Brian> Ginrai pokes his head into the room. "Hey, there's another section of walkways through the room opposite this spot -- can someone come with me to check it out?"
Rez rummages through the bag that just appeared, and grabs out Ayame's CD.
<Brian> Shiny. CDey. Ayameish.
Rez checks for a CD drive on the terminal. >_> If not, he grabs out his laptop.
<Brian> No CD-drive. But it does have a spare ethernet port. Actually, a whole hub.
<Rez> "Sorry, Shade, but you don't guess this shit."
<Brian> Ginrai looks impatient. "There could be other guards over there."
<Shade> "Rez, Actually I was planning on asking the guards."
<Rez> "Then ask."
Shade goes down to the guards
Rez boots his laptop and plugs it into the spare ethernet port.
<Brian> Ginrai gets annoyed, and trudges off to examine the far walkways alone.
<Rez> "Ginrai!"
<Brian> "What?"
<Rez> "Remember how this was area 4, or whatever? Can you run and ask Bjorn if he knows what the other areas are, and if he knows 'Manos'?"
<Brian> "Uh ... okay."
<Rez> "Thanks. It's important."
<Brian> Bjorn: You're currently outside, where three of the guards are awake. The fourth is unconscious, and looks pretty horrifically bruised. Their armor has been stripped off and set to one side, and they're tied up around one of the cement picnic tables. Mikey and Lazarus are keeping watch on them, while a group of inmates is working on the doors to the cafeteria.
Rez portscans the terminal, now that I'm hooked in, and checks for anything obvious like Samba.
Rez has little hope, but hey.
<Brian> *
<Brian> The terminal drops everything except for DHCP requests.
<Brian> "Hey, uh, Bjorn, this is Ginrai," Ginrai says. "So, Rez wants to know if you know anything about the other areas, or 'Manos'?"
Bjorn turns to Ginrai. And blinks. "Manos? As in, 'Hands of Fate'? Don't you think we have something a little more important to be doing?"
Shade goes over to the drowsy guard.
<Bjorn> "Lessee. There are three other sections. Don't know anything about section One. Section Two is for people who volunteered to be augmented to metahumans, and section Three is for cooperative metahumans."
<Brian> Ginrai nods. "Okay, I'll pass that on to Rez." He vanishes into the security booth, as Shade approaches the guards.
Bjorn snaps his head around to follow what Shade is doing, and trades a look with Lazarus and Mikey.
<Brian> -Is he dangerous?- Lazarus inquires.
Shade says in a soft pleasant voice to the drowsy guard, "Hi, I'm new here and I need the pass for the control room."
<Bjorn> -I don't know. Watch him.-
<Brian> "Nnnnnuuuuuuh," the guard groans, wobbling back and forth.
<Brian> This is the one you tagged with a dart.
Shade smiles sadly at the guard, "You see, I've had a rather bad couple of days so far and it would be really nice if for once something goes right."
<Shade> "So please, the password for the terminal?"
<Brian> "Mmmmmm..." he elaborates.
<Brian> "Leave him alone," one of the other guards snaps.
Bjorn rolls his eyes, and walks over to the speaking guard.
<Shade> "I will, soon as I have the password to the terminal, please."
Shade walks over to the bruised guard.
<Bjorn> Crouching, he looks that guard straight in the eyes, and says, very quietly, "Tell me the password to the terminal."
<Brian> "It's Ajax4," he says. "Just don't hurt us."
<Brian> -He's telling the truth -- he thinks that we won't get past the gas.-
<Bjorn> "Thank you," Bjorn says, rising. "And we won't."
Shade sighs
<Bjorn> -That was a promise, Lazarus. Make sure it gets kept, please.-
<Shade> "You really shouldn't make promises for others like that."
Bjorn turns to Shade. "Do you want to go tell Rez that? Make sure the bulkhead doesn't get opened until we figure out the gas."
<Shade> "Gas?"
Shade looks at the guard "What kind of gas?"
<Bjorn> "Yes. Tranquilizer gas. In the corridor outside the bulkhead."
<Bjorn> -Lazarus, where's Bridgett?-
<Shade> "Flammable?"
<Brian> The guard looks nervous. "Course not, you think we're stupid?"
Bjorn stares at Shade, oddly.
<Shade> "What kind of tranq?"
<Brian> -She's helping to open the cafeteria doors.- She's actually making all of the glass melt from around the wire-frame windows. One of the TKs is then unraveling the wire, bit-by-bit.
<Shade> "Inhalant or by skin contact?"
Bjorn rolls his eyes heavenward, and walks back to the terminal room to deliver his message himself.
<Brian> "You think I'm a fucking rocket scientist if they make me a guard? It's knockout gas, genius."
<Bjorn> -Thanks, Lazarus.-
Shade smiles at the guard, "So where are your gas suits?"
<Shade> "And masks, for that matter"
<Shade> "Or did your employers consider you...expendable?"
<Brian> "'Gas 'em all, let god sort 'em out'," he quotes faithfully.
<Brian> In the meantime, Bjorn enters the control room, where Rez is watching his laptop get sacrificed for the greater good ... one hopes. It's doing SOMETHING on the network, that's for sure.
<Shade> "I'm glad you feel that way."
Shade shoots the guard in the throat with his tranq rifle.
Shade goes up to the control room again.
<Brian> Ginrai mentions, "Dracos said something about gas. He said he'd look into it from his spot." You here the muffled bark of a tranq-rifle firing, followed by an angry yell.
<Brian> Mikey sounds unhappy.
<Brian> -Bjorn, the guard's going to be okay, but that new person is trouble, just like Megan said. Keep an eye on him.-
<Bjorn> -If he tries anything, stop him.-
<Rez> "Bjorn, you going to grab a pistol? They had .22s in the locker."
<Brian> -He's heading for you.-
<Bjorn> "You're... Rez? Okay. I'll grab one. The password to the terminal is Capital-Alpha, jay, alpha, x-ray, four."
Rez points at the bag. There are two pistols in the top.
<Rez> "Thanks."
Rez tries that password.
<Brian> It gets you into the security terminal.
Bjorn swaps the invisible sword to his left hand, and picks up a .22. 'Going to have to figure some of this out...'
<Rez> Do we see any nice friendly user interface?
<Brian> You do.
<Rez> "Be careful with that gun. It won't do anything to the armored guys, but it'll scare people."
<Rez> "And it -will- piss them off."
<Bjorn> "I know how they work. I grew up on a farm."
<Rez> "I dunno about you, but I'd rather they kept using tranqs."
<Bjorn> "You heard about the gas, right? Don't open the bulkhead 'til we take care of that."
Rez looks for useful applications: Bulkheads. Gas. Floorplan. Section information? Power. Security records.
<Rez> "Gotcha. And you don't know anything at all about section 1?"
<Bjorn> "I'll be right back. I don't know what's going on back there, but it doesn't sound good. For now, you keep this pistol, I think. And no, sorry."
Bjorn heads back into the playground.
<Bjorn> -Lazarus? What's going on?-
<Rez> "Suits me. I'll stick with the bow, but I'll have it around if you want it."
<Brian> Security records, yes. Comm. tools, also yes. The bulkhead controls require another password ... but you have that. The system is also really slow.
<Brian> Like the network's being DDoSed, or just really sucks.
Rez checks out the security records - and if I can delete them. I bet I'm not that lucky.
<Brian> Nope. Admin access is required for that. But you get a listing of everyone currently in section 4, and the security personnel. Also, information on which doctors have clearance to remove patients.
Rez blinks.
<Rez> And they are?
<Brian> Dr. Peterson, Dr. Richmond, Dr. Kelley, Dr. Gold, and Agent Taylor.
<Brian> Shade: You enter the control room at this point.
<Shade> "So was the password any good?"
<Rez> "Yes."
Rez checks out comm tools . . . and checks out the CD on my laptop to see if there're any useful applications. :)
<Shade> "What's the access level?'
<Rez> "User. I can hit the bulkheads, but I see nothing on the gas."
<Shade> "Can you set off any alarms?"
<Rez> "I'm looking."
<Shade> "Say, for instance, in all the other sections of the building?"
<Brian> According to the CD, it's got all sorts of handy office utilities. The comm tools seem to be basic messages like, "Alert over," "Secure area," and "Shift Change". There is an option for "other" where you can type in another message, though.
<Rez> "I think they know where we are."
<Rez> "Besides, if we do that, we tell them we've compromised the security system."
<Rez> "All I can do is turn off the alert in here."
<Shade> "They don't have any fire alarms?"
<Shade> "Or hazardous material breach alarms?"
Rez fires up the word-equivalent office utility!
<Brian> None that can be accessed from the security panel. The complex is largely cement, though....
<Rez> "I'm sure you could claim one, but they know what's going on and they won't believe you."
<Brian> The Word utility opens, and looks like a slimmed down, feature-poor version of the same, for X-Windows.
<Shade> "Actually...."
<Brian> It asks if you would like to install an office assistant.
Rez clicks 'yes' and checks if there's anything else useful I can see at the security terminal.
<Brian> That's about it, other than the ability to take a record from the camera-bank, make a log, and send it to the doctors on the cleared list.
<Brian> The office assistant would like to know which avatar you'll use (default is a paperclip) and what you'd like it to be named.
Rez names it Ayame, and . . . hm. How many security personnel are meant to be in Section 4? *checks on terminal*
<Brian> Depends on the shift. Currently, there are 10.
<Rez> "Shade, go and tell Bjorn that there are meant to be ten guards on shift in here, and ask if they've all been accounted for."
<Brian> 'Ayame' says, (in a word-balloon): "It looks like you're trying to hack a covert network!"
<Rez> "HAH!"
Rez bursts out laughing.
<Brian> "Would you like to A: Automate the procedure, B: Steal all their data without leaving a record, C: Crash their shit hardcore?"
Rez chooses B.
<Shade> "And where is Bjorn?"
<Brian> Your laptop whirrs away for a bit....
<Rez> "Outside in the main room, I guess. You'll find him. But if there are two guards loose around here he needs to know."
<Shade> How many did you guys take out on the balcony?"
<Brian> ...eventually to return with, "Your hard-disk lacks sufficient resources to complete this operation. You will require an additional: 240 GB of space." The paperclip looks sad.
<Rez> "Four up top. Four down below. That makes eight."
<Shade> "Ah."
Rez selects C: Crash their shit hardcore.
Shade goes back down
<Brian> The little paperclip vanishes, as your system drops graphics for performance.
<Brian> The laptop beeps on occasion to notify you that it's managed a new combination of exploits to get somewhere it shouldn't. It's not kidding when it says it's out to cause a mess....
<Brian> Bjorn, you're now surveying the field. The cafeteria door has had both windows taken out, and Bridgett is about to climb through the opening to hit the release from the other side.
Bjorn heads directly over that way. "Bridgett, wait!"
<Brian> She pauses, and looks at you in surprise.
<Bjorn> "Let's be safe here. Are you sure no-one's inside?"
<Brian> Shade, you're on the ground floor, too.
<Brian> She shakes her head uncertainly.
Shade yells to Bjorn "Rez says to be careful, there may be two more guards running around somewhere"
<Bjorn> "Well, that's a good reason to be careful."
Bjorn goes over to ask the guard another question, and stops when he sees his state. "Who the hell did this?" he asks, controlling his temper.
<Shade> In a more normal voice Shade asks Bjorn "So what areas did you guys not check out yet?"
<Bjorn> "Ginrai said something about an upper walkway. Did you do this?"
<Brian> -That was the new one,- Lazarus reminds you, carefully not looking towards Shade. -There are two more guards?-
Shade nods.
<Bjorn> -Apparently. I'm guessing they're in the cafeteria.-
Bjorn exhales sharply.
<Brian> Bjorn: The inmates all look at Lazarus, and then back away from the cafeteria door cautiously, before looking to you for direction.
<Bjorn> "You're a goddamn idiot. Now, you have a choice. You can get the hell out of my sight, or you can be the one who goes headfirst into the cafeteria, to find out if there are any guards left in there."
Shade walks to the cafeteria.
<Brian> The cafeteria doors are closed, and locked, but the windows have been taken out. It'll take a bit of climbing to squirm through the gap.
Shade climbs.
Bjorn carefully approaches the cafeteria doors, staying well back, and gesturing to everyone else to stay back, as well.
Shade leaves the tranq rifle on the ground to make his climb easier
Rez dashes outside, onto the gantry.
<Rez> "GUYS!"
Bjorn snaps his head around to look at Rez.
<Brian> You squirm over the sill of the door, and land on the ground awkwardly. It's lit, and has a walkway overhead just like the other room.
Shade looks up
<Rez> "Two guards, in cafeteria, with pistols.'
<Brian> You appear to be in a large cafeteria, with dimmer lighting. No one is in sight.
<Rez> "Behind a counter!"
<Rez> "Try and talk them into surrendering, if you can?"
Shade says out loud to the cafeteria "Ready to talk?"
Bjorn hits the deck, rolling to the side of the door.
<Brian> You hear no response.
Shade listens
<Brian> The switch for the door is nearby.
Rez dashes back inside the control room and checks out monitor again.
<Brian> Rez: The guards are in the same location, one of them rocking back and forth nervously, both clutching handguns.
Shade walks forward
<Bjorn> -Lazarus? If you see someone on a video screen, can you establish a mindlink with them?-
Rez runs downstairs and out into the main room, towards where I see Bjorn.
<Brian> -No, I have to see through someone's eyes.-
Bjorn gestures at Rez to move quietly and out of the line of the door.
Rez nods and moves against the wall.
<Brian> The cafeteria echoes, emptily, ominously.
<Bjorn> -Well, so much for that idea. Are you linked to the new guy?-
<Rez> "Two of them. One looking kinda panicked. Both with handguns. Behind a counter at the back of the room."
Rez whispers.
<Brian> -No. Can you see him?-
<Bjorn> -Only if I stick my head out where they can shoot me. Let's call that Plan B.-
Bjorn nods at Rez.
<Bjorn> "Shade went in."
Shade says out loud as he walks "To be perfectly honest, I have no interest in your welfare. But since one of the others decided to make a promise you get a chance to get out of this alive and intact."
<Rez> "And can we try an negotiate before we walk in and kill them al-oh shit."
Rez whispers again.
Bjorn closes his eyes, and exhales quietly.
<Brian> Shade: I'm going to assume you picked up the rifle after you made it into the room. We'll enter combat time here.
<Brian> Phase zero, those with held actions. Which is everyone.
<Brian> Dex order. Guard stands up from behind the cafeteria counter, draws a bead on you, and tries to fire.
<Brian> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=15 ]{15}
<Brian> He misses, maybe because he's frightened, and maybe just because he's a lousy shot.
<Brian> Shade: Your action.
<Shade> Brian: guards armored?
<Brian> Vests, but they've also got the cover of being behind a counter and the sneeze guard.
<Brian> A bullet would pierce the Plexiglas, but you don't have that guarantee with a dart.
Shade dives for cover
<Brian> Nearest cover would be behind a table, which doesn't offer much protection. This is the kind with the bench built into the table, so you can't really tip it over.
<Brian> Still, you make a full move to get behind one, as it offers better cover than anything else.
<Brian> The next guard climbs to his feet, and takes a shot at you as well.
<Brian> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=10 ]{10}
<Shade> Brian: can I get under one and start crawling forward?
<Brian> 'forward' is relative, as the tables are all on the opposite side of the cafeteria from the counter.
<Brian> He misses.
<Brian> But you could work your way back towards the door.
<Shade> ah
<Brian> Phase 4, speed 3s.
<Brian> Rez, you're, uh, outside a door with the windows knocked out of it. You don't have a good angle of fire, as you can only see Shade, however.
<Brian> One of these guards is a speed 3, though.
<Brian> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=11 ]{11}
<Rez> If I move, can I get line of sight to the counter? >_>
<Brian> Probably not without getting inside first. The angle is bad to fire a bow through the window.
<Brian> Shade: One of the supports near you reflects a bullet, missing you closely.
<Brian> It's now your action.
Shade fires a tranq, aiming for an arm on the nearer guard.
<Brian> Go ahead and make your roll, at -6 OCV.
<Shade> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Shade ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=13 ]{13}
<Brian> Your dart slides up the sneeze-guard.
<Brian> Phase 6, speed 2s. The other guard goes.
<Brian> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=7 ]{7}
<Brian> roll 3d6 for hit location
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3d6 for hit location --> [ 3d6=9 ]{9}
<Brian> roll 2d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 2d6 --> [ 2d6=11 ]{11}
<Brian> A bullet tears through your shoulder. You can't feel your right arm.
<Brian> You're also bleeding -- a lot. You feel no pain, as you are entering shock.
Shade decides now is a good time to go to sleep.
<Rez> "GUYS! FUCKING STOP SHOOTING! YOU DON'T WANT TO DIE AND NEITHER DO WE!"
Bjorn puts a hand on Rez' arm.
<Brian> Rez, please roll, 2d6 for your presence attack.
<Rez> roll 2d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Rez ... : 2d6 --> [ 2d6=6 ]{6}
Rez punches the door. Hard.
<Brian> The guards don't respond.
<Rez> Using STR+10. >_>
<Brian> It's not budging.
<Brian> Phase 7.
<Brian> Mikey attempts a Move Through on the door.
Rez dodges! O_O
<Brian> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=12 ]{12}
<Brian> A door is an immobile object, and thusly, it does not dodge.
<Bjorn> "Mikey, no!" Bjorn shouts, rather belatedly.
<Brian> roll 13#1d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 13#1d6 --> [ 1d6=6 ]{6}, [ 1d6=3 ]{3}, [ 1d6=4 ]{4}, [ 1d6=1 ]{1}, [ 1d6=2 ]{2}, [ 1d6=3 ]{3}, [ 1d6=3 ]{3}, [ 1d6=3 ]{3}, [ 1d6=1 ]{1}, [ 1d6=6 ]{6}, [ 1d6=5 ]{5}, [ 1d6=1 ]{1}, [ 1d6=6 ]{6}
<Brian> The door doesn't really resist much before it explodes across the room, sending an obscuring cloud of debris everywhere.
<Brian> He takes half of that damage, which causes him to rebound outside the cafeteria, and look very dizzy, but otherwise unhurt.
<Bjorn> "Stay down, Mikey!"
<Brian> Phase 8, speed 3s.
<Brian> Shade, the guard is holding his action, so you go first.
Shade attempts to slow the bleeding
<Brian> You can clap your left hand over your right shoulder and slowly squirm your way towards the open door.
<Brian> Underneath the table.
Shade will settle for clapping his hand, moving will only make the bleeding worse.
<Brian> Okay. Rez, your move.
<Rez> "Listen! Can we send in someone to get our guy out? He's going to die if we leave him there!"
<Brian> Bjorn: The guy you recognize who was juggling beanbags waves a hand, and motions towards Shade.
<Bjorn> -Lazarus? Can you connect me with him?-
<Brian> "Don't come any closer!" someone yells at you from inside the cafeteria.
Rez puts his bow down outside the door and walks in, slowly.
Rez ducks back again.
<Brian> -I can try. His mind is clouded with pain.-
<Rez> "Guys, he's going to die! Can't we fucking negotiate?!"
<Bjorn> -I meant the juggler, but Shade is better. I want to speak with the guards.-
Rez looks at Bjorn, points at himself, and waves towards the door quizically.
Bjorn holds up a finger -- 'One second.'
<Brian> -I don't know .... Let me try.-
Rez nods, and looks worried.
Dracos is now known as Drac-eats
<Brian> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=12 ]{12}
<Brian> -I can't reach him,- Lazarus relays.
<Bjorn> -Well, then, we'll do it the old fashioned way.-
Bjorn stands up, and goes to stand beside the door, out of the line of fire of the guards, and raises his voice, but does not shout.
<Bjorn> "This is going to end with us escaping. If anything stops us, it won't be you. You know what we can do, and you know you have no chance. If you surrender now, then you will not be harmed."
Bjorn fills his voice with all the grim certainty he can muster.
<Brian> Please roll 4d6 for your presence attack
<Bjorn> roll 4d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Bjorn ... : 4d6 --> [ 4d6=10 ]{10}
<Brian> "You're going to kill us all!" one of the guards yells back, opening fire again.
<Brian> roll 3d6
<Brian> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=6 ]{6}
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=10 ]{10}
<Brian> Alrighty. The guards would have gotten Shade, had the TK not gotten him first.
<Brian> Shade, you feel like someone just put you on a stretcher and launched it towards the door, weaving through the table supports and back into the main room.
<Brian> Since this is a standoff, we'll move out of combat time for the moment.
<Brian> The healer woman rushes to Shade's side, and fusses over the wound.
Bjorn looks at Rez. "Ideas?"
<Rez> "Goddamn idiot."
<Brian> roll 3#1d6
<Rez> "Ahm. Keep trying to negotiate?"
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3#1d6 --> [ 1d6=3 ]{3}, [ 1d6=4 ]{4}, [ 1d6=4 ]{4}
Bjorn shrugs. "Feel free to give it a go."
Rez looks almost sick. I'm no good at this.
<Rez> "I'm no good at this."
<Brian> Shade: After the bullet is dug out, you feel much better, though your shoulder still hurts. It's as though the wound was transformed into merely a really nasty bruise instead of a gunshot wound.
<Bjorn> "Okay."
Bjorn raises his voice again.
<Bjorn> "We don't want to kill you. But we are also going to leave. Don't force our hand."
<Brian> Please roll 3d6 for your persuasion skill.
<Bjorn> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Bjorn ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=15 ]{15}
<Brian> The guards are less than convinced. "You don't need to come here to get out!"
<Rez> "Guys, -please-! We've tranquilized what guards we can, but we can't leave you behind us with guns!"
<Brian> "Then you shouldn't have busted down the door!"
<Rez> "We had to, to get him out! We didn't know he was going to be such a goddamn idiot!"
<Bjorn> "As he said. You say we're going to kill you if you surrender, and we say that's not true. But the question is, how long will you live if we attack you?"
<Bjorn> "You know me. I'm the one you're all scared of. I'm the one who's strong enough to hold back Ashnod."
<Bjorn> "Do you really want to find out what I can do?"
<Brian> Please roll 6d6 for your presence attack.
<Bjorn> roll 6d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Bjorn ... : 6d6 --> [ 6d6=17 ]{17}
<Brian> "...you promise we won't be hurt?"
<Bjorn> "I promise."
<Bjorn> "My quarrel is with Peterson, not with you."
<Brian> There's some clicking, then the clattering of two pistols thrown across the counter and sliding over the floor.
Bjorn picks up the pistols.
<Brian> The guards come out through a service door warily, holding their hands over their heads.
<Bjorn> "Thank you, gentlemen."
<Bjorn> "Three of your friend are sitting over there. If you'd join them, we'll tie you up."
<Brian> They're quickly stripped of gear and tied up with the others.
Rez exhales and closes his eyes, shaking uncontrollably.
Bjorn goes over, and awkwardly pats Rez on the shoulder.
<Bjorn> "You okay?"
<Brian> Mikey looks around, and seeming satisfied that no one's hurt (seriously), goes to sit near the fountain.
<Rez> "Sorta. I have more work to do." Rez gets up, grabs his bow, and walks towards the control room. Somewhat unsteadily.
Bjorn looks after Rez, and turns to Bridgett.
<Bjorn> "You okay, too?"
<Brian> She nods, looking at the guards in surprise.
<Bjorn> "That's good. Now, please, stay near Lazarus, okay? I don't want you getting hurt."
<Brian> She nods again.
<Bjorn> "Thank you." Bjorn smiles at the girl. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I'll go see how Rez is doing."
Bjorn heads back to the terminal room, stopping along the way to say to Mikey, "If the new guy wakes up, don't let him get near the guards, okay?"
<Brian> Mikey nods in understanding.
<Bjorn> -Lazarus, let me know when he wakes up -- and especially if he goes for any weapons.-
<Brian> Ginrai has been overseeing the laptop's progress. "Everything okay out there?"
<Brian> -I will.-
<Rez> "Ah, gunfight in the cafeteria."
<Rez> "Shade got shot."
<Brian> Alrighty. Caber sits down on the floor and leans against the wall, crossing her arms over her chest and closing her eyes with a look of intense concentration, while you weed out which tubes and pipes can be ignored.
<Dracos> Need I roll electric skill?
<Brian> Yes.
<Brian> This will be 3d6
<Dracos> Roll 3d6 for Death of Yi
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Dracos ... : 3d6 for Death of Yi --> [ 3d6=14 ]{14}
<Dracos> ...
<Dracos> ;_;
<Brian> It takes you about thirty minutes of searching to be confident that you've narrowed down which pipes run water, and which house electrical cabling.
<Brian> Caber just sits there the entire time.
<Brian> Of course, you're not a plumber, so some of those water pipes could be gas, too.
Dracos sweatdrops.
<Dracos> Where are the pipes going?
<Dracos> hmmm wait
<Dracos> Can I check the temperature of the pipes to touch?
<Dracos> the water ones?
<Brian> Down from the ceiling, across the wall through this 'control room', and then down through the floor. And you can.
<Brian> One of them is warm.
<Dracos> The others are all cold?
<Dracos> Any of them have any condensation on them?
<Brian> No condensation, and the others are all cold.
<Brian> One is really huge, and is therefore probably a sewer main.
<Dracos> Not the hot one right?
<Brian> Correct. And there's still about fifteen to choose from.
Dracos puts an ear to the hot one, listening for the telltale sloshing.
<Brian> Nope. No sound.
<Brian> Apparently, it was sealed correctly, and thusly has no air inside it.
Dracos checks each of them in turn for any water-like sounds.
<Dracos> True.
<Brian> The massive drainage pipe gurgles a bit.
<Dracos> "Hmm."
<Dracos> "15 remaining, one hot, the others all cool."
<Dracos> "Hmmm... Might as well check out the odd one. Could be hot water, but could be the gas such that it spreads out quickly when released filling the room by being heated."
Dracos ponders glancing back at Caber.
<Dracos> "What did you say you were again, by the way?"
<Brian> She's still not moving. "I'm busy," she says after a moment. "Right now I'm about eighty different mice scouting ventilation ducts."
<Dracos> "Ah..." Dracos smacked his head and shrugged, heading along the warm pipe and seeing if he could follow it.
<Brian> It leads to a cut-off valve before it goes down through the floor.
Dracos blinks.
<Dracos> They all have cut off valves?!
<Brian> This is a control room, after all.
<Dracos> ...
Dracos smacks forehead.
Dracos begins to systematically disable the complexes water and potentially gas pipes by locking all the pipes in the sealed condition.
<Brian> Before you do that, when you are examining the valve closely, you also notice (a little late, though) that there's a tin plate bound by wire to one of the valves, though it was thickly coated with dust, and hanging out of your line of sight until you touched it.
Dracos examines the tin plate carefully, writing, color scheme. He dusts it off if it looks safe to.
<Brian> "Secondary gas-flow cut-off."
<Brian> It's in red pressed text in what looks like the impact font.
<Dracos> "Sweet."
Dracos cuts off the gas.
Dracos trails back along the pipe the other way, looking for the primary gas-flow cut-off
<Brian> Well, you can see the kind of pipe, but none of the others are quite the same.
<Brian> Still, the gas (and most of the other pipes) are cut off.
<Brian> Another is labeled "Secondary hydraulic power". But no primary gas.
<Dracos> "Hmmm, either that's an emergency cut off valve for only a single gas flow or there is another gas flow." Dracos checks if caber is awake.
<Brian> Her eyes are closed, but she's breathing.
Dracos frowns and checks out the rest of the room for anything else of interest.
<Brian> That seems to be it. Some pipes and electrical control, and a sniper vantage. All things considered, its probably a good thing you ran into the guards at the intersection you did, instead of them using the vantage to take out your friends.
Dracos checks out the vantage point for what he can see from it.
<Brian> You have a good overview of the area. You see Shade (you think) if your dream memory is accurate. He's lying down next to the fountain, his shoulder bloodstained.
<Brian> There are six guards tied up near a table, and numerous inmates. Ginrai's still wandering down around there, inspecting the mid-level area across a walkway that surrounds the room. Rez is out of sight at the moment, and Bjorn appears to be deep in thought.
<Dracos> The edge of Dracos' mouth twitches and he curls up his fist and turns away, waiting for Caber.
<Brian> She stands up after a moment. "I can't find another way in," she finally says. "The next level down doesn't open out into that area."
<Dracos> "Caber, do you know if they have two gas lines?"
<Dracos> "I've disabled one and can open the doors if it's the only one. but unless there is another control room or maintainance shaft, I can't see any more."
<Brian> "I don't," she says, shaking her head. "I do know that their main force is...." She pauses. "They're saying something."
<Brian> "Something took down a huge section of their security system, so they can't see in anymore. This means they're going to send more backup here, soon. Also, their main force of specials is blocking the main entrance."
<Brian> She frowns. "From what they're saying, there are two cutoffs for the gas, and this is one of them. The other is somewhere inside section four, and if both of them aren't turned off, the system won't be disabled."
<Dracos> "Dammit. Let's see if we can get them to find the other."
Dracos heads back out to where he was speaking before.
<Dracos> "Hey guys, you there?"
Dracos shouts out through the hole.
<Brian> Ginrai. You're currently patrolling the upper walkway, prowling around and looking for ... something.
<Brian> Which is convenient, because while there, you hear Dracos yelling down to you again.
<Ginrai> "Yeah, Drac?"
<Dracos> "Gin, I got the secondary gas lines shut off."
<Dracos> "There is one more gas line."
<Dracos> "It's in the sector though so I can't get to it."
<Dracos> "Find a pipe that's hot and get it sealed off."
<Dracos> "Go, hunt now."
<Dracos> "Come back here when you are done and I'll get the doors open."
<Dracos> "Go ask rez."
<Dracos> "Go get everyone you can and HUNT"
<Dracos> "I can't open the doors until you guys get that thing shut off or it'll gas everyone."
<Dracos> "NOW MOVE"
Ginrai nods and heads off to where Rez is
<Brian> Rez: Ayame's little utility program is working away. You occasionally see updates and notifications that things are proceeding swimmingly, and no one has thought to unplug your access from the rest of the network. Not that it matters by now; it's moved itself off of your laptop, and on into the server cluster.
<Brian> And Ginrai enters the room.
<Ginrai> "Rez, Drac was able to shut off the secondary gas lines. I need to know where the remaining one is. That and is there anyone else who can help me out with it?"
Rez eyes Ginrai.
<Rez> "You have about forty people out there who've been living in this joint for a while."
<Rez> "I'll see what I can find. But go and ask them."
<Ginrai> "Guess I can ask one of the guards."
Rez checks the security terminal to see if he can find anything useful . . . again . . . and starts looking around the control room.
Ginrai heads off to where the guards are being held
<Brian> Other than the camera banks (which all seem to look in on empty rooms at the moment) and the bulkhead controls, there's really not that much to look at.
<Brian> The guards are on the ground next to a picnic table, hands cuffed. One of the inmates is serving them trays of cafeteria food -- except for two that are unconscious. One of the K.O.ed guards has a red welt on his throat, and the other looks bruised all over.
Rez unplugs his laptop and shuts it down.
<Brian> The paperclip looks very sad, and waves goodbye.
<Brian> Bjorn: Ginrai is approaching the restrained guards.
Rez then stashes it back in his bag, and offhands said bag.
Ginrai approaches them. "Look, we'd like the get the hell out of here as much as you guys want to be freed. So, to make things easier, mind telling us where the gas lines are?"
<Brian> "In the maintainence room overhead -- you can't get there from here," one of them says.
Bjorn rolls his eyes, and moves closer to Ginrai. 'I don't think he's as disturbed as, uh, Shade..."
<Ginrai> "Eh?"
<Bjorn> "What's going on, Ginrai?"
<Ginrai> "We need to shut down the remaining gas line. Once that's done, we can get out of here."
Rez walks out into the playroom.
<Brian> "There's a maintainence room upstairs," he reiterates, gesturing with his spork upwards. "The control is up there. You can't get there from here, though."
<Bjorn> "Well, that's a problem," Bjorn grunts.
<Brian> The guard shrugs, and goes back to eating his lumpy potato salad.
<Bjorn> 'Sweet vengeance.'
Rez walks up. "What's going on?"
<Bjorn> "Can't shut off the gas lines from here. It's in a maintenance room upstairs. No access from this section."
<Rez> "I thought Ginrai said Drac already got the upstairs lines?"
<Ginrai> "ACtually, that's where Drac called me from."
<Ginrai> "Yeah, he did."
Bjorn looks at Ginrai.
<Bjorn> "Okay, so what's the problem?"
<Ginrai> "There's still one remaining pipe that needs to be shut down."
<Rez> "And that's in here somewhere?"
<Ginrai> "I'm assuming it is."
<Brian> It's worth mentioning, at this point, that while Dracos was trying to identify the correct pipe, he also shut off about half of the water pipes. The fountain chooses this moment to gurgle, sputter, and die. The drain's still going, though.
Rez blinks.
Bjorn turns and looks at the fountain consideringly.
<Brian> It sits there, even less animate than usual.
<Bjorn> "Well, there's guess number one."
<Rez> "Well, split up and look for the damn pipe, I guess . . . oh?"
Bjorn heads over to the fountain, and examines the drain cover.
<Ginrai> "I recall he said it was a pipe that was hot and in the sector."
Rez follows Bjorn curiously.
<Dracos> "Yo Rez. Got the last pipe yet? I can open the door for you guys if you did."
<Rez> "Not yet, we're looking!"
<Brian> The one further downstream, in the pool, just drains away normally.
<Bjorn> What about the one in the fountain?
<Brian> It's still emitting the occasional air bubble.
<Bjorn> "See this, Rez? Looks kinda overkill for the situation, eh?"
Bjorn raises his voice slightly. "Mikey? Could I have your help for a minute, please?"
<Rez> "Interesting. That -would- explain the bubbles."
<Brian> He lumbers over curiously.
<Brian> "Yeah, Mister B?"
<Bjorn> "Do you think you could pull this grate free, Mikey?"
<Brian> He looks at it consideringly, then climbs into the draining fountain, and sticks his fingers through the grate. After a few experimental tugs, he says, "You might want to not stand so close, Mister B."
Bjorn backs away.
Rez also backs away.
Ginrai backs away if he's close to it
<Brian> Mikey strains, groans, and through the water you can hear the steel protest, but it does slowly give, revealing some thirty centimeter long (now stripped) bolts were holding the mass of iron in place. One he wrenches it free, causing some of the fountain's cement base to crack, he tosses it aside with a clatter.
<Brian> The guards are visibly shaken.
<Bjorn> "Thanks, Mikey. You can go back to watching the guards now."
Rez snickers.
Ginrai turns back to them. "I take it you guys haven't been treating him so well? Pray that he doesn't treat you the same way."
<Brian> "Okay Mister B!" he says, watching over the guards.
<Rez> "Ginrai, they're tied up. Stop trying to scare them."
<Brian> They guickly turn their attention to their meals.
Rez looks into the now open drain.
Bjorn examines the drain (or absence thereof). Can he climb down in it? Is there air?
<Brian> It's a shaft, and it's draining, slowly. Well, more quickly, now. There's a ladder leading down now that you can see past the area where the drain was.
<Bjorn> "Well, let's wait until it's clear. Then, time for dungeon-crawling," Bjorn says with a half-smile.
<Rez> "Hm. You look around down there, then, I'll get some people to look for a pipe up here?"
<Brian> It doesn't look like it goes very deep, actually. Maybe three meters down, and it opens up into a wider area, though it's pretty dark down there.
<Bjorn> "Well, we got some time before that shaft is clear. I'll get people to start looking, and then we can explore together."
<Rez> "Fair enough. Oh, I have some batons and tazers, and probably a couple of swords, if anyone wants them."
<Bjorn> -Lazarus? Can you get people to look around for a pipe? It's supposed to be warm, and it feeds gas to the corridor.-
<Brian> -Searching for pipes, hmm?- Lazarus asks, eyeing the fountain. -It's probably down there, since we're all familiar with our rooms ... but we'll look about. Something may turn up.-
<Bjorn> -Thanks, Lazarus. I think the same, but better safe than sorry.-
<Rez> "I'd, er, prefer to not hand the guns out. Unless you really think it's a good idea. I doubt anyone here can shoot that well."
<Bjorn> Out loud, to Rez: "I don't suppose you have a towel, or jacket, or something?"
<Bjorn> "Let's save the weapons for now. Wait until we open the bulkhead."
<Rez> "I have a thick weather jacket, yeah."
<Brian> Shade: You wake up right about now, lying near the fountain. An older man with shock white hair is watching you curiously.
<Bjorn> "Okay." Bjorn glances down at his sword. "I don't need it now, but I might soon."
<Brian> Hard to actually look at the sword, easy enough to see where it should be.
Rez follows Bjorn's gaze, sees nothing, and shrugs.
<Bjorn> Brian: is the fountain still draining?
<Brian> Yeah. Looks like another five minutes or so.
<Brian> The majority of the playroom occupants begin to swarm over the area, inspecting for something they've never seen before -- most of them take to the walkways or the cafeteria, as those are the unfamiliar areas.
<Rez> "Let's check upstairs, around the walkways, in the meantime?"
<Bjorn> "Now, I hate to jump to conclusions, because I wasn't really in the best of condition during that fight, but Rez, are you a pyrokinetic?"
<Rez> "No. Just good with a bow. Long story."
<Bjorn> "Nah." Bjorn waves at the other inmates. "They can do just as good a job, if not better. Know the place well."
Bjorn eyes Rez, and shrugs. "Apparently."
Rez grins, and waves his hand at the room in general. "I don't know if you'd believe me if I told you."
<Bjorn> "I'd probably believe a lot of shit right now. But maybe we can save the stories for after, eh?"
<Rez> "Probably a good idea. We've kinda got other things to worry about." Rez grins lopsidedly.
<Bjorn> "No shit," Bjorn grunts.
<Brian> The maintenance shaft finishes clearing before the inmates report back with any findings.
<Bjorn> "Alright. Do you have a light?"
<Rez> "Nope."
<Bjorn> "Well, pissbuggerfuck."
<Rez> "Maybe there's a light switch?" Rez suggests dourly.
<Bjorn> "Let's see if this works, then."
Bjorn starts to imagine Ashnod setting him on fire.
<Brian> Instant glow.
<Rez> "Hey, Ginrai, you got a light?"
<Brian> Bjorn is now sporting a glowing bracelet.
Rez blinks at Bjorn.
<Bjorn> "Never mind, got it."
<Rez> "Or, alternately, that could work."
Ginrai checks one of his pockets and is surprised that he does....
<Bjorn> "Follow me down."
<Ginrai> "Seems I do. Umm... still need it?
<Rez> "Yeah. Toss it over."
Bjorn heads down the ventilation shaft, climbing one-handed with some difficulty.
Ginrai gives it to Rez
<Brian> It might actually be more effective than the glow of the bracelet.
Rez shoulders his bow, turns on the flashlight, and follows Bjorn down. Also one-handed.
<Brian> What you can see of the area once you reach the bottom is that it's got pipes running through it. It's about two meters square, and there's a massive pipe, as well as numerous smaller (but still large) ones.
<Brian> Cut-off valves are labeled with tin plates, held on by rusted wires.
<Bjorn> "This looks right, I think."
Bjorn waves at Rez. "Hey, bring over the flashlight, and let's see what we've got."
<Rez> "Nifty." Rez shines the flashlight down. "So which one are we after?"
Rez moves over to Bjorn.
<Bjorn> "Tranquilizer gas."
<Rez> "Oooh, fun fun fun."
<Brian> The larger one is "Main drainage," and some of the other ones are labeled, "Primary gas control," "Primary hydraulic power," "hot water," "cold water," "fountain," and "A/C coolant."
<Brian> There's another grate beneath your feet.
<Rez> "That's our one, I guess. Hm."
Rez taps the hydraulic power pipe in thought.
Rez yells up. "Hey, Ginrai!"
<Bjorn> "Gimme the flashlight, Rez."
<Ginrai> "Yeah?"
Rez gives Bjorn the flashlight.
<Rez> "We found the pipe, but tell Drac not to open the door until we call him, OK?"
Bjorn shines the flashlight down into the grate under their feet.
<Brian> It loops back up into the main drainage pipe from what you can see. There's a thin layer of water, and it burbles occasionally.
Rez looks at Bjorn quizzically.
<Rez> "This has possibilities."
<Bjorn> "Maybe."
Bjorn examines the main drainage pipe. How big is it?
<Brian> Probably about thirty centimeters across.
<Rez> "I stand corrected."
<Ginrai> "Sure thing."
Ginrai heads back to where he talked with Drac
Rez turns off the gas control pipe.
<Bjorn> "Okay. Three problems with this. One, we don't know where this goes. Two, we've got friends outside this section that we can't help if we go out this way. And three, I don't want to know what traps they mighta put in here."
<Brian> As you look at the grate below, the thin layer of water vanishes, and you hear a deep, piercing shriek as the system, used to hauling who knows how much water pressure up those pipes considering your depth underground, now starts drawing air.
Rez turns off the main drainage pipe.
<Brian> It quiets down after you do so.
<Bjorn> "Well, what do you think?"
<Rez> "Actually, I was sorta hoping it might get me to section 1, because I think we need to go up to get out. So it's not an exit. But I don't really feel like chancing it, somehow."
<Bjorn> "You got in here, somehow. Don't you have a floor plan or something?"
<Rez> "We got teleported. Rather suddenly. No floor plan."
<Rez> "We do have someone that would know, but they're up in the ventilation ducts."
<Rez> "And there's a bulkhead between them and us."
Rez hums.
<Rez> "That might not be a bad idea . . ."
<Bjorn> "Shit. What about Drac?"
<Rez> "I don't know where he is except up. You'd have to ask him."
<Rez> "Hm."
<Bjorn> "Alright. Let's shut off the gas, and go talk to him."
Rez starts climbing back up the ladder.
<Rez> "Already done." Rez points.
Bjorn follows Rez up.
<Brian> You're now standing in the cracked fountain. -We found nothing,- Lazarus reports. -Not even any exposed pipes in the kitchens, or the guard's showers.-
<Rez> "DRAC! WE GOT THE GAS! WHAT HAVE THEY GOT OUTSIDE THE DOOR?"
<Bjorn> -We found it.-
<Bjorn> -As you might have guessed.-
<Brian> -Indeed? Well, that's good news.-
Bjorn looks at Rez.
<Dracos> "Rez, I'll check." Dracos shouts down.
<Rez> "They know we're in here."
<Dracos> Dracos turns to Caber.
<Bjorn> "I know what they've got outside the door," Bjorn points out.
Ginrai goes to check how Shade's doing
<Rez> "Oh."
<Rez> "What?"
<Dracos> "Hey Caber, what is outside the doors? The gas lines are off, but I need to know that I'm not sending folks into more traps."
<Bjorn> "Every other guard in the building, plus the section three metahumans."
<Rez> "Sorry, I sorta just assumed . . . oh. Shit."
<Bjorn> "What I want to know is what's on the other side of that grate down there."
<Ginrai> "What, Rez?"
<Brian> Caber frowns. "About eight guards and all their metas," she replies. "They're all at the main elevator, right now, so you could theoretically take another exit and sweep at them from the side ... maybe throw Victor or Ashnod at them, if they're not too heavily guarded."
<Rez> "A drainage pipe that's thirty centimeters wide. I could fit. Maybe a couple of other people."
<Rez> "I'd rather try and break into the ventilation ducts, if we can."
<Bjorn> "Yeah, but what's on the other side of it?"
<Brian> Caber shakes her head at that. "If you're willing to risk those people being loose."
<Dracos> Dracos turns back and shouts down to Rez, "Rez, A horde of guards. If you want we can try and unleash some guys named Victor or Ashnod at them."
<Rez> "The other side of the pipe?" Rez hums. "I have no idea."
<Dracos> "Wait..."
Dracos turns back to Caber.
<Brian> "What?"
<Dracos> "Are the guards standing where the gas lines would go?"
<Dracos> "Or is that another room before then?
Bjorn shakes his head and shouts up at Dracos, "Hey, uh.. Dracos!"
<Rez> "Er. Who? Isn't Ashnod that E-17 Ayame mentioned, or something?"
<Dracos> "Yeah, Someone? Who are ya?"
<Dracos> "Rez, I think so. Don't know who the other guy is."
<Brian> "There's eight different corridors that could be flooded. And yeah, he's a mark 17 elementalist."
<Bjorn> "Bjorn. Listen, we found a grate into the main drainage pipe! Do you know where it goes?"
<Dracos> "No, but I'll ask. Caber?"
<Bjorn> To Rez, "Ashnod's a pyrokinetic. Really strong one, a little out of control. I don't know who Victor is, but he wants to escape, apparently, and everyone is scared shitless of them. They're two of the people I want to take with us."
<Brian> "As far as I know, that just leads back to drainage."
<Rez> "Out of control psychics who scare the crap out of people. Sounds like a plan."
<Dracos> "Bjorn, the Pipe heads back towards drainage apparently."
<Brian> "We are below sea level, right now," Caber notes.
<Bjorn> To Dracos, "And what the hell does that mean? Is it an escape, or what?"
<Dracos> "If by escape you mean route deep into the sea, yes."
<Dracos> "Otherwise, No."
<Rez> To Drac: "What about the ventilation shafts? Can we get back in there?"
<Dracos> "Caber? Any chances of leading them out through the air pipes?"
<Rez> "If we can get a couple of people into the pipes we can circle around!"
<Brian> "If we could clear the bulkhead, maybe. But it's a climb up the ladder, and higher than the point we teleported into, the security sensors would catch us, and they'd just meet us at the air-flow control over section one."
Dracos blinks.
<Bjorn> "Okay. Let's approach this differently. Do you know of any way out other than through the bulkhead?"
<Dracos> "Caber, could we get one of your clones perhaps to be heading up there?"
<Dracos> "If they are all up there, we could likely get out before they realize. At the very least their forces would be split."
<Brian> "We could get many more than that, if you wanted," she says, nodding.
<Dracos> "One second, allow me to tell the others."
<Rez> "HEY, did that disc do anything to their security grid?!"
<Brian> "I couldn't tell, they don't put mouse-sized security terminals in air-ducts," Caber remarks.
<Dracos> "Okay, guys, there is another route, but it has security detection and they'd just be waiting for us. So here's the plan, we're going to send up some decoys to draw off the guards over to the air ducts. As many as possible. Meanwhile, we'll get Victor and Ashnod to sidesweep the remaining guards. I'll get the bulwarks open and you guys charge at the same time. Hopefully with them split and the chaos level large, they'll be unable to respond effectively, and go down with minimal fighting."
Bjorn covers his eyes with one hand (the one not holding the sword), and sighs.
<Rez> "No way a couple of us can get up to you?"
<Dracos> "I dunno. One sec."
<Dracos> "Caber?"
<Brian> "If they could get up here, we could get to the elevators ahead of them, and climb out the emergency exits."
Rez mutters. "I don't like any plan that involves pitched combat with metas."
<Dracos> "Roight, but is there a way for them to get up here? I don't know the floor plans. You do."
<Dracos> "Rez, neither do I fuck it. But do you have a better one or extra ideas?"
Bjorn grunts. "Don't worry too much about the metas."
<Rez> "Hell, we can yell to each other!"
<Brian> "Not without going through a bulkhead."
<Bjorn> "Then we go through the bulkhead."
<Bjorn> "Drac, give us some time to get ready down here. We'll shout up when we're ready for you to open the door. Sound good?"
<Dracos> "Bjorn, sounds like a plan."
<Dracos> "Caber, Victor, Ashnod, what needs to be done to get them headed towards the metas?"
<Brian> "They'd need to be freed. They're kept in special containment around the periphery of the sector."
<Dracos> "Where and can we reach them or do I have to tell the others to?"
<Brian> "Ashnod would be south-east, and Victor would be north-west," he says. "I don't know which bulkhead is closest to them, though."
<Brian> bulkheads are
Dracos nods and turns to call down.
<Dracos> "BJORN! Do you know what bulkheads are closest to Ashnod and Victor?"
Bjorn thinks. "Ashnod? No. Victor would be closest to... 04-NW-A and 04-NW-B?"
<Brian> -Ashnod is behind SW,- Lazarus supplies.
<Bjorn> "Ashnod is 04-SW-A and B!"
<Bjorn> "Rez, you said you had some weapons, right? Could you give them to Lazarus?"
<Bjorn> -Lazarus, can you share them out to whoever can and will fight?-
<Dracos> "Got it." Dracos turns to Caber, "I don't know where that is on the floorplan relative to where the guards are. Should I let them out now or just wait until everyone is ready? I don't want them to get stuck with the rest of the guys stewing but don't want to have them running to get to the fight and too far away."
<Brian> -I will.-
<Brian> Lazarus and Rez distribute weapons to those willing to carry arms.
Bjorn heads over to the body armour that has been stripped from the guards, and looks for a suit that will fit him.
<Bjorn> While he's at it, he also looks for a pair of boots. >.<
<Brian> "Opening the bulkheads won't release Ashnod and Victor. You can open the way to them, but they're behind deeper security still. No one's around, by my surveliance," Caber reports.
<Dracos> "What would need to be done next to get them out?" Dracos heads over to the box, snaps his fingers, and gets to work opening the listed bulkheads.
<Brian> Boots, you find. The armor, it's difficult to find any that's not been burnt, had the ablative plating cracked, or worse, but one of them fits you. It looks at least serviceable, if it's very warm.
Bjorn dresses in them, carefully putting down his sword where no one will step on it -- and where he can find it again.
<Brian> "Just break them out of the rooms they're sealed in." Caber looks thoughtful. "That big guy could do it."
<Bjorn> "Dracos! Once you open a bulkhead, can you close it again right after?"
<Brian> Dracos: You can do this.
<Dracos> Dracos shouts back, "Yes I can. Why?"
<Bjorn> "Dracos, in a minute, I'm going to need you to open the main bulkhead, and shut it again after ten seconds. Okay?"
<Bjorn> "I'll let you know when!"
<Dracos> "Bjorn, You got it man!"
Shade watches.
Bjorn goes over to one of the cafeteria guards, and smiles at him, very gently.
<Bjorn> "We're going to let you go now. We'll escort you to the bulkhead, and then you can leave."
Bjorn leans in closer, still smiling, and stares the guard in your eye.
Rez winces. Out of their field of vision, of course.
<Bjorn> "And in return, you're going to carry a message for us. Tell them we're leaving. And tell them that if they want to stop us... then we're coming for them, too."
<Brian> The guards look at one another uncertainly.
<Bjorn> -Lazarus. Can you mind-link to this guy?-
<Brian> They nod at you, though.
<Brian> -Yes.-
<Bjorn> -Good. I want to know what's waiting for us.-
<Shade> "Nice to see that honor among thieves is still as worthless as ever."
Bjorn hauls the guard he was talking to to his feet, and marches him towards the main bulkhead.
<Rez> "I beg your pardon?"
<Brian> The rest of the guards follow uncertainly.
<Shade> "Yes?"
<Rez> "Never mind."
<Bjorn> "Remember, gentlemen. I promised not to hurt you -- but that's only as long we don't have to fight you."
<Brian> They nod.
<Shade> "I just find it...ironic."
<Brian> Lazarus is watching intently.
<Rez> "What?"
<Bjorn> From beside the bulkhead, Bjorn nods at Rez. "Tell Dracos to open the main bulkhead now. Now, gentlemen, once it opens, you'll have ten seconds. Move sharply."
<Shade> "I'm pretty sure using them as Polish mine detectors qualifies as violating 'We won't hurt them'"
<Brian> The guards look slightly panicked at this.
Rez facepalms.
<Rez> "Shade, it's knockout gas."
<Shade> "Rez, are you so sure?"
<Rez> "Yes, actually. Why the fuck do you think they've been using tranquilizers the whole time?"
Bjorn looks at the guards. "Do you think you're at risk going through this door? I won't make you go, if you don't want to."
<Bjorn> -Lazarus, is there any way you can shut him up?-
<Brian> The look uncertain, but also would like to get away.
<Shade> "Rez, they also had guns."
<Brian> -Not without violence.-
<Rez> "Yeah, locked away and not carried."
<Bjorn> -That doesn't sound like such a bad alternative. Nevermind.-
<Bjorn> "Rez, get Drac to open the bulkhead."
<Rez> "Drac, open the bulkhead!"
<Shade> "Well, its their funeral then."
<Rez> "Oh, blow it out your ass."
<Rez> "Remind me why the fuck we have to get you out here here again?"
<Brian> The bulkhead opens with a slow rumble after Dracos hits the correct circuit.
<Dracos> "Rez, Got it."
Bjorn waves the guards through.
<Brian> The guards waste no time in running full-bore towards the far bulkhead.
<Bjorn> "SHUT IT!"
Dracos shuts it.
Shade shrugs
<Brian> It starts to rise into the ceiling with a low rumble, as the near one starts to shut.
<Brian> -You may need to give them more time,- Lazarus warns. -The tunnel is long.-
Rez throws his hands up in disgust.
<Bjorn> "HOLD IT, DRAC!"
Dracos stops the bulkhead where it is.
<Brian> -They're clear,- Lazarus tells you, a few seconds later.
<Bjorn> "CLOSE IT NOW!"
Dracos closes it.
<Brian> This can't be good for the hydraulics....
Shade listens for the sound of any problems with the mechanisms.
Rez sits on the edge of the fountain, bow on his lap.
<Brian> -The guards are turning to the right, towards the elevator -- ah, they've encountered the defensive force at the elevator,- Lazarus reports.
<Bjorn> -What have they got?-
<Brian> He frowns. -There are only about ten guards, and three specials. The defensive forces believe that our former prisoners are unwell, given their refusal to fight. They're being sent to the medical area to be checked up on.-
<Bjorn> -Do you know the specials?-
<Rez> "So . . . now what?"
<Brian> Dracos: Caber says, "Okay, I've got about half their forces crawling around the air ducts, looking for all of me."
<Bjorn> "One second, Rez."
<Brian> -I know only one. He is an elementalist with control over air.-
<Dracos> "Way to go Caber."
<Dracos> "Guys, we don't have much time. Can you guys break out the other two and get ready to go?"
Bjorn turns to Rez. "Here's the story. We have ten guards, and three metahumans waiting out by the elevator. The gas didn't trigger, obviously."
<Rez> "Mmhmm. Armaments?"
<Shade> "Was one of them a woman with short blonde hair?"
<Bjorn> -Lazarus? Were the guards equipped the same as these ones?-
<Brian> -All in heavy armor,- he says. -Ah! I lost my contact -- I tried to switch to one of the guards at the elevator, but they have a telepath with them. She found me.-
<Brian> Lazarus rubs at his head and sits down at a picnic table bench.
<Bjorn> -You're all right?-
Rez looks at Lazarus quizzically.
<Bjorn> "They have heavy armor, but the same weapons, apparently. They have one metahuman with control over wind, and another who's a telepath."
<Rez> "Oh."
<Shade> "Ah, that must be her then."
Rez looks at his bow.
<Brian> -No lasting harm can be done with such an attack, but I need time to recover. A few minutes, and I should be fine.-
Shade looks at Rez.
<Rez> "This is someone's sick idea of a joke, isn't it?" he says to nobody in particular.
<Bjorn> -All right. You'll have that time.-
Bjorn ignores Rez's comment for the moment: no time for witticisms.
<Shade> "Yep"
<Bjorn> "Okay. We're going out a side door, the one closest to Victor, and we'll break him out. Then we'll loop around, free Ashnod, and hopefully, by that point, we'll have enough firepower to take out the forces at the elevator."
<Shade> "I wouldn't do that if I were you."
Ginrai picks up his pipe. "I take it you'll need some help with them?"
<Rez> "Alright. Ahm, where's the elevator take us?"
<Bjorn> "Upstairs. Into a regular building, apparently. From there it's easy."
Rez yells up to Dracos. "How's one get to section 1 from here, and where do we meet up?"
<Bjorn> "I don't want to split up. Partly because we have too many people to protect, and partly because we'll probably need Mikey to break those two out, and me to talk to them."
Ginrai gets up and walks towards Rez in the meantime.
Shade sighs, shrugs and sits down to wait
<Brian> "If they can get to the elevator and make it up, then that would be that," Caber says with a shrug. "We're on level m-04, right now."
<Shade> 'This shouldn't take too long'
<Bjorn> "Sound okay to you?"
<Rez> "Yeah, but, I can't leave immediately. I have to find Manos."
<Bjorn> "Yeah, and I need to find Megan, so we're even. If we have to split up after we reach the elevator, that's fine."
<Rez> "Alright then. Deal."
Bjorn nods at Rez, and then turns to face all the other inmates.
<Bjorn> "Okay, folks, we're just about ready to go! Do whatever you can to help, but don't do anything stupid -- the goal is to escape, not die! If you can't or won't fight, stay in the middle of the group. Any questions?"
<Brian> -We are ready,- Lazarus says, climbing to his feet. The other inmates appear to agree.
<Ginrai> "Lead the way, Bjorn."
Shade rolls his eyes
<Brian> The TK you never learned the name of nods, and levitates all the rubble of the table Mikey shattered in front of him. "Let me be part of the front line," he says.
Rez stands up and stretches, then nocks an arrow and gives Shade a black look.
Shade looks at Rez "Remember this, I tried to warn you.:
<Ginrai> "Shade, you want to stay here then?"
<Bjorn> "All right. DRAC, OPEN ALL THE BULKHEADS!"
<Rez> "You did nothing of the sort."
<Rez> "All you did was bitch about sending the guards out before we started fighting."
<Shade> Gin: "I'm not sure I care anymore."
<Rez> "If you've got something useful to say, say it."
<Brian> Dracos yells down, "You got it!" Shortly thereafter, the bulkheads begin to rise.
Bjorn leads the way to 04-NW-A, and Victor.
<Brian> -We haven't time to bicker,- Lazarus warns.
<Shade> "Remember the dream? The one where we met?"
<Rez> "Yes."
<Brian> The TK is at your side, the barrier of rubble floating before both of you.
<Bjorn> Sword in hand, armour on body -- let's rock, as best we can.
<Shade> "The telepath that tried to catch me in it, is out there."
<Rez> "OK."
<Ginrai> "Ah... ok, Shade. Why in such a mood? By the way, if you don't have a weapon, go pick up the rifle I left back there."
Shade jerks a finger towards the bulkheads
<Rez> "Ahm. Is she significant somehow?"
<Shade> "And she's not just a telepath, she packs some kind of mental 'punch'"
<Ginrai> "Ah, know who she is?"
<Rez> "Nothing we can do but try and take her down."
Rez follows Bjorn.
<Bjorn> "Shut the hell up and run, or stay!"
<Shade> "I know what she looks like."
<Shade> "Short blonde hair, she can read your mind on sight"
<Rez> "My, and I was wondering how they knew about the Oracle from you."
<Brian> Bjorn: You clear the first bulkhead, the second rising as you approach. Victor's room will be just to your right, if your memory serves.
Rez shuts up before he says anything more, and follows Bjorn, arrow nocked.
<Shade> "She's good enough to ignore any mental defense you have."
Bjorn turns to the right, still pounding.
<Ginrai> "Speaking of which, you got a few things that need explanation, Shade. We'll ask you after this is through."
Shade shrugs and follows at the end
Ginrai follows Rez
Rez runs after Bjorn.
<Brian> You reach the end of the corridor, the TK sending his rubble formation down the hall as though to sweep it for invisible people before just making a crude levitating wall with it, leaving you access to Victor's door. The other inmates halt, and look on with trepidation.
Bjorn takes a deep mental breath, and then looks at everyone.
<Bjorn> "You probably want to stay back. Mikey, I need you to open this door for me, please.
<Bjorn> 'And bracelet ... showtime. I hope I was right about you.' Again, Bjorn visualizes Ashnod's flame.
Rez stays back. With the inmates. 'Cause, you know, survival instincts.
<Brian> He nods. The door is steel, two meters and then some high, a meter wide, and the windows are pitch black. Mikey rears back, and throws a punch at the door. It explodes inward a short distance, hangs awkwardly in midair, and then drops.
Bjorn steps into the room. "Victor?"
<Brian> Mikey steps back -- everyone else steps back.
<Brian> The TK's barrier drops, and he presses himself against the far wall of the corridor, eyes wide.
<Brian> Ginrai, your danger sense is apologizing for not warning you of your already sealed death earlier.
<Ginrai> EH?!
<Brian> Rez, you think that something very bad is in that room.
Ginrai backs away
<Brian> Bjorn, you feel that this room is kinda dark.
<Ginrai> "Guys, move back as far as possible.""
<Brian> Shade, you're really not trusting this room either.
<Bjorn> "Victor? It's time to leave."
Shade sighs
<Brian> But. From the darkness, a pale figure lumbers forward.
Ginrai heads closer to the back of the group.
<Shade> "Wrong room."
<Shade> "Very Wrong Room, Oh Fearless Leader."
<Ginrai> "Shade, know anything that you forgot to tell us?"
<Shade> "You mean besides the great evil lurking in here?"
<Ginrai> "Please explain more."
<Shade> "Or did you guys ever find Mr. 'Blow holes in everything?'"
<Brian> Bjorn: He's got long, long straight hair, a little greasy, and is wearing the normal jumpsuit. He looks gaunt, and his eyes are blood red.
<Brian> He draws back his lips in a snarl, and lunges at you.
Bjorn tries to lead Victor into a throw.
<Ginrai> "And does this have anything to do with the guy that was sent after me?"
<Shade> "Ginrai, evil enough that I couldn't look at it without going insane, that enough?"
<Brian> Bjorn: Your bracelet shines brightly, and before he gets within range of you, a visible wall of light appears, bouncing him back.
<Brian> He growls, landing on four limbs. "Why ... have you come here?"
<Bjorn> In the dark, Bjorn's lips curl convulsively into a near-feral snarl. "Because I want to leave, Victor. And I will leave no-one to them."
<Brian> He eyes you calculatingly. "To taste the air of the night and be free again.... But why me? What am I to one such as you?"
<Bjorn> "You are a prisoner, Victor. Imprisoned by people that had no right. Or would you rather stay?"
<Shade> "They may have had a good reason to imprison him."
Ginrai smacks Shade's head
<Rez> "Shade, if you don't shut up, right now, I swear to god I'm putting a blunt arrow in your face."
<Brian> We'll enter combat time here.
<Brian> Phase zero, those with held actions may go (Bjorn, Rez, and Victor).
Ginrai moves far away from Shade after his smack.
<Brian> Victor's about to lunge at Shade.
<Brian> Bjorn, your action.
Bjorn reaches out to grab Victor's arm, to try to restrain him.
<Bjorn> Nothing fancy or damaging.
<Bjorn> And, uh, with the hand not holding my invisible sword.
<Brian> Opposed strength rolls. Roll 3d6, and subtract 1 for each five points of strength you have.
<Bjorn> roll 3d6-3
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Bjorn ... : 3d6-3 --> [ 3d6=6 ]{3}
<Brian> roll 3d6-6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3d6-6 --> [ 3d6=9 ]{3}
<Brian> You restrain him -- barely. This guy's strong.
Rez drops his bow and jumps forward to help Bjorn.
<Brian> Okay, you can make a full-move towards him, however, you are out of his range at the moment.
<Bjorn> "Victor!" Bjorn says sharply. "He's a fucking insane idiot! He's not important!"
Shade just looks at Victor without expression.
<Brian> Rez: And, when you enter a six meter range (as you do at the end of your movement), you are also required to make an Ego roll.
<Rez> Brian: How do I do that?
<Brian> Just roll 3d6 -- you want to get less than 8 +EGO/5
<Rez> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Rez ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=16 ]{16}
<Rez> Fuck.
<Brian> This guy's way too creepy -- you're not getting any closer.
<Brian> "He needs to learn the meaning of fear," Victor yells, straining.
<Shade> "Take a number and get in line."
<Brian> ....
<Brian> Next, phase 4, speed 3s.
<Brian> Dex order.
<Brian> Dex 18s.
<Brian> Bjorn: Opposed strength checks again.
<Brian> roll 3d6-6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3d6-6 --> [ 3d6=8 ]{2}
<Bjorn> roll 3d6-3
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Bjorn ... : 3d6-3 --> [ 3d6=8 ]{5}
<Brian> Okay. Victor's free, and moves -- faster than you've seen anyone move before -- within striking distance of Shade.
<Brian> Everyone but Bjorn must make an Ego roll or dive for cover.
<Rez> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Rez ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=12 ]{12}
Rez promptly dives for cover.
<Ginrai> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Ginrai ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=11 ]{11}
Ginrai gets the fuck away.
<Brian> The inmates have already backed away.
<Brian> Shade, please roll 3d6 against Ego (you will need less than 6) to avoid being paralyzed with fear.
<Shade> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Shade ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=6 ]{6}
<Brian> You are, in fact, NOT paralyzed with fear, though you get the idea it would be smart to move out of the way.
Shade holds his action.
<Brian> Phase 6, speed 2s. Bjorn, you can not reach Victor with a full move, but you can get within 2 meters of him.
Bjorn moves towards Victor.
<Brian> Phase 7, Shade, if you don't use your held action now, you'll lose it.
<Shade> how far away is he?
<Brian> He's RIGHT IN YOUR FACE.
Shade steps out of his way at the last possible moment
<Brian> Considering he stopped, and just glared at you, it's a bit late for that.
Shade looks Victor in the eyes calmly.
<Brian> "Apologize for your words," he growls.
<Shade> "Why?"
<Brian> "To show that you know your place."
<Shade> "And what is my place?"
<Brian> "Beneath me.'
<Shade> "Why?"
<Brian> Phase 8, speed threes.
<Brian> In dex order.
<Brian> 18s.
<Brian> Victor elects to move beyond verbal conversation.
<Brian> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=14 ]{14}
<Brian> Shade, you're now Grabbed. You may forfeit your action to make an opposed strength check to try and escape.
Shade will hold his action.
<Brian> Alright.
<Brian> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=5 ]{5}
<Brian> You are bitten on the neck.
<Brian> roll 1d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 1d6 --> [ 1d6=6 ]{6}
<Brian> You take 12 body (and lose your jugular), and lose....
<Brian> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=13 ]{13}
<Brian> 13 END.
<Brian> Your world has become very dark.
<Brian> Victor just tore Shade's neck out with his teeth, and appears to be draining his blood.
Rez stops his attempt at getting up and starts puking.
<Brian> roll 3#3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3#3d6 --> [ 3d6=12 ]{12}, [ 3d6=12 ]{12}, [ 3d6=15 ]{15}
Bjorn stops short, closes his eyes briefly, and then regards Victor evenly.
<Brian> Dropping Shade's corpse, Victor wipes his mouth with the back of his hands, turns to Bjorn, and says, "I find the terms of your proposal agreeable."
Bjorn nods gravely.
<Brian> He seems relaxed, and the aura of fear is lessened ... except for the fact that this creepy guy just drained Shade dry and dropped him on the floor.
<Bjorn> "We're going to free Ashnod, next. If you wait, and take them from this side, we'll have the best chance of success."
Rez gradually picks himself up off the ground and stares blankly at Shade's corpse.
<Brian> Victor looks at it thoughtfully, and closes Shade's eyes.
<Bjorn> "Good luck, Victor."
<Brian> He nods. The other inmates seem really eager to back away, the TK only belatedly remembering to take his rubble with him.
Ginrai is still too stunned to do much.
<Ginrai> "Are we going to come back here? If so, then I'll leave it here for now."
<Brian> Victor eyes you coolly. "His body will still be here for some time."
Ginrai sighs and picks it up. "Guy did warn me about Albany, even if he was wrong about the wolf."
<Rez> "You . . . Ginrai, we have children. Leave him behind or stay for a while."
<Ginrai> "Okay."
Ginrai leaves the body and goes to follow Rez.
Bjorn leads everyone away from the elevator, around the outer corridor towards Ashnod's cell.
<Bjorn> As I run, I'm checking the labs and so on along the way, for anyone and for Megan in particular.
Rez gathers himself and follows Bjorn
<Bjorn> -Lazarus, is Bridgett okay?-
<Brian> The labs are deserted, and have little flashing red lights on the walls.
<Ginrai> "Do we just leave Shade's corpse there?"
<Bjorn> "Unless you want to carry it."
<Brian> -Mikey stood before her. She did not see.-
<Rez> "Feel free to carry it."
<Brian> Once that corridor is behind you, you find yourselves loping down another, long curving corridor.
<Bjorn> -... Thank you, Lazarus. And thank Mikey for me.-
<Brian> You pass, at one point, a room identical to Victor's with a placard saying, "Bjorn Christianson".
Rez turns and runs after Bjorn.
<Bjorn> 'Well. Somebody appreciates me.'
<Brian> Eventually, you reach a third room, this one labeled 'Ashnod'.
<Brian> The door is already opened.
Bjorn motions everyone to stay back, and steps into the room.
<Brian> Inside the room, you see Ashnod, eyeing you warily, though he's restrained to a chair, wearing a funky sci-fi helmet with many blinky lights.
<Brian> To your left, on the floor, eyes wide in disappointment, is Dr. Richmond, one hand over the apparently fatal gunshot wound.
Rez sags against the wall outside and looks over the rest of the crowd.
<Bjorn> "Hello, Ashnod. Sorry about hitting you with my car." Bjorn then sets about freeing Ashnod.
<Bjorn> -Lazarus? Can you link from me to Ashnod?-
<Brian> -Yes.-
<Bjorn> -Please do. I'd like to talk to him.-
<Brian> -He's not answering.-
Bjorn takes the helmet off Ashnod. "Ashnod? Can you let Lazarus connect us, so that we can talk?"
<Brian> Ashnod ignores you, looking past you towards Bridgett. He looks puzzled. Once his hands are free, he makes a gesture at Bridgett.
<Brian> She shakes her head and makes a gesture back.
<Brian> -Here he is,- Lazarus says.
<Brian> -Where is Megan?- Ashnod asks, his 'thoughts' looking like charcoal scrawled over white chalk.
<Bjorn> -I don't know. She was taken by the doctors before we began our escape attempt. We still have to find and free her.-
<Brian> -...good.-
<Bjorn> -I'm sorry about what happened in Canada.-
<Brian> -If we can escape and be free, all is well.- He stands up, once free, and hugs Bridgett tightly. She hugs him back. You've never noticed the familial resemblance before, but that may have been due to the circumstances.
<Bjorn> Yeah, just maybe.
<Bjorn> -Are you ready?-
<Brian> He puts Bridgett down, and nods.
<Bjorn> -Bridgett... is your daughter?-
<Brian> -And Megan is my wife.-
<Brian> -Lead the way.-
<Bjorn> -I will. Ashnod, Lazarus... I'm about to invert my mindboard. That means you won't be able to communicate with me.-
<Brian> They both nod.
<Brian> Ashnod moves to the fore, with the TK, and they wait for you to lead them on.
Bjorn inverts the mindshield, and "activates" the bracelet.
<Brian> Think defensy-thoughts.
Bjorn does. Happy defensey thoughts, of no burning, and ignoring winds.
<Rez> "Anything I should know before we charge?"
<Bjorn> "Yeah. If the breezes picks up, arrows might not work well."
<Bjorn> "Oh. And stay behind Ashnod."
<Rez> "We'll see how fire goes, then."
<Brian> Ashnod nods in agreement.
<Rez> "Right, gotcha."
<Bjorn> Without further words, Bjorn starts to trot towards the elevator.
<Brian> You come around the corner, to where you see ten heavily armored guards, and three people in normal, everyday clothing awaiting you -- Victor rushes the opposite hallway like humanoid lightning.
Ginrai clutches onto his pipe... looks like it's time to fight
Bjorn picks up the pace, and charges the foes.
Rez starts loosing arrows.
<Brian> The guards stand their ground, though they don't look like they want to be there.
<Brian> We'll enter combat time here.
<Brian> Phase zero actions are held by the defenders, so they open fire.
<Brian> roll 10#3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 10#3d6 --> [ 3d6=9 ]{9}, [ 3d6=15 ]{15}, [ 3d6=15 ]{15}, [ 3d6=14 ]{14}, [ 3d6=11 ]{11}, [ 3d6=14 ]{14}, [ 3d6=10 ]{10}, [ 3d6=10 ]{10}, [ 3d6=5 ]{5}, [ 3d6=7 ]{7}
<Brian> Victor looks like he could care less about tranq darts, and those headed down your hallway are smashed out of the air by your TK friend's rubble.
<Brian> The guards aren't pleased.
<Brian> The metas act.
<Brian> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=9 ]{9}
<Brian> roll 4d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 4d6 --> [ 4d6=12 ]{12}
<Brian> Something none of you can SEE makes Victor stagger, but he keeps on coming.
<Brian> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=11 ]{11}
<Brian> Huh.
<Brian> roll 18d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 18d6 --> [ 18d6=81 ]{81}
<Brian> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=13 ]{13}
<Brian> The wind starts rushing away from you....
<Brian> The remaining meta appears to be holding his action.
<Brian> Additionally: One of those meta-humans (the one looking at Victor) is Jessica.
<Brian> We're going to use simplified combat rules, since I don't want to roll 52 NPCs attacks on specific phases.
<Bjorn> Aw.
<Brian> Tactically, the air is being drained out from the area where the inmates are fighting, and you don't know who the air-elementalist is.
<Brian> Otherwise, everyone is going to get one action per phase, dex order.
<Brian> 18 makes Victor go first.
<Brian> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=13 ]{13}
<Brian> roll 6#1d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 6#1d6 --> [ 1d6=5 ]{5}, [ 1d6=6 ]{6}, [ 1d6=1 ]{1}, [ 1d6=3 ]{3}, [ 1d6=6 ]{6}, [ 1d6=6 ]{6}
<Brian> Victor punches right through the ballistic plate of one armored guard.
<Brian> Next in dex order....
<Brian> Dex 12s.
<Brian> Jessica attempts an Ego attack on Victor.
<Brian> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=11 ]{11}
<Brian> roll 4d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 4d6 --> [ 4d6=9 ]{9}
<Brian> He shakes it off without effort.
<Brian> Dex 10s.
Rez is Dex 10.
<Rez> Do I have a clear shot at any of the metas?
<Brian> Yes, any three of them.
<Rez> I shoot a fire arrow at the one who doesn't seem to be doing anything.
<Brian> Make your attack roll.
<Rez> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Rez ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=14 ]{14}
<Brian> You missed, and hit a wall.
<Rez> Curses.
<Rez> Did I set the wall on fire?
<Brian> It's cement.
<Brian> No.
<Rez> Awwww.
<Brian> Some of the inmates.
<Brian> roll 9#3d6 for inmatey-bludgeoning!
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 9#3d6 for inmatey-bludgeoning! --> [ 3d6=11 ]{11}, [ 3d6=10 ]{10}, [ 3d6=15 ]{15}, [ 3d6=11 ]{11}, [ 3d6=12 ]{12}, [ 3d6=15 ]{15}, [ 3d6=10 ]{10}, [ 3d6=7 ]{7}, [ 3d6=12 ]{12}
<Brian> Guards.
<Brian> roll 9#3d6 for guard tranq gunning
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 9#3d6 for guard tranq gunning --> [ 3d6=9 ]{9}, [ 3d6=8 ]{8}, [ 3d6=11 ]{11}, [ 3d6=8 ]{8}, [ 3d6=12 ]{12}, [ 3d6=15 ]{15}, [ 3d6=9 ]{9}, [ 3d6=11 ]{11}, [ 3d6=11 ]{11}
<Brian> A couple inmates take tranq darts. Three guards are downed.
<Brian> Dex 9s.
<Bjorn> Can I reach either of the two metas who are not Jessica?
<Ginrai> Are any of the guards near me?
<Brian> Yes.
<Ginrai> ok, how many guards near me?
Bjorn is going to attack the nearest meta who is not Jessica. +3 to OCV, and Martial Strike -- with this much artillery in the air, no point in trying to be defensive.
<Brian> A few. You can only get to one, though.
<Brian> Bjorn, Ginrai, any other dex 9s, roll for your attacks and declare a target.
Ginrai swings his pipe at one of the guards.
<Bjorn> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Bjorn ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=10 ]{10}
<Brian> Bjorn: You hit.
<Brian> Go ahead and roll your 2d6+1 killing damage.
<Bjorn> roll 2d6+1
<Brian> The metahuman Bjorn slashed was cut in half completely.
<Ginrai> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Ginrai ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=11 ]{11}
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Bjorn ... : 2d6+1 --> [ 2d6=11 ]{12}
<Brian> Ginrai: You hit.
<Brian> Go ahead and Roll your 5#1d6 normal pipe damage
<Ginrai> roll 5#1d6 for the precious!
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Ginrai ... : 5#1d6 for the precious! --> [ 1d6=4 ]{4}, [ 1d6=1 ]{1}, [ 1d6=2 ]{2}, [ 1d6=6 ]{6}, [ 1d6=1 ]{1}
<Brian> You cracked his helmet clean off his head.
<Brian> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=9 ]{9}
<Brian> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=8 ]{8}
<Brian> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=11 ]{11}
<Brian> One of the metahumans (the one Rez was shooting at) is run-through with a two-meter long lance of fire.
<Brian> At this point, all the guards are subdued (or slain) and Taylor is fleeing towards the elevator.
Bjorn sprints after, with the goal of subduing her. "Stop and surrender!" he roars.
<Brian> Victor is pacing you -- and you know he's pacing you, since he could surpass you easily. "There will be no escape."
Rez rapid fires two blunt arrows at Taylor.
<Rez> Putting a +1 on OCV.
<Brian> Go ahead and make your roll.
<Rez> roll 2#3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Rez ... : 2#3d6 --> [ 3d6=11 ]{11}, [ 3d6=11 ]{11}
<Bjorn> "Don't kill her," Bjorn grinds out to Victor. "We need answers."
<Brian> Rez, you hit.
<Rez> roll 2#1d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Rez ... : 2#1d6 --> [ 1d6=2 ]{2}, [ 1d6=6 ]{6}
<Brian> She staggers, but keeps running.
<Brian> Victor says, "Very well," and blurs ahead of you, getting in front of her, and causing her to skid to a halt, backed into a wall. Behind you, the inmates are cuffing the remaining guards and taking away their weapons and armor.
Rez goes and sees if he can grab some undamaged combat armor before it's all gone.
<Brian> Easy enough.
Bjorn concentrates, and tries to telepathically isolate Taylor, using his double-mindshield trick.
<Brian> You can actually feel her battering against it, trying to get out. Her eyes are wide, and she's obviously panicked.
Ginrai follows Rez to do the same
Rez sees if he can pick up a second set. Disguise is probably not gonna work, but hey.
<Bjorn> "Hello, Jessica. How've you been doing?"
<Brian> Rez, Gin: You spend a few minutes getting body armor put on.
<Brian> "Why are you doing this?" she asks.
<Ginrai> Are there anymore conscious guards?
<Brian> They're being cuffed.
<Bjorn> "Escaping? Because I don't like being a prisoner, Jessica, and I don't like being a lab animal. Now, let me ask you the same question. Why are you doing this?"
<Brian> "Because I want it back," she whimpers. "He took it away, he came and stole Ezmereth, and he TOOK IT AWAY!"
<Brian> She's practically frothing. Victor grabs her wrists and restrains her.
Bjorn snarls. "Megan, Jessica. Where is Megan?"
<Bjorn> 'Don't have time. Sort it out later.'
<Brian> "Took it away, took it away, took it away," she mumbles into a litany, shaking her head. Her eyes are unfocused.
Ginrai returns with the armor on him. "Who's she, Bjorn?"
Rez walks over behind Ginrai, picking up his hopefully undamaged blunts off the floor as he does so.
Bjorn shakes his head. "Someone who has answers I want, I think. Hold her just a minute more, please, Victor."
Bjorn goes back to grab a tranq round, and then co
<Brian> She takes a few steps forward, then freezes. "Wait," she says slowly. "They can't destroy the building. Manos is still here, and can't be moved."
<Dracos> "Let's get the hell over there then. Then I want you to lead us to Manos."
<Brian> "Simple enough," she agrees, leading you back the way you came, past the guard's bodies, and to the elevator.
<Brian> It opens, and another Caber (this one the original male model) steps out. "Good to send down," he reports. As soon as he steps out, it closes, and goes down on its own, though.
Dracos blinks, pondering.
<Brian> It comes back up, and opens, revealing Rez, Ginrai, some guy with Shade's body on his shoulders, a somewhat emaciated looking guy, and ... someone you don't recognize in S.W.A.T. gear.
<Dracos> "Well...it looks like we survived...somewhat...shit man, what the fuck happened on your end?"
<Brian> The emaciated guy sees Caber, and reacts instantly.
<Brian> roll 3#3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3#3d6 --> [ 3d6=9 ]{9}, [ 3d6=12 ]{12}, [ 3d6=6 ]{6}
<Brian> Bjorn: The male figure you see (you recognize him as the sniper with Jessica back in Canada) takes a fiery lance to the chest, and falls down, bleeding profusely.
<Brian> The nurse looks down at the body and says, "Had it coming."
Dracos sweatdrops.
<Bjorn> "Yes. He did."
<Dracos> "Um...right... um, introductions for the guy quite lost?"
<Rez> "Well."
<Rez> "Who was that?"
<Dracos> "Caber...or, as I think, Legion...the wolf, right?" Dracos turns to the woman. "From that summoning?"
<Brian> "Er, no, I'm not Caber. I'm ... Sabrina," the nurse says, not quite meeting Ashnod's eyes. "Though, I don't know what you're talking about with wolves."
<Brian> Dracos, please roll 3d6 for a perception check.
<Bjorn> "Alright. You're Sabrina. I'm guessing from that fact that Rez is being quite calm that you're Dracos."
<Dracos> Roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Dracos ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=14 ]{14}
<Brian> Hey, you didn't see it before, but that guy's holding a sword. It's kinda glowy.
<Dracos> "Okay, Sabrina. Anyhow, who are you guys? Aside from Rez and Gin I don't recognize you. I'm Philip. And... That's a really spiffy sword."
<Brian> Rez, Ginrai: Please roll 3d6 for perception checks.
<Ginrai> "Okay... I'm completely lost here. Where's Caber and Patricia?"
<Ginrai> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Ginrai ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=12 ]{12}
<Rez> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Rez ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=12 ]{12}
<Brian> Rez, Gin: Dracos didn't used to have green eyes....
Rez eyes Drac.
<Rez> "You have a little explaining to do."
Ginrai decides to not say anything until later.
<Bjorn> "I'm Bjorn. Thanks. It's new. The guy with the body over his shoulder is Victor, and this is Ashnod."
<Bjorn> "Now. Ashnod and I need to find Megan. Don't suppose you've run into her?"
<Ginrai> "And the guy without any blood is Shade."
<Brian> The nurse flinches.
<Dracos> "Yeah, sure, short of it, you were right, this was a really bad plan. And if Shade wasn't already on that guy's shoulder, I'd be ripping his head off. And...well...eeeh..."
<Brian> "Delighted to see you much firmer in the waking world," Victor says dryly.
<Brian> Ashnod just shrugs, and looks mildly confused.
<Dracos> "How to put this..."
<Rez> "I told you it was a stupid plan."
Bjorn stares at the nurse.
Ginrai looks at Victor. "You've met Drac before?"
<Brian> "Oh, yes," he says pleasantly. "I've met all of you. You simply don't remember it."
<Ginrai> "Ah, in our dreams?"
Rez blinks.
<Rez> "You're kinda hard to forget, if you'll pardon me saying so."
<Bjorn> "This is all very interesting," Bjorn says sharply, "but Miss Sabrina here knows something about Megan, and I'd like to know what."
<Brian> "I wasn't myself, then," he says chuckling as if it were something silly.
<Dracos> "I've met Megan. And well...you won't like this. She's dead. Peterson murdered her before experimenting on me. He's also dead now. She passed on words for her husband though...."
<Brian> The nurse steps behind Dracos.
<Brian> Ashnod's jaw drops, and he collapses to his knees, eyes wide.
<Brian> He makes a strangled sound it takes you a moment to realize is a sob.
<Bjorn> Bjorn's cheek twitches, convulsively, once. And then he rests a comforting hand on Ashnod's shoulder.
<Brian> Ashnod rubs at his eyes, and shakes his head.
<Dracos> Dracos, in the best he can do as he really isn't good at this and never has been, tries in a soft tone, "I... take it that, you are her husband, Ashnod?"
<Brian> He nods, sniffling noisily.
Rez sighs, and watches.
<Dracos> "Her last words, at least that I heard before getting knocked out, were: "Tell my husband I'm sorry. Trust. Vengeance.""
<Brian> Ashnod stands up, looking firmer, though his eyes are still watering, and nods.
Dracos is silent for a moment, not really knowing what else to say, glancing at the others.
<Brian> "Eh, they're up to something," the nurse says, looking around uneasily, as the body on the ground collapses into dust, which is then carried away on an invisible breeze. "I don't know what it is, but I don't like it."
Bjorn starts to say something, chokes for a second, and then tries again. "Alright. What do we do now?"
<Rez> "Where's Manos?"
<Dracos> "Sabrina knows. And will take us to him. Now." Dracos turns to her.
<Bjorn> "Who's Manos?"
<Rez> "An AI, I think."
<Rez> "In a very loose sense."
<Brian> Ashnod frowns, and gestures upwards. The nurse nods, stepping into the elevator. "AI core of the DataPod," she corrects.
<Dracos> "Lead away. We got...some questioning to do." Dracos heads after her into the elevator.
Bjorn looks at Ashnod.
<Rez> "You seem to know a lot. What does that mean . . . and why doesn't the oracle remember much?"
<Bjorn> 'Wish Lazarus was still around.'
<Brian> "Patricia knows more about that than me," Sabrina admits.
<Rez> "You know more than I do, I'm sure."
<Ginrai> "And where is she?"
<Brian> "Safe. From what I do know, there are supposed to be three oracles. One for each faction. But ... the third faction was destroyed, and the two split access, covering her memories of what cause she was supposed to forward."
<Bjorn> "Okay, wait. I'm extremely confused."
<Brian> She slides a security card through a reader, and presses a button marked, "D-1".
<Dracos> "Bjorn, we all are. Let's get Manos and get out of here. THEN we can figure it out."
<Bjorn> "What I want to do is end the Workshop, once and for all. Does any of this have to do with that?"
<Ginrai> "I meant where's Patricia."
<Rez> "So why did Manos want to destroy her?"
<Ginrai> "Thought she was going to help us out before."
<Dracos> "This place is creepy as hell and I'm sure we don't want to stay around any longer. Bjorn, yes."
Bjorn looks at Ashnod, for support, or confirmation, or something.
<Brian> Bjorn: Ashnod claps a hand on your shoulder and nods.
Bjorn nods at Ashnod.
<Bjorn> "All right, then."
<Bjorn> "Let's get to it."
<Rez> "Probably."
<Dracos> "And on that note...Sabrina, does this place have a self-destruct system?"
<Bjorn> should be quotes
Rez chokes.
<Brian> "Not that I'm aware of," she says. "It withstood the Wanderer and Ezmereth's escape."
<Bjorn> "One thing at a time, Philip. Let's get to work."
<Ginrai> "Drac, not until we're far away from here!"
<Dracos> "Right, Right, Bjorn. And Gin, shaddup."
<Brian> The elevator reaches a stop, and opens, both front and back. "North, DataPod, Manos, and the incinerator," she announces. "South is the main security station, delivery access, and depository."
<Brian> It looks like someone's been south already....
<Rez> How do you mean?
<Brian> Well, the doors have that, "Torn off their hinges by Mikey," look to 'em.
<Brian> You can see half a desk standing upright, and the other half smashed across a floor.
<Dracos> "... I do not want to encounter whatever did that."
<Bjorn> "He's a nice guy."
<Rez> "Well, hey. North it is."
<Bjorn> "We want north. Let's go."
<Dracos> "Let's get Manos, find that incinerator, dump his core into it, and get out."
<Rez> "Now what the hell is the DataPod?"
<Rez> "And why are you so eager to have us find Manos? Because it leaves Ceran unopposed?"
Dracos heads north.
<Brian> "If you don't mind, I need to collect some of my things," Victor says, setting Shade's body down, and moseying south.
<Bjorn> "See you, Victor."
<Rez> "Well, we'll probably have left a pretty obvious trail."
<Brian> "I'm not eager, you are," the nurse says. "I don't really care either way."
<Rez> "Helpful is rather surprising."
Bjorn follows after Dracos, assuming Ashnod is also following him.
Rez follows Dracos.
<Brian> Ashnod follows.
Ginrai does the same
<Brian> You come to a security door with a placard reading, "No speaking permitted beyond this point."
<Rez> "Oh, you mentioned that."
<Rez> Any other doors in the corridor?
<Brian> Nope.
Bjorn cocks an eyebrow. "Dare I ask?"
<Rez> "Apparently Manos is something of a psycho about speaking."
<Brian> The nurse shrugs. "Not Manos -- Flint. The man connected to the machine."
<Rez> "Oh. What?"
<Rez> "Who's Flint?"
<Dracos> "Good thing I like speaking. How dangerous is Flint? And why didn't you mention him before?"
Bjorn grunts, and turns to Ashnod, and tries to use hand-sigils to ask, "Is this what the sign language is about?"
<Brian> Ashnod nods.
<Brian> "You'll see," she says, swiping the card through a security reader.
<Rez> "I don't like 'You'll see's."
<Rez> "That's caused half the trouble with this damn plan already."
<Dracos> "You'll see doesn't work, tell now."
<Dracos> "Before we cross this point."
<Brian> There's a ten meter long corridor, lined with thick cloth, and a thick carpet, too. Another security door stands inside.
<Brian> "Well," Sabrina says, "he's a mind-reader, but not a great one, from what I can figure. He can't stand hearing someone say something while thinking something different. Drives him nuts."
<Brian> She shrugs. "Can't STOP listening to the minds around him, so...."
<Rez> "Ahh."
<Bjorn> "Well, then," Bjorn grunts, "he should find me a refreshing change."
Bjorn turns his mindboard in, and says, "Shall we move, then?"
<Rez> "I get the feeling one or two people should stay out here."
<Ginrai> "Any reason?"
<Dracos> "Definitely. Gin, Ashnod, mind guarding the rear?"
<Dracos> "Because it's intelligent. That's reason enough."
<Brian> Ashnod rolls his eyes at you, and makes handsigns at Bjorn.
<Ginrai> "Sure."
Bjorn tries to decipher the handsigns.
<Brian> You gather ... "this operation is being run by me," out of the entire thing.
<Brian> You don't think he's referring to the entire plan, though.
<Bjorn> "Ashnod won't be staying behind. Neither will I."
<Rez> "Alright."
Rez steps into the room and starts walking towards the other door.
<Dracos> "Mkay... Fair enough, Gin, that door stays open or I will be very angry when we get out."
<Brian> Ashnod makes another series of gestures, before you get there.
Bjorn again tries to make them out.
<Bjorn> "Wait, Rez."
<Rez> "What?"
Dracos follows but stops blinking and turning with a raised eyebrow at Ashnod.
<Brian> You read it as, "This file needs to be run outside of your default directory."
<Bjorn> "'This file needs to be run outside your default directory?' I... don't understand, Ashnod."
Dracos wishes he could bloody figure out what the hell Ashnod wanted.
<Brian> He looks frustrated, and looks around at everyone, as though looking for something.
<Brian> He makes another sign.
<Brian> Bjorn: It looks like "Can ... I ... be ... directly read."
Bjorn closes his eyes, and thinks. "Are you asking if there's a telepath here?"
<Bjorn> He says this aloud, so that others can follow him.
<Brian> He nods.
Dracos ponders. Checks pocket, pulls out pen.
Dracos asks quietly, "Anyone have something that can be written on?"
Bjorn looks at everyone else. "Well, is there?"
<Rez> "Yeah, notebook in my laptop bag. One second."
<Bjorn> "And no. No paper."
Dracos shakes his head.
<Dracos> "Not that I know of. I just see magic as far as I can tell."
Rez looks confused.
<Brian> Dracos: Ashnod takes your hand, and presses it to his forehead.
<Brian> -...think....-
Dracos thinks -hello?-
<Brian> Well, this is funky. It's just like when you were hearing the voice in your head in the operating room, but subtly different ... like you're looking at it from the other side.
<Dracos> -Well...this is strange....can you hear me Ashnod?-
<Brian> He nods.
<Brian> -When I go in, stand away from me,- he sends, along with an image of a ring of fire rising from around him, and exploding outward.
<Dracos> -Understood, We'll stay back away.-
<Brian> -Flint had my tongue cut out for speaking,- he adds. -He's mine.-
<Dracos> "Guys, Ashnod is going to take the lead. We want to stay back and away. He's going to cut loose with a ring of fire."
<Dracos> -Quite Understood. Enjoy your vengeance.-
<Bjorn> "I'm assuming that doesn't apply quite as much to me?" Bjorn asks, looking at Ashnod.
<Brian> Ashnod shrugs, as though uncertain.
<Brian> The nurse taps on the door. "Time to open up?" she asks, holding the security card over the reader.
<Rez> "Oooh, fire . . ."
<Rez> "One ring, then we move?"
<Brian> Ashnod nods.
<Bjorn> "All right, then."
Bjorn motions Ashnod to take the lead.
<Rez> "One ring to . . . no, I won't go there."
<Brian> The nurse swipes the card. The outer doors slam shut, leaving Ginrai outside, and the inner doors slide open noiselessly.
<Ginrai> "FUCK!"
Rez leans against the wall, next to the door.
<Brian> You're looking at a room, dome-shaped, about thirty meters across, circular, and filled with people wearing VR gear.
<Ginrai> "Umm... if you can hear me, sorry about that, guys."
<Brian> No sound gets through this door.
<Brian> It's completely silent, except for the rustling of people moving around.
Rez waves Drac away from the doorway.
Dracos gets to the opposite wall as Rez.
Rez gets his bow and, unsurprisingly, nocks an arrow. Tactics.
Bjorn stays back a little from Ashnod, about midway between Dracos and Rez, and Ashnod.
<Brian> The people with VR gear seem to be totally oblivious to you -- the hookups are suspended from some overhead rig, and above that, you see a balcony, with what you guess are superior techs at various workstations, silently working away.
<Brian> Ashnod strides forward like he owns the place.
<Brian> One of the maintainers on the second tier leans down to look at him, as though surprised, and then makes a gesture at Ashnod. Bjorn: You recognize it as 'delete'.
<Brian> Ashnod just smiles.
<Brian> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=9 ]{9}
<Brian> roll 5#1d6 explosive fire damage
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 5#1d6 explosive fire damage --> [ 1d6=2 ]{2}, [ 1d6=2 ]{2}, [ 1d6=1 ]{1}, [ 1d6=3 ]{3}, [ 1d6=3 ]{3}
<Brian> Just like the image in Dracos's mind, or that day back in Canada, fire appears in a rolling wave around Ashnod, and explodes outward, sweeping half of the techs away and flinging them into the padded walls. Their cries of pain make the maintainer (this must be Flint) grab his head and curl up over his console.
<Brian> So ... we can enter combat time here if you're planning on slaughtering the techs, who are all fleeing, or you can watch Ashnod slaughter them himself.
Bjorn makes sure his mindboard is turned inwards, and moves forward to the mouth of the corridor, keeping half an eye on Ashnod, and the rest on the rest of the room.
<Bjorn> But I'll watch Ashnod.
<Rez> Um. No.
<Rez> I'm going to watch, and look vaguely sick.
<Dracos> I have my hilt ready to kill anyone who seems like they are going to try and attack me, but if they don't and are fleeing, I'm staying way out of their way. I have no blood grudge there."
Rez turns to the nurse. "Where's Manos?"
<Brian> They're just running around.
<Brian> The nurse points at Flint, as Ashnod hurls a lance of fire upwards.
<Brian> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=16 ]{16}
<Brian> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=8 ]{8}
<Brian> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=7 ]{7}
<Brian> He's a frail guy, and folds under the blast quickly.
<Rez> Are there any stairs?
<Brian> He slides over his console, off the balcony, and slams into the padded floor, trailing various wires (some of which are connected directly to his skull) with him.
<Brian> Yes, to the sides.
Rez moves towards the stairs and walks up.
<Brian> The other maintainers are quickly disengaging their own wetware.
<Brian> Ashnod's done, leaving only a single man killed, and spits (somewhat awkwardly) on the corpse.
<Brian> He then makes a speech in handsigns at the remaining techs.
<Brian> Unless you stop them, they move to run away afterwards.
Bjorn moves forward, moving up the stairs after Rez, ignoring the techs.
Rez gets out of their way, bow ready.
<Brian> Bjorn: Intuitively, you guess he's saying, "Never be part of something like this again."
<Brian> Dracos: Scanning, you know that's exactly what he's saying, with added death threats.
<Rez> "Sabrina, coming?"
<Bjorn> "There never will be."
Bjorn says that under his breath, as to himself.
<Brian> "I guess," she says, following.
<Brian> Upstairs, on the balcony, is a number of desk/consoles, the maintainers disengaging themselves and moving to join the crowd of fleeing techs.
<Dracos> "Guys, query, maintainer is gone...is Manos?"
<Rez> "Lead the way."
<Brian> Ashnod shakes his head, and points to the main console.
Dracos follows up to the main console and takes a look over it.
<Brian> The one Flint just got torn out of.
Rez walks over to it and looks.
<Brian> Well, there's a screen, but no keyboard or mouse.
<Brian> The gloves connected to it were torn out when Flint fell.
<Bjorn> "Now what?"
<Brian> The screen is displaying a traceroute, and the window at the top says, "Tracking Cassandra." The timer suggests another two hours remain before the count completes.
Rez looks at the screen.
<Dracos> "That's a damned coul...."
<Rez> "Well."
<Dracos> "I say we frag this thing."
<Dracos> "Now."
<Dracos> "Brutally."
<Brian> Ashnod looks pensive.
<Rez> "I doubt we'd get anything done anyway."
<Bjorn> "Why destroy it? What is it?"
Rez puts his right hand through the screen.
<Brian> Luckily for you, your metal hand seems impervious to shattered glass. You reach through the screen, and mildly shock yourself when you accidentally cause the monitor's power-coil to contact the processor behind it.
<Dracos> "Not enough damage. Anyone got a magnet?"
<Rez> "So, Cassandra's her name?"
<Rez> "OW!"
<Brian> There's a loud electrical *SNAP!* and all the lights in the room go off.
<Rez> "Oops."
<Brian> roll 3#1d6 electrical damage
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3#1d6 electrical damage --> [ 1d6=3 ]{3}, [ 1d6=1 ]{1}, [ 1d6=2 ]{2}
<Brian> Rez: That kinda stung, but no lasting damage.
Rez reaches into his pocket and pulls out the flashlight.
<Brian> Emergency lighting comes back up, and all of the other consoles do, too.
<Brian> Their BIOSs display CMOS checksum errors.
<Bjorn> "Well. I hope that didn't have any useful information."
<Rez> "Probably did, but you try convincing it to let go. I can't get past one of those, and I've tried. Although not that hard."
<Rez> "So, Sabrina, where's the actual core of this thing, anyway? And the storage?"
<Brian> "Inside the console you just broke," she says dubiously. "The networking room is down in sector four."
<Rez> "Nice. Stand back, everyone."
<Bjorn> "I don't even know what 'those' are."
Bjorn puts out a hand to stop Rez.
<Rez> "AIs. Sort of."
Rez stops.
<Rez> "Hm?"
<Bjorn> "Okay. Explain first. Why do we need to destroy this? How do you know they don't have backups? Is there any way we can make use of this?"
Dracos stands back
<Bjorn> "I want to end the Workshop. I don't care about their goddamn hardware."
<Rez> "OK. First, that thing is trying to kill a friend. It's going to stop. Right now. Second, I don't think they can back up something like this, although I could be wrong."
<Brian> Ginrai: The doors open up, and dozens of guys in white shirts with burn marks start streaming out.
Dracos heads over to another console, and starts trying to hack his way in and see what the heck data they have on here.
<Brian> Well, it's giving you a CMOS checksum error, so you're going to need to adjust the BIOS first.
Dracos gets into the bios and sees what needs to be done.
<Rez> "Third, if we can appropriate some HDs and take them out of here, sure. But getting past an AI isn't going to happen, trust me."
<Brian> It's forgotten everything, and can't find the HDs.
<Ginrai> "Okay... I take it that everything's going well so far?"
Bjorn shrugs, and looks at Ashnod. "Well, like I said, I don't care about the hardware. Do whatever you want."
<Rez> "If it helps, I think this thing was pretty key to their operations."
Dracos looks for ways to get damn hard drives out of these machines.
<Brian> Ashnod's still standing at the bottom, over Flint's corpse. He just motions everyone away from the consoles.
Rez steps away, waiting until Bjorn and Ashnod are out of the way, and looses a few fire arrows into the remains of Flint's console.
Bjorn shrugs again, and steps back from the consoles.
<Brian> Rez, Ashnod, roll for damage.
<Rez> roll 2d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Rez ... : 2d6 --> [ 2d6=6 ]{6}
<Brian> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> Them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=16 ]{16}
<Brian> *boom*
<Brian> That computer will never boot again.
<Rez> Damn straight.
<Brian> It's largely molten ruin, now.
<Bjorn> "Now, then. Time to leave?"
<Brian> Ashnod nods in approval. You hear Ginrai calling from the corridor: "Okay... I take it that everything's going well so far?"
Rez examines the rest of the room.
<Rez> "Soon. Did you want to do anything else?"
<Brian> Dangling VR gear, every wall surface (except for a single metal panel) lined with padding.
<Dracos> "Bjorn, sorry, gimme a sec."
<Dracos> Brian, do I find anything on my hunt?
<Rez> Where's that panel?
Dracos was looking for ways to remove the damn hard drives and such.
<Rez> What's that panel look like?
<Brian> Well, there are no HDs in these systems, unless they were in the one destroyed unit. The nurse mentioned a networking control room back down in sector four....
<Brian> It's about the size of a pull-down bed that you'd unfold from the wall of a ship, and has a handle across the top.
<Rez> If it's accessible, I go and pull it down.
<Brian> It is openable. It's like an oven door, big enough for a person to fit inside, and leads downwards.
<Dracos> "Rez, Incinerator."
<Rez> "I wasn't even thinking it."
<Rez> "Really."
Bjorn walks over to where Rez is, and examines the door and passage a little more closely.
<Dracos> "Right. Anyhow, this room is wrecked. Let's go check out the networking control room and check what we can retrieve datawise and if there's anyway to obliterate this whole place.
Rez drops his bag on the floor and refills his quiver.
<Rez> "Anyone else want something out of here?"
<Dracos> "And that reminds me...Yes..."
<Brian> The bottom slides up, such that lower reaches are inaccessible unless the door is closed.
Dracos exchanges his broken sword for a katana.
<Ginrai> "Hey, guys, do you still need me back here?"
Bjorn looks back over his shoulder. "Ashnod? Do you know anything about this?"
<Brian> He nods, and makes a series of gestures that you have no idea how to interpret.
Bjorn closes his eyes briefly. "Philip? Can you translate for Ashnod for me?"
<Dracos> "Sure, Bjorn."
Dracos raises his hand towards Ashnod trying to read his words.
<Brian> From the images, some techs got their tongues cut out, and some were just thrown away ... if they survived the fire and the fall, they got experimented on.
<Brian> Ashnod got both.
<Brian> He kicks Flint's corpse for good measure.
Dracos sweatdrops.
<Dracos> "Incinerator. Used for disposing ...personel."
<Bjorn> Bjorn's lip curls. "I see."
<Bjorn> "All right. Let's go."
<Rez> "You know, suddenly I feel a lot less guilty."
Rez looks faintly sick at the thought, and turns to head back to the elevator.
Dracos swiftly walks out of the room.
<Dracos> "Sabrina. Networking control room. And what else is here of importance to them. Speak swiftly please."
<Brian> "Nothing I'm aware of. It's the people, mostly."
<Bjorn> "I want to go back down to Section 4 to grab Jessica. You can check out the networking room if you want, but I think it's a waste of time. The longer we're here, the more likely we are to get caught again."
Bjorn heads towards the elevator, to suit actions to words.
<Rez> "I think we should hit that quickly. If they have backups, they'll be there.
Rez ducks into the elevator as well.
<Dracos> "You know, I think I just want to get the hell out of here. Bjorn, sure. Let's grab her and get the fuck out." Dracos follows.
<Brian> Victor meets you in the elevator.
<Bjorn> "Hello again."
<Rez> "Yo."
<Brian> He's apparently dropped off a load of weapons (Dracos, you recognize most of them, Bjorn, you recognize one of them) from the depository, and is dressed in a stylish suit.
Ginrai follows everyone when he sees them leaving.
Dracos blinks.
<Bjorn> What's the weapon I recognize?
<Brian> Your old sword.
<Bjorn> Ah.
<Dracos> What Do I recognize?
<Brian> The weapons that Rez lent to the inmates.
<Dracos> "Rez, why are those not in the bag?"
<Ginrai> "Nice."
Bjorn grabs his old sword, and tucks it through whatever strap he can find on his armor -- preferably one near the hip.
<Ginrai> Any rifles?
<Rez> "Because I decided to share the love, Drac."
Dracos picks them up carefully.
Rez produces the bag dutifully.,
<Bjorn> "Thanks, Victor. What's your plan now?"
<Brian> "And now?" Victor asks pleasantly, his eyes a pale blue. He looks like he just stepped off of the cover of GQ magazine, not like he's just thirty minutes ago drunk the blood of a former colleague.
<Dracos> "Right... At least they are still intact."
Dracos puts them back in the bag.
<Brian> "I show you to Ezmereth, because I do not believe that you know the way."
Rez offhands the bag.
<Dracos> "We wreck their remaining networking backups, and get the hell out of here. Ezmereth? Fine."
<Rez> "We have no idea at all, actually. But we need to hit something downstairs."
<Rez> "Then we're gone."
<Bjorn> "I... see. Why do I need to see Ezmereth? And I would like to retrieve Miss Taylor."
<Ginrai> "By the way, Victor... were you the wolf who helped me out back in Albany?"
<Brian> "Down again?" Victor looks mildly perturbed, but nods at the assurance you'll leave afterwards. "Ezmereth knows why you were brought into this," he says, as though that explains everything."
<Rez> "I'd like to know why we need to see Ezmereth as well, but hey. With all this other crap, why question?"
<Brian> "Wolf?" He looks puzzled.
<Bjorn> "That's good, then. All right."
<Rez> "Well, answers would be nice."
Bjorn steps into the elevator, and looks inquisitively at Rez and crew. "Coming?"
<Dracos> "That's good enough reason for me."
<Ginrai> "Ah, I guess not. Said you met us all before and thought that would be it."
Dracos follows.
Rez steps into the elevator, and points an arrow at the door.
<Rez> (Once everyone's out of the way)
<Brian> Sighing, the nurse swiped the card. "This magnetic strip is going to wear out," she grumbles. The elevator plummets once more....
<Brian> You reach the bottom of the elevator. As suspected, Taylor is gone. Victor elects to remain behind with Shade's body.
<Rez> "Lead the way, Sabrina."
<Bjorn> "Dammit," Bjorn curses.
Dracos follows for great computer destroying power!
<Bjorn> "I'm waiting here, with Victor. Move quickly."
<Dracos> "We will."
<Dracos> "RUSH!"
<Rez> "Will do."
<Brian> She walks down the hall and leads you to a sealed doorway. Luckily, she's still got the card-key, and Peterson seems to be allowed everywhere.... It opens up, and you're in a room full of networking equipment, all of the connection lights flashing rapidly.
<Ginrai> "I guess I'll go as well."
Rez runs after her.
Rez checks around for anything that's not a router or cable. Like, say, a server. Or computers. Or something.
Dracos looks for backup tape drives, backup drives, and anything of the nature.
Dracos whatever he can get, he pulls out.
<Brian> Two RAIDs in the far corner.
Rez goes for them. Do they have a console?
<Brian> Nope.
Dracos unplugs the damn things and hauls them out.
Rez yanks the power and network cables.
Rez produces the bag. "In."
<Brian> You've now got a collection of formerly RAID HDs.
Dracos puts it in the bag.
<Dracos> Sweet.
<Brian> In the bag of subspace.
<Rez> I love that bag.
Dracos continues hunting for stuff that is takable and sensible to take by his keen eyes.
<Rez> Anything else of note?
Rez grabs a couple of routers. >_>
<Brian> Your bag is getting kinda full....
Rez will empty it later . . . as long as I can move it. ^^
<Dracos> Anything more of import?
<Dracos> Or do I show the destructive tendencies?
<Rez> If there isn't, I use another volley of my FIRE ARROWS OF DOOM to blow away most of the gear in the room.
<Brian> Alright.
<Ginrai> "Bah, I want to use the pipe."
<Brian> Fire is dispensed liberally. You're running somewhat low on arrows, but the place is a smoldering ruin.
<Rez> "This was quicker."
Rez offhands his bag again - how many arrows do I have left?
<Dracos> "...You fuckin' wastes. Bare hands are quicker. Anyhow, let's move."
<Brian> And, you know, CAT-5 cable smoke is harsh on the lungs. There is, in fact, NO fire-suppression system in this room.
Dracos heads back to Bjorn. Fast.
<Brian> Rez: 8.
Rez is running!
Ginrai gets the hell out of there
<Rez> We only bought forty? ;_;
<Bjorn> "Are you finished?"
<Rez> "Yep."
<Brian> The corridor's fire-surpression system is activated by the smoke as you make it down the hall. You only just make it to the elevator before the bulkheads slam down behind you.
<Brian> "This place is a tomb," Victor remarks. "And I should know."
<Dracos> "I thought I wired them off."
Bjorn looks at Rez and crew.
<Dracos> "Let's get upstairs."
<Brian> Ashnod grunts, and steps outside of the elevator.
<Dracos> "Now."
Rez grins.
Dracos heads into the elevator.
<Rez> "We're moving!"
Ginrai points towards Rez. "All his idea."
<Dracos> "GOING UP!"
<Bjorn> To Victor, "Then it seems we're being reborn."
<Rez> "Hey, was it or was it not effective?"
Bjorn snorts, and says nothing.
<Dracos> "And Rez, you're a bloody psychopath. And that's from me!"
<Brian> "Not coming, Ashnod?" Victor asks mildly.
<Rez> "Hey. The last thing we need is Manos to still have a working network connection, if he survived upstairs."
<Brian> He shakes his head, and motions to the group at large, though only Bjorn can follow the handsigns. "Continue process."
<Rez> "It was thorough."
<Rez> "Besides, stress relief."
<Brian> The nurse shrugs, and swipes the card. "Good luck," she calls down.
Bjorn blinks. "I will. You're going back to Bridgett?"
<Brian> Ashnod shakes his head as the doors close.
Dracos sighs.
<Dracos> "Martyrs..."
Bjorn suddenly realizes what Ashnod meant, and lunges at the doors. "Wait!"
<Ginrai> "..."
<Ginrai> "Why?"
<Brian> The doors are already shut.
<Ginrai> "I don't understand why they do something like that."
Bjorn restrains the urge to hit the doors, and swears to himself, quietly.
<Brian> "Sometimes a person becomes so tainted by their past they can only find absolution in fire," the nurse says absently.
<Bjorn> "I know why he's doing it," Bjorn says quietly.
<Brian> Victor raises an eyebrow at that, but says nothing.
<Ginrai> "And so he wants to leave his daughter alone?"
<Bjorn> "Leave it."
Bjorn turns to Victor. "Let's go."
<Brian> In due course, the elevator reaches the top of the shaft, and opens up into a relatively normal looking office building.
<Brian> It's dark out, from what you can see through the windows.
<Bjorn> "What's the date, anyways?"
Rez realizes, belatedly, that he and Ginrai are still wearing tactical armor.
By a wall-clock in the office, it is 8:30 PM, on a Wednesday. It is January 10th, 2007.
Rez, again, drops the warbag on the ground and starts rummaging - and shedding his tactical armour.
"Gin, get that armour off and get it stowed. And if anyone's got weapons - like that pistol, Gin - conceal them or hand them over. One or the other."
Rez promptly pulls out his jacket, the laptop, and the uplink, slinging the laptop over his shoulder and passing the uplink over to Drac to carry, and uses the room those freed up in the bag to try and jam in two (hopefully somewhat collapsible?) suits of body armour. He also sticks the bow inside the bowcase, then dug out something else - a mobile phone, a passport, and a driver's license, all three of which he offered to Bjorn.
"And Drac, you never explained the eyes."
"Well, after you guys left they teleported me to the entrance, intending to walk me in as a prisoner. Only to encounter a Dr. Peterson, I believe it was. Someone, Shade specifically, had decided to leak to him a procedure to 'unlock my hidden potential'. So he, with the convincing for of more armed guards than I can handle, decided to take me along to do this. I get talking, trying to stall him in hopes that there's some alternate plan. There wasn't and I prolly should've tried to break out at the damn start. Anyhow, with him damn impatient and no weapons, armor, guns trained on me, and no real support that I could see save two relatively broken figures in the corner, I decided to go along with the craziness. Figured at least given their motives they wouldn't be killing me and I'd hopefully be able to escape at another venture when they didn't have a bunch of guards with guns pointed at me. Anyhow, they strapped me down, stuck me with anastasia, and ripped my bloody eyes out. Blacked up from it and woke up well...seeing weird shit and not having my damn glasses on. Apparently they'd ripped out Megan's eyes and transplanted them into my skull. I get untied by Legion as he's prancing about in glee. Apparently he, now she, had snuck in as a nurse during the whole mess. She handed me my sword and started shooting. I did the first thing that came to my mind though... swung right for the guys neck. But wouldn't you know it, he had some weird fugly luck power. It was crazy. You look at the two of us and you'd think I was the worst swordfighter ever lifted a sword and he's the unluckiest gunman ever to shoot a gun. We went back and forth, I somehow missing every damn time and he kept dinging my sword with his gun before he got a lucky shot off and took me out."
Dracos brushes the bloodstained portion of his shirt. "Woke up about a few minutes later, small asian dude going 'bad doctor' next to me and collapsing. The wound gone and me feeling like a million bucks. And Peterson standing there strangling legion. I leapt up and tried to kill him, but it must've been too much for the old sword. It practically exploded as I hit him, shredding the bastard and leaving me with a broken hilt and green eyes."
"That enough for ya?" Dracos ponders, pulling out the silver case and checking what the heck is in it. "Oh yeah...here," Dracos tosses Rez the pistol that he'd gotten off of Peterson. "Not my style."
Dracos
Rez: You're not going to fit a single suit of full S.W.A.T. tactical armor on top of everything else you put in that bag, unless you empty everything else out, or at least the uplink. Then you might be able to cram it in with the somewhat more dangerous weapons, and the somewhat more delicate stolen electronics (and your own laptop).
Dracos: You find chewing gum. Somehow, not really a great exchange.
Victor says, "Charming fellow, this one," and hoists Shade back up over his shoulders.
The nurse shrugs, and looks down at the floor. It's the thin, durable industrial carpeting used in corporate structures the world over, though there's a stain of fresh-looking blood on it, leading around a corner from the elevator's hallway. Frowning, The nurse pads along it, moving towards the corner.
From what you can see beyond the hallway, this section of the building is a maze of cubes, leading to a front door. The windows are tinted, but it's dark outside anyway.
Dracos passes the uplink to Gin. "keep it safe."
He sheaths his sword but keeps it nearby so that he's free to move if anything else occurs before they get well out of here.
Dracos
Jonah, too? Shit. Bjorn feels a tremble pass through his body, and quickly suppresses it. No! Still not done. Fall apart later.
Tucking the various bits that Rez gave him into the pockets of the tactical armour (taking a second to examine the falsified ID), Bjorn pads along behind Sabrina, Shinmyouken held low in both hands and ready to use.
"Oh, that can't be good," Sabrina says quietly when she rounds the corner.
For those of you who know Patricia, she's slumped over in an office chair, one hand pressed to the gunshot wound in her thigh, another bleeding wound on her arm.
For those of you who do not know Patricia, there's a redheaded woman, a little on the chubby side, her breathing a little strained, bleeding from two gunshot wounds.
"I'll be okay," she says, nodding at the nurse, as Sabrina produces guaze from a pocket and starts field dressing the wounds. "You all pulled though?" she doesn't meet Dracos's eyes.
The nurse, Rez and crew, and the new lady seem to acquainted, and Bjorn's first aid knowledge is best termed "minimal," so he disregards her for the moment, and studies the rest of the room. Presumably she walked here after being wounded, judging by the blood trail, but best to be safe.
No one (and nothing) else prominent seems to be in sight. All of the computers are currently showing screen savers or displaying messages indicating some form of network failure. It's like someone blew up the computer system.
Victor steps out of the elevator as it starts to get warm -- very warm. He stops to gather a stone knife from the stash of weapons no one wanted to grab and says, "We may not wish to stay here for too much longer."
Bjorn nods at Victor. "All right. The second they're done, I imagine. What next?"
Dracos tosses the silver container aside and goes over towards Patricia, "We'll live. Guards or someone else? And yeah, I agree Victor. Let's get moving guys. Sooner we are WAY away from this place the better. Let's get to my car if it's still there. Unless we got another form of transporation?"
Dracos
Ginrai hands over the .22, and his pipe will fit in the warbag comfortably. When he's carrying the uplink, you can probably manage to cram one suit of armor into it, but it'll be close, and the car itself is going to be cramped, even if just the four of you get in it.
"Workshop," Patricia agrees. "I'm fine, just waiting for Caber, and wanted to make sure you were okay. And Mr. Bloom ... a lowjack has been installed in your car. I would suggest taking another out of the city. Mine's no better, but you can have it if you just want to clear out of the area." She indicates a purse sitting atop the desk next to her. "It's the black sedan," she adds.
"Rez, I think you said you had a winter jacket, right? Can I borrow it? If I put it over this," he gestures at his fashionable prison jumpsuit and armour combination, "I might be a little less noticeable. Oh. And do you have room for my katana?"
"Fuck. Okay, Plan of action. Let's take her car to mine. Get my car. Get to the nearest car rental place. Rent new car. Get stuff into car. And get moving. Victor, if you don't mind, once we get this done, you can direct us to Ezmereth and we'll head there as fast as we can drive."
Dracos snapped his fingers, "Let's get moving folks. Get everyone and everything and move."
Dracos takes the keys and necessary stuff from the purse, and leads the way out to the car, starting it up and bringing it around in front to pick everyone up.
Dracos
Victor shakes his head, and looks at the waning moon. "The time is not right to meet Ezmereth again," he decides, Shade's body still on his shoulders.
"I'm not leaving on foot, and I doubt we'll meet again," Patricia says to those still in the room. "I hate to do this, but I'd like to get some medical attention aside from Caber's field dressing." The nurse merely nods in agreement. "If you've got any questions, now's the time to ask."
"I don't know who the hell you are, which probably counts as my first question," Bjorn grunts. "More importantly, though, Victor: when is the right time to meet Ezmereth?"
Victor eyes Patricia. "Something for your ears, and not hers, I think," he says delicately.
Patricia snorts, which causes her to wince in pain. "Yes," she agrees. "I work for Pax Arcana, the group opposed to those behind the Workshop. My name is Patricia McGovern, and the nurse is my partner, Caber."
The nurse nods at you. "I am legion," she adds helpfully.
Rez passes Ginrai the uplink, pulls out his laptop bag (also slightly bulky) and puts it over his shoulder, then crams his own set of tactical armour into the bag.
Rez also passes Bjorn the Jacket of +2 Pocketry, which might hopefully fit over the top of his tactical armour. Hope springs eternal.
"Ahm . . . sure." Rez indicates the bag to Bjorn, and when the sword is it in the bag along with the rest of the gear, zips the bag up and offhands it.
"Right. Now," Rez walks to within speaking range of Patricia, "Yah, got some questions quickly. First up, where's the Oracle. Second, who the hell are Pax Arcana and the Seventh Cabal? And who was this 'third faction' Caber mentioned?"
Bjorn: The jacket goes on over, but doesn't zip up properly. Most people probably won't notice.
Rez: Patricia frowns. "I can tell you that, and yes, you are in pretty deep, but knowing that much more pretty much makes it impossible for you to back out.
"But I can tell you're not going to be satisfied with that at this point. I don't know where Cassandra is. Ceran's not looking for her; he's working on more important things. At a guess, she's found herself somewhere to hide for a while and either convinced the system administrator to sever her network connections, or just holed up in a corner to fight it out with Manos." A gust of hot air escapes from the elevator shaft, as the car shakes in its moorings.
Victor takes a number of judicious steps towards the door, and turns around to watch it expectantly.
"Pax Arcana, the Seventh Cabal, and that third, nameless faction -- the Order of Symetry, before they were destroyed -- each furthered a specific cause. That cause has to do with how each faction feels the world, and everyone in it, needs to be run.
"The Seventh Cabal believes that power is meant to be wielded, and people with power are just more convenient tools. Pax Arcana believes that power should be cultivated and refined, choosing skill over numbers. The Order of Symetry furthered the ... hope that things would more or less balance out on their own."
"Next question?" she asks, one hand pressing her thigh over the bullet wound.
"Right. Can Manos move himself offsite via backup network connections or something - we hosed the network room - or is he most likely screwed? How much of a dent have we put in the Seventh Cabal, especially if we actually got Manos? And is it possible for me to get an email address . . . or some kind of contact, for Ceran?"
Patricia looks doubtful. "We'd rather you didn't speak with Ceran, if it's all the same. Manos was constrained, as Cassandra initially was. He can't move to preserve himself, without Flint's permission."
"Which is not likely to happen at this point," the nurse adds.
"Regardless. This place is becoming a mite unstable," Patricia says, shaking her head. "I'll give you some advice, because of what happened here. Don't think that Pax Arcana is your friends, just because we helped you out. I am obligated to tell my supervisors that I'm aware of your plan to head to northern Canada." She winks, and then vanishes, the bloodstains on the floor and the nurse vanishing with her. The elevator behind you is starting to buckle from heat strain, as Dracos pulls up to the door.
Ginrai blinks. "I guess that means going to Canada is out of the question now. By the way, do you guys have anything to cover my armor with?"
"We were never going to Canada. Now MOVE!"
Rez starts running for the front door.
Dracos beeps from outside, "Everybody in. Now MOVE!"
Dracos
"Just drop the armour," Bjorn advices Ginrai, moving to the door. "It's a wee bit incriminating, and if anyone starts shooting at us in the next couple of hours, we've done something very wrong.
"Speaking of incriminating," Bjorn frowns at Victor, "is it really necessary to be hauling that corpse around with us?"
Rez runs out to the beeping Sedan and jumps in the passenger front seat.
"Drac, pop the trunk, would you? They won't fit everything in the back seat."
Dracos pops the trunk.
Dracos
"What do you mean, 'us'?" Victor asks, smiling. "We'll be meeting again later. On the new moon, at Drake's point. There is a light house there. Until then, my burden carries me elswhere." He looks up at the starry sky, and takes a deep breath. "Ah," he says. "Freedom."
The elevator makes a plaintive noise as it begins to melt, and a slew of heated gasses boil up from the earth. Victor wastes no time in jogging away, just another passer-by with a body on his shoulders.
In a few more minutes, this place is likely to collapse into a massive crater filled with Ashnod and his temper.
"Guys! Armour in the boot, then get in the car!"
The next son of a bitch who decides to be cryptic at me is gonna get one right in the kisser, decides Bjorn, as he jogs out to the sedan, and climbs in the back seat -- still wearing armour under his jacket, because he needs the pockets.
Oh, and holding the invisible sword, because what else do you do with an invisible sword?
"I hate to be a party pooper, but we're covered in smoke and blood, carrying too many things that normal people wouldn't, and I, for one, am dressed pretty goddamn inappropriately. Hertz isn't going to so much as talk to us, but they're pretty damn likely to chat with the cops. We need a bit more of a plan, I think."
Ginrai takes off the armor and places it in the trunk. "You know, I just realized that the only weapon within my grasp at the moment is the tazer. Damn, shouldn't have given Rez the shotgun as well.
"Oh, and shotgun!" Ginrai immediately hops into the front passanger seat.
Rez is not pleased about this, being already in the front passenger seat.
"AAAH! The BACK, dammit!"
"Ah, damn. Very well." Ginrai heads to the back, cursing his lack of speed in reaching the front.
"Hmm... I think Rez or I can deal with that, Bjorn, since we look relatively normal at the moment."
Rez is, he thinks, remarkably without blood spatter or scorch mark . . . since he never meleed anyone, and he only got near FIRE when he was wearing his tactical armour.
He checks anyway, though.
"You're dirty, Ginrai, and you stink of smoke, and you have bits of blood and gore all over your shirt. Rez is better, I admit, but why take chances? If we can find a motel somewhere, Rez can get us a room, and we can all get cleaned up. Then Rez can take a cab out to a car rental agency, maybe near the airport, and rent something. That way, not only do we avoid the whole problem, but if somebody does have a bug in the car, it'll confuse them. If we just dump the car and head to the nearest car rental, they'll know where to start looking. The other way, though, they have to check the motel first, and then they won't know for sure where we went, or where we rented."
"No. If we're going to rent something, we should do it in another city entirely. We've got somewhere around that we could go, though . . ."
Bjorn shakes his head. "That means driving a while in a potentially traced car, and that means more chances of getting picked up. If we're going to switch cars, we should do it here.
"What do you think, Philip?"
"It depends. I doubt Seventh Cabal is tracking us, they wouldn't have done all this just to put a bug in our car. Pax Arcana quite possibly. I'm more scared of Seventh Cabal finding us than Pax Arcana, which means we take this and get out of here without a trace."
"I don't know who Pax Arcana or the Seventh Cabal are. But I don't want anybody to catch me, and I think this area is going to be in enough disruption from what we just did that we have a couple hours free. Let's take advantage of them while we can."
"Seventh Cabal are the people who ran that place. They'll look for us around here, and probably find us pretty quickly by checking rental car joints and motels and stuff around. Pax Arcana are the people who just helped us raid that place, who will probably look for us whereever the car is. Hell, they might not have had time to bug the car, but I doubt that. We can dodge one or both of them, and I'd rather dodge Seventh Cabal. Which means we leave, now."
"My thoughts exactly Bjorn. My car was next to a motel where I left it. We can get cleaned up there quickly, use some of the spare clothes I managed to toss in before getting out, and go off to hertz or something here and get a larger car to travel in and get out of here."
Dracos frowns, checking that everyone and everything is in and, if so, driving off quickly towards the hotel that he'd left his car at.
"Preferably though I want to see if I can disable that lowjack. Traveling in two cars is half the risk and twice the mobility."
Dracos
"Bullshit. If they're competent, they've probably got an obvious and god knows how many inobvious. We don't trust your car."
"I'm with Rez on this one. Unless you're actually Q and have been keeping quiet about it, I'm not gonna trust any work you do on that car.
"Look, however we do this, there's two priorities: getting clean, and getting a new car. Well, I probably need to get some new clothes, too, but we can work around that. If your car is near a motel, we're set."
"No fucking way. We have somewhere we can get clean without leaving a goddamn trace about an hour or so away from here. We do not need a fucking motel, complete with clerks who will remember our descriptions if people come and ask them."
"Fine, bitches. But you're paying for the damn used car we'll have to pick up. A used one would have the same form of tracker installed for just that reason."
"Anyhow, we get to my car. We head into hotel. We shower off. We change, we get back into this one, we drive to Ripon. We get a used car there. Gin takes this one south and then gets a taxi north to meet us. We pick up some other junk like clothes that fit you guys on the way. Deal?"
Dracos
"We'll discuss the later details once we're out of the possibly bugged car. Ripon, if you recall, is fucking deserted (and way too small to have a used car lot)."
"That's why I said 'motel' and not 'hotel,' Rez. A motel room has private entrances to each room. The only person the clerk would see is you. But if we can find a public bathroom or something, that's even better, I'll admit.
"And Philip, your plan makes no fucking sense to me at all. But like Rez said, let's get out of this car first, and discuss the rest later."
"Fine, to ripon then change. Then follow the plan. Now shaddup bitch."
Dracos stops at the hotel, assuming no further problems. Gets his stuff from it, clothes most especially, but any stored money and data tools he'd have stored there as well. Once the stuff is gotten, he leaves the doors unlocked and the window scrolled down, gets back in the sedan and gets moving.
Dracos
"OK, now this plan I can agree with . . . but can I pick up some groceries before we head back?" Rez grins wryly, "There's gotta be a convenience store or something."
Dracos looks over Rez and assuming he looks safe enough, nods in agreement and starts hunting for a grocery store.
Dracos
Rez looks okay, except for the inevitable smell of burnt cableing and equipment, along with a generous layer of air-ventilation ducting. Bjorn would probably stick out, except at a distance, as the bloodstains are beneath the armored coat ... which is an issue in and of itself. Ginrai is spattered with the remains of the guard he mutilated, along with a generous helping of the dust that Rez picked up. Dracos is wearing the spatters of Dr. Peterson's blood from the final combat between the two of them, along with the pervasive smell of smoke.
"Guys we look like shit. Any objections to me dropping rez off a bit from a grocery store to pick up some food before we hightail it out of town?"
Dracos
Rez checks his gloves for damage.
"You mean other than the fact that he's dirty and he smells like shit? There's the fact that we're in a car that, according to Patricia, can probably be traced, and we'd like to get it out of it as soon as possible.
"But odds are we've got a couple hours free, at least, before they realize we're in her car. So as long as someone can get Rez -- Jesus, I feel stupid calling you that -- Rez clean, I'm okay with it."
"Nathan, if you prefer. I call Drac 'Drac' 'cause, well, Philip just seems so . . . inappropriate for the guy. He doesn't look like a Philip."
Dracos laughs. "Yeah, in case, by some unknown reason, you've not guessed, It's Dracos from soulriders, void, etc. I really don't care and will generally answer to either. Anyhow, vote. Majority wins, ties go to going hungry. Do we want to try and find somewhere to clean rez up and have him get food, then head out to Ripon and get settled there before heading north in a different car? Or do we want to just hightail it over there. My vote says I like eating."
Dracos
Bjorn shrugs. "Eh. When it comes right down to it, I'll probably keep calling you Rez. I'll just feel weird whenever I stop to think about it." Bjorn grins. "And you're right. Last guy I knew named Phil was a greasy, irritating engineer who traumatized me in a communal bathroom. So unless you got objections, Drac, I'll call you Drac."
"Got no problems with that."
Dracos
"Eh, alright. The food in the Workshop was goddamn awful, so I have to admit, stopping for groceries sounds damn good for me. We can talk about what to do after that later."
Trying to grab everyone's eyes, Bjorn taps an ear, and points at the ceiling of the car, before making a "shhh" gesture.
Dracos nods, and idly continues chittering about meaningless hogwash with rez to keep out the sound effects and driving around looking for a small bathhouse, portapotty, or anything rez can go change in.
Dracos
You know the exact time that it happens, because Rez happens to be looking at the dashboard clock, wondering if too much gold shows through the slashes in his gloves. It's at 8:53 PM when San Francisco lurches unsteadily, the car skidding to a bouncing halt mid-intersection as a column of fire that seems to fill the horizon rises from the remains of the Wrkshop.
Almost as if a spiteful reminder that life is not going to go back to normal, the pillar reaches to the heavens, lighting up the night sky and forcing back the thick layer of clouds. When the light fades, the first of the earthquakes begin to set in.
A good five minutes pass before the land is steady enough for anyone to feel comfortable driving, and a wall of dust is sweeping towards you from the old skyline, as the majority of the few standing skyscrapers give up the ghost, and collapse entirely.
"Well. That puts paid to renting a car. But it sorta negates the need to clean up before we go get groceries, at the same time."
"It also makes finding an open grocery store in this city a bit of a long shot, too," Bjorn points out, absently.
Ashnod... The emotions won't quite settle out, and Bjorn stares back at the inferno, lost in thought.
"Okay Guys, we were all in Canada. Got it?"
Dracos shakes his head, "And you know what? San Francisco votes drive right to Ripon right now. And it makes a convincing case. So unless you guys got some real protest, I'm burning rubber that-a-ways. We can order a pizza in or something."
Dracos
"To Ripon? It's not happening. Let's see if we can hit a convenience store -right now-, seriously. Nobody will care what I or Drac look like."
"We're pretty close to the outskirts of the city," Bjorn argues. "And if we don't get out now, we won't be getting out for a long time. Let's go now, before the city shuts down entirely."
"I hear logic and no sound protest. We're driving. Tighten your damn belts."
Dracos gets a hustling to Ripon, moving borderline speedlimit.
Dracos
"Fine, fine. But if we don't hit a convenience store between here and there, you and Drac are going to go and find us some food."
The sirens are all headed the opposite direction. Going slowly to navigate the areas where the street has buckled awkwardly and become bumpy thanks to seizmic disturbances, you quickly find your way to a (thankfully) intact highway. You're now on 101 eastbound, towards San Jose, or, as the graffifiti indicates, 'The Glow'.
"Guys, we should pull over and check for any -obvious- tracking devices. It can't hurt to try."
"I used to know a guy who lived in San Jose," Bjorn says absently, apropros of nothing. "He was a grade-A whacko."
He shakes his head, violently. Jesus, idiot. Don't ramble. Keep a grip. "Sounds like a plan. Nobody's going to pay any attention to people pulled over by the side of the freeway right now."
"Works for me."
Dracos looks for the closest pull off spot. When he finds it, he pulls off.
He then proceeds to lead the crew in hunting for any odd looking electrical devices on the car (Inside, outside, bottom, engine, and trunk).
Dracos
You find a car alarm. A horn. A power brake control (you think).
You do not find anything immediately screaming, "I'm a GPS tracking device!" with with a helpful audible radar 'ping!' and blinking LED.
"Having any luck?" Bjorn asks, leaning on the car.
After a while, "If it's here, I'm not seeing it. I say we get to Ripon, order ourselves some fucking delivery, and get some rest as I'm getting damn beat."
Dracos
"Fine, fine. Man, why the hell'd I volunteer for this . . ."
Rez turns his mobile phone on, checks for messages, and turns it off if there aren't any.
"OK. Basically, how about this. We all drive to Ripon, I drop you guys off, then take a roundabout way to get back and meet you all with a rental car. Fair?"
"Sounds like a plan to me," Bjorn grunts. "Why are you guys all so hell-bent on this Ripon place, anyways?"
"Because we already have a safehouse there. Which saves us the trouble of pulling a hotel shtick."
Dracos gets everyone back in the car and starts driving again.
Dracos
"Nope, wait, I shouldn't be using my credit card."
"And I don't have one. Who does that leave?"
Ginrai snores audibly.
"Ginrai. Who seems to have dozed off. How the hell he can sleep after al l that is beyond me."
"Simple. He's a wuss. A lucky fuckin' Wuss."
Dracos
Rez just turns and stares moodily out the window, watching the scenery go past.
"I'm feeling pretty wussy myself right now," Bjorn grumbles under his breath.
Bjorn settles himself in the backseat, rests Shinmyouken across his lap (I have to find a sheath for this), and lets his head rest back against the seatback.
You arrive in Ripon about seventy minutes later, passing through the Cascades (and circumventing the old Moffet site) briefly. The Great Valley is huge, flat, and pretty boring.
When you get to your run-down ramshackle safe-house, Ginrai is awake. After unloading everything on the ground, he changes to a clean outfit, wiping himself clean on the insides of his old clothes. After mentioning that there is a washing machine and dryer out back, and pointing to the clothes (and apparently assuming you make some sort of connection between these two things he indicated) he rolls off towards Stockton, which is the same direction you'd been headed on highway 99.
Hey! Teacher! Leave Those Kids Alone! comes to an end, and we move on to Exile on Main Street (http://pishoque.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=810).