The Modern Age [Exalted 2E] Group I IC

[horus42]

The Five of you find yourselves sitting around a table, in a nondescript government building in downtown Crane Bay. The room is fairly plain, with only a Meruvian flag decorating the walls. A large screen occupies one side of the room, and a projector is hanging from the ceiling.

After you have all been there for a few minutes, a man walks through the door. He's wearing a black suit and tie, and has thinning, blonde hair. Typical government worker, really.

"Hello, all." He says. "My name is David Mnemon. I'm sure you all know why we've gathered you here. Before we get started, does anyone have any questions?"

[Mechanix]

This was making her nervous. She really didn't fit in.

This was a perfectly mundane and boring room in a mundane and boring building. She was even, like, sitting on a chair. Waiting for someone to come in.

All this while wearing her crazy make-up and her black driving suit and personal armor, her weapons hanging in Elsewhere just a few miliseconds away. It was... It did not fit. She was not normal. She was not supposed to do normal stuff. Boring stuff.

And so Devil was growing restless on her seat, fingers tapping against her chair, looking nervously around at the other people. Those were... Well, kinda scary actually. That was a lot of power contained within one room. Waiting on chairs. Boringly.

And then the guy came in and she stood at attention, staring at his features, biting her lips. She raised her hand at his question, and asked, deadpan:

"I have. Who are the other bozos, and am I right in assuming that together we could flatten the whole building? If so, how desperate are you to have gathered that many people here?"

[horus42]

David gives a nervous smile. "These terrorists have made us very desperate, I'm afraid. And I will allow the members of the group to introduce themselves. Most of them are... Larger than life, and a simple man like me wouldn't do their stories justice."

[horngeek]

Karen nods. "I'm Dr. Karen Irenus. Scientist, thaumaturge, and one of the best 'White Hat' hackers in the business. Also, parkour traceuses and martial artist, but it's probably the first bits I'm going to be handling while we're on this job."

The scientist and Twilight Caste is currently wearing pants and a cropped T-shirt, providing her with plenty of mobility in any situation.

[Mechanix]

Devil smiled wrily at the introducion. Of course she was a martial artist. When given power, it was so natural to learn how to punch through walls.

Hm. She was assuming all those people were of a similar "nature" to hers. Might not be a safe bet.

Devil cleared her throat, and said, very matter-of-fact:

"I am called Devil in the Moonlit Night, but "Devil" will do fine. I drive bikes. I shoot people. I do both of those quite well."

Seemed enough for now.

[Kobold-Bard]

Astran

"Well, glad to see we're not boasting or anything."

The man offers a sincere but obnoxiously grandiose nod of apology to the doctor before continuing.

"It's not often the government would admit to being so screwed. You never know, any of us could be a Tengese spy. Not me obviously, but one of them could be.

Name's Astran; think of me as a violent Wikipedia and we'll get along fine."

[Cocomonk3]

They had arrived together, several men in a car, the driver wearing a decent suit stretched a bit over his large frame. He doesn't look the type to wear suits most of the time. Muscles, then a few more muscles on the side. A brief conversation held with his head stuck in the door, and more men emerged. One moved to the driver seat, another moved to follow the large man inside.

At the table though, the larger man seems a little ill-at-ease. He's not a man for boardrooms, nor for the government. What have they done for him? But at the man enters, he leans to whisper something briefly to the other who entered. And stands when asked to introduce himself in a surprisingly strong Delzahn accent and an even stronger, commanding tone.

"We are Los Hermanos De Oro. I am Rex. My brother speaks for himself. I drive. I fight. I am justice in the form of man. If these terrorists attack the people of this land who cannot fight for themselves, Los Hermanos De Oro and Los Tigres will fight for them."

[Rokku]

The smaller man is wearing cargo shorts and a white t-shirt, with his golden armor and weapons openly worn over them. Clearly, he is not a fan of subtlety.

"Mi hermano..." he pauses to push his chair back and kick his feet up on the table, "is dramatic, but correct. I am Cruz Dorado. I shoot any pendejo who gets in our way."

[horus42]

David stands aside, allowing the brothers and their entourage to enter and sit down. He shuffles through a stack of papers, and stands at the head of the table.

"Yes, excellent. I'm glad you have all arrived. I thank Miss... Devil... For her question. Are there any more before we get down to business?"

[Rokku]

"No question, but I'd like to thank you for recruiting a couple of fine mamacitas."

Cruz grins at Karen and Devil.

"I was afraid this team was going to be boring."

[horngeek]

Karen shakes her head. "None here."

[Kobold-Bard]

Astran

The man speaks in response to Rex's comments.

"Oh a hero type, thank goodness for that. I was afraid we were going to all be mercenaries, and that's no fun.

And speaking of mercenaries, I'll be the one to ask: how much & when?"

[horngeek]

Karen leans forwards a bit. "I'm not interested in the money either, Astran. I just want these bastards brought to justice."

[Mechanix]

"No question here. And I don't need no money; just fuel and ammo so I can do my job. Other than that, well, mission should be fun enough by itself."

[horus42]

David looks at Astran calmly. "I was wondering when that would come up... You will all be receiving a weekly stipend for your efforts, enough to cover all expenses, as well as make a very tidy profit."

"And now," He puts down his papers and aims a remote at the projector, before beginning a Powerpoint presentation. "As I'm sure you're all aware, the targets of these terrorists seem to make no sense. A government building here, a large corporation the next. And despite all of the damage... Civilian casualties are surprisingly low. They almost seems to be intentionally low, as if whoever is doing this isn't an enemy at all."

He goes through the slides, showing before and after pictures of the places that have been attacked. "And to make matters worse, we've never actually seen any of this organization's operatives in the field, and they have made no effort to claim responsibility for the attacks, and as such, we have no idea what to even call them."

David pauses for just a moment, before continuing. "Simply put, the OMI and our Dragon-Blooded haven't been enough. We need you to find out who these people are, and what they want. Put a stop to the attacks, by any means necessary."

[Rokku]

"Government and corporate buildings and people not getting hurt? Looks like somebody thinks they're fighting 'The Man'. Not entirely sure I disagree with them, either."

[Kobold-Bard]

Astran

"Well then...it seems I'm the only mercenary in a company of heroes. Brilliant, I can't think of a safer place to be."

[Mechanix]

Devil actually burst into laughter at Astran last quip.
'I have been called may things, she said still giggling, 'but 'hero' was never among them. I think I like you.

I think I can help you, David. You'll have to show me the scene of the attacks. I am... Rather perceptive when crime is involved.'

[horus42]

"Oh, of course. We expected you would want to search the scene of one of the attacks for evidence, so we have a car waiting outside, to take you to the location of the most recent attack. Besides the Fire Department, no one else has been there yet, so you're getting the closest thing I can provide to an unsullied crime scene."

[Cocomonk3]

The man in the ill-fitted suit turns to his better armed brother and speaks.. well, just as loud as he was before. He doesn't seem to understand the concept of whispering. "We should investigate, hermano. Even if this attacker is a righteous man, there are better paths to take."

[Rokku]

Cruz nods.

"Absolutely, big brother. Maybe we can straighten him out. Los Tigres doesn't have a bombs guy yet..."

He springs up from his chair.

"Andale!"

[Mechanix]

"A still un-investigated attack, and we are first to get there. Oh, my, but this must have been prepared long ago, if you were able to join us all and gather us here in such a short time.

Okay, I'll bite. Unless you have any useful information to add, David, I'll move and start searching."

[horus42]

David simply shakes his head, and soon you all find yourselves being shipped off in nondescript black sedans, the kind that government agencies use to look inconspicuous, but end up standing out even more.

After about an hour's ride, you reach the scene of the attack, the burnt out shell of a warehouse.

[Cocomonk3]

On the ride over, despite any protestations from his brother or any others, Rex does not allow the twins to be seperated. He does however retrieve from his own car a thick golden trimmed vest, replacing his suit jacket with obvious enjoyment. Suits are not his thing. He does keep the suit though and wraps something or two somethings from his car in it. Maybe the size of a melon? With equal obviousness though he is not pleased at being driven, twitching at every corner and gripping tightly onto the jacket. Accompanied by slight mutterings in Delzahn, the ride is likely a tense one, even with Cruz there to moderate him. Once they arrive at the scene though and emerge from the cars Rex loosens up visibly. The mask stays on though.

[Mechanix]

Despite following the general movement, Devil declines the invitation to ride in the car, and instead disappear into a nearby alleyway - soon to come out driving her roaring Road Lion, effortlessly keeping up with the Sedans until they arrive near the warehouse.

"Wow. Okay, she said to the nearest official. What do we already know about what happened? Like, where did the explosion originate?"

[horus42]

The nearest official, a woman woth dark hair in a pantsuit, says, "Well, we know that there was more than one charge used in the explosion, and that they were located at the building's most important structural points. Whoever did this, they knew the place."

[Mechanix]

Several charges at structural points... That was professional work, certainly. But even a professional could not escape her. After all, Devil wasn't just a fighter; in her career as a vigilante, she'd had to learn how to pick up a trail and find evidence of a crime in order to find the people she wanted to take down.
Without a word, Devil went into the charred rubbles of the warehouse, looking around cautiously. She was trying to find a spot of interest - one of those "structural points" that were targetted. There, she stretched a bit, cracked her knuckles, and inhaled deeply, closing her eyes.

With her mind's hand, she seized the oblivion-tainted essence that filled her body with deathly urge. This essence of nothingness, she could use to scour away all the unnecessary obstacles that stood in the way of her search. She opened her eyes, and glanced at the scene as her Essence flared into existence, flaring all evidence for her to see.

I'm using Crime-Unveiling Wickedness, which functions as Crafty Investigation Method but reduces the Difficulty of my investigation by 1 for a crime scene; I add to it 5 motes simultaneously used to fuel the First Investigation Excellency.

[horus42]

Devil sees that:
The charges that were planted were all made using a particular set of chemicals, ones that are commonly used as an improvised explosive by the Meruvian Military.

[Kobold-Bard]

Astran


'I have been called may things, 'but 'hero' was never among them. I think I like you.

"Well thank you very much, I'll try to live up to it."

---

Once at the scene, Astran joins Devil in the investigation. Raising his index finger to his forehead he outlines a circle, and then cuts across the centre of it. As he does so he whispers a simple verse "The light of the Sun pierces all veils" and his half-filled caste mark appears, glowing with an unyielding brightness as essence bleeds into his eyes, turning his blue iris' an owl-like amber.

As he walks around the crime scene, strands of essence in all shades weave themselves around him; echoes of past magic both recent and ancient. He examines the explosion points, brushing the scorched metal with fingertips, inhaling the scent of destruction, listening for whispered answers as he turned over debris.

When his search was almost complete he casually scaled the remains of the warehouse (first receiving Devil's information if she is willing to share it), and atop it's roof he scanned the area as a whole, while he put together the evidence in his mind.

Activate Combo: The Sun Reveals All
- 5m(Ppl): Twilight Anima power, granting +3 external successes on (Per+Awa) to notice magic/Charms, and (Int+Occ) to identify them.
- 6m(Psl): All-Encompassing Sorcerer's Sight, all magic & immaterial things are visible and Obvious for 1 scene, allows me to make the aforementioned checks.
- 9m(Psl): First Investigate Excellency
- 4m(Psl): Second Awareness exellency

(Perception + Investigation) to investigate the scene: [roll0] (base) + [roll1] (excellency) [+ [roll2] if Exalts were involved] = 7 successes + any stunt dice + any bonus already knowing Devil's info might give

(Perception + Awareness) to notice magical effects: [roll3] (base) + 2 (excellency) + 3 (anima) = 6 successes + any stunt dice

(Intelligence + Occult) to identify magical effects, if any: [roll4] (base) + 3 (anima) = 7 successes + any stunt dice

[horus42]

Astran sees that:
All of the charges were made from a certain chemical that Meruvian military operatives like to use for improvised explosives. You also find out that the charges were detonated simultaneously, meaning there was one detonator that controlled them all. The charges were all placed on vital, strategic, structural points. Meaning that the terrorists either knew the building well already, or they scouted it out ahead of time.

[horus42]

Suddenly, one of the officials shouts out, "There's an attack in progress! The CBNN tower is under siege! There are hostages!"